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She sat up and tried her wings . " They are sound . Great is truth in my own country , but in this dingy England it is at a discount , and lies are at a premium . " AR down in the forest , where the warm sun and the fresh air made a sweet resting - place , grew a pretty little fir - tree ; and yet it was not happy , it wished so much to be tall like its companions - the pines and firs which grew around it . The sun shone , and the soft air fluttered its leaves , and the little peasant children passed by , prattling merrily , but the fir - tree heeded them not . Sometimes the children would bring a large basket of raspberries or strawberries , wreathed on a straw , and seat themselves near the fir - tree , and say , " Is it not a pretty little tree ? " which made it feel more unhappy than before . And yet all this while the tree grew a notch or joint taller every year ; for by the number of joints in the stem of a fir - tree we can discover its age . Still , as it grew , it complained , " Oh ! how I wish I were as tall as the other trees , then I would spread out my branches on every side , and my top would over - look the wide world . I should have the birds building their nests on my boughs , and when the wind blew , I should bow with stately dignity like my tall companions . " The tree was so discontented , that it took no pleasure in the warm sunshine , the birds , or the rosy clouds that floated over it morning and evening . Sometimes , in winter , when the snow lay white and glittering on the ground , a hare would come springing along , and jump right over the little tree ; and then how mortified it would feel ! Two winters passed , and when the third arrived , the tree had grown so tall that the hare was obliged to run round it . Yet it remained unsatisfied , and would exclaim , " Oh , if I could but keep on growing tall and old ! There is nothing else worth caring for in the world ! " In the autumn , as usual , the wood - cutters came and cut down several of the tallest trees , and the young fir - tree , which was now grown to its full height , shuddered as the noble trees fell to the earth with a crash . After the branches were lopped off , the trunks looked so slender and bare , that they could scarcely be recognized . Then they were placed upon wagons , and drawn by horses out of the forest . " Where were they going ? What would become of them ? " The young fir - tree wished very much to know ; so in the spring , when the swallows and the storks came , it asked , " Do you know where those trees were taken ? Did you meet them ? " The swallows knew nothing , but the stork , after a little reflection , nodded his head , and said , " Yes , I think I do . I met several new ships when I flew from Egypt , and they had fine masts that smelt like fir . I think these must have been the trees ; I assure you they were stately , very stately . " " Where are they going ? " asked the fir - tree . " They are not taller than I am : indeed , one is much less ; and why are the branches not cut off ? Where are they going ? " " We know , we know , " sang the sparrows ; " we have looked in at the windows of the houses in the town , and we know what is done with them . They are dressed up in the most splendid manner . We have seen them standing in the middle of a warm room , and adorned with all sorts of beautiful things , - honey cakes , gilded apples , playthings , and many hundreds of wax tapers . " " It would be much better than crossing the sea . I long for it almost with pain . Oh ! when will Christmas be here ? I am now as tall and well grown as those which were taken away last year . Oh ! that I were now laid on the wagon , or standing in the warm room , with all that brightness and splendor around me ! Something better and more beautiful is to come after , or the trees would not be so decked out . Yes , what follows will be grander and more splendid . What can it be ? I am weary with longing . I scarcely know how I feel . " Then came two servants in grand livery , and carried the fir - tree into a large and beautiful apartment . On the walls hung pictures , and near the great stove stood great china vases , with lions on the lids . There were rocking chairs , silken sofas , large tables , covered with pictures , books , and playthings , worth a great deal of money , - at least , the children said so . Then the fir - tree was placed in a large tub , full of sand ; but green baize hung all around it , so that no one could see it was a tub , and it stood on a very handsome carpet . How the fir - tree trembled ! " What was going to happen to him now ? " " Oh , that the evening were come , " thought the tree , " and the tapers lighted ! then I shall know what else is going to happen . Will the trees of the forest come to see me ? I wonder if the sparrows will peep in at the windows as they fly ? shall I grow faster here , and keep on all these ornaments summer and winter ? " After this , the tree tried not to tremble at all , though the fire frightened him ; he was so anxious not to hurt any of the beautiful ornaments , even while their brilliancy dazzled him . And now the folding doors were thrown open , and a troop of children rushed in as if they intended to upset the tree ; they were followed more silently by their elders . For a moment the little ones stood silent with astonishment , and then they shouted for joy , till the room rang , and they danced merrily round the tree , while one present after another was taken from it . " What are they doing ? What will happen next ? " thought the fir . At last the candles burnt down to the branches and were put out . Then the children received permission to plunder the tree . " Ivede - Avede , " cried some . " Humpty Dumpty , " cried others , and there was a fine shouting and crying out . But the fir - tree remained quite still , and thought to himself , " Shall I have anything to do with all this ? " but he had already amused them as much as they wished . " Ah ! yes , so it happens in the world , " thought the fir - tree ; he believed it all , because it was related by such a nice man . " Ah ! well , " he thought , " who knows ? perhaps I may fall down too , and marry a princess ; " and he looked forward joyfully to the next evening , expecting to be again decked out with lights and playthings , gold and fruit . " To - morrow I will not tremble , " thought he ; " I will enjoy all my splendor , and I shall hear the story of Humpty Dumpty again , and perhaps Ivede - Avede . " And the tree remained quiet and thoughtful all night . In the morning the servants and the housemaid came in . " What does this mean ? " thought the tree , " what am I to do here ? I can hear nothing in a place like this , " and he had time enough to think , for days and nights passed and no one came near him , and when at last somebody did come , it was only to put away large boxes in a corner . So the tree was completely hidden from sight as if it had never existed . " It is winter now , " thought the tree , " the ground is hard and covered with snow , so that people cannot plant me . I shall be sheltered here , I dare say , until spring comes . How thoughtful and kind everybody is to me ! Still I wish this place were not so dark , as well as lonely , with not even a little hare to look at . How pleasant it was out in the forest while the snow lay on the ground , when the hare would run by , yes , and jump over me too , although I did not like it then . Oh ! it is terrible lonely here . " " Squeak , squeak , " said a little mouse , creeping cautiously towards the tree ; then came another ; and they both sniffed at the fir - tree and crept between the branches . " Oh , it is very cold , " said the little mouse , " or else we should be so comfortable here , shouldn 't we , you old fir - tree ? " " I am not old , " said the fir - tree , " there are many who are older than I am . " " Where do you come from ? and what do you know ? " asked the mice , who were full of curiosity . " Have you seen the most beautiful places in the world , and can you tell us all about them ? and have you been in the storeroom , where cheeses lie on the shelf , and hams hang from the ceiling ? One can run about on tallow candles there , and go in thin and come out fat . " " I know nothing of that place , " said the fir - tree , " but I know the wood where the sun shines and the birds sing . " And then the tree told the little mice all about its youth . They had never heard such an account in their lives ; and after they had listened to it attentively , they said , " What a number of things you have seen ? you must have been very happy . " " Happy ! " exclaimed the fir - tree , and then as he reflected upon what he had been telling them , he said , " Ah , yes ! after all those were happy days . " But when he went on and related all about Christmas - eve , and how he had been dressed up with cakes and lights , the mice said , " How happy you must have been , you old fir - tree . " " I am not old at all , " replied the tree , " I only came from the forest this winter , I am now checked in my growth . " " What splendid stories you can relate , " said the little mice . And the next night four other mice came with them to hear what the tree had to tell . The more he talked the more he remembered , and then he thought to himself , " Those were happy days , but they may come again . Humpty Dumpty fell down stairs , and yet he married the princess ; perhaps I may marry a princess too . " And the fir - tree thought of the pretty little birch - tree that grew in the forest , which was to him a real beautiful princess . " Who is Humpty Dumpty ? " asked the little mice . And then the tree related the whole story ; he could remember every single word , and the little mice was so delighted with it , that they were ready to jump to the top of the tree . The next night a great many more mice made their appearance , and on Sunday two rats came with them ; but they said , it was not a pretty story at all , and the little mice were very sorry , for it made them also think less of it . " Do you know only one story ? " asked the rats . " Only one , " replied the fir - tree ; " I heard it on the happiest evening of my life ; but I did not know I was so happy at the time . " " We think it is a very miserable story , " said the rats . " Don 't you know any story about bacon , or tallow in the storeroom . " " No , " replied the tree . " Many thanks to you then , " replied the rats , and they marched off . The little mice also kept away after this , and the tree sighed , and said , " It was very pleasant when the merry little mice sat round me and listened while I talked . Now that is all passed too . However , I shall consider myself happy when some one comes to take me out of this place . " But would this ever happen ? " Now life is beginning again , " said the tree , rejoicing in the sunshine and fresh air . Then it was carried down stairs and taken into the courtyard so quickly , that it forgot to think of itself , and could only look about , there was so much to be seen . The court was close to a garden , where everything looked blooming . Fresh and fragrant roses hung over the little palings . The linden - trees were in blossom ; while the swallows flew here and there , crying , " Twit , twit , twit , my mate is coming , " - but it was not the fir - tree they meant . " Now I shall live , " cried the tree , joyfully spreading out its branches ; but alas ! they were all withered and yellow , and it lay in a corner amongst weeds and nettles . The star of gold paper still stuck in the top of the tree and glittered in the sunshine . In the same courtyard two of the merry children were playing who had danced round the tree at Christmas , and had been so happy . The youngest saw the gilded star , and ran and pulled it off the tree . " Look what is sticking to the ugly old fir - tree , " said the child , treading on the branches till they crackled under his boots . And the tree saw all the fresh bright flowers in the garden , and then looked at itself , and wished it had remained in the dark corner of the garret . It thought of its fresh youth in the forest , of the merry Christmas evening , and of the little mice who had listened to the story of " Humpty Dumpty . " " Past ! past ! " said the old tree ; " Oh , had I but enjoyed myself while I could have done so ! but now it is too late . " Then the children , who were at play , came and seated themselves in front of the fire , and looked at it and cried , " Pop , pop . " But at each " pop , " which was a deep sigh , the tree was thinking of a summer day in the forest ; and of Christmas evening , and of " Humpty Dumpty , " the only story it had ever heard or knew how to relate , till at last it was consumed . The boys still played in the garden , and the youngest wore the golden star on his breast , with which the tree had been adorned during the happiest evening of its existence . ( I love this story ! It 's a type of Cinderella tale , it , or one of it 's many variations , was used by Shakespeare when he wrote King Lear and it mentions cooking ! What more could you want in a story ? ) Well , there was once a very rich gentleman , and he 'd three darters [ daughters ] . And he thought to see how fond they was of him . So he says to the first , " How much do you love me , my dear ? " Well , he were that angry . " You don 't love me at all , " says he , " and in my house you stay no more . " So he drove her out there and then , and shut the door in her face . Well , she went away , on and on , till she came to a fen . And there she gathered a lot of rushes , and made them into a cloak kind o ' , with a hood to cover her from head to foot , and to hide her fine clothes . And then she went on and on till she came to a great house . Well , one day there was to be a great dance a little way off , and the servants was let go and look at the grand people . Cap o ' Rushes said she was too tired to go , so she stayed at home . But when they was gone , she offed with her cap o ' rushes , and cleaned herself , and went to the dance . And no one there was so finely dressed as her . Well , who should be there but her master 's son , and what should he do but fall in love with her , the minute he set eyes on her . He wouldn 't dance with anyone else . But before the dance were done , Cap o ' Rushes she stepped off , and away she went home . And when the other maids was back , she was framin ' [ pretending ] to be asleep with her cap o ' rushes on . The master 's son was rarely glad when he saw her . He danced with none but her , and never took his eyes off her . When she wouldn 't tell him her name , nor where she came from , he gave her a ring , and told her if he didn 't see her again he should die . And she offed with her cap o ' rushes , and there she was in her beautiful clothes . Well , the master 's son he got well very soon , and they was to be married in a little time . It was to be a very grand wedding , and everyone was asked , far and near . And Cap o ' Rushes ' father was asked . But she never told nobody who she was . Well , the wedding day came , and they was married . And after they was married , all the company sat down to their vittles . When they began to eat the meat , that was so tasteless they couldn 't eat it . But Cap o ' Rushes father , he tried first one dish and then another , and then he burst out crying . " Oh ! " says he , " I had a daughter . And I asked her how much she loved me . And she said , ' As much as fresh meat loves salt . ' And I turned her from my door , for I thought she didn 't love me . And now I see she loved me best of all . And she may be dead for aught I know . " " Yes , you may be sure I 'll bring my daughter to her senses , " said the father . " She is only a child , and she doesn 't know what 's best for her . " But all his coaxing and talking did not help matters . She would not have the squire , she said , if he sat buried in gold up to his ears . " Yes , yes ! Run down into the meadow and take her with you . There she goes ! " answered the neighbor . The lad ran off and when he came to the meadow he found the daughter there raking the hay . " Ah , indeed ! " she said . " I suppose it 's that little bay mare of ours . You had better go and take her . She stands there tethered on the other side of the pea field , " said the girl . When the lad saw his master 's face he knew it would be no use to gainsay him . So he went and got all the farm tenants who were there to help him . Some pulled at the head and the forelegs of the mare and others pushed from behind , and at last they got her up the stairs and into the room . There lay all the wedding finery ready . " Never mind , you shall not have done it for nothing , " said his master . " Now send the women up to dress her . " " But I say master - ! " said the lad . " None of your talk ! " said the squire . " Tell them they must dress her and mind and not forget either wreath or crown . The lad ran into the kitchen . This story is based on a folktale . This vid was produced by Sesame Street maaaaany years ago . ( I feel really old because I remember seeing this . ) The moral of this tale is that all things are connected . Enjoy ! Labels : There once lived a man and a woman . The woman died and the man married a second time , but from his first marriage he had a daughter . The mean stepmother didn 't like her , beat her , and tried to think of ways to get rid of her for good . So her aunt told her what to do . " There will be a birch , dear niece , and it will slap you in the face . You just put a ribbon on it . Then the gates will screech and flap . You just pour some oil on the hinges . The dogs will bite you . You just throw them some bread . The cat will scratch your eyes . You just give it some ham . " So the girl sat at the weaving loom , and Baba Yaga left to give order to her maid . " Go , heat up the bathhouse and give my niece a bath , and make sure she 's nice and clean . I want her for my breakfast . " The girl sat still as a statue , frightened nearly to death , and asked the maid : " Dearest ! Don 't spend so much time lighting the wood as pouring water on it , and don 't hurry hauling water , use a seive for it ! " And she gave her a kerchief . Baba Yaga was waiting . She walked up to the window and asked : " Are you weaving , dear niece , are you weaving , my darling ? " " Yes , I 'm weaving , auntie , I 'm weaving , my dearest ! " " Here 's a comb and a towel , " the cat said , " take them and run away ; Baba Yaga will run after you . You put your ear to the ground , and as soon as you hear that she 's close , throw the towel first . It will turn into a great wide river . If Baba Yaga crosses the river and starts catching up again , put your ear to the ground again , and as soon as you hear that she 's close , throw the comb . It will turn into a deep , dark forest . She won 't be able to get through it ! " The girl took the towel and the comb and ran . The dogs wanted to tear her to pieces , but she threw them some bread , and they let her pass . The gates wanted to close , but she poured some oil on the hinges , and they let her through . The birch wanted to slap her in the face and blind her , but she tied a ribbon around it , and it let her pass . The girl put her ear to the ground , and heard that Baba Yaga was chasing after her , and that she was close already . She threw the towel . It turned into a great wide river . Baba Yaga arrived at the river and she gnashed her teeth in anger . She returned home , gathered her bulls , and brought them to the river . The bulls drank up the entire river until it was dry . Baba Yaga set off once again in pursuit . The girl put her ear to the ground again , and heard that Baba Yaga was close . She threw the comb . It turned into a deep , frightening forest . Baba Yaga began gnawing on it , but try as she may , she couldn 't gnaw through it . She turned around and went home . " Oh , daddy ! " she said . " This is the way it was . Mother sent me to my aunt 's to get a needle and some thread to sew me a shirt , but her aunt turned out to be Baba Yaga , and she wanted to eat me . " So the girl told him . As soon as the man found out everything , he became very angry at his wife and shot her to death . From then on , he lived happily ever after with his daughter , and amassed a great fortune . After a while the bird took out his two eyes and threw them straight up into the air , like two stones . It looked upward but had no eyes . Then the bird said , " Come , my eyes . Come quickly , down into my head . " The eyes fell down into the bird 's head , just where they belonged , but were much brighter than before . Coyote thought he could brighten his eyes . He asked the bird to take out his eyes . The bird took out Coyote 's eyes , held them for a moment in his hands , and threw them straight up into the air . Coyote looked up and called , " Come back , my eyes . Come quickly . " They at once fell back into his head and were much brighter than before . Coyote wanted to try it again , but the bird did not wish to . But Coyote persisted . Then the bird said , " Why should I work for you , Coyote ? No , I will work no more for you . " But Coyote still persisted , and the bird took out his eyes and threw them up . Coyote cried , But his eyes continued to rise into the air , and the bird began to go away . Coyote began to weep . But the bird was annoyed , and called back , But Coyote refused to go and entreated the bird to find eyes for him . At last the bird gathered gum from a pinon tree and rolled it between his hands and put it in Coyote 's eye holes , so that he could see . But his eyes had been black and very bright . His new eyes were yellow . Long ago when the Earth was new , there were ten suns in the sky . The ten suns all rose at the same time , so the Earth was a very bright place . But it was also very hot ; very hot indeed ! Every day , Dan would shoot at the suns ; he shot one arrow at every sun , on the hour every hour . As the days passed , Dan became more and more accurate and the suns became more and more nervous . They didn 't want to be punctured ! One day , the suns decided they had had enough of dodging arrows and took themselves off to a world where their light and warmth would be better appreciated . Nothing could live in the darkness and the people , animals and plants began to die . The people realized how stupid and selfish they had been and were very sorry . They begged the ten suns to come back and shine their light and heat on the Earth . Now , it 's a well - known fact that suns have very sensitive hearing and the racket that was coming from the Earth did nothing for them . Nothing at all except for one sun . It was tone deaf and was strangely attracted to the noise the cockerel was making . The sun peered over the eastern horizon to better hear the cockerel 's calling . The closer the sun crept the more the sun liked the sound . Eventually the sun rose completely in the sky and it listened and it really did like the cockerel 's song ! " New from Jack Frost , honey . When that hickory - nut tree out there hears him coming , she begins to drop what she 's got . I 'm mighty glad , " he continued , scraping the burnt crust from hi hoe - cake with an old case - knife . " I 'm mighty glad hickory nuts aren 't as big and heavy as grindstones . " The child was immensely flattered , and at once he wanted to know how Brother Rabbit did . Uncle Remus was in such good humor that he needed no coaxing . He pushed his spectacles back on he forehead , wiped him mouth on his sleeve , and began : It came about that early one morning towards the fall of the year Brer Rabbit was stirring around in the woods after some bergamot to use for making him some hair grease . The wind was blowing so cold that it made him feel right frisky , and every time he heard the bushes rattle , it seemed to scare him . He was going on this way , hoppity - skippity , when by and by he heard Mr . Man cutting on a tree way off in the woods . He sat up , Brer Rabbit did , and listened first with one ear and then with the other . The man , he cut and cut , and Brer Rabbit , he listened and listened . By and by , while all this was going on , down came the tree : kubber - lang - bang - blam ! Brer Rabbit , he took and jumped just like you jumped , and not only that , he made a break , he did , and he leaped out of as though the dogs were after him . " Scared ! Who ? Him ? Shoo ! Don 't you fret yourself about Brer Rabbit , honey . In those days there was nothing going that could scare Brer Rabbit . To be sure , he took care of himself , and if you know anyone who refuses to take care of himself , I would mighty well like you to point him out . Indeed I would ! " Uncle Remus seemed to boil over wit argumentative indignation . With that , Brer Wolf shook himself loose from the face of the earth , and he didn 't get far until he met Brer Bear . Brer Bear , he asked , and Brer Wolf made an answer , and by and by Brer Bear snorted and ran off . And , bless gracious , it wasn 't long before the last one of the creatures was a - skaddling through the woods as though the Old Boy were after them , and all because Brer Rabbit heard Mr . Man cut a tree down . They ran and they ran , Uncle Remus went on , until they them to Brer Terrapin 's house , and they sort of slacked up , because they had nearly lost their wind . Brer Terrapin , he up an asked them where they were going , and they said there was a monstrous , terrifying racket back there in the woods . Brer Terrapin , he asked what it sounded like . One said he didn 't know ; the other said he didn 't know ; and they all said they didn 't know . This made old Brer Terrapin laugh way down in his insides , and he up and said , " You all can run along if you feel skittish , " he said . " After I cook my breakfast and wash up the dishes , and if I get wind of any suspicious racket , maybe I might just take down my parasol and follow along after you , " he said . When the creatures came to ask one another about who started the news , it went right back to Brer Rabbit , but low and behold , Brer Rabbit wasn 't there ! It turned out that Brer Coon was the one who had seen him last . Then they got to laying the blame of it on one or the other , until they almost began to fight , but then old Brer Terrapin , he up and said that if they wanted to straighten it out , they 'd better go see Brer Rabbit . There was an enchanted mill , so that no one could stay there , because a she - wolf always haunted it . A soldier went once into the mill to sleep . He made a fire in the parlor , went up into the garret above , bored a hole with an auger in the floor , and peeped down into the parlor . A she - wolf came in and looked about the mill to see whether she could find anything to eat . She found nothing , and then went to the fire , and said , " Skin down ! Skin down ! Skin down ! " She raised herself upon her hind - legs , and her skin fell down . She took the skin , and hung it on a peg , and out of the wolf came a damsel . The damsel went to the fire , and fell asleep there . He came down from the garret , took the skin , nailed it fast to the mill - wheel , then came into the mill , shouted over her , and said , " Good morning , damsel ! How do you do ? She began to scream , " Skin on me ! Skin on me ! Skin on me ! " But the skin could not come down , for it was fast nailed . The pair married and had two children . As soon as the elder son got to know that his mother was a wolf , he said to her , " Mamma ! Mamma ! I have heard that you are a wolf . " His mother replied , " What nonsense are you talking ! How can you say that I am a wolf ? " The father of the two children went one day into the field to plow , and his son said , " Papa , let me , too , go with you . " His father said , " Come . " When they had come to the field , the son asked his father , " Papa , is it true that our mother is a wolf ? " The father said , " It is . " The son inquired , " And where is her skin ? " His father said , " There it is , on the mill - wheel . " No sooner had the son got home , than he said at once to his mother , " Mamma ! Mamma ! You are a wolf ! I know where your skin is . " His mother asked him , " Where is my skin ? " He said , " There , on the mill - wheel . " His mother said to him , " Thank you , sonny , for rescuing me . " Then she went away , and was never heard of more . from Sixty Folk - Tales from Exclusively Slavonic Sources published in 1889 May 12th through the 18th is Reading Is Fun Week also known as RIF . RIF is a time to share the joy of reading with children . It is also a time to help kids discover how much fun reading can be . During RIF week , RIF programs across the country will host book distributions and at each distribution , children will get to choose a free book that they can take home and keep ! ( sorry no story this time but definitely the next time ! ! ) Dang it ! I couldn 't stand it . I had to give you some kind of story , so I 'm linking you to Fairy Gifts a wonderful story ( yes it 's on my other blog ) from Andrew Lang 's Green Fairy book . There are also crafts after the story if you feel like making something . Try it . . . . it 's fun ! Tell a Story Day celebrates story - telling of all kinds . It doesn 't matter if its fiction or non - fiction , a tall tale , a folk tale or a fairy tale . April 27th is the day to tell any and all types of stories . The stories can be told from a book , from memory or from a blog ( hint , hint ) . It doesn 't matter as long as the stories are told . The Three Proverbs . . . . a tale from PolandA rich man was once walking about in his garden . He was cheerful and happy . Suddenly he noticed a small bird that had been captured in a small net . He took hold of it and was more than a little surprised when it began to speak , saying , " Give me my freedom , dear man ! Of what use is it to you to lock me in a cage ? Looking at me will not please you , for I do not have beautiful feathers . I cannot entertain you , for I do not sing like other birds . And I cannot provide you with nourishment . I am much too small for that . But I will tell you three wise teachings if you will give my freedom . " After recovering from the surprise , he began to speak , " You think that you are happy because I gave you your freedom . But summer will soon be over and winter with its storms will arrive . The brooks will freeze over , and you will not be able to find a single drop of water to quench your thirst . The fields will be covered with snow , and you will not find anything to eat . But I will give you a warm place where you can freely fly around , and you can have as much water and bread as you want . Come down , and I will show you that you are better off with me than with your freedom . " " Of course , " replied the bird . " See , you gave me my freedom on account of the teachings that I gave you , and now you are so foolish that you do not take the teachings to heart . I earned my freedom fairly , but you forgot my teachings after only a few minutes . You should not grieve over things that have already happened , but still you are grieving that you gave me my freedom . You should not wish for things that you cannot obtain , and yet you want me , for whom freedom is my whole life , to voluntarily enter a prison . You should not believe that which is impossible , and yet you believe that I am carrying about inside my body a diamond as large as a hen 's egg , although I myself am only half the size of a hen 's egg . " Earth day is April 22nd . . . this story is a tale about the rewards of caring for the land . There was once an old farmer who was dying . The farmer had worked hard in his vineyard all his life and before he died he wanted to teach his three , somewhat lazy , sons how to be good farmers . So he called them to him and said , " My boys , before I die I want you to know that there is a great treasure buried in the vineyard . Promise me that you will look for it when I 'm dead " . The sons promised and as soon as their father had died , they began looking for the treasure . They worked very hard in the hot sun and all the time as they were working they wondered what their father had left for them . In their minds they pictured boxes of gold coins , diamond necklaces and other such things . Soon they had dug up every inch of the vineyard , but they found not a penny . As you can imagine , the sons were very upset . They felt that all their hard work had been for nothing . But then the grapes started to appear on the vines and their grapes were the biggest and best in the neighborhood , and they sold them for a lot of money . Now they understood what their father had meant by the great treasure , and they lived happily ever after . Yep , today is International Children 's Book Day which , since 1967 , is held on or around Hans Christian Andersen 's birthday . April 2nd . International Children 's Book Day ( ICBD ) is a day to inspire a love of reading and to call attention to children 's books . The Red Shoesby Hans Christian Andersen ( 1845 ) ONCE upon a time there was little girl , pretty and dainty . But in summer time she was obliged to go barefooted because she was poor , and in winter she had to wear large wooden shoes , so that her little instep grew quite red . In the middle of the village lived an old shoemaker 's wife ; she sat down and made , as well as she could , a pair of little shoes out of some old pieces of red cloth . They were clumsy , but she meant well , for they were intended for the little girl , whose name was Karen . Karen received the shoes and wore them for the first time on the day of her mother 's funeral . They were certainly not suitable for mourning ; but she had no others , and so she put her bare feet into them and walked behind the humble coffin . Just then a large old carriage came by , and in it sat an old lady ; she looked at the little girl , and taking pity on her , said to the clergyman , " Look here , if you will give me the little girl , I will take care of her . " Karen believed that this was all on account of the red shoes , but the old lady thought them hideous , and so they were burnt . Karen herself was dressed very neatly and cleanly ; she was taught to read and to sew , and people said that she was pretty . But the mirror told her , " You are more than pretty - you are beautiful . " One day the Queen was travelling through that part of the country , and had her little daughter , who was a princess , with her . All the people , amongst them Karen too , streamed towards the castle , where the little princess , in fine white clothes , stood before the window and allowed herself to be stared at . She wore neither a train nor a golden crown , but beautiful red morocco shoes ; they were indeed much finer than those which the shoemaker 's wife had sewn forLabels : JINGLE BELLS The song that we now know as Jingle Bells was originally titled " One Horse Open Sleigh " . It was written in 1857 by James Lord Pierpont . Th . . . * Email has replaced phone calls , letters and Fax 's . * Email has become the # 1 way that people communicate . The only problem is that email doesn 't work - . . . A picture once was shown , In which one man , alone , Upon the ground had thrown A lion fully grown . Much gloried at the sight the rabble . A lion thus . . .

The strangest thing happened today . I could hardly believe it . My Mom went out to the store this afternoon , and when she got back home , she started to fry BACON . Can you believe it ? I was shocked . Since I have lived with her , I have never , I say NEVER , seen her fry bacon . I really couldn 't figure out what was going on . Here 's a photo of the bacon . I tried like crazy to get up onto the counter and wrap my mouth around some pieces of that bacon , but I was just not tall enough . Now , my brother Jim , has a beagle named , Lucy . You wouldn 't believe how clever she is . She has been known to jump up onto the counter and eat butter , if there is nothing better to eat . I need to take some lessons from Lucy . Anyway , my Mom then took out her food processor and , along with the bacon , she put some other ingredients in that . Then I suddenly remembered . Mom had promised me that she would get the ingredients she needed to make some cookies from the Bubba Rose cookie book . That 's what she was doing . Boy am I lucky . I can always count on Mom to do what she says she is going to do . Not all humans are like that . There are some out there who lie and say they are going to do something , and then they don 't . I 'm so happy to have my Mommy . So , pretty soon she had a pile of dough in her food processor . Then she used a rolling pin and rolled out the dough . She cut the dough up , and it looked like this . She had used her Mother 's old biscuit cutter and then cut each piece into fours . Here they are after they came out of the oven . Then after a little while , my Mom asked me if I wanted a treat . A TREAT ! Can you imagine ? I sat very nicely , and she put the cookie treat into my mouth . WOW ! YUM , YUM ! Did that ever taste good . Then I couldn 't seem to help it , but I wanted more . I begged a little . She didn 't give me more right away , but pretty soon she asked me to " sit " and gave me another scrumptious cookie . Here I am after finishing my second cookie . I was looking around in my blanket to see if I left any crumbs there , when Mom called my name , and , as I lookedSheila So there 's still talk about SNOW at sea level , here in the Bay Area . Last time that happened was in 1976 . It 's kind of hard for me to believe it will happen , because it was sunny all afternoon . There was some rain in the morning , but that was it . Tonight is supposed to be very cold , but I don 't know if there will be SNOW . I plan on getting up early tomorrow morning , just so I can see if there is SNOW on the ground . Today , Mom busily brought in all of her plants , that she has on our deck . She watered each of them and set them around on the kitchen counter . No way is she going to let Jack Frost hurt her plants . I can 't help but wonder about all of the wild animals outside , if they will be able to find a warm place to stay through the night . I saw a squirrel today running across our driveway . I tried to catch it , but my leash stopped me in my tracks . Maybe that 's why Mom makes sure I 'm on a leash , when we are outside , so I can 't chase those little squirrels . Actually , I don 't know what I would do with a squirrel , if I caught one . My ways of staying warm include laying on Mom , either when she is in a chair or when she is in bed . That 's my absolutely favorite way to stay warm . The second way I stay warm is to sit by the heater vent , and then the third way is to sleep on one of my warm blankets . Here I am starting to go to sleep on Mom . I love it when she wears her heavy sweater , and I can snuggle up to her and feel the warmth of her sweater and the warmth of her body . I could lay there forever . Unfortunately , Mom keeps getting up and down from her chair . I can 't understand why humans keep so busy doing things . Aren 't they human " beings , " instead of humans doing ? Here I am sitting by the heater vent . I 've noticed that I get very sleepy , when I sit by the vent , and when I get sleepy , my tongue seems to hang farther out of my mouth , than usual . You probably can see that too . I 'm not sure why that happens . Maybe it 's because I 'm so relaxed , that my tongue just relaxes its way out of my mouth . Do you think ? Anyway , I 'm happy thPosted by So , it 's been a couple of days since I last talked to you . Mom and I have had some wonderful things happening , that I want to tell you about . First off , here is a hat that my Mom just finished knitting . She started it a couple of days ago , but now with the weather forecast talking about SNOW in the Bay Area , I think she has finished it just in the nick of time . Here 's a photo . As a matter of fact , I can see that she is wearing her hat right now , while she is typing up my post . You know , I think she likes it ! Yesterday was quite a day . After Mom got home from her qi gong practice , she hurried me out the door and into the car . I assumed I was going to the Dog Park , but it didn 't turn out that way . As I jumped out of our car , I saw Mildred and realized that I was at her house for tea . Well , my Mom was there for tea , and I was there for a play date ! What fun it was to run in the grass in Mildred 's backyard , all green and soft . We romped around for quite some time , and then after Mom went into the house with Mildred 's Mom , I soon followed . Here 's a photo of Mildred . As you can see , she is a fluffy white dog . She had some really neat toys that I played with . The two Moms talked and talked as Moms do . Then , when we got home , there was a surprise in the mailbox . It wasn 't for me , but it was for Mom . It was a book that she had sent for on Amazon . Isn 't it strange that humans order books , where there is a big , long river ? I don 't get it . Anyway , she read the book last night and really liked it . In the book , there are groups of stories , that included one about a horse , that she especially liked . Here 's a photo of the book . If you think that your Mom would like to buy this book , just click on the photo . Then today , after Mom got home from her qi gong class , she walked into the house with a HUGE box . At least it looked HUGE to me . She showed it to me , and I saw that it was addressed to me . I got so excited . It was from Puglet . You may remember that I won the Bubba Rose cookie cookbook for dogs on his blog . Here is a photo of the coPosted by My Mommy took a few photos of me this morning , and I thought I 'd share them with all of you . She loves it when I smile and show my bottom teeth . She thinks they are so cute and white . That 's why she took this picture . Then , very soon , I put my tongue out . This is how I normally look . Not that this is normal , but it 's normal for me . Here 's a glamor photo , with my tongue out . I like my eyes in this shot . I 'm loving all of the new grass . Sometimes , I eat it and sometimes I lick it , to get the water off of it . Mom took this photo while we were walking this morning , before the battery in her camera went out . Here I am pulling Mom along on our walk . I have never quite caught onto that " heel " stuff . Occasionally , Mom and I get into a tug of war over who is the pack leader . Most of the time , it 's her , but sometimes I win the war . Mom stayed home today and got all caught up in painting , what she calls , a stylized portrait . I like it . She says she used mainly acrylic paint and some pen and ink on watercolor paper . She did some stamping , as well as painting . Mom is mainly a watercolorist , so painting with acrylics is new to her . She 's enjoying it , though . She is calling the woman in her painting , Sophia . She said she really enjoyed painting her with a very long neck . Looks kind of strange to me . I haven 't seen any humans that look like this . Maybe that 's why she uses the word " stylized . " I got to see my brother , Joe , and his three boys on Skype tonight . I really like to play with them , when they come over . They live kind of far away , and Joe is quite busy , so I haven 't seen them since Christmas . I could see them pretty well on the screen . What fun it was to see them . Mom enjoyed talking to them , as well . So , I guess what mattered to me the most today was walking in the tall grass and watching my Mom , while she was painting . Sometimes , it 's the simple things in life that make me happy . I can 't believe it ! I looked out the window this morning and the rain had stopped . That put a little song in my heart . Then I went outside . Yikes ! It was cold , and all of the grass and ivy were wet . I tip toed around for forty minutes , before I had finished my morning duty . Then Mom hurried out the door , hoping to get to church on time . She has been going to a church called the Oakland Center for Spiritual Living . She likes it , but more so , she likes meeting her two friends Brian and Molly there . They sit together in church and then afterwards go to lunch together . My Mom says that they have these great conversations together , and she always feels good after she has connected with them . Today was no exception . When she got home , I was hoping that we would head for the dog park . I yipped and carried on , but no , she started on a painting . Yesterday , my Mommy went down into her crowded garage , looking for an old photo of her mother . I guess that would be my grandmother . It 's one my Mom has liked for many years , of my grandma , when she was a young woman . Mom thought that she might photocopy it and use it in a collage . She nosed around for a little bit , but couldn 't find the container , that she has all of her old pictures in . There 's just too much stuff in the garage . I did my best to help , by sniffing around , but I couldn 't find it either . In the meantime , she saw a cardboard box that looked strange . She couldn 't remember what was in it . When she opened it , she found the childhood drawings of dear Carmel , who died just before she was eleven years old . I guess she would have been my sister . Anyway , she brought the box upstairs and started going through it . She was amazed at how many drawings she had of Carmel 's and at how good they were . She found several that she would like to copy and use in collages or maybe to put on Flickr . She was so grateful that , as she looked at the drawings , she didn 't feel sad anymore . It has taken many years for her to find her way to some kind of happiness , since Carmel died . Now , she is grPosted by Well , it 's raining like cats and dogs outside . How do you suppose that saying got started ? Anyway , it 's been a few days now , and I 'm tired of it . I 'm a California Pug . I 'm not used to having to deal with RAIN . Now I know that some of you Pugs , out there , have to deal with SNOW . I don 't know how you do it . I don 't do FREEZING at all . So , I got in such a tizzy tonight about the rain , that I went out on the deck and started barking at it . Can you imagine that ? My Mom put an stop to that really quickly . She put me in " time out , " for what seemed like a very long time . I 'm just so tired of tip toeing around in the wet grass and wet ivy to find the " perfect spot . " Gosh . Hope this ends soon . How do you supposed the animals survived 40 days and 40 nights of rain , like it says in the Bible ? That seems impossible to me , even if there was an ark . Here 's a sweet photo of me that Mommy took . Notice how she is caressing the back of my head . Boy , do I love it when she does that . She took off again today . She just isn 't staying home much these days . She left early and went to her qi gong practice and then had coffee with two of her friends from the qi gong group . They talked and talked . My Mommy seems to like to talk a lot with her friends . After that , even though it was pouring outside , she took off for the nearest Barnes and Nobles store , which is about twenty minutes from home . She had a $ 25 gift card from Christmas , that she wanted to buy something with . After browsing for an hour or so , she ended up getting a CD , that she can play while she is doing her qi gong . It 's called , " Reiki Healing Touch . " She then had a bowl of soup in the dining area , using her gift card , and then headed toward the magazines . She was looking for a magazine with ideas about doing mixed media art . She ended up getting this magazine . She says she is going to start reading it as soon as she is done typing up by blog post . After that , she headed for Target . She wanted to buy some drawers for her art supplies . So , when she got home , I saw her climbing up the Sheila So , today it rained . Well , it more than rained , it stormed . This means that when I had to go outside to use the grass , I had to search and search for a place that wasn 't soaked , that had some dryness . Not an easy task . This morning , when my human took me out , she wore her rain boots and used an umbrella . She helped me to find a spot that was under a tree , that wasn 't so wet . I was way too uncomfortable to do my duty in a wet spot , with the rain coming down on me . In the process of helping me , she stepped in some dog poop . Yuk ! She hates it when that happens . So off we went to the grass , so that she could clean off her boot . Then on the way back to the house , she kept jumping into puddles and splashing all over the place , as if I wasn 't wet enough . She said it reminded her of , when she was a little girl , walking home from school in the gutter , that was full of water , rather than the sidewalk . She would swish and splash in the gutter , wearing her rain boots . She has really been enjoying owning a pair of rain boots , after so many years . Storm or no storm , she took off in the car to go to her qi gong class . I was so happy to stay home and cuddle in my blanket , on my bed , near the heater vent . That 's how I like to spend a stormy day . She really likes her qi gong class . She feels like the form is becoming more automatic . She had been out shopping yesterday and made some kind of move and then noticed that she was moving her palms toward her lower abdomen , giving herself chi . It came so automatic . After she got home from shopping , she did the entire form TWICE ! Today , she got the " doodle a day " calendar in the mail . It 's kind of late to start it , but here is her first doodle . I think it looks like some kind of bird . She says she is going to try to draw a doodle each day . She finds it to be relaxing and fun . She has also been busy reading up on painting a portrait in mixed media . She has gotten the book " Art at the Speed of Life . " She is getting lots of ideas from there . She is realizing that the many paintings that she has bePosted by So , tonight I was busy having my nightly chew on some rawhide , when I heard a scream of joy coming from my human , who was sitting at her computer . She jumped up and came over to me and began repeating over and over , " You won , Bella . You won . " She looked so happy and excited , I couldn 't help but look up . You can see how puzzled I look . I couldn 't imagine what in the world I had won . I don 't even know what winning is or what it feels like . Then she explained that on November 13 , 2010 , she and I had gone to a Pug meetup group at Point Isabel . My boyfriend Billy came with us , along with his human . While we were there , we met Puglet and his human , along with his roommate , Dutch , which is this big , beautiful dalmatian . His human was busy taking lots of pictures , with a really nice Nikon camera . My human approached her and said something , she can 't remember what , and Puglet 's human said that she was taking pictures for Puglet 's blog called the Daily Puglet . My human , liking to read blogs , made a note of the name of the blog in her head . Here is a photo of me with my human at the Pug Meetup . At some point , my human had started following Puglet 's blog , reading it now and then . Around the first of February , she was reading his blog and noticed that most of the comments were being made by other Pugs from other blogs . She started looking at some of the other Pug blog sites . Then she got the hare brained idea to have me start this blog . Well , as it turns out , it wasn 't such a hare brained idea after all . On Februay 11th , my human was reading Puglet 's blog and saw that there was a contest going on to win the Bubba Rose cookie cookbook for dogs . All she had to do was to have me leave a message on the blog , and there would be a randomized drawing on Valentine 's Day . This was how Puglet was going to bring a little love to one of his Pug followers . So I left a message . Tonight after my human came home from having helped a friend with her computer , she began to read her e - mail and there was a message from Chewy congratulating me for winPosted by Lucky me . My human was home all day today . She spent some time throwing my ball for me and also holding me , but she spent most of the afternoon working on a painting . Here it is . She painted it on some crinkled masa paper . She loves to paint young girls , not sure why that is . She likes to paint eyes , and I sure like the eyes in this one . She keeps looking at it . I think she is thinking about what needs to be fixed on it and also if something else may be added to it . So , eventually , she may change this one a bit . She has prepared some more masa paper , using the method , where after you crinkle it and wet it , you paint on the back of it . She has a paper that looks like this . She 's not sure what she will do with it . She has looked at some of Chen - Khee Chee 's crinkled masa paintings and read a couple of blogs about how to do it . What it comes down to is that at this point , she needs to look at that paper and decide what she sees in it and then paint in a way to bring that out . It 's kind of like when Michelangelo was carving David , he saw David in the marble , so all he had to do was chip away the extra marble . So , she needs to become like Michelangelo . That shouldn 't be too hard . ( : She didn 't go to any church today . She can 't seem to find one that fits for her . So maybe , it 's best she find God within herself and her friends and family . She meditated for a little while today . She says she would like to become more disciplined about doing that . From what she has heard , meditation benefits the body , mind and spirit in a very positive way . So , she 's thinking about it , developing a regular meditation practice . Tomorrow is the big day , Valentine 's Day . My human has sent for some nice books on Amazon for her Valentines present . Maybe she will get them tomorrow . She ordered " Life is a Verb , " " Art at the Speed of Life , " " Whispers , " and a doodle a day desk calendar . She had been wanting them for awhile , so now they are on their way . Other than that , she is kind of glad that she is not dealing with whether or not a man will give herSheila So , my human didn 't get a chance to write on my blog last night . She was busy holding me . She held me for the longest time . I 'm the luckiest Pug in the world . Today , she took off bright and early to meet some of her qi gong classmates at the BART station to go over to San Francisco and meet up and do the form with the San Francisco group . They ended up doing the form at the Justin Herman Plaza , near the Ferry Building . The weather was bright and sunny and a perfect temperature . She said it really felt good to do the form outside in that location , with the beautiful blue sky above . She said it was a wonderful experience . They did the form twice after doing some exercises first . Then they headed toward Chinatown , where the leader of the group , Lawrence , grew up . He had lots of stories to tell about his times , living in Chinatown . He led everyone to a really nice dim sum restaurant , the City View on Commercial St . My human said the food was different from what she normally eats , but she liked it and enjoyed the company . Here are a couple of photos that my human took in Chinatown . The Chinese New Years parade is next weekend . Notice the dragon heads behind them . She said that they heard a lot of fire crackers today . Then they all walked , as a group , back down to the Ferry Building , as there was a Farmer 's Market down there . It was packed with people on this Saturday morning . After awhile , my human 's knees began to hurt from all of the walking . Also , she wasn 't really interested in buying anything at the Farmer 's Market . She says that she really enjoyed getting to know these new people , Jan , Peggy , Bob , Debra and Jerry . She already kind of knew Lawrence from going to the practices he leads . Everyone was so very nice and enjoyable to be around . She came home feeling like she had made some new friends . She took me for a short walk , after she got home , but , of course , her legs were tired , so we didn 't go too far . Tonight we have just hung out here at home , my human relaxing from a long day and me relaxing , because that 's whPosted by So , today my human felt well , after fighting off her virus . She showered and carried on this morning and took off for her qi gong class that started at 12 : 30pm . This left me home to sleep the afternoon away . I was all excited when she got home . She seemed so calm and at peace after attending her class . She happily took me for a little walk . As we walked , I got into my " habit . " I don 't talk about it much , because it 's a little embarrassing , but I 'm a cigarette butt addict . I 'm not sure if they have a twelve step program for this or not . Anyway , I just can 't seem to resist picking up cigarette butts and chewing on them . I will swallow them too , if I 'm not stopped by my human . She 's pretty quick to notice when I have grabbed one off the ground . She tells me to " put that down . " Sometimes I do , and she tells me what a good girl I am and sometimes I don 't . If she 's close enough to me , she sticks her finger into my mouth and pulls it out . She says , " No , Bella , don 't eat that . " When we 're at the dog park , I sometimes find one , and I 'm too far from her , for her to grab it out of my mouth . Also , I 'm off leash , so I can run away from her . Sometimes , I look like I 'm being very defiant , chomping away on the butt and looking right at her . I 've got a lot to learn about being more obedient . It 's just not my strong suit . Here 's a photo of me that my human took last night , just before bedtime . It looks like I have a hair near my mouth . If it had been a cigarette butt , I would be chewing it . My human says she is very happy today to feel more energy . So tonight , she painted a painting . She had prepared some masa paper , by crinkling it and pasteing it onto a piece of watercolor paper . She used watercolor and ink . She tried some acrylic paint , but she didn 't like it . It was too heavy and opaque for this paper . Anyway , she says she 's happy with her first try at painting on this paper . It was so funny . She had thought to herself that it had a bit of Van Gogh in it and wouldn 't you know that after she posted it on Facebook , her son wrote . . Posted by I wasn 't going to write tonight , but then I realized that I feel better and can go to sleep quicker , when I have written something about my day . Today has been a quiet , slow day . My human wasn 't feeling well last night , so even though we went to bed early , we slept until 10 : 30am . Boy , was that wonderful . I love snuggling under the covers with my human . We were awakened by the telephone . Her son called to see how she was doing and to talk . Those darn battery phones don 't work too well for her , so she got up and used the one phone she has that attaches to the wall . It 's an old Princess phone made in Singapore by AT & T . She remembers when phones were made by Western Electric for AT & T , way back whenever it was . They were really well made phones that didn 't die on you . My human 's brother - in - law worked for Western Electric for many years and retired from there . So she keeps this phone plugged into the wall , for when the batteries go out on her other " walk around " phones . Anyway , the phone call got us going into our daily routine . My human felt tired most of the day , so we didn 't go outside except for when I had to use the grass . She took care of some business , having to do with Income Taxes , whatever they are , and that 's about all she accomplished today . She said she kind of enjoyed having a day without much activity . Normally on Wednesdays , she meets with one of her friends in the morning at a local coffee shop , and they talk and talk and talk . The two of them can talk for the longest time , and when they are done talking , my human says that she always feels happier . She says that they are good for each other . My human has gotten caught up in qi gong , Dayan qi gong , to be exact . On Wednesday afternoons , she usually goes to a one hour group practice of qi gong . She likes to do the form with others . She finds it relaxing and inspiring to move with others . She also can pick up ways to improve her form by being with those who 've been doing the form for a longer time than she . Well , my point is , she didn 't go there today eitherPosted by So today was the big day , all of the watercolor ladies came over to our house . After the first person arrived , and I jumped all over her , I lost my privileges and was relegated to the garage . I kind of understood why , because I realized that I got overly excited , but I 'm a Pug , what can I say . My human and the other artist ladies had quite a time . I could hear them from the garage . They talk and talk and talk , and I guess they ate lunch too . After all the food was out of the way , my human came and got me and gave me some chicken and a bone , that she had gotten from the butcher . She put me out on the deck with all of that . When I got tired of that , I began scratching on the sliding glass door , and my human brought me inside . She was quite busy then , giving the demo about Facebook and the group 's blog . One of the nice artist ladies took a liking to me because her son has a Pug named Panda . They live up north somewhere , I think Seattle . Anyway , she sat down on the floor and held me , which really felt good and also kept me from bothering other people . Then they all got up from the living room chairs and went back to the table for their business meeting . These artist ladies love to meet together and talk about stuff having to do with art . They even showed some of their art to one another . My human had previously told the group that she was no longer interested in going to workshops organized by the group or interested in showing her paintings . She had said , " I 'm not interested in participating in any more workshops or shows . . . it is not my goal to learn how someone else paints / collages , it is my goal to find my own way of expressing my art . If I decide to learn a technique from someone else , it will be from a person of my own choosing . It also is not my goal to show my work . . . I am doing my art strictly for my own appreciation and pleasure . " So the chairperson asked everyone else in the group to talk about where they stood on these two topics . As it turned out , some of the other members felt the same way as my human . She diPosted by So the biggest news of the day is that I 'm on Twitter . . . never thought the day would come . In between cleaning and shopping for her big shin dig tomorrow with her watercolor friends , my human signed us up on Twitter . I Tweeted Josie . She is a black poodle that 's as cute as can be . She moved to San Francisco several months ago , but now it 's so exciting , because now we can Tweet one another . Here is a very adorable photo that my human uploaded onto Twitter , to be my profile photo . I just love it . She didn 't have time today to write a short bio , but she will one of these days very soon . She has already played around with the design of my profile page . It looks great . I love it that my human is such a great techie ! On the side panel of my blog here , you can find a link to my Twitter home page , if you 'd like to take a look and maybe tweet me . I don 't know how many of my friends are on Twitter , so I have only Tweeted Josie , so far . My human spent most of the day cleaning and setting up the table for her meeting tomorrow with her watercolor friends . Not only is she hosting the meeting , but she is also going to give a demo on using Facebook and on participating in the group 's blog . Click here to see their blog . The name of the group is The Watercolor Connection , but in reality , they are all getting caught up in doing mixed media , using collage . It really doesn 't matter , they are all a talented bunch of women , so whatever they create will be worth seeing . My human is just about ready for them all to arrive . We are going to go to bed soon , as she wants to get up early and get a few more things done in the morning . I 'm happy about that . There 's nothing I enjoy more than sleeping with my human . Lately , when she has been staying up so late , I have been heading for the bedroom and yelping until she comes and puts me up onto the bed . That 's right , I can 't jump onto the bed . It 's too high . So she sweetly lifts me up onto the bed and then goes back to whatever she is doing and joins me later . We 've got it all worked out , so that we eacPosted by Hello everyone , thought you might like to see how great I look when I wake up in the morning . It is so nice and comfy to snuggle under the covers . What more could a Pug ask for . . . well maybe for more FOOD ! After breakfast today , my human took off in her car to meet a friend of her 's from the Dog Park at a Catholic church here in town . She was meeting up with Billy 's human . Billy is a handsome black Pug that is crazy about me . So anyway , they wanted to check out this church to see if they would like it . Here is a photo of Billy 's human and my human . This was taken on Halloween . Here 's Billy with his human . Isn 't he a handsome Pug , so very regal . He can 't seem to stop sniffing me , whenever he sees me . It 's really something ! So my human went to the church , which brought back some unhappy memories from her past . She remembered both her father 's and her daughter 's funerals . Even so , she realizes that that was in the past and that new happier memories could take place at this church , which also happens to be the church , where she had been married . She was married for 26 years , but partly due to Carmel 's death , she gradually grew apart from her husband and left the marriage about 20 years ago . After that , she didn 't feel like she belonged in the Catholic church , being divorced and all . Also , she was on a spiritual journey and had to leave the marriage and the church in order to grow . Today , it felt to her like she was going back to where she had started . She found herself having to interpret many of the words that were preached at the mass . That can be laborious , to make sense of what is being said . She also had a problem with the Parish Director referring to everyone as being Catholic and if you 're a Catholic , you do such and such . That sounded so much like separation , like our high school acts this way , and in order to belong , you need to act this way . She is feeling like she cannot go back to that kind of thinking . She feels more like a Taoist now , where " all are One , " without a lot of divisions . So even though she thought shPosted by

The strangest thing happened today . I could hardly believe it . My Mom went out to the store this afternoon , and when she got back home , she started to fry BACON . Can you believe it ? I was shocked . Since I have lived with her , I have never , I say NEVER , seen her fry bacon . I really couldn 't figure out what was going on . Here 's a photo of the bacon . I tried like crazy to get up onto the counter and wrap my mouth around some pieces of that bacon , but I was just not tall enough . Now , my brother Jim , has a beagle named , Lucy . You wouldn 't believe how clever she is . She has been known to jump up onto the counter and eat butter , if there is nothing better to eat . I need to take some lessons from Lucy . Anyway , my Mom then took out her food processor and , along with the bacon , she put some other ingredients in that . Then I suddenly remembered . Mom had promised me that she would get the ingredients she needed to make some cookies from the Bubba Rose cookie book . That 's what she was doing . Boy am I lucky . I can always count on Mom to do what she says she is going to do . Not all humans are like that . There are some out there who lie and say they are going to do something , and then they don 't . I 'm so happy to have my Mommy . So , pretty soon she had a pile of dough in her food processor . Then she used a rolling pin and rolled out the dough . She cut the dough up , and it looked like this . She had used her Mother 's old biscuit cutter and then cut each piece into fours . Here they are after they came out of the oven . Then after a little while , my Mom asked me if I wanted a treat . A TREAT ! Can you imagine ? I sat very nicely , and she put the cookie treat into my mouth . WOW ! YUM , YUM ! Did that ever taste good . Then I couldn 't seem to help it , but I wanted more . I begged a little . She didn 't give me more right away , but pretty soon she asked me to " sit " and gave me another scrumptious cookie . Here I am after finishing my second cookie . I was looking around in my blanket to see if I left any crumbs there , when Mom called my name , and , as I lookedSheila So there 's still talk about SNOW at sea level , here in the Bay Area . Last time that happened was in 1976 . It 's kind of hard for me to believe it will happen , because it was sunny all afternoon . There was some rain in the morning , but that was it . Tonight is supposed to be very cold , but I don 't know if there will be SNOW . I plan on getting up early tomorrow morning , just so I can see if there is SNOW on the ground . Today , Mom busily brought in all of her plants , that she has on our deck . She watered each of them and set them around on the kitchen counter . No way is she going to let Jack Frost hurt her plants . I can 't help but wonder about all of the wild animals outside , if they will be able to find a warm place to stay through the night . I saw a squirrel today running across our driveway . I tried to catch it , but my leash stopped me in my tracks . Maybe that 's why Mom makes sure I 'm on a leash , when we are outside , so I can 't chase those little squirrels . Actually , I don 't know what I would do with a squirrel , if I caught one . My ways of staying warm include laying on Mom , either when she is in a chair or when she is in bed . That 's my absolutely favorite way to stay warm . The second way I stay warm is to sit by the heater vent , and then the third way is to sleep on one of my warm blankets . Here I am starting to go to sleep on Mom . I love it when she wears her heavy sweater , and I can snuggle up to her and feel the warmth of her sweater and the warmth of her body . I could lay there forever . Unfortunately , Mom keeps getting up and down from her chair . I can 't understand why humans keep so busy doing things . Aren 't they human " beings , " instead of humans doing ? Here I am sitting by the heater vent . I 've noticed that I get very sleepy , when I sit by the vent , and when I get sleepy , my tongue seems to hang farther out of my mouth , than usual . You probably can see that too . I 'm not sure why that happens . Maybe it 's because I 'm so relaxed , that my tongue just relaxes its way out of my mouth . Do you think ? Anyway , I 'm happy thPosted by So , it 's been a couple of days since I last talked to you . Mom and I have had some wonderful things happening , that I want to tell you about . First off , here is a hat that my Mom just finished knitting . She started it a couple of days ago , but now with the weather forecast talking about SNOW in the Bay Area , I think she has finished it just in the nick of time . Here 's a photo . As a matter of fact , I can see that she is wearing her hat right now , while she is typing up my post . You know , I think she likes it ! Yesterday was quite a day . After Mom got home from her qi gong practice , she hurried me out the door and into the car . I assumed I was going to the Dog Park , but it didn 't turn out that way . As I jumped out of our car , I saw Mildred and realized that I was at her house for tea . Well , my Mom was there for tea , and I was there for a play date ! What fun it was to run in the grass in Mildred 's backyard , all green and soft . We romped around for quite some time , and then after Mom went into the house with Mildred 's Mom , I soon followed . Here 's a photo of Mildred . As you can see , she is a fluffy white dog . She had some really neat toys that I played with . The two Moms talked and talked as Moms do . Then , when we got home , there was a surprise in the mailbox . It wasn 't for me , but it was for Mom . It was a book that she had sent for on Amazon . Isn 't it strange that humans order books , where there is a big , long river ? I don 't get it . Anyway , she read the book last night and really liked it . In the book , there are groups of stories , that included one about a horse , that she especially liked . Here 's a photo of the book . If you think that your Mom would like to buy this book , just click on the photo . Then today , after Mom got home from her qi gong class , she walked into the house with a HUGE box . At least it looked HUGE to me . She showed it to me , and I saw that it was addressed to me . I got so excited . It was from Puglet . You may remember that I won the Bubba Rose cookie cookbook for dogs on his blog . Here is a photo of the coPosted by My Mommy took a few photos of me this morning , and I thought I 'd share them with all of you . She loves it when I smile and show my bottom teeth . She thinks they are so cute and white . That 's why she took this picture . Then , very soon , I put my tongue out . This is how I normally look . Not that this is normal , but it 's normal for me . Here 's a glamor photo , with my tongue out . I like my eyes in this shot . I 'm loving all of the new grass . Sometimes , I eat it and sometimes I lick it , to get the water off of it . Mom took this photo while we were walking this morning , before the battery in her camera went out . Here I am pulling Mom along on our walk . I have never quite caught onto that " heel " stuff . Occasionally , Mom and I get into a tug of war over who is the pack leader . Most of the time , it 's her , but sometimes I win the war . Mom stayed home today and got all caught up in painting , what she calls , a stylized portrait . I like it . She says she used mainly acrylic paint and some pen and ink on watercolor paper . She did some stamping , as well as painting . Mom is mainly a watercolorist , so painting with acrylics is new to her . She 's enjoying it , though . She is calling the woman in her painting , Sophia . She said she really enjoyed painting her with a very long neck . Looks kind of strange to me . I haven 't seen any humans that look like this . Maybe that 's why she uses the word " stylized . " I got to see my brother , Joe , and his three boys on Skype tonight . I really like to play with them , when they come over . They live kind of far away , and Joe is quite busy , so I haven 't seen them since Christmas . I could see them pretty well on the screen . What fun it was to see them . Mom enjoyed talking to them , as well . So , I guess what mattered to me the most today was walking in the tall grass and watching my Mom , while she was painting . Sometimes , it 's the simple things in life that make me happy . I can 't believe it ! I looked out the window this morning and the rain had stopped . That put a little song in my heart . Then I went outside . Yikes ! It was cold , and all of the grass and ivy were wet . I tip toed around for forty minutes , before I had finished my morning duty . Then Mom hurried out the door , hoping to get to church on time . She has been going to a church called the Oakland Center for Spiritual Living . She likes it , but more so , she likes meeting her two friends Brian and Molly there . They sit together in church and then afterwards go to lunch together . My Mom says that they have these great conversations together , and she always feels good after she has connected with them . Today was no exception . When she got home , I was hoping that we would head for the dog park . I yipped and carried on , but no , she started on a painting . Yesterday , my Mommy went down into her crowded garage , looking for an old photo of her mother . I guess that would be my grandmother . It 's one my Mom has liked for many years , of my grandma , when she was a young woman . Mom thought that she might photocopy it and use it in a collage . She nosed around for a little bit , but couldn 't find the container , that she has all of her old pictures in . There 's just too much stuff in the garage . I did my best to help , by sniffing around , but I couldn 't find it either . In the meantime , she saw a cardboard box that looked strange . She couldn 't remember what was in it . When she opened it , she found the childhood drawings of dear Carmel , who died just before she was eleven years old . I guess she would have been my sister . Anyway , she brought the box upstairs and started going through it . She was amazed at how many drawings she had of Carmel 's and at how good they were . She found several that she would like to copy and use in collages or maybe to put on Flickr . She was so grateful that , as she looked at the drawings , she didn 't feel sad anymore . It has taken many years for her to find her way to some kind of happiness , since Carmel died . Now , she is grPosted by Well , it 's raining like cats and dogs outside . How do you suppose that saying got started ? Anyway , it 's been a few days now , and I 'm tired of it . I 'm a California Pug . I 'm not used to having to deal with RAIN . Now I know that some of you Pugs , out there , have to deal with SNOW . I don 't know how you do it . I don 't do FREEZING at all . So , I got in such a tizzy tonight about the rain , that I went out on the deck and started barking at it . Can you imagine that ? My Mom put an stop to that really quickly . She put me in " time out , " for what seemed like a very long time . I 'm just so tired of tip toeing around in the wet grass and wet ivy to find the " perfect spot . " Gosh . Hope this ends soon . How do you supposed the animals survived 40 days and 40 nights of rain , like it says in the Bible ? That seems impossible to me , even if there was an ark . Here 's a sweet photo of me that Mommy took . Notice how she is caressing the back of my head . Boy , do I love it when she does that . She took off again today . She just isn 't staying home much these days . She left early and went to her qi gong practice and then had coffee with two of her friends from the qi gong group . They talked and talked . My Mommy seems to like to talk a lot with her friends . After that , even though it was pouring outside , she took off for the nearest Barnes and Nobles store , which is about twenty minutes from home . She had a $ 25 gift card from Christmas , that she wanted to buy something with . After browsing for an hour or so , she ended up getting a CD , that she can play while she is doing her qi gong . It 's called , " Reiki Healing Touch . " She then had a bowl of soup in the dining area , using her gift card , and then headed toward the magazines . She was looking for a magazine with ideas about doing mixed media art . She ended up getting this magazine . She says she is going to start reading it as soon as she is done typing up by blog post . After that , she headed for Target . She wanted to buy some drawers for her art supplies . So , when she got home , I saw her climbing up the Sheila So , today it rained . Well , it more than rained , it stormed . This means that when I had to go outside to use the grass , I had to search and search for a place that wasn 't soaked , that had some dryness . Not an easy task . This morning , when my human took me out , she wore her rain boots and used an umbrella . She helped me to find a spot that was under a tree , that wasn 't so wet . I was way too uncomfortable to do my duty in a wet spot , with the rain coming down on me . In the process of helping me , she stepped in some dog poop . Yuk ! She hates it when that happens . So off we went to the grass , so that she could clean off her boot . Then on the way back to the house , she kept jumping into puddles and splashing all over the place , as if I wasn 't wet enough . She said it reminded her of , when she was a little girl , walking home from school in the gutter , that was full of water , rather than the sidewalk . She would swish and splash in the gutter , wearing her rain boots . She has really been enjoying owning a pair of rain boots , after so many years . Storm or no storm , she took off in the car to go to her qi gong class . I was so happy to stay home and cuddle in my blanket , on my bed , near the heater vent . That 's how I like to spend a stormy day . She really likes her qi gong class . She feels like the form is becoming more automatic . She had been out shopping yesterday and made some kind of move and then noticed that she was moving her palms toward her lower abdomen , giving herself chi . It came so automatic . After she got home from shopping , she did the entire form TWICE ! Today , she got the " doodle a day " calendar in the mail . It 's kind of late to start it , but here is her first doodle . I think it looks like some kind of bird . She says she is going to try to draw a doodle each day . She finds it to be relaxing and fun . She has also been busy reading up on painting a portrait in mixed media . She has gotten the book " Art at the Speed of Life . " She is getting lots of ideas from there . She is realizing that the many paintings that she has bePosted by So , tonight I was busy having my nightly chew on some rawhide , when I heard a scream of joy coming from my human , who was sitting at her computer . She jumped up and came over to me and began repeating over and over , " You won , Bella . You won . " She looked so happy and excited , I couldn 't help but look up . You can see how puzzled I look . I couldn 't imagine what in the world I had won . I don 't even know what winning is or what it feels like . Then she explained that on November 13 , 2010 , she and I had gone to a Pug meetup group at Point Isabel . My boyfriend Billy came with us , along with his human . While we were there , we met Puglet and his human , along with his roommate , Dutch , which is this big , beautiful dalmatian . His human was busy taking lots of pictures , with a really nice Nikon camera . My human approached her and said something , she can 't remember what , and Puglet 's human said that she was taking pictures for Puglet 's blog called the Daily Puglet . My human , liking to read blogs , made a note of the name of the blog in her head . Here is a photo of me with my human at the Pug Meetup . At some point , my human had started following Puglet 's blog , reading it now and then . Around the first of February , she was reading his blog and noticed that most of the comments were being made by other Pugs from other blogs . She started looking at some of the other Pug blog sites . Then she got the hare brained idea to have me start this blog . Well , as it turns out , it wasn 't such a hare brained idea after all . On Februay 11th , my human was reading Puglet 's blog and saw that there was a contest going on to win the Bubba Rose cookie cookbook for dogs . All she had to do was to have me leave a message on the blog , and there would be a randomized drawing on Valentine 's Day . This was how Puglet was going to bring a little love to one of his Pug followers . So I left a message . Tonight after my human came home from having helped a friend with her computer , she began to read her e - mail and there was a message from Chewy congratulating me for winPosted by Lucky me . My human was home all day today . She spent some time throwing my ball for me and also holding me , but she spent most of the afternoon working on a painting . Here it is . She painted it on some crinkled masa paper . She loves to paint young girls , not sure why that is . She likes to paint eyes , and I sure like the eyes in this one . She keeps looking at it . I think she is thinking about what needs to be fixed on it and also if something else may be added to it . So , eventually , she may change this one a bit . She has prepared some more masa paper , using the method , where after you crinkle it and wet it , you paint on the back of it . She has a paper that looks like this . She 's not sure what she will do with it . She has looked at some of Chen - Khee Chee 's crinkled masa paintings and read a couple of blogs about how to do it . What it comes down to is that at this point , she needs to look at that paper and decide what she sees in it and then paint in a way to bring that out . It 's kind of like when Michelangelo was carving David , he saw David in the marble , so all he had to do was chip away the extra marble . So , she needs to become like Michelangelo . That shouldn 't be too hard . ( : She didn 't go to any church today . She can 't seem to find one that fits for her . So maybe , it 's best she find God within herself and her friends and family . She meditated for a little while today . She says she would like to become more disciplined about doing that . From what she has heard , meditation benefits the body , mind and spirit in a very positive way . So , she 's thinking about it , developing a regular meditation practice . Tomorrow is the big day , Valentine 's Day . My human has sent for some nice books on Amazon for her Valentines present . Maybe she will get them tomorrow . She ordered " Life is a Verb , " " Art at the Speed of Life , " " Whispers , " and a doodle a day desk calendar . She had been wanting them for awhile , so now they are on their way . Other than that , she is kind of glad that she is not dealing with whether or not a man will give herSheila So , my human didn 't get a chance to write on my blog last night . She was busy holding me . She held me for the longest time . I 'm the luckiest Pug in the world . Today , she took off bright and early to meet some of her qi gong classmates at the BART station to go over to San Francisco and meet up and do the form with the San Francisco group . They ended up doing the form at the Justin Herman Plaza , near the Ferry Building . The weather was bright and sunny and a perfect temperature . She said it really felt good to do the form outside in that location , with the beautiful blue sky above . She said it was a wonderful experience . They did the form twice after doing some exercises first . Then they headed toward Chinatown , where the leader of the group , Lawrence , grew up . He had lots of stories to tell about his times , living in Chinatown . He led everyone to a really nice dim sum restaurant , the City View on Commercial St . My human said the food was different from what she normally eats , but she liked it and enjoyed the company . Here are a couple of photos that my human took in Chinatown . The Chinese New Years parade is next weekend . Notice the dragon heads behind them . She said that they heard a lot of fire crackers today . Then they all walked , as a group , back down to the Ferry Building , as there was a Farmer 's Market down there . It was packed with people on this Saturday morning . After awhile , my human 's knees began to hurt from all of the walking . Also , she wasn 't really interested in buying anything at the Farmer 's Market . She says that she really enjoyed getting to know these new people , Jan , Peggy , Bob , Debra and Jerry . She already kind of knew Lawrence from going to the practices he leads . Everyone was so very nice and enjoyable to be around . She came home feeling like she had made some new friends . She took me for a short walk , after she got home , but , of course , her legs were tired , so we didn 't go too far . Tonight we have just hung out here at home , my human relaxing from a long day and me relaxing , because that 's whPosted by So , today my human felt well , after fighting off her virus . She showered and carried on this morning and took off for her qi gong class that started at 12 : 30pm . This left me home to sleep the afternoon away . I was all excited when she got home . She seemed so calm and at peace after attending her class . She happily took me for a little walk . As we walked , I got into my " habit . " I don 't talk about it much , because it 's a little embarrassing , but I 'm a cigarette butt addict . I 'm not sure if they have a twelve step program for this or not . Anyway , I just can 't seem to resist picking up cigarette butts and chewing on them . I will swallow them too , if I 'm not stopped by my human . She 's pretty quick to notice when I have grabbed one off the ground . She tells me to " put that down . " Sometimes I do , and she tells me what a good girl I am and sometimes I don 't . If she 's close enough to me , she sticks her finger into my mouth and pulls it out . She says , " No , Bella , don 't eat that . " When we 're at the dog park , I sometimes find one , and I 'm too far from her , for her to grab it out of my mouth . Also , I 'm off leash , so I can run away from her . Sometimes , I look like I 'm being very defiant , chomping away on the butt and looking right at her . I 've got a lot to learn about being more obedient . It 's just not my strong suit . Here 's a photo of me that my human took last night , just before bedtime . It looks like I have a hair near my mouth . If it had been a cigarette butt , I would be chewing it . My human says she is very happy today to feel more energy . So tonight , she painted a painting . She had prepared some masa paper , by crinkling it and pasteing it onto a piece of watercolor paper . She used watercolor and ink . She tried some acrylic paint , but she didn 't like it . It was too heavy and opaque for this paper . Anyway , she says she 's happy with her first try at painting on this paper . It was so funny . She had thought to herself that it had a bit of Van Gogh in it and wouldn 't you know that after she posted it on Facebook , her son wrote . . Posted by I wasn 't going to write tonight , but then I realized that I feel better and can go to sleep quicker , when I have written something about my day . Today has been a quiet , slow day . My human wasn 't feeling well last night , so even though we went to bed early , we slept until 10 : 30am . Boy , was that wonderful . I love snuggling under the covers with my human . We were awakened by the telephone . Her son called to see how she was doing and to talk . Those darn battery phones don 't work too well for her , so she got up and used the one phone she has that attaches to the wall . It 's an old Princess phone made in Singapore by AT & T . She remembers when phones were made by Western Electric for AT & T , way back whenever it was . They were really well made phones that didn 't die on you . My human 's brother - in - law worked for Western Electric for many years and retired from there . So she keeps this phone plugged into the wall , for when the batteries go out on her other " walk around " phones . Anyway , the phone call got us going into our daily routine . My human felt tired most of the day , so we didn 't go outside except for when I had to use the grass . She took care of some business , having to do with Income Taxes , whatever they are , and that 's about all she accomplished today . She said she kind of enjoyed having a day without much activity . Normally on Wednesdays , she meets with one of her friends in the morning at a local coffee shop , and they talk and talk and talk . The two of them can talk for the longest time , and when they are done talking , my human says that she always feels happier . She says that they are good for each other . My human has gotten caught up in qi gong , Dayan qi gong , to be exact . On Wednesday afternoons , she usually goes to a one hour group practice of qi gong . She likes to do the form with others . She finds it relaxing and inspiring to move with others . She also can pick up ways to improve her form by being with those who 've been doing the form for a longer time than she . Well , my point is , she didn 't go there today eitherPosted by So today was the big day , all of the watercolor ladies came over to our house . After the first person arrived , and I jumped all over her , I lost my privileges and was relegated to the garage . I kind of understood why , because I realized that I got overly excited , but I 'm a Pug , what can I say . My human and the other artist ladies had quite a time . I could hear them from the garage . They talk and talk and talk , and I guess they ate lunch too . After all the food was out of the way , my human came and got me and gave me some chicken and a bone , that she had gotten from the butcher . She put me out on the deck with all of that . When I got tired of that , I began scratching on the sliding glass door , and my human brought me inside . She was quite busy then , giving the demo about Facebook and the group 's blog . One of the nice artist ladies took a liking to me because her son has a Pug named Panda . They live up north somewhere , I think Seattle . Anyway , she sat down on the floor and held me , which really felt good and also kept me from bothering other people . Then they all got up from the living room chairs and went back to the table for their business meeting . These artist ladies love to meet together and talk about stuff having to do with art . They even showed some of their art to one another . My human had previously told the group that she was no longer interested in going to workshops organized by the group or interested in showing her paintings . She had said , " I 'm not interested in participating in any more workshops or shows . . . it is not my goal to learn how someone else paints / collages , it is my goal to find my own way of expressing my art . If I decide to learn a technique from someone else , it will be from a person of my own choosing . It also is not my goal to show my work . . . I am doing my art strictly for my own appreciation and pleasure . " So the chairperson asked everyone else in the group to talk about where they stood on these two topics . As it turned out , some of the other members felt the same way as my human . She diPosted by So the biggest news of the day is that I 'm on Twitter . . . never thought the day would come . In between cleaning and shopping for her big shin dig tomorrow with her watercolor friends , my human signed us up on Twitter . I Tweeted Josie . She is a black poodle that 's as cute as can be . She moved to San Francisco several months ago , but now it 's so exciting , because now we can Tweet one another . Here is a very adorable photo that my human uploaded onto Twitter , to be my profile photo . I just love it . She didn 't have time today to write a short bio , but she will one of these days very soon . She has already played around with the design of my profile page . It looks great . I love it that my human is such a great techie ! On the side panel of my blog here , you can find a link to my Twitter home page , if you 'd like to take a look and maybe tweet me . I don 't know how many of my friends are on Twitter , so I have only Tweeted Josie , so far . My human spent most of the day cleaning and setting up the table for her meeting tomorrow with her watercolor friends . Not only is she hosting the meeting , but she is also going to give a demo on using Facebook and on participating in the group 's blog . Click here to see their blog . The name of the group is The Watercolor Connection , but in reality , they are all getting caught up in doing mixed media , using collage . It really doesn 't matter , they are all a talented bunch of women , so whatever they create will be worth seeing . My human is just about ready for them all to arrive . We are going to go to bed soon , as she wants to get up early and get a few more things done in the morning . I 'm happy about that . There 's nothing I enjoy more than sleeping with my human . Lately , when she has been staying up so late , I have been heading for the bedroom and yelping until she comes and puts me up onto the bed . That 's right , I can 't jump onto the bed . It 's too high . So she sweetly lifts me up onto the bed and then goes back to whatever she is doing and joins me later . We 've got it all worked out , so that we eacPosted by Hello everyone , thought you might like to see how great I look when I wake up in the morning . It is so nice and comfy to snuggle under the covers . What more could a Pug ask for . . . well maybe for more FOOD ! After breakfast today , my human took off in her car to meet a friend of her 's from the Dog Park at a Catholic church here in town . She was meeting up with Billy 's human . Billy is a handsome black Pug that is crazy about me . So anyway , they wanted to check out this church to see if they would like it . Here is a photo of Billy 's human and my human . This was taken on Halloween . Here 's Billy with his human . Isn 't he a handsome Pug , so very regal . He can 't seem to stop sniffing me , whenever he sees me . It 's really something ! So my human went to the church , which brought back some unhappy memories from her past . She remembered both her father 's and her daughter 's funerals . Even so , she realizes that that was in the past and that new happier memories could take place at this church , which also happens to be the church , where she had been married . She was married for 26 years , but partly due to Carmel 's death , she gradually grew apart from her husband and left the marriage about 20 years ago . After that , she didn 't feel like she belonged in the Catholic church , being divorced and all . Also , she was on a spiritual journey and had to leave the marriage and the church in order to grow . Today , it felt to her like she was going back to where she had started . She found herself having to interpret many of the words that were preached at the mass . That can be laborious , to make sense of what is being said . She also had a problem with the Parish Director referring to everyone as being Catholic and if you 're a Catholic , you do such and such . That sounded so much like separation , like our high school acts this way , and in order to belong , you need to act this way . She is feeling like she cannot go back to that kind of thinking . She feels more like a Taoist now , where " all are One , " without a lot of divisions . So even though she thought shPosted by

Would you like one of my books completely free ? Of course you would . All you have to do is to sign up for my newsletter ( opposite or below ) and when you receive this month 's copy ( June 2012 ) you will receive an exclusive coupon to download one of my books for FREE ! Every month in my newsletter there are exclusive articles and offers , so what are you waiting for ? Now is your chance . Don 't delay , the newsletter goes out on June 1st and if you 're not on the distribution list then you 'll be too late . Also in this month 's newsletter is the final part of my online novella , Ryann , another newsletter exclusive . So why do I say I want to scream ? Well it 's just that sometimes there aren 't enough hours in the day to do everything . Actually it 's not sometimes , it 's every day . And I 'm weary . Very weary . This last year has been a non - stop roller - coaster of emotions , and hard work . I 've released countless books , written more , reviewed several , blogged to excess , twittered myself to death , and I wish I could do something about my marketing . It 's still not good enough . I 'm still not good enough . I want to outsource it , and I 've even tried , but so many people out there who say they can market are merely reprobates and con - artists . Am I being harsh and unfair ? I don 't think so . I 'm not a young and gullible person . I am a mature and well - seasoned business executive . I have worked hard to get to where I am today . And yet . . . Wow , that was a nice little rant and I should feel a little better for it . I just wish it actually changed something . But it doesn 't . My marketing techniques and efforts have still been found wanting . I need to take a new direction , but I don 't know exactly what . Maybe if I have a complete break this Memorial Weekend , I 'll look at things differently on Tuesday . I hope so . Because next week I 've got another new book to plan and so the non - stop Indie Author process continues . . . If you 've been following along on my blog recently you may have been reading my day - by - day experiences writing a novel from scratch using Scrivener . The novella experience is focused on my writing output but not the actual use of Scrivener . This post talks a little about that experience . First of all I want to say right out of the gate that I REALLY LOVE SCRIVENER ! Just so we 're all clear about that . I will also add I have no connection to their company , I paid for my own version of the software , and I have received nothing from them for endorsing their product . Ryann is the first novel ( technically a novella as it 's only about 30 , 000 words ) I have written exclusively using Scrivener rather than Word . In previous posts I wrote how I used Scrivener to create all my scenes and character notes . I also used Scrivener to organize the scenes into chapters , etc . This post is about the actual manuscript writing experience . One of the big differences I discovered between writing in Word and writing in Scrivener is that it is so much easier to find pieces of the novel I want to refer back to while I am writing . Do you know what I mean ? Did I say the door opened inward or outward ? Did the bed have a headboard ? Having two panes open on my screen and quickly looking through the scene descriptions to find the place where I wrote about the thing previously , I can bring up two scenes together and check my facts as I write . In Word I would have had to scroll up and down my document and generally lose my place and many valuable minutes of writing . I can also pull up character or place descriptions in a second pane as I type . I can make notes about future ideas as I type . I can . . . You get the picture . But what about the actual writing ; is that any easier ? Simply put , yes ! And the reason is that all my notes for a scene are automatically available to me as I write . I don 't have to go anywhere to look them up . I know I 'm writing 300 words about a particular thing and I also know what the sub - elements are in those 300 words . It 's like joining the dots . Then , as often happens , if my 300 words turn into 500 words ( or even only 200 words ) , I can make a decision . Do I keep what I have , do I move something else to be a little later , do I skip something I was thinking about writing ? There are all sorts of possibilities . The point is that my 900 words per day target ( 3 scenes / plot points ) somehow just happened . Effortlessly . It 's never been that way before . I also learned something else about my writing as I used Scrivener . During previous novels I have been using a guide of 500 - 600 words as my target for each scene / plot point . I have discovered that 300 - 350 works better for me . Who 'd have known that ! It 's a very interesting discovery seeing as I 've already written over 500 , 000 words during previous novels . My next novel is going to have more scenes and use the 350 word guideline . I 'm also writing my words quicker using Scrivener . Having everything available to me and knowing exactly what I am supposed to be writing about has helped me improve my words per hour speed . We all live very busy lives and being able to knock off 10 or 20 minutes from our writing time and still produce the same quantity ( but better quality ) is a great bonus . And finally the biggest difference has been in the level of detail in my plotting . Because each scene / plot point is an index card and not just a one line sentence ( as I have been using in Word ) , I find it really easy to expand on my notes for a scene and even cut and paste things from one scene into another . As I write , ideas hit me and I never have to lose more than a few seconds in capturing the idea and putting it somewhere for later use . That 's not so easy 20 , 000 words into a Word document . And talking of Word documents , have you ever tried to scroll up and down an 80 , 000 word manuscript ? I have and it 's not pleasant . But because Scrivener allows me to split everything up into scenes , I never have to scroll through anything more than the index card list . This is a very quick process . Okay , so I 've rambled on for a while in this post , but I wanted to get the main points down while they were still fresh in my head . Next time I 'll write a little more about specific hints and tips , but until then if you haven 't already tried it , download a copy of Scrivener . You can use it free for thirty days . It will be a decision you will not regret ! But - you can still get a hold of it . All you need do is to sign up for my monthly newsletter ( see below or opposite ) . In the next edition I will be sending the link to the final part of the manuscript . Can 't wait ? Then please just send an email to john @ pauldorset . com and I will add you to my newsletter distribution AND send you the link IMMEDIATELY . How about that ? " Remember , take your time and plan your attacks . Let him come to you . Let him tire himself out first . " The old man shouted instruction to Ryann as they exchanged lunges in the crisp morning air . " I will , " said Ryann . She pushed a little of her long hair back from her eyes and turned to face the old man again . " And you think I will beat him ? " The old man smiled . " Trust to destiny , Ryann . That is all you can do . But one thing is for certain , you are fitter than he and you must use that to your advantage . Let him tire . Take your time . " Ryann easily parried the old man 's attack and she turned to face another . She stopped when she saw he was walking away from her . " We are finished ? " she asked . The old man lifted a hand and beckoned to her . " Come . " Ryann followed the old man through the courtyard and into an area she had never been to before . " Captain ? " the old man called out . Ryann crossed over to the man and waited while the captain of the guard walked toward them . As he approached her he drew his sword . Ryann took a step back . The old man smiled . " Yes , I wanted you to know just what a real sword feels like . I don 't want you to make the same mistake that Kieran made . " Ryann took a few steps to one side and swung the sword through the air . Kieran . Yes , she had to beat Bramwel for Kieran 's sake . She had to take her revenge for him . " But it has balance , " she said , smiling at the captain . " Great balance . " " Indeed ? You want me to believe that you told my son stories of his mother , thinking that he would say nothing about it ? I cannot believe that of you , Grubb . " " Nothing , sire . It was he that sought me out . He came to see if I could help him with potions and the like . I was only trying to raise his spirits about his mother . " Lord Cala walked across the room and poured some water into a cup . Then he emptied half of the vial into the water and stirred it with a stick . He picked up the cup and offered it to the old man . " Drink this . " Lord Cala smiled . " Drink it . " He placed the cup into Grubb 's hand and watched as the old man lifted it to his mouth . " Swallow . " Grubb swallowed the water down and dropped the cup to the floor . Lord Cala didn 't move his eyes from Grubb as the cup smashed into several pieces at his feet . " No one crosses me in my own castle , Grubb . " " Let 's get started , " Bramwel said , pacing up and down the courtyard . " What are we waiting for , anyway ? " He looked across at Ryann , who was standing about ten paces from him . She was dressed in a dark red tunic and wore black pants underneath . Her hair was tied back behind her neck and a black belt hung at her waist . He had never seen her looking like this before . Still it didn 't matter ; at least she would look pretty when she died . He smiled . Bramwel spat on the ground next to Ryann 's feet . " You ? Let me win ? Don 't be so stupid , girl . You will never beat me . " Bramwel leaned in close to her face . " Your brother can burn in hell for all I care , Ryann . And that 's exactly where you 're going too . " He took a step back and turned to walk back to the table where the swords were laid out . " Father , can we begin yet ? " Lord Cala looked around the courtyard at the gathered crowd and nodded to his son . " Take your weapons . " He waited while Bramwel and Ryann picked up their swords and had moved away from each other . " And remember , no stabbing to the body . " He turned toward Bramwel . " I want a clean fight . " He waited for a nod of assent from his son before turning back to face the crowd . " Let the duel begin . " Bramwel raised his sword and turned to face Ryann . He let a smile wash over his face . This was going to be so easy . Just one cut . That was all he needed . One cut and the girl would lose all sense . Then one wrong move and she would be another dead sclava . " Prepare to fight ! " he shouted , running full - speed at Ryann , with his outstretched sword in front of him . Bramwel ran toward his bedroom door with his whip in his hand . By the time he reached it , Ryann had gone . He half - considered chasing after her , but in the end he just returned to his room . He put the whip down on the table and walked over to the bed to examine his toy horse more closely . A tear ran down his face . There was no doubt it was completely broken . He pieced the largest of the parts together and laid them down on his bed . This was the last memory he had of his mother . The last thing of her he had clung on to . Now what was he going to do ? He wiped his face and walked over to the window . Damn that girl . When she returned , whenever she returned , he was going to beat her close to death . He didn 't even care what his father said . Yes , it was probably best not to mention the horse to him . He would only guess Bramwel 's intent . A sly smile crept onto his face . Yes , a good beating would be appropriate in this case . Bramwel turned away from the window and stared back at his bed . But maybe there was another way . After all , she had wanted to fight him in a duel . A silly girl , wanting to fight in a duel . Perhaps this was a better opportunity . Of course it was . He walked to the bed , picked up the pieces of the toy horse and hurried out of his room . " It 's my horse , father . She 's broken it . " He laid the pieces down on his father 's lap and let a tear drop from his eye . " Nothing . She just hates me , that 's all . " He picked up a piece of the horse and held it up . " This is the only memory I had of mother . And now even that is broken . Can it be fixed ? " " I don 't want another one . I wanted the one mother gave me . I miss her . " Bramwel took a step backward . " What happened to her , father ? " Bramwel swallowed . " He said she 's not dead . He said she just disappeared one day , but she certainly isn 't dead . What happened to her , father ? " Lord Cala sat in silence for a minute , with Bramwel waiting for him to speak . " It 's true , Bram . She isn 't dead . She ran away . I didn 't want you to know that . It has already broken my heart and I thought it would be easier to tell you she had died . " Lord Cala 's face reddened . " You have been sneaking around in places that are hidden away ? What else haven 't you been telling me , Bramwel ? " Bramwel took another step back in case his father decided to hit him . " Nothing , father . I was only trying to find out about your battles . I found a tapestry that had a picture of you on a white horse . It was just like my toy one . That was all . The guard told me the story of the battle and mentioned Kenrik . " " Kenrik was my most trusted sclava . I didn 't find out until just before he left that your mother had , had , had affections for him . She had that damn toy horse made for me , but when I found out about the two of them I made her give it to you . I never even realized he would come back for her and take her away from me . " Lord Cala threw the piece of the toy horse down on the ground . " Now it 's all gone . Everything . Now it 's just you and me , Bram . " At last he was going to get to beat Ryann in a fair fight . Well , fair by name anyway . He still had some of the potion - maker 's poison in his room and that would certainly help tip the scales . He probably didn 't really need it . After all , Ryann was just a skinny little girl . " Skinny ? " He stopped dead in his tracks . Didn 't she used to be fat ? Well , at least a little dumpy . He shook his head . It was probably the sclava rations . They all look a little skinny . Except cook , but she had always been huge . Either way , a little poison would help . Bramwel continued walking toward his room . Of course he would try not to kill the girl . He laughed out loud to himself . But for some reason or other he just seemed to keep accidentally killing the sclavas . Ryann sat on her bed and idly picked a few pieces of straw from her clothes . What was she going to do ? Bramwel wasn 't going to fight her . All he did was laugh at her . It wasn 't fair . She looked up at the wall and counted the marks . " Sixty - one , " she said out loud . Just three silver coins . It would take forever to buy her freedom . No , the only way was to fight him . But how ? He would never take her seriously . Like he said , she was just a girl . Just a girl . " But this girl can fight , " she said under her breath . " Just give me the chance . " She got to her feet and made her way along the corridor and out through the kitchen , into the gardens . Once outside she headed off in a trot along the path until she came to the gap in the hedges . She stopped , but the old man was nowhere to be seen today . She hadn 't really seen him since her last lesson . So she set off running , content to be exercising . She needed a plan . She needed to convince Bramwel to fight her . She stopped and leaned against the castle wall . Maybe she could speak to Lord Cala ; he seemed nice enough toward her . She smiled . Yes , perhaps that was what she would do . If she just explained how mean Bramwel was then he would understand . With a new sense of determination Ryann set off running once more , trying to complete another complete lap of the castle walls . When she was done she collapsed against the kitchen door and breathed deeply . She was soaked through to the skin from sweat , but she felt good . Very good . She pushed the door to the kitchen open and stepped inside . " My , you look worn out , " said cook , looking across at Ryann from beside the stove . " Come sit yourself down . " She wiped her hands on her apron and took a few steps toward Ryann . " I 'm fine , cook . I 've just been running , that 's all . I needed to clear my head . Running helps me think straight . " Ryann took a seat at the kitchen table and poured herself a glass of water from a pitcher . " Just look at you . And we 've just bought you new clothes . You 're going to need new ones all over again . " Cook reached out a hand and pulled Ryann to her feet . " All skin and bones . There 's nothing of you . We need to feed you up a little . " She pulled at Ryann 's dress and made a tutting sound . " Just hangs off you . No good at all . " Ryann smiled and pulled away from cook . " I 'm fine , cook . I 'm fine . I 've been eating more than enough food . It 's all the running and exercising I 've been doing . That 's what 's made me skinny . " She gulped down her water and put the empty glass down on the table . " See ? " Ryann pulled the rope tighter around her dress and smiled again . " It 'll fit a little longer . I don 't want to have to buy any more clothes . " Cook shook her head . " Maybe you 're right there , little one . Perhaps someone can just alter it a little for you . I 'll ask the housekeeper . " She turned back toward the stove once more . " And you had better get to the master 's room and tidy it up before dinner . " Ryann breathed a sigh of relief as she entered Bramwel 's room . It was empty ; although it wasn 't exactly tidy . How he could make such a mess of the room every single day was beyond her . She bent down and picked up two books that were lying on the floor . As she stood up she noticed his horse . The white toy horse that had been hidden out of view , under Bramwel 's table . She put the books down and reached out to pick it up . She brought the horse up toward her face to examine it and turned it over in her hands . It was certainly a well made piece . Hours had been spent carving the details into it . It looked quite old , as though from constant use . Of course , that was all Bramwel ever thought about ; his damn toy horse . She turned around and threw it as hard as she could toward the far wall . It hit the wall with force and splintered , sending pieces to the ground . She smiled . He looked almost ready to cry . Ryann could see a tear welling up in his eye and she wanted to smile . She wanted to laugh . But instead she looked down toward the floor , trying to control herself . " It was an accident , master . " Ryann looked up again and saw the redness in Bramwel 's face and the look of anger that covered it . She knew he would grab his whip . There wasn 't much time . What should she do ? There was only one thing ; to get out . She turned and ran from Bramwel 's room as fast as she could . She ran through the corridors . She ran through the kitchen . She pulled open the door to the gardens and she ran down the path . Bramwel was not going to use his whip on her . Never again . At last she stopped running and bent down to catch her breath . She allowed herself a smile . " And he will never play with his toy horse again either , " she said . The past couple of weeks had flown by without Ryann really noticing . She had spent every free moment practicing her sword - fighting with the old man . Now she could easily beat him . She knew exactly how he would twist or turn . She knew what moves he would make . She also knew he was going to have to try something different very soon . She smiled as she put on the tunic she now wore when she was fighting , and she made her way out to meet him again . The old man pulled a black cloth from his belt and put it around Ryann 's head , covering her eyes . She felt it tighten around the back of her head . " Can you see ? " he asked . " Then we are ready . " Ryann felt the hilt of the wooden sword pressed into her hand and she grabbed it and took her guard . " You have to fight me without your sight today , " he continued . " Use your ears and your instinct . " Ryann screamed out in pain as she felt a painful jab to her right arm . " Concentrate ! " Ryann took her guard once more and tilted her head slightly to try and hear where the old man was standing . She could hear his breathing to her left and she adjusted her stance and listened again . She herd the swish of the blade in the air but it was too late and again she screamed in pain as the sword banged the side of her head . She turned and followed its movement , thrusting at what she hoped was the old man . She heard him laugh once more and she pivoted on her feet . She shut her eyes tight and concentrated on the air around her . She heard the slightest of movements and lunged forward , meeting the old man 's sword with hers . Then her training kicked in . She instinctively knew what he would do and so she bent down and rolled to her left . Then she was back on her feet and moving toward her unseen target . She slashed her sword to her left and then to her right , catching the old man in the stomach . She heard him cry out and adjusted her next lunge slightly so that the sword caught him squarely in the side of his neck . " Yes you did . And when the time comes for you to fight , you must do the same . Do not hesitate , but instead follow your instincts . " The old man held out his hand . Ryann returned to her bedroom and sat down on her bed . She knew what to do ? That was what the old man had told her . But she didn 't know . She didn 't know at all . She pulled out the band that was tying her hair back and gently tugged at her hair so that it flowed freely once more . And why had the old man made her fight blindfolded today ? Trust your instincts , he had said . She smiled . Well that hadn 't been too difficult ; she knew exactly what the old man would do . She stood up and changed out of her tunic and into her cleaning dress . It hung off her and she tied a piece of rope around her stomach to make it more respectable . She smiled and hummed a little tune to herself . At last she was thin again and stronger too . She could easily lift the tables and chairs in Bramwel 's room . And in the sitting room too . Maybe she was even strong enough to fight Bramwel if he tried to hit her . But she daren 't . No , but she would like to . Just once . " And he wants it in his room tonight . So hurry up . " She held out the tray she was carrying for Ryann to take . " And come straight back . There 's some extra kitchen chores this evening . " Ryann took the tray of food and hurried off toward Bramwel 's room . She pushed open the door and went inside . Bramwel was sitting at his table , reading a book , with his toy horse propped up by the side of it . " Your dinner , master . " " Over here , " Bramwel replied , clearing a space next to him and shutting his book . " And why are you so late ? I asked for dinner at least an hour ago . " Bramwel reached out a hand and grabbed Ryann 's arm . " Look at me , girl . " He pulled her roughly toward him until her face was almost pressed up against his . " You are never on time for anything . Don 't you get that ? You are always late and always rude to me . Don 't you even respect me ? " He shook Ryann 's arm and waited for an answer . " Well ? " Ryann pulled her arm back sharply , twisting it , and forcing Bramwel to let go . She could see the look of shock in his eyes and before she could stop herself she slapped him hard across the face . " You are always rude to me . It has to stop . Your father says you are not to beat me too . " Words were gushing out of her . What was she saying ? She could see Bramwel 's face getting redder and redder . He looked almost ready to explode . Ryann took another couple of quick steps backward . This had to end . She couldn 't keep on working for this nasty brat of a boy . She watched as Bramwel 's hand reached out for his whip . She knew she only had a matter of seconds before he would use it on her again . " I 'll fight you , " she said . " I 'll fight you in a duel . Like Kieran . I want to fight you . " Ryann watched as Bramwel 's hand loosened on the whip and he dropped it back to the table . " Fight me ? " He threw his head back in laughter . " You are a girl . You cannot hope to fight me . Now get out before I whip you . Be thankful I am feeling generous this evening . " Bramwel climbed the stairs that led to Grubb 's room . The last few days had been tougher than he had expected and he needed to talk to the potion - maker and see how else he could help him . He wiped his brow as he reached the door and then he pushed it open and went inside . Grubb laughed . " Do you think I do this for your pleasure , Master Bramwel ? No , there has to be something in it for me . A reward of some kind ? Maybe a coin or two ? The poison I gave you was a sample . " Grubb breathed in the smoke and smiled again . " I was hoping for a little more . " He looked across at Bramwel . " Shall we say two silver coins ? " Grubb waited for Bramwel to go quiet again . " I will make it worth your while . A special potion for you and a special piece of information . Information that will help you achieve what is on your mind . " " You would be surprised . " Grubb closed his eyes and breathed in a little more of the smoke . " You want to have this castle for yourself . I can help you with that . " He held out his hand toward Bramwel . Grubb smiled and beckoned Bramwel closer to him . " Of course , Master Bramwel . Of course . " He waited until Bramwel was standing next to him before he continued . " Your mother . She is not dead , Bramwel . " Bramwel reached out and tried to take the coins back from Grubb , but the old man closed his hand and secreted them away . " Don 't play me for the fool , Grubb . I know she is dead . " " No , she is not dead . Perhaps you should ask your father . She just disappeared one day . Gone from the castle . Not dead . " He put up a hand as Bramwel started to speak . " Not dead , Bramwel . Go ask your father . " He smiled . " That was worth two silver coins , was it not ? And tomorrow , in your room , you will find a gift from me . Something a little extra . A potion that will aid in sleep . Very long sleep . " He laughed out loud . " Now go . Leave me . " " Fifty - five , " Ryann counted . Already the total of copper coins was decreasing . Ever since she had started her fighting lessons with the old man , her savings were getting less and less . Still , it wasn 't all bad . She already felt fitter . She had lost some more weight around her stomach and her arms and legs ached from all the exercise . And today she had even beaten the old man one time in a duel with the wooden swords . Yes , perhaps this would be a good investment after all . She smiled and lay back on her bed , imagining beating Bramwel and gaining her freedom . " No time for sitting around , " cook said , peeking into Ryann 's room . " You need to take the rest of Bramwel 's clothes back to him . " She crossed over to Ryann 's bed and dropped a small pile of clothes on it . " Hurry now . " Ryann opened her eyes and sat up . " Yes , cook . I 'll go straight away . " She got to her feet and moaned slightly at the pain in her legs . Ryann smiled . " Just a little tired , that 's all . " She bent down and picked up Bramwel 's clothes and hurried off toward his room . Ryann tried to avert her eyes as Bramwel stripped off his robe and stood there in his undergarments . Why did he always try and humiliate her ? She slipped the tunic over his outstretched arms and over his head , and then took a step back to turn away . Maybe she could back to her room now and get a little more rest . " What have you done ? " Bramwel screamed . Ryann snapped her head around and saw Bramwel rubbing at a mark on the right - hand side . " You have ruined it , " he continued . " How did this happen ? " Ryann stepped closer to take a look and shook her head . " I do not know , master . I just collected it from the wash - room . Perhaps somebody did not take care enough . " Bramwel slapped Ryann hard across the face , causing her to take a step back . " Someone ? You are responsible for everything I do . Not someone else . " He turned around , walked over to the table next to his bed and took up his whip . He cracked it once , toward the door and away from Ryann . " How did this happen ? " Ryann 's eyes darted back and forth between the whip and Bramwel 's tunic . " I am sorry , master . I can have someone mend it for you . She held out her hands . Please give it to me . " She screamed out loud as the whip cracked and left a bright red marks across her two palms . She quickly dropped her hands to her side before he could strike them again , and she ran from the room . Ryann hurried back to the kitchen and told cook of Lord Cala 's request . " Goodness me , what are we going to do ? " asked cook , as she ladled some stew into a bowl . She handed it off to another of the girls and sent her on her way . " I need you to attend to Master Bramwel . He is asking for his room to be completely cleaned and a large meal to be served . " She ladled some more stew into a bowl and handed it to Ryann . " With Kieran gone and little chance of a replacement , we 're going to be short - handed for a while . It 's going to mean extra work for us all . And you 're going to have to attend to Bramwel more often . " Ryann took the stew and sighed . She was never going to escape from him . " Yes , cook . " She turned and headed back toward Bramwel 's room , making sure she didn 't spill any of the stew . When she entered his room she put it down on the table and crossed over toward the far side of the room , next to the window . " Not yet , master . But as soon as they are ready I will bring them to you . " She hoped they weren 't ready yet . She 'd forgotten about them with everything else she was trying to do . " Just make sure you do . " He stuck out a finger and pointed to the windows . " And you need to clean these . I can hardly see out of them . " Ryann reached out a finger to the window and ran it along the edges . Her finger was covered in dirt . It had probably been a very long time since they had been washed . She walked across the room and headed back to the wash - room for a cloth and some water . A few minutes later she returned to Bramwel 's room with a cloth and a bucket of water . She also had a few of his clean clothes with her . She dropped the clothes onto the bed , walked back over to the window , and started cleaning . " So you had better start doing exactly what I say if you want to know more about him . " Bramwel walked back toward the door . " Exactly what I say . " He laughed as he walked out of the room , leaving Ryann all alone with a wet cloth in her hand . The next hour passed without Ryann noticing as she absentmindedly cleaned the windows , all the time thinking about what Bramwel had said . Now she had to get free . She had to earn her freedom so that she could find her brother , wherever he was . Wherever he was . She didn 't know anything at all . Maybe Bramwel was making it up . But he couldn 't be , could he ? Perhaps she should ask Lord Cala . She dropped the cloth into the dirty water and picked up the bucket to take it back to the wash - room . Ryann nodded . " Hello . " Ryann recognized the old man from before . " You 're the man who was teaching Kieran to fight , aren 't you ? " The old man nodded . " I am . " He walked up to her , ran a finger through her hair and then took a step back to examine her body . " I think you would make a good pupil . " " Well , you should think about it . You never know when you might need to know how to protect yourself . " He took another step closer to Ryann and lowered his voice . " Especially with the likes of the master about . " He winked at Ryann . The old man nodded . " Of course , " he replied . " For a small fee . " He smiled . " We all have to make our living here . " " Two copper coins a lesson . That 's what I charged young Kieran . God rest his soul . " He turned to leave the wash - room . " Just have a think about it . Let me know . You can usually find me outside . Near the stables . " Ryann watched the old man as he walked away . Fighting lessons ? Maybe it would be a good idea . Maybe she would be able to stand up to Bramwel . But two copper coins a lesson . That would eat into her savings . The savings that were already accumulating slower than she would have liked . " I need you to be a little easier on the sclavas , Bram , " Lord Cala said as he and Bramwel sat in the sitting room . " I don 't think we 're going to be able to afford any more for a while , and there are few enough as it is . So you 're just going to have to show a little restraint going forward . " " And no more hitting . Instead , refer all problems to me . I will deal with them personally . I need to keep all the sclavas as healthy as possible . " Lord Cala took a sip from his cup . " Do I make myself clear , Bram ? " " Yes , father , " Bramwel replied . " I 'll do my best . But sometimes they need to be taught a lesson . " Especially that Ryann girl , he thought to himself . She was the worst . Always answering back . She had a real attitude . Still , maybe it wouldn 't be so bad . Now that he had told her about her brother , she would be a lot easier to handle . He smiled . " But , of course , father . For the smooth - running of the household , I 'll be a little more considerate . " He turned his head away from his father . " And some marks don 't show anyway , " he mumbled to himself . Sixty - two copper coins . Ryann counted the marks once more and sat back down on her bed . Three silver coins . It was very slow progress . Still , maybe today she would find out just how much money Kieran had left her . She picked up her new hair - brush from beside the bed and ran it through her hair . Hopefully now everyone would stop saying she looked untidy all the time . Ryann put the brush down and got up . She crossed her room and headed along the corridor toward Bramwel 's room . It had been five days since they had burned Kieran 's body and during that time she had tried to keep out of Bramwel 's way as much as possible . She knocked on his door and entered . He was stood staring out of the window . Without a word , Ryann crossed over to Bramwel 's bed and started to tidy it . " Nothing at all ? " Bramwel took a few steps toward Ryann . " That is most unlike you . Usually you are giving me unsolicited advice . " He laughed . Ryann stopped and looked at Bramwel . She waited for him to stop laughing before she spoke . " Well actually there is one thing , master . " She raised her eyes up toward him . " There 's the matter of the oath money , sir . " Bramwel took a step closer to Ryann and lowered his voice . " You are getting none of that money , girl . I have used it for myself . No one heard him except for me and I can 't seem to remember it at all . " He poked a finger into her face . " Do I make myself clear ? " Bramwel took a step back and turned to cross toward his bed . " Good , then that is settled . Now hurry up and take these clothes to be washed . I don 't want to have to punish you further today . " Ryann picked up the pile of clothes and hurried off to the wash - house . As soon as she had dropped them off , she turned and walked back toward the large sitting room . Today she had extra duties now that Kieran was no longer there . Ryann looked at it twice . " Sir ? " She had never dared to sit in such a comfortable chair as this before . Sclavas never sat in these chairs . Lord Cala tapped the chair and waited for her to sit . Lord Cala smiled . " It 's alright , Ryann . I know it was most likely Bram that did that to you . I will have words with him . He forgets his manners sometimes . " Ryann watched as Lord Cala took a sip from a large cup he was holding . " You remind me a lot of my wife you know . Just when the light catches you sometimes . It could be the way you wear your hair . " He turned his head slightly at an angle . " I see you have brushed it today . " Lord Cala got to his feet . " I know you are probably wondering just exactly what you are doing here , and hoping to be excused as quickly as possible . But don 't worry . I 'm not upset with you . Not at all . In fact I want to make sure you are treated fairly . By Bramwel . I want you to tell me if he does anything else that is upsetting to you . " He smiled . " Especially if he beats you again . Will you tell me , Ryann ? " What was she supposed to say ? Should she tell him about the oath money ? Would the Lord get Kieran 's money for her ? " Yes sir , " she replied . He probably wouldn 't even believe her . He was probably just trying to make her feel better because of Kieran . No she couldn 't say anything , she decided . " I will , I promise . " " Good . " He extended a hand to Ryann and pulled her to her feet . " Now run along and see if there 's any food prepared for me will you ? I 'm getting hungry already . " Back inside the kitchen , Ryann broke free of cook and rushed toward her bedroom . How could this have happened ? This was only supposed to be a duel . No one was supposed to be killed . She flung herself onto her straw bed and pressed her face against her pillow . No , this wasn 't fair at all . Now what was she going to do ? Kieran was everything she lived for ; her best friend . In the space of a few short days , she had lost so much . First Megan , and now Kieran . Life as a sclava was the most unbearable thing ever . Ryann rolled over and sat up . She rubbed her eyes and got to her feet . She had to do something , but what ? Crossing over to the doorway , she stepped out into the corridor and hurried along it . Within a couple of minutes she was standing outside his room . She took a deep breath and pushed open the door . " You did it , " she screamed , walking across the room and standing in front of Bramwel 's table . She watched him as he sat up on his bed . " You deliberately killed Kieran . " " He deserved to die , " Bramwel said , laughing as he spoke . " That little brat made me look foolish in front of my father . Now he will never do that again . " " Either way , he 's dead now . He 's not coming back . And he 's only a sclava after all . We can get another . " Ryann took a deep breath and stopped short of Bramwel . She dropped her clenched fists to her side and looked up into his face . " I don 't care what you say , I know you deliberately killed my friend . And I will never forgive you for that , Bramwel . I don 't care what punishments you take out on me . One day I will get my revenge and I will make you pay for what you have done . You cannot take life so cheaply . Sclavas are people , just like you . You will never be clever enough to run this castle . It is like your father said , you are just a boy , Bramwel . Just a boy . " Bramwel took a step toward Ryann and slapped her hard across her face . " And you are my sclava and you will do whatever I say . " He punched her in the stomach causing her to double up in pain . " And how dare you speak to me like this ? I am your master and you had better not forget it . " He pushed Ryann roughly to the ground and stormed out from his room . " And clean up the mess in here . " Ryann held a hand to her stomach and tried to regain her breathing . Bramwel had knocked the wind out of her and she felt like throwing up right where she was . The only thing stopping her was the knowledge she would be the one who would clear it all up . But he almost deserved it . She breathed in deeply and got back onto her feet . Damn his room . It could stay like it was for a while . How dare he think so little of people ? Bramwel was lower than the pigs they kept in the pens outside ; he wasn 't even human . Ryann got to her feet . " No , you can 't burn his body . It 's not right . That 's not what we do to our friends . " Cook took a hold of Ryann and pulled her to herself . " We cannot , little one . You know the Lord 's thoughts . We have to burn the body . And very soon . " Ryann pounded her fists into cook 's side and cried . " But he was my friend . My best friend . I was going to leave here with him one day . Now he is dead . How can they let this happen ? " She buried her head in cook 's chest . Cook put an arm around Ryann and squeezed her tightly . " Now , now . Just you let it all out . Remember Kieran for his smile and his happy nature . He was a fine lad and would have grown up to be a fine man too . " She kissed the top of Ryann 's head . " And yes , he would have made a great husband for you if you had both gained your freedom . " Cook looked across the kitchen and nodded to a couple of the others and watched as they left to go outside . " Would you like to come watch ? " she whispered . Cook let Ryann free and got up from the table . She turned around and followed the others from the kitchen . Ryann trailed behind them as they walked through the garden , past where the vegetables grew , around another corner , and toward a place where a bonfire was being built . She swallowed hard as she saw the body of Kieran laid out on the ground beside it , covered with a white sheet . She breathed deeply again as she controlled the urge within her to rush over to it and hold him tightly to her . Kieran was dead now . There was nothing she could do about that . But there was one thing she could do . Of that she was certain . She would make Bramwel pay for what he had done . Somehow . No matter what it cost her .

Would you like one of my books completely free ? Of course you would . All you have to do is to sign up for my newsletter ( opposite or below ) and when you receive this month 's copy ( June 2012 ) you will receive an exclusive coupon to download one of my books for FREE ! Every month in my newsletter there are exclusive articles and offers , so what are you waiting for ? Now is your chance . Don 't delay , the newsletter goes out on June 1st and if you 're not on the distribution list then you 'll be too late . Also in this month 's newsletter is the final part of my online novella , Ryann , another newsletter exclusive . So why do I say I want to scream ? Well it 's just that sometimes there aren 't enough hours in the day to do everything . Actually it 's not sometimes , it 's every day . And I 'm weary . Very weary . This last year has been a non - stop roller - coaster of emotions , and hard work . I 've released countless books , written more , reviewed several , blogged to excess , twittered myself to death , and I wish I could do something about my marketing . It 's still not good enough . I 'm still not good enough . I want to outsource it , and I 've even tried , but so many people out there who say they can market are merely reprobates and con - artists . Am I being harsh and unfair ? I don 't think so . I 'm not a young and gullible person . I am a mature and well - seasoned business executive . I have worked hard to get to where I am today . And yet . . . Wow , that was a nice little rant and I should feel a little better for it . I just wish it actually changed something . But it doesn 't . My marketing techniques and efforts have still been found wanting . I need to take a new direction , but I don 't know exactly what . Maybe if I have a complete break this Memorial Weekend , I 'll look at things differently on Tuesday . I hope so . Because next week I 've got another new book to plan and so the non - stop Indie Author process continues . . . If you 've been following along on my blog recently you may have been reading my day - by - day experiences writing a novel from scratch using Scrivener . The novella experience is focused on my writing output but not the actual use of Scrivener . This post talks a little about that experience . First of all I want to say right out of the gate that I REALLY LOVE SCRIVENER ! Just so we 're all clear about that . I will also add I have no connection to their company , I paid for my own version of the software , and I have received nothing from them for endorsing their product . Ryann is the first novel ( technically a novella as it 's only about 30 , 000 words ) I have written exclusively using Scrivener rather than Word . In previous posts I wrote how I used Scrivener to create all my scenes and character notes . I also used Scrivener to organize the scenes into chapters , etc . This post is about the actual manuscript writing experience . One of the big differences I discovered between writing in Word and writing in Scrivener is that it is so much easier to find pieces of the novel I want to refer back to while I am writing . Do you know what I mean ? Did I say the door opened inward or outward ? Did the bed have a headboard ? Having two panes open on my screen and quickly looking through the scene descriptions to find the place where I wrote about the thing previously , I can bring up two scenes together and check my facts as I write . In Word I would have had to scroll up and down my document and generally lose my place and many valuable minutes of writing . I can also pull up character or place descriptions in a second pane as I type . I can make notes about future ideas as I type . I can . . . You get the picture . But what about the actual writing ; is that any easier ? Simply put , yes ! And the reason is that all my notes for a scene are automatically available to me as I write . I don 't have to go anywhere to look them up . I know I 'm writing 300 words about a particular thing and I also know what the sub - elements are in those 300 words . It 's like joining the dots . Then , as often happens , if my 300 words turn into 500 words ( or even only 200 words ) , I can make a decision . Do I keep what I have , do I move something else to be a little later , do I skip something I was thinking about writing ? There are all sorts of possibilities . The point is that my 900 words per day target ( 3 scenes / plot points ) somehow just happened . Effortlessly . It 's never been that way before . I also learned something else about my writing as I used Scrivener . During previous novels I have been using a guide of 500 - 600 words as my target for each scene / plot point . I have discovered that 300 - 350 works better for me . Who 'd have known that ! It 's a very interesting discovery seeing as I 've already written over 500 , 000 words during previous novels . My next novel is going to have more scenes and use the 350 word guideline . I 'm also writing my words quicker using Scrivener . Having everything available to me and knowing exactly what I am supposed to be writing about has helped me improve my words per hour speed . We all live very busy lives and being able to knock off 10 or 20 minutes from our writing time and still produce the same quantity ( but better quality ) is a great bonus . And finally the biggest difference has been in the level of detail in my plotting . Because each scene / plot point is an index card and not just a one line sentence ( as I have been using in Word ) , I find it really easy to expand on my notes for a scene and even cut and paste things from one scene into another . As I write , ideas hit me and I never have to lose more than a few seconds in capturing the idea and putting it somewhere for later use . That 's not so easy 20 , 000 words into a Word document . And talking of Word documents , have you ever tried to scroll up and down an 80 , 000 word manuscript ? I have and it 's not pleasant . But because Scrivener allows me to split everything up into scenes , I never have to scroll through anything more than the index card list . This is a very quick process . Okay , so I 've rambled on for a while in this post , but I wanted to get the main points down while they were still fresh in my head . Next time I 'll write a little more about specific hints and tips , but until then if you haven 't already tried it , download a copy of Scrivener . You can use it free for thirty days . It will be a decision you will not regret ! But - you can still get a hold of it . All you need do is to sign up for my monthly newsletter ( see below or opposite ) . In the next edition I will be sending the link to the final part of the manuscript . Can 't wait ? Then please just send an email to john @ pauldorset . com and I will add you to my newsletter distribution AND send you the link IMMEDIATELY . How about that ? " Remember , take your time and plan your attacks . Let him come to you . Let him tire himself out first . " The old man shouted instruction to Ryann as they exchanged lunges in the crisp morning air . " I will , " said Ryann . She pushed a little of her long hair back from her eyes and turned to face the old man again . " And you think I will beat him ? " The old man smiled . " Trust to destiny , Ryann . That is all you can do . But one thing is for certain , you are fitter than he and you must use that to your advantage . Let him tire . Take your time . " Ryann easily parried the old man 's attack and she turned to face another . She stopped when she saw he was walking away from her . " We are finished ? " she asked . The old man lifted a hand and beckoned to her . " Come . " Ryann followed the old man through the courtyard and into an area she had never been to before . " Captain ? " the old man called out . Ryann crossed over to the man and waited while the captain of the guard walked toward them . As he approached her he drew his sword . Ryann took a step back . The old man smiled . " Yes , I wanted you to know just what a real sword feels like . I don 't want you to make the same mistake that Kieran made . " Ryann took a few steps to one side and swung the sword through the air . Kieran . Yes , she had to beat Bramwel for Kieran 's sake . She had to take her revenge for him . " But it has balance , " she said , smiling at the captain . " Great balance . " " Indeed ? You want me to believe that you told my son stories of his mother , thinking that he would say nothing about it ? I cannot believe that of you , Grubb . " " Nothing , sire . It was he that sought me out . He came to see if I could help him with potions and the like . I was only trying to raise his spirits about his mother . " Lord Cala walked across the room and poured some water into a cup . Then he emptied half of the vial into the water and stirred it with a stick . He picked up the cup and offered it to the old man . " Drink this . " Lord Cala smiled . " Drink it . " He placed the cup into Grubb 's hand and watched as the old man lifted it to his mouth . " Swallow . " Grubb swallowed the water down and dropped the cup to the floor . Lord Cala didn 't move his eyes from Grubb as the cup smashed into several pieces at his feet . " No one crosses me in my own castle , Grubb . " " Let 's get started , " Bramwel said , pacing up and down the courtyard . " What are we waiting for , anyway ? " He looked across at Ryann , who was standing about ten paces from him . She was dressed in a dark red tunic and wore black pants underneath . Her hair was tied back behind her neck and a black belt hung at her waist . He had never seen her looking like this before . Still it didn 't matter ; at least she would look pretty when she died . He smiled . Bramwel spat on the ground next to Ryann 's feet . " You ? Let me win ? Don 't be so stupid , girl . You will never beat me . " Bramwel leaned in close to her face . " Your brother can burn in hell for all I care , Ryann . And that 's exactly where you 're going too . " He took a step back and turned to walk back to the table where the swords were laid out . " Father , can we begin yet ? " Lord Cala looked around the courtyard at the gathered crowd and nodded to his son . " Take your weapons . " He waited while Bramwel and Ryann picked up their swords and had moved away from each other . " And remember , no stabbing to the body . " He turned toward Bramwel . " I want a clean fight . " He waited for a nod of assent from his son before turning back to face the crowd . " Let the duel begin . " Bramwel raised his sword and turned to face Ryann . He let a smile wash over his face . This was going to be so easy . Just one cut . That was all he needed . One cut and the girl would lose all sense . Then one wrong move and she would be another dead sclava . " Prepare to fight ! " he shouted , running full - speed at Ryann , with his outstretched sword in front of him . Bramwel ran toward his bedroom door with his whip in his hand . By the time he reached it , Ryann had gone . He half - considered chasing after her , but in the end he just returned to his room . He put the whip down on the table and walked over to the bed to examine his toy horse more closely . A tear ran down his face . There was no doubt it was completely broken . He pieced the largest of the parts together and laid them down on his bed . This was the last memory he had of his mother . The last thing of her he had clung on to . Now what was he going to do ? He wiped his face and walked over to the window . Damn that girl . When she returned , whenever she returned , he was going to beat her close to death . He didn 't even care what his father said . Yes , it was probably best not to mention the horse to him . He would only guess Bramwel 's intent . A sly smile crept onto his face . Yes , a good beating would be appropriate in this case . Bramwel turned away from the window and stared back at his bed . But maybe there was another way . After all , she had wanted to fight him in a duel . A silly girl , wanting to fight in a duel . Perhaps this was a better opportunity . Of course it was . He walked to the bed , picked up the pieces of the toy horse and hurried out of his room . " It 's my horse , father . She 's broken it . " He laid the pieces down on his father 's lap and let a tear drop from his eye . " Nothing . She just hates me , that 's all . " He picked up a piece of the horse and held it up . " This is the only memory I had of mother . And now even that is broken . Can it be fixed ? " " I don 't want another one . I wanted the one mother gave me . I miss her . " Bramwel took a step backward . " What happened to her , father ? " Bramwel swallowed . " He said she 's not dead . He said she just disappeared one day , but she certainly isn 't dead . What happened to her , father ? " Lord Cala sat in silence for a minute , with Bramwel waiting for him to speak . " It 's true , Bram . She isn 't dead . She ran away . I didn 't want you to know that . It has already broken my heart and I thought it would be easier to tell you she had died . " Lord Cala 's face reddened . " You have been sneaking around in places that are hidden away ? What else haven 't you been telling me , Bramwel ? " Bramwel took another step back in case his father decided to hit him . " Nothing , father . I was only trying to find out about your battles . I found a tapestry that had a picture of you on a white horse . It was just like my toy one . That was all . The guard told me the story of the battle and mentioned Kenrik . " " Kenrik was my most trusted sclava . I didn 't find out until just before he left that your mother had , had , had affections for him . She had that damn toy horse made for me , but when I found out about the two of them I made her give it to you . I never even realized he would come back for her and take her away from me . " Lord Cala threw the piece of the toy horse down on the ground . " Now it 's all gone . Everything . Now it 's just you and me , Bram . " At last he was going to get to beat Ryann in a fair fight . Well , fair by name anyway . He still had some of the potion - maker 's poison in his room and that would certainly help tip the scales . He probably didn 't really need it . After all , Ryann was just a skinny little girl . " Skinny ? " He stopped dead in his tracks . Didn 't she used to be fat ? Well , at least a little dumpy . He shook his head . It was probably the sclava rations . They all look a little skinny . Except cook , but she had always been huge . Either way , a little poison would help . Bramwel continued walking toward his room . Of course he would try not to kill the girl . He laughed out loud to himself . But for some reason or other he just seemed to keep accidentally killing the sclavas . Ryann sat on her bed and idly picked a few pieces of straw from her clothes . What was she going to do ? Bramwel wasn 't going to fight her . All he did was laugh at her . It wasn 't fair . She looked up at the wall and counted the marks . " Sixty - one , " she said out loud . Just three silver coins . It would take forever to buy her freedom . No , the only way was to fight him . But how ? He would never take her seriously . Like he said , she was just a girl . Just a girl . " But this girl can fight , " she said under her breath . " Just give me the chance . " She got to her feet and made her way along the corridor and out through the kitchen , into the gardens . Once outside she headed off in a trot along the path until she came to the gap in the hedges . She stopped , but the old man was nowhere to be seen today . She hadn 't really seen him since her last lesson . So she set off running , content to be exercising . She needed a plan . She needed to convince Bramwel to fight her . She stopped and leaned against the castle wall . Maybe she could speak to Lord Cala ; he seemed nice enough toward her . She smiled . Yes , perhaps that was what she would do . If she just explained how mean Bramwel was then he would understand . With a new sense of determination Ryann set off running once more , trying to complete another complete lap of the castle walls . When she was done she collapsed against the kitchen door and breathed deeply . She was soaked through to the skin from sweat , but she felt good . Very good . She pushed the door to the kitchen open and stepped inside . " My , you look worn out , " said cook , looking across at Ryann from beside the stove . " Come sit yourself down . " She wiped her hands on her apron and took a few steps toward Ryann . " I 'm fine , cook . I 've just been running , that 's all . I needed to clear my head . Running helps me think straight . " Ryann took a seat at the kitchen table and poured herself a glass of water from a pitcher . " Just look at you . And we 've just bought you new clothes . You 're going to need new ones all over again . " Cook reached out a hand and pulled Ryann to her feet . " All skin and bones . There 's nothing of you . We need to feed you up a little . " She pulled at Ryann 's dress and made a tutting sound . " Just hangs off you . No good at all . " Ryann smiled and pulled away from cook . " I 'm fine , cook . I 'm fine . I 've been eating more than enough food . It 's all the running and exercising I 've been doing . That 's what 's made me skinny . " She gulped down her water and put the empty glass down on the table . " See ? " Ryann pulled the rope tighter around her dress and smiled again . " It 'll fit a little longer . I don 't want to have to buy any more clothes . " Cook shook her head . " Maybe you 're right there , little one . Perhaps someone can just alter it a little for you . I 'll ask the housekeeper . " She turned back toward the stove once more . " And you had better get to the master 's room and tidy it up before dinner . " Ryann breathed a sigh of relief as she entered Bramwel 's room . It was empty ; although it wasn 't exactly tidy . How he could make such a mess of the room every single day was beyond her . She bent down and picked up two books that were lying on the floor . As she stood up she noticed his horse . The white toy horse that had been hidden out of view , under Bramwel 's table . She put the books down and reached out to pick it up . She brought the horse up toward her face to examine it and turned it over in her hands . It was certainly a well made piece . Hours had been spent carving the details into it . It looked quite old , as though from constant use . Of course , that was all Bramwel ever thought about ; his damn toy horse . She turned around and threw it as hard as she could toward the far wall . It hit the wall with force and splintered , sending pieces to the ground . She smiled . He looked almost ready to cry . Ryann could see a tear welling up in his eye and she wanted to smile . She wanted to laugh . But instead she looked down toward the floor , trying to control herself . " It was an accident , master . " Ryann looked up again and saw the redness in Bramwel 's face and the look of anger that covered it . She knew he would grab his whip . There wasn 't much time . What should she do ? There was only one thing ; to get out . She turned and ran from Bramwel 's room as fast as she could . She ran through the corridors . She ran through the kitchen . She pulled open the door to the gardens and she ran down the path . Bramwel was not going to use his whip on her . Never again . At last she stopped running and bent down to catch her breath . She allowed herself a smile . " And he will never play with his toy horse again either , " she said . The past couple of weeks had flown by without Ryann really noticing . She had spent every free moment practicing her sword - fighting with the old man . Now she could easily beat him . She knew exactly how he would twist or turn . She knew what moves he would make . She also knew he was going to have to try something different very soon . She smiled as she put on the tunic she now wore when she was fighting , and she made her way out to meet him again . The old man pulled a black cloth from his belt and put it around Ryann 's head , covering her eyes . She felt it tighten around the back of her head . " Can you see ? " he asked . " Then we are ready . " Ryann felt the hilt of the wooden sword pressed into her hand and she grabbed it and took her guard . " You have to fight me without your sight today , " he continued . " Use your ears and your instinct . " Ryann screamed out in pain as she felt a painful jab to her right arm . " Concentrate ! " Ryann took her guard once more and tilted her head slightly to try and hear where the old man was standing . She could hear his breathing to her left and she adjusted her stance and listened again . She herd the swish of the blade in the air but it was too late and again she screamed in pain as the sword banged the side of her head . She turned and followed its movement , thrusting at what she hoped was the old man . She heard him laugh once more and she pivoted on her feet . She shut her eyes tight and concentrated on the air around her . She heard the slightest of movements and lunged forward , meeting the old man 's sword with hers . Then her training kicked in . She instinctively knew what he would do and so she bent down and rolled to her left . Then she was back on her feet and moving toward her unseen target . She slashed her sword to her left and then to her right , catching the old man in the stomach . She heard him cry out and adjusted her next lunge slightly so that the sword caught him squarely in the side of his neck . " Yes you did . And when the time comes for you to fight , you must do the same . Do not hesitate , but instead follow your instincts . " The old man held out his hand . Ryann returned to her bedroom and sat down on her bed . She knew what to do ? That was what the old man had told her . But she didn 't know . She didn 't know at all . She pulled out the band that was tying her hair back and gently tugged at her hair so that it flowed freely once more . And why had the old man made her fight blindfolded today ? Trust your instincts , he had said . She smiled . Well that hadn 't been too difficult ; she knew exactly what the old man would do . She stood up and changed out of her tunic and into her cleaning dress . It hung off her and she tied a piece of rope around her stomach to make it more respectable . She smiled and hummed a little tune to herself . At last she was thin again and stronger too . She could easily lift the tables and chairs in Bramwel 's room . And in the sitting room too . Maybe she was even strong enough to fight Bramwel if he tried to hit her . But she daren 't . No , but she would like to . Just once . " And he wants it in his room tonight . So hurry up . " She held out the tray she was carrying for Ryann to take . " And come straight back . There 's some extra kitchen chores this evening . " Ryann took the tray of food and hurried off toward Bramwel 's room . She pushed open the door and went inside . Bramwel was sitting at his table , reading a book , with his toy horse propped up by the side of it . " Your dinner , master . " " Over here , " Bramwel replied , clearing a space next to him and shutting his book . " And why are you so late ? I asked for dinner at least an hour ago . " Bramwel reached out a hand and grabbed Ryann 's arm . " Look at me , girl . " He pulled her roughly toward him until her face was almost pressed up against his . " You are never on time for anything . Don 't you get that ? You are always late and always rude to me . Don 't you even respect me ? " He shook Ryann 's arm and waited for an answer . " Well ? " Ryann pulled her arm back sharply , twisting it , and forcing Bramwel to let go . She could see the look of shock in his eyes and before she could stop herself she slapped him hard across the face . " You are always rude to me . It has to stop . Your father says you are not to beat me too . " Words were gushing out of her . What was she saying ? She could see Bramwel 's face getting redder and redder . He looked almost ready to explode . Ryann took another couple of quick steps backward . This had to end . She couldn 't keep on working for this nasty brat of a boy . She watched as Bramwel 's hand reached out for his whip . She knew she only had a matter of seconds before he would use it on her again . " I 'll fight you , " she said . " I 'll fight you in a duel . Like Kieran . I want to fight you . " Ryann watched as Bramwel 's hand loosened on the whip and he dropped it back to the table . " Fight me ? " He threw his head back in laughter . " You are a girl . You cannot hope to fight me . Now get out before I whip you . Be thankful I am feeling generous this evening . " Bramwel climbed the stairs that led to Grubb 's room . The last few days had been tougher than he had expected and he needed to talk to the potion - maker and see how else he could help him . He wiped his brow as he reached the door and then he pushed it open and went inside . Grubb laughed . " Do you think I do this for your pleasure , Master Bramwel ? No , there has to be something in it for me . A reward of some kind ? Maybe a coin or two ? The poison I gave you was a sample . " Grubb breathed in the smoke and smiled again . " I was hoping for a little more . " He looked across at Bramwel . " Shall we say two silver coins ? " Grubb waited for Bramwel to go quiet again . " I will make it worth your while . A special potion for you and a special piece of information . Information that will help you achieve what is on your mind . " " You would be surprised . " Grubb closed his eyes and breathed in a little more of the smoke . " You want to have this castle for yourself . I can help you with that . " He held out his hand toward Bramwel . Grubb smiled and beckoned Bramwel closer to him . " Of course , Master Bramwel . Of course . " He waited until Bramwel was standing next to him before he continued . " Your mother . She is not dead , Bramwel . " Bramwel reached out and tried to take the coins back from Grubb , but the old man closed his hand and secreted them away . " Don 't play me for the fool , Grubb . I know she is dead . " " No , she is not dead . Perhaps you should ask your father . She just disappeared one day . Gone from the castle . Not dead . " He put up a hand as Bramwel started to speak . " Not dead , Bramwel . Go ask your father . " He smiled . " That was worth two silver coins , was it not ? And tomorrow , in your room , you will find a gift from me . Something a little extra . A potion that will aid in sleep . Very long sleep . " He laughed out loud . " Now go . Leave me . " " Fifty - five , " Ryann counted . Already the total of copper coins was decreasing . Ever since she had started her fighting lessons with the old man , her savings were getting less and less . Still , it wasn 't all bad . She already felt fitter . She had lost some more weight around her stomach and her arms and legs ached from all the exercise . And today she had even beaten the old man one time in a duel with the wooden swords . Yes , perhaps this would be a good investment after all . She smiled and lay back on her bed , imagining beating Bramwel and gaining her freedom . " No time for sitting around , " cook said , peeking into Ryann 's room . " You need to take the rest of Bramwel 's clothes back to him . " She crossed over to Ryann 's bed and dropped a small pile of clothes on it . " Hurry now . " Ryann opened her eyes and sat up . " Yes , cook . I 'll go straight away . " She got to her feet and moaned slightly at the pain in her legs . Ryann smiled . " Just a little tired , that 's all . " She bent down and picked up Bramwel 's clothes and hurried off toward his room . Ryann tried to avert her eyes as Bramwel stripped off his robe and stood there in his undergarments . Why did he always try and humiliate her ? She slipped the tunic over his outstretched arms and over his head , and then took a step back to turn away . Maybe she could back to her room now and get a little more rest . " What have you done ? " Bramwel screamed . Ryann snapped her head around and saw Bramwel rubbing at a mark on the right - hand side . " You have ruined it , " he continued . " How did this happen ? " Ryann stepped closer to take a look and shook her head . " I do not know , master . I just collected it from the wash - room . Perhaps somebody did not take care enough . " Bramwel slapped Ryann hard across the face , causing her to take a step back . " Someone ? You are responsible for everything I do . Not someone else . " He turned around , walked over to the table next to his bed and took up his whip . He cracked it once , toward the door and away from Ryann . " How did this happen ? " Ryann 's eyes darted back and forth between the whip and Bramwel 's tunic . " I am sorry , master . I can have someone mend it for you . She held out her hands . Please give it to me . " She screamed out loud as the whip cracked and left a bright red marks across her two palms . She quickly dropped her hands to her side before he could strike them again , and she ran from the room . Ryann hurried back to the kitchen and told cook of Lord Cala 's request . " Goodness me , what are we going to do ? " asked cook , as she ladled some stew into a bowl . She handed it off to another of the girls and sent her on her way . " I need you to attend to Master Bramwel . He is asking for his room to be completely cleaned and a large meal to be served . " She ladled some more stew into a bowl and handed it to Ryann . " With Kieran gone and little chance of a replacement , we 're going to be short - handed for a while . It 's going to mean extra work for us all . And you 're going to have to attend to Bramwel more often . " Ryann took the stew and sighed . She was never going to escape from him . " Yes , cook . " She turned and headed back toward Bramwel 's room , making sure she didn 't spill any of the stew . When she entered his room she put it down on the table and crossed over toward the far side of the room , next to the window . " Not yet , master . But as soon as they are ready I will bring them to you . " She hoped they weren 't ready yet . She 'd forgotten about them with everything else she was trying to do . " Just make sure you do . " He stuck out a finger and pointed to the windows . " And you need to clean these . I can hardly see out of them . " Ryann reached out a finger to the window and ran it along the edges . Her finger was covered in dirt . It had probably been a very long time since they had been washed . She walked across the room and headed back to the wash - room for a cloth and some water . A few minutes later she returned to Bramwel 's room with a cloth and a bucket of water . She also had a few of his clean clothes with her . She dropped the clothes onto the bed , walked back over to the window , and started cleaning . " So you had better start doing exactly what I say if you want to know more about him . " Bramwel walked back toward the door . " Exactly what I say . " He laughed as he walked out of the room , leaving Ryann all alone with a wet cloth in her hand . The next hour passed without Ryann noticing as she absentmindedly cleaned the windows , all the time thinking about what Bramwel had said . Now she had to get free . She had to earn her freedom so that she could find her brother , wherever he was . Wherever he was . She didn 't know anything at all . Maybe Bramwel was making it up . But he couldn 't be , could he ? Perhaps she should ask Lord Cala . She dropped the cloth into the dirty water and picked up the bucket to take it back to the wash - room . Ryann nodded . " Hello . " Ryann recognized the old man from before . " You 're the man who was teaching Kieran to fight , aren 't you ? " The old man nodded . " I am . " He walked up to her , ran a finger through her hair and then took a step back to examine her body . " I think you would make a good pupil . " " Well , you should think about it . You never know when you might need to know how to protect yourself . " He took another step closer to Ryann and lowered his voice . " Especially with the likes of the master about . " He winked at Ryann . The old man nodded . " Of course , " he replied . " For a small fee . " He smiled . " We all have to make our living here . " " Two copper coins a lesson . That 's what I charged young Kieran . God rest his soul . " He turned to leave the wash - room . " Just have a think about it . Let me know . You can usually find me outside . Near the stables . " Ryann watched the old man as he walked away . Fighting lessons ? Maybe it would be a good idea . Maybe she would be able to stand up to Bramwel . But two copper coins a lesson . That would eat into her savings . The savings that were already accumulating slower than she would have liked . " I need you to be a little easier on the sclavas , Bram , " Lord Cala said as he and Bramwel sat in the sitting room . " I don 't think we 're going to be able to afford any more for a while , and there are few enough as it is . So you 're just going to have to show a little restraint going forward . " " And no more hitting . Instead , refer all problems to me . I will deal with them personally . I need to keep all the sclavas as healthy as possible . " Lord Cala took a sip from his cup . " Do I make myself clear , Bram ? " " Yes , father , " Bramwel replied . " I 'll do my best . But sometimes they need to be taught a lesson . " Especially that Ryann girl , he thought to himself . She was the worst . Always answering back . She had a real attitude . Still , maybe it wouldn 't be so bad . Now that he had told her about her brother , she would be a lot easier to handle . He smiled . " But , of course , father . For the smooth - running of the household , I 'll be a little more considerate . " He turned his head away from his father . " And some marks don 't show anyway , " he mumbled to himself . Sixty - two copper coins . Ryann counted the marks once more and sat back down on her bed . Three silver coins . It was very slow progress . Still , maybe today she would find out just how much money Kieran had left her . She picked up her new hair - brush from beside the bed and ran it through her hair . Hopefully now everyone would stop saying she looked untidy all the time . Ryann put the brush down and got up . She crossed her room and headed along the corridor toward Bramwel 's room . It had been five days since they had burned Kieran 's body and during that time she had tried to keep out of Bramwel 's way as much as possible . She knocked on his door and entered . He was stood staring out of the window . Without a word , Ryann crossed over to Bramwel 's bed and started to tidy it . " Nothing at all ? " Bramwel took a few steps toward Ryann . " That is most unlike you . Usually you are giving me unsolicited advice . " He laughed . Ryann stopped and looked at Bramwel . She waited for him to stop laughing before she spoke . " Well actually there is one thing , master . " She raised her eyes up toward him . " There 's the matter of the oath money , sir . " Bramwel took a step closer to Ryann and lowered his voice . " You are getting none of that money , girl . I have used it for myself . No one heard him except for me and I can 't seem to remember it at all . " He poked a finger into her face . " Do I make myself clear ? " Bramwel took a step back and turned to cross toward his bed . " Good , then that is settled . Now hurry up and take these clothes to be washed . I don 't want to have to punish you further today . " Ryann picked up the pile of clothes and hurried off to the wash - house . As soon as she had dropped them off , she turned and walked back toward the large sitting room . Today she had extra duties now that Kieran was no longer there . Ryann looked at it twice . " Sir ? " She had never dared to sit in such a comfortable chair as this before . Sclavas never sat in these chairs . Lord Cala tapped the chair and waited for her to sit . Lord Cala smiled . " It 's alright , Ryann . I know it was most likely Bram that did that to you . I will have words with him . He forgets his manners sometimes . " Ryann watched as Lord Cala took a sip from a large cup he was holding . " You remind me a lot of my wife you know . Just when the light catches you sometimes . It could be the way you wear your hair . " He turned his head slightly at an angle . " I see you have brushed it today . " Lord Cala got to his feet . " I know you are probably wondering just exactly what you are doing here , and hoping to be excused as quickly as possible . But don 't worry . I 'm not upset with you . Not at all . In fact I want to make sure you are treated fairly . By Bramwel . I want you to tell me if he does anything else that is upsetting to you . " He smiled . " Especially if he beats you again . Will you tell me , Ryann ? " What was she supposed to say ? Should she tell him about the oath money ? Would the Lord get Kieran 's money for her ? " Yes sir , " she replied . He probably wouldn 't even believe her . He was probably just trying to make her feel better because of Kieran . No she couldn 't say anything , she decided . " I will , I promise . " " Good . " He extended a hand to Ryann and pulled her to her feet . " Now run along and see if there 's any food prepared for me will you ? I 'm getting hungry already . " Back inside the kitchen , Ryann broke free of cook and rushed toward her bedroom . How could this have happened ? This was only supposed to be a duel . No one was supposed to be killed . She flung herself onto her straw bed and pressed her face against her pillow . No , this wasn 't fair at all . Now what was she going to do ? Kieran was everything she lived for ; her best friend . In the space of a few short days , she had lost so much . First Megan , and now Kieran . Life as a sclava was the most unbearable thing ever . Ryann rolled over and sat up . She rubbed her eyes and got to her feet . She had to do something , but what ? Crossing over to the doorway , she stepped out into the corridor and hurried along it . Within a couple of minutes she was standing outside his room . She took a deep breath and pushed open the door . " You did it , " she screamed , walking across the room and standing in front of Bramwel 's table . She watched him as he sat up on his bed . " You deliberately killed Kieran . " " He deserved to die , " Bramwel said , laughing as he spoke . " That little brat made me look foolish in front of my father . Now he will never do that again . " " Either way , he 's dead now . He 's not coming back . And he 's only a sclava after all . We can get another . " Ryann took a deep breath and stopped short of Bramwel . She dropped her clenched fists to her side and looked up into his face . " I don 't care what you say , I know you deliberately killed my friend . And I will never forgive you for that , Bramwel . I don 't care what punishments you take out on me . One day I will get my revenge and I will make you pay for what you have done . You cannot take life so cheaply . Sclavas are people , just like you . You will never be clever enough to run this castle . It is like your father said , you are just a boy , Bramwel . Just a boy . " Bramwel took a step toward Ryann and slapped her hard across her face . " And you are my sclava and you will do whatever I say . " He punched her in the stomach causing her to double up in pain . " And how dare you speak to me like this ? I am your master and you had better not forget it . " He pushed Ryann roughly to the ground and stormed out from his room . " And clean up the mess in here . " Ryann held a hand to her stomach and tried to regain her breathing . Bramwel had knocked the wind out of her and she felt like throwing up right where she was . The only thing stopping her was the knowledge she would be the one who would clear it all up . But he almost deserved it . She breathed in deeply and got back onto her feet . Damn his room . It could stay like it was for a while . How dare he think so little of people ? Bramwel was lower than the pigs they kept in the pens outside ; he wasn 't even human . Ryann got to her feet . " No , you can 't burn his body . It 's not right . That 's not what we do to our friends . " Cook took a hold of Ryann and pulled her to herself . " We cannot , little one . You know the Lord 's thoughts . We have to burn the body . And very soon . " Ryann pounded her fists into cook 's side and cried . " But he was my friend . My best friend . I was going to leave here with him one day . Now he is dead . How can they let this happen ? " She buried her head in cook 's chest . Cook put an arm around Ryann and squeezed her tightly . " Now , now . Just you let it all out . Remember Kieran for his smile and his happy nature . He was a fine lad and would have grown up to be a fine man too . " She kissed the top of Ryann 's head . " And yes , he would have made a great husband for you if you had both gained your freedom . " Cook looked across the kitchen and nodded to a couple of the others and watched as they left to go outside . " Would you like to come watch ? " she whispered . Cook let Ryann free and got up from the table . She turned around and followed the others from the kitchen . Ryann trailed behind them as they walked through the garden , past where the vegetables grew , around another corner , and toward a place where a bonfire was being built . She swallowed hard as she saw the body of Kieran laid out on the ground beside it , covered with a white sheet . She breathed deeply again as she controlled the urge within her to rush over to it and hold him tightly to her . Kieran was dead now . There was nothing she could do about that . But there was one thing she could do . Of that she was certain . She would make Bramwel pay for what he had done . Somehow . No matter what it cost her .

The wind hit him like a brick wall , as he opened the door . He sniffed in , filling his lungs with the luke - warm desert air and ventured on outside . The loudness of the party became a muttered noise behind him , when the door was closed with a considerable force . Before it banged shut , Robert heard a faint " Close the door , jackass ! " . He stopped a few meters away , just by the outline of the light emitting from the house . The boom from inside still hung in his head , as he tried to lit a cigarette , but gave up after a few tries with his trusty sidekick , zippo . Even it could not defy the might of the whining wind , the element of some forgotten God or Goddess . The booming slowly disappeared from his head and was replaced by the high pitched wind rustling in the trees . Robert pocketed the zippo , put the cigarette behind his ear and looked around him . He had no idea how he came to this place , where it was located , what time of year it was or just about any other normal thing most people should know . The sand suggested somewhere in the desert , the heat that it might be summer or that he is in a weird part of the country ( but which , he wondered ) and the wind hinted that a high pressure hit a low pressure and shit is about to hit the fan . Despite the mass input of alcohol and pretty much any other substance that could be chemically made , Robert was in a pretty sound state of mind . The wind did not know him on his feet , no matter how hard it tried . Robert turned around so the wind was on his back , put a finger down his throat and vomited Hard . The wind made it seem like projectile vomiting , which made Robert smile as he studied his own vomit in the dim light . He could make out two things , that he has not eaten for a very long time and that alcohol was NOT what had taken him to this . . area of the world . He wondered for how long he had been out of it or rather , he wondered about who he was , what the hell had happened and why . He doubted he would get any kind of answers out of any one in the house in front of him . Robert went behind the small house to get away from the wind a bit and gather his thoughts . He ran a hand through his hair with one hand while pocketing for some kind of wallet with the other . None of his pockets revealed anything , except for a couple of pills and some girl 's phone number . He examined the piece of paper on which it was written for any kind of clues , " Jane " he said to himself . The phone number did not click , for some reason , on what area she would be from . He turned the paper around , but the rest was blank . So much for clues , he thought . He wondered what time it was . It was pitch black outside and he could barely see more than a few meters ahead . There were no visible moon or stars on the sky , which crept him out . For all he knew , he could be inside a huge hangar . He leaned back against the house , feeling the vibrations from the music in the wooden structure , took out the cigarette behind his ear and lit it . He inhaled and with a huge sigh , exhaled , collapsed against the wall and stared at the darkness . He looked over his shoulder at the building itself . It was a pretty standard brick house , if you were not living in a desert . The more he came to think about it , the more the house looked more out of place . He turned over on his knees , took out his zippo lighter and turned it on , lighting up the bricks . He hit it lightly with his hand but not even dust from the bricks came off . There was absolutely no tear on this house . Suddenly it hit him . He could no longer hear the party . In fact , he could not hear anything at all except the wind howling . Normally music would be turned down or off at parties , but then you would at least hear some kind of chatter or yelling . Drunk people are loud , period . He stood up and tried to look in through the windows while putting the zippo away . The house interiors were all lit , but all he could see from his position , was the roof . He looked to both corners of the buildings , expecting some people coming around . If the party was over , they would have to stand somewhere to not be blown completely away . He peeked around the corner of the house and was immediately hit by the strong wind . Nothing . He moved up along the house to the front and took a look at the door . The normal , closed door looked back at him . Robert was not sure what exactly he expected but a closed door was not it . The fact that there was absolutely no trace of the party , he thought he left just minutes ago , was tearing on his nerves . He looked over to the nearest window . It was as lit as all the other windows and no movement to see what so ever . He looked over his shoulder and moved a bit closer to the door . He put a slightly shaking hand on the door knob and opened the door . It was not locked and opened with such a force from the wind , he lost the grip on the knob and the door slammed against the wall . It creaked on the hinges . He looked into a brightly lit room which mostly looked like a waiting room at a dentist . There was no remains from a party - actually , it looked completely clean , except a bloody trail leading from one of the doors to a corridor on the left side of him . He stepped inside and forcefully pushed the door close . He tried to think back to before he walked outside , but he could not remember a thing . He suddenly felt a huge jab at his temples which sent him to his knee . A small pop in his head and suddenly a liquid streamed from both his ears . He reached up to his left ear and afterwards looked at his fingers . They were dark red . A faint noise had come from down the corridor - - where the blood is leading . He listened closely but the noise was gone . He got up on both legs and leaned against a wall . " Hello ? " he called out , looking down the corridor . The blood led to a door in the opposite end of the corridor . He walked towards it and noticed that the handle was covered in blood . He moved slowly and listened carefully . The other doors in the corridor were closed but the blood trails went directly to ( or from ? ) the door at the end . He studied the door . According to what he remembered about the structure of the house , this must either go into a small roof or into a basement . There was blood splatter on the door under the handle . It had been smeared on the door but there was no print from a hand or finger . Having thought that , he checked the blood trail behind him . Not even a foot print . It did not seem like any kind of blood trail you would see in a horror movie . It more looked like someone had been carrying a bucket of blood and occasionally tipping some out . He smirked a bit at his thoughts - he was no detective but this seemed placed . Like a practical joke . Someone was pulling him a prank , there could be no other reason . The party that had suddenly vanished . The faint noise was probably someone 's muffled laugh . But , he thought , what about his apparent memory loss ? The sudden earpopping and throbbing headache ? He shook it off as coincidental , perhaps a hit to the head . Robert wrapped his sleeve around his hand and attempted to open the door . Suddenly he withdrew it as the throbbing in his head started booming louder . He also thought he had heard a scream . It send shivers down his back . The scream did not sound human or anything like an animal . It sounded metallic in origin , like someone hit some iron yet had a female scream in it . He leaned against the door , out of breath from the pain in his head . He gasped after air but he suddenly felt weak and fell to his knees . The headache started again and he passed out . Sophie have always been a good dog . She stayed put when her owner told her to do so . Even when he got into the car and drove off . Sophie just wagged her tail happily and lied down next to the road , resting her head on her paws . The windy autumn was slowly setting in . The sun was setting as the first rain came . Sophie had not moved an inch until she began to quiver from the cold rain , soaking her fur . Normally she liked the rain , especially puddles - but the wind just went directly to her aging bones . Sophie was becoming an old dog , one that have been living with his owner and his family since she was a little puppy . A favorite of the family 's son , she often was played with and was taken on long trips , where she could run in the grassy fields . She always watched over him and she was often rewarded with hugs and affection , some times even a treat . Sophie was not too unfamiliar with the surrounding areas but she knew she had to wait for her owner . She sniffed the air , got up and located a dry spot underneath a big pinetree . She sat down and awaited the return of her owner . After a couple of hours , the rain finally stopped . The wind was gaining in strength and Sophie 's wagging have ceased . She kept looking at every car that passed but none looked like the one she have come to know . None smelled the same way , she have come to expect . She had not seen the son for a long time , at least a week or two . Maybe even more . She missed her daily walk with someone who did not mind her running around and she missed the affection . The son was not very old when they got Sophie as a small golden retriever puppy but he had grown , yet the affection for the old dog had not changed . She would always be there when he came back from school , friends , parties or work . Waiting by the door until he came around and as soon as she saw him , her tail started wagging and she jumped up and licked his face . It went like that for many years , until she started getting a little bit ill . It cost much and she suddenly did not seem so appreciated by the rest of the family . The son , however , always was there to help her or to give her a pat or give her food . She sensed the sudden hostility from the rest of the family and avoided them as much as possible - mostly spending time in the son 's room . He did not come home for a very long time . Suddenly , her owner put her on a leash and took Sophie out to the car . Sophie shook herself and sat down again , peeking out . It was slowly becoming dusk and Sophie stayed put . She did not have anywhere else to go . Suddenly , she heard a familiar sound , a car was coming . One she have come to know and like , as it come up through the driveway . One that sets her tail wagging . Her tail was wagging and she could not sit still . Suddenly she heard his voice crying out her name and she ran for it . She ran , like she have never done before . The gun 's metal felt cold in my hands . Yet another explosion nearby . I stared down the trench I was positioned in . Lots of dead bodies , soldiers , friends . Simon 's lifeless eyes stared directly at me . A gaping bullet head in his skull stared , as well . I gulped down some saliva , yet my mouth was completely dry . I was sweating , yet it was freezing . I was warm and I was cold . An artillery shell exploded close by and I shielded my eyes from dirt . I heard a scream from further down the trench . Yet another casualty in a war that should never have been . He had been drafted against his will , yet was on the top list of recruits . The drill sergeants have called him a " killer that doesn 't want to kill " and patted him hardly on the back . It was true , of the 12 missions he had been on , he have had the highest amount of confirmed kills . He knew he had his family support but now that he was stuck in a hell hole of a trench , in biting cold , all he could think of was being home . His friends . His family . His ex girlfriends . His life before the war . Abruptly taken away from him , just because this country had to flex it 's muscles . Again . He knew he would not survive this battle . As soon as the HQ had radioed in " RETREAT , THIS ONE IS LOST ! " he knew it was bad to be in the front lines . Several squads stayed behind to make sure that most of us would get out . I was the last alive of my squad , so I figured it would be best just to stay . Avenge my friends against the enemy . But , I suddenly realized that the enemy is not them . We are our own enemy . We are here , in a country we have no business in . Another explosion . I sighed . Tears streaming out of my eyes , making everything blurry and foggy . My friends , I will never see them again . They will never see me again . My family . My dog . My education . The life I had built . Gone . I dropped my weapon . Crawled over to Simon to close his eyes . Simon , always taking about all the women he conquered . Came from a middle class family , no education or job . He was too young , killed by a sniper bullet to the head . His family will be proud . They thought it was best for him to serve the country . I smiled , thinking about the time he picked up a girl , who was a man in drag . I am sure we never heard all of that story . I looked up . Another explosion . I could hear no gun shots . Sounds like everyone except me is dead or have retreated . I could see movement further up ahead . I think they have advanced on me . I raise my hands , as a young guy came charging in , most likely expecting more than a lot of dead corpses and one guy , unharmed . He pointed his gun at me . Enter a pub in Southern London , where we meet a guy we shall call Richard , who is a 26 year old engineer . As you may have noticed , he keeps checking his phone and looking towards the door with a sad expression on his face . He had bought 2 drinks , 1 beer and 1 cider . The beer is almost empty , which suggests he has been here for awhile . The cider is untouched , sitting at the opposite end of the table and is a sad picture of a missing companion . Every few minutes , Richard sighs and looks down into his beer or checks his phone for a bit longer than normal . He is obviously distressed about being in this situation and occasionally glances around the pub for anyone staring at him . When he spots them , they turn away with a head shake and a nod to a friend . They all realize why he is here and what has happened . Richard have been stood up , once again . To understand the predicament , we must go into Richard 's memories for a bit . Richard is what people would call a " genuinely friendly guy " , a good friend and a people pleaser . At this exact moment , he is waiting for a special lady friend , who he holds very dear . Problem is , she doesn 't feel the same way and is , unfortunately , manipulating Richard a fair bit to get things done for her . Every time she contacts him , it is to do a favour for her , such as ; putting up a shelf , help move the furniture , cheer her up if she is down , be her personal chauffeur and generally help her out - just to name a few episodes . Richard doesn 't ask for anything in return , but the last 3 favours , spanned over 6 months , he has asked her to come out for a drink . Every time she have agreed to it and every time she stood him up . Richard really thought that this time was going to be different , as she assured him that she will come this time and that she had emergencies the other times . You see , Richard doesn 't believe that there is a dark side to people . He genuinely believes that everything he is told , within reason , is true and don 't see why people would lie to him . He never gets angry , but as you can see , he is starting to get a bit annoyed as he slowly realizes that she isn 't coming . He knew that she wouldn 't respond on her phone , like the other times , so he just sent her a disappointed text message and ordered another beer , while he started on the cider . But , there is a hero to this story . A heroine , if you will . After Richard 's third beer , a girl left her friends ' table , despite their attempts to talking her out of it , and came over to him . Playing with his phone and drinking as quickly as he could , Richard barely noticed her arrive before she spoke . " I couldn 't help but notice you 've been stood up . Are you alright ? Want to talk for a bit ? " At this point , Richard was sure she was going to mock him but his positive side said she might actually be sincere and l her sit down . They chatted for awhile , Richard explaining the situation and the girl consoled him about it and just listened . Soon , they started chatting and Richard felt great , better than he had for a long time . They chatted for hours and eventually they shared phone number and both left with a smile . They have both found a new friend , one who is just like themselves , caring and friendly . Weeks later , they 've been on several dates together and decided that they were incompatible . They are still best friends , however . Richard have forgotten everything about his other manipulative friend , when he finally realized what she was doing to him . Through the newly met friend , he learned a lot about himself and set out to better himself in any way possible . Who knows , they might end up together . As long as they are both direct about their feelings and thoughts , what bad could happen ? What you can learn from this is to take a chance , be direct , don 't manipulate people , don 't be selfish , don 't allow yourself to be used , keep your chin up , think outside the box and learn to put a new perspective on everything . It will make your life different and , if you are willing , make yourself a better person . This is a story I 've wanted to write for some time - - or rather , it 's a mix of several stories I wanted to write but couldn 't really find the flow or the feel of it . It 's based on several of my memories , one of them being from when I was 8 years old , the other being the memory of a girl . None of this is true , as it is purely fiction - but the message is still true . Had I known what I was in for , I would have done my best to - - well , I wouldn 't have been the same without this experience so I most likely wouldn 't have done anything differently . The older me had hoped she wouldn 't have said anything as she sat next to me , but I knew she would and boy am I glad she did but I was scared it might have been because of my staring . Only a brainless zombie of some sort would not have noticed my glaring . " Hi ! " she tried again . I looked up . None of the thoughts that I just went through didn 't appear at this point . They are only there as a part of my flashback on this memory , this treasured memory of mine , as I rediscover , take it apart , examine the good bits with a smile , put it back together and remember it with a smile . As I looked up , I was approached by a gleaming smile . Not one of those Colgate smiles they want you to have , but rather a shy , genuine smile . A smile that , if directed at you , make your stomach want to fly off somewhere that isn 't here . " Hello ? " I cautiously said . I was sitting on a bench on a rather busy route doing pretty much nothing than think deep , pointless thoughts . She smiled wider at the acknowledgement . The more I looked at her , the more I realized I had seen her around - but just in fleeting moments . She was one of those girls who you would get images of when you close your eyes , someone who stands out well enough to be remembered but still ordinary enough to be consider humane and reachable . The stupid poet I am would probably describe her as a human angel . " Mind if I sit down ? " She asked , making a move to sit down . I scooted over a bit and figured that the conversation was over . I was entirely too shy to try anything and the 5 minutes we sat in silence ( it was probably more like 10 seconds ) , I couldn 't think of one word to say . Thankfully , she did . " I really like your t - shirt ! " She said , turning towards me and looking at my t - shirt . I looked down , having forgotten what I was wearing . A girl in navy blue hair winked at me . I figured she was being sarcastic , since it kind of stood out with it 's colours and not many agrees to seeing a scantily clad girl on a t - shirt in a public area . I told her just that : " Thank you , I really enjoy it too . " I then started ranting " But don 't you think it is a bit too much ? Ya know , the colours , the half - naked girl etc ? " I actually said etc . It was me trying to sound smart when I had nothing more to say . The sentence could have been formulated so much better , had I thought more about it - but it 's when you think about it , you don 't say anything . " No , it 's nice . I like the colours , makes it prettier . I agree it makes you stand out , but is that such a bad thing ? " I thought she winked at me , but that was most likely just nothing . It usually is . I smiled a bit , a natural smile . It was a compliment and I knew it was . She smiled back , as if it was contagious . " I suppose not , " I began , trying to think of what to compliment on her . It was just about everything , I had to admit , the more I looked at her . The self - confidence came up and I thought I was in control of the situation . I could either compliment all of her and come off as an awkward romancer or play it safe , as a new acquaintance . I go for the latter , since the first can be creepy , but little did I know , that I was not in control . " I really love your hair " , was what I ended up with . She smiled and pulled on her dark red hair , probably trying to look at it . She was just as nervous as me . " Really ? I am not a fan of it , myself . " she admitted . " Why not ? It compliments everything about you . " She tilted her head puzzled " Err , what I mean is that you wear it really well . It makes you look very cute . " Her hair was shoulder length and quite thick . Her face had spots of freckles , which looked like they come out mostly in the summer . She looked , well , cute . Amazingly so . She even managed to blush deeply from the compliment . She stood up and reached her hand out . " I 'm Clara , but my friends call me Rah " . she said , smiling . I stood up and took her hand . " I 'm honoured , but my name is Simon and you can call me whatever you want " . She giggled from my cheap joke and smiled wide , while still holding my hand . " I think I will call you just that , then - that okay , Simon ? " she said with a wink . " Then I shall call you Rah , if that is okay , Clara . " I said . Her acknowledgement of my jokes had given me a huge boost , a healthy kick to the stomach that really had me up on edge . She let go of my hand and put them together in a nervous manner , one that can not really be described . She let go of my hand while smiling at me . I wasn 't sure where to look , but my confidence took over and I looked into her eyes . " I love your eyes " I blurted . Before I knew what I had said , she had looked away . I thought I had blown it , that this interesting human being would now disappear without a trace . A sudden rush of panic appeared and I felt a need to explain myself before she thought me a creep . She looked back at me . " How do you do it ? " she asked , her head tilted in confusion . " Hold eye contact , I mean . I am a complete stranger , yet you hold eye contact . " Bewildered at such a forward question , I just shook my head and said what was the truth . " Normally , I couldn 't - " I shrugged , " but something about you just . . you know , gave me the confidence to do so , if you know what I mean ? " I hoped to fuck that she did . I smiled as she nodded , getting what I meant . " Well , I am different , I think . Your compliments make me blush and make me want to look away . I wonder why that is " . The last bit she muttered to herself , while looking down . She then grabbed my hand and held it firmly in hers , not like a handshake but a handhold . " Courage ? " I asked , looking at our hands entwined . She smiled . " I went for it and it felt right . " she loosened her grip , looking a bit scared at me , but I kept it firm in my hands . " It does feel right " I said , nodding . She started to walk and I followed her , holding her warm hand in mine . We talked a bit back and forth , why we were here , what we are doing , what is going on in our life - general getting to know people stuff - but it felt so right and so amazing . I clicked instantly with this girl and I think it was the same way the other way around . Several hours later , as the sun set , we were still holding hands and chatting , making each other laugh and smile . I was amazed at how her straightforwardness have led this to be one of the best experiences I have ever had with another person , almost like a rush of adrenaline together with keeping each other 's confidence up . Nothing was sacred to talk about - it just felt like we were in tune . She was open minded , I was open minded , she gasped at the right places and smiled at the right places , as did I . It felt magical , but yet it also felt right . We were both being as humane as possible and didn 't let social boundaries keep us apart . No subject was holy , nothing was taboo . We were human and the best kind , the direct one where there were no lies , no second though after you spoke , no fear of rejection , just connection . Before I knew it , we had walked for 5 hours . The sun was far gone and the moon glared at us and lit us up . I could barely see her , but could feel and hear every facial expression she 'd pull . I had gotten to know this person better than any of my life - long friends over the course of half a day . Heck , I hadn 't even seen her before in my life until just a few days ago . We had just walked at random and we didn 't really know where we were but she was leading me up a hill . When we reached the top , she let go of my hand and sat down in the grass , looking out on the beautifully lit landscape . She patted next to her , I sat down and she immediately grabbed my hand again and rested her head on my shoulder . We had , from what I could see , walked very far . We were well outside the city we met in . It was such a gorgeous landscape , even at night , and with such an amazing companion , I could help but let a few tears stroll . Even thinking about it , makes me weep happy . " What are you thinking about ? " She whispered , as we both studied the landscape . I thought a bit , then said : " Why did you say hello ? " . Such a simple question . 5 words ending in a question mark and the answer defined a life philosophy for me . " Why ? Because I wanted to and I went for it . Have you ever thought about all the meaningless shit that is going on ? The games that people pull on each other for attention . The countless ways that one can indirectly say something and then it is up to the receiver to decipher it ? Wouldn 't this world be a better place if people were more direct . What I mean is if people said what they meant , so much more would get done . There 'd be so much more love and feelings would be worn on the outside rather than hidden away . There 'd be less uncertainty . " She sighed and looked at the distance . I wasn 't sure whether or not I should be apologizing about my question , but I followed her example and said a direct question that had troubled me . " Why me ? Why not someone else you ran into ? " " You were . . are like me . I saw you , I looked after you , I saw you looking and I saw myself . Someone alone , but someone who also wanted to be outside and try to be social with people and challenge yourself , even if you 're shy . I was so sure that you had thought the same thoughts I had , so I had walked past a few times - - thankfully you didn 't notice - - and I said hi . The simplest of words and look what we have now . " She leaned over and kissed me gently , my lips wet with tears . " Hi . . " she whispered . This is a short story based on the brainstormer found here . It 's not been proofread or revised . Thank you , Mona , for suggesting these words . It hit me before I felt it . Even though this New York yellow cab was out in the suburbs , it had somehow managed to find the one thing it could crash into without us seeing it coming ; the road itself . A massive earthquake had just teared up the entire street , several layers of the concrete was either disappeared or raised . Thankfully for us , we smashed into the latter , instead of falling into the first . The taxi driver . . not so much . As I rushed my wife out the side door , I glanced back at our poor taxi driver , with the regular name of Bob . What a sad end for you , Bob . His face was buried into the steering wheel 's airbag but the apparent hanging of his neck meant that there was no helping him . I fell out , flat on my face onto the tar and kissed it harder than I had any of my girlfriends , including my wife . A real jawbreaker , as it felt like it was sitting in my neck , waiting for the rest of my skull to follow it and then the aftershock came . While trying to get up without scraping my face across the entire road . My wife , however , had other plans . She grabbed my arm , whimpering , and pulled hard to get me out of the car , just as I heard an earshattering WOOSH and I singed just about every hair on my head , including eyebrows . The cab went on fire . No , fire just appeared from out of nowhere . In hindsight , it was most likely the leaking gas tank as well as the very warm summer weather , plus reflections and all that jazz . . not pretty . She dislocated my shoulder as she pulled me away from the firing heap of metal , with my screams barely being audible in the next aftershock . My wife couldn 't hold her balance and went on her glorious behind and , thank fuck , gave loose of my arm so I could try my best at not moving it as much as possible . The beforementioned aftershock did not make it so easy . I pushed myself further away from the car , expecting an explosion and half crawled , half snaked my way to the pavement , onto the cool grass that could get me away from this chaos that my mind could not understand , thankfully . If the adrenaline wasn 't pumping , I 'd be too aware of my dislocated shoulder , my singed - - and most likely horribly burnt - - face , as well as checking if my mouth wasn 't still laying right next to the cab , in what I can only expect is fully engulfed in fire right about now . After what felt like hours , I finally felt the grass on my face , turned around and saw my wife storming in next to me as another loud WOOSH appeared . " Bye , Bob " is all I could muster before I passed out from the way too obvious pain . She stared at her mobile again . Then put it on the table , looked away for a second , then picked it up again . Battery level was fine , reception was good . . but it might drop , might be better to go outside . She shrugged , sighing to herself and putting it back down . This has been her daily ritual for the last couple of days , her life centred on this fucking phone just because of being uncertain about something . Other than crying , of course - which she have done plenty of . TVs been off for the last 2 weeks , batteries was taken out of the remote and thrown away . She wanted to be cut away from the world as much as possible , just waiting for that call . She rummaged around in the kitchen , trying to find something worthwhile eating . She wasn 't really hungry , but she knew she had to eat . Wait , was that the phone ? She stopped rummaging for a minute , listening intently , sighing , then going in to check on the phone . No calls . No texts . No nothing . She went back to the kitchen , found some dry biscuits and ate one with disgust . It felt like she might vomit , just by the mere touch of food to her lips . She had already vomited several times , from nervousness , she told herself . She had zoned out . She checked the clock . Must have zoned out for a couple of hours . She reached for the phone , still sitting on the table , charger firmly in . Nothing . It was dark outside now . Her head was spinning and she could barely get on her legs and she , for the first time in quite awhile , felt hungry . She contemplated using the phone to call for a pizza , but they might call when the line is busy . " FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK ! " She yelled . That startled the dog upstairs , which started barking . Angry footsteps ran across the floorboards upstairs . The sign of some life around here made her feel a bit better , a bit more protected . From what ? There is nothing worry about , Susan . She looked in the kitchen again , sure she must have some weird food hiding away . Nothing still . She was racing back and forth . Why did he have to do it ? He knows I love him , so why did he need to fucking do this ? Why . Fucking why . It 's his own fucking fault , I shouldn 't be this messed up from his actions , he justified for me countless times ! She clenched her fists and felt like smashing everything she had in the apartment but sank down on a chair , all her energy gone , sobbing quietly . Ever since Susan had heard the news , she had been a mess . She had mailed in sick to work for days now , she wasn 't even sure it was the weekend . She just did it automatically , in the morning . She couldn 't be around anyone . There had been an attack on her boyfriend 's base . The last bit of information she had received from the TV , before she had decided to shut it all off , was that there was still no contact from them . She broke down - simply snapped - when she heard it . She had panicked , hyperventilated and passed out . She had told him countless times not to go . But he felt he owed it to the country , owed it to freedom . How can a girl deny that for selfish reasons without looking like a selfish bitch ? You cannot , was Susan 's conclusion . She had tried calling the military on a special number she had received . They usually had more information than the media but they would contact her as soon as they knew anything . They still haven 't . She looked at the calendar . 6 days since the attack . She unplugged the phone and fell down in the couch . She felt like she had to get out . Everything here reminded her of him but there was nowhere to go , especially since she wanted to be alone . She felt a vibration in her hand but shrugged it off . She had felt a bit feverish lately and had been twitching uncontrollably . When it didn 't stop , she looked at her hand . The phone was vibrating . From an unknown number . Shaking hands , she picked it up , unable to even whimper a greeting or her own name , the words were simply stuck in her throat . " Hi , it 's me . " was all he said . She broke down in tears and a huge wave of relief flooded over here . The first thing they teach you as a priest is to forgive . Forgiveness . To forgive everyone who wants to repent , who wants to shred them of their sins . At least , that 's the Christian faith . When something bad happens , it is " God works in mysterious ways . " , when one of their own is hurt , it 's all part of God 's divine plan . I was hurt . I am a priest . They told me just that and I got pissed . They told me to consult the book of the Lord to get rid of my anger . I tried . It helped for a bit . I found solace in a book . Heh , it sounds so petty when I say it out loud . Yet , there is so much anger in God 's divine plan . God 's anger . Why is he allowed when I am not ? Weren 't we created in his image ? It didn 't make much sense . It never made sense , but I just accepted it . When the guy who hurt me , made me into what I am , got off in the court . Insufficient evidence that he was there at the time . I became angry . No , I became beyond angry . I was filled with rage . I held myself together in the court , but the way he stared at me as the judge said that the case was dismissed made my Christian heart rotten . My arm twitched . My robotic arm , which he had indirectly given to me , twitched so hard that I couldn 't control it . It pulled in every remaining muscle in my entire body and I couldn 't stop it . I panicked and fell over in the court in a yell of rage and panic . The doctors told me that they honestly had no idea what would trigger such a thing and shrugged it off as nerves being triggered by the anger . To change the subject , one of them asked me when I would come back to the church . I recognized him , little Stanley , all grown up now . Imagine , he believes every bit of bullshit that book had said . He still attended before my injury . To calm him , I said soon but that was a fat lie . My first lie I can ever remember . It felt . . satisfying . Ever since the surgery , that " saved my life " , I had looked at myself in the mirror naked . The cold metallic arms , the metallic leg stared back at me . I had done my best to cover them up when out in public , but they felt so alien to me . They felt just like arms , everything I did worked the way it should but this isn 't what I wanted . I didn 't want to get hurt . Why did he hurt me ? Why did he get let go ? Evidence ? I saw everything , isn 't that enough ? ! I FELT EVERYTHING ! The noise of the saw against my bones still runs through my head . I still wake up in sweat every night . His insane voice , whispering that he enjoys destroying something so pure booming in my ears . He was let lose and it could happen again , another priest could get hurt - fuck , even a child . I stunned myself . I had never cursed before , not even in my mind . I destroyed the mirror in disgust . I honestly don 't remember when I started laying the plans . I think it was mostly done in a haze and when I woke up , I had everything I needed right in front of me . I was in front of his apartment and knew he wouldn 't be home for at least an hour . That cop was especially helpful after I slipped a few Benjamins and he jabbed away for a good 10 minutes about just about everything related to the case . I don 't think he recognized me or he simply didn 't care , or fuck , even wanted me to utilize my own sense of personal judgement upon him . His door was unlocked , as the cop said . The apartment was dirty as hell , no sane person could live here . I was disgusted just being in the room and thought about abandoning the plan but then I heard him . He was right outside the door , breathing heavily . Flashbacks of the incident flashed through my brain and suddenly I held him high in the air , my robotic arms around his throat and my blood boiling . How could such scum be allowed to live on God 's Earth , the sanity questioned my insanity . He couldn 't breath at all . I could feel his windpipe was almost broke underneath my thumbs . In a surge of red anger , I crushed his neck and threw him out of the window . My red and grey world turned white instantly . It was beautiful . He films the clouds . Some might find this odd or otherwise pointless . Some will shun him from thinking it is art , others will find other ways to ridicule this man , who 'd much rather film the nature than do something productive with his time . None ever took the time to stop and reflect upon what he was doing , no one took the time to just look upwards . Upwards to clouds and the sky beyond them . Upwards to the stars currently unable to be seen through the marvel that is the sun . Upwards and towards the planets that move across the sky , out towards galaxies , the universe , the infinity that is beyond . It wasn 't until I stood behind him , eyeing him as he was filming . He said just a sentence to me , with a quirky smile " Experience the endlessness " . I leaned back , my mind disappeared and I was floating in space , enjoying the beauty of the universe , realizing that I am just the smallest amount of dust in an ever expanding universe . Let 's start from the beginning , I was tossed into what can only be described as dysfunctional family . Dad was an alcoholic , who was barely home , except to sleep , yell , hit my mother and spank us kids . I know it sounds like a big fat cliché from just about any period movie . Mother whored herself out to anyone who 'd pay and didn 't care about her countless bruises . Most of the money went to giving us clothes and food . She was loving , however , gave us all her attention , when she wasn 't staring blankly into space , tears rolling down her face . I had a sister and a brother . Both were older than me , by 5 and 7 years , respectively . I rarely talked to them , as they did their very best at being as far away from home as possible . Thinking back , it was probably the best thing one could do in such a situation . My position in the home was that I was asked to do something and then I did it . I was a pushover at school and my teachers commented that I was distant and unavailable . The first time my dad heard this , I had a ringing headache for weeks afterwards and I did my best to be available and be the best student I could for him . My mother mainly used me for chores , when she was unable to , mostly when she couldn 't stop crying or was completely exhausted . I ignored her cries and , probably , saw themselves as a sort of weakness . None in this household showed any sort of emotion , other than my mother who also did her best to hide it . On the outside , it probably looked like everything was okay . We were bathed , we had food in our stomachs , reasonably new clothes but there were absolutely no family life what so ever . At Christmas we 'd get one gift from our mother and those Christmases were probably the times where she was the most happy . At around age 10 , it got even worse . Who 'd have known , it could actually get worse . If I remember correctly , days were normally a haze . I had no one to play with , afternoons were spent doing homework or helping out at home . There were no friends and the only joy I seemed to have was when my mother wasn 't crying . Dad brought home a friend , who introduces himself as uncle Bob . Ever the gentleman , " uncle " Bob said , dad said he could stay around here . My sister was 17 at this point and had , pretty much , moved out . My dad never noticed but my mother was happy for her and , sometimes , visited her at her new place . When she came home , her spirit was usually lifted . Uncle Bob took over her room , which was just a bed and a desk . Just like my dad , he constantly smelt like alcohol , but unlike my dad , he was more home . I noticed he made a lot of moves on my mother , who she fought off with strength I 've never seen before . I remember thinking he 'd hit her now but it never came to be . Uncle Bob might as well have been a gentler version of my dad . One day I woke up to him standing in the doorway . All I could see was his silhouette but he slowly moved into my room , obviously drunk . I 'd imagined my dad was passed out in the living room and my mother had shaken off his advances . He came to my bed and attempted to get into it , hussing at me . I moved over , scared but feeling indifferent . I had no idea what was coming . I did as he asked and suddenly my head was in my pillow , turned towards the open door . He was big , I remember - so it hurt a lot . Suddenly , I saw my mother 's silhouette in the door . She looked for a second , then ran down to her room . I heard the shot , but uncle Bob didn 't stop . I felt nothing . After the police had been here , the social workers arrived . They introduced themselves , but I do not remember their name . They were here to hear how I was doing in the middle of all this . I had refrained from saying anything to the police other than that I had heard the shot . I didn 't know why , maybe because uncle Bob was there . They took me with them and asked all the questions I somewhat expected . I told them everything . About how my dad hits us , siblings moving out , my mother . But I didn 't tell them about uncle Bob . I didn 't tell them about what dad becomes when he stops taking his medicine . I didn 't tell them about uncle Bob .

If only decorating the tree was as easy as this simple painting . The first thing I do is assemble my large imitation tree . I help my husband as he places the color - coded branches in their respective spaces on the pole , which eventually becomes an evergreen - shaped plastic object . Once the branches are in place , I go around the tree spreading out the small boughs like lettuce leaves , so they are available to hang ornaments . Next I go for the lights ! This year I am using the larger colored bulbs for a more old - fashioned look . As I struggle unwinding the cords , my husband says : No , because I am OCD . ( Doctors say this means Obsessive - Compulsive Disorder , but I say it means Overly Concerned Dunce ) . I can 't accept help because I need to have all the lights spaced evenly around the tree with no two lights of the same color next to each other . No one else seems to have the patience or concern to do that . And if they do , they always make a mistake and I have to do it over . And if you are a mental health practitioner , yes I am in therapy ! Unfortunately , I am that way with the ornaments too , so the next day I drag out the old foot - locker that has held our Christmas decorations for the last 20 years . It is always fun to open it , because years ago I glued a giant picture of Santa 's face on the inside , and he greets me with a big smile . I can 't help it . I always smile back and giggle . I begin routing around for ornaments , pulling out the larger glass balls first , then the medium and small . I put them on the tree carefully , according to color , spacing and size until I am satisfied that it looks perfect . Then I add the special ones , including angels of different sizes , a snowman , a glass elephant and a Madonna and child ornament . At last the tree is beginning to look done . I fall exhausted onto the sofa , while my husband tries to revive me , patting me softly and saying " it looks beautiful . " But I don 't hear him , I 'm asleep . Unfortunately , if you are the hostess , one by one these ideal fantasies disappear as the actual day approaches , and the reality of bringing this feast into fruition begins to weigh on your mind . The first bubble pops when you enter the grocery store to purchase the last few items you 've forgotten . Suddenly the list seems very long and you begin to feel like a blind sardine pushing a half ton truck through a crowded stream . When you get to the checkout , the second bubble pops when you faint as the checkout girl tells you the bill is over $ 100 . A kind older man who is not fixing thanksgiving dinner helps you to your feet so you can put the groceries on your credit card . As you leave the store you notice other shoppers who are audibly crying in the check out aisles . Suddenly you are back on your feet beginning your preparation for two pies . Now the remaining bubbles are popping simultaneously , as you realize you will be spending the entire day tomorrow baking the turkey and making the stuffing , mashed potatoes , gravy , rolls , green bean casserole , and cranberry sauce . What in the world are you going to do ? As a hippie at 30 years of age , I hitchhiked for months carrying only a backpack . I went with two young men and we hitched from LA up the West coast to Vancouver , and crossed over into Newfoundland , a trip of more than 4 , 000 miles . I did it without a purse . How is it that as an older woman , I can 't go anywhere without my huge purse ? It measures 15 " W X 9 " D X 5 " H and weighs 4 - 5 pounds ? At what point in life did I decide to carry a purse ? I know the answer to that . I was 31 and I got a job . In other words , I went straight . Believe me , it 's not the money that makes it heavy . It 's everything else that has found its way into my handbag . Apparently as I got older I needed more stuff , and I have inadvertently become a victim of heavy purse syndrome . By the way , punching a whole in the bottom doesn 't work . Even though the weight of the purse hurts my arm and my back , as soon as I take the smallest thing out , I need it within the first hour of leaving the house . I know I 'm complaining , but I don 't know what else to do but tell the world about my heavy purse dilemma . Maybe someone has a solution . I know African women carry things on their heads . Has anyone else tried that ? The worst part of it is that the older I get , the more stuff I need with me to stay reasonably alive until I return home . Of course I need to carry my cell phone , my keys and my wallet , and I 'm just not comfortable without my hand lotion , a nail file , and lip balm . I mean they are necessities . Call it stuff ad infinitum ( stuff that multiplies infinitely ) . And now for the final admission of guilt . I am continually thirsty and I usually carry a bottle of Aquafina in my purse ! All I need now is a sandwich , and … but hey , I have to draw the line somewhere ! The joy of warm sunny days is upon us . We can finally relax and sit in the sunshine and drink iced tea . We can lay back and think about nothing . After all , what else is there to do ? I decide to put on my swim suit and lay in the sun , hoping the kids find something to occupy themselves . While I am putting on my suit , which reveals a few unsightly new bulges , I realize I am out of sunscreen . This is an emergency , because I burn right away and can 't risk lying in the sun without SPF 400 . If I continue with this plan , everyone has to get dressed and go to the drugstore . For some inane reason , I don 't trust the kids to stay out of trouble when I leave home to do a simple errand . How about going to the lake and renting a canoe ? Perfect . I can stop by the drug store and pick up the sunscreen on our way . The kids are onboard with the idea , and we get dressed for boating , including our hats , and drive 45 minutes to the lake . By the time we get there , we are hungry and grouchy , so we stop at the concession stand for $ 25 worth of hot dogs , candy bars , potato chips and drinks . Hoping I still have enough cash to rent a canoe , we stand in line for 15 minutes . I notice the cost has been raised since last summer and they are now charging an arm and a leg for a one hour rental . I guess canoe robberies have escalated since last year and are now a big time operation , but I wonder how you can steal a canoe in broad daylight . We finally rent a canoe . Our first challenge is actually getting in the canoe . Did you ever see a boat that tipped so easily ? I sit in the front paddling the craft through the peaceful waters , while my 12 - year old son , Jay , sits in the back , steering . He learned canoeing from his father last summer and is ready to show - off his skills . I am not as confident as he is . My daughter who is eight , sits in the middle yakking about everything she sees . Doesn 't she realize the joy of canoeing is the peace and quiet of still waters ? Jay is fairly quiet , only complaining occasionally about everything from being hot to getting his new tennis shoes wet . Suddenly , we see a pontoon boat coming around a bend toward us . It is quite large and seems to be hogging the middle of the lake pretty well . Jay and I both see it at the same time and prepare to move the canoe to the left . However , Jay gets confused and moves the canoe to the right . We are starring frightfully into the eyes of the man steering the pontoon boat , when he blasts an extremely loud blare from an air horn . It scares Jay so much he drops his paddle in the water . We are hypnotized , watching it sink . While I scramble to steer the canoe from the front , it bangs into the side of the pontoon boat . Wham ! There is a moment of terror while the canoe tips dangerously and we all nearly fall in the water . I wonder if we will survive . In my panic , I drop the other paddle , which seems to be in a hurry to join its partner at the bottom of the lake . When we finally make it home , wet , disgusted and grumpy , I face a terrible truth . Tomorrow may be no better . The terror of warm sunny days is upon me . If you would like to read it , you have to go to my blog and start on the blog from May 24th , My Neighbor the Yard Gnome , which is the first section of the series . Then you would read the blog from May 26th , Yard Gnome II . If your not laughing by that time , you can read the blog from May 27th , Yard Gnome III . I hope you can still laugh after all this confusion . I didn 't think things could get any worse , when Jessie devised a plan for catching her husband . She had found an old dolly in the shed . It wasn 't a baby doll , it was one of those gizmos men use to move heavy items . She thought we could pick up the gnome and move him back to the house on the dolly . It wasn 't a bad idea , considering the problem . I wish you could have seen us trying to move that stupid gnome . We had a terrible time getting it onto the dolly , and when we did , neither of us had to strength to push it over the grass . We were groaning and moaning . It was a predicament . The gnome was the heaviest thing I had ever tried to lift and even together we could hardly get him right side up . He was at a weird angle and pretty far away from the bird bath . After our dolly folly , neither Jessie nor I could figure out what to do . Since I didn 't really believe Paul had turned into a yard gnome , I decided I needed to spy on him at night . I didn 't mention to Jessie that I thought he was seeing another woman , but she thought he must be moving around at night , doing the yard work by the light of the moon . The next night we hid outside behind the bushes near the bird bath and watched the gnome . It was back in its original place , with the hose in its hand . Nothing happened for awhile and I almost feel asleep , when we heard a funny noise and something whizzed past us into the woods . The yard gnome had moved ! " Yes I did , and I heard it too . Do you think it was ……… could it have been … . . Paul ? " I couldn 't believe it . How could he move that fast . I must have been asleep . I couldn 't see Jessie 's face , but I knew she was excited . We began calling out Paul 's name into the darkness , sneaking through the yard quietly . Jessie handed me a flashlight and I lead the way , as we walked round and round the bird bath and through the yard . She was calling Paul in a plaintive voice . " Paul …… Paul , please come in … . Here Paul … . . I 'm sorry I made you do all the housework … " She repeated it like a mantra for awhile . Finally she screamed " Come here you idiot . " " Of course , " I whispered . I pointed the light toward the woods , checking out the trees and the bushes , but no Paul . There was a slight glow coming from behind one of the larger trees , and suddenly I saw the top of a pointy red hat . I grabbed Jessie by the arm . " Look over there , " I whispered . We both saw the red hat . We moved closer and I turned off the flashlight so Paul couldn 't see us . Then we saw the tops of more than one hat . My thoughts were running wild . Could there be more of these little men ? More yard gnomes ? Was this a meeting ? There was a small fire in the middle of the group and we heard quiet laughter . We slipped up closer to the little fire and counted the gnomes . Six in all , and sure enough , there was a female gnome standing next to Paul . She looked almost the same as the other gnomes , but she had blond hair , no beard and she was wearing a skirt . Jessie was really mad by then , and I hoped she knew better than to make a scene . " Not ! " he said . " I 've met someone else . " He nodded his head towards the cute little female gnome . " You know what they say , gnome , sweet gnome . " On the way home , despite her anger , a tear ran down Jessie 's cheek . " I had no idea my husband would become a yard gnome . Do you think I forced him into it ? I miss Paul , and I am so lonely sometimes . It 's just not that nice at home anymore . " I finally had the answer she needed . " Well , at least your yard is beautiful ! The lawn seems to be perfectly groomed , and I got you a subscription to Gnome and Garden magazine . " This story becomes sadder and sadder every time I tell it . Jessie was coming over to my house every morning to discuss her problem . As I sat with her , I realized she was slipping over the edge . " You think I should go to a psychologist ? " Jessie was definitely insulted and she got up and left , slamming my kitchen door so hard , I thought the glass was going to break . I felt bad about it , but I breathed a sigh of relief . " I guess you 're right . Do you have the name and number of a psychologist ? " I gave her the number and she left . When I drove past her house I saw that the yard gnome had not moved and was still holding the hose , smiling . I was amazed that Jessie 's yard still looked perfect . How could that be ? I asked her if she was doing the yard work . " Yes it does , " I agreed . Over the next few days I really tried to figure it out . How could a man turn into a yard gnome , I kept thinking . There had to be some explanation . Maybe Paul had put a stone yard gnome in his place and was sneaking off to see another woman . It certainly made sense considering the way Jessie treated him . But how could the gnome look so much like him ? Later that week Jessie knocked on my door . " Oh no , here we go again , " I thought . I was glad to hear she had visited the psychologist , but sad to hear the results . " That psychologist is a nutcase . He kept asking me about my feelings . How did I feel about my husband turning to stone ? Had I done anything to offend him ? How did I feel about doing his household chores ? Was I willing to give up my soaps ? It was just hopeless . When I got home it was dark . I hoped Paul had returned to being a man , so I ran in the house hoping he was watching TV , being his normal self . He wasn 't . " She started crying again . " It doesn 't matter how I feel about it , it only matters that he 's not around any more . He 's not around to do the dishes , or take out the garbage or wash the car . He doesn 't do the vacuuming , or dust . He 's just standing in the yard . I knew he 'd find a way to avoid doing his chores . " When I first met Jessica and Paul Yardley I thought they would be great neighbors . They were polite and friendly and their place looked like a picture from Home and Garden magazine . Often , during those first weeks after they moved in , I would see Paul working in the yard - mowing , planting , pruning , watering - he did everything with a pleasant smile on his face . He seemed very happy . However , I soon learned that Jessie wasn 't happy at all . When we got together for coffee one day , she expounded on her husband 's faults . He was lazy and stupid , shirked his chores in the house , and all he wanted to do was work in the yard . I came away realizing she was very bossy and quite dysfunctional , even crazy perhaps . Friday , she came rushing over to my house and knocked loudly on the back door . " Can I talk to you ? " she asked , pushing her way into the house . I agreed and we sat down at the kitchen table . " Paul won 't come in the house ! " I had no answer for this and she went on . " Paul went out to work in the yard on Wednesday and never came back in . He finished the mowing two hours later and I kept expecting him to come back in the house , but he didn 't . I didn 't really care at first . I needed my nap and I had to watch my soaps , plus I had to prepare dinner . It seems like the work never ends . " I 'm over here , " he yelled back . His voice sounded a little weaker than usual , but I didn 't think anything of it . He was some distance away . " I 'll be in soon , " he said smiling at me . I thought his smile was a little stiff , but I was too far away to get a good look . I was tired from a long day 's housework and I went back inside . I called him two more times that evening , but I finally ate dinner alone . I even ate some of his , but I left him some on a plate . Then I did his job , washing the dishes . That made me really mad and I called him several more times to come in , but didn 't get an answer . That evening I fell asleep in front of the TV , alone . " Unbelievable as it seems , Jessie told me that Paul never came in that night . In fact , he never came back in at all , and it made her very angry . The next day she went out to find him . He was still standing by the bird bath with the hose . She decided she needed to check him out carefully , so she trekked all the way out to the bird bath to see him . She noticed that he looked shorter than usual . " Aren 't you going to come in soon ? I 'm sure the birds and the flowers have enough water by now ! " " I don 't really care if the president came by , " she screamed . " I need your help in the house ! " She was finally losing her patience with her husband . Didn 't he know that he had responsibilities in the house ? The dishes were piling up and he forgot she needed help with the vacuuming . And why would she care if the wild animals had enough to drink ? After an uncomfortable silence she said , " Well , I 'm going ahead with my day . If you want to stay out here all day , I guess that 's up to you ! " She was mad and stomped into the house . The next morning she called me and asked me to come over and try to convince Paul to come back in the house . When I saw him I was shocked . He seemed much shorter than I remembered , so I looked down to see if he was standing in a hole . He wasn 't . His white hair had grown longer . His face looked the same but his body was much smaller than it had been . Paul Yardley seemed to be morphing into a little yard gnome . Even his clothes and shoes must have gotten smaller , because they still fit the same way . And somewhere he found a long pointy red hat . " Take that hat off , " Jessie demanded . " It makes you look stupid . " He just looked at her and laughed . She didn 't want the neighbors to see him wearing it . She grabbed at the hat , but then grimaced . " Feel this hat , " she said , giving me a direct order . To my surprise , the hat was as hard as a rock . I was taken aback . Jessie and I couldn 't pull it off . We looked at Paul with total bewilderment . Then I touched his shoulder and it was hard too . " What happened to you ? " I asked . He just stood there watering and smiling and didn 't answer . I wondered if he could even talk . Could his mouth move if it was stone ? His eyes were still alert and moved around , looking at me and the lawn . " Quit turning into stone and come in the house , " Jessie demanded , but by noon Paul had turned completely into a yard gnome . All the yard work was meticulously done , but we never saw him move a muscle or a stone arm or leg , or give a toss of his hard head . He was as hard as a rock , and couldn 't talk , so Jessie turned off the hose and went shopping . I was going to blog about the psychodynamics of complex multiple personality disorder today , but when I woke up my brain went into a pathological brain freeze . When I try to think , this fluffy white stuff starts flying around in my head , giving me cerebral frostbite . I would very much like to share wonderful truths with my followers , but the truth is I have only frozen memories of such things . Things such as words , sentences , clear thoughts , memories , ideas and other assorted subjects evade me . In other words , my brain is snowed in . Sorry about that ! Perhaps tomorrow there will be a thaw . Former Vice President , Alvin More , has announced that the latest weather trend , Local Freezing , does not preclude Global Warming . Now shown on all TV weather maps , one can readily see that the United States is a target of Local Freezing , or National Freezing , however the weather forecasters describe the current temperatures over the northeastern United States . Unfortunately , for most Americans , the weather map shows that the rest of the world is much warmer and , in some cases , rather balmy . Has the Word " Cold " become Obsolete ? Meteorologists , commonly called Weather Men , are confused and upset , unable to understand the connection all this cold has to do with that warming ' balderdash . ' Mr . More refuses to back down on his stand for Global Warming , still insisting that it isn 't cold , just slightly cool , and it is not necessary to wear an overcoat , hat , ear - muffs or gloves to ward off this ' anti - warming ' trend , which will soon pass . Appearing in only his well - groomed brown suit , the former Vice President gave a speech on the front steps of his home in Nashville , insisting for the umpteenth time that global warming is a real phenomena , much like extra - terrestrials , ghost - busters and Big Foot . More claims the word " cold " has become obsolete . Unfortunately , his speech was cut - off prematurely , when his teeth began chattering and he ran into the house to get warm . More was recently challenged by representatives from The Weather Channel , who accused Alvin of being cold and unfeeling , uncool and hot - tempered . The weather bugs are challenging More and his followers to a swim - off in Lake Placid in February to see who has the guts to swim in the freezing waters . Then maybe they will remember the word " cold ! " When I first got married in 1964 , I didn 't have a clue about how to be a housewife . I was still in my last semester of college , and all I knew was what a knife and fork looked like and which appliance was the refrigerator . I did have experience at the sink , washing my hands and getting a drink of water , but as a teenager I had studiously avoided Mom 's kitchen . It really was a studied avoidance , because after dinner , I often gave my mother the excuse that I had to study , so I couldn 't help with the dishes . Unfortunately , it was true . I always had so much homework my eyes fell out every night at 10 : 00 . But I 'm getting behind myself . My husband and I managed to eat out for the first few nights . My mom had given me her Betty Crocker Cookbook and after several days of screw - ups , mishaps , and culinary disasters , I decided to make chicken , mashed potatoes and peas . At least I knew about the three food groups : easy , difficult , and impossible . Betty 's Cookbook informed me how to bake the chicken , which turned out to be blackened but edible . It was the mashed potatoes that proved impossible . The recipe said to put the potatoes in a pan with ½ inch of water . Betty forgot to mention that the water needed to cover the potatoes and have an extra ½ inch on top of them . Anyway , I burned the potatoes . I did cook the canned peas in a small saucepan with water and they turned out fine ( 1964 was during the pre - microwave period in culinary history ) . I think my husband was still hungry after dinner , but he didn 't say anything . The next night we went to " Big Boy " for hamburgers and fries . My history of not - so - good dinners finally changed when I had children and was forced to stay home all day and take care of them . I began to care about cooking . Really , I began to care about eating , and I was serving Kraft Macaroni and Cheese every other night , so I needed to study up on making nutritious , edible and tasty dinners . A neighbor taught me how to make a delicious pot roast . I 'm getting hungry just talking about it . I had finally conquered baked chicken and I understood every step of making creamy mashed potatoes . My girlfriend found a great recipe for spaghetti sauce and I learned how to make that . At that point I was able to boil noodles . Chef Boy - ar - dee is a real man from Piacenza , Italy whose name was spelled Hector Boiardi . He had a famous restaurant in NYC and was one of the first chefs to package his ingredients together in a box for sale to the public . People ate it up ! Unfortunately , Betty Crocker is a crock . Yes , I 'm sorry to burst your bubbles , but Betty isn 't a real person . She was started by the Washburn Crosby Company in Minneapolis in 1921 , invented to give a personal touch to thousands of requests they received about baking . Here are some pictures of Betty during her early years . As a young bride of 21 , about a hundred years ago , I had to make breakfasts , lunches , dinners , do the food shopping and wash the dishes , and I didn 't have a clue . I had purposely avoided the kitchen at home because I didn 't like my mother . She always seemed to find fault with me . I hadn 't been married long when I decided to make an apple pie . In those olden days , one had to make piecrust from scratch and anyone who has done this , knows it is a skill that needs carefully practiced . I started with a stick of soft margarine and some flour and salt . I happily mixed it all together expecting it to become dough . However , it didn 't become dough . It became a wet , gooey mess . I started over with fresh ingredients , reading the recipe over several times to get it right . This time I got a bunch of crumbles that wouldn 't congeal without adding water , and when I did add it , the same thing happened . Then I cried . I called my mother , but she wasn 't home . I called my girlfriend and she told me I needed several things I didn 't have . First I needed to use real butter , and I needed a pastry blender . I didn 't have one . I didn 't even know what they looked like . I cried some more . She said I could blend the shortening and the flour with a fork but I had to do it very easily in order to get a good crust . Apparently if you mash the ingredients together too hard , the dough gets tough , and the tough get doughy . I actually tried to make the crusts again , using butter and a fork to blend it , but it still didn 't work . I cried long and hard after that . If tears were used to moisten the crust mixture , I could have had the best pie ever made . I 'm sure at some point I threw something to vent my anger , but I don 't remember what . What I do remember is the flour was all over everything , there were dirty forks , spoons and bowls and there was no pie . Whoever said something was " as easy as pie , " has never tried to make a pie crust from scratch . Long live ready - made pie crusts . No tears necessary . During the late forties , my family was one of the lucky ones who usually took a vacation to the beach every summer . We had several places in New Jersey where we went for a week or two to swim , go to the boardwalk and ride bicycles . Our favorite place at that time was Wildwood - by - the - Sea . We would rent a wood - frame duplex with two bedrooms , a kitchen and a living room about two or three blocks from the ocean . It wasn 't fancy , but my sister , Gretchen , and I thought it was paradise . Almost every day , we packed up a picnic basket and grabbed the towels , beach blanket , sand buckets and umbrella and hiked a few blocks to the beach . We 'd spend most of the day at the beach , enjoying swimming and building sand castles and eating delicious ( but sandy ) ham sandwiches until we went home for naps in the afternoon . Even our parents took naps , they were so exhausted from taking care of us . This game was played at the beach in the shallow water . My father 's name was Hans Beyerl and he had come to the United States from Germany when he was 19 years old . He still had his German accent . He would take us into the water and he would kneel down and pretend he was our little boy . My sister and I would hold his hands and when a wave came we would try to help him " jump " the wave . He 'd make it over the first few waves , but sometimes he 'd let the waves smack him right in the face and we 'd squeal and worry he would drown . Then a " big one " would come along and he would go under the water like he was drowning and we would squeal and try to help him up . " Little Hansie 's drowning , " we would scream and try as hard as we could to lift him up . Sometimes he would come up and sometimes he wouldn 't . Then we would squeal even louder and try harder to lift him up , meanwhile laughing and giggleing , as only children can . I remember the joy of playing this game , perhaps better than anything else from my childhood . I 'm sure we squealed enough to bother a few people trying to relax , but we had such a good time I don 't think anyone was upset about it . And my poor father . We always wondered how he withstood getting salt water all over his face all the time , but he didn 't seem to care . I think he loved this game too ! When you start , you think you 'll just write down a few things about the subject , put them in an outline and write a chapter a week until you get it all down . But then , about a third of the way through the project you start to realize it 's going to be a lot harder to write this thing than you thought . At first your ideas were so simple and orderly , but suddenly there are conflicting ideas and many more possibilities than you first thought . It 's like jumping into a big vat of words . You swim around in the words for awhile , but you don 't know how to get out . There 's only one thing to do : realize it 's going to take a really long time to write your book , and settle in for the long haul . You have to learn to swim in the big vat of words . You 're a writer . Finally you begin to get to the end of your planned book . Just a few more chapters to go . However , when you start to tie up the loose ends , there are so many that it 's hard to sort them out . My question is this : how can a few more chapters take so long to write ? Is it possible that the end of the book is harder to write than the beginning ? Is it even possible to know when it 's done ? Well , I finally finished my first draft of my memoir . I feel like I have done something very special because I finished my book . I am finally coming up for air , climbing out of the big vat of words . Wow there 's life out there ! There are people walking around doing things . Yes ! I feel like I have accomplished a good thing . I 've written a book . Whether or not anyone reads it is another story entirely . Or would that be another book ?

MR . HUNNICUTT : This interview is for the Center of Oak Ridge Oral History . The date is November 8 , 2012 . I am Don Hunnicutt in the home of Mrs . Mary Ann Davidson , 117 Orange Lane , Oak Ridge , Tennessee , to take her oral history about living in Oak Ridge , Tennessee . Please state your full name and your place of birth and your date of birth . MRS . DAVIDSON : My name is Mary Ann Davidson . My date of birth is January 12 , 1925 . I was born in Louisville , Kentucky . I lived there all my early life until I graduated from college . MRS . DAVIDSON : My father was William H . Courtenay . He was born in 1890 , on March 3 . He was in World War I and lived his entire life in Louisville and Shelbyville , Kentucky . He worked for the Mengel Company . They imported mahogany and hardwood from Africa and Central America . He delivered those to customers . He didn 't consider himself a salesman , but he sold them to the furniture factory - furniture makers around Kentucky , mostly Indiana and Cincinnati and some in Tennessee . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , he did not . The Louisville Male High School was considered a fine school at that time . They said that graduates could enter Harvard in their second year . The principal had written textbooks that were apparently used all over . But my father was interested in raising ponies . His father had a farm in Shelbyville , Kentucky . If you 'd didn 't make the grade , you are special . And Dr . Ruben Post - Halleck , the famous principal of the school , told him if he took an exam in math , he could be entered back in . He did that , and he aced the test . He was back in . Then he was a special in English , so they told him if he memorized the " Lady of the Lake " and said that he could get back in school . So he did that . I think he never did finish . He was a twin , and his twin was more of an engineering type and went to manual training high school . MRS . DAVIDSON : She grew up in several small towns in western Kentucky . Her father worked for the L & N Railroad . She had her high school in Hopkinsville , Kentucky . She had to stay home - or she went to junior college nearby . She had a scholarship to Randolph Macon Women 's College , but she couldn 't take it because her mother was ill and died at age 50 . It was about the year I was born , I think . MRS . DAVIDSON : His name was William Howard Courtenay III . My father was named for his uncle , who was also William Howard . My older brother works for Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green in the physics department . He made instruments . My younger brother was a pediatrician in Louisville , and he is still living on a farm in Shelbyville . He 's interested in Kentucky antiques . MRS . DAVIDSON : I went to an unusual kindergarten and first grade . I was at what they called the Enterprise Branch of I . N . Bloom School . It was only kindergarten and first grade . It was in the older building , where we had a Pot Belly Stove . I think we had a maid to help us take our leggings off in the cold weather - galoshes . It was really a wonderful school . It was almost like a private one . It was public . We did things like making butter and we had an orchestra . I played the triangle . I had started a little bit earlier when my younger brother was born . Louisville had half semester , half - year grades . I would 've been a half year , but I skipped the last half of kindergarten . I went to the school board and took a test and went on , so they put me in the regular school year . I went through the big school the I . N . Bloom School and Highland Junior High School in Louisville . Then I went to Atherton High School for Girls . The Louisville public schools were segregated - boys and girls . There were about 900 girls at Atherton . My graduating class was about 200 , and I was the valedictorian . MRS . DAVIDSON : They are pants to keep your legs warm . They zipped up from the inside of the ankle bone up to about knee - high , I guess it was . They were a royal pain to take on and off , so the teacher had to have help to do that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was just ordinary . I 'm sure the girls wore dresses , and the little boys wore suits - not suits , but pants and shirts . MRS . DAVIDSON : I came to Oak Ridge after I graduated from college . I had two years of getting a master 's at Emory while I worked at my alma mater , Agnes Scott College in Decatur , Georgia . I was the chemistry lab instructor . So after those two years were up , I was interested in working in chemistry or biochemistry . My master 's was in biochemistry . In Louisville , there was nothing in that field , except liquor and paint - neither of which I was interested in . In Atlanta , I would like to stay in Atlanta , I heard that Oak Ridge was an interesting new place , and a lot was going on here . One of my dear college friends had recently married a physicist from the University of Kentucky , so I visited them here . I guess that must have been 1947 . Her husband was working at NEPA . He said they were looking for people with a chemistry degree . I applied , and I was accepted . I didn 't know that until I had completed the clearance , so I took the opportunity to go to Europe at an American youth hostel bicycle tour of Western Europe in the summer of 1948 . When I got home , I found that I had indeed gotten the job at Oak Ridge . So I came down here . MRS . DAVIDSON : I was wondering that . I think I came by train . When I interviewed earlier in the spring , my interview was at the Andrew Johnson Hotel . It was one of the private rooms . I had never seen the company here . I think I must have been met by a car and driver and brought to Oak Ridge . MRS . DAVIDSON : I came in through the Vermont Gateway , which is where the gas station is now on the corner of what I call Vermont . They call it North Rutgers now . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , I think it must 've been after that . That would 've been at Christmas time . When I applied , I imagine it was early spring . MRS . DAVIDSON : We called the company NEPA , for Nuclear Energy for the Propulsion of Aircraft . It was managed by the Fairchild Corporation the way Union Carbide or one of the other contractors managed the lab . I did not know until the first day I went to work just what the company was doing . They handed me a volume of information that said , " We are looking for - we are trying to make an airplane powered by nuclear energy that could fly to Russia and back without refueling . " That was a great shock to me . MRS . DAVIDSON : I lived in Columbia Hall Dormitory . I was very surprised to find that the rent was $ 15 a month until I realized it was one very small room . That was my living quarters . I took the opportunity to stay out of it as much as possible . I did that by babysitting in some of the B and D houses in the evening . Grandmothers were not here since it was a closed community . Babysitters were in short supply , and even though I didn 't need the money , it was good to get out of the dormitory . MRS . DAVIDSON : The dormitory was like Cheyenne Hall . It was the same type of building . It had wooden stairways from the second - floor hall down on each end . I lived on the second floor . Our dormitory was mostly nurses , since it was up on the hill next to the hospital - I think where the west parking lot is now . There was a kitchen on each end where we could have our own breakfast . Of course we were at the plant at lunchtime , and then we usually went out to supper . I opened the refrigerator door one morning and somebody 's milk came spilling out down my front . Everybody just stuffed things into the refrigerator . MRS . DAVIDSON : I had a single room with a twin bed and enough room to walk to the window by the bed . There was a little table that served as a desk with a chair . There was a much coveted dormitory dresser - a tall one with a number of drawers . They were very popular . MRS . DAVIDSON : They had a wonderful bus service here . Travel wasn 't really a problem . We walked , of course , from the dormitory to Jackson Square and ate supper usually at the Mayflower , which is where I first saw my husband - to - be . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was on the corner of Tennessee , right across from the Soup Kitchen and the Texaco gas station there on the northeast corner . It was a very popular place . In fact , there were several places you could eat . It was the Central Cafeteria , and the T & C Cafeteria in Jackson Square , which is about where the Epicurean is now toward the garden . MRS . DAVIDSON : It must 've been the A & P on Jackson Square . Jackson Square was really the center of activity as far as I was concerned at that time . I still love it . I hope it keeps going . MRS . DAVIDSON : The department stores - the big department store was Taylor 's at the time . They had a wonderful book department headed by Mrs . Keyes , whose daughter I knew at work . They had really fine art books and other books that they would have a great sale on once or twice a year . We were very happy with that . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was in the middle of the block between where Big Ed 's is in the corner . I guess it 's mostly used by the engineering company now . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , not frequently , but I went and saw - there was a theater down at Big Ed 's in Jackson Square and where the Playhouse is now . That was the main one . MRS . DAVIDSON : Henebree . McCrory 's 5 & 10 was there . There was a drugstore - a Service Drugstore . I guess that was where Big Ed 's is now , on the very corner . There was Jackson Square Pharmacy , and on the other side the Hamilton Bank was there next to the movie theater . And Samuel 's Men 's Store was a very nice store . The Jackson Square Pharmacy was there , but in between , which the Pharmacy later took over was a Kay 's Ice Cream Store . We used to go there and - my husband and I would when we were dating . I liked to get coffee with ice cream in it , so we went there . MRS . DAVIDSON : I can 't say that I do . It was just a given , I suppose . It didn 't make a big dent in my memory . After six months of the dormitory , I moved to a D house on Norman Lane . That was another era . MRS . DAVIDSON : A D house was a large three bedroom house . They were very much desired . They were really nice houses - still a lot of them are . The house was - there were five other girls who lived there - two of whom had been college friends . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , it would 've been upstairs . It was the second one to the end . A radiation technologist lived on the corner , and I lived there with school teachers and nurses who made up most of the dorm . MR . HUNNICUTT : Let 's talk a little bit about the dorm again . If I had a message for you or someone left a message for you , how did you retrieve your messages ? Was there a desk when you went in ? MRS . DAVIDSON : There was a desk downstairs . I remember the Valentine 's Day - I guess it must 've been 1949 . The message was that I had some flowers , some red roses . I had just met my husband - to - be at that time . I got all excited , and when I got to the desk , it was from somebody else . I enjoyed the red roses , but not as much as I might have . The thing was that there were ladies - a lot of the women who lived in the dorm worked on the night shift . They would sit around a large kind of living room , I guess they called it . They were all staring when I got flowers . I had to walk around , and it was embarrassing . MRS . DAVIDSON : I was there in the winter of 1948 . I 'm very cold natured , but I don 't remember being cold . We had those heavy navy blanket - navy blue blankets . This brings up a story if I jump to it later on . We were moved from the D house after another six months into the brand - new Garden Apartments on Villanova Road . They needed our D house for families . The people who moved in were the Andersons of the Anderson Hilltop Grocery . Of course , the furniture all belonged to the government there . So the Garden Apartments were not furnished , so we had dwindled down from 6 to 4 people who needed furniture . I took a day off and went to an auction the government set up down at the warehouses . I got seven beds and three or four dressers - much more than I could have used . But the beds were in great demand at work because all the young men who worked there were having children and needed beds . So we took the four . Also I got two sofas , and we could use but one ; so I sold one . They were really shabby awful sofas . Since it was all going to surplus anyway , we switched and took the nice sofa from the D house and left them the bad one . It was all taken away anyhow , so I didn 't feel too bad about that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't really remember about the telephone . We didn 't use the telephone much . We never used it for long - distance except for emergencies and calls home . I don 't remember that as being a problem particularly . MRS . DAVIDSON : I suppose I went on the bus . I did not have a car . One of the housemates from Norman Lane had gotten the car , but she would 've been at work at K - 25 . I don 't know . I may have gotten a ride . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess I paid somebody to deliver it . I don 't know . Maybe some of the fellows at work picked up their beds that they wanted . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was one of those warehouses down at the [ Oak Ridge ] Turnpike on Warehouse Road . I don 't know exactly where it was . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess it was on the bulletin boards at work , or there was a newspaper at the Lab . I guess I heard about it that way . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think probably so - in the newsletters they came around , also at the recreation building - the rec hall - at Jackson Square that was the library upstairs and the rec hall downstairs . Word - of - mouth - I don 't remember . We had a need and found the answer to it . MRS . DAVIDSON : I had to punch a clock at eight in the morning when I first started . I guess we got out at 4 : 30 or 5 o ' clock . We had bus service that went from the bus terminal - the Central one - that 's now by Bus Terminal Road . Later on after we were married , we lived on Waddell Circle and went from there to the Jefferson bus terminal . I went - I rode on the K - 25 bus , and they went out past K - 25 to the road that the powerhouse was on and NEPA was beyond that out by the river . MRS . DAVIDSON : There was some kind of management services office . I 'm not sure what it was called - the Roane Anderson Corporation at that time , I guess . I think that 's where I rented the dormitory room . I probably got bus tokens - I guess I got the tokens of the bus terminal . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think I had a checking account probably at Hamilton Bank in Jackson Square . I don 't recall otherwise . I know I did later . One thing I wanted to say about the buses - if you wanted to go to Clinton to do any shopping , more than what you could have in Oak Ridge or to meet somebody or something , there was a bus that ran frequently back and forth between the bus terminal and Clinton . There was a young man on the bus who had a sing - songy sales pitch for " peanuts , popcorn , Cracker Jacks , candy , and chewing gum . " He wouldn 't drive , but he would sell his wares all the way to Clinton and back . I always wondered who that was because he obviously had some talent . MRS . DAVIDSON : I 'm sure I did . I don 't know what became of it . I guess I had to turn it back in . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think somebody just got - one of the guards got on the bus and checked everybody 's badges . It was not a big thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : Probably . I don 't remember . What I do remember about that was my mother was coming down one time for my birthday - it must 've been in January 1949 . She rode the train . I told her that I would get a ride to meet her . Of course , the train didn 't stop at Oak Ridge . It went on to Knoxville , so I bummed a ride with one of the men in our group . He was actually the technical assistant to the director . His car was a broken down old thing with no floorboards in the back seat , which was pretty bad when my mother saw it . But she didn 't see it because when we got to Knoxville , she was not there . When we were coming back from the gateway entrance , she was not there . There was a message that she was waiting for us at the Elza Gate Station . She had told the conductor she had to get off at Oak Ridge . That 's where she was going , and I was going to meet her . So she slid down the Elza bank over there . She had my birthday cake - a large chocolate cake . She slid downhill with that , and somehow they stopped her at the guard gate at Elza . She waited there for us . MRS . DAVIDSON : Just for her - let her off like a milk train . They ordinarily didn 't stop there , but she wouldn 't have it otherwise . MRS . DAVIDSON : I used the library and rec hall . On Sunday afternoons , they played music ; and you could sit and write letters home , which is what I think I did a good bit . Later on in the better weather , there were tennis courts and a swimming pool . I don 't remember going to movies much . We went to church groups . There were so many young people ; it was just like a party all the time . Nothing in particular stands out . It was just fun . MRS . DAVIDSON : In the company I was , that was not true . There were a lot of women of course - of course , the dormitory was full of school teachers and nurses . But NEPA was mostly men . There were two parts to the Fairchild - the science and engineering part , which was bigger . I happen to be in the research part . My boss was a chemist - Vince Calkins . It was my job to - this was a real shocker to me - to find a chemical that would protect the human body against radiation for the reactor that was supposed to be in the airplane to Russia . I had no background for that kind of thing . I was just fresh out of college really . I realized I was out of my depth , but they decided - he was a pharmacist , I believe , and he wanted to do experiments with rats . They brought in the rat colony . By that time we had a couple of assistants , and I was supposed to be the group leader . One of the men , Ray Waldrop - you may have talked to him . I asked him if he minded working for a woman because he was really more experienced than I , although I had the degree . It was fine with him . There was also another worker , Saul Segal , who was quite a character in his own right . I took the rats in the cages over to the reactor , the " Old Lady " at X - 10 , and put them through what they called " rabbits " and radiated them for certain amount of time . We couldn 't kill the darn things . Then we used the older ones that had already been radiated , they were just tough as anything . I think the experiment was really a failure , although they may have found that to be the case in some later work with older people - that the cells are not dividing as fast and they 're not as subject to radiation . But we didn 't get into that . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was actually not K - 25 . It was beyond there . As I said , the bus took us - the bus dumped people off at K - 25 , and they went on west to just before you get to the Gallaher Bridge . You turn right there and go right past the power station there . It was used for a long time - the power house , and then NEPA was beyond that . The native rats came in - was it domestic experimental rats ? That was not good . I had a janitor who helped me , even though he could 've lost his job for doing it . He helped me clean cages . I always appreciated that . MRS . DAVIDSON : When they got rid of the rats , which was a blessing , my group leader then became Bill Browning , who was a fine scientist . He worked on the Van de Graaff generator . We had an interesting argument . Saul Segal thought he should be the one to do it since he was a man and I was a woman who would be leaving soon ; and it turned out that he left for California before I had left to have my baby . His argument didn 't hold with me anyway , but we argued about that some . We did run the Van de Graaff , and we also did some experiments on metallic sodium . It was nasty stuff to work with . It caught on fire if it was exposed to air . You had to work with that under oil in the glove box . I think that work all had to be repeated after NEPA left for Cincinnati with G . E . . When they moved part of NEPA to X - 10 , they called it the ANP , or something about aircraft and nuclear power . I was not connected with that because my first baby was born in August 1951 . I left in July . MRS . DAVIDSON : I heard somebody say that they had to repeat it all . My boss , the Division Director of Chemistry was interested in vitamin E , and thought it had a lot of protective influence . We worked with that . That was some of the work I did in chemistry - the lab part of it in the early days . It was not good work , I think . I 'm not blaming myself , but some of the other men who were doing chemical work - I think altogether we didn 't come up with anything . MRS . DAVIDSON : It may have been ahead of it 's time for nuclear submarines . I don 't know whether the engineering people thought that or not . In our group which was the chemistry and the physics , my friend who got me the job was Jim Trice . A fellow named Art Miller and somebody named Coneybearwere in the Physics Division . And then there were some others - Fred Maienschein . I did some work for him one time . It was work on beryllium for one thing . I didn 't work with any of the active beryllium . I didn 't do any lab work then , but I did some journal research . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't think they were that far along . I 'm not sure what happened to that part of it . As I said , in July of 1951 they moved to Cincinnati , Evensville , above Cincinnati . I don 't know how many people actually went up there . Most of my friends moved elsewhere . MR . HUNNICUTT : You mentioned the location of the operation was past the steam plant that was on the Clinch River . Was that the same location where the S - 50 project was located ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I think that was the name of our plot of land . I think those - I never was quite sure how they got the designations , but that was the Fairchild domain , I think . MRS . DAVIDSON : Really , it was just when our eyes met . It was very romantic . He followed our group home to the Columbia Hall to see where I lived . But at the time I thought he was too young , and I didn 't think he was following me . I was with a group of other girls . Later on , one of the women in the dormitory , who was a gym teacher in the Oak Ridge schools , told me I really ought to meet Jack Davidson that he loved to ride bicycles ; I was just back from my bicycle trip in Europe . I didn 't know who he was , and then I went to a church group meeting at my Presbyterian Church for young people one Sunday evening . A friend of mine had brought Jack Davidson , and he was the one whose eyes I had met and he had met mine . Sure enough , he loved to ride bicycles . That was the start of a good thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : We did a little bit . On our dates , that 's really what we did mostly at first . We rode out to West Outer Drive and had those wonderful big hills , not too much traffic at that time . We went out to the water tower at the top of Louisiana and had a picnic , and then rode back . When we got really good , we rode our bicycles over to Concord Park one day . I had gotten some chicken breasts at the grocery . I guess it was the A & P at Jackson Square . I was going to fry them for a picnic to take along over to Concord Park . When I went to the refrigerator to get them , they had turned into wings . Somebody had eaten my chicken breast . Jack was a good sport about that . He didn 't care . We had a nice ride . It was before they had improved Lovell Road . It was a pretty rough ride over there , but we were able to enjoy it . MRS . DAVIDSON : He had his bicycle . It was probably a Grey Stone . For me , he rented a bicycle from his work friend . I had forgotten what his name was . We went over to one of the D Streets , I think , and rode them . I didn 't have my English 3 - speed here . I guess I brought it later , but at that time I didn 't have it . MRS . DAVIDSON : That was a problem . I complained to my friend Jim Trice 's wife , Dot , who happened to live around the corner on Outer Drive at that time . She said the boardwalk was used a lot for dating , and of course the theaters . I guess we were outdoors people . I don 't know . MRS . DAVIDSON : He was a graduate of Georgia Tech . At the time he graduated , he was very young . He came up to see about a job , and he was drafted . No , he was in danger of being drafted right away , but they didn 't hire him . He did go to work for NASA , which was at that time NACA , in Virginia ; and worked over there a short time before he was taken into the Army . He had gone through Georgia Tech on a " War Manpower " loan . He was sent to some place to be an MP , I think . He wrote a night letter , which is a 50 - word telegram that was cheaper at night . He wrote a night letter to Stimson , the Secretary of War , telling them they had paid for his college education ; and here he was sitting in a camp doing nothing down in Alabama . He was transferred to the SED , he would never say that was the reason he was transferred . It may or may not have been . He arrived with the SED - he arrived in Oak Ridge the day Roosevelt died , which was in April 1945 , he was here with his group for maybe six weeks before they went out to Los Alamos . So he spent the rest of the war out there . Then he used his G . I . Bill - he stayed on at Los Alamos . They told them they would let him out of the Army if he would agree to stay on as a civilian . So he took that . Then when he did leave , he went to Annapolis and took a liberal arts course because he felt that he had missed out on it at Georgia Tech . He had a year at St . John 's College of Annapolis ; and then all along I guess he thought he would like to come back here . He came back - he arrived on Armistice Day , now Veterans Day , of 1948 . I was here a couple of months before he came , but we met shortly after Christmas in 1949 . MRS . DAVIDSON : Too long . We were married in May 1950 . He wanted to pay off his loan before we could get married , so I helped him along with that . I fed him some . He was very welcome at the D House of girls . I was going to tell you that during the war , there were nine girls in the house , and they slept on shifts on the bunk beds . There were only six of us when I was there . There were a couple of the boyfriends around , and one of them cut the grass . I think Jack did the - empty the clinkers from the furnace , the coal furnace . They made themselves useful . They got their dinner . MRS . DAVIDSON : Most of the houses were a very good design really , and a whole lot better built than we gave them credit for . But each one that I knew of had a corner set off or closed off as a coal storage place that could be filled through a window from the outside , and then you could use the - there was an opening on the inside that you could use to put coal into the furnace . That was awful of course , but that 's what all the houses were doing in that time , too . We had a yard full of clinkers over there . MRS . DAVIDSON : We were taken care of by a Big Brother - the government . They brought the coal around , and you didn 't do a thing . That was part of the rent . When we got our house here on Orange Lane , that 's another story . Are you ready for that yet ? MRS . DAVIDSON : We went back to my home in Louisville , Kentucky , to be married . We had planned to fly to Nashville , but it turned out the Delta Queen was coming through Louisville the next morning . My mother had told us we could not get married the week before because it was too busy with Derby Day . So we delayed until May 13 . Then we spent the night in Louisville at the Brown Hotel , where she pulled some strings to get us a room because it was still very full of visitors from the Derby . We got on the Delta Queen , and our friends were all on the dock to see us off . They had us almost convinced that we were on Daylight Saving Time , and the Delta Queen was not , and we had missed it . But we rode down just as far as Paducah . We were anxious to start in life you know . We lived on Wadell Circle in a K apartment . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was a two - story thing . I guess it was a two - bedroom up above , and we had K - 1 . It was sort of underground at the front and open at the back . We had a nice back porch . There was a closet under the stairway and a very small kitchen . It had a table that folded down . It was not as compact as a flattop , but the furnishings that they had did double duty . You could fold it up and have more room . MRS . DAVIDSON : The K apartment was heated with the coal furnace , but there was a janitor who came around and took care of it for us . We were taken care of by Roane Anderson . MRS . DAVIDSON : We lived in the K from May 1950 , until we got this house in July 1952 . It was said - the word around town was that you couldn 't get a two - bedroom house unless you had three children , all of different sex . We had been on the list for this house ever since we knew our daughter was coming along . That was a long time to wait . We had been offered two houses - Florida Avenue , where the parking was across the street and the backyard just dropped off . We thought that was totally unsuitable for a new child . We turned both of those down . If we had turned this one down , we would 've gone to the bottom of the long list . But we loved this place of the trees and the dead end lane neighborhood . So we sat outside in front all weekend because we were not top on the list . The reason the other people didn 't take it was that the previous owner , Jim Cox and Charlotte , had put in an oil furnace ; and nobody wanted to pay $ 200 for the oil furnace . Since I had been working , we had saved my salary from work , and we had $ 200 to pay . Also , they didn 't want to be in the high rent district . This house rented for something like $ 45 instead of $ 43 in the lower rent districts . MRS . DAVIDSON : The Oak Ridge cemesto houses that were built - I think this house was built in the fall of 1944 or 1943 . Maybe it was ' 43 . The B house has two bedrooms and of course a bath and a kitchen with a dinette into a long narrow living room . It was about 24 feet by 40 something feet . It was small and convenient . It didn 't have much storage space , but it 's been a wonderful house for us because of the trees . We are on a greenbelt , and I enjoy that very much . It 's a nice private neighborhood just above Jackson Square . MRS . DAVIDSON : Our cemesto has a fireplace , and it had a complete brick wall . Some of the B houses had a brick wall just beyond the fireplace . MRS . DAVIDSON : There are hardwood floors in all the cemestos , I believe . Our house has maple flooring , and a lot of them had oak . Wood was hard to come by in the wartime . We love the color - the reddish color of the maple . MRS . DAVIDSON : Adele is our second daughter , and she was two years younger . Our son is Bill Davidson or William . He was born in November of 1954 . He 's just now turning 58 . MRS . DAVIDSON : All three of our children went to Cedar Hill . They had split grades there , so I think the classes were one half size . They would take the kids a half from one grade , and half from the next grade , and that worked out just fine . MRS . DAVIDSON : Cedar Hill was wonderful . It was very special . Mr . Dodd was the principal , and he saw to it - he had the best teachers or at least as good as any . Actually in those days all the teachers and Oak Ridge were special because many of them had been recruited from Columbia Teachers College , along with the superintendent . Others were specially recruited for the job . They were a group a part , I think , from a lot of teachers . MRS . DAVIDSON : The girls both went to Jefferson when it was on the hill at Jackson Square , and Bill was in the first year at the new Jefferson that was over on Fairbanks Road . His was the first class there . They all went through Oak Ridge High . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you recall some of the classes your daughters took while they were in junior high ? Was there Home Ec . or things related to girls ? MRS . DAVIDSON : No , they were on the college prep track . They took eighth grade algebra and that kind of thing . Of course English and math and social studies and science - our older girl I think took biology ; and I 'm not sure if Adele had a more general science course . It just depended on the teacher that they had . They had an excellent education , and the girls were both Merit semifinalists . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course . I was in the PTA . I 'm not sure if I was ever a room mother , but I of course helped with parties and things . MRS . DAVIDSON : The teachers recruited them from each class to help with parties mostly . They helped with any activities that they didn 't really have time to do . MRS . DAVIDSON : Parent - Teacher Association , a time honored group . It got extra things for the school . I got involved with raincoats for the school patrol . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess maybe I was a treasurer of the Cedar Hill PTA , and this goal was to get those yellow slicker raincoat so kids could be visible to the drivers . I found out how much the things cost , and then I estimated postage . At the PTA meeting , Alvin Weinberg was president . He had a son or two in school at the time . He took me to task for estimating the postage , so I had to ask for just the money for the coats themselves since I didn 't really know what the postage is going to be . I thought that was interesting that he wanted to keep it to the exact penny . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think they just wore what the other kids wore . One day we had a deep snow and Bill was in kindergarten , and the snow was up over their boots . I think he had some corduroys . The teacher was making the kids take their pants off and dry them on the radiator , and he wouldn 't do it . I had to go up to the school and take him some fresh pants , some dry clothes . He was very young - just four when he started . MR . HUNNICUTT : Let 's go back a few years . Do you remember 1945 when they dropped the bomb on Japan ? You remember where you were ? And what was your reaction ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I do remember that very clearly because it was the summer after my junior year in college , and I was a camp counselor up in Door County , Wisconsin . There was no electricity at the camp , so we counselors - after we got the kids to bed , went to the state park nearby . This was at Fish Creek , Wisconsin . We would listen to people 's car radios . We knew for about a week that something was happening , but we didn 't know just what . It was very deeply moving when the bomb was dropped , and we thought it would bring an end to the war . Of course , I had friends and a brother on Guam and a cousin was in Europe and others . So that was very deeply moving . I had a book of poetry - my favorite poems at the camp with me . One of my 12 - year - olds picked out a poem - " Once to every man and nation comes a moment to decide " - she read that , and I thought that was very astute of her , a youngster to be able to do that . MRS . DAVIDSON : My husband thought they should have dropped a sample first , but I didn 't feel that way since the first bomb didn 't phase the Japanese . I didn 't think the test one would have either . I was just so glad that the war was over . People could settle down and get into real life again . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think I was in transition from the dormitory to the house , and my husband 's brothers came up from Georgia to witness the opening . So we drove in their car around , and we watched the parade from , I believe , down on the eastern end of the Turnpike down near the warehouses to get out of the traffic . We never could figure out why they invited Marie " The Body " McDonald and [ inaudible ] to ride in the open car for the parade . We couldn 't figure out what they had to do with it , but we did see the burning of the magnesium ribbon . That was exciting . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was only toward town from Elza Gate . I know the central part of town , the Jackson Square area , was very crowded . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think they name the streets for famous cities in the country , and of course the alphabetical designations were very helpful . But Jackson Square , I assume , was named for New Orleans . That 's all I know about it . MRS . DAVIDSON : Sometimes you would pick up the telephone , and the other party was talking . I believe they had different rings . I think maybe the other party had one ring , and we had two . There were four - party lines , but if we were on a four - party line , only the other one was active . I think maybe we were . The other two lines were not being used . MR . HUNNICUTT : When you are raising your family , did you hang your clothes outside on the clothesline ? Did you have a dryer ? What did you use ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I hung them outside on the clothesline . As I said , when we moved here , Anne was a year old . Not much more than three years after that , we had three babies . I was able to talk my husband into getting a dryer that time . Before that , he had built a pulley out of my kitchen window . There was a drop off in the back , and he was able to string it to a tree in the woods . I was able to reel those cloth diapers and reel them in and out . The only problem was that the birds like the trees , too . Sometimes I had to do some re - washing . MR . HUNNICUTT : So in those days you use cloth diapers ? Today we use disposable diapers . How do you think you would 've done if you had disposable diapers ? MRS . DAVIDSON : At one point , when our children were out playing Kick the Can , there were over 40 children on the lane . There were about 20 or 21 houses . There were almost as many dogs . It was just a glorious place for them to grow up . They seem to get along remarkably well most of the time , especially in the early days . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes . We went down there on the opening , and got the radioactive dimes on that occasion . The museum at that time was down at Jefferson Circle . I don 't think any of us ever had our hair stand out on the Van De Graff generator or whatever it was , but we took the children . We went out ourselves . Of course my husband was interested in that kind of thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : Sometimes they walked to Jefferson , but by that time they were carrying pretty heavy books . One of the neighbors on Outer Drive wanted to have a carpool , so we joined that . MRS . DAVIDSON : When Anne was in the fifth grade , they had to write what they did on Friday nights . The teacher would call me and say , " Is it true that you gave your children ice water and watched TV on Friday nights ? " That was how generous we were with them . We didn 't get a TV until they were probably five or six years old . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course it was black and white . The reason we got it - I guess finally it was that the children were always going to the neighbors ' house to watch TV . We decided that we should get our own . They watched things like " Pinky Lee " and I 've forgotten what else . MRS . DAVIDSON : I remember that fondly because my first real date with my husband was going to dinner there with him . He invited me to go to a concert in Knoxville , and his excuse was that we should get to know each other better before he took me to the city with him . That was one thing . I remember there were parties there , and our company had a party at the Oak Terrace Ballroom . One of the NEPA fellows wore a Tarzan costume , which was mostly nothing . It turned out that he lived in the neighborhood . MRS . DAVIDSON : That was just below the dormitory where I lived in Columbia Hall . Jack went there looking for me , he thought I would eat breakfast there and then he could have breakfast with me ; but I ate in the dormitory . He didn 't find me there . When we came back from our bicycle ride to Concord Park , I remember we stopped by there , and he drank two or three Mountain Dew drinks . That surprised me , but we had worked off a lot of sweat . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , we took our children out there and saw " Lawrence of Arabia " and " The 10 Commandment " and those things . It was quite nice . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was about where Kroger 's - where that is now , on the southeast part of Illinois Avenue . It was a nice thing . That was a special treat for the children to go out there . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't think so . I think they were mostly in the car . They had a drawing one time , Jack won something . It was actually nothing , but he did win . MRS . DAVIDSON : I sure did . My three children were born there . It was a green structure , like so many of the buildings in Oak Ridge . I guess the present building is built on that place . It was okay . I didn 't have any problems with it , except after my second child . I had a staph infection from the hospital . Even an Army wife with a private room got an infection there . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , I think they also had been recruited ; and a lot of them were from Tulane University . The time I was sick with my infection , they were having a reunion at Tulane , and my doctor and another one were gone for the reunion . I didn 't like the one who took care of me . He didn 't do a good job . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was okay . I don 't remember having any problems with it . We knew Dr . Rogers from our church , and we went to him . He was called away to the service , I believe . Maybe it was the Korean War , but then he came back . MRS . DAVIDSON : We met at Pine Valley School . The choir sat on the bleachers , and the minister sat under the halo of the basketball net . My husband was a Methodist , and he went to the First Methodist Church . They had a big youth group there . When we were first married , we tried to take them both in . We went to Sunday school one place , and church another until we finally settled on the Presbyterian . It was smaller , and we knew more people . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course the people . I love my trees and my house . I love all the activities . Both my husband and I have always loved music and enjoy the concerts a lot . The symphony concerts with Waldo Cohn conducting were held at Jefferson Junior High on the Kentucky Avenue hill . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you think back about all the people that you knew in the early days ? Do you think it was unusual for everybody to get along - the many people that were here ? MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , I guess so . I didn 't think about it because we just did . It was just fun . Everybody was away from home , and we had to be family for each other . That was particularly true in this close neighborhood . MRS . DAVIDSON : I 'm pleased for the most part . I think we 've made good progress . We 've kept up with the outside world . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think we came through at the very best of times . It was not the pressure of war , but we were growing community . I think things were happening at the Lab . Both of my husband and I loved the Lab because there were so many good things going on out there . It gives us hope for the future . [ Editor 's Note : This transcript has been edited at Mrs . Davidson 's request . The corresponding audio and video components have remained unchanged . ] Click tabs to swap between content that is broken into logical sections . MR . HUNNICUTT : This interview is for the Center of Oak Ridge Oral History . The date is November 8 , 2012 . I am Don Hunnicutt in the home of Mrs . Mary Ann Davidson , 117 Orange Lane , Oak Ridge , Tennessee , to take her oral history about living in Oak Ridge , Tennessee . Please state your full name and your place of birth and your date of birth . MRS . DAVIDSON : My name is Mary Ann Davidson . My date of birth is January 12 , 1925 . I was born in Louisville , Kentucky . I lived there all my early life until I graduated from college . MRS . DAVIDSON : My father was William H . Courtenay . He was born in 1890 , on March 3 . He was in World War I and lived his entire life in Louisville and Shelbyville , Kentucky . He worked for the Mengel Company . They imported mahogany and hardwood from Africa and Central America . He delivered those to customers . He didn 't consider himself a salesman , but he sold them to the furniture factory - furniture makers around Kentucky , mostly Indiana and Cincinnati and some in Tennessee . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , he did not . The Louisville Male High School was considered a fine school at that time . They said that graduates could enter Harvard in their second year . The principal had written textbooks that were apparently used all over . But my father was interested in raising ponies . His father had a farm in Shelbyville , Kentucky . If you 'd didn 't make the grade , you are special . And Dr . Ruben Post - Halleck , the famous principal of the school , told him if he took an exam in math , he could be entered back in . He did that , and he aced the test . He was back in . Then he was a special in English , so they told him if he memorized the " Lady of the Lake " and said that he could get back in school . So he did that . I think he never did finish . He was a twin , and his twin was more of an engineering type and went to manual training high school . MR . HUNNICUTT : What about your mother 's school history ? MRS . DAVIDSON : She grew up in several small towns in western Kentucky . Her father worked for the L & N Railroad . She had her high school in Hopkinsville , Kentucky . She had to stay home - or she went to junior college nearby . She had a scholarship to Randolph Macon Women 's College , but she couldn 't take it because her mother was ill and died at age 50 . It was about the year I was born , I think . MRS . DAVIDSON : His name was William Howard Courtenay III . My father was named for his uncle , who was also William Howard . My older brother works for Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green in the physics department . He made instruments . My younger brother was a pediatrician in Louisville , and he is still living on a farm in Shelbyville . He 's interested in Kentucky antiques . MR . HUNNICUTT : Yes . MRS . DAVIDSON : I went to an unusual kindergarten and first grade . I was at what they called the Enterprise Branch of I . N . Bloom School . It was only kindergarten and first grade . It was in the older building , where we had a Pot Belly Stove . I think we had a maid to help us take our leggings off in the cold weather - galoshes . It was really a wonderful school . It was almost like a private one . It was public . We did things like making butter and we had an orchestra . I played the triangle . I had started a little bit earlier when my younger brother was born . Louisville had half semester , half - year grades . I would 've been a half year , but I skipped the last half of kindergarten . I went to the school board and took a test and went on , so they put me in the regular school year . I went through the big school the I . N . Bloom School and Highland Junior High School in Louisville . Then I went to Atherton High School for Girls . The Louisville public schools were segregated - boys and girls . There were about 900 girls at Atherton . My graduating class was about 200 , and I was the valedictorian . MRS . DAVIDSON : They are pants to keep your legs warm . They zipped up from the inside of the ankle bone up to about knee - high , I guess it was . They were a royal pain to take on and off , so the teacher had to have help to do that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was just ordinary . I 'm sure the girls wore dresses , and the little boys wore suits - not suits , but pants and shirts . MRS . DAVIDSON : I came to Oak Ridge after I graduated from college . I had two years of getting a master 's at Emory while I worked at my alma mater , Agnes Scott College in Decatur , Georgia . I was the chemistry lab instructor . So after those two years were up , I was interested in working in chemistry or biochemistry . My master 's was in biochemistry . In Louisville , there was nothing in that field , except liquor and paint - neither of which I was interested in . In Atlanta , I would like to stay in Atlanta , I heard that Oak Ridge was an interesting new place , and a lot was going on here . One of my dear college friends had recently married a physicist from the University of Kentucky , so I visited them here . I guess that must have been 1947 . Her husband was working at NEPA . He said they were looking for people with a chemistry degree . I applied , and I was accepted . I didn 't know that until I had completed the clearance , so I took the opportunity to go to Europe at an American youth hostel bicycle tour of Western Europe in the summer of 1948 . When I got home , I found that I had indeed gotten the job at Oak Ridge . So I came down here . MRS . DAVIDSON : I was wondering that . I think I came by train . When I interviewed earlier in the spring , my interview was at the Andrew Johnson Hotel . It was one of the private rooms . I had never seen the company here . I think I must have been met by a car and driver and brought to Oak Ridge . MRS . DAVIDSON : I came in through the Vermont Gateway , which is where the gas station is now on the corner of what I call Vermont . They call it North Rutgers now . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , I think it must 've been after that . That would 've been at Christmas time . When I applied , I imagine it was early spring . MRS . DAVIDSON : We called the company NEPA , for Nuclear Energy for the Propulsion of Aircraft . It was managed by the Fairchild Corporation the way Union Carbide or one of the other contractors managed the lab . I did not know until the first day I went to work just what the company was doing . They handed me a volume of information that said , " We are looking for - we are trying to make an airplane powered by nuclear energy that could fly to Russia and back without refueling . " That was a great shock to me . MRS . DAVIDSON : I lived in Columbia Hall Dormitory . I was very surprised to find that the rent was $ 15 a month until I realized it was one very small room . That was my living quarters . I took the opportunity to stay out of it as much as possible . I did that by babysitting in some of the B and D houses in the evening . Grandmothers were not here since it was a closed community . Babysitters were in short supply , and even though I didn 't need the money , it was good to get out of the dormitory . MRS . DAVIDSON : The dormitory was like Cheyenne Hall . It was the same type of building . It had wooden stairways from the second - floor hall down on each end . I lived on the second floor . Our dormitory was mostly nurses , since it was up on the hill next to the hospital - I think where the west parking lot is now . There was a kitchen on each end where we could have our own breakfast . Of course we were at the plant at lunchtime , and then we usually went out to supper . I opened the refrigerator door one morning and somebody 's milk came spilling out down my front . Everybody just stuffed things into the refrigerator . MRS . DAVIDSON : I had a single room with a twin bed and enough room to walk to the window by the bed . There was a little table that served as a desk with a chair . There was a much coveted dormitory dresser - a tall one with a number of drawers . They were very popular . MRS . DAVIDSON : They had a wonderful bus service here . Travel wasn 't really a problem . We walked , of course , from the dormitory to Jackson Square and ate supper usually at the Mayflower , which is where I first saw my husband - to - be . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was on the corner of Tennessee , right across from the Soup Kitchen and the Texaco gas station there on the northeast corner . It was a very popular place . In fact , there were several places you could eat . It was the Central Cafeteria , and the T & C Cafeteria in Jackson Square , which is about where the Epicurean is now toward the garden . MRS . DAVIDSON : It must 've been the A & P on Jackson Square . Jackson Square was really the center of activity as far as I was concerned at that time . I still love it . I hope it keeps going . MRS . DAVIDSON : The department stores - the big department store was Taylor 's at the time . They had a wonderful book department headed by Mrs . Keyes , whose daughter I knew at work . They had really fine art books and other books that they would have a great sale on once or twice a year . We were very happy with that . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was in the middle of the block between where Big Ed 's is in the corner . I guess it 's mostly used by the engineering company now . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , not frequently , but I went and saw - there was a theater down at Big Ed 's in Jackson Square and where the Playhouse is now . That was the main one . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , the jewelry store was on the corner that was Henebree 's , I think . No , that was Heneger 's . MR . HUNNICUTT : Henebree ? MRS . DAVIDSON : Henebree . McCrory 's 5 & 10 was there . There was a drugstore - a Service Drugstore . I guess that was where Big Ed 's is now , on the very corner . There was Jackson Square Pharmacy , and on the other side the Hamilton Bank was there next to the movie theater . And Samuel 's Men 's Store was a very nice store . The Jackson Square Pharmacy was there , but in between , which the Pharmacy later took over was a Kay 's Ice Cream Store . We used to go there and - my husband and I would when we were dating . I liked to get coffee with ice cream in it , so we went there . MR . HUNNICUTT : I believe that was Taff Moody Ice Cream - they served Kay 's Ice Cream . MRS . DAVIDSON : Was it ? I didn 't remember that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I can 't say that I do . It was just a given , I suppose . It didn 't make a big dent in my memory . After six months of the dormitory , I moved to a D house on Norman Lane . That was another era . MR . HUNNICUTT : What is a D house ? MRS . DAVIDSON : A D house was a large three bedroom house . They were very much desired . They were really nice houses - still a lot of them are . The house was - there were five other girls who lived there - two of whom had been college friends . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , it would 've been upstairs . It was the second one to the end . A radiation technologist lived on the corner , and I lived there with school teachers and nurses who made up most of the dorm . MR . HUNNICUTT : Let 's talk a little bit about the dorm again . If I had a message for you or someone left a message for you , how did you retrieve your messages ? Was there a desk when you went in ? MRS . DAVIDSON : There was a desk downstairs . I remember the Valentine 's Day - I guess it must 've been 1949 . The message was that I had some flowers , some red roses . I had just met my husband - to - be at that time . I got all excited , and when I got to the desk , it was from somebody else . I enjoyed the red roses , but not as much as I might have . The thing was that there were ladies - a lot of the women who lived in the dorm worked on the night shift . They would sit around a large kind of living room , I guess they called it . They were all staring when I got flowers . I had to walk around , and it was embarrassing . MRS . DAVIDSON : I was there in the winter of 1948 . I 'm very cold natured , but I don 't remember being cold . We had those heavy navy blanket - navy blue blankets . This brings up a story if I jump to it later on . We were moved from the D house after another six months into the brand - new Garden Apartments on Villanova Road . They needed our D house for families . The people who moved in were the Andersons of the Anderson Hilltop Grocery . Of course , the furniture all belonged to the government there . So the Garden Apartments were not furnished , so we had dwindled down from 6 to 4 people who needed furniture . I took a day off and went to an auction the government set up down at the warehouses . I got seven beds and three or four dressers - much more than I could have used . But the beds were in great demand at work because all the young men who worked there were having children and needed beds . So we took the four . Also I got two sofas , and we could use but one ; so I sold one . They were really shabby awful sofas . Since it was all going to surplus anyway , we switched and took the nice sofa from the D house and left them the bad one . It was all taken away anyhow , so I didn 't feel too bad about that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't really remember about the telephone . We didn 't use the telephone much . We never used it for long - distance except for emergencies and calls home . I don 't remember that as being a problem particularly . MRS . DAVIDSON : I suppose I went on the bus . I did not have a car . One of the housemates from Norman Lane had gotten the car , but she would 've been at work at K - 25 . I don 't know . I may have gotten a ride . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess I paid somebody to deliver it . I don 't know . Maybe some of the fellows at work picked up their beds that they wanted . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was one of those warehouses down at the [ Oak Ridge ] Turnpike on Warehouse Road . I don 't know exactly where it was . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess it was on the bulletin boards at work , or there was a newspaper at the Lab . I guess I heard about it that way . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think probably so - in the newsletters they came around , also at the recreation building - the rec hall - at Jackson Square that was the library upstairs and the rec hall downstairs . Word - of - mouth - I don 't remember . We had a need and found the answer to it . MRS . DAVIDSON : I had to punch a clock at eight in the morning when I first started . I guess we got out at 4 : 30 or 5 o ' clock . We had bus service that went from the bus terminal - the Central one - that 's now by Bus Terminal Road . Later on after we were married , we lived on Waddell Circle and went from there to the Jefferson bus terminal . I went - I rode on the K - 25 bus , and they went out past K - 25 to the road that the powerhouse was on and NEPA was beyond that out by the river . MRS . DAVIDSON : There was some kind of management services office . I 'm not sure what it was called - the Roane Anderson Corporation at that time , I guess . I think that 's where I rented the dormitory room . I probably got bus tokens - I guess I got the tokens of the bus terminal . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think I had a checking account probably at Hamilton Bank in Jackson Square . I don 't recall otherwise . I know I did later . One thing I wanted to say about the buses - if you wanted to go to Clinton to do any shopping , more than what you could have in Oak Ridge or to meet somebody or something , there was a bus that ran frequently back and forth between the bus terminal and Clinton . There was a young man on the bus who had a sing - songy sales pitch for " peanuts , popcorn , Cracker Jacks , candy , and chewing gum . " He wouldn 't drive , but he would sell his wares all the way to Clinton and back . I always wondered who that was because he obviously had some talent . MRS . DAVIDSON : I 'm sure I did . I don 't know what became of it . I guess I had to turn it back in . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think somebody just got - one of the guards got on the bus and checked everybody 's badges . It was not a big thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : Probably . I don 't remember . What I do remember about that was my mother was coming down one time for my birthday - it must 've been in January 1949 . She rode the train . I told her that I would get a ride to meet her . Of course , the train didn 't stop at Oak Ridge . It went on to Knoxville , so I bummed a ride with one of the men in our group . He was actually the technical assistant to the director . His car was a broken down old thing with no floorboards in the back seat , which was pretty bad when my mother saw it . But she didn 't see it because when we got to Knoxville , she was not there . When we were coming back from the gateway entrance , she was not there . There was a message that she was waiting for us at the Elza Gate Station . She had told the conductor she had to get off at Oak Ridge . That 's where she was going , and I was going to meet her . So she slid down the Elza bank over there . She had my birthday cake - a large chocolate cake . She slid downhill with that , and somehow they stopped her at the guard gate at Elza . She waited there for us . MRS . DAVIDSON : Just for her - let her off like a milk train . They ordinarily didn 't stop there , but she wouldn 't have it otherwise . MRS . DAVIDSON : I used the library and rec hall . On Sunday afternoons , they played music ; and you could sit and write letters home , which is what I think I did a good bit . Later on in the better weather , there were tennis courts and a swimming pool . I don 't remember going to movies much . We went to church groups . There were so many young people ; it was just like a party all the time . Nothing in particular stands out . It was just fun . MRS . DAVIDSON : In the company I was , that was not true . There were a lot of women of course - of course , the dormitory was full of school teachers and nurses . But NEPA was mostly men . There were two parts to the Fairchild - the science and engineering part , which was bigger . I happen to be in the research part . My boss was a chemist - Vince Calkins . It was my job to - this was a real shocker to me - to find a chemical that would protect the human body against radiation for the reactor that was supposed to be in the airplane to Russia . I had no background for that kind of thing . I was just fresh out of college really . I realized I was out of my depth , but they decided - he was a pharmacist , I believe , and he wanted to do experiments with rats . They brought in the rat colony . By that time we had a couple of assistants , and I was supposed to be the group leader . One of the men , Ray Waldrop - you may have talked to him . I asked him if he minded working for a woman because he was really more experienced than I , although I had the degree . It was fine with him . There was also another worker , Saul Segal , who was quite a character in his own right . I took the rats in the cages over to the reactor , the " Old Lady " at X - 10 , and put them through what they called " rabbits " and radiated them for certain amount of time . We couldn 't kill the darn things . Then we used the older ones that had already been radiated , they were just tough as anything . I think the experiment was really a failure , although they may have found that to be the case in some later work with older people - that the cells are not dividing as fast and they 're not as subject to radiation . But we didn 't get into that . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was actually not K - 25 . It was beyond there . As I said , the bus took us - the bus dumped people off at K - 25 , and they went on west to just before you get to the Gallaher Bridge . You turn right there and go right past the power station there . It was used for a long time - the power house , and then NEPA was beyond that . The native rats came in - was it domestic experimental rats ? That was not good . I had a janitor who helped me , even though he could 've lost his job for doing it . He helped me clean cages . I always appreciated that . MRS . DAVIDSON : When they got rid of the rats , which was a blessing , my group leader then became Bill Browning , who was a fine scientist . He worked on the Van de Graaff generator . We had an interesting argument . Saul Segal thought he should be the one to do it since he was a man and I was a woman who would be leaving soon ; and it turned out that he left for California before I had left to have my baby . His argument didn 't hold with me anyway , but we argued about that some . We did run the Van de Graaff , and we also did some experiments on metallic sodium . It was nasty stuff to work with . It caught on fire if it was exposed to air . You had to work with that under oil in the glove box . I think that work all had to be repeated after NEPA left for Cincinnati with G . E . . When they moved part of NEPA to X - 10 , they called it the ANP , or something about aircraft and nuclear power . I was not connected with that because my first baby was born in August 1951 . I left in July . MRS . DAVIDSON : I heard somebody say that they had to repeat it all . My boss , the Division Director of Chemistry was interested in vitamin E , and thought it had a lot of protective influence . We worked with that . That was some of the work I did in chemistry - the lab part of it in the early days . It was not good work , I think . I 'm not blaming myself , but some of the other men who were doing chemical work - I think altogether we didn 't come up with anything . MRS . DAVIDSON : It may have been ahead of it 's time for nuclear submarines . I don 't know whether the engineering people thought that or not . In our group which was the chemistry and the physics , my friend who got me the job was Jim Trice . A fellow named Art Miller and somebody named Coneybearwere in the Physics Division . And then there were some others - Fred Maienschein . I did some work for him one time . It was work on beryllium for one thing . I didn 't work with any of the active beryllium . I didn 't do any lab work then , but I did some journal research . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't think they were that far along . I 'm not sure what happened to that part of it . As I said , in July of 1951 they moved to Cincinnati , Evensville , above Cincinnati . I don 't know how many people actually went up there . Most of my friends moved elsewhere . MR . HUNNICUTT : You mentioned the location of the operation was past the steam plant that was on the Clinch River . Was that the same location where the S - 50 project was located ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I think that was the name of our plot of land . I think those - I never was quite sure how they got the designations , but that was the Fairchild domain , I think . MRS . DAVIDSON : Really , it was just when our eyes met . It was very romantic . He followed our group home to the Columbia Hall to see where I lived . But at the time I thought he was too young , and I didn 't think he was following me . I was with a group of other girls . Later on , one of the women in the dormitory , who was a gym teacher in the Oak Ridge schools , told me I really ought to meet Jack Davidson that he loved to ride bicycles ; I was just back from my bicycle trip in Europe . I didn 't know who he was , and then I went to a church group meeting at my Presbyterian Church for young people one Sunday evening . A friend of mine had brought Jack Davidson , and he was the one whose eyes I had met and he had met mine . Sure enough , he loved to ride bicycles . That was the start of a good thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : We did a little bit . On our dates , that 's really what we did mostly at first . We rode out to West Outer Drive and had those wonderful big hills , not too much traffic at that time . We went out to the water tower at the top of Louisiana and had a picnic , and then rode back . When we got really good , we rode our bicycles over to Concord Park one day . I had gotten some chicken breasts at the grocery . I guess it was the A & P at Jackson Square . I was going to fry them for a picnic to take along over to Concord Park . When I went to the refrigerator to get them , they had turned into wings . Somebody had eaten my chicken breast . Jack was a good sport about that . He didn 't care . We had a nice ride . It was before they had improved Lovell Road . It was a pretty rough ride over there , but we were able to enjoy it . MRS . DAVIDSON : He had his bicycle . It was probably a Grey Stone . For me , he rented a bicycle from his work friend . I had forgotten what his name was . We went over to one of the D Streets , I think , and rode them . I didn 't have my English 3 - speed here . I guess I brought it later , but at that time I didn 't have it . MRS . DAVIDSON : That was a problem . I complained to my friend Jim Trice 's wife , Dot , who happened to live around the corner on Outer Drive at that time . She said the boardwalk was used a lot for dating , and of course the theaters . I guess we were outdoors people . I don 't know . MRS . DAVIDSON : He was a graduate of Georgia Tech . At the time he graduated , he was very young . He came up to see about a job , and he was drafted . No , he was in danger of being drafted right away , but they didn 't hire him . He did go to work for NASA , which was at that time NACA , in Virginia ; and worked over there a short time before he was taken into the Army . He had gone through Georgia Tech on a " War Manpower " loan . He was sent to some place to be an MP , I think . He wrote a night letter , which is a 50 - word telegram that was cheaper at night . He wrote a night letter to Stimson , the Secretary of War , telling them they had paid for his college education ; and here he was sitting in a camp doing nothing down in Alabama . He was transferred to the SED , he would never say that was the reason he was transferred . It may or may not have been . He arrived with the SED - he arrived in Oak Ridge the day Roosevelt died , which was in April 1945 , he was here with his group for maybe six weeks before they went out to Los Alamos . So he spent the rest of the war out there . Then he used his G . I . Bill - he stayed on at Los Alamos . They told them they would let him out of the Army if he would agree to stay on as a civilian . So he took that . Then when he did leave , he went to Annapolis and took a liberal arts course because he felt that he had missed out on it at Georgia Tech . He had a year at St . John 's College of Annapolis ; and then all along I guess he thought he would like to come back here . He came back - he arrived on Armistice Day , now Veterans Day , of 1948 . I was here a couple of months before he came , but we met shortly after Christmas in 1949 . MRS . DAVIDSON : Too long . We were married in May 1950 . He wanted to pay off his loan before we could get married , so I helped him along with that . I fed him some . He was very welcome at the D House of girls . I was going to tell you that during the war , there were nine girls in the house , and they slept on shifts on the bunk beds . There were only six of us when I was there . There were a couple of the boyfriends around , and one of them cut the grass . I think Jack did the - empty the clinkers from the furnace , the coal furnace . They made themselves useful . They got their dinner . MR . HUNNICUTT : Tell me about the coal furnace briefly . MRS . DAVIDSON : Most of the houses were a very good design really , and a whole lot better built than we gave them credit for . But each one that I knew of had a corner set off or closed off as a coal storage place that could be filled through a window from the outside , and then you could use the - there was an opening on the inside that you could use to put coal into the furnace . That was awful of course , but that 's what all the houses were doing in that time , too . We had a yard full of clinkers over there . MRS . DAVIDSON : We were taken care of by a Big Brother - the government . They brought the coal around , and you didn 't do a thing . That was part of the rent . When we got our house here on Orange Lane , that 's another story . Are you ready for that yet ? MRS . DAVIDSON : We went back to my home in Louisville , Kentucky , to be married . We had planned to fly to Nashville , but it turned out the Delta Queen was coming through Louisville the next morning . My mother had told us we could not get married the week before because it was too busy with Derby Day . So we delayed until May 13 . Then we spent the night in Louisville at the Brown Hotel , where she pulled some strings to get us a room because it was still very full of visitors from the Derby . We got on the Delta Queen , and our friends were all on the dock to see us off . They had us almost convinced that we were on Daylight Saving Time , and the Delta Queen was not , and we had missed it . But we rode down just as far as Paducah . We were anxious to start in life you know . We lived on Wadell Circle in a K apartment . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you recall the number ? MRS . DAVIDSON : It was a two - story thing . I guess it was a two - bedroom up above , and we had K - 1 . It was sort of underground at the front and open at the back . We had a nice back porch . There was a closet under the stairway and a very small kitchen . It had a table that folded down . It was not as compact as a flattop , but the furnishings that they had did double duty . You could fold it up and have more room . MRS . DAVIDSON : The K apartment was heated with the coal furnace , but there was a janitor who came around and took care of it for us . We were taken care of by Roane Anderson . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you remember what the rent was ? MRS . DAVIDSON : We lived in the K from May 1950 , until we got this house in July 1952 . It was said - the word around town was that you couldn 't get a two - bedroom house unless you had three children , all of different sex . We had been on the list for this house ever since we knew our daughter was coming along . That was a long time to wait . We had been offered two houses - Florida Avenue , where the parking was across the street and the backyard just dropped off . We thought that was totally unsuitable for a new child . We turned both of those down . If we had turned this one down , we would 've gone to the bottom of the long list . But we loved this place of the trees and the dead end lane neighborhood . So we sat outside in front all weekend because we were not top on the list . The reason the other people didn 't take it was that the previous owner , Jim Cox and Charlotte , had put in an oil furnace ; and nobody wanted to pay $ 200 for the oil furnace . Since I had been working , we had saved my salary from work , and we had $ 200 to pay . Also , they didn 't want to be in the high rent district . This house rented for something like $ 45 instead of $ 43 in the lower rent districts . MRS . DAVIDSON : The Oak Ridge cemesto houses that were built - I think this house was built in the fall of 1944 or 1943 . Maybe it was ' 43 . The B house has two bedrooms and of course a bath and a kitchen with a dinette into a long narrow living room . It was about 24 feet by 40 something feet . It was small and convenient . It didn 't have much storage space , but it 's been a wonderful house for us because of the trees . We are on a greenbelt , and I enjoy that very much . It 's a nice private neighborhood just above Jackson Square . MRS . DAVIDSON : Our cemesto has a fireplace , and it had a complete brick wall . Some of the B houses had a brick wall just beyond the fireplace . MRS . DAVIDSON : There are hardwood floors in all the cemestos , I believe . Our house has maple flooring , and a lot of them had oak . Wood was hard to come by in the wartime . We love the color - the reddish color of the maple . MRS . DAVIDSON : Adele is our second daughter , and she was two years younger . Our son is Bill Davidson or William . He was born in November of 1954 . He 's just now turning 58 . MR . HUNNICUTT : So your first daughter went to Cedar Hill ? MRS . DAVIDSON : All three of our children went to Cedar Hill . They had split grades there , so I think the classes were one half size . They would take the kids a half from one grade , and half from the next grade , and that worked out just fine . MRS . DAVIDSON : Cedar Hill was wonderful . It was very special . Mr . Dodd was the principal , and he saw to it - he had the best teachers or at least as good as any . Actually in those days all the teachers and Oak Ridge were special because many of them had been recruited from Columbia Teachers College , along with the superintendent . Others were specially recruited for the job . They were a group a part , I think , from a lot of teachers . MRS . DAVIDSON : The girls both went to Jefferson when it was on the hill at Jackson Square , and Bill was in the first year at the new Jefferson that was over on Fairbanks Road . His was the first class there . They all went through Oak Ridge High . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you recall some of the classes your daughters took while they were in junior high ? Was there Home Ec . or things related to girls ? MRS . DAVIDSON : No , they were on the college prep track . They took eighth grade algebra and that kind of thing . Of course English and math and social studies and science - our older girl I think took biology ; and I 'm not sure if Adele had a more general science course . It just depended on the teacher that they had . They had an excellent education , and the girls were both Merit semifinalists . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course . I was in the PTA . I 'm not sure if I was ever a room mother , but I of course helped with parties and things . MRS . DAVIDSON : The teachers recruited them from each class to help with parties mostly . They helped with any activities that they didn 't really have time to do . MRS . DAVIDSON : Parent - Teacher Association , a time honored group . It got extra things for the school . I got involved with raincoats for the school patrol . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess maybe I was a treasurer of the Cedar Hill PTA , and this goal was to get those yellow slicker raincoat so kids could be visible to the drivers . I found out how much the things cost , and then I estimated postage . At the PTA meeting , Alvin Weinberg was president . He had a son or two in school at the time . He took me to task for estimating the postage , so I had to ask for just the money for the coats themselves since I didn 't really know what the postage is going to be . I thought that was interesting that he wanted to keep it to the exact penny . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think they just wore what the other kids wore . One day we had a deep snow and Bill was in kindergarten , and the snow was up over their boots . I think he had some corduroys . The teacher was making the kids take their pants off and dry them on the radiator , and he wouldn 't do it . I had to go up to the school and take him some fresh pants , some dry clothes . He was very young - just four when he started . MR . HUNNICUTT : Let 's go back a few years . Do you remember 1945 when they dropped the bomb on Japan ? You remember where you were ? And what was your reaction ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I do remember that very clearly because it was the summer after my junior year in college , and I was a camp counselor up in Door County , Wisconsin . There was no electricity at the camp , so we counselors - after we got the kids to bed , went to the state park nearby . This was at Fish Creek , Wisconsin . We would listen to people 's car radios . We knew for about a week that something was happening , but we didn 't know just what . It was very deeply moving when the bomb was dropped , and we thought it would bring an end to the war . Of course , I had friends and a brother on Guam and a cousin was in Europe and others . So that was very deeply moving . I had a book of poetry - my favorite poems at the camp with me . One of my 12 - year - olds picked out a poem - " Once to every man and nation comes a moment to decide " - she read that , and I thought that was very astute of her , a youngster to be able to do that . MRS . DAVIDSON : My husband thought they should have dropped a sample first , but I didn 't feel that way since the first bomb didn 't phase the Japanese . I didn 't think the test one would have either . I was just so glad that the war was over . People could settle down and get into real life again . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think I was in transition from the dormitory to the house , and my husband 's brothers came up from Georgia to witness the opening . So we drove in their car around , and we watched the parade from , I believe , down on the eastern end of the Turnpike down near the warehouses to get out of the traffic . We never could figure out why they invited Marie " The Body " McDonald and [ inaudible ] to ride in the open car for the parade . We couldn 't figure out what they had to do with it , but we did see the burning of the magnesium ribbon . That was exciting . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was only toward town from Elza Gate . I know the central part of town , the Jackson Square area , was very crowded . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think they name the streets for famous cities in the country , and of course the alphabetical designations were very helpful . But Jackson Square , I assume , was named for New Orleans . That 's all I know about it . MRS . DAVIDSON : Sometimes you would pick up the telephone , and the other party was talking . I believe they had different rings . I think maybe the other party had one ring , and we had two . There were four - party lines , but if we were on a four - party line , only the other one was active . I think maybe we were . The other two lines were not being used . MR . HUNNICUTT : When you are raising your family , did you hang your clothes outside on the clothesline ? Did you have a dryer ? What did you use ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I hung them outside on the clothesline . As I said , when we moved here , Anne was a year old . Not much more than three years after that , we had three babies . I was able to talk my husband into getting a dryer that time . Before that , he had built a pulley out of my kitchen window . There was a drop off in the back , and he was able to string it to a tree in the woods . I was able to reel those cloth diapers and reel them in and out . The only problem was that the birds like the trees , too . Sometimes I had to do some re - washing . MR . HUNNICUTT : So in those days you use cloth diapers ? Today we use disposable diapers . How do you think you would 've done if you had disposable diapers ? MRS . DAVIDSON : At one point , when our children were out playing Kick the Can , there were over 40 children on the lane . There were about 20 or 21 houses . There were almost as many dogs . It was just a glorious place for them to grow up . They seem to get along remarkably well most of the time , especially in the early days . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes . We went down there on the opening , and got the radioactive dimes on that occasion . The museum at that time was down at Jefferson Circle . I don 't think any of us ever had our hair stand out on the Van De Graff generator or whatever it was , but we took the children . We went out ourselves . Of course my husband was interested in that kind of thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : Sometimes they walked to Jefferson , but by that time they were carrying pretty heavy books . One of the neighbors on Outer Drive wanted to have a carpool , so we joined that . MRS . DAVIDSON : When Anne was in the fifth grade , they had to write what they did on Friday nights . The teacher would call me and say , " Is it true that you gave your children ice water and watched TV on Friday nights ? " That was how generous we were with them . We didn 't get a TV until they were probably five or six years old . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course it was black and white . The reason we got it - I guess finally it was that the children were always going to the neighbors ' house to watch TV . We decided that we should get our own . They watched things like " Pinky Lee " and I 've forgotten what else . MRS . DAVIDSON : I remember that fondly because my first real date with my husband was going to dinner there with him . He invited me to go to a concert in Knoxville , and his excuse was that we should get to know each other better before he took me to the city with him . That was one thing . I remember there were parties there , and our company had a party at the Oak Terrace Ballroom . One of the NEPA fellows wore a Tarzan costume , which was mostly nothing . It turned out that he lived in the neighborhood . MR . HUNNICUTT : What was the Oak Terrace ballroom - where was it located ? MRS . DAVIDSON : That was just below the dormitory where I lived in Columbia Hall . Jack went there looking for me , he thought I would eat breakfast there and then he could have breakfast with me ; but I ate in the dormitory . He didn 't find me there . When we came back from our bicycle ride to Concord Park , I remember we stopped by there , and he drank two or three Mountain Dew drinks . That surprised me , but we had worked off a lot of sweat . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , we took our children out there and saw " Lawrence of Arabia " and " The 10 Commandment " and those things . It was quite nice . MR . HUNNICUTT : Where was it located ? MRS . DAVIDSON : It was about where Kroger 's - where that is now , on the southeast part of Illinois Avenue . It was a nice thing . That was a special treat for the children to go out there . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't think so . I think they were mostly in the car . They had a drawing one time , Jack won something . It was actually nothing , but he did win . MRS . DAVIDSON : I sure did . My three children were born there . It was a green structure , like so many of the buildings in Oak Ridge . I guess the present building is built on that place . It was okay . I didn 't have any problems with it , except after my second child . I had a staph infection from the hospital . Even an Army wife with a private room got an infection there . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , I think they also had been recruited ; and a lot of them were from Tulane University . The time I was sick with my infection , they were having a reunion at Tulane , and my doctor and another one were gone for the reunion . I didn 't like the one who took care of me . He didn 't do a good job . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was okay . I don 't remember having any problems with it . We knew Dr . Rogers from our church , and we went to him . He was called away to the service , I believe . Maybe it was the Korean War , but then he came back . MRS . DAVIDSON : We met at Pine Valley School . The choir sat on the bleachers , and the minister sat under the halo of the basketball net . My husband was a Methodist , and he went to the First Methodist Church . They had a big youth group there . When we were first married , we tried to take them both in . We went to Sunday school one place , and church another until we finally settled on the Presbyterian . It was smaller , and we knew more people . MR . HUNNICUTT : Thinking back , what do you like best about Oak Ridge ? MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course the people . I love my trees and my house . I love all the activities . Both my husband and I have always loved music and enjoy the concerts a lot . The symphony concerts with Waldo Cohn conducting were held at Jefferson Junior High on the Kentucky Avenue hill . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you think back about all the people that you knew in the early days ? Do you think it was unusual for everybody to get along - the many people that were here ? MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , I guess so . I didn 't think about it because we just did . It was just fun . Everybody was away from home , and we had to be family for each other . That was particularly true in this close neighborhood . MRS . DAVIDSON : I 'm pleased for the most part . I think we 've made good progress . We 've kept up with the outside world . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't know . I 'll probably think of things after you leave . Nothing particular comes to mind . MR . HUNNICUTT : I would like to thank you for your time , and I think this interview will be very helpful for someone in the future to see how you lived in Oak Ridge in the early days . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think we came through at the very best of times . It was not the pressure of war , but we were growing community . I think things were happening at the Lab . Both of my husband and I loved the Lab because there were so many good things going on out there . It gives us hope for the future . MR . HUNNICUTT : I thank you very much for your time . [ Editor 's Note : This transcript has been edited at Mrs . Davidson 's request . The corresponding audio and video components have remained unchanged . ] Your rating was saved . you wish to report :

MR . HUNNICUTT : This interview is for the Center of Oak Ridge Oral History . The date is November 8 , 2012 . I am Don Hunnicutt in the home of Mrs . Mary Ann Davidson , 117 Orange Lane , Oak Ridge , Tennessee , to take her oral history about living in Oak Ridge , Tennessee . Please state your full name and your place of birth and your date of birth . MRS . DAVIDSON : My name is Mary Ann Davidson . My date of birth is January 12 , 1925 . I was born in Louisville , Kentucky . I lived there all my early life until I graduated from college . MRS . DAVIDSON : My father was William H . Courtenay . He was born in 1890 , on March 3 . He was in World War I and lived his entire life in Louisville and Shelbyville , Kentucky . He worked for the Mengel Company . They imported mahogany and hardwood from Africa and Central America . He delivered those to customers . He didn 't consider himself a salesman , but he sold them to the furniture factory - furniture makers around Kentucky , mostly Indiana and Cincinnati and some in Tennessee . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , he did not . The Louisville Male High School was considered a fine school at that time . They said that graduates could enter Harvard in their second year . The principal had written textbooks that were apparently used all over . But my father was interested in raising ponies . His father had a farm in Shelbyville , Kentucky . If you 'd didn 't make the grade , you are special . And Dr . Ruben Post - Halleck , the famous principal of the school , told him if he took an exam in math , he could be entered back in . He did that , and he aced the test . He was back in . Then he was a special in English , so they told him if he memorized the " Lady of the Lake " and said that he could get back in school . So he did that . I think he never did finish . He was a twin , and his twin was more of an engineering type and went to manual training high school . MRS . DAVIDSON : She grew up in several small towns in western Kentucky . Her father worked for the L & N Railroad . She had her high school in Hopkinsville , Kentucky . She had to stay home - or she went to junior college nearby . She had a scholarship to Randolph Macon Women 's College , but she couldn 't take it because her mother was ill and died at age 50 . It was about the year I was born , I think . MRS . DAVIDSON : His name was William Howard Courtenay III . My father was named for his uncle , who was also William Howard . My older brother works for Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green in the physics department . He made instruments . My younger brother was a pediatrician in Louisville , and he is still living on a farm in Shelbyville . He 's interested in Kentucky antiques . MRS . DAVIDSON : I went to an unusual kindergarten and first grade . I was at what they called the Enterprise Branch of I . N . Bloom School . It was only kindergarten and first grade . It was in the older building , where we had a Pot Belly Stove . I think we had a maid to help us take our leggings off in the cold weather - galoshes . It was really a wonderful school . It was almost like a private one . It was public . We did things like making butter and we had an orchestra . I played the triangle . I had started a little bit earlier when my younger brother was born . Louisville had half semester , half - year grades . I would 've been a half year , but I skipped the last half of kindergarten . I went to the school board and took a test and went on , so they put me in the regular school year . I went through the big school the I . N . Bloom School and Highland Junior High School in Louisville . Then I went to Atherton High School for Girls . The Louisville public schools were segregated - boys and girls . There were about 900 girls at Atherton . My graduating class was about 200 , and I was the valedictorian . MRS . DAVIDSON : They are pants to keep your legs warm . They zipped up from the inside of the ankle bone up to about knee - high , I guess it was . They were a royal pain to take on and off , so the teacher had to have help to do that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was just ordinary . I 'm sure the girls wore dresses , and the little boys wore suits - not suits , but pants and shirts . MRS . DAVIDSON : I came to Oak Ridge after I graduated from college . I had two years of getting a master 's at Emory while I worked at my alma mater , Agnes Scott College in Decatur , Georgia . I was the chemistry lab instructor . So after those two years were up , I was interested in working in chemistry or biochemistry . My master 's was in biochemistry . In Louisville , there was nothing in that field , except liquor and paint - neither of which I was interested in . In Atlanta , I would like to stay in Atlanta , I heard that Oak Ridge was an interesting new place , and a lot was going on here . One of my dear college friends had recently married a physicist from the University of Kentucky , so I visited them here . I guess that must have been 1947 . Her husband was working at NEPA . He said they were looking for people with a chemistry degree . I applied , and I was accepted . I didn 't know that until I had completed the clearance , so I took the opportunity to go to Europe at an American youth hostel bicycle tour of Western Europe in the summer of 1948 . When I got home , I found that I had indeed gotten the job at Oak Ridge . So I came down here . MRS . DAVIDSON : I was wondering that . I think I came by train . When I interviewed earlier in the spring , my interview was at the Andrew Johnson Hotel . It was one of the private rooms . I had never seen the company here . I think I must have been met by a car and driver and brought to Oak Ridge . MRS . DAVIDSON : I came in through the Vermont Gateway , which is where the gas station is now on the corner of what I call Vermont . They call it North Rutgers now . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , I think it must 've been after that . That would 've been at Christmas time . When I applied , I imagine it was early spring . MRS . DAVIDSON : We called the company NEPA , for Nuclear Energy for the Propulsion of Aircraft . It was managed by the Fairchild Corporation the way Union Carbide or one of the other contractors managed the lab . I did not know until the first day I went to work just what the company was doing . They handed me a volume of information that said , " We are looking for - we are trying to make an airplane powered by nuclear energy that could fly to Russia and back without refueling . " That was a great shock to me . MRS . DAVIDSON : I lived in Columbia Hall Dormitory . I was very surprised to find that the rent was $ 15 a month until I realized it was one very small room . That was my living quarters . I took the opportunity to stay out of it as much as possible . I did that by babysitting in some of the B and D houses in the evening . Grandmothers were not here since it was a closed community . Babysitters were in short supply , and even though I didn 't need the money , it was good to get out of the dormitory . MRS . DAVIDSON : The dormitory was like Cheyenne Hall . It was the same type of building . It had wooden stairways from the second - floor hall down on each end . I lived on the second floor . Our dormitory was mostly nurses , since it was up on the hill next to the hospital - I think where the west parking lot is now . There was a kitchen on each end where we could have our own breakfast . Of course we were at the plant at lunchtime , and then we usually went out to supper . I opened the refrigerator door one morning and somebody 's milk came spilling out down my front . Everybody just stuffed things into the refrigerator . MRS . DAVIDSON : I had a single room with a twin bed and enough room to walk to the window by the bed . There was a little table that served as a desk with a chair . There was a much coveted dormitory dresser - a tall one with a number of drawers . They were very popular . MRS . DAVIDSON : They had a wonderful bus service here . Travel wasn 't really a problem . We walked , of course , from the dormitory to Jackson Square and ate supper usually at the Mayflower , which is where I first saw my husband - to - be . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was on the corner of Tennessee , right across from the Soup Kitchen and the Texaco gas station there on the northeast corner . It was a very popular place . In fact , there were several places you could eat . It was the Central Cafeteria , and the T & C Cafeteria in Jackson Square , which is about where the Epicurean is now toward the garden . MRS . DAVIDSON : It must 've been the A & P on Jackson Square . Jackson Square was really the center of activity as far as I was concerned at that time . I still love it . I hope it keeps going . MRS . DAVIDSON : The department stores - the big department store was Taylor 's at the time . They had a wonderful book department headed by Mrs . Keyes , whose daughter I knew at work . They had really fine art books and other books that they would have a great sale on once or twice a year . We were very happy with that . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was in the middle of the block between where Big Ed 's is in the corner . I guess it 's mostly used by the engineering company now . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , not frequently , but I went and saw - there was a theater down at Big Ed 's in Jackson Square and where the Playhouse is now . That was the main one . MRS . DAVIDSON : Henebree . McCrory 's 5 & 10 was there . There was a drugstore - a Service Drugstore . I guess that was where Big Ed 's is now , on the very corner . There was Jackson Square Pharmacy , and on the other side the Hamilton Bank was there next to the movie theater . And Samuel 's Men 's Store was a very nice store . The Jackson Square Pharmacy was there , but in between , which the Pharmacy later took over was a Kay 's Ice Cream Store . We used to go there and - my husband and I would when we were dating . I liked to get coffee with ice cream in it , so we went there . MRS . DAVIDSON : I can 't say that I do . It was just a given , I suppose . It didn 't make a big dent in my memory . After six months of the dormitory , I moved to a D house on Norman Lane . That was another era . MRS . DAVIDSON : A D house was a large three bedroom house . They were very much desired . They were really nice houses - still a lot of them are . The house was - there were five other girls who lived there - two of whom had been college friends . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , it would 've been upstairs . It was the second one to the end . A radiation technologist lived on the corner , and I lived there with school teachers and nurses who made up most of the dorm . MR . HUNNICUTT : Let 's talk a little bit about the dorm again . If I had a message for you or someone left a message for you , how did you retrieve your messages ? Was there a desk when you went in ? MRS . DAVIDSON : There was a desk downstairs . I remember the Valentine 's Day - I guess it must 've been 1949 . The message was that I had some flowers , some red roses . I had just met my husband - to - be at that time . I got all excited , and when I got to the desk , it was from somebody else . I enjoyed the red roses , but not as much as I might have . The thing was that there were ladies - a lot of the women who lived in the dorm worked on the night shift . They would sit around a large kind of living room , I guess they called it . They were all staring when I got flowers . I had to walk around , and it was embarrassing . MRS . DAVIDSON : I was there in the winter of 1948 . I 'm very cold natured , but I don 't remember being cold . We had those heavy navy blanket - navy blue blankets . This brings up a story if I jump to it later on . We were moved from the D house after another six months into the brand - new Garden Apartments on Villanova Road . They needed our D house for families . The people who moved in were the Andersons of the Anderson Hilltop Grocery . Of course , the furniture all belonged to the government there . So the Garden Apartments were not furnished , so we had dwindled down from 6 to 4 people who needed furniture . I took a day off and went to an auction the government set up down at the warehouses . I got seven beds and three or four dressers - much more than I could have used . But the beds were in great demand at work because all the young men who worked there were having children and needed beds . So we took the four . Also I got two sofas , and we could use but one ; so I sold one . They were really shabby awful sofas . Since it was all going to surplus anyway , we switched and took the nice sofa from the D house and left them the bad one . It was all taken away anyhow , so I didn 't feel too bad about that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't really remember about the telephone . We didn 't use the telephone much . We never used it for long - distance except for emergencies and calls home . I don 't remember that as being a problem particularly . MRS . DAVIDSON : I suppose I went on the bus . I did not have a car . One of the housemates from Norman Lane had gotten the car , but she would 've been at work at K - 25 . I don 't know . I may have gotten a ride . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess I paid somebody to deliver it . I don 't know . Maybe some of the fellows at work picked up their beds that they wanted . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was one of those warehouses down at the [ Oak Ridge ] Turnpike on Warehouse Road . I don 't know exactly where it was . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess it was on the bulletin boards at work , or there was a newspaper at the Lab . I guess I heard about it that way . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think probably so - in the newsletters they came around , also at the recreation building - the rec hall - at Jackson Square that was the library upstairs and the rec hall downstairs . Word - of - mouth - I don 't remember . We had a need and found the answer to it . MRS . DAVIDSON : I had to punch a clock at eight in the morning when I first started . I guess we got out at 4 : 30 or 5 o ' clock . We had bus service that went from the bus terminal - the Central one - that 's now by Bus Terminal Road . Later on after we were married , we lived on Waddell Circle and went from there to the Jefferson bus terminal . I went - I rode on the K - 25 bus , and they went out past K - 25 to the road that the powerhouse was on and NEPA was beyond that out by the river . MRS . DAVIDSON : There was some kind of management services office . I 'm not sure what it was called - the Roane Anderson Corporation at that time , I guess . I think that 's where I rented the dormitory room . I probably got bus tokens - I guess I got the tokens of the bus terminal . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think I had a checking account probably at Hamilton Bank in Jackson Square . I don 't recall otherwise . I know I did later . One thing I wanted to say about the buses - if you wanted to go to Clinton to do any shopping , more than what you could have in Oak Ridge or to meet somebody or something , there was a bus that ran frequently back and forth between the bus terminal and Clinton . There was a young man on the bus who had a sing - songy sales pitch for " peanuts , popcorn , Cracker Jacks , candy , and chewing gum . " He wouldn 't drive , but he would sell his wares all the way to Clinton and back . I always wondered who that was because he obviously had some talent . MRS . DAVIDSON : I 'm sure I did . I don 't know what became of it . I guess I had to turn it back in . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think somebody just got - one of the guards got on the bus and checked everybody 's badges . It was not a big thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : Probably . I don 't remember . What I do remember about that was my mother was coming down one time for my birthday - it must 've been in January 1949 . She rode the train . I told her that I would get a ride to meet her . Of course , the train didn 't stop at Oak Ridge . It went on to Knoxville , so I bummed a ride with one of the men in our group . He was actually the technical assistant to the director . His car was a broken down old thing with no floorboards in the back seat , which was pretty bad when my mother saw it . But she didn 't see it because when we got to Knoxville , she was not there . When we were coming back from the gateway entrance , she was not there . There was a message that she was waiting for us at the Elza Gate Station . She had told the conductor she had to get off at Oak Ridge . That 's where she was going , and I was going to meet her . So she slid down the Elza bank over there . She had my birthday cake - a large chocolate cake . She slid downhill with that , and somehow they stopped her at the guard gate at Elza . She waited there for us . MRS . DAVIDSON : Just for her - let her off like a milk train . They ordinarily didn 't stop there , but she wouldn 't have it otherwise . MRS . DAVIDSON : I used the library and rec hall . On Sunday afternoons , they played music ; and you could sit and write letters home , which is what I think I did a good bit . Later on in the better weather , there were tennis courts and a swimming pool . I don 't remember going to movies much . We went to church groups . There were so many young people ; it was just like a party all the time . Nothing in particular stands out . It was just fun . MRS . DAVIDSON : In the company I was , that was not true . There were a lot of women of course - of course , the dormitory was full of school teachers and nurses . But NEPA was mostly men . There were two parts to the Fairchild - the science and engineering part , which was bigger . I happen to be in the research part . My boss was a chemist - Vince Calkins . It was my job to - this was a real shocker to me - to find a chemical that would protect the human body against radiation for the reactor that was supposed to be in the airplane to Russia . I had no background for that kind of thing . I was just fresh out of college really . I realized I was out of my depth , but they decided - he was a pharmacist , I believe , and he wanted to do experiments with rats . They brought in the rat colony . By that time we had a couple of assistants , and I was supposed to be the group leader . One of the men , Ray Waldrop - you may have talked to him . I asked him if he minded working for a woman because he was really more experienced than I , although I had the degree . It was fine with him . There was also another worker , Saul Segal , who was quite a character in his own right . I took the rats in the cages over to the reactor , the " Old Lady " at X - 10 , and put them through what they called " rabbits " and radiated them for certain amount of time . We couldn 't kill the darn things . Then we used the older ones that had already been radiated , they were just tough as anything . I think the experiment was really a failure , although they may have found that to be the case in some later work with older people - that the cells are not dividing as fast and they 're not as subject to radiation . But we didn 't get into that . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was actually not K - 25 . It was beyond there . As I said , the bus took us - the bus dumped people off at K - 25 , and they went on west to just before you get to the Gallaher Bridge . You turn right there and go right past the power station there . It was used for a long time - the power house , and then NEPA was beyond that . The native rats came in - was it domestic experimental rats ? That was not good . I had a janitor who helped me , even though he could 've lost his job for doing it . He helped me clean cages . I always appreciated that . MRS . DAVIDSON : When they got rid of the rats , which was a blessing , my group leader then became Bill Browning , who was a fine scientist . He worked on the Van de Graaff generator . We had an interesting argument . Saul Segal thought he should be the one to do it since he was a man and I was a woman who would be leaving soon ; and it turned out that he left for California before I had left to have my baby . His argument didn 't hold with me anyway , but we argued about that some . We did run the Van de Graaff , and we also did some experiments on metallic sodium . It was nasty stuff to work with . It caught on fire if it was exposed to air . You had to work with that under oil in the glove box . I think that work all had to be repeated after NEPA left for Cincinnati with G . E . . When they moved part of NEPA to X - 10 , they called it the ANP , or something about aircraft and nuclear power . I was not connected with that because my first baby was born in August 1951 . I left in July . MRS . DAVIDSON : I heard somebody say that they had to repeat it all . My boss , the Division Director of Chemistry was interested in vitamin E , and thought it had a lot of protective influence . We worked with that . That was some of the work I did in chemistry - the lab part of it in the early days . It was not good work , I think . I 'm not blaming myself , but some of the other men who were doing chemical work - I think altogether we didn 't come up with anything . MRS . DAVIDSON : It may have been ahead of it 's time for nuclear submarines . I don 't know whether the engineering people thought that or not . In our group which was the chemistry and the physics , my friend who got me the job was Jim Trice . A fellow named Art Miller and somebody named Coneybearwere in the Physics Division . And then there were some others - Fred Maienschein . I did some work for him one time . It was work on beryllium for one thing . I didn 't work with any of the active beryllium . I didn 't do any lab work then , but I did some journal research . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't think they were that far along . I 'm not sure what happened to that part of it . As I said , in July of 1951 they moved to Cincinnati , Evensville , above Cincinnati . I don 't know how many people actually went up there . Most of my friends moved elsewhere . MR . HUNNICUTT : You mentioned the location of the operation was past the steam plant that was on the Clinch River . Was that the same location where the S - 50 project was located ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I think that was the name of our plot of land . I think those - I never was quite sure how they got the designations , but that was the Fairchild domain , I think . MRS . DAVIDSON : Really , it was just when our eyes met . It was very romantic . He followed our group home to the Columbia Hall to see where I lived . But at the time I thought he was too young , and I didn 't think he was following me . I was with a group of other girls . Later on , one of the women in the dormitory , who was a gym teacher in the Oak Ridge schools , told me I really ought to meet Jack Davidson that he loved to ride bicycles ; I was just back from my bicycle trip in Europe . I didn 't know who he was , and then I went to a church group meeting at my Presbyterian Church for young people one Sunday evening . A friend of mine had brought Jack Davidson , and he was the one whose eyes I had met and he had met mine . Sure enough , he loved to ride bicycles . That was the start of a good thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : We did a little bit . On our dates , that 's really what we did mostly at first . We rode out to West Outer Drive and had those wonderful big hills , not too much traffic at that time . We went out to the water tower at the top of Louisiana and had a picnic , and then rode back . When we got really good , we rode our bicycles over to Concord Park one day . I had gotten some chicken breasts at the grocery . I guess it was the A & P at Jackson Square . I was going to fry them for a picnic to take along over to Concord Park . When I went to the refrigerator to get them , they had turned into wings . Somebody had eaten my chicken breast . Jack was a good sport about that . He didn 't care . We had a nice ride . It was before they had improved Lovell Road . It was a pretty rough ride over there , but we were able to enjoy it . MRS . DAVIDSON : He had his bicycle . It was probably a Grey Stone . For me , he rented a bicycle from his work friend . I had forgotten what his name was . We went over to one of the D Streets , I think , and rode them . I didn 't have my English 3 - speed here . I guess I brought it later , but at that time I didn 't have it . MRS . DAVIDSON : That was a problem . I complained to my friend Jim Trice 's wife , Dot , who happened to live around the corner on Outer Drive at that time . She said the boardwalk was used a lot for dating , and of course the theaters . I guess we were outdoors people . I don 't know . MRS . DAVIDSON : He was a graduate of Georgia Tech . At the time he graduated , he was very young . He came up to see about a job , and he was drafted . No , he was in danger of being drafted right away , but they didn 't hire him . He did go to work for NASA , which was at that time NACA , in Virginia ; and worked over there a short time before he was taken into the Army . He had gone through Georgia Tech on a " War Manpower " loan . He was sent to some place to be an MP , I think . He wrote a night letter , which is a 50 - word telegram that was cheaper at night . He wrote a night letter to Stimson , the Secretary of War , telling them they had paid for his college education ; and here he was sitting in a camp doing nothing down in Alabama . He was transferred to the SED , he would never say that was the reason he was transferred . It may or may not have been . He arrived with the SED - he arrived in Oak Ridge the day Roosevelt died , which was in April 1945 , he was here with his group for maybe six weeks before they went out to Los Alamos . So he spent the rest of the war out there . Then he used his G . I . Bill - he stayed on at Los Alamos . They told them they would let him out of the Army if he would agree to stay on as a civilian . So he took that . Then when he did leave , he went to Annapolis and took a liberal arts course because he felt that he had missed out on it at Georgia Tech . He had a year at St . John 's College of Annapolis ; and then all along I guess he thought he would like to come back here . He came back - he arrived on Armistice Day , now Veterans Day , of 1948 . I was here a couple of months before he came , but we met shortly after Christmas in 1949 . MRS . DAVIDSON : Too long . We were married in May 1950 . He wanted to pay off his loan before we could get married , so I helped him along with that . I fed him some . He was very welcome at the D House of girls . I was going to tell you that during the war , there were nine girls in the house , and they slept on shifts on the bunk beds . There were only six of us when I was there . There were a couple of the boyfriends around , and one of them cut the grass . I think Jack did the - empty the clinkers from the furnace , the coal furnace . They made themselves useful . They got their dinner . MRS . DAVIDSON : Most of the houses were a very good design really , and a whole lot better built than we gave them credit for . But each one that I knew of had a corner set off or closed off as a coal storage place that could be filled through a window from the outside , and then you could use the - there was an opening on the inside that you could use to put coal into the furnace . That was awful of course , but that 's what all the houses were doing in that time , too . We had a yard full of clinkers over there . MRS . DAVIDSON : We were taken care of by a Big Brother - the government . They brought the coal around , and you didn 't do a thing . That was part of the rent . When we got our house here on Orange Lane , that 's another story . Are you ready for that yet ? MRS . DAVIDSON : We went back to my home in Louisville , Kentucky , to be married . We had planned to fly to Nashville , but it turned out the Delta Queen was coming through Louisville the next morning . My mother had told us we could not get married the week before because it was too busy with Derby Day . So we delayed until May 13 . Then we spent the night in Louisville at the Brown Hotel , where she pulled some strings to get us a room because it was still very full of visitors from the Derby . We got on the Delta Queen , and our friends were all on the dock to see us off . They had us almost convinced that we were on Daylight Saving Time , and the Delta Queen was not , and we had missed it . But we rode down just as far as Paducah . We were anxious to start in life you know . We lived on Wadell Circle in a K apartment . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was a two - story thing . I guess it was a two - bedroom up above , and we had K - 1 . It was sort of underground at the front and open at the back . We had a nice back porch . There was a closet under the stairway and a very small kitchen . It had a table that folded down . It was not as compact as a flattop , but the furnishings that they had did double duty . You could fold it up and have more room . MRS . DAVIDSON : The K apartment was heated with the coal furnace , but there was a janitor who came around and took care of it for us . We were taken care of by Roane Anderson . MRS . DAVIDSON : We lived in the K from May 1950 , until we got this house in July 1952 . It was said - the word around town was that you couldn 't get a two - bedroom house unless you had three children , all of different sex . We had been on the list for this house ever since we knew our daughter was coming along . That was a long time to wait . We had been offered two houses - Florida Avenue , where the parking was across the street and the backyard just dropped off . We thought that was totally unsuitable for a new child . We turned both of those down . If we had turned this one down , we would 've gone to the bottom of the long list . But we loved this place of the trees and the dead end lane neighborhood . So we sat outside in front all weekend because we were not top on the list . The reason the other people didn 't take it was that the previous owner , Jim Cox and Charlotte , had put in an oil furnace ; and nobody wanted to pay $ 200 for the oil furnace . Since I had been working , we had saved my salary from work , and we had $ 200 to pay . Also , they didn 't want to be in the high rent district . This house rented for something like $ 45 instead of $ 43 in the lower rent districts . MRS . DAVIDSON : The Oak Ridge cemesto houses that were built - I think this house was built in the fall of 1944 or 1943 . Maybe it was ' 43 . The B house has two bedrooms and of course a bath and a kitchen with a dinette into a long narrow living room . It was about 24 feet by 40 something feet . It was small and convenient . It didn 't have much storage space , but it 's been a wonderful house for us because of the trees . We are on a greenbelt , and I enjoy that very much . It 's a nice private neighborhood just above Jackson Square . MRS . DAVIDSON : Our cemesto has a fireplace , and it had a complete brick wall . Some of the B houses had a brick wall just beyond the fireplace . MRS . DAVIDSON : There are hardwood floors in all the cemestos , I believe . Our house has maple flooring , and a lot of them had oak . Wood was hard to come by in the wartime . We love the color - the reddish color of the maple . MRS . DAVIDSON : Adele is our second daughter , and she was two years younger . Our son is Bill Davidson or William . He was born in November of 1954 . He 's just now turning 58 . MRS . DAVIDSON : All three of our children went to Cedar Hill . They had split grades there , so I think the classes were one half size . They would take the kids a half from one grade , and half from the next grade , and that worked out just fine . MRS . DAVIDSON : Cedar Hill was wonderful . It was very special . Mr . Dodd was the principal , and he saw to it - he had the best teachers or at least as good as any . Actually in those days all the teachers and Oak Ridge were special because many of them had been recruited from Columbia Teachers College , along with the superintendent . Others were specially recruited for the job . They were a group a part , I think , from a lot of teachers . MRS . DAVIDSON : The girls both went to Jefferson when it was on the hill at Jackson Square , and Bill was in the first year at the new Jefferson that was over on Fairbanks Road . His was the first class there . They all went through Oak Ridge High . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you recall some of the classes your daughters took while they were in junior high ? Was there Home Ec . or things related to girls ? MRS . DAVIDSON : No , they were on the college prep track . They took eighth grade algebra and that kind of thing . Of course English and math and social studies and science - our older girl I think took biology ; and I 'm not sure if Adele had a more general science course . It just depended on the teacher that they had . They had an excellent education , and the girls were both Merit semifinalists . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course . I was in the PTA . I 'm not sure if I was ever a room mother , but I of course helped with parties and things . MRS . DAVIDSON : The teachers recruited them from each class to help with parties mostly . They helped with any activities that they didn 't really have time to do . MRS . DAVIDSON : Parent - Teacher Association , a time honored group . It got extra things for the school . I got involved with raincoats for the school patrol . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess maybe I was a treasurer of the Cedar Hill PTA , and this goal was to get those yellow slicker raincoat so kids could be visible to the drivers . I found out how much the things cost , and then I estimated postage . At the PTA meeting , Alvin Weinberg was president . He had a son or two in school at the time . He took me to task for estimating the postage , so I had to ask for just the money for the coats themselves since I didn 't really know what the postage is going to be . I thought that was interesting that he wanted to keep it to the exact penny . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think they just wore what the other kids wore . One day we had a deep snow and Bill was in kindergarten , and the snow was up over their boots . I think he had some corduroys . The teacher was making the kids take their pants off and dry them on the radiator , and he wouldn 't do it . I had to go up to the school and take him some fresh pants , some dry clothes . He was very young - just four when he started . MR . HUNNICUTT : Let 's go back a few years . Do you remember 1945 when they dropped the bomb on Japan ? You remember where you were ? And what was your reaction ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I do remember that very clearly because it was the summer after my junior year in college , and I was a camp counselor up in Door County , Wisconsin . There was no electricity at the camp , so we counselors - after we got the kids to bed , went to the state park nearby . This was at Fish Creek , Wisconsin . We would listen to people 's car radios . We knew for about a week that something was happening , but we didn 't know just what . It was very deeply moving when the bomb was dropped , and we thought it would bring an end to the war . Of course , I had friends and a brother on Guam and a cousin was in Europe and others . So that was very deeply moving . I had a book of poetry - my favorite poems at the camp with me . One of my 12 - year - olds picked out a poem - " Once to every man and nation comes a moment to decide " - she read that , and I thought that was very astute of her , a youngster to be able to do that . MRS . DAVIDSON : My husband thought they should have dropped a sample first , but I didn 't feel that way since the first bomb didn 't phase the Japanese . I didn 't think the test one would have either . I was just so glad that the war was over . People could settle down and get into real life again . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think I was in transition from the dormitory to the house , and my husband 's brothers came up from Georgia to witness the opening . So we drove in their car around , and we watched the parade from , I believe , down on the eastern end of the Turnpike down near the warehouses to get out of the traffic . We never could figure out why they invited Marie " The Body " McDonald and [ inaudible ] to ride in the open car for the parade . We couldn 't figure out what they had to do with it , but we did see the burning of the magnesium ribbon . That was exciting . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was only toward town from Elza Gate . I know the central part of town , the Jackson Square area , was very crowded . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think they name the streets for famous cities in the country , and of course the alphabetical designations were very helpful . But Jackson Square , I assume , was named for New Orleans . That 's all I know about it . MRS . DAVIDSON : Sometimes you would pick up the telephone , and the other party was talking . I believe they had different rings . I think maybe the other party had one ring , and we had two . There were four - party lines , but if we were on a four - party line , only the other one was active . I think maybe we were . The other two lines were not being used . MR . HUNNICUTT : When you are raising your family , did you hang your clothes outside on the clothesline ? Did you have a dryer ? What did you use ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I hung them outside on the clothesline . As I said , when we moved here , Anne was a year old . Not much more than three years after that , we had three babies . I was able to talk my husband into getting a dryer that time . Before that , he had built a pulley out of my kitchen window . There was a drop off in the back , and he was able to string it to a tree in the woods . I was able to reel those cloth diapers and reel them in and out . The only problem was that the birds like the trees , too . Sometimes I had to do some re - washing . MR . HUNNICUTT : So in those days you use cloth diapers ? Today we use disposable diapers . How do you think you would 've done if you had disposable diapers ? MRS . DAVIDSON : At one point , when our children were out playing Kick the Can , there were over 40 children on the lane . There were about 20 or 21 houses . There were almost as many dogs . It was just a glorious place for them to grow up . They seem to get along remarkably well most of the time , especially in the early days . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes . We went down there on the opening , and got the radioactive dimes on that occasion . The museum at that time was down at Jefferson Circle . I don 't think any of us ever had our hair stand out on the Van De Graff generator or whatever it was , but we took the children . We went out ourselves . Of course my husband was interested in that kind of thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : Sometimes they walked to Jefferson , but by that time they were carrying pretty heavy books . One of the neighbors on Outer Drive wanted to have a carpool , so we joined that . MRS . DAVIDSON : When Anne was in the fifth grade , they had to write what they did on Friday nights . The teacher would call me and say , " Is it true that you gave your children ice water and watched TV on Friday nights ? " That was how generous we were with them . We didn 't get a TV until they were probably five or six years old . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course it was black and white . The reason we got it - I guess finally it was that the children were always going to the neighbors ' house to watch TV . We decided that we should get our own . They watched things like " Pinky Lee " and I 've forgotten what else . MRS . DAVIDSON : I remember that fondly because my first real date with my husband was going to dinner there with him . He invited me to go to a concert in Knoxville , and his excuse was that we should get to know each other better before he took me to the city with him . That was one thing . I remember there were parties there , and our company had a party at the Oak Terrace Ballroom . One of the NEPA fellows wore a Tarzan costume , which was mostly nothing . It turned out that he lived in the neighborhood . MRS . DAVIDSON : That was just below the dormitory where I lived in Columbia Hall . Jack went there looking for me , he thought I would eat breakfast there and then he could have breakfast with me ; but I ate in the dormitory . He didn 't find me there . When we came back from our bicycle ride to Concord Park , I remember we stopped by there , and he drank two or three Mountain Dew drinks . That surprised me , but we had worked off a lot of sweat . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , we took our children out there and saw " Lawrence of Arabia " and " The 10 Commandment " and those things . It was quite nice . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was about where Kroger 's - where that is now , on the southeast part of Illinois Avenue . It was a nice thing . That was a special treat for the children to go out there . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't think so . I think they were mostly in the car . They had a drawing one time , Jack won something . It was actually nothing , but he did win . MRS . DAVIDSON : I sure did . My three children were born there . It was a green structure , like so many of the buildings in Oak Ridge . I guess the present building is built on that place . It was okay . I didn 't have any problems with it , except after my second child . I had a staph infection from the hospital . Even an Army wife with a private room got an infection there . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , I think they also had been recruited ; and a lot of them were from Tulane University . The time I was sick with my infection , they were having a reunion at Tulane , and my doctor and another one were gone for the reunion . I didn 't like the one who took care of me . He didn 't do a good job . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was okay . I don 't remember having any problems with it . We knew Dr . Rogers from our church , and we went to him . He was called away to the service , I believe . Maybe it was the Korean War , but then he came back . MRS . DAVIDSON : We met at Pine Valley School . The choir sat on the bleachers , and the minister sat under the halo of the basketball net . My husband was a Methodist , and he went to the First Methodist Church . They had a big youth group there . When we were first married , we tried to take them both in . We went to Sunday school one place , and church another until we finally settled on the Presbyterian . It was smaller , and we knew more people . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course the people . I love my trees and my house . I love all the activities . Both my husband and I have always loved music and enjoy the concerts a lot . The symphony concerts with Waldo Cohn conducting were held at Jefferson Junior High on the Kentucky Avenue hill . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you think back about all the people that you knew in the early days ? Do you think it was unusual for everybody to get along - the many people that were here ? MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , I guess so . I didn 't think about it because we just did . It was just fun . Everybody was away from home , and we had to be family for each other . That was particularly true in this close neighborhood . MRS . DAVIDSON : I 'm pleased for the most part . I think we 've made good progress . We 've kept up with the outside world . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think we came through at the very best of times . It was not the pressure of war , but we were growing community . I think things were happening at the Lab . Both of my husband and I loved the Lab because there were so many good things going on out there . It gives us hope for the future . [ Editor 's Note : This transcript has been edited at Mrs . Davidson 's request . The corresponding audio and video components have remained unchanged . ] Click tabs to swap between content that is broken into logical sections . MR . HUNNICUTT : This interview is for the Center of Oak Ridge Oral History . The date is November 8 , 2012 . I am Don Hunnicutt in the home of Mrs . Mary Ann Davidson , 117 Orange Lane , Oak Ridge , Tennessee , to take her oral history about living in Oak Ridge , Tennessee . Please state your full name and your place of birth and your date of birth . MRS . DAVIDSON : My name is Mary Ann Davidson . My date of birth is January 12 , 1925 . I was born in Louisville , Kentucky . I lived there all my early life until I graduated from college . MRS . DAVIDSON : My father was William H . Courtenay . He was born in 1890 , on March 3 . He was in World War I and lived his entire life in Louisville and Shelbyville , Kentucky . He worked for the Mengel Company . They imported mahogany and hardwood from Africa and Central America . He delivered those to customers . He didn 't consider himself a salesman , but he sold them to the furniture factory - furniture makers around Kentucky , mostly Indiana and Cincinnati and some in Tennessee . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , he did not . The Louisville Male High School was considered a fine school at that time . They said that graduates could enter Harvard in their second year . The principal had written textbooks that were apparently used all over . But my father was interested in raising ponies . His father had a farm in Shelbyville , Kentucky . If you 'd didn 't make the grade , you are special . And Dr . Ruben Post - Halleck , the famous principal of the school , told him if he took an exam in math , he could be entered back in . He did that , and he aced the test . He was back in . Then he was a special in English , so they told him if he memorized the " Lady of the Lake " and said that he could get back in school . So he did that . I think he never did finish . He was a twin , and his twin was more of an engineering type and went to manual training high school . MR . HUNNICUTT : What about your mother 's school history ? MRS . DAVIDSON : She grew up in several small towns in western Kentucky . Her father worked for the L & N Railroad . She had her high school in Hopkinsville , Kentucky . She had to stay home - or she went to junior college nearby . She had a scholarship to Randolph Macon Women 's College , but she couldn 't take it because her mother was ill and died at age 50 . It was about the year I was born , I think . MRS . DAVIDSON : His name was William Howard Courtenay III . My father was named for his uncle , who was also William Howard . My older brother works for Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green in the physics department . He made instruments . My younger brother was a pediatrician in Louisville , and he is still living on a farm in Shelbyville . He 's interested in Kentucky antiques . MR . HUNNICUTT : Yes . MRS . DAVIDSON : I went to an unusual kindergarten and first grade . I was at what they called the Enterprise Branch of I . N . Bloom School . It was only kindergarten and first grade . It was in the older building , where we had a Pot Belly Stove . I think we had a maid to help us take our leggings off in the cold weather - galoshes . It was really a wonderful school . It was almost like a private one . It was public . We did things like making butter and we had an orchestra . I played the triangle . I had started a little bit earlier when my younger brother was born . Louisville had half semester , half - year grades . I would 've been a half year , but I skipped the last half of kindergarten . I went to the school board and took a test and went on , so they put me in the regular school year . I went through the big school the I . N . Bloom School and Highland Junior High School in Louisville . Then I went to Atherton High School for Girls . The Louisville public schools were segregated - boys and girls . There were about 900 girls at Atherton . My graduating class was about 200 , and I was the valedictorian . MRS . DAVIDSON : They are pants to keep your legs warm . They zipped up from the inside of the ankle bone up to about knee - high , I guess it was . They were a royal pain to take on and off , so the teacher had to have help to do that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was just ordinary . I 'm sure the girls wore dresses , and the little boys wore suits - not suits , but pants and shirts . MRS . DAVIDSON : I came to Oak Ridge after I graduated from college . I had two years of getting a master 's at Emory while I worked at my alma mater , Agnes Scott College in Decatur , Georgia . I was the chemistry lab instructor . So after those two years were up , I was interested in working in chemistry or biochemistry . My master 's was in biochemistry . In Louisville , there was nothing in that field , except liquor and paint - neither of which I was interested in . In Atlanta , I would like to stay in Atlanta , I heard that Oak Ridge was an interesting new place , and a lot was going on here . One of my dear college friends had recently married a physicist from the University of Kentucky , so I visited them here . I guess that must have been 1947 . Her husband was working at NEPA . He said they were looking for people with a chemistry degree . I applied , and I was accepted . I didn 't know that until I had completed the clearance , so I took the opportunity to go to Europe at an American youth hostel bicycle tour of Western Europe in the summer of 1948 . When I got home , I found that I had indeed gotten the job at Oak Ridge . So I came down here . MRS . DAVIDSON : I was wondering that . I think I came by train . When I interviewed earlier in the spring , my interview was at the Andrew Johnson Hotel . It was one of the private rooms . I had never seen the company here . I think I must have been met by a car and driver and brought to Oak Ridge . MRS . DAVIDSON : I came in through the Vermont Gateway , which is where the gas station is now on the corner of what I call Vermont . They call it North Rutgers now . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , I think it must 've been after that . That would 've been at Christmas time . When I applied , I imagine it was early spring . MRS . DAVIDSON : We called the company NEPA , for Nuclear Energy for the Propulsion of Aircraft . It was managed by the Fairchild Corporation the way Union Carbide or one of the other contractors managed the lab . I did not know until the first day I went to work just what the company was doing . They handed me a volume of information that said , " We are looking for - we are trying to make an airplane powered by nuclear energy that could fly to Russia and back without refueling . " That was a great shock to me . MRS . DAVIDSON : I lived in Columbia Hall Dormitory . I was very surprised to find that the rent was $ 15 a month until I realized it was one very small room . That was my living quarters . I took the opportunity to stay out of it as much as possible . I did that by babysitting in some of the B and D houses in the evening . Grandmothers were not here since it was a closed community . Babysitters were in short supply , and even though I didn 't need the money , it was good to get out of the dormitory . MRS . DAVIDSON : The dormitory was like Cheyenne Hall . It was the same type of building . It had wooden stairways from the second - floor hall down on each end . I lived on the second floor . Our dormitory was mostly nurses , since it was up on the hill next to the hospital - I think where the west parking lot is now . There was a kitchen on each end where we could have our own breakfast . Of course we were at the plant at lunchtime , and then we usually went out to supper . I opened the refrigerator door one morning and somebody 's milk came spilling out down my front . Everybody just stuffed things into the refrigerator . MRS . DAVIDSON : I had a single room with a twin bed and enough room to walk to the window by the bed . There was a little table that served as a desk with a chair . There was a much coveted dormitory dresser - a tall one with a number of drawers . They were very popular . MRS . DAVIDSON : They had a wonderful bus service here . Travel wasn 't really a problem . We walked , of course , from the dormitory to Jackson Square and ate supper usually at the Mayflower , which is where I first saw my husband - to - be . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was on the corner of Tennessee , right across from the Soup Kitchen and the Texaco gas station there on the northeast corner . It was a very popular place . In fact , there were several places you could eat . It was the Central Cafeteria , and the T & C Cafeteria in Jackson Square , which is about where the Epicurean is now toward the garden . MRS . DAVIDSON : It must 've been the A & P on Jackson Square . Jackson Square was really the center of activity as far as I was concerned at that time . I still love it . I hope it keeps going . MRS . DAVIDSON : The department stores - the big department store was Taylor 's at the time . They had a wonderful book department headed by Mrs . Keyes , whose daughter I knew at work . They had really fine art books and other books that they would have a great sale on once or twice a year . We were very happy with that . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was in the middle of the block between where Big Ed 's is in the corner . I guess it 's mostly used by the engineering company now . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , not frequently , but I went and saw - there was a theater down at Big Ed 's in Jackson Square and where the Playhouse is now . That was the main one . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , the jewelry store was on the corner that was Henebree 's , I think . No , that was Heneger 's . MR . HUNNICUTT : Henebree ? MRS . DAVIDSON : Henebree . McCrory 's 5 & 10 was there . There was a drugstore - a Service Drugstore . I guess that was where Big Ed 's is now , on the very corner . There was Jackson Square Pharmacy , and on the other side the Hamilton Bank was there next to the movie theater . And Samuel 's Men 's Store was a very nice store . The Jackson Square Pharmacy was there , but in between , which the Pharmacy later took over was a Kay 's Ice Cream Store . We used to go there and - my husband and I would when we were dating . I liked to get coffee with ice cream in it , so we went there . MR . HUNNICUTT : I believe that was Taff Moody Ice Cream - they served Kay 's Ice Cream . MRS . DAVIDSON : Was it ? I didn 't remember that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I can 't say that I do . It was just a given , I suppose . It didn 't make a big dent in my memory . After six months of the dormitory , I moved to a D house on Norman Lane . That was another era . MR . HUNNICUTT : What is a D house ? MRS . DAVIDSON : A D house was a large three bedroom house . They were very much desired . They were really nice houses - still a lot of them are . The house was - there were five other girls who lived there - two of whom had been college friends . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , it would 've been upstairs . It was the second one to the end . A radiation technologist lived on the corner , and I lived there with school teachers and nurses who made up most of the dorm . MR . HUNNICUTT : Let 's talk a little bit about the dorm again . If I had a message for you or someone left a message for you , how did you retrieve your messages ? Was there a desk when you went in ? MRS . DAVIDSON : There was a desk downstairs . I remember the Valentine 's Day - I guess it must 've been 1949 . The message was that I had some flowers , some red roses . I had just met my husband - to - be at that time . I got all excited , and when I got to the desk , it was from somebody else . I enjoyed the red roses , but not as much as I might have . The thing was that there were ladies - a lot of the women who lived in the dorm worked on the night shift . They would sit around a large kind of living room , I guess they called it . They were all staring when I got flowers . I had to walk around , and it was embarrassing . MRS . DAVIDSON : I was there in the winter of 1948 . I 'm very cold natured , but I don 't remember being cold . We had those heavy navy blanket - navy blue blankets . This brings up a story if I jump to it later on . We were moved from the D house after another six months into the brand - new Garden Apartments on Villanova Road . They needed our D house for families . The people who moved in were the Andersons of the Anderson Hilltop Grocery . Of course , the furniture all belonged to the government there . So the Garden Apartments were not furnished , so we had dwindled down from 6 to 4 people who needed furniture . I took a day off and went to an auction the government set up down at the warehouses . I got seven beds and three or four dressers - much more than I could have used . But the beds were in great demand at work because all the young men who worked there were having children and needed beds . So we took the four . Also I got two sofas , and we could use but one ; so I sold one . They were really shabby awful sofas . Since it was all going to surplus anyway , we switched and took the nice sofa from the D house and left them the bad one . It was all taken away anyhow , so I didn 't feel too bad about that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't really remember about the telephone . We didn 't use the telephone much . We never used it for long - distance except for emergencies and calls home . I don 't remember that as being a problem particularly . MRS . DAVIDSON : I suppose I went on the bus . I did not have a car . One of the housemates from Norman Lane had gotten the car , but she would 've been at work at K - 25 . I don 't know . I may have gotten a ride . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess I paid somebody to deliver it . I don 't know . Maybe some of the fellows at work picked up their beds that they wanted . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was one of those warehouses down at the [ Oak Ridge ] Turnpike on Warehouse Road . I don 't know exactly where it was . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess it was on the bulletin boards at work , or there was a newspaper at the Lab . I guess I heard about it that way . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think probably so - in the newsletters they came around , also at the recreation building - the rec hall - at Jackson Square that was the library upstairs and the rec hall downstairs . Word - of - mouth - I don 't remember . We had a need and found the answer to it . MRS . DAVIDSON : I had to punch a clock at eight in the morning when I first started . I guess we got out at 4 : 30 or 5 o ' clock . We had bus service that went from the bus terminal - the Central one - that 's now by Bus Terminal Road . Later on after we were married , we lived on Waddell Circle and went from there to the Jefferson bus terminal . I went - I rode on the K - 25 bus , and they went out past K - 25 to the road that the powerhouse was on and NEPA was beyond that out by the river . MRS . DAVIDSON : There was some kind of management services office . I 'm not sure what it was called - the Roane Anderson Corporation at that time , I guess . I think that 's where I rented the dormitory room . I probably got bus tokens - I guess I got the tokens of the bus terminal . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think I had a checking account probably at Hamilton Bank in Jackson Square . I don 't recall otherwise . I know I did later . One thing I wanted to say about the buses - if you wanted to go to Clinton to do any shopping , more than what you could have in Oak Ridge or to meet somebody or something , there was a bus that ran frequently back and forth between the bus terminal and Clinton . There was a young man on the bus who had a sing - songy sales pitch for " peanuts , popcorn , Cracker Jacks , candy , and chewing gum . " He wouldn 't drive , but he would sell his wares all the way to Clinton and back . I always wondered who that was because he obviously had some talent . MRS . DAVIDSON : I 'm sure I did . I don 't know what became of it . I guess I had to turn it back in . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think somebody just got - one of the guards got on the bus and checked everybody 's badges . It was not a big thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : Probably . I don 't remember . What I do remember about that was my mother was coming down one time for my birthday - it must 've been in January 1949 . She rode the train . I told her that I would get a ride to meet her . Of course , the train didn 't stop at Oak Ridge . It went on to Knoxville , so I bummed a ride with one of the men in our group . He was actually the technical assistant to the director . His car was a broken down old thing with no floorboards in the back seat , which was pretty bad when my mother saw it . But she didn 't see it because when we got to Knoxville , she was not there . When we were coming back from the gateway entrance , she was not there . There was a message that she was waiting for us at the Elza Gate Station . She had told the conductor she had to get off at Oak Ridge . That 's where she was going , and I was going to meet her . So she slid down the Elza bank over there . She had my birthday cake - a large chocolate cake . She slid downhill with that , and somehow they stopped her at the guard gate at Elza . She waited there for us . MRS . DAVIDSON : Just for her - let her off like a milk train . They ordinarily didn 't stop there , but she wouldn 't have it otherwise . MRS . DAVIDSON : I used the library and rec hall . On Sunday afternoons , they played music ; and you could sit and write letters home , which is what I think I did a good bit . Later on in the better weather , there were tennis courts and a swimming pool . I don 't remember going to movies much . We went to church groups . There were so many young people ; it was just like a party all the time . Nothing in particular stands out . It was just fun . MRS . DAVIDSON : In the company I was , that was not true . There were a lot of women of course - of course , the dormitory was full of school teachers and nurses . But NEPA was mostly men . There were two parts to the Fairchild - the science and engineering part , which was bigger . I happen to be in the research part . My boss was a chemist - Vince Calkins . It was my job to - this was a real shocker to me - to find a chemical that would protect the human body against radiation for the reactor that was supposed to be in the airplane to Russia . I had no background for that kind of thing . I was just fresh out of college really . I realized I was out of my depth , but they decided - he was a pharmacist , I believe , and he wanted to do experiments with rats . They brought in the rat colony . By that time we had a couple of assistants , and I was supposed to be the group leader . One of the men , Ray Waldrop - you may have talked to him . I asked him if he minded working for a woman because he was really more experienced than I , although I had the degree . It was fine with him . There was also another worker , Saul Segal , who was quite a character in his own right . I took the rats in the cages over to the reactor , the " Old Lady " at X - 10 , and put them through what they called " rabbits " and radiated them for certain amount of time . We couldn 't kill the darn things . Then we used the older ones that had already been radiated , they were just tough as anything . I think the experiment was really a failure , although they may have found that to be the case in some later work with older people - that the cells are not dividing as fast and they 're not as subject to radiation . But we didn 't get into that . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was actually not K - 25 . It was beyond there . As I said , the bus took us - the bus dumped people off at K - 25 , and they went on west to just before you get to the Gallaher Bridge . You turn right there and go right past the power station there . It was used for a long time - the power house , and then NEPA was beyond that . The native rats came in - was it domestic experimental rats ? That was not good . I had a janitor who helped me , even though he could 've lost his job for doing it . He helped me clean cages . I always appreciated that . MRS . DAVIDSON : When they got rid of the rats , which was a blessing , my group leader then became Bill Browning , who was a fine scientist . He worked on the Van de Graaff generator . We had an interesting argument . Saul Segal thought he should be the one to do it since he was a man and I was a woman who would be leaving soon ; and it turned out that he left for California before I had left to have my baby . His argument didn 't hold with me anyway , but we argued about that some . We did run the Van de Graaff , and we also did some experiments on metallic sodium . It was nasty stuff to work with . It caught on fire if it was exposed to air . You had to work with that under oil in the glove box . I think that work all had to be repeated after NEPA left for Cincinnati with G . E . . When they moved part of NEPA to X - 10 , they called it the ANP , or something about aircraft and nuclear power . I was not connected with that because my first baby was born in August 1951 . I left in July . MRS . DAVIDSON : I heard somebody say that they had to repeat it all . My boss , the Division Director of Chemistry was interested in vitamin E , and thought it had a lot of protective influence . We worked with that . That was some of the work I did in chemistry - the lab part of it in the early days . It was not good work , I think . I 'm not blaming myself , but some of the other men who were doing chemical work - I think altogether we didn 't come up with anything . MRS . DAVIDSON : It may have been ahead of it 's time for nuclear submarines . I don 't know whether the engineering people thought that or not . In our group which was the chemistry and the physics , my friend who got me the job was Jim Trice . A fellow named Art Miller and somebody named Coneybearwere in the Physics Division . And then there were some others - Fred Maienschein . I did some work for him one time . It was work on beryllium for one thing . I didn 't work with any of the active beryllium . I didn 't do any lab work then , but I did some journal research . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't think they were that far along . I 'm not sure what happened to that part of it . As I said , in July of 1951 they moved to Cincinnati , Evensville , above Cincinnati . I don 't know how many people actually went up there . Most of my friends moved elsewhere . MR . HUNNICUTT : You mentioned the location of the operation was past the steam plant that was on the Clinch River . Was that the same location where the S - 50 project was located ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I think that was the name of our plot of land . I think those - I never was quite sure how they got the designations , but that was the Fairchild domain , I think . MRS . DAVIDSON : Really , it was just when our eyes met . It was very romantic . He followed our group home to the Columbia Hall to see where I lived . But at the time I thought he was too young , and I didn 't think he was following me . I was with a group of other girls . Later on , one of the women in the dormitory , who was a gym teacher in the Oak Ridge schools , told me I really ought to meet Jack Davidson that he loved to ride bicycles ; I was just back from my bicycle trip in Europe . I didn 't know who he was , and then I went to a church group meeting at my Presbyterian Church for young people one Sunday evening . A friend of mine had brought Jack Davidson , and he was the one whose eyes I had met and he had met mine . Sure enough , he loved to ride bicycles . That was the start of a good thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : We did a little bit . On our dates , that 's really what we did mostly at first . We rode out to West Outer Drive and had those wonderful big hills , not too much traffic at that time . We went out to the water tower at the top of Louisiana and had a picnic , and then rode back . When we got really good , we rode our bicycles over to Concord Park one day . I had gotten some chicken breasts at the grocery . I guess it was the A & P at Jackson Square . I was going to fry them for a picnic to take along over to Concord Park . When I went to the refrigerator to get them , they had turned into wings . Somebody had eaten my chicken breast . Jack was a good sport about that . He didn 't care . We had a nice ride . It was before they had improved Lovell Road . It was a pretty rough ride over there , but we were able to enjoy it . MRS . DAVIDSON : He had his bicycle . It was probably a Grey Stone . For me , he rented a bicycle from his work friend . I had forgotten what his name was . We went over to one of the D Streets , I think , and rode them . I didn 't have my English 3 - speed here . I guess I brought it later , but at that time I didn 't have it . MRS . DAVIDSON : That was a problem . I complained to my friend Jim Trice 's wife , Dot , who happened to live around the corner on Outer Drive at that time . She said the boardwalk was used a lot for dating , and of course the theaters . I guess we were outdoors people . I don 't know . MRS . DAVIDSON : He was a graduate of Georgia Tech . At the time he graduated , he was very young . He came up to see about a job , and he was drafted . No , he was in danger of being drafted right away , but they didn 't hire him . He did go to work for NASA , which was at that time NACA , in Virginia ; and worked over there a short time before he was taken into the Army . He had gone through Georgia Tech on a " War Manpower " loan . He was sent to some place to be an MP , I think . He wrote a night letter , which is a 50 - word telegram that was cheaper at night . He wrote a night letter to Stimson , the Secretary of War , telling them they had paid for his college education ; and here he was sitting in a camp doing nothing down in Alabama . He was transferred to the SED , he would never say that was the reason he was transferred . It may or may not have been . He arrived with the SED - he arrived in Oak Ridge the day Roosevelt died , which was in April 1945 , he was here with his group for maybe six weeks before they went out to Los Alamos . So he spent the rest of the war out there . Then he used his G . I . Bill - he stayed on at Los Alamos . They told them they would let him out of the Army if he would agree to stay on as a civilian . So he took that . Then when he did leave , he went to Annapolis and took a liberal arts course because he felt that he had missed out on it at Georgia Tech . He had a year at St . John 's College of Annapolis ; and then all along I guess he thought he would like to come back here . He came back - he arrived on Armistice Day , now Veterans Day , of 1948 . I was here a couple of months before he came , but we met shortly after Christmas in 1949 . MRS . DAVIDSON : Too long . We were married in May 1950 . He wanted to pay off his loan before we could get married , so I helped him along with that . I fed him some . He was very welcome at the D House of girls . I was going to tell you that during the war , there were nine girls in the house , and they slept on shifts on the bunk beds . There were only six of us when I was there . There were a couple of the boyfriends around , and one of them cut the grass . I think Jack did the - empty the clinkers from the furnace , the coal furnace . They made themselves useful . They got their dinner . MR . HUNNICUTT : Tell me about the coal furnace briefly . MRS . DAVIDSON : Most of the houses were a very good design really , and a whole lot better built than we gave them credit for . But each one that I knew of had a corner set off or closed off as a coal storage place that could be filled through a window from the outside , and then you could use the - there was an opening on the inside that you could use to put coal into the furnace . That was awful of course , but that 's what all the houses were doing in that time , too . We had a yard full of clinkers over there . MRS . DAVIDSON : We were taken care of by a Big Brother - the government . They brought the coal around , and you didn 't do a thing . That was part of the rent . When we got our house here on Orange Lane , that 's another story . Are you ready for that yet ? MRS . DAVIDSON : We went back to my home in Louisville , Kentucky , to be married . We had planned to fly to Nashville , but it turned out the Delta Queen was coming through Louisville the next morning . My mother had told us we could not get married the week before because it was too busy with Derby Day . So we delayed until May 13 . Then we spent the night in Louisville at the Brown Hotel , where she pulled some strings to get us a room because it was still very full of visitors from the Derby . We got on the Delta Queen , and our friends were all on the dock to see us off . They had us almost convinced that we were on Daylight Saving Time , and the Delta Queen was not , and we had missed it . But we rode down just as far as Paducah . We were anxious to start in life you know . We lived on Wadell Circle in a K apartment . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you recall the number ? MRS . DAVIDSON : It was a two - story thing . I guess it was a two - bedroom up above , and we had K - 1 . It was sort of underground at the front and open at the back . We had a nice back porch . There was a closet under the stairway and a very small kitchen . It had a table that folded down . It was not as compact as a flattop , but the furnishings that they had did double duty . You could fold it up and have more room . MRS . DAVIDSON : The K apartment was heated with the coal furnace , but there was a janitor who came around and took care of it for us . We were taken care of by Roane Anderson . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you remember what the rent was ? MRS . DAVIDSON : We lived in the K from May 1950 , until we got this house in July 1952 . It was said - the word around town was that you couldn 't get a two - bedroom house unless you had three children , all of different sex . We had been on the list for this house ever since we knew our daughter was coming along . That was a long time to wait . We had been offered two houses - Florida Avenue , where the parking was across the street and the backyard just dropped off . We thought that was totally unsuitable for a new child . We turned both of those down . If we had turned this one down , we would 've gone to the bottom of the long list . But we loved this place of the trees and the dead end lane neighborhood . So we sat outside in front all weekend because we were not top on the list . The reason the other people didn 't take it was that the previous owner , Jim Cox and Charlotte , had put in an oil furnace ; and nobody wanted to pay $ 200 for the oil furnace . Since I had been working , we had saved my salary from work , and we had $ 200 to pay . Also , they didn 't want to be in the high rent district . This house rented for something like $ 45 instead of $ 43 in the lower rent districts . MRS . DAVIDSON : The Oak Ridge cemesto houses that were built - I think this house was built in the fall of 1944 or 1943 . Maybe it was ' 43 . The B house has two bedrooms and of course a bath and a kitchen with a dinette into a long narrow living room . It was about 24 feet by 40 something feet . It was small and convenient . It didn 't have much storage space , but it 's been a wonderful house for us because of the trees . We are on a greenbelt , and I enjoy that very much . It 's a nice private neighborhood just above Jackson Square . MRS . DAVIDSON : Our cemesto has a fireplace , and it had a complete brick wall . Some of the B houses had a brick wall just beyond the fireplace . MRS . DAVIDSON : There are hardwood floors in all the cemestos , I believe . Our house has maple flooring , and a lot of them had oak . Wood was hard to come by in the wartime . We love the color - the reddish color of the maple . MRS . DAVIDSON : Adele is our second daughter , and she was two years younger . Our son is Bill Davidson or William . He was born in November of 1954 . He 's just now turning 58 . MR . HUNNICUTT : So your first daughter went to Cedar Hill ? MRS . DAVIDSON : All three of our children went to Cedar Hill . They had split grades there , so I think the classes were one half size . They would take the kids a half from one grade , and half from the next grade , and that worked out just fine . MRS . DAVIDSON : Cedar Hill was wonderful . It was very special . Mr . Dodd was the principal , and he saw to it - he had the best teachers or at least as good as any . Actually in those days all the teachers and Oak Ridge were special because many of them had been recruited from Columbia Teachers College , along with the superintendent . Others were specially recruited for the job . They were a group a part , I think , from a lot of teachers . MRS . DAVIDSON : The girls both went to Jefferson when it was on the hill at Jackson Square , and Bill was in the first year at the new Jefferson that was over on Fairbanks Road . His was the first class there . They all went through Oak Ridge High . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you recall some of the classes your daughters took while they were in junior high ? Was there Home Ec . or things related to girls ? MRS . DAVIDSON : No , they were on the college prep track . They took eighth grade algebra and that kind of thing . Of course English and math and social studies and science - our older girl I think took biology ; and I 'm not sure if Adele had a more general science course . It just depended on the teacher that they had . They had an excellent education , and the girls were both Merit semifinalists . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course . I was in the PTA . I 'm not sure if I was ever a room mother , but I of course helped with parties and things . MRS . DAVIDSON : The teachers recruited them from each class to help with parties mostly . They helped with any activities that they didn 't really have time to do . MRS . DAVIDSON : Parent - Teacher Association , a time honored group . It got extra things for the school . I got involved with raincoats for the school patrol . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess maybe I was a treasurer of the Cedar Hill PTA , and this goal was to get those yellow slicker raincoat so kids could be visible to the drivers . I found out how much the things cost , and then I estimated postage . At the PTA meeting , Alvin Weinberg was president . He had a son or two in school at the time . He took me to task for estimating the postage , so I had to ask for just the money for the coats themselves since I didn 't really know what the postage is going to be . I thought that was interesting that he wanted to keep it to the exact penny . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think they just wore what the other kids wore . One day we had a deep snow and Bill was in kindergarten , and the snow was up over their boots . I think he had some corduroys . The teacher was making the kids take their pants off and dry them on the radiator , and he wouldn 't do it . I had to go up to the school and take him some fresh pants , some dry clothes . He was very young - just four when he started . MR . HUNNICUTT : Let 's go back a few years . Do you remember 1945 when they dropped the bomb on Japan ? You remember where you were ? And what was your reaction ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I do remember that very clearly because it was the summer after my junior year in college , and I was a camp counselor up in Door County , Wisconsin . There was no electricity at the camp , so we counselors - after we got the kids to bed , went to the state park nearby . This was at Fish Creek , Wisconsin . We would listen to people 's car radios . We knew for about a week that something was happening , but we didn 't know just what . It was very deeply moving when the bomb was dropped , and we thought it would bring an end to the war . Of course , I had friends and a brother on Guam and a cousin was in Europe and others . So that was very deeply moving . I had a book of poetry - my favorite poems at the camp with me . One of my 12 - year - olds picked out a poem - " Once to every man and nation comes a moment to decide " - she read that , and I thought that was very astute of her , a youngster to be able to do that . MRS . DAVIDSON : My husband thought they should have dropped a sample first , but I didn 't feel that way since the first bomb didn 't phase the Japanese . I didn 't think the test one would have either . I was just so glad that the war was over . People could settle down and get into real life again . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think I was in transition from the dormitory to the house , and my husband 's brothers came up from Georgia to witness the opening . So we drove in their car around , and we watched the parade from , I believe , down on the eastern end of the Turnpike down near the warehouses to get out of the traffic . We never could figure out why they invited Marie " The Body " McDonald and [ inaudible ] to ride in the open car for the parade . We couldn 't figure out what they had to do with it , but we did see the burning of the magnesium ribbon . That was exciting . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was only toward town from Elza Gate . I know the central part of town , the Jackson Square area , was very crowded . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think they name the streets for famous cities in the country , and of course the alphabetical designations were very helpful . But Jackson Square , I assume , was named for New Orleans . That 's all I know about it . MRS . DAVIDSON : Sometimes you would pick up the telephone , and the other party was talking . I believe they had different rings . I think maybe the other party had one ring , and we had two . There were four - party lines , but if we were on a four - party line , only the other one was active . I think maybe we were . The other two lines were not being used . MR . HUNNICUTT : When you are raising your family , did you hang your clothes outside on the clothesline ? Did you have a dryer ? What did you use ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I hung them outside on the clothesline . As I said , when we moved here , Anne was a year old . Not much more than three years after that , we had three babies . I was able to talk my husband into getting a dryer that time . Before that , he had built a pulley out of my kitchen window . There was a drop off in the back , and he was able to string it to a tree in the woods . I was able to reel those cloth diapers and reel them in and out . The only problem was that the birds like the trees , too . Sometimes I had to do some re - washing . MR . HUNNICUTT : So in those days you use cloth diapers ? Today we use disposable diapers . How do you think you would 've done if you had disposable diapers ? MRS . DAVIDSON : At one point , when our children were out playing Kick the Can , there were over 40 children on the lane . There were about 20 or 21 houses . There were almost as many dogs . It was just a glorious place for them to grow up . They seem to get along remarkably well most of the time , especially in the early days . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes . We went down there on the opening , and got the radioactive dimes on that occasion . The museum at that time was down at Jefferson Circle . I don 't think any of us ever had our hair stand out on the Van De Graff generator or whatever it was , but we took the children . We went out ourselves . Of course my husband was interested in that kind of thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : Sometimes they walked to Jefferson , but by that time they were carrying pretty heavy books . One of the neighbors on Outer Drive wanted to have a carpool , so we joined that . MRS . DAVIDSON : When Anne was in the fifth grade , they had to write what they did on Friday nights . The teacher would call me and say , " Is it true that you gave your children ice water and watched TV on Friday nights ? " That was how generous we were with them . We didn 't get a TV until they were probably five or six years old . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course it was black and white . The reason we got it - I guess finally it was that the children were always going to the neighbors ' house to watch TV . We decided that we should get our own . They watched things like " Pinky Lee " and I 've forgotten what else . MRS . DAVIDSON : I remember that fondly because my first real date with my husband was going to dinner there with him . He invited me to go to a concert in Knoxville , and his excuse was that we should get to know each other better before he took me to the city with him . That was one thing . I remember there were parties there , and our company had a party at the Oak Terrace Ballroom . One of the NEPA fellows wore a Tarzan costume , which was mostly nothing . It turned out that he lived in the neighborhood . MR . HUNNICUTT : What was the Oak Terrace ballroom - where was it located ? MRS . DAVIDSON : That was just below the dormitory where I lived in Columbia Hall . Jack went there looking for me , he thought I would eat breakfast there and then he could have breakfast with me ; but I ate in the dormitory . He didn 't find me there . When we came back from our bicycle ride to Concord Park , I remember we stopped by there , and he drank two or three Mountain Dew drinks . That surprised me , but we had worked off a lot of sweat . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , we took our children out there and saw " Lawrence of Arabia " and " The 10 Commandment " and those things . It was quite nice . MR . HUNNICUTT : Where was it located ? MRS . DAVIDSON : It was about where Kroger 's - where that is now , on the southeast part of Illinois Avenue . It was a nice thing . That was a special treat for the children to go out there . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't think so . I think they were mostly in the car . They had a drawing one time , Jack won something . It was actually nothing , but he did win . MRS . DAVIDSON : I sure did . My three children were born there . It was a green structure , like so many of the buildings in Oak Ridge . I guess the present building is built on that place . It was okay . I didn 't have any problems with it , except after my second child . I had a staph infection from the hospital . Even an Army wife with a private room got an infection there . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , I think they also had been recruited ; and a lot of them were from Tulane University . The time I was sick with my infection , they were having a reunion at Tulane , and my doctor and another one were gone for the reunion . I didn 't like the one who took care of me . He didn 't do a good job . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was okay . I don 't remember having any problems with it . We knew Dr . Rogers from our church , and we went to him . He was called away to the service , I believe . Maybe it was the Korean War , but then he came back . MRS . DAVIDSON : We met at Pine Valley School . The choir sat on the bleachers , and the minister sat under the halo of the basketball net . My husband was a Methodist , and he went to the First Methodist Church . They had a big youth group there . When we were first married , we tried to take them both in . We went to Sunday school one place , and church another until we finally settled on the Presbyterian . It was smaller , and we knew more people . MR . HUNNICUTT : Thinking back , what do you like best about Oak Ridge ? MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course the people . I love my trees and my house . I love all the activities . Both my husband and I have always loved music and enjoy the concerts a lot . The symphony concerts with Waldo Cohn conducting were held at Jefferson Junior High on the Kentucky Avenue hill . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you think back about all the people that you knew in the early days ? Do you think it was unusual for everybody to get along - the many people that were here ? MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , I guess so . I didn 't think about it because we just did . It was just fun . Everybody was away from home , and we had to be family for each other . That was particularly true in this close neighborhood . MRS . DAVIDSON : I 'm pleased for the most part . I think we 've made good progress . We 've kept up with the outside world . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't know . I 'll probably think of things after you leave . Nothing particular comes to mind . MR . HUNNICUTT : I would like to thank you for your time , and I think this interview will be very helpful for someone in the future to see how you lived in Oak Ridge in the early days . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think we came through at the very best of times . It was not the pressure of war , but we were growing community . I think things were happening at the Lab . Both of my husband and I loved the Lab because there were so many good things going on out there . It gives us hope for the future . MR . HUNNICUTT : I thank you very much for your time . [ Editor 's Note : This transcript has been edited at Mrs . Davidson 's request . The corresponding audio and video components have remained unchanged . ] Your rating was saved . you wish to report :

MR . HUNNICUTT : This interview is for the Center of Oak Ridge Oral History . The date is November 8 , 2012 . I am Don Hunnicutt in the home of Mrs . Mary Ann Davidson , 117 Orange Lane , Oak Ridge , Tennessee , to take her oral history about living in Oak Ridge , Tennessee . Please state your full name and your place of birth and your date of birth . MRS . DAVIDSON : My name is Mary Ann Davidson . My date of birth is January 12 , 1925 . I was born in Louisville , Kentucky . I lived there all my early life until I graduated from college . MRS . DAVIDSON : My father was William H . Courtenay . He was born in 1890 , on March 3 . He was in World War I and lived his entire life in Louisville and Shelbyville , Kentucky . He worked for the Mengel Company . They imported mahogany and hardwood from Africa and Central America . He delivered those to customers . He didn 't consider himself a salesman , but he sold them to the furniture factory - furniture makers around Kentucky , mostly Indiana and Cincinnati and some in Tennessee . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , he did not . The Louisville Male High School was considered a fine school at that time . They said that graduates could enter Harvard in their second year . The principal had written textbooks that were apparently used all over . But my father was interested in raising ponies . His father had a farm in Shelbyville , Kentucky . If you 'd didn 't make the grade , you are special . And Dr . Ruben Post - Halleck , the famous principal of the school , told him if he took an exam in math , he could be entered back in . He did that , and he aced the test . He was back in . Then he was a special in English , so they told him if he memorized the " Lady of the Lake " and said that he could get back in school . So he did that . I think he never did finish . He was a twin , and his twin was more of an engineering type and went to manual training high school . MRS . DAVIDSON : She grew up in several small towns in western Kentucky . Her father worked for the L & N Railroad . She had her high school in Hopkinsville , Kentucky . She had to stay home - or she went to junior college nearby . She had a scholarship to Randolph Macon Women 's College , but she couldn 't take it because her mother was ill and died at age 50 . It was about the year I was born , I think . MRS . DAVIDSON : His name was William Howard Courtenay III . My father was named for his uncle , who was also William Howard . My older brother works for Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green in the physics department . He made instruments . My younger brother was a pediatrician in Louisville , and he is still living on a farm in Shelbyville . He 's interested in Kentucky antiques . MRS . DAVIDSON : I went to an unusual kindergarten and first grade . I was at what they called the Enterprise Branch of I . N . Bloom School . It was only kindergarten and first grade . It was in the older building , where we had a Pot Belly Stove . I think we had a maid to help us take our leggings off in the cold weather - galoshes . It was really a wonderful school . It was almost like a private one . It was public . We did things like making butter and we had an orchestra . I played the triangle . I had started a little bit earlier when my younger brother was born . Louisville had half semester , half - year grades . I would 've been a half year , but I skipped the last half of kindergarten . I went to the school board and took a test and went on , so they put me in the regular school year . I went through the big school the I . N . Bloom School and Highland Junior High School in Louisville . Then I went to Atherton High School for Girls . The Louisville public schools were segregated - boys and girls . There were about 900 girls at Atherton . My graduating class was about 200 , and I was the valedictorian . MRS . DAVIDSON : They are pants to keep your legs warm . They zipped up from the inside of the ankle bone up to about knee - high , I guess it was . They were a royal pain to take on and off , so the teacher had to have help to do that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was just ordinary . I 'm sure the girls wore dresses , and the little boys wore suits - not suits , but pants and shirts . MRS . DAVIDSON : I came to Oak Ridge after I graduated from college . I had two years of getting a master 's at Emory while I worked at my alma mater , Agnes Scott College in Decatur , Georgia . I was the chemistry lab instructor . So after those two years were up , I was interested in working in chemistry or biochemistry . My master 's was in biochemistry . In Louisville , there was nothing in that field , except liquor and paint - neither of which I was interested in . In Atlanta , I would like to stay in Atlanta , I heard that Oak Ridge was an interesting new place , and a lot was going on here . One of my dear college friends had recently married a physicist from the University of Kentucky , so I visited them here . I guess that must have been 1947 . Her husband was working at NEPA . He said they were looking for people with a chemistry degree . I applied , and I was accepted . I didn 't know that until I had completed the clearance , so I took the opportunity to go to Europe at an American youth hostel bicycle tour of Western Europe in the summer of 1948 . When I got home , I found that I had indeed gotten the job at Oak Ridge . So I came down here . MRS . DAVIDSON : I was wondering that . I think I came by train . When I interviewed earlier in the spring , my interview was at the Andrew Johnson Hotel . It was one of the private rooms . I had never seen the company here . I think I must have been met by a car and driver and brought to Oak Ridge . MRS . DAVIDSON : I came in through the Vermont Gateway , which is where the gas station is now on the corner of what I call Vermont . They call it North Rutgers now . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , I think it must 've been after that . That would 've been at Christmas time . When I applied , I imagine it was early spring . MRS . DAVIDSON : We called the company NEPA , for Nuclear Energy for the Propulsion of Aircraft . It was managed by the Fairchild Corporation the way Union Carbide or one of the other contractors managed the lab . I did not know until the first day I went to work just what the company was doing . They handed me a volume of information that said , " We are looking for - we are trying to make an airplane powered by nuclear energy that could fly to Russia and back without refueling . " That was a great shock to me . MRS . DAVIDSON : I lived in Columbia Hall Dormitory . I was very surprised to find that the rent was $ 15 a month until I realized it was one very small room . That was my living quarters . I took the opportunity to stay out of it as much as possible . I did that by babysitting in some of the B and D houses in the evening . Grandmothers were not here since it was a closed community . Babysitters were in short supply , and even though I didn 't need the money , it was good to get out of the dormitory . MRS . DAVIDSON : The dormitory was like Cheyenne Hall . It was the same type of building . It had wooden stairways from the second - floor hall down on each end . I lived on the second floor . Our dormitory was mostly nurses , since it was up on the hill next to the hospital - I think where the west parking lot is now . There was a kitchen on each end where we could have our own breakfast . Of course we were at the plant at lunchtime , and then we usually went out to supper . I opened the refrigerator door one morning and somebody 's milk came spilling out down my front . Everybody just stuffed things into the refrigerator . MRS . DAVIDSON : I had a single room with a twin bed and enough room to walk to the window by the bed . There was a little table that served as a desk with a chair . There was a much coveted dormitory dresser - a tall one with a number of drawers . They were very popular . MRS . DAVIDSON : They had a wonderful bus service here . Travel wasn 't really a problem . We walked , of course , from the dormitory to Jackson Square and ate supper usually at the Mayflower , which is where I first saw my husband - to - be . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was on the corner of Tennessee , right across from the Soup Kitchen and the Texaco gas station there on the northeast corner . It was a very popular place . In fact , there were several places you could eat . It was the Central Cafeteria , and the T & C Cafeteria in Jackson Square , which is about where the Epicurean is now toward the garden . MRS . DAVIDSON : It must 've been the A & P on Jackson Square . Jackson Square was really the center of activity as far as I was concerned at that time . I still love it . I hope it keeps going . MRS . DAVIDSON : The department stores - the big department store was Taylor 's at the time . They had a wonderful book department headed by Mrs . Keyes , whose daughter I knew at work . They had really fine art books and other books that they would have a great sale on once or twice a year . We were very happy with that . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was in the middle of the block between where Big Ed 's is in the corner . I guess it 's mostly used by the engineering company now . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , not frequently , but I went and saw - there was a theater down at Big Ed 's in Jackson Square and where the Playhouse is now . That was the main one . MRS . DAVIDSON : Henebree . McCrory 's 5 & 10 was there . There was a drugstore - a Service Drugstore . I guess that was where Big Ed 's is now , on the very corner . There was Jackson Square Pharmacy , and on the other side the Hamilton Bank was there next to the movie theater . And Samuel 's Men 's Store was a very nice store . The Jackson Square Pharmacy was there , but in between , which the Pharmacy later took over was a Kay 's Ice Cream Store . We used to go there and - my husband and I would when we were dating . I liked to get coffee with ice cream in it , so we went there . MRS . DAVIDSON : I can 't say that I do . It was just a given , I suppose . It didn 't make a big dent in my memory . After six months of the dormitory , I moved to a D house on Norman Lane . That was another era . MRS . DAVIDSON : A D house was a large three bedroom house . They were very much desired . They were really nice houses - still a lot of them are . The house was - there were five other girls who lived there - two of whom had been college friends . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , it would 've been upstairs . It was the second one to the end . A radiation technologist lived on the corner , and I lived there with school teachers and nurses who made up most of the dorm . MR . HUNNICUTT : Let 's talk a little bit about the dorm again . If I had a message for you or someone left a message for you , how did you retrieve your messages ? Was there a desk when you went in ? MRS . DAVIDSON : There was a desk downstairs . I remember the Valentine 's Day - I guess it must 've been 1949 . The message was that I had some flowers , some red roses . I had just met my husband - to - be at that time . I got all excited , and when I got to the desk , it was from somebody else . I enjoyed the red roses , but not as much as I might have . The thing was that there were ladies - a lot of the women who lived in the dorm worked on the night shift . They would sit around a large kind of living room , I guess they called it . They were all staring when I got flowers . I had to walk around , and it was embarrassing . MRS . DAVIDSON : I was there in the winter of 1948 . I 'm very cold natured , but I don 't remember being cold . We had those heavy navy blanket - navy blue blankets . This brings up a story if I jump to it later on . We were moved from the D house after another six months into the brand - new Garden Apartments on Villanova Road . They needed our D house for families . The people who moved in were the Andersons of the Anderson Hilltop Grocery . Of course , the furniture all belonged to the government there . So the Garden Apartments were not furnished , so we had dwindled down from 6 to 4 people who needed furniture . I took a day off and went to an auction the government set up down at the warehouses . I got seven beds and three or four dressers - much more than I could have used . But the beds were in great demand at work because all the young men who worked there were having children and needed beds . So we took the four . Also I got two sofas , and we could use but one ; so I sold one . They were really shabby awful sofas . Since it was all going to surplus anyway , we switched and took the nice sofa from the D house and left them the bad one . It was all taken away anyhow , so I didn 't feel too bad about that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't really remember about the telephone . We didn 't use the telephone much . We never used it for long - distance except for emergencies and calls home . I don 't remember that as being a problem particularly . MRS . DAVIDSON : I suppose I went on the bus . I did not have a car . One of the housemates from Norman Lane had gotten the car , but she would 've been at work at K - 25 . I don 't know . I may have gotten a ride . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess I paid somebody to deliver it . I don 't know . Maybe some of the fellows at work picked up their beds that they wanted . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was one of those warehouses down at the [ Oak Ridge ] Turnpike on Warehouse Road . I don 't know exactly where it was . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess it was on the bulletin boards at work , or there was a newspaper at the Lab . I guess I heard about it that way . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think probably so - in the newsletters they came around , also at the recreation building - the rec hall - at Jackson Square that was the library upstairs and the rec hall downstairs . Word - of - mouth - I don 't remember . We had a need and found the answer to it . MRS . DAVIDSON : I had to punch a clock at eight in the morning when I first started . I guess we got out at 4 : 30 or 5 o ' clock . We had bus service that went from the bus terminal - the Central one - that 's now by Bus Terminal Road . Later on after we were married , we lived on Waddell Circle and went from there to the Jefferson bus terminal . I went - I rode on the K - 25 bus , and they went out past K - 25 to the road that the powerhouse was on and NEPA was beyond that out by the river . MRS . DAVIDSON : There was some kind of management services office . I 'm not sure what it was called - the Roane Anderson Corporation at that time , I guess . I think that 's where I rented the dormitory room . I probably got bus tokens - I guess I got the tokens of the bus terminal . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think I had a checking account probably at Hamilton Bank in Jackson Square . I don 't recall otherwise . I know I did later . One thing I wanted to say about the buses - if you wanted to go to Clinton to do any shopping , more than what you could have in Oak Ridge or to meet somebody or something , there was a bus that ran frequently back and forth between the bus terminal and Clinton . There was a young man on the bus who had a sing - songy sales pitch for " peanuts , popcorn , Cracker Jacks , candy , and chewing gum . " He wouldn 't drive , but he would sell his wares all the way to Clinton and back . I always wondered who that was because he obviously had some talent . MRS . DAVIDSON : I 'm sure I did . I don 't know what became of it . I guess I had to turn it back in . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think somebody just got - one of the guards got on the bus and checked everybody 's badges . It was not a big thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : Probably . I don 't remember . What I do remember about that was my mother was coming down one time for my birthday - it must 've been in January 1949 . She rode the train . I told her that I would get a ride to meet her . Of course , the train didn 't stop at Oak Ridge . It went on to Knoxville , so I bummed a ride with one of the men in our group . He was actually the technical assistant to the director . His car was a broken down old thing with no floorboards in the back seat , which was pretty bad when my mother saw it . But she didn 't see it because when we got to Knoxville , she was not there . When we were coming back from the gateway entrance , she was not there . There was a message that she was waiting for us at the Elza Gate Station . She had told the conductor she had to get off at Oak Ridge . That 's where she was going , and I was going to meet her . So she slid down the Elza bank over there . She had my birthday cake - a large chocolate cake . She slid downhill with that , and somehow they stopped her at the guard gate at Elza . She waited there for us . MRS . DAVIDSON : Just for her - let her off like a milk train . They ordinarily didn 't stop there , but she wouldn 't have it otherwise . MRS . DAVIDSON : I used the library and rec hall . On Sunday afternoons , they played music ; and you could sit and write letters home , which is what I think I did a good bit . Later on in the better weather , there were tennis courts and a swimming pool . I don 't remember going to movies much . We went to church groups . There were so many young people ; it was just like a party all the time . Nothing in particular stands out . It was just fun . MRS . DAVIDSON : In the company I was , that was not true . There were a lot of women of course - of course , the dormitory was full of school teachers and nurses . But NEPA was mostly men . There were two parts to the Fairchild - the science and engineering part , which was bigger . I happen to be in the research part . My boss was a chemist - Vince Calkins . It was my job to - this was a real shocker to me - to find a chemical that would protect the human body against radiation for the reactor that was supposed to be in the airplane to Russia . I had no background for that kind of thing . I was just fresh out of college really . I realized I was out of my depth , but they decided - he was a pharmacist , I believe , and he wanted to do experiments with rats . They brought in the rat colony . By that time we had a couple of assistants , and I was supposed to be the group leader . One of the men , Ray Waldrop - you may have talked to him . I asked him if he minded working for a woman because he was really more experienced than I , although I had the degree . It was fine with him . There was also another worker , Saul Segal , who was quite a character in his own right . I took the rats in the cages over to the reactor , the " Old Lady " at X - 10 , and put them through what they called " rabbits " and radiated them for certain amount of time . We couldn 't kill the darn things . Then we used the older ones that had already been radiated , they were just tough as anything . I think the experiment was really a failure , although they may have found that to be the case in some later work with older people - that the cells are not dividing as fast and they 're not as subject to radiation . But we didn 't get into that . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was actually not K - 25 . It was beyond there . As I said , the bus took us - the bus dumped people off at K - 25 , and they went on west to just before you get to the Gallaher Bridge . You turn right there and go right past the power station there . It was used for a long time - the power house , and then NEPA was beyond that . The native rats came in - was it domestic experimental rats ? That was not good . I had a janitor who helped me , even though he could 've lost his job for doing it . He helped me clean cages . I always appreciated that . MRS . DAVIDSON : When they got rid of the rats , which was a blessing , my group leader then became Bill Browning , who was a fine scientist . He worked on the Van de Graaff generator . We had an interesting argument . Saul Segal thought he should be the one to do it since he was a man and I was a woman who would be leaving soon ; and it turned out that he left for California before I had left to have my baby . His argument didn 't hold with me anyway , but we argued about that some . We did run the Van de Graaff , and we also did some experiments on metallic sodium . It was nasty stuff to work with . It caught on fire if it was exposed to air . You had to work with that under oil in the glove box . I think that work all had to be repeated after NEPA left for Cincinnati with G . E . . When they moved part of NEPA to X - 10 , they called it the ANP , or something about aircraft and nuclear power . I was not connected with that because my first baby was born in August 1951 . I left in July . MRS . DAVIDSON : I heard somebody say that they had to repeat it all . My boss , the Division Director of Chemistry was interested in vitamin E , and thought it had a lot of protective influence . We worked with that . That was some of the work I did in chemistry - the lab part of it in the early days . It was not good work , I think . I 'm not blaming myself , but some of the other men who were doing chemical work - I think altogether we didn 't come up with anything . MRS . DAVIDSON : It may have been ahead of it 's time for nuclear submarines . I don 't know whether the engineering people thought that or not . In our group which was the chemistry and the physics , my friend who got me the job was Jim Trice . A fellow named Art Miller and somebody named Coneybearwere in the Physics Division . And then there were some others - Fred Maienschein . I did some work for him one time . It was work on beryllium for one thing . I didn 't work with any of the active beryllium . I didn 't do any lab work then , but I did some journal research . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't think they were that far along . I 'm not sure what happened to that part of it . As I said , in July of 1951 they moved to Cincinnati , Evensville , above Cincinnati . I don 't know how many people actually went up there . Most of my friends moved elsewhere . MR . HUNNICUTT : You mentioned the location of the operation was past the steam plant that was on the Clinch River . Was that the same location where the S - 50 project was located ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I think that was the name of our plot of land . I think those - I never was quite sure how they got the designations , but that was the Fairchild domain , I think . MRS . DAVIDSON : Really , it was just when our eyes met . It was very romantic . He followed our group home to the Columbia Hall to see where I lived . But at the time I thought he was too young , and I didn 't think he was following me . I was with a group of other girls . Later on , one of the women in the dormitory , who was a gym teacher in the Oak Ridge schools , told me I really ought to meet Jack Davidson that he loved to ride bicycles ; I was just back from my bicycle trip in Europe . I didn 't know who he was , and then I went to a church group meeting at my Presbyterian Church for young people one Sunday evening . A friend of mine had brought Jack Davidson , and he was the one whose eyes I had met and he had met mine . Sure enough , he loved to ride bicycles . That was the start of a good thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : We did a little bit . On our dates , that 's really what we did mostly at first . We rode out to West Outer Drive and had those wonderful big hills , not too much traffic at that time . We went out to the water tower at the top of Louisiana and had a picnic , and then rode back . When we got really good , we rode our bicycles over to Concord Park one day . I had gotten some chicken breasts at the grocery . I guess it was the A & P at Jackson Square . I was going to fry them for a picnic to take along over to Concord Park . When I went to the refrigerator to get them , they had turned into wings . Somebody had eaten my chicken breast . Jack was a good sport about that . He didn 't care . We had a nice ride . It was before they had improved Lovell Road . It was a pretty rough ride over there , but we were able to enjoy it . MRS . DAVIDSON : He had his bicycle . It was probably a Grey Stone . For me , he rented a bicycle from his work friend . I had forgotten what his name was . We went over to one of the D Streets , I think , and rode them . I didn 't have my English 3 - speed here . I guess I brought it later , but at that time I didn 't have it . MRS . DAVIDSON : That was a problem . I complained to my friend Jim Trice 's wife , Dot , who happened to live around the corner on Outer Drive at that time . She said the boardwalk was used a lot for dating , and of course the theaters . I guess we were outdoors people . I don 't know . MRS . DAVIDSON : He was a graduate of Georgia Tech . At the time he graduated , he was very young . He came up to see about a job , and he was drafted . No , he was in danger of being drafted right away , but they didn 't hire him . He did go to work for NASA , which was at that time NACA , in Virginia ; and worked over there a short time before he was taken into the Army . He had gone through Georgia Tech on a " War Manpower " loan . He was sent to some place to be an MP , I think . He wrote a night letter , which is a 50 - word telegram that was cheaper at night . He wrote a night letter to Stimson , the Secretary of War , telling them they had paid for his college education ; and here he was sitting in a camp doing nothing down in Alabama . He was transferred to the SED , he would never say that was the reason he was transferred . It may or may not have been . He arrived with the SED - he arrived in Oak Ridge the day Roosevelt died , which was in April 1945 , he was here with his group for maybe six weeks before they went out to Los Alamos . So he spent the rest of the war out there . Then he used his G . I . Bill - he stayed on at Los Alamos . They told them they would let him out of the Army if he would agree to stay on as a civilian . So he took that . Then when he did leave , he went to Annapolis and took a liberal arts course because he felt that he had missed out on it at Georgia Tech . He had a year at St . John 's College of Annapolis ; and then all along I guess he thought he would like to come back here . He came back - he arrived on Armistice Day , now Veterans Day , of 1948 . I was here a couple of months before he came , but we met shortly after Christmas in 1949 . MRS . DAVIDSON : Too long . We were married in May 1950 . He wanted to pay off his loan before we could get married , so I helped him along with that . I fed him some . He was very welcome at the D House of girls . I was going to tell you that during the war , there were nine girls in the house , and they slept on shifts on the bunk beds . There were only six of us when I was there . There were a couple of the boyfriends around , and one of them cut the grass . I think Jack did the - empty the clinkers from the furnace , the coal furnace . They made themselves useful . They got their dinner . MRS . DAVIDSON : Most of the houses were a very good design really , and a whole lot better built than we gave them credit for . But each one that I knew of had a corner set off or closed off as a coal storage place that could be filled through a window from the outside , and then you could use the - there was an opening on the inside that you could use to put coal into the furnace . That was awful of course , but that 's what all the houses were doing in that time , too . We had a yard full of clinkers over there . MRS . DAVIDSON : We were taken care of by a Big Brother - the government . They brought the coal around , and you didn 't do a thing . That was part of the rent . When we got our house here on Orange Lane , that 's another story . Are you ready for that yet ? MRS . DAVIDSON : We went back to my home in Louisville , Kentucky , to be married . We had planned to fly to Nashville , but it turned out the Delta Queen was coming through Louisville the next morning . My mother had told us we could not get married the week before because it was too busy with Derby Day . So we delayed until May 13 . Then we spent the night in Louisville at the Brown Hotel , where she pulled some strings to get us a room because it was still very full of visitors from the Derby . We got on the Delta Queen , and our friends were all on the dock to see us off . They had us almost convinced that we were on Daylight Saving Time , and the Delta Queen was not , and we had missed it . But we rode down just as far as Paducah . We were anxious to start in life you know . We lived on Wadell Circle in a K apartment . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was a two - story thing . I guess it was a two - bedroom up above , and we had K - 1 . It was sort of underground at the front and open at the back . We had a nice back porch . There was a closet under the stairway and a very small kitchen . It had a table that folded down . It was not as compact as a flattop , but the furnishings that they had did double duty . You could fold it up and have more room . MRS . DAVIDSON : The K apartment was heated with the coal furnace , but there was a janitor who came around and took care of it for us . We were taken care of by Roane Anderson . MRS . DAVIDSON : We lived in the K from May 1950 , until we got this house in July 1952 . It was said - the word around town was that you couldn 't get a two - bedroom house unless you had three children , all of different sex . We had been on the list for this house ever since we knew our daughter was coming along . That was a long time to wait . We had been offered two houses - Florida Avenue , where the parking was across the street and the backyard just dropped off . We thought that was totally unsuitable for a new child . We turned both of those down . If we had turned this one down , we would 've gone to the bottom of the long list . But we loved this place of the trees and the dead end lane neighborhood . So we sat outside in front all weekend because we were not top on the list . The reason the other people didn 't take it was that the previous owner , Jim Cox and Charlotte , had put in an oil furnace ; and nobody wanted to pay $ 200 for the oil furnace . Since I had been working , we had saved my salary from work , and we had $ 200 to pay . Also , they didn 't want to be in the high rent district . This house rented for something like $ 45 instead of $ 43 in the lower rent districts . MRS . DAVIDSON : The Oak Ridge cemesto houses that were built - I think this house was built in the fall of 1944 or 1943 . Maybe it was ' 43 . The B house has two bedrooms and of course a bath and a kitchen with a dinette into a long narrow living room . It was about 24 feet by 40 something feet . It was small and convenient . It didn 't have much storage space , but it 's been a wonderful house for us because of the trees . We are on a greenbelt , and I enjoy that very much . It 's a nice private neighborhood just above Jackson Square . MRS . DAVIDSON : Our cemesto has a fireplace , and it had a complete brick wall . Some of the B houses had a brick wall just beyond the fireplace . MRS . DAVIDSON : There are hardwood floors in all the cemestos , I believe . Our house has maple flooring , and a lot of them had oak . Wood was hard to come by in the wartime . We love the color - the reddish color of the maple . MRS . DAVIDSON : Adele is our second daughter , and she was two years younger . Our son is Bill Davidson or William . He was born in November of 1954 . He 's just now turning 58 . MRS . DAVIDSON : All three of our children went to Cedar Hill . They had split grades there , so I think the classes were one half size . They would take the kids a half from one grade , and half from the next grade , and that worked out just fine . MRS . DAVIDSON : Cedar Hill was wonderful . It was very special . Mr . Dodd was the principal , and he saw to it - he had the best teachers or at least as good as any . Actually in those days all the teachers and Oak Ridge were special because many of them had been recruited from Columbia Teachers College , along with the superintendent . Others were specially recruited for the job . They were a group a part , I think , from a lot of teachers . MRS . DAVIDSON : The girls both went to Jefferson when it was on the hill at Jackson Square , and Bill was in the first year at the new Jefferson that was over on Fairbanks Road . His was the first class there . They all went through Oak Ridge High . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you recall some of the classes your daughters took while they were in junior high ? Was there Home Ec . or things related to girls ? MRS . DAVIDSON : No , they were on the college prep track . They took eighth grade algebra and that kind of thing . Of course English and math and social studies and science - our older girl I think took biology ; and I 'm not sure if Adele had a more general science course . It just depended on the teacher that they had . They had an excellent education , and the girls were both Merit semifinalists . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course . I was in the PTA . I 'm not sure if I was ever a room mother , but I of course helped with parties and things . MRS . DAVIDSON : The teachers recruited them from each class to help with parties mostly . They helped with any activities that they didn 't really have time to do . MRS . DAVIDSON : Parent - Teacher Association , a time honored group . It got extra things for the school . I got involved with raincoats for the school patrol . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess maybe I was a treasurer of the Cedar Hill PTA , and this goal was to get those yellow slicker raincoat so kids could be visible to the drivers . I found out how much the things cost , and then I estimated postage . At the PTA meeting , Alvin Weinberg was president . He had a son or two in school at the time . He took me to task for estimating the postage , so I had to ask for just the money for the coats themselves since I didn 't really know what the postage is going to be . I thought that was interesting that he wanted to keep it to the exact penny . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think they just wore what the other kids wore . One day we had a deep snow and Bill was in kindergarten , and the snow was up over their boots . I think he had some corduroys . The teacher was making the kids take their pants off and dry them on the radiator , and he wouldn 't do it . I had to go up to the school and take him some fresh pants , some dry clothes . He was very young - just four when he started . MR . HUNNICUTT : Let 's go back a few years . Do you remember 1945 when they dropped the bomb on Japan ? You remember where you were ? And what was your reaction ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I do remember that very clearly because it was the summer after my junior year in college , and I was a camp counselor up in Door County , Wisconsin . There was no electricity at the camp , so we counselors - after we got the kids to bed , went to the state park nearby . This was at Fish Creek , Wisconsin . We would listen to people 's car radios . We knew for about a week that something was happening , but we didn 't know just what . It was very deeply moving when the bomb was dropped , and we thought it would bring an end to the war . Of course , I had friends and a brother on Guam and a cousin was in Europe and others . So that was very deeply moving . I had a book of poetry - my favorite poems at the camp with me . One of my 12 - year - olds picked out a poem - " Once to every man and nation comes a moment to decide " - she read that , and I thought that was very astute of her , a youngster to be able to do that . MRS . DAVIDSON : My husband thought they should have dropped a sample first , but I didn 't feel that way since the first bomb didn 't phase the Japanese . I didn 't think the test one would have either . I was just so glad that the war was over . People could settle down and get into real life again . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think I was in transition from the dormitory to the house , and my husband 's brothers came up from Georgia to witness the opening . So we drove in their car around , and we watched the parade from , I believe , down on the eastern end of the Turnpike down near the warehouses to get out of the traffic . We never could figure out why they invited Marie " The Body " McDonald and [ inaudible ] to ride in the open car for the parade . We couldn 't figure out what they had to do with it , but we did see the burning of the magnesium ribbon . That was exciting . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was only toward town from Elza Gate . I know the central part of town , the Jackson Square area , was very crowded . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think they name the streets for famous cities in the country , and of course the alphabetical designations were very helpful . But Jackson Square , I assume , was named for New Orleans . That 's all I know about it . MRS . DAVIDSON : Sometimes you would pick up the telephone , and the other party was talking . I believe they had different rings . I think maybe the other party had one ring , and we had two . There were four - party lines , but if we were on a four - party line , only the other one was active . I think maybe we were . The other two lines were not being used . MR . HUNNICUTT : When you are raising your family , did you hang your clothes outside on the clothesline ? Did you have a dryer ? What did you use ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I hung them outside on the clothesline . As I said , when we moved here , Anne was a year old . Not much more than three years after that , we had three babies . I was able to talk my husband into getting a dryer that time . Before that , he had built a pulley out of my kitchen window . There was a drop off in the back , and he was able to string it to a tree in the woods . I was able to reel those cloth diapers and reel them in and out . The only problem was that the birds like the trees , too . Sometimes I had to do some re - washing . MR . HUNNICUTT : So in those days you use cloth diapers ? Today we use disposable diapers . How do you think you would 've done if you had disposable diapers ? MRS . DAVIDSON : At one point , when our children were out playing Kick the Can , there were over 40 children on the lane . There were about 20 or 21 houses . There were almost as many dogs . It was just a glorious place for them to grow up . They seem to get along remarkably well most of the time , especially in the early days . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes . We went down there on the opening , and got the radioactive dimes on that occasion . The museum at that time was down at Jefferson Circle . I don 't think any of us ever had our hair stand out on the Van De Graff generator or whatever it was , but we took the children . We went out ourselves . Of course my husband was interested in that kind of thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : Sometimes they walked to Jefferson , but by that time they were carrying pretty heavy books . One of the neighbors on Outer Drive wanted to have a carpool , so we joined that . MRS . DAVIDSON : When Anne was in the fifth grade , they had to write what they did on Friday nights . The teacher would call me and say , " Is it true that you gave your children ice water and watched TV on Friday nights ? " That was how generous we were with them . We didn 't get a TV until they were probably five or six years old . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course it was black and white . The reason we got it - I guess finally it was that the children were always going to the neighbors ' house to watch TV . We decided that we should get our own . They watched things like " Pinky Lee " and I 've forgotten what else . MRS . DAVIDSON : I remember that fondly because my first real date with my husband was going to dinner there with him . He invited me to go to a concert in Knoxville , and his excuse was that we should get to know each other better before he took me to the city with him . That was one thing . I remember there were parties there , and our company had a party at the Oak Terrace Ballroom . One of the NEPA fellows wore a Tarzan costume , which was mostly nothing . It turned out that he lived in the neighborhood . MRS . DAVIDSON : That was just below the dormitory where I lived in Columbia Hall . Jack went there looking for me , he thought I would eat breakfast there and then he could have breakfast with me ; but I ate in the dormitory . He didn 't find me there . When we came back from our bicycle ride to Concord Park , I remember we stopped by there , and he drank two or three Mountain Dew drinks . That surprised me , but we had worked off a lot of sweat . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , we took our children out there and saw " Lawrence of Arabia " and " The 10 Commandment " and those things . It was quite nice . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was about where Kroger 's - where that is now , on the southeast part of Illinois Avenue . It was a nice thing . That was a special treat for the children to go out there . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't think so . I think they were mostly in the car . They had a drawing one time , Jack won something . It was actually nothing , but he did win . MRS . DAVIDSON : I sure did . My three children were born there . It was a green structure , like so many of the buildings in Oak Ridge . I guess the present building is built on that place . It was okay . I didn 't have any problems with it , except after my second child . I had a staph infection from the hospital . Even an Army wife with a private room got an infection there . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , I think they also had been recruited ; and a lot of them were from Tulane University . The time I was sick with my infection , they were having a reunion at Tulane , and my doctor and another one were gone for the reunion . I didn 't like the one who took care of me . He didn 't do a good job . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was okay . I don 't remember having any problems with it . We knew Dr . Rogers from our church , and we went to him . He was called away to the service , I believe . Maybe it was the Korean War , but then he came back . MRS . DAVIDSON : We met at Pine Valley School . The choir sat on the bleachers , and the minister sat under the halo of the basketball net . My husband was a Methodist , and he went to the First Methodist Church . They had a big youth group there . When we were first married , we tried to take them both in . We went to Sunday school one place , and church another until we finally settled on the Presbyterian . It was smaller , and we knew more people . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course the people . I love my trees and my house . I love all the activities . Both my husband and I have always loved music and enjoy the concerts a lot . The symphony concerts with Waldo Cohn conducting were held at Jefferson Junior High on the Kentucky Avenue hill . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you think back about all the people that you knew in the early days ? Do you think it was unusual for everybody to get along - the many people that were here ? MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , I guess so . I didn 't think about it because we just did . It was just fun . Everybody was away from home , and we had to be family for each other . That was particularly true in this close neighborhood . MRS . DAVIDSON : I 'm pleased for the most part . I think we 've made good progress . We 've kept up with the outside world . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think we came through at the very best of times . It was not the pressure of war , but we were growing community . I think things were happening at the Lab . Both of my husband and I loved the Lab because there were so many good things going on out there . It gives us hope for the future . [ Editor 's Note : This transcript has been edited at Mrs . Davidson 's request . The corresponding audio and video components have remained unchanged . ] Click tabs to swap between content that is broken into logical sections . MR . HUNNICUTT : This interview is for the Center of Oak Ridge Oral History . The date is November 8 , 2012 . I am Don Hunnicutt in the home of Mrs . Mary Ann Davidson , 117 Orange Lane , Oak Ridge , Tennessee , to take her oral history about living in Oak Ridge , Tennessee . Please state your full name and your place of birth and your date of birth . MRS . DAVIDSON : My name is Mary Ann Davidson . My date of birth is January 12 , 1925 . I was born in Louisville , Kentucky . I lived there all my early life until I graduated from college . MRS . DAVIDSON : My father was William H . Courtenay . He was born in 1890 , on March 3 . He was in World War I and lived his entire life in Louisville and Shelbyville , Kentucky . He worked for the Mengel Company . They imported mahogany and hardwood from Africa and Central America . He delivered those to customers . He didn 't consider himself a salesman , but he sold them to the furniture factory - furniture makers around Kentucky , mostly Indiana and Cincinnati and some in Tennessee . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , he did not . The Louisville Male High School was considered a fine school at that time . They said that graduates could enter Harvard in their second year . The principal had written textbooks that were apparently used all over . But my father was interested in raising ponies . His father had a farm in Shelbyville , Kentucky . If you 'd didn 't make the grade , you are special . And Dr . Ruben Post - Halleck , the famous principal of the school , told him if he took an exam in math , he could be entered back in . He did that , and he aced the test . He was back in . Then he was a special in English , so they told him if he memorized the " Lady of the Lake " and said that he could get back in school . So he did that . I think he never did finish . He was a twin , and his twin was more of an engineering type and went to manual training high school . MR . HUNNICUTT : What about your mother 's school history ? MRS . DAVIDSON : She grew up in several small towns in western Kentucky . Her father worked for the L & N Railroad . She had her high school in Hopkinsville , Kentucky . She had to stay home - or she went to junior college nearby . She had a scholarship to Randolph Macon Women 's College , but she couldn 't take it because her mother was ill and died at age 50 . It was about the year I was born , I think . MRS . DAVIDSON : His name was William Howard Courtenay III . My father was named for his uncle , who was also William Howard . My older brother works for Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green in the physics department . He made instruments . My younger brother was a pediatrician in Louisville , and he is still living on a farm in Shelbyville . He 's interested in Kentucky antiques . MR . HUNNICUTT : Yes . MRS . DAVIDSON : I went to an unusual kindergarten and first grade . I was at what they called the Enterprise Branch of I . N . Bloom School . It was only kindergarten and first grade . It was in the older building , where we had a Pot Belly Stove . I think we had a maid to help us take our leggings off in the cold weather - galoshes . It was really a wonderful school . It was almost like a private one . It was public . We did things like making butter and we had an orchestra . I played the triangle . I had started a little bit earlier when my younger brother was born . Louisville had half semester , half - year grades . I would 've been a half year , but I skipped the last half of kindergarten . I went to the school board and took a test and went on , so they put me in the regular school year . I went through the big school the I . N . Bloom School and Highland Junior High School in Louisville . Then I went to Atherton High School for Girls . The Louisville public schools were segregated - boys and girls . There were about 900 girls at Atherton . My graduating class was about 200 , and I was the valedictorian . MRS . DAVIDSON : They are pants to keep your legs warm . They zipped up from the inside of the ankle bone up to about knee - high , I guess it was . They were a royal pain to take on and off , so the teacher had to have help to do that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was just ordinary . I 'm sure the girls wore dresses , and the little boys wore suits - not suits , but pants and shirts . MRS . DAVIDSON : I came to Oak Ridge after I graduated from college . I had two years of getting a master 's at Emory while I worked at my alma mater , Agnes Scott College in Decatur , Georgia . I was the chemistry lab instructor . So after those two years were up , I was interested in working in chemistry or biochemistry . My master 's was in biochemistry . In Louisville , there was nothing in that field , except liquor and paint - neither of which I was interested in . In Atlanta , I would like to stay in Atlanta , I heard that Oak Ridge was an interesting new place , and a lot was going on here . One of my dear college friends had recently married a physicist from the University of Kentucky , so I visited them here . I guess that must have been 1947 . Her husband was working at NEPA . He said they were looking for people with a chemistry degree . I applied , and I was accepted . I didn 't know that until I had completed the clearance , so I took the opportunity to go to Europe at an American youth hostel bicycle tour of Western Europe in the summer of 1948 . When I got home , I found that I had indeed gotten the job at Oak Ridge . So I came down here . MRS . DAVIDSON : I was wondering that . I think I came by train . When I interviewed earlier in the spring , my interview was at the Andrew Johnson Hotel . It was one of the private rooms . I had never seen the company here . I think I must have been met by a car and driver and brought to Oak Ridge . MRS . DAVIDSON : I came in through the Vermont Gateway , which is where the gas station is now on the corner of what I call Vermont . They call it North Rutgers now . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , I think it must 've been after that . That would 've been at Christmas time . When I applied , I imagine it was early spring . MRS . DAVIDSON : We called the company NEPA , for Nuclear Energy for the Propulsion of Aircraft . It was managed by the Fairchild Corporation the way Union Carbide or one of the other contractors managed the lab . I did not know until the first day I went to work just what the company was doing . They handed me a volume of information that said , " We are looking for - we are trying to make an airplane powered by nuclear energy that could fly to Russia and back without refueling . " That was a great shock to me . MRS . DAVIDSON : I lived in Columbia Hall Dormitory . I was very surprised to find that the rent was $ 15 a month until I realized it was one very small room . That was my living quarters . I took the opportunity to stay out of it as much as possible . I did that by babysitting in some of the B and D houses in the evening . Grandmothers were not here since it was a closed community . Babysitters were in short supply , and even though I didn 't need the money , it was good to get out of the dormitory . MRS . DAVIDSON : The dormitory was like Cheyenne Hall . It was the same type of building . It had wooden stairways from the second - floor hall down on each end . I lived on the second floor . Our dormitory was mostly nurses , since it was up on the hill next to the hospital - I think where the west parking lot is now . There was a kitchen on each end where we could have our own breakfast . Of course we were at the plant at lunchtime , and then we usually went out to supper . I opened the refrigerator door one morning and somebody 's milk came spilling out down my front . Everybody just stuffed things into the refrigerator . MRS . DAVIDSON : I had a single room with a twin bed and enough room to walk to the window by the bed . There was a little table that served as a desk with a chair . There was a much coveted dormitory dresser - a tall one with a number of drawers . They were very popular . MRS . DAVIDSON : They had a wonderful bus service here . Travel wasn 't really a problem . We walked , of course , from the dormitory to Jackson Square and ate supper usually at the Mayflower , which is where I first saw my husband - to - be . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was on the corner of Tennessee , right across from the Soup Kitchen and the Texaco gas station there on the northeast corner . It was a very popular place . In fact , there were several places you could eat . It was the Central Cafeteria , and the T & C Cafeteria in Jackson Square , which is about where the Epicurean is now toward the garden . MRS . DAVIDSON : It must 've been the A & P on Jackson Square . Jackson Square was really the center of activity as far as I was concerned at that time . I still love it . I hope it keeps going . MRS . DAVIDSON : The department stores - the big department store was Taylor 's at the time . They had a wonderful book department headed by Mrs . Keyes , whose daughter I knew at work . They had really fine art books and other books that they would have a great sale on once or twice a year . We were very happy with that . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was in the middle of the block between where Big Ed 's is in the corner . I guess it 's mostly used by the engineering company now . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , not frequently , but I went and saw - there was a theater down at Big Ed 's in Jackson Square and where the Playhouse is now . That was the main one . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , the jewelry store was on the corner that was Henebree 's , I think . No , that was Heneger 's . MR . HUNNICUTT : Henebree ? MRS . DAVIDSON : Henebree . McCrory 's 5 & 10 was there . There was a drugstore - a Service Drugstore . I guess that was where Big Ed 's is now , on the very corner . There was Jackson Square Pharmacy , and on the other side the Hamilton Bank was there next to the movie theater . And Samuel 's Men 's Store was a very nice store . The Jackson Square Pharmacy was there , but in between , which the Pharmacy later took over was a Kay 's Ice Cream Store . We used to go there and - my husband and I would when we were dating . I liked to get coffee with ice cream in it , so we went there . MR . HUNNICUTT : I believe that was Taff Moody Ice Cream - they served Kay 's Ice Cream . MRS . DAVIDSON : Was it ? I didn 't remember that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I can 't say that I do . It was just a given , I suppose . It didn 't make a big dent in my memory . After six months of the dormitory , I moved to a D house on Norman Lane . That was another era . MR . HUNNICUTT : What is a D house ? MRS . DAVIDSON : A D house was a large three bedroom house . They were very much desired . They were really nice houses - still a lot of them are . The house was - there were five other girls who lived there - two of whom had been college friends . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , it would 've been upstairs . It was the second one to the end . A radiation technologist lived on the corner , and I lived there with school teachers and nurses who made up most of the dorm . MR . HUNNICUTT : Let 's talk a little bit about the dorm again . If I had a message for you or someone left a message for you , how did you retrieve your messages ? Was there a desk when you went in ? MRS . DAVIDSON : There was a desk downstairs . I remember the Valentine 's Day - I guess it must 've been 1949 . The message was that I had some flowers , some red roses . I had just met my husband - to - be at that time . I got all excited , and when I got to the desk , it was from somebody else . I enjoyed the red roses , but not as much as I might have . The thing was that there were ladies - a lot of the women who lived in the dorm worked on the night shift . They would sit around a large kind of living room , I guess they called it . They were all staring when I got flowers . I had to walk around , and it was embarrassing . MRS . DAVIDSON : I was there in the winter of 1948 . I 'm very cold natured , but I don 't remember being cold . We had those heavy navy blanket - navy blue blankets . This brings up a story if I jump to it later on . We were moved from the D house after another six months into the brand - new Garden Apartments on Villanova Road . They needed our D house for families . The people who moved in were the Andersons of the Anderson Hilltop Grocery . Of course , the furniture all belonged to the government there . So the Garden Apartments were not furnished , so we had dwindled down from 6 to 4 people who needed furniture . I took a day off and went to an auction the government set up down at the warehouses . I got seven beds and three or four dressers - much more than I could have used . But the beds were in great demand at work because all the young men who worked there were having children and needed beds . So we took the four . Also I got two sofas , and we could use but one ; so I sold one . They were really shabby awful sofas . Since it was all going to surplus anyway , we switched and took the nice sofa from the D house and left them the bad one . It was all taken away anyhow , so I didn 't feel too bad about that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't really remember about the telephone . We didn 't use the telephone much . We never used it for long - distance except for emergencies and calls home . I don 't remember that as being a problem particularly . MRS . DAVIDSON : I suppose I went on the bus . I did not have a car . One of the housemates from Norman Lane had gotten the car , but she would 've been at work at K - 25 . I don 't know . I may have gotten a ride . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess I paid somebody to deliver it . I don 't know . Maybe some of the fellows at work picked up their beds that they wanted . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was one of those warehouses down at the [ Oak Ridge ] Turnpike on Warehouse Road . I don 't know exactly where it was . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess it was on the bulletin boards at work , or there was a newspaper at the Lab . I guess I heard about it that way . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think probably so - in the newsletters they came around , also at the recreation building - the rec hall - at Jackson Square that was the library upstairs and the rec hall downstairs . Word - of - mouth - I don 't remember . We had a need and found the answer to it . MRS . DAVIDSON : I had to punch a clock at eight in the morning when I first started . I guess we got out at 4 : 30 or 5 o ' clock . We had bus service that went from the bus terminal - the Central one - that 's now by Bus Terminal Road . Later on after we were married , we lived on Waddell Circle and went from there to the Jefferson bus terminal . I went - I rode on the K - 25 bus , and they went out past K - 25 to the road that the powerhouse was on and NEPA was beyond that out by the river . MRS . DAVIDSON : There was some kind of management services office . I 'm not sure what it was called - the Roane Anderson Corporation at that time , I guess . I think that 's where I rented the dormitory room . I probably got bus tokens - I guess I got the tokens of the bus terminal . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think I had a checking account probably at Hamilton Bank in Jackson Square . I don 't recall otherwise . I know I did later . One thing I wanted to say about the buses - if you wanted to go to Clinton to do any shopping , more than what you could have in Oak Ridge or to meet somebody or something , there was a bus that ran frequently back and forth between the bus terminal and Clinton . There was a young man on the bus who had a sing - songy sales pitch for " peanuts , popcorn , Cracker Jacks , candy , and chewing gum . " He wouldn 't drive , but he would sell his wares all the way to Clinton and back . I always wondered who that was because he obviously had some talent . MRS . DAVIDSON : I 'm sure I did . I don 't know what became of it . I guess I had to turn it back in . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think somebody just got - one of the guards got on the bus and checked everybody 's badges . It was not a big thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : Probably . I don 't remember . What I do remember about that was my mother was coming down one time for my birthday - it must 've been in January 1949 . She rode the train . I told her that I would get a ride to meet her . Of course , the train didn 't stop at Oak Ridge . It went on to Knoxville , so I bummed a ride with one of the men in our group . He was actually the technical assistant to the director . His car was a broken down old thing with no floorboards in the back seat , which was pretty bad when my mother saw it . But she didn 't see it because when we got to Knoxville , she was not there . When we were coming back from the gateway entrance , she was not there . There was a message that she was waiting for us at the Elza Gate Station . She had told the conductor she had to get off at Oak Ridge . That 's where she was going , and I was going to meet her . So she slid down the Elza bank over there . She had my birthday cake - a large chocolate cake . She slid downhill with that , and somehow they stopped her at the guard gate at Elza . She waited there for us . MRS . DAVIDSON : Just for her - let her off like a milk train . They ordinarily didn 't stop there , but she wouldn 't have it otherwise . MRS . DAVIDSON : I used the library and rec hall . On Sunday afternoons , they played music ; and you could sit and write letters home , which is what I think I did a good bit . Later on in the better weather , there were tennis courts and a swimming pool . I don 't remember going to movies much . We went to church groups . There were so many young people ; it was just like a party all the time . Nothing in particular stands out . It was just fun . MRS . DAVIDSON : In the company I was , that was not true . There were a lot of women of course - of course , the dormitory was full of school teachers and nurses . But NEPA was mostly men . There were two parts to the Fairchild - the science and engineering part , which was bigger . I happen to be in the research part . My boss was a chemist - Vince Calkins . It was my job to - this was a real shocker to me - to find a chemical that would protect the human body against radiation for the reactor that was supposed to be in the airplane to Russia . I had no background for that kind of thing . I was just fresh out of college really . I realized I was out of my depth , but they decided - he was a pharmacist , I believe , and he wanted to do experiments with rats . They brought in the rat colony . By that time we had a couple of assistants , and I was supposed to be the group leader . One of the men , Ray Waldrop - you may have talked to him . I asked him if he minded working for a woman because he was really more experienced than I , although I had the degree . It was fine with him . There was also another worker , Saul Segal , who was quite a character in his own right . I took the rats in the cages over to the reactor , the " Old Lady " at X - 10 , and put them through what they called " rabbits " and radiated them for certain amount of time . We couldn 't kill the darn things . Then we used the older ones that had already been radiated , they were just tough as anything . I think the experiment was really a failure , although they may have found that to be the case in some later work with older people - that the cells are not dividing as fast and they 're not as subject to radiation . But we didn 't get into that . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was actually not K - 25 . It was beyond there . As I said , the bus took us - the bus dumped people off at K - 25 , and they went on west to just before you get to the Gallaher Bridge . You turn right there and go right past the power station there . It was used for a long time - the power house , and then NEPA was beyond that . The native rats came in - was it domestic experimental rats ? That was not good . I had a janitor who helped me , even though he could 've lost his job for doing it . He helped me clean cages . I always appreciated that . MRS . DAVIDSON : When they got rid of the rats , which was a blessing , my group leader then became Bill Browning , who was a fine scientist . He worked on the Van de Graaff generator . We had an interesting argument . Saul Segal thought he should be the one to do it since he was a man and I was a woman who would be leaving soon ; and it turned out that he left for California before I had left to have my baby . His argument didn 't hold with me anyway , but we argued about that some . We did run the Van de Graaff , and we also did some experiments on metallic sodium . It was nasty stuff to work with . It caught on fire if it was exposed to air . You had to work with that under oil in the glove box . I think that work all had to be repeated after NEPA left for Cincinnati with G . E . . When they moved part of NEPA to X - 10 , they called it the ANP , or something about aircraft and nuclear power . I was not connected with that because my first baby was born in August 1951 . I left in July . MRS . DAVIDSON : I heard somebody say that they had to repeat it all . My boss , the Division Director of Chemistry was interested in vitamin E , and thought it had a lot of protective influence . We worked with that . That was some of the work I did in chemistry - the lab part of it in the early days . It was not good work , I think . I 'm not blaming myself , but some of the other men who were doing chemical work - I think altogether we didn 't come up with anything . MRS . DAVIDSON : It may have been ahead of it 's time for nuclear submarines . I don 't know whether the engineering people thought that or not . In our group which was the chemistry and the physics , my friend who got me the job was Jim Trice . A fellow named Art Miller and somebody named Coneybearwere in the Physics Division . And then there were some others - Fred Maienschein . I did some work for him one time . It was work on beryllium for one thing . I didn 't work with any of the active beryllium . I didn 't do any lab work then , but I did some journal research . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't think they were that far along . I 'm not sure what happened to that part of it . As I said , in July of 1951 they moved to Cincinnati , Evensville , above Cincinnati . I don 't know how many people actually went up there . Most of my friends moved elsewhere . MR . HUNNICUTT : You mentioned the location of the operation was past the steam plant that was on the Clinch River . Was that the same location where the S - 50 project was located ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I think that was the name of our plot of land . I think those - I never was quite sure how they got the designations , but that was the Fairchild domain , I think . MRS . DAVIDSON : Really , it was just when our eyes met . It was very romantic . He followed our group home to the Columbia Hall to see where I lived . But at the time I thought he was too young , and I didn 't think he was following me . I was with a group of other girls . Later on , one of the women in the dormitory , who was a gym teacher in the Oak Ridge schools , told me I really ought to meet Jack Davidson that he loved to ride bicycles ; I was just back from my bicycle trip in Europe . I didn 't know who he was , and then I went to a church group meeting at my Presbyterian Church for young people one Sunday evening . A friend of mine had brought Jack Davidson , and he was the one whose eyes I had met and he had met mine . Sure enough , he loved to ride bicycles . That was the start of a good thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : We did a little bit . On our dates , that 's really what we did mostly at first . We rode out to West Outer Drive and had those wonderful big hills , not too much traffic at that time . We went out to the water tower at the top of Louisiana and had a picnic , and then rode back . When we got really good , we rode our bicycles over to Concord Park one day . I had gotten some chicken breasts at the grocery . I guess it was the A & P at Jackson Square . I was going to fry them for a picnic to take along over to Concord Park . When I went to the refrigerator to get them , they had turned into wings . Somebody had eaten my chicken breast . Jack was a good sport about that . He didn 't care . We had a nice ride . It was before they had improved Lovell Road . It was a pretty rough ride over there , but we were able to enjoy it . MRS . DAVIDSON : He had his bicycle . It was probably a Grey Stone . For me , he rented a bicycle from his work friend . I had forgotten what his name was . We went over to one of the D Streets , I think , and rode them . I didn 't have my English 3 - speed here . I guess I brought it later , but at that time I didn 't have it . MRS . DAVIDSON : That was a problem . I complained to my friend Jim Trice 's wife , Dot , who happened to live around the corner on Outer Drive at that time . She said the boardwalk was used a lot for dating , and of course the theaters . I guess we were outdoors people . I don 't know . MRS . DAVIDSON : He was a graduate of Georgia Tech . At the time he graduated , he was very young . He came up to see about a job , and he was drafted . No , he was in danger of being drafted right away , but they didn 't hire him . He did go to work for NASA , which was at that time NACA , in Virginia ; and worked over there a short time before he was taken into the Army . He had gone through Georgia Tech on a " War Manpower " loan . He was sent to some place to be an MP , I think . He wrote a night letter , which is a 50 - word telegram that was cheaper at night . He wrote a night letter to Stimson , the Secretary of War , telling them they had paid for his college education ; and here he was sitting in a camp doing nothing down in Alabama . He was transferred to the SED , he would never say that was the reason he was transferred . It may or may not have been . He arrived with the SED - he arrived in Oak Ridge the day Roosevelt died , which was in April 1945 , he was here with his group for maybe six weeks before they went out to Los Alamos . So he spent the rest of the war out there . Then he used his G . I . Bill - he stayed on at Los Alamos . They told them they would let him out of the Army if he would agree to stay on as a civilian . So he took that . Then when he did leave , he went to Annapolis and took a liberal arts course because he felt that he had missed out on it at Georgia Tech . He had a year at St . John 's College of Annapolis ; and then all along I guess he thought he would like to come back here . He came back - he arrived on Armistice Day , now Veterans Day , of 1948 . I was here a couple of months before he came , but we met shortly after Christmas in 1949 . MRS . DAVIDSON : Too long . We were married in May 1950 . He wanted to pay off his loan before we could get married , so I helped him along with that . I fed him some . He was very welcome at the D House of girls . I was going to tell you that during the war , there were nine girls in the house , and they slept on shifts on the bunk beds . There were only six of us when I was there . There were a couple of the boyfriends around , and one of them cut the grass . I think Jack did the - empty the clinkers from the furnace , the coal furnace . They made themselves useful . They got their dinner . MR . HUNNICUTT : Tell me about the coal furnace briefly . MRS . DAVIDSON : Most of the houses were a very good design really , and a whole lot better built than we gave them credit for . But each one that I knew of had a corner set off or closed off as a coal storage place that could be filled through a window from the outside , and then you could use the - there was an opening on the inside that you could use to put coal into the furnace . That was awful of course , but that 's what all the houses were doing in that time , too . We had a yard full of clinkers over there . MRS . DAVIDSON : We were taken care of by a Big Brother - the government . They brought the coal around , and you didn 't do a thing . That was part of the rent . When we got our house here on Orange Lane , that 's another story . Are you ready for that yet ? MRS . DAVIDSON : We went back to my home in Louisville , Kentucky , to be married . We had planned to fly to Nashville , but it turned out the Delta Queen was coming through Louisville the next morning . My mother had told us we could not get married the week before because it was too busy with Derby Day . So we delayed until May 13 . Then we spent the night in Louisville at the Brown Hotel , where she pulled some strings to get us a room because it was still very full of visitors from the Derby . We got on the Delta Queen , and our friends were all on the dock to see us off . They had us almost convinced that we were on Daylight Saving Time , and the Delta Queen was not , and we had missed it . But we rode down just as far as Paducah . We were anxious to start in life you know . We lived on Wadell Circle in a K apartment . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you recall the number ? MRS . DAVIDSON : It was a two - story thing . I guess it was a two - bedroom up above , and we had K - 1 . It was sort of underground at the front and open at the back . We had a nice back porch . There was a closet under the stairway and a very small kitchen . It had a table that folded down . It was not as compact as a flattop , but the furnishings that they had did double duty . You could fold it up and have more room . MRS . DAVIDSON : The K apartment was heated with the coal furnace , but there was a janitor who came around and took care of it for us . We were taken care of by Roane Anderson . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you remember what the rent was ? MRS . DAVIDSON : We lived in the K from May 1950 , until we got this house in July 1952 . It was said - the word around town was that you couldn 't get a two - bedroom house unless you had three children , all of different sex . We had been on the list for this house ever since we knew our daughter was coming along . That was a long time to wait . We had been offered two houses - Florida Avenue , where the parking was across the street and the backyard just dropped off . We thought that was totally unsuitable for a new child . We turned both of those down . If we had turned this one down , we would 've gone to the bottom of the long list . But we loved this place of the trees and the dead end lane neighborhood . So we sat outside in front all weekend because we were not top on the list . The reason the other people didn 't take it was that the previous owner , Jim Cox and Charlotte , had put in an oil furnace ; and nobody wanted to pay $ 200 for the oil furnace . Since I had been working , we had saved my salary from work , and we had $ 200 to pay . Also , they didn 't want to be in the high rent district . This house rented for something like $ 45 instead of $ 43 in the lower rent districts . MRS . DAVIDSON : The Oak Ridge cemesto houses that were built - I think this house was built in the fall of 1944 or 1943 . Maybe it was ' 43 . The B house has two bedrooms and of course a bath and a kitchen with a dinette into a long narrow living room . It was about 24 feet by 40 something feet . It was small and convenient . It didn 't have much storage space , but it 's been a wonderful house for us because of the trees . We are on a greenbelt , and I enjoy that very much . It 's a nice private neighborhood just above Jackson Square . MRS . DAVIDSON : Our cemesto has a fireplace , and it had a complete brick wall . Some of the B houses had a brick wall just beyond the fireplace . MRS . DAVIDSON : There are hardwood floors in all the cemestos , I believe . Our house has maple flooring , and a lot of them had oak . Wood was hard to come by in the wartime . We love the color - the reddish color of the maple . MRS . DAVIDSON : Adele is our second daughter , and she was two years younger . Our son is Bill Davidson or William . He was born in November of 1954 . He 's just now turning 58 . MR . HUNNICUTT : So your first daughter went to Cedar Hill ? MRS . DAVIDSON : All three of our children went to Cedar Hill . They had split grades there , so I think the classes were one half size . They would take the kids a half from one grade , and half from the next grade , and that worked out just fine . MRS . DAVIDSON : Cedar Hill was wonderful . It was very special . Mr . Dodd was the principal , and he saw to it - he had the best teachers or at least as good as any . Actually in those days all the teachers and Oak Ridge were special because many of them had been recruited from Columbia Teachers College , along with the superintendent . Others were specially recruited for the job . They were a group a part , I think , from a lot of teachers . MRS . DAVIDSON : The girls both went to Jefferson when it was on the hill at Jackson Square , and Bill was in the first year at the new Jefferson that was over on Fairbanks Road . His was the first class there . They all went through Oak Ridge High . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you recall some of the classes your daughters took while they were in junior high ? Was there Home Ec . or things related to girls ? MRS . DAVIDSON : No , they were on the college prep track . They took eighth grade algebra and that kind of thing . Of course English and math and social studies and science - our older girl I think took biology ; and I 'm not sure if Adele had a more general science course . It just depended on the teacher that they had . They had an excellent education , and the girls were both Merit semifinalists . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course . I was in the PTA . I 'm not sure if I was ever a room mother , but I of course helped with parties and things . MRS . DAVIDSON : The teachers recruited them from each class to help with parties mostly . They helped with any activities that they didn 't really have time to do . MRS . DAVIDSON : Parent - Teacher Association , a time honored group . It got extra things for the school . I got involved with raincoats for the school patrol . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess maybe I was a treasurer of the Cedar Hill PTA , and this goal was to get those yellow slicker raincoat so kids could be visible to the drivers . I found out how much the things cost , and then I estimated postage . At the PTA meeting , Alvin Weinberg was president . He had a son or two in school at the time . He took me to task for estimating the postage , so I had to ask for just the money for the coats themselves since I didn 't really know what the postage is going to be . I thought that was interesting that he wanted to keep it to the exact penny . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think they just wore what the other kids wore . One day we had a deep snow and Bill was in kindergarten , and the snow was up over their boots . I think he had some corduroys . The teacher was making the kids take their pants off and dry them on the radiator , and he wouldn 't do it . I had to go up to the school and take him some fresh pants , some dry clothes . He was very young - just four when he started . MR . HUNNICUTT : Let 's go back a few years . Do you remember 1945 when they dropped the bomb on Japan ? You remember where you were ? And what was your reaction ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I do remember that very clearly because it was the summer after my junior year in college , and I was a camp counselor up in Door County , Wisconsin . There was no electricity at the camp , so we counselors - after we got the kids to bed , went to the state park nearby . This was at Fish Creek , Wisconsin . We would listen to people 's car radios . We knew for about a week that something was happening , but we didn 't know just what . It was very deeply moving when the bomb was dropped , and we thought it would bring an end to the war . Of course , I had friends and a brother on Guam and a cousin was in Europe and others . So that was very deeply moving . I had a book of poetry - my favorite poems at the camp with me . One of my 12 - year - olds picked out a poem - " Once to every man and nation comes a moment to decide " - she read that , and I thought that was very astute of her , a youngster to be able to do that . MRS . DAVIDSON : My husband thought they should have dropped a sample first , but I didn 't feel that way since the first bomb didn 't phase the Japanese . I didn 't think the test one would have either . I was just so glad that the war was over . People could settle down and get into real life again . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think I was in transition from the dormitory to the house , and my husband 's brothers came up from Georgia to witness the opening . So we drove in their car around , and we watched the parade from , I believe , down on the eastern end of the Turnpike down near the warehouses to get out of the traffic . We never could figure out why they invited Marie " The Body " McDonald and [ inaudible ] to ride in the open car for the parade . We couldn 't figure out what they had to do with it , but we did see the burning of the magnesium ribbon . That was exciting . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was only toward town from Elza Gate . I know the central part of town , the Jackson Square area , was very crowded . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think they name the streets for famous cities in the country , and of course the alphabetical designations were very helpful . But Jackson Square , I assume , was named for New Orleans . That 's all I know about it . MRS . DAVIDSON : Sometimes you would pick up the telephone , and the other party was talking . I believe they had different rings . I think maybe the other party had one ring , and we had two . There were four - party lines , but if we were on a four - party line , only the other one was active . I think maybe we were . The other two lines were not being used . MR . HUNNICUTT : When you are raising your family , did you hang your clothes outside on the clothesline ? Did you have a dryer ? What did you use ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I hung them outside on the clothesline . As I said , when we moved here , Anne was a year old . Not much more than three years after that , we had three babies . I was able to talk my husband into getting a dryer that time . Before that , he had built a pulley out of my kitchen window . There was a drop off in the back , and he was able to string it to a tree in the woods . I was able to reel those cloth diapers and reel them in and out . The only problem was that the birds like the trees , too . Sometimes I had to do some re - washing . MR . HUNNICUTT : So in those days you use cloth diapers ? Today we use disposable diapers . How do you think you would 've done if you had disposable diapers ? MRS . DAVIDSON : At one point , when our children were out playing Kick the Can , there were over 40 children on the lane . There were about 20 or 21 houses . There were almost as many dogs . It was just a glorious place for them to grow up . They seem to get along remarkably well most of the time , especially in the early days . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes . We went down there on the opening , and got the radioactive dimes on that occasion . The museum at that time was down at Jefferson Circle . I don 't think any of us ever had our hair stand out on the Van De Graff generator or whatever it was , but we took the children . We went out ourselves . Of course my husband was interested in that kind of thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : Sometimes they walked to Jefferson , but by that time they were carrying pretty heavy books . One of the neighbors on Outer Drive wanted to have a carpool , so we joined that . MRS . DAVIDSON : When Anne was in the fifth grade , they had to write what they did on Friday nights . The teacher would call me and say , " Is it true that you gave your children ice water and watched TV on Friday nights ? " That was how generous we were with them . We didn 't get a TV until they were probably five or six years old . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course it was black and white . The reason we got it - I guess finally it was that the children were always going to the neighbors ' house to watch TV . We decided that we should get our own . They watched things like " Pinky Lee " and I 've forgotten what else . MRS . DAVIDSON : I remember that fondly because my first real date with my husband was going to dinner there with him . He invited me to go to a concert in Knoxville , and his excuse was that we should get to know each other better before he took me to the city with him . That was one thing . I remember there were parties there , and our company had a party at the Oak Terrace Ballroom . One of the NEPA fellows wore a Tarzan costume , which was mostly nothing . It turned out that he lived in the neighborhood . MR . HUNNICUTT : What was the Oak Terrace ballroom - where was it located ? MRS . DAVIDSON : That was just below the dormitory where I lived in Columbia Hall . Jack went there looking for me , he thought I would eat breakfast there and then he could have breakfast with me ; but I ate in the dormitory . He didn 't find me there . When we came back from our bicycle ride to Concord Park , I remember we stopped by there , and he drank two or three Mountain Dew drinks . That surprised me , but we had worked off a lot of sweat . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , we took our children out there and saw " Lawrence of Arabia " and " The 10 Commandment " and those things . It was quite nice . MR . HUNNICUTT : Where was it located ? MRS . DAVIDSON : It was about where Kroger 's - where that is now , on the southeast part of Illinois Avenue . It was a nice thing . That was a special treat for the children to go out there . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't think so . I think they were mostly in the car . They had a drawing one time , Jack won something . It was actually nothing , but he did win . MRS . DAVIDSON : I sure did . My three children were born there . It was a green structure , like so many of the buildings in Oak Ridge . I guess the present building is built on that place . It was okay . I didn 't have any problems with it , except after my second child . I had a staph infection from the hospital . Even an Army wife with a private room got an infection there . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , I think they also had been recruited ; and a lot of them were from Tulane University . The time I was sick with my infection , they were having a reunion at Tulane , and my doctor and another one were gone for the reunion . I didn 't like the one who took care of me . He didn 't do a good job . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was okay . I don 't remember having any problems with it . We knew Dr . Rogers from our church , and we went to him . He was called away to the service , I believe . Maybe it was the Korean War , but then he came back . MRS . DAVIDSON : We met at Pine Valley School . The choir sat on the bleachers , and the minister sat under the halo of the basketball net . My husband was a Methodist , and he went to the First Methodist Church . They had a big youth group there . When we were first married , we tried to take them both in . We went to Sunday school one place , and church another until we finally settled on the Presbyterian . It was smaller , and we knew more people . MR . HUNNICUTT : Thinking back , what do you like best about Oak Ridge ? MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course the people . I love my trees and my house . I love all the activities . Both my husband and I have always loved music and enjoy the concerts a lot . The symphony concerts with Waldo Cohn conducting were held at Jefferson Junior High on the Kentucky Avenue hill . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you think back about all the people that you knew in the early days ? Do you think it was unusual for everybody to get along - the many people that were here ? MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , I guess so . I didn 't think about it because we just did . It was just fun . Everybody was away from home , and we had to be family for each other . That was particularly true in this close neighborhood . MRS . DAVIDSON : I 'm pleased for the most part . I think we 've made good progress . We 've kept up with the outside world . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't know . I 'll probably think of things after you leave . Nothing particular comes to mind . MR . HUNNICUTT : I would like to thank you for your time , and I think this interview will be very helpful for someone in the future to see how you lived in Oak Ridge in the early days . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think we came through at the very best of times . It was not the pressure of war , but we were growing community . I think things were happening at the Lab . Both of my husband and I loved the Lab because there were so many good things going on out there . It gives us hope for the future . MR . HUNNICUTT : I thank you very much for your time . [ Editor 's Note : This transcript has been edited at Mrs . Davidson 's request . The corresponding audio and video components have remained unchanged . ] Your rating was saved . you wish to report :

MR . HUNNICUTT : This interview is for the Center of Oak Ridge Oral History . The date is November 8 , 2012 . I am Don Hunnicutt in the home of Mrs . Mary Ann Davidson , 117 Orange Lane , Oak Ridge , Tennessee , to take her oral history about living in Oak Ridge , Tennessee . Please state your full name and your place of birth and your date of birth . MRS . DAVIDSON : My name is Mary Ann Davidson . My date of birth is January 12 , 1925 . I was born in Louisville , Kentucky . I lived there all my early life until I graduated from college . MRS . DAVIDSON : My father was William H . Courtenay . He was born in 1890 , on March 3 . He was in World War I and lived his entire life in Louisville and Shelbyville , Kentucky . He worked for the Mengel Company . They imported mahogany and hardwood from Africa and Central America . He delivered those to customers . He didn 't consider himself a salesman , but he sold them to the furniture factory - furniture makers around Kentucky , mostly Indiana and Cincinnati and some in Tennessee . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , he did not . The Louisville Male High School was considered a fine school at that time . They said that graduates could enter Harvard in their second year . The principal had written textbooks that were apparently used all over . But my father was interested in raising ponies . His father had a farm in Shelbyville , Kentucky . If you 'd didn 't make the grade , you are special . And Dr . Ruben Post - Halleck , the famous principal of the school , told him if he took an exam in math , he could be entered back in . He did that , and he aced the test . He was back in . Then he was a special in English , so they told him if he memorized the " Lady of the Lake " and said that he could get back in school . So he did that . I think he never did finish . He was a twin , and his twin was more of an engineering type and went to manual training high school . MRS . DAVIDSON : She grew up in several small towns in western Kentucky . Her father worked for the L & N Railroad . She had her high school in Hopkinsville , Kentucky . She had to stay home - or she went to junior college nearby . She had a scholarship to Randolph Macon Women 's College , but she couldn 't take it because her mother was ill and died at age 50 . It was about the year I was born , I think . MRS . DAVIDSON : His name was William Howard Courtenay III . My father was named for his uncle , who was also William Howard . My older brother works for Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green in the physics department . He made instruments . My younger brother was a pediatrician in Louisville , and he is still living on a farm in Shelbyville . He 's interested in Kentucky antiques . MRS . DAVIDSON : I went to an unusual kindergarten and first grade . I was at what they called the Enterprise Branch of I . N . Bloom School . It was only kindergarten and first grade . It was in the older building , where we had a Pot Belly Stove . I think we had a maid to help us take our leggings off in the cold weather - galoshes . It was really a wonderful school . It was almost like a private one . It was public . We did things like making butter and we had an orchestra . I played the triangle . I had started a little bit earlier when my younger brother was born . Louisville had half semester , half - year grades . I would 've been a half year , but I skipped the last half of kindergarten . I went to the school board and took a test and went on , so they put me in the regular school year . I went through the big school the I . N . Bloom School and Highland Junior High School in Louisville . Then I went to Atherton High School for Girls . The Louisville public schools were segregated - boys and girls . There were about 900 girls at Atherton . My graduating class was about 200 , and I was the valedictorian . MRS . DAVIDSON : They are pants to keep your legs warm . They zipped up from the inside of the ankle bone up to about knee - high , I guess it was . They were a royal pain to take on and off , so the teacher had to have help to do that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was just ordinary . I 'm sure the girls wore dresses , and the little boys wore suits - not suits , but pants and shirts . MRS . DAVIDSON : I came to Oak Ridge after I graduated from college . I had two years of getting a master 's at Emory while I worked at my alma mater , Agnes Scott College in Decatur , Georgia . I was the chemistry lab instructor . So after those two years were up , I was interested in working in chemistry or biochemistry . My master 's was in biochemistry . In Louisville , there was nothing in that field , except liquor and paint - neither of which I was interested in . In Atlanta , I would like to stay in Atlanta , I heard that Oak Ridge was an interesting new place , and a lot was going on here . One of my dear college friends had recently married a physicist from the University of Kentucky , so I visited them here . I guess that must have been 1947 . Her husband was working at NEPA . He said they were looking for people with a chemistry degree . I applied , and I was accepted . I didn 't know that until I had completed the clearance , so I took the opportunity to go to Europe at an American youth hostel bicycle tour of Western Europe in the summer of 1948 . When I got home , I found that I had indeed gotten the job at Oak Ridge . So I came down here . MRS . DAVIDSON : I was wondering that . I think I came by train . When I interviewed earlier in the spring , my interview was at the Andrew Johnson Hotel . It was one of the private rooms . I had never seen the company here . I think I must have been met by a car and driver and brought to Oak Ridge . MRS . DAVIDSON : I came in through the Vermont Gateway , which is where the gas station is now on the corner of what I call Vermont . They call it North Rutgers now . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , I think it must 've been after that . That would 've been at Christmas time . When I applied , I imagine it was early spring . MRS . DAVIDSON : We called the company NEPA , for Nuclear Energy for the Propulsion of Aircraft . It was managed by the Fairchild Corporation the way Union Carbide or one of the other contractors managed the lab . I did not know until the first day I went to work just what the company was doing . They handed me a volume of information that said , " We are looking for - we are trying to make an airplane powered by nuclear energy that could fly to Russia and back without refueling . " That was a great shock to me . MRS . DAVIDSON : I lived in Columbia Hall Dormitory . I was very surprised to find that the rent was $ 15 a month until I realized it was one very small room . That was my living quarters . I took the opportunity to stay out of it as much as possible . I did that by babysitting in some of the B and D houses in the evening . Grandmothers were not here since it was a closed community . Babysitters were in short supply , and even though I didn 't need the money , it was good to get out of the dormitory . MRS . DAVIDSON : The dormitory was like Cheyenne Hall . It was the same type of building . It had wooden stairways from the second - floor hall down on each end . I lived on the second floor . Our dormitory was mostly nurses , since it was up on the hill next to the hospital - I think where the west parking lot is now . There was a kitchen on each end where we could have our own breakfast . Of course we were at the plant at lunchtime , and then we usually went out to supper . I opened the refrigerator door one morning and somebody 's milk came spilling out down my front . Everybody just stuffed things into the refrigerator . MRS . DAVIDSON : I had a single room with a twin bed and enough room to walk to the window by the bed . There was a little table that served as a desk with a chair . There was a much coveted dormitory dresser - a tall one with a number of drawers . They were very popular . MRS . DAVIDSON : They had a wonderful bus service here . Travel wasn 't really a problem . We walked , of course , from the dormitory to Jackson Square and ate supper usually at the Mayflower , which is where I first saw my husband - to - be . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was on the corner of Tennessee , right across from the Soup Kitchen and the Texaco gas station there on the northeast corner . It was a very popular place . In fact , there were several places you could eat . It was the Central Cafeteria , and the T & C Cafeteria in Jackson Square , which is about where the Epicurean is now toward the garden . MRS . DAVIDSON : It must 've been the A & P on Jackson Square . Jackson Square was really the center of activity as far as I was concerned at that time . I still love it . I hope it keeps going . MRS . DAVIDSON : The department stores - the big department store was Taylor 's at the time . They had a wonderful book department headed by Mrs . Keyes , whose daughter I knew at work . They had really fine art books and other books that they would have a great sale on once or twice a year . We were very happy with that . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was in the middle of the block between where Big Ed 's is in the corner . I guess it 's mostly used by the engineering company now . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , not frequently , but I went and saw - there was a theater down at Big Ed 's in Jackson Square and where the Playhouse is now . That was the main one . MRS . DAVIDSON : Henebree . McCrory 's 5 & 10 was there . There was a drugstore - a Service Drugstore . I guess that was where Big Ed 's is now , on the very corner . There was Jackson Square Pharmacy , and on the other side the Hamilton Bank was there next to the movie theater . And Samuel 's Men 's Store was a very nice store . The Jackson Square Pharmacy was there , but in between , which the Pharmacy later took over was a Kay 's Ice Cream Store . We used to go there and - my husband and I would when we were dating . I liked to get coffee with ice cream in it , so we went there . MRS . DAVIDSON : I can 't say that I do . It was just a given , I suppose . It didn 't make a big dent in my memory . After six months of the dormitory , I moved to a D house on Norman Lane . That was another era . MRS . DAVIDSON : A D house was a large three bedroom house . They were very much desired . They were really nice houses - still a lot of them are . The house was - there were five other girls who lived there - two of whom had been college friends . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , it would 've been upstairs . It was the second one to the end . A radiation technologist lived on the corner , and I lived there with school teachers and nurses who made up most of the dorm . MR . HUNNICUTT : Let 's talk a little bit about the dorm again . If I had a message for you or someone left a message for you , how did you retrieve your messages ? Was there a desk when you went in ? MRS . DAVIDSON : There was a desk downstairs . I remember the Valentine 's Day - I guess it must 've been 1949 . The message was that I had some flowers , some red roses . I had just met my husband - to - be at that time . I got all excited , and when I got to the desk , it was from somebody else . I enjoyed the red roses , but not as much as I might have . The thing was that there were ladies - a lot of the women who lived in the dorm worked on the night shift . They would sit around a large kind of living room , I guess they called it . They were all staring when I got flowers . I had to walk around , and it was embarrassing . MRS . DAVIDSON : I was there in the winter of 1948 . I 'm very cold natured , but I don 't remember being cold . We had those heavy navy blanket - navy blue blankets . This brings up a story if I jump to it later on . We were moved from the D house after another six months into the brand - new Garden Apartments on Villanova Road . They needed our D house for families . The people who moved in were the Andersons of the Anderson Hilltop Grocery . Of course , the furniture all belonged to the government there . So the Garden Apartments were not furnished , so we had dwindled down from 6 to 4 people who needed furniture . I took a day off and went to an auction the government set up down at the warehouses . I got seven beds and three or four dressers - much more than I could have used . But the beds were in great demand at work because all the young men who worked there were having children and needed beds . So we took the four . Also I got two sofas , and we could use but one ; so I sold one . They were really shabby awful sofas . Since it was all going to surplus anyway , we switched and took the nice sofa from the D house and left them the bad one . It was all taken away anyhow , so I didn 't feel too bad about that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't really remember about the telephone . We didn 't use the telephone much . We never used it for long - distance except for emergencies and calls home . I don 't remember that as being a problem particularly . MRS . DAVIDSON : I suppose I went on the bus . I did not have a car . One of the housemates from Norman Lane had gotten the car , but she would 've been at work at K - 25 . I don 't know . I may have gotten a ride . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess I paid somebody to deliver it . I don 't know . Maybe some of the fellows at work picked up their beds that they wanted . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was one of those warehouses down at the [ Oak Ridge ] Turnpike on Warehouse Road . I don 't know exactly where it was . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess it was on the bulletin boards at work , or there was a newspaper at the Lab . I guess I heard about it that way . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think probably so - in the newsletters they came around , also at the recreation building - the rec hall - at Jackson Square that was the library upstairs and the rec hall downstairs . Word - of - mouth - I don 't remember . We had a need and found the answer to it . MRS . DAVIDSON : I had to punch a clock at eight in the morning when I first started . I guess we got out at 4 : 30 or 5 o ' clock . We had bus service that went from the bus terminal - the Central one - that 's now by Bus Terminal Road . Later on after we were married , we lived on Waddell Circle and went from there to the Jefferson bus terminal . I went - I rode on the K - 25 bus , and they went out past K - 25 to the road that the powerhouse was on and NEPA was beyond that out by the river . MRS . DAVIDSON : There was some kind of management services office . I 'm not sure what it was called - the Roane Anderson Corporation at that time , I guess . I think that 's where I rented the dormitory room . I probably got bus tokens - I guess I got the tokens of the bus terminal . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think I had a checking account probably at Hamilton Bank in Jackson Square . I don 't recall otherwise . I know I did later . One thing I wanted to say about the buses - if you wanted to go to Clinton to do any shopping , more than what you could have in Oak Ridge or to meet somebody or something , there was a bus that ran frequently back and forth between the bus terminal and Clinton . There was a young man on the bus who had a sing - songy sales pitch for " peanuts , popcorn , Cracker Jacks , candy , and chewing gum . " He wouldn 't drive , but he would sell his wares all the way to Clinton and back . I always wondered who that was because he obviously had some talent . MRS . DAVIDSON : I 'm sure I did . I don 't know what became of it . I guess I had to turn it back in . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think somebody just got - one of the guards got on the bus and checked everybody 's badges . It was not a big thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : Probably . I don 't remember . What I do remember about that was my mother was coming down one time for my birthday - it must 've been in January 1949 . She rode the train . I told her that I would get a ride to meet her . Of course , the train didn 't stop at Oak Ridge . It went on to Knoxville , so I bummed a ride with one of the men in our group . He was actually the technical assistant to the director . His car was a broken down old thing with no floorboards in the back seat , which was pretty bad when my mother saw it . But she didn 't see it because when we got to Knoxville , she was not there . When we were coming back from the gateway entrance , she was not there . There was a message that she was waiting for us at the Elza Gate Station . She had told the conductor she had to get off at Oak Ridge . That 's where she was going , and I was going to meet her . So she slid down the Elza bank over there . She had my birthday cake - a large chocolate cake . She slid downhill with that , and somehow they stopped her at the guard gate at Elza . She waited there for us . MRS . DAVIDSON : Just for her - let her off like a milk train . They ordinarily didn 't stop there , but she wouldn 't have it otherwise . MRS . DAVIDSON : I used the library and rec hall . On Sunday afternoons , they played music ; and you could sit and write letters home , which is what I think I did a good bit . Later on in the better weather , there were tennis courts and a swimming pool . I don 't remember going to movies much . We went to church groups . There were so many young people ; it was just like a party all the time . Nothing in particular stands out . It was just fun . MRS . DAVIDSON : In the company I was , that was not true . There were a lot of women of course - of course , the dormitory was full of school teachers and nurses . But NEPA was mostly men . There were two parts to the Fairchild - the science and engineering part , which was bigger . I happen to be in the research part . My boss was a chemist - Vince Calkins . It was my job to - this was a real shocker to me - to find a chemical that would protect the human body against radiation for the reactor that was supposed to be in the airplane to Russia . I had no background for that kind of thing . I was just fresh out of college really . I realized I was out of my depth , but they decided - he was a pharmacist , I believe , and he wanted to do experiments with rats . They brought in the rat colony . By that time we had a couple of assistants , and I was supposed to be the group leader . One of the men , Ray Waldrop - you may have talked to him . I asked him if he minded working for a woman because he was really more experienced than I , although I had the degree . It was fine with him . There was also another worker , Saul Segal , who was quite a character in his own right . I took the rats in the cages over to the reactor , the " Old Lady " at X - 10 , and put them through what they called " rabbits " and radiated them for certain amount of time . We couldn 't kill the darn things . Then we used the older ones that had already been radiated , they were just tough as anything . I think the experiment was really a failure , although they may have found that to be the case in some later work with older people - that the cells are not dividing as fast and they 're not as subject to radiation . But we didn 't get into that . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was actually not K - 25 . It was beyond there . As I said , the bus took us - the bus dumped people off at K - 25 , and they went on west to just before you get to the Gallaher Bridge . You turn right there and go right past the power station there . It was used for a long time - the power house , and then NEPA was beyond that . The native rats came in - was it domestic experimental rats ? That was not good . I had a janitor who helped me , even though he could 've lost his job for doing it . He helped me clean cages . I always appreciated that . MRS . DAVIDSON : When they got rid of the rats , which was a blessing , my group leader then became Bill Browning , who was a fine scientist . He worked on the Van de Graaff generator . We had an interesting argument . Saul Segal thought he should be the one to do it since he was a man and I was a woman who would be leaving soon ; and it turned out that he left for California before I had left to have my baby . His argument didn 't hold with me anyway , but we argued about that some . We did run the Van de Graaff , and we also did some experiments on metallic sodium . It was nasty stuff to work with . It caught on fire if it was exposed to air . You had to work with that under oil in the glove box . I think that work all had to be repeated after NEPA left for Cincinnati with G . E . . When they moved part of NEPA to X - 10 , they called it the ANP , or something about aircraft and nuclear power . I was not connected with that because my first baby was born in August 1951 . I left in July . MRS . DAVIDSON : I heard somebody say that they had to repeat it all . My boss , the Division Director of Chemistry was interested in vitamin E , and thought it had a lot of protective influence . We worked with that . That was some of the work I did in chemistry - the lab part of it in the early days . It was not good work , I think . I 'm not blaming myself , but some of the other men who were doing chemical work - I think altogether we didn 't come up with anything . MRS . DAVIDSON : It may have been ahead of it 's time for nuclear submarines . I don 't know whether the engineering people thought that or not . In our group which was the chemistry and the physics , my friend who got me the job was Jim Trice . A fellow named Art Miller and somebody named Coneybearwere in the Physics Division . And then there were some others - Fred Maienschein . I did some work for him one time . It was work on beryllium for one thing . I didn 't work with any of the active beryllium . I didn 't do any lab work then , but I did some journal research . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't think they were that far along . I 'm not sure what happened to that part of it . As I said , in July of 1951 they moved to Cincinnati , Evensville , above Cincinnati . I don 't know how many people actually went up there . Most of my friends moved elsewhere . MR . HUNNICUTT : You mentioned the location of the operation was past the steam plant that was on the Clinch River . Was that the same location where the S - 50 project was located ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I think that was the name of our plot of land . I think those - I never was quite sure how they got the designations , but that was the Fairchild domain , I think . MRS . DAVIDSON : Really , it was just when our eyes met . It was very romantic . He followed our group home to the Columbia Hall to see where I lived . But at the time I thought he was too young , and I didn 't think he was following me . I was with a group of other girls . Later on , one of the women in the dormitory , who was a gym teacher in the Oak Ridge schools , told me I really ought to meet Jack Davidson that he loved to ride bicycles ; I was just back from my bicycle trip in Europe . I didn 't know who he was , and then I went to a church group meeting at my Presbyterian Church for young people one Sunday evening . A friend of mine had brought Jack Davidson , and he was the one whose eyes I had met and he had met mine . Sure enough , he loved to ride bicycles . That was the start of a good thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : We did a little bit . On our dates , that 's really what we did mostly at first . We rode out to West Outer Drive and had those wonderful big hills , not too much traffic at that time . We went out to the water tower at the top of Louisiana and had a picnic , and then rode back . When we got really good , we rode our bicycles over to Concord Park one day . I had gotten some chicken breasts at the grocery . I guess it was the A & P at Jackson Square . I was going to fry them for a picnic to take along over to Concord Park . When I went to the refrigerator to get them , they had turned into wings . Somebody had eaten my chicken breast . Jack was a good sport about that . He didn 't care . We had a nice ride . It was before they had improved Lovell Road . It was a pretty rough ride over there , but we were able to enjoy it . MRS . DAVIDSON : He had his bicycle . It was probably a Grey Stone . For me , he rented a bicycle from his work friend . I had forgotten what his name was . We went over to one of the D Streets , I think , and rode them . I didn 't have my English 3 - speed here . I guess I brought it later , but at that time I didn 't have it . MRS . DAVIDSON : That was a problem . I complained to my friend Jim Trice 's wife , Dot , who happened to live around the corner on Outer Drive at that time . She said the boardwalk was used a lot for dating , and of course the theaters . I guess we were outdoors people . I don 't know . MRS . DAVIDSON : He was a graduate of Georgia Tech . At the time he graduated , he was very young . He came up to see about a job , and he was drafted . No , he was in danger of being drafted right away , but they didn 't hire him . He did go to work for NASA , which was at that time NACA , in Virginia ; and worked over there a short time before he was taken into the Army . He had gone through Georgia Tech on a " War Manpower " loan . He was sent to some place to be an MP , I think . He wrote a night letter , which is a 50 - word telegram that was cheaper at night . He wrote a night letter to Stimson , the Secretary of War , telling them they had paid for his college education ; and here he was sitting in a camp doing nothing down in Alabama . He was transferred to the SED , he would never say that was the reason he was transferred . It may or may not have been . He arrived with the SED - he arrived in Oak Ridge the day Roosevelt died , which was in April 1945 , he was here with his group for maybe six weeks before they went out to Los Alamos . So he spent the rest of the war out there . Then he used his G . I . Bill - he stayed on at Los Alamos . They told them they would let him out of the Army if he would agree to stay on as a civilian . So he took that . Then when he did leave , he went to Annapolis and took a liberal arts course because he felt that he had missed out on it at Georgia Tech . He had a year at St . John 's College of Annapolis ; and then all along I guess he thought he would like to come back here . He came back - he arrived on Armistice Day , now Veterans Day , of 1948 . I was here a couple of months before he came , but we met shortly after Christmas in 1949 . MRS . DAVIDSON : Too long . We were married in May 1950 . He wanted to pay off his loan before we could get married , so I helped him along with that . I fed him some . He was very welcome at the D House of girls . I was going to tell you that during the war , there were nine girls in the house , and they slept on shifts on the bunk beds . There were only six of us when I was there . There were a couple of the boyfriends around , and one of them cut the grass . I think Jack did the - empty the clinkers from the furnace , the coal furnace . They made themselves useful . They got their dinner . MRS . DAVIDSON : Most of the houses were a very good design really , and a whole lot better built than we gave them credit for . But each one that I knew of had a corner set off or closed off as a coal storage place that could be filled through a window from the outside , and then you could use the - there was an opening on the inside that you could use to put coal into the furnace . That was awful of course , but that 's what all the houses were doing in that time , too . We had a yard full of clinkers over there . MRS . DAVIDSON : We were taken care of by a Big Brother - the government . They brought the coal around , and you didn 't do a thing . That was part of the rent . When we got our house here on Orange Lane , that 's another story . Are you ready for that yet ? MRS . DAVIDSON : We went back to my home in Louisville , Kentucky , to be married . We had planned to fly to Nashville , but it turned out the Delta Queen was coming through Louisville the next morning . My mother had told us we could not get married the week before because it was too busy with Derby Day . So we delayed until May 13 . Then we spent the night in Louisville at the Brown Hotel , where she pulled some strings to get us a room because it was still very full of visitors from the Derby . We got on the Delta Queen , and our friends were all on the dock to see us off . They had us almost convinced that we were on Daylight Saving Time , and the Delta Queen was not , and we had missed it . But we rode down just as far as Paducah . We were anxious to start in life you know . We lived on Wadell Circle in a K apartment . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was a two - story thing . I guess it was a two - bedroom up above , and we had K - 1 . It was sort of underground at the front and open at the back . We had a nice back porch . There was a closet under the stairway and a very small kitchen . It had a table that folded down . It was not as compact as a flattop , but the furnishings that they had did double duty . You could fold it up and have more room . MRS . DAVIDSON : The K apartment was heated with the coal furnace , but there was a janitor who came around and took care of it for us . We were taken care of by Roane Anderson . MRS . DAVIDSON : We lived in the K from May 1950 , until we got this house in July 1952 . It was said - the word around town was that you couldn 't get a two - bedroom house unless you had three children , all of different sex . We had been on the list for this house ever since we knew our daughter was coming along . That was a long time to wait . We had been offered two houses - Florida Avenue , where the parking was across the street and the backyard just dropped off . We thought that was totally unsuitable for a new child . We turned both of those down . If we had turned this one down , we would 've gone to the bottom of the long list . But we loved this place of the trees and the dead end lane neighborhood . So we sat outside in front all weekend because we were not top on the list . The reason the other people didn 't take it was that the previous owner , Jim Cox and Charlotte , had put in an oil furnace ; and nobody wanted to pay $ 200 for the oil furnace . Since I had been working , we had saved my salary from work , and we had $ 200 to pay . Also , they didn 't want to be in the high rent district . This house rented for something like $ 45 instead of $ 43 in the lower rent districts . MRS . DAVIDSON : The Oak Ridge cemesto houses that were built - I think this house was built in the fall of 1944 or 1943 . Maybe it was ' 43 . The B house has two bedrooms and of course a bath and a kitchen with a dinette into a long narrow living room . It was about 24 feet by 40 something feet . It was small and convenient . It didn 't have much storage space , but it 's been a wonderful house for us because of the trees . We are on a greenbelt , and I enjoy that very much . It 's a nice private neighborhood just above Jackson Square . MRS . DAVIDSON : Our cemesto has a fireplace , and it had a complete brick wall . Some of the B houses had a brick wall just beyond the fireplace . MRS . DAVIDSON : There are hardwood floors in all the cemestos , I believe . Our house has maple flooring , and a lot of them had oak . Wood was hard to come by in the wartime . We love the color - the reddish color of the maple . MRS . DAVIDSON : Adele is our second daughter , and she was two years younger . Our son is Bill Davidson or William . He was born in November of 1954 . He 's just now turning 58 . MRS . DAVIDSON : All three of our children went to Cedar Hill . They had split grades there , so I think the classes were one half size . They would take the kids a half from one grade , and half from the next grade , and that worked out just fine . MRS . DAVIDSON : Cedar Hill was wonderful . It was very special . Mr . Dodd was the principal , and he saw to it - he had the best teachers or at least as good as any . Actually in those days all the teachers and Oak Ridge were special because many of them had been recruited from Columbia Teachers College , along with the superintendent . Others were specially recruited for the job . They were a group a part , I think , from a lot of teachers . MRS . DAVIDSON : The girls both went to Jefferson when it was on the hill at Jackson Square , and Bill was in the first year at the new Jefferson that was over on Fairbanks Road . His was the first class there . They all went through Oak Ridge High . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you recall some of the classes your daughters took while they were in junior high ? Was there Home Ec . or things related to girls ? MRS . DAVIDSON : No , they were on the college prep track . They took eighth grade algebra and that kind of thing . Of course English and math and social studies and science - our older girl I think took biology ; and I 'm not sure if Adele had a more general science course . It just depended on the teacher that they had . They had an excellent education , and the girls were both Merit semifinalists . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course . I was in the PTA . I 'm not sure if I was ever a room mother , but I of course helped with parties and things . MRS . DAVIDSON : The teachers recruited them from each class to help with parties mostly . They helped with any activities that they didn 't really have time to do . MRS . DAVIDSON : Parent - Teacher Association , a time honored group . It got extra things for the school . I got involved with raincoats for the school patrol . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess maybe I was a treasurer of the Cedar Hill PTA , and this goal was to get those yellow slicker raincoat so kids could be visible to the drivers . I found out how much the things cost , and then I estimated postage . At the PTA meeting , Alvin Weinberg was president . He had a son or two in school at the time . He took me to task for estimating the postage , so I had to ask for just the money for the coats themselves since I didn 't really know what the postage is going to be . I thought that was interesting that he wanted to keep it to the exact penny . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think they just wore what the other kids wore . One day we had a deep snow and Bill was in kindergarten , and the snow was up over their boots . I think he had some corduroys . The teacher was making the kids take their pants off and dry them on the radiator , and he wouldn 't do it . I had to go up to the school and take him some fresh pants , some dry clothes . He was very young - just four when he started . MR . HUNNICUTT : Let 's go back a few years . Do you remember 1945 when they dropped the bomb on Japan ? You remember where you were ? And what was your reaction ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I do remember that very clearly because it was the summer after my junior year in college , and I was a camp counselor up in Door County , Wisconsin . There was no electricity at the camp , so we counselors - after we got the kids to bed , went to the state park nearby . This was at Fish Creek , Wisconsin . We would listen to people 's car radios . We knew for about a week that something was happening , but we didn 't know just what . It was very deeply moving when the bomb was dropped , and we thought it would bring an end to the war . Of course , I had friends and a brother on Guam and a cousin was in Europe and others . So that was very deeply moving . I had a book of poetry - my favorite poems at the camp with me . One of my 12 - year - olds picked out a poem - " Once to every man and nation comes a moment to decide " - she read that , and I thought that was very astute of her , a youngster to be able to do that . MRS . DAVIDSON : My husband thought they should have dropped a sample first , but I didn 't feel that way since the first bomb didn 't phase the Japanese . I didn 't think the test one would have either . I was just so glad that the war was over . People could settle down and get into real life again . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think I was in transition from the dormitory to the house , and my husband 's brothers came up from Georgia to witness the opening . So we drove in their car around , and we watched the parade from , I believe , down on the eastern end of the Turnpike down near the warehouses to get out of the traffic . We never could figure out why they invited Marie " The Body " McDonald and [ inaudible ] to ride in the open car for the parade . We couldn 't figure out what they had to do with it , but we did see the burning of the magnesium ribbon . That was exciting . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was only toward town from Elza Gate . I know the central part of town , the Jackson Square area , was very crowded . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think they name the streets for famous cities in the country , and of course the alphabetical designations were very helpful . But Jackson Square , I assume , was named for New Orleans . That 's all I know about it . MRS . DAVIDSON : Sometimes you would pick up the telephone , and the other party was talking . I believe they had different rings . I think maybe the other party had one ring , and we had two . There were four - party lines , but if we were on a four - party line , only the other one was active . I think maybe we were . The other two lines were not being used . MR . HUNNICUTT : When you are raising your family , did you hang your clothes outside on the clothesline ? Did you have a dryer ? What did you use ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I hung them outside on the clothesline . As I said , when we moved here , Anne was a year old . Not much more than three years after that , we had three babies . I was able to talk my husband into getting a dryer that time . Before that , he had built a pulley out of my kitchen window . There was a drop off in the back , and he was able to string it to a tree in the woods . I was able to reel those cloth diapers and reel them in and out . The only problem was that the birds like the trees , too . Sometimes I had to do some re - washing . MR . HUNNICUTT : So in those days you use cloth diapers ? Today we use disposable diapers . How do you think you would 've done if you had disposable diapers ? MRS . DAVIDSON : At one point , when our children were out playing Kick the Can , there were over 40 children on the lane . There were about 20 or 21 houses . There were almost as many dogs . It was just a glorious place for them to grow up . They seem to get along remarkably well most of the time , especially in the early days . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes . We went down there on the opening , and got the radioactive dimes on that occasion . The museum at that time was down at Jefferson Circle . I don 't think any of us ever had our hair stand out on the Van De Graff generator or whatever it was , but we took the children . We went out ourselves . Of course my husband was interested in that kind of thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : Sometimes they walked to Jefferson , but by that time they were carrying pretty heavy books . One of the neighbors on Outer Drive wanted to have a carpool , so we joined that . MRS . DAVIDSON : When Anne was in the fifth grade , they had to write what they did on Friday nights . The teacher would call me and say , " Is it true that you gave your children ice water and watched TV on Friday nights ? " That was how generous we were with them . We didn 't get a TV until they were probably five or six years old . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course it was black and white . The reason we got it - I guess finally it was that the children were always going to the neighbors ' house to watch TV . We decided that we should get our own . They watched things like " Pinky Lee " and I 've forgotten what else . MRS . DAVIDSON : I remember that fondly because my first real date with my husband was going to dinner there with him . He invited me to go to a concert in Knoxville , and his excuse was that we should get to know each other better before he took me to the city with him . That was one thing . I remember there were parties there , and our company had a party at the Oak Terrace Ballroom . One of the NEPA fellows wore a Tarzan costume , which was mostly nothing . It turned out that he lived in the neighborhood . MRS . DAVIDSON : That was just below the dormitory where I lived in Columbia Hall . Jack went there looking for me , he thought I would eat breakfast there and then he could have breakfast with me ; but I ate in the dormitory . He didn 't find me there . When we came back from our bicycle ride to Concord Park , I remember we stopped by there , and he drank two or three Mountain Dew drinks . That surprised me , but we had worked off a lot of sweat . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , we took our children out there and saw " Lawrence of Arabia " and " The 10 Commandment " and those things . It was quite nice . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was about where Kroger 's - where that is now , on the southeast part of Illinois Avenue . It was a nice thing . That was a special treat for the children to go out there . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't think so . I think they were mostly in the car . They had a drawing one time , Jack won something . It was actually nothing , but he did win . MRS . DAVIDSON : I sure did . My three children were born there . It was a green structure , like so many of the buildings in Oak Ridge . I guess the present building is built on that place . It was okay . I didn 't have any problems with it , except after my second child . I had a staph infection from the hospital . Even an Army wife with a private room got an infection there . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , I think they also had been recruited ; and a lot of them were from Tulane University . The time I was sick with my infection , they were having a reunion at Tulane , and my doctor and another one were gone for the reunion . I didn 't like the one who took care of me . He didn 't do a good job . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was okay . I don 't remember having any problems with it . We knew Dr . Rogers from our church , and we went to him . He was called away to the service , I believe . Maybe it was the Korean War , but then he came back . MRS . DAVIDSON : We met at Pine Valley School . The choir sat on the bleachers , and the minister sat under the halo of the basketball net . My husband was a Methodist , and he went to the First Methodist Church . They had a big youth group there . When we were first married , we tried to take them both in . We went to Sunday school one place , and church another until we finally settled on the Presbyterian . It was smaller , and we knew more people . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course the people . I love my trees and my house . I love all the activities . Both my husband and I have always loved music and enjoy the concerts a lot . The symphony concerts with Waldo Cohn conducting were held at Jefferson Junior High on the Kentucky Avenue hill . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you think back about all the people that you knew in the early days ? Do you think it was unusual for everybody to get along - the many people that were here ? MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , I guess so . I didn 't think about it because we just did . It was just fun . Everybody was away from home , and we had to be family for each other . That was particularly true in this close neighborhood . MRS . DAVIDSON : I 'm pleased for the most part . I think we 've made good progress . We 've kept up with the outside world . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think we came through at the very best of times . It was not the pressure of war , but we were growing community . I think things were happening at the Lab . Both of my husband and I loved the Lab because there were so many good things going on out there . It gives us hope for the future . [ Editor 's Note : This transcript has been edited at Mrs . Davidson 's request . The corresponding audio and video components have remained unchanged . ] Click tabs to swap between content that is broken into logical sections . MR . HUNNICUTT : This interview is for the Center of Oak Ridge Oral History . The date is November 8 , 2012 . I am Don Hunnicutt in the home of Mrs . Mary Ann Davidson , 117 Orange Lane , Oak Ridge , Tennessee , to take her oral history about living in Oak Ridge , Tennessee . Please state your full name and your place of birth and your date of birth . MRS . DAVIDSON : My name is Mary Ann Davidson . My date of birth is January 12 , 1925 . I was born in Louisville , Kentucky . I lived there all my early life until I graduated from college . MRS . DAVIDSON : My father was William H . Courtenay . He was born in 1890 , on March 3 . He was in World War I and lived his entire life in Louisville and Shelbyville , Kentucky . He worked for the Mengel Company . They imported mahogany and hardwood from Africa and Central America . He delivered those to customers . He didn 't consider himself a salesman , but he sold them to the furniture factory - furniture makers around Kentucky , mostly Indiana and Cincinnati and some in Tennessee . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , he did not . The Louisville Male High School was considered a fine school at that time . They said that graduates could enter Harvard in their second year . The principal had written textbooks that were apparently used all over . But my father was interested in raising ponies . His father had a farm in Shelbyville , Kentucky . If you 'd didn 't make the grade , you are special . And Dr . Ruben Post - Halleck , the famous principal of the school , told him if he took an exam in math , he could be entered back in . He did that , and he aced the test . He was back in . Then he was a special in English , so they told him if he memorized the " Lady of the Lake " and said that he could get back in school . So he did that . I think he never did finish . He was a twin , and his twin was more of an engineering type and went to manual training high school . MR . HUNNICUTT : What about your mother 's school history ? MRS . DAVIDSON : She grew up in several small towns in western Kentucky . Her father worked for the L & N Railroad . She had her high school in Hopkinsville , Kentucky . She had to stay home - or she went to junior college nearby . She had a scholarship to Randolph Macon Women 's College , but she couldn 't take it because her mother was ill and died at age 50 . It was about the year I was born , I think . MRS . DAVIDSON : His name was William Howard Courtenay III . My father was named for his uncle , who was also William Howard . My older brother works for Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green in the physics department . He made instruments . My younger brother was a pediatrician in Louisville , and he is still living on a farm in Shelbyville . He 's interested in Kentucky antiques . MR . HUNNICUTT : Yes . MRS . DAVIDSON : I went to an unusual kindergarten and first grade . I was at what they called the Enterprise Branch of I . N . Bloom School . It was only kindergarten and first grade . It was in the older building , where we had a Pot Belly Stove . I think we had a maid to help us take our leggings off in the cold weather - galoshes . It was really a wonderful school . It was almost like a private one . It was public . We did things like making butter and we had an orchestra . I played the triangle . I had started a little bit earlier when my younger brother was born . Louisville had half semester , half - year grades . I would 've been a half year , but I skipped the last half of kindergarten . I went to the school board and took a test and went on , so they put me in the regular school year . I went through the big school the I . N . Bloom School and Highland Junior High School in Louisville . Then I went to Atherton High School for Girls . The Louisville public schools were segregated - boys and girls . There were about 900 girls at Atherton . My graduating class was about 200 , and I was the valedictorian . MRS . DAVIDSON : They are pants to keep your legs warm . They zipped up from the inside of the ankle bone up to about knee - high , I guess it was . They were a royal pain to take on and off , so the teacher had to have help to do that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was just ordinary . I 'm sure the girls wore dresses , and the little boys wore suits - not suits , but pants and shirts . MRS . DAVIDSON : I came to Oak Ridge after I graduated from college . I had two years of getting a master 's at Emory while I worked at my alma mater , Agnes Scott College in Decatur , Georgia . I was the chemistry lab instructor . So after those two years were up , I was interested in working in chemistry or biochemistry . My master 's was in biochemistry . In Louisville , there was nothing in that field , except liquor and paint - neither of which I was interested in . In Atlanta , I would like to stay in Atlanta , I heard that Oak Ridge was an interesting new place , and a lot was going on here . One of my dear college friends had recently married a physicist from the University of Kentucky , so I visited them here . I guess that must have been 1947 . Her husband was working at NEPA . He said they were looking for people with a chemistry degree . I applied , and I was accepted . I didn 't know that until I had completed the clearance , so I took the opportunity to go to Europe at an American youth hostel bicycle tour of Western Europe in the summer of 1948 . When I got home , I found that I had indeed gotten the job at Oak Ridge . So I came down here . MRS . DAVIDSON : I was wondering that . I think I came by train . When I interviewed earlier in the spring , my interview was at the Andrew Johnson Hotel . It was one of the private rooms . I had never seen the company here . I think I must have been met by a car and driver and brought to Oak Ridge . MRS . DAVIDSON : I came in through the Vermont Gateway , which is where the gas station is now on the corner of what I call Vermont . They call it North Rutgers now . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , I think it must 've been after that . That would 've been at Christmas time . When I applied , I imagine it was early spring . MRS . DAVIDSON : We called the company NEPA , for Nuclear Energy for the Propulsion of Aircraft . It was managed by the Fairchild Corporation the way Union Carbide or one of the other contractors managed the lab . I did not know until the first day I went to work just what the company was doing . They handed me a volume of information that said , " We are looking for - we are trying to make an airplane powered by nuclear energy that could fly to Russia and back without refueling . " That was a great shock to me . MRS . DAVIDSON : I lived in Columbia Hall Dormitory . I was very surprised to find that the rent was $ 15 a month until I realized it was one very small room . That was my living quarters . I took the opportunity to stay out of it as much as possible . I did that by babysitting in some of the B and D houses in the evening . Grandmothers were not here since it was a closed community . Babysitters were in short supply , and even though I didn 't need the money , it was good to get out of the dormitory . MRS . DAVIDSON : The dormitory was like Cheyenne Hall . It was the same type of building . It had wooden stairways from the second - floor hall down on each end . I lived on the second floor . Our dormitory was mostly nurses , since it was up on the hill next to the hospital - I think where the west parking lot is now . There was a kitchen on each end where we could have our own breakfast . Of course we were at the plant at lunchtime , and then we usually went out to supper . I opened the refrigerator door one morning and somebody 's milk came spilling out down my front . Everybody just stuffed things into the refrigerator . MRS . DAVIDSON : I had a single room with a twin bed and enough room to walk to the window by the bed . There was a little table that served as a desk with a chair . There was a much coveted dormitory dresser - a tall one with a number of drawers . They were very popular . MRS . DAVIDSON : They had a wonderful bus service here . Travel wasn 't really a problem . We walked , of course , from the dormitory to Jackson Square and ate supper usually at the Mayflower , which is where I first saw my husband - to - be . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was on the corner of Tennessee , right across from the Soup Kitchen and the Texaco gas station there on the northeast corner . It was a very popular place . In fact , there were several places you could eat . It was the Central Cafeteria , and the T & C Cafeteria in Jackson Square , which is about where the Epicurean is now toward the garden . MRS . DAVIDSON : It must 've been the A & P on Jackson Square . Jackson Square was really the center of activity as far as I was concerned at that time . I still love it . I hope it keeps going . MRS . DAVIDSON : The department stores - the big department store was Taylor 's at the time . They had a wonderful book department headed by Mrs . Keyes , whose daughter I knew at work . They had really fine art books and other books that they would have a great sale on once or twice a year . We were very happy with that . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was in the middle of the block between where Big Ed 's is in the corner . I guess it 's mostly used by the engineering company now . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , not frequently , but I went and saw - there was a theater down at Big Ed 's in Jackson Square and where the Playhouse is now . That was the main one . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , the jewelry store was on the corner that was Henebree 's , I think . No , that was Heneger 's . MR . HUNNICUTT : Henebree ? MRS . DAVIDSON : Henebree . McCrory 's 5 & 10 was there . There was a drugstore - a Service Drugstore . I guess that was where Big Ed 's is now , on the very corner . There was Jackson Square Pharmacy , and on the other side the Hamilton Bank was there next to the movie theater . And Samuel 's Men 's Store was a very nice store . The Jackson Square Pharmacy was there , but in between , which the Pharmacy later took over was a Kay 's Ice Cream Store . We used to go there and - my husband and I would when we were dating . I liked to get coffee with ice cream in it , so we went there . MR . HUNNICUTT : I believe that was Taff Moody Ice Cream - they served Kay 's Ice Cream . MRS . DAVIDSON : Was it ? I didn 't remember that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I can 't say that I do . It was just a given , I suppose . It didn 't make a big dent in my memory . After six months of the dormitory , I moved to a D house on Norman Lane . That was another era . MR . HUNNICUTT : What is a D house ? MRS . DAVIDSON : A D house was a large three bedroom house . They were very much desired . They were really nice houses - still a lot of them are . The house was - there were five other girls who lived there - two of whom had been college friends . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , it would 've been upstairs . It was the second one to the end . A radiation technologist lived on the corner , and I lived there with school teachers and nurses who made up most of the dorm . MR . HUNNICUTT : Let 's talk a little bit about the dorm again . If I had a message for you or someone left a message for you , how did you retrieve your messages ? Was there a desk when you went in ? MRS . DAVIDSON : There was a desk downstairs . I remember the Valentine 's Day - I guess it must 've been 1949 . The message was that I had some flowers , some red roses . I had just met my husband - to - be at that time . I got all excited , and when I got to the desk , it was from somebody else . I enjoyed the red roses , but not as much as I might have . The thing was that there were ladies - a lot of the women who lived in the dorm worked on the night shift . They would sit around a large kind of living room , I guess they called it . They were all staring when I got flowers . I had to walk around , and it was embarrassing . MRS . DAVIDSON : I was there in the winter of 1948 . I 'm very cold natured , but I don 't remember being cold . We had those heavy navy blanket - navy blue blankets . This brings up a story if I jump to it later on . We were moved from the D house after another six months into the brand - new Garden Apartments on Villanova Road . They needed our D house for families . The people who moved in were the Andersons of the Anderson Hilltop Grocery . Of course , the furniture all belonged to the government there . So the Garden Apartments were not furnished , so we had dwindled down from 6 to 4 people who needed furniture . I took a day off and went to an auction the government set up down at the warehouses . I got seven beds and three or four dressers - much more than I could have used . But the beds were in great demand at work because all the young men who worked there were having children and needed beds . So we took the four . Also I got two sofas , and we could use but one ; so I sold one . They were really shabby awful sofas . Since it was all going to surplus anyway , we switched and took the nice sofa from the D house and left them the bad one . It was all taken away anyhow , so I didn 't feel too bad about that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't really remember about the telephone . We didn 't use the telephone much . We never used it for long - distance except for emergencies and calls home . I don 't remember that as being a problem particularly . MRS . DAVIDSON : I suppose I went on the bus . I did not have a car . One of the housemates from Norman Lane had gotten the car , but she would 've been at work at K - 25 . I don 't know . I may have gotten a ride . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess I paid somebody to deliver it . I don 't know . Maybe some of the fellows at work picked up their beds that they wanted . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was one of those warehouses down at the [ Oak Ridge ] Turnpike on Warehouse Road . I don 't know exactly where it was . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess it was on the bulletin boards at work , or there was a newspaper at the Lab . I guess I heard about it that way . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think probably so - in the newsletters they came around , also at the recreation building - the rec hall - at Jackson Square that was the library upstairs and the rec hall downstairs . Word - of - mouth - I don 't remember . We had a need and found the answer to it . MRS . DAVIDSON : I had to punch a clock at eight in the morning when I first started . I guess we got out at 4 : 30 or 5 o ' clock . We had bus service that went from the bus terminal - the Central one - that 's now by Bus Terminal Road . Later on after we were married , we lived on Waddell Circle and went from there to the Jefferson bus terminal . I went - I rode on the K - 25 bus , and they went out past K - 25 to the road that the powerhouse was on and NEPA was beyond that out by the river . MRS . DAVIDSON : There was some kind of management services office . I 'm not sure what it was called - the Roane Anderson Corporation at that time , I guess . I think that 's where I rented the dormitory room . I probably got bus tokens - I guess I got the tokens of the bus terminal . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think I had a checking account probably at Hamilton Bank in Jackson Square . I don 't recall otherwise . I know I did later . One thing I wanted to say about the buses - if you wanted to go to Clinton to do any shopping , more than what you could have in Oak Ridge or to meet somebody or something , there was a bus that ran frequently back and forth between the bus terminal and Clinton . There was a young man on the bus who had a sing - songy sales pitch for " peanuts , popcorn , Cracker Jacks , candy , and chewing gum . " He wouldn 't drive , but he would sell his wares all the way to Clinton and back . I always wondered who that was because he obviously had some talent . MRS . DAVIDSON : I 'm sure I did . I don 't know what became of it . I guess I had to turn it back in . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think somebody just got - one of the guards got on the bus and checked everybody 's badges . It was not a big thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : Probably . I don 't remember . What I do remember about that was my mother was coming down one time for my birthday - it must 've been in January 1949 . She rode the train . I told her that I would get a ride to meet her . Of course , the train didn 't stop at Oak Ridge . It went on to Knoxville , so I bummed a ride with one of the men in our group . He was actually the technical assistant to the director . His car was a broken down old thing with no floorboards in the back seat , which was pretty bad when my mother saw it . But she didn 't see it because when we got to Knoxville , she was not there . When we were coming back from the gateway entrance , she was not there . There was a message that she was waiting for us at the Elza Gate Station . She had told the conductor she had to get off at Oak Ridge . That 's where she was going , and I was going to meet her . So she slid down the Elza bank over there . She had my birthday cake - a large chocolate cake . She slid downhill with that , and somehow they stopped her at the guard gate at Elza . She waited there for us . MRS . DAVIDSON : Just for her - let her off like a milk train . They ordinarily didn 't stop there , but she wouldn 't have it otherwise . MRS . DAVIDSON : I used the library and rec hall . On Sunday afternoons , they played music ; and you could sit and write letters home , which is what I think I did a good bit . Later on in the better weather , there were tennis courts and a swimming pool . I don 't remember going to movies much . We went to church groups . There were so many young people ; it was just like a party all the time . Nothing in particular stands out . It was just fun . MRS . DAVIDSON : In the company I was , that was not true . There were a lot of women of course - of course , the dormitory was full of school teachers and nurses . But NEPA was mostly men . There were two parts to the Fairchild - the science and engineering part , which was bigger . I happen to be in the research part . My boss was a chemist - Vince Calkins . It was my job to - this was a real shocker to me - to find a chemical that would protect the human body against radiation for the reactor that was supposed to be in the airplane to Russia . I had no background for that kind of thing . I was just fresh out of college really . I realized I was out of my depth , but they decided - he was a pharmacist , I believe , and he wanted to do experiments with rats . They brought in the rat colony . By that time we had a couple of assistants , and I was supposed to be the group leader . One of the men , Ray Waldrop - you may have talked to him . I asked him if he minded working for a woman because he was really more experienced than I , although I had the degree . It was fine with him . There was also another worker , Saul Segal , who was quite a character in his own right . I took the rats in the cages over to the reactor , the " Old Lady " at X - 10 , and put them through what they called " rabbits " and radiated them for certain amount of time . We couldn 't kill the darn things . Then we used the older ones that had already been radiated , they were just tough as anything . I think the experiment was really a failure , although they may have found that to be the case in some later work with older people - that the cells are not dividing as fast and they 're not as subject to radiation . But we didn 't get into that . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was actually not K - 25 . It was beyond there . As I said , the bus took us - the bus dumped people off at K - 25 , and they went on west to just before you get to the Gallaher Bridge . You turn right there and go right past the power station there . It was used for a long time - the power house , and then NEPA was beyond that . The native rats came in - was it domestic experimental rats ? That was not good . I had a janitor who helped me , even though he could 've lost his job for doing it . He helped me clean cages . I always appreciated that . MRS . DAVIDSON : When they got rid of the rats , which was a blessing , my group leader then became Bill Browning , who was a fine scientist . He worked on the Van de Graaff generator . We had an interesting argument . Saul Segal thought he should be the one to do it since he was a man and I was a woman who would be leaving soon ; and it turned out that he left for California before I had left to have my baby . His argument didn 't hold with me anyway , but we argued about that some . We did run the Van de Graaff , and we also did some experiments on metallic sodium . It was nasty stuff to work with . It caught on fire if it was exposed to air . You had to work with that under oil in the glove box . I think that work all had to be repeated after NEPA left for Cincinnati with G . E . . When they moved part of NEPA to X - 10 , they called it the ANP , or something about aircraft and nuclear power . I was not connected with that because my first baby was born in August 1951 . I left in July . MRS . DAVIDSON : I heard somebody say that they had to repeat it all . My boss , the Division Director of Chemistry was interested in vitamin E , and thought it had a lot of protective influence . We worked with that . That was some of the work I did in chemistry - the lab part of it in the early days . It was not good work , I think . I 'm not blaming myself , but some of the other men who were doing chemical work - I think altogether we didn 't come up with anything . MRS . DAVIDSON : It may have been ahead of it 's time for nuclear submarines . I don 't know whether the engineering people thought that or not . In our group which was the chemistry and the physics , my friend who got me the job was Jim Trice . A fellow named Art Miller and somebody named Coneybearwere in the Physics Division . And then there were some others - Fred Maienschein . I did some work for him one time . It was work on beryllium for one thing . I didn 't work with any of the active beryllium . I didn 't do any lab work then , but I did some journal research . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't think they were that far along . I 'm not sure what happened to that part of it . As I said , in July of 1951 they moved to Cincinnati , Evensville , above Cincinnati . I don 't know how many people actually went up there . Most of my friends moved elsewhere . MR . HUNNICUTT : You mentioned the location of the operation was past the steam plant that was on the Clinch River . Was that the same location where the S - 50 project was located ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I think that was the name of our plot of land . I think those - I never was quite sure how they got the designations , but that was the Fairchild domain , I think . MRS . DAVIDSON : Really , it was just when our eyes met . It was very romantic . He followed our group home to the Columbia Hall to see where I lived . But at the time I thought he was too young , and I didn 't think he was following me . I was with a group of other girls . Later on , one of the women in the dormitory , who was a gym teacher in the Oak Ridge schools , told me I really ought to meet Jack Davidson that he loved to ride bicycles ; I was just back from my bicycle trip in Europe . I didn 't know who he was , and then I went to a church group meeting at my Presbyterian Church for young people one Sunday evening . A friend of mine had brought Jack Davidson , and he was the one whose eyes I had met and he had met mine . Sure enough , he loved to ride bicycles . That was the start of a good thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : We did a little bit . On our dates , that 's really what we did mostly at first . We rode out to West Outer Drive and had those wonderful big hills , not too much traffic at that time . We went out to the water tower at the top of Louisiana and had a picnic , and then rode back . When we got really good , we rode our bicycles over to Concord Park one day . I had gotten some chicken breasts at the grocery . I guess it was the A & P at Jackson Square . I was going to fry them for a picnic to take along over to Concord Park . When I went to the refrigerator to get them , they had turned into wings . Somebody had eaten my chicken breast . Jack was a good sport about that . He didn 't care . We had a nice ride . It was before they had improved Lovell Road . It was a pretty rough ride over there , but we were able to enjoy it . MRS . DAVIDSON : He had his bicycle . It was probably a Grey Stone . For me , he rented a bicycle from his work friend . I had forgotten what his name was . We went over to one of the D Streets , I think , and rode them . I didn 't have my English 3 - speed here . I guess I brought it later , but at that time I didn 't have it . MRS . DAVIDSON : That was a problem . I complained to my friend Jim Trice 's wife , Dot , who happened to live around the corner on Outer Drive at that time . She said the boardwalk was used a lot for dating , and of course the theaters . I guess we were outdoors people . I don 't know . MRS . DAVIDSON : He was a graduate of Georgia Tech . At the time he graduated , he was very young . He came up to see about a job , and he was drafted . No , he was in danger of being drafted right away , but they didn 't hire him . He did go to work for NASA , which was at that time NACA , in Virginia ; and worked over there a short time before he was taken into the Army . He had gone through Georgia Tech on a " War Manpower " loan . He was sent to some place to be an MP , I think . He wrote a night letter , which is a 50 - word telegram that was cheaper at night . He wrote a night letter to Stimson , the Secretary of War , telling them they had paid for his college education ; and here he was sitting in a camp doing nothing down in Alabama . He was transferred to the SED , he would never say that was the reason he was transferred . It may or may not have been . He arrived with the SED - he arrived in Oak Ridge the day Roosevelt died , which was in April 1945 , he was here with his group for maybe six weeks before they went out to Los Alamos . So he spent the rest of the war out there . Then he used his G . I . Bill - he stayed on at Los Alamos . They told them they would let him out of the Army if he would agree to stay on as a civilian . So he took that . Then when he did leave , he went to Annapolis and took a liberal arts course because he felt that he had missed out on it at Georgia Tech . He had a year at St . John 's College of Annapolis ; and then all along I guess he thought he would like to come back here . He came back - he arrived on Armistice Day , now Veterans Day , of 1948 . I was here a couple of months before he came , but we met shortly after Christmas in 1949 . MRS . DAVIDSON : Too long . We were married in May 1950 . He wanted to pay off his loan before we could get married , so I helped him along with that . I fed him some . He was very welcome at the D House of girls . I was going to tell you that during the war , there were nine girls in the house , and they slept on shifts on the bunk beds . There were only six of us when I was there . There were a couple of the boyfriends around , and one of them cut the grass . I think Jack did the - empty the clinkers from the furnace , the coal furnace . They made themselves useful . They got their dinner . MR . HUNNICUTT : Tell me about the coal furnace briefly . MRS . DAVIDSON : Most of the houses were a very good design really , and a whole lot better built than we gave them credit for . But each one that I knew of had a corner set off or closed off as a coal storage place that could be filled through a window from the outside , and then you could use the - there was an opening on the inside that you could use to put coal into the furnace . That was awful of course , but that 's what all the houses were doing in that time , too . We had a yard full of clinkers over there . MRS . DAVIDSON : We were taken care of by a Big Brother - the government . They brought the coal around , and you didn 't do a thing . That was part of the rent . When we got our house here on Orange Lane , that 's another story . Are you ready for that yet ? MRS . DAVIDSON : We went back to my home in Louisville , Kentucky , to be married . We had planned to fly to Nashville , but it turned out the Delta Queen was coming through Louisville the next morning . My mother had told us we could not get married the week before because it was too busy with Derby Day . So we delayed until May 13 . Then we spent the night in Louisville at the Brown Hotel , where she pulled some strings to get us a room because it was still very full of visitors from the Derby . We got on the Delta Queen , and our friends were all on the dock to see us off . They had us almost convinced that we were on Daylight Saving Time , and the Delta Queen was not , and we had missed it . But we rode down just as far as Paducah . We were anxious to start in life you know . We lived on Wadell Circle in a K apartment . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you recall the number ? MRS . DAVIDSON : It was a two - story thing . I guess it was a two - bedroom up above , and we had K - 1 . It was sort of underground at the front and open at the back . We had a nice back porch . There was a closet under the stairway and a very small kitchen . It had a table that folded down . It was not as compact as a flattop , but the furnishings that they had did double duty . You could fold it up and have more room . MRS . DAVIDSON : The K apartment was heated with the coal furnace , but there was a janitor who came around and took care of it for us . We were taken care of by Roane Anderson . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you remember what the rent was ? MRS . DAVIDSON : We lived in the K from May 1950 , until we got this house in July 1952 . It was said - the word around town was that you couldn 't get a two - bedroom house unless you had three children , all of different sex . We had been on the list for this house ever since we knew our daughter was coming along . That was a long time to wait . We had been offered two houses - Florida Avenue , where the parking was across the street and the backyard just dropped off . We thought that was totally unsuitable for a new child . We turned both of those down . If we had turned this one down , we would 've gone to the bottom of the long list . But we loved this place of the trees and the dead end lane neighborhood . So we sat outside in front all weekend because we were not top on the list . The reason the other people didn 't take it was that the previous owner , Jim Cox and Charlotte , had put in an oil furnace ; and nobody wanted to pay $ 200 for the oil furnace . Since I had been working , we had saved my salary from work , and we had $ 200 to pay . Also , they didn 't want to be in the high rent district . This house rented for something like $ 45 instead of $ 43 in the lower rent districts . MRS . DAVIDSON : The Oak Ridge cemesto houses that were built - I think this house was built in the fall of 1944 or 1943 . Maybe it was ' 43 . The B house has two bedrooms and of course a bath and a kitchen with a dinette into a long narrow living room . It was about 24 feet by 40 something feet . It was small and convenient . It didn 't have much storage space , but it 's been a wonderful house for us because of the trees . We are on a greenbelt , and I enjoy that very much . It 's a nice private neighborhood just above Jackson Square . MRS . DAVIDSON : Our cemesto has a fireplace , and it had a complete brick wall . Some of the B houses had a brick wall just beyond the fireplace . MRS . DAVIDSON : There are hardwood floors in all the cemestos , I believe . Our house has maple flooring , and a lot of them had oak . Wood was hard to come by in the wartime . We love the color - the reddish color of the maple . MRS . DAVIDSON : Adele is our second daughter , and she was two years younger . Our son is Bill Davidson or William . He was born in November of 1954 . He 's just now turning 58 . MR . HUNNICUTT : So your first daughter went to Cedar Hill ? MRS . DAVIDSON : All three of our children went to Cedar Hill . They had split grades there , so I think the classes were one half size . They would take the kids a half from one grade , and half from the next grade , and that worked out just fine . MRS . DAVIDSON : Cedar Hill was wonderful . It was very special . Mr . Dodd was the principal , and he saw to it - he had the best teachers or at least as good as any . Actually in those days all the teachers and Oak Ridge were special because many of them had been recruited from Columbia Teachers College , along with the superintendent . Others were specially recruited for the job . They were a group a part , I think , from a lot of teachers . MRS . DAVIDSON : The girls both went to Jefferson when it was on the hill at Jackson Square , and Bill was in the first year at the new Jefferson that was over on Fairbanks Road . His was the first class there . They all went through Oak Ridge High . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you recall some of the classes your daughters took while they were in junior high ? Was there Home Ec . or things related to girls ? MRS . DAVIDSON : No , they were on the college prep track . They took eighth grade algebra and that kind of thing . Of course English and math and social studies and science - our older girl I think took biology ; and I 'm not sure if Adele had a more general science course . It just depended on the teacher that they had . They had an excellent education , and the girls were both Merit semifinalists . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course . I was in the PTA . I 'm not sure if I was ever a room mother , but I of course helped with parties and things . MRS . DAVIDSON : The teachers recruited them from each class to help with parties mostly . They helped with any activities that they didn 't really have time to do . MRS . DAVIDSON : Parent - Teacher Association , a time honored group . It got extra things for the school . I got involved with raincoats for the school patrol . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess maybe I was a treasurer of the Cedar Hill PTA , and this goal was to get those yellow slicker raincoat so kids could be visible to the drivers . I found out how much the things cost , and then I estimated postage . At the PTA meeting , Alvin Weinberg was president . He had a son or two in school at the time . He took me to task for estimating the postage , so I had to ask for just the money for the coats themselves since I didn 't really know what the postage is going to be . I thought that was interesting that he wanted to keep it to the exact penny . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think they just wore what the other kids wore . One day we had a deep snow and Bill was in kindergarten , and the snow was up over their boots . I think he had some corduroys . The teacher was making the kids take their pants off and dry them on the radiator , and he wouldn 't do it . I had to go up to the school and take him some fresh pants , some dry clothes . He was very young - just four when he started . MR . HUNNICUTT : Let 's go back a few years . Do you remember 1945 when they dropped the bomb on Japan ? You remember where you were ? And what was your reaction ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I do remember that very clearly because it was the summer after my junior year in college , and I was a camp counselor up in Door County , Wisconsin . There was no electricity at the camp , so we counselors - after we got the kids to bed , went to the state park nearby . This was at Fish Creek , Wisconsin . We would listen to people 's car radios . We knew for about a week that something was happening , but we didn 't know just what . It was very deeply moving when the bomb was dropped , and we thought it would bring an end to the war . Of course , I had friends and a brother on Guam and a cousin was in Europe and others . So that was very deeply moving . I had a book of poetry - my favorite poems at the camp with me . One of my 12 - year - olds picked out a poem - " Once to every man and nation comes a moment to decide " - she read that , and I thought that was very astute of her , a youngster to be able to do that . MRS . DAVIDSON : My husband thought they should have dropped a sample first , but I didn 't feel that way since the first bomb didn 't phase the Japanese . I didn 't think the test one would have either . I was just so glad that the war was over . People could settle down and get into real life again . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think I was in transition from the dormitory to the house , and my husband 's brothers came up from Georgia to witness the opening . So we drove in their car around , and we watched the parade from , I believe , down on the eastern end of the Turnpike down near the warehouses to get out of the traffic . We never could figure out why they invited Marie " The Body " McDonald and [ inaudible ] to ride in the open car for the parade . We couldn 't figure out what they had to do with it , but we did see the burning of the magnesium ribbon . That was exciting . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was only toward town from Elza Gate . I know the central part of town , the Jackson Square area , was very crowded . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think they name the streets for famous cities in the country , and of course the alphabetical designations were very helpful . But Jackson Square , I assume , was named for New Orleans . That 's all I know about it . MRS . DAVIDSON : Sometimes you would pick up the telephone , and the other party was talking . I believe they had different rings . I think maybe the other party had one ring , and we had two . There were four - party lines , but if we were on a four - party line , only the other one was active . I think maybe we were . The other two lines were not being used . MR . HUNNICUTT : When you are raising your family , did you hang your clothes outside on the clothesline ? Did you have a dryer ? What did you use ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I hung them outside on the clothesline . As I said , when we moved here , Anne was a year old . Not much more than three years after that , we had three babies . I was able to talk my husband into getting a dryer that time . Before that , he had built a pulley out of my kitchen window . There was a drop off in the back , and he was able to string it to a tree in the woods . I was able to reel those cloth diapers and reel them in and out . The only problem was that the birds like the trees , too . Sometimes I had to do some re - washing . MR . HUNNICUTT : So in those days you use cloth diapers ? Today we use disposable diapers . How do you think you would 've done if you had disposable diapers ? MRS . DAVIDSON : At one point , when our children were out playing Kick the Can , there were over 40 children on the lane . There were about 20 or 21 houses . There were almost as many dogs . It was just a glorious place for them to grow up . They seem to get along remarkably well most of the time , especially in the early days . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes . We went down there on the opening , and got the radioactive dimes on that occasion . The museum at that time was down at Jefferson Circle . I don 't think any of us ever had our hair stand out on the Van De Graff generator or whatever it was , but we took the children . We went out ourselves . Of course my husband was interested in that kind of thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : Sometimes they walked to Jefferson , but by that time they were carrying pretty heavy books . One of the neighbors on Outer Drive wanted to have a carpool , so we joined that . MRS . DAVIDSON : When Anne was in the fifth grade , they had to write what they did on Friday nights . The teacher would call me and say , " Is it true that you gave your children ice water and watched TV on Friday nights ? " That was how generous we were with them . We didn 't get a TV until they were probably five or six years old . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course it was black and white . The reason we got it - I guess finally it was that the children were always going to the neighbors ' house to watch TV . We decided that we should get our own . They watched things like " Pinky Lee " and I 've forgotten what else . MRS . DAVIDSON : I remember that fondly because my first real date with my husband was going to dinner there with him . He invited me to go to a concert in Knoxville , and his excuse was that we should get to know each other better before he took me to the city with him . That was one thing . I remember there were parties there , and our company had a party at the Oak Terrace Ballroom . One of the NEPA fellows wore a Tarzan costume , which was mostly nothing . It turned out that he lived in the neighborhood . MR . HUNNICUTT : What was the Oak Terrace ballroom - where was it located ? MRS . DAVIDSON : That was just below the dormitory where I lived in Columbia Hall . Jack went there looking for me , he thought I would eat breakfast there and then he could have breakfast with me ; but I ate in the dormitory . He didn 't find me there . When we came back from our bicycle ride to Concord Park , I remember we stopped by there , and he drank two or three Mountain Dew drinks . That surprised me , but we had worked off a lot of sweat . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , we took our children out there and saw " Lawrence of Arabia " and " The 10 Commandment " and those things . It was quite nice . MR . HUNNICUTT : Where was it located ? MRS . DAVIDSON : It was about where Kroger 's - where that is now , on the southeast part of Illinois Avenue . It was a nice thing . That was a special treat for the children to go out there . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't think so . I think they were mostly in the car . They had a drawing one time , Jack won something . It was actually nothing , but he did win . MRS . DAVIDSON : I sure did . My three children were born there . It was a green structure , like so many of the buildings in Oak Ridge . I guess the present building is built on that place . It was okay . I didn 't have any problems with it , except after my second child . I had a staph infection from the hospital . Even an Army wife with a private room got an infection there . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , I think they also had been recruited ; and a lot of them were from Tulane University . The time I was sick with my infection , they were having a reunion at Tulane , and my doctor and another one were gone for the reunion . I didn 't like the one who took care of me . He didn 't do a good job . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was okay . I don 't remember having any problems with it . We knew Dr . Rogers from our church , and we went to him . He was called away to the service , I believe . Maybe it was the Korean War , but then he came back . MRS . DAVIDSON : We met at Pine Valley School . The choir sat on the bleachers , and the minister sat under the halo of the basketball net . My husband was a Methodist , and he went to the First Methodist Church . They had a big youth group there . When we were first married , we tried to take them both in . We went to Sunday school one place , and church another until we finally settled on the Presbyterian . It was smaller , and we knew more people . MR . HUNNICUTT : Thinking back , what do you like best about Oak Ridge ? MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course the people . I love my trees and my house . I love all the activities . Both my husband and I have always loved music and enjoy the concerts a lot . The symphony concerts with Waldo Cohn conducting were held at Jefferson Junior High on the Kentucky Avenue hill . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you think back about all the people that you knew in the early days ? Do you think it was unusual for everybody to get along - the many people that were here ? MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , I guess so . I didn 't think about it because we just did . It was just fun . Everybody was away from home , and we had to be family for each other . That was particularly true in this close neighborhood . MRS . DAVIDSON : I 'm pleased for the most part . I think we 've made good progress . We 've kept up with the outside world . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't know . I 'll probably think of things after you leave . Nothing particular comes to mind . MR . HUNNICUTT : I would like to thank you for your time , and I think this interview will be very helpful for someone in the future to see how you lived in Oak Ridge in the early days . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think we came through at the very best of times . It was not the pressure of war , but we were growing community . I think things were happening at the Lab . Both of my husband and I loved the Lab because there were so many good things going on out there . It gives us hope for the future . MR . HUNNICUTT : I thank you very much for your time . [ Editor 's Note : This transcript has been edited at Mrs . Davidson 's request . The corresponding audio and video components have remained unchanged . ] Your rating was saved . you wish to report :

MR . HUNNICUTT : This interview is for the Center of Oak Ridge Oral History . The date is November 8 , 2012 . I am Don Hunnicutt in the home of Mrs . Mary Ann Davidson , 117 Orange Lane , Oak Ridge , Tennessee , to take her oral history about living in Oak Ridge , Tennessee . Please state your full name and your place of birth and your date of birth . MRS . DAVIDSON : My name is Mary Ann Davidson . My date of birth is January 12 , 1925 . I was born in Louisville , Kentucky . I lived there all my early life until I graduated from college . MRS . DAVIDSON : My father was William H . Courtenay . He was born in 1890 , on March 3 . He was in World War I and lived his entire life in Louisville and Shelbyville , Kentucky . He worked for the Mengel Company . They imported mahogany and hardwood from Africa and Central America . He delivered those to customers . He didn 't consider himself a salesman , but he sold them to the furniture factory - furniture makers around Kentucky , mostly Indiana and Cincinnati and some in Tennessee . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , he did not . The Louisville Male High School was considered a fine school at that time . They said that graduates could enter Harvard in their second year . The principal had written textbooks that were apparently used all over . But my father was interested in raising ponies . His father had a farm in Shelbyville , Kentucky . If you 'd didn 't make the grade , you are special . And Dr . Ruben Post - Halleck , the famous principal of the school , told him if he took an exam in math , he could be entered back in . He did that , and he aced the test . He was back in . Then he was a special in English , so they told him if he memorized the " Lady of the Lake " and said that he could get back in school . So he did that . I think he never did finish . He was a twin , and his twin was more of an engineering type and went to manual training high school . MRS . DAVIDSON : She grew up in several small towns in western Kentucky . Her father worked for the L & N Railroad . She had her high school in Hopkinsville , Kentucky . She had to stay home - or she went to junior college nearby . She had a scholarship to Randolph Macon Women 's College , but she couldn 't take it because her mother was ill and died at age 50 . It was about the year I was born , I think . MRS . DAVIDSON : His name was William Howard Courtenay III . My father was named for his uncle , who was also William Howard . My older brother works for Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green in the physics department . He made instruments . My younger brother was a pediatrician in Louisville , and he is still living on a farm in Shelbyville . He 's interested in Kentucky antiques . MRS . DAVIDSON : I went to an unusual kindergarten and first grade . I was at what they called the Enterprise Branch of I . N . Bloom School . It was only kindergarten and first grade . It was in the older building , where we had a Pot Belly Stove . I think we had a maid to help us take our leggings off in the cold weather - galoshes . It was really a wonderful school . It was almost like a private one . It was public . We did things like making butter and we had an orchestra . I played the triangle . I had started a little bit earlier when my younger brother was born . Louisville had half semester , half - year grades . I would 've been a half year , but I skipped the last half of kindergarten . I went to the school board and took a test and went on , so they put me in the regular school year . I went through the big school the I . N . Bloom School and Highland Junior High School in Louisville . Then I went to Atherton High School for Girls . The Louisville public schools were segregated - boys and girls . There were about 900 girls at Atherton . My graduating class was about 200 , and I was the valedictorian . MRS . DAVIDSON : They are pants to keep your legs warm . They zipped up from the inside of the ankle bone up to about knee - high , I guess it was . They were a royal pain to take on and off , so the teacher had to have help to do that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was just ordinary . I 'm sure the girls wore dresses , and the little boys wore suits - not suits , but pants and shirts . MRS . DAVIDSON : I came to Oak Ridge after I graduated from college . I had two years of getting a master 's at Emory while I worked at my alma mater , Agnes Scott College in Decatur , Georgia . I was the chemistry lab instructor . So after those two years were up , I was interested in working in chemistry or biochemistry . My master 's was in biochemistry . In Louisville , there was nothing in that field , except liquor and paint - neither of which I was interested in . In Atlanta , I would like to stay in Atlanta , I heard that Oak Ridge was an interesting new place , and a lot was going on here . One of my dear college friends had recently married a physicist from the University of Kentucky , so I visited them here . I guess that must have been 1947 . Her husband was working at NEPA . He said they were looking for people with a chemistry degree . I applied , and I was accepted . I didn 't know that until I had completed the clearance , so I took the opportunity to go to Europe at an American youth hostel bicycle tour of Western Europe in the summer of 1948 . When I got home , I found that I had indeed gotten the job at Oak Ridge . So I came down here . MRS . DAVIDSON : I was wondering that . I think I came by train . When I interviewed earlier in the spring , my interview was at the Andrew Johnson Hotel . It was one of the private rooms . I had never seen the company here . I think I must have been met by a car and driver and brought to Oak Ridge . MRS . DAVIDSON : I came in through the Vermont Gateway , which is where the gas station is now on the corner of what I call Vermont . They call it North Rutgers now . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , I think it must 've been after that . That would 've been at Christmas time . When I applied , I imagine it was early spring . MRS . DAVIDSON : We called the company NEPA , for Nuclear Energy for the Propulsion of Aircraft . It was managed by the Fairchild Corporation the way Union Carbide or one of the other contractors managed the lab . I did not know until the first day I went to work just what the company was doing . They handed me a volume of information that said , " We are looking for - we are trying to make an airplane powered by nuclear energy that could fly to Russia and back without refueling . " That was a great shock to me . MRS . DAVIDSON : I lived in Columbia Hall Dormitory . I was very surprised to find that the rent was $ 15 a month until I realized it was one very small room . That was my living quarters . I took the opportunity to stay out of it as much as possible . I did that by babysitting in some of the B and D houses in the evening . Grandmothers were not here since it was a closed community . Babysitters were in short supply , and even though I didn 't need the money , it was good to get out of the dormitory . MRS . DAVIDSON : The dormitory was like Cheyenne Hall . It was the same type of building . It had wooden stairways from the second - floor hall down on each end . I lived on the second floor . Our dormitory was mostly nurses , since it was up on the hill next to the hospital - I think where the west parking lot is now . There was a kitchen on each end where we could have our own breakfast . Of course we were at the plant at lunchtime , and then we usually went out to supper . I opened the refrigerator door one morning and somebody 's milk came spilling out down my front . Everybody just stuffed things into the refrigerator . MRS . DAVIDSON : I had a single room with a twin bed and enough room to walk to the window by the bed . There was a little table that served as a desk with a chair . There was a much coveted dormitory dresser - a tall one with a number of drawers . They were very popular . MRS . DAVIDSON : They had a wonderful bus service here . Travel wasn 't really a problem . We walked , of course , from the dormitory to Jackson Square and ate supper usually at the Mayflower , which is where I first saw my husband - to - be . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was on the corner of Tennessee , right across from the Soup Kitchen and the Texaco gas station there on the northeast corner . It was a very popular place . In fact , there were several places you could eat . It was the Central Cafeteria , and the T & C Cafeteria in Jackson Square , which is about where the Epicurean is now toward the garden . MRS . DAVIDSON : It must 've been the A & P on Jackson Square . Jackson Square was really the center of activity as far as I was concerned at that time . I still love it . I hope it keeps going . MRS . DAVIDSON : The department stores - the big department store was Taylor 's at the time . They had a wonderful book department headed by Mrs . Keyes , whose daughter I knew at work . They had really fine art books and other books that they would have a great sale on once or twice a year . We were very happy with that . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was in the middle of the block between where Big Ed 's is in the corner . I guess it 's mostly used by the engineering company now . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , not frequently , but I went and saw - there was a theater down at Big Ed 's in Jackson Square and where the Playhouse is now . That was the main one . MRS . DAVIDSON : Henebree . McCrory 's 5 & 10 was there . There was a drugstore - a Service Drugstore . I guess that was where Big Ed 's is now , on the very corner . There was Jackson Square Pharmacy , and on the other side the Hamilton Bank was there next to the movie theater . And Samuel 's Men 's Store was a very nice store . The Jackson Square Pharmacy was there , but in between , which the Pharmacy later took over was a Kay 's Ice Cream Store . We used to go there and - my husband and I would when we were dating . I liked to get coffee with ice cream in it , so we went there . MRS . DAVIDSON : I can 't say that I do . It was just a given , I suppose . It didn 't make a big dent in my memory . After six months of the dormitory , I moved to a D house on Norman Lane . That was another era . MRS . DAVIDSON : A D house was a large three bedroom house . They were very much desired . They were really nice houses - still a lot of them are . The house was - there were five other girls who lived there - two of whom had been college friends . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , it would 've been upstairs . It was the second one to the end . A radiation technologist lived on the corner , and I lived there with school teachers and nurses who made up most of the dorm . MR . HUNNICUTT : Let 's talk a little bit about the dorm again . If I had a message for you or someone left a message for you , how did you retrieve your messages ? Was there a desk when you went in ? MRS . DAVIDSON : There was a desk downstairs . I remember the Valentine 's Day - I guess it must 've been 1949 . The message was that I had some flowers , some red roses . I had just met my husband - to - be at that time . I got all excited , and when I got to the desk , it was from somebody else . I enjoyed the red roses , but not as much as I might have . The thing was that there were ladies - a lot of the women who lived in the dorm worked on the night shift . They would sit around a large kind of living room , I guess they called it . They were all staring when I got flowers . I had to walk around , and it was embarrassing . MRS . DAVIDSON : I was there in the winter of 1948 . I 'm very cold natured , but I don 't remember being cold . We had those heavy navy blanket - navy blue blankets . This brings up a story if I jump to it later on . We were moved from the D house after another six months into the brand - new Garden Apartments on Villanova Road . They needed our D house for families . The people who moved in were the Andersons of the Anderson Hilltop Grocery . Of course , the furniture all belonged to the government there . So the Garden Apartments were not furnished , so we had dwindled down from 6 to 4 people who needed furniture . I took a day off and went to an auction the government set up down at the warehouses . I got seven beds and three or four dressers - much more than I could have used . But the beds were in great demand at work because all the young men who worked there were having children and needed beds . So we took the four . Also I got two sofas , and we could use but one ; so I sold one . They were really shabby awful sofas . Since it was all going to surplus anyway , we switched and took the nice sofa from the D house and left them the bad one . It was all taken away anyhow , so I didn 't feel too bad about that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't really remember about the telephone . We didn 't use the telephone much . We never used it for long - distance except for emergencies and calls home . I don 't remember that as being a problem particularly . MRS . DAVIDSON : I suppose I went on the bus . I did not have a car . One of the housemates from Norman Lane had gotten the car , but she would 've been at work at K - 25 . I don 't know . I may have gotten a ride . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess I paid somebody to deliver it . I don 't know . Maybe some of the fellows at work picked up their beds that they wanted . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was one of those warehouses down at the [ Oak Ridge ] Turnpike on Warehouse Road . I don 't know exactly where it was . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess it was on the bulletin boards at work , or there was a newspaper at the Lab . I guess I heard about it that way . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think probably so - in the newsletters they came around , also at the recreation building - the rec hall - at Jackson Square that was the library upstairs and the rec hall downstairs . Word - of - mouth - I don 't remember . We had a need and found the answer to it . MRS . DAVIDSON : I had to punch a clock at eight in the morning when I first started . I guess we got out at 4 : 30 or 5 o ' clock . We had bus service that went from the bus terminal - the Central one - that 's now by Bus Terminal Road . Later on after we were married , we lived on Waddell Circle and went from there to the Jefferson bus terminal . I went - I rode on the K - 25 bus , and they went out past K - 25 to the road that the powerhouse was on and NEPA was beyond that out by the river . MRS . DAVIDSON : There was some kind of management services office . I 'm not sure what it was called - the Roane Anderson Corporation at that time , I guess . I think that 's where I rented the dormitory room . I probably got bus tokens - I guess I got the tokens of the bus terminal . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think I had a checking account probably at Hamilton Bank in Jackson Square . I don 't recall otherwise . I know I did later . One thing I wanted to say about the buses - if you wanted to go to Clinton to do any shopping , more than what you could have in Oak Ridge or to meet somebody or something , there was a bus that ran frequently back and forth between the bus terminal and Clinton . There was a young man on the bus who had a sing - songy sales pitch for " peanuts , popcorn , Cracker Jacks , candy , and chewing gum . " He wouldn 't drive , but he would sell his wares all the way to Clinton and back . I always wondered who that was because he obviously had some talent . MRS . DAVIDSON : I 'm sure I did . I don 't know what became of it . I guess I had to turn it back in . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think somebody just got - one of the guards got on the bus and checked everybody 's badges . It was not a big thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : Probably . I don 't remember . What I do remember about that was my mother was coming down one time for my birthday - it must 've been in January 1949 . She rode the train . I told her that I would get a ride to meet her . Of course , the train didn 't stop at Oak Ridge . It went on to Knoxville , so I bummed a ride with one of the men in our group . He was actually the technical assistant to the director . His car was a broken down old thing with no floorboards in the back seat , which was pretty bad when my mother saw it . But she didn 't see it because when we got to Knoxville , she was not there . When we were coming back from the gateway entrance , she was not there . There was a message that she was waiting for us at the Elza Gate Station . She had told the conductor she had to get off at Oak Ridge . That 's where she was going , and I was going to meet her . So she slid down the Elza bank over there . She had my birthday cake - a large chocolate cake . She slid downhill with that , and somehow they stopped her at the guard gate at Elza . She waited there for us . MRS . DAVIDSON : Just for her - let her off like a milk train . They ordinarily didn 't stop there , but she wouldn 't have it otherwise . MRS . DAVIDSON : I used the library and rec hall . On Sunday afternoons , they played music ; and you could sit and write letters home , which is what I think I did a good bit . Later on in the better weather , there were tennis courts and a swimming pool . I don 't remember going to movies much . We went to church groups . There were so many young people ; it was just like a party all the time . Nothing in particular stands out . It was just fun . MRS . DAVIDSON : In the company I was , that was not true . There were a lot of women of course - of course , the dormitory was full of school teachers and nurses . But NEPA was mostly men . There were two parts to the Fairchild - the science and engineering part , which was bigger . I happen to be in the research part . My boss was a chemist - Vince Calkins . It was my job to - this was a real shocker to me - to find a chemical that would protect the human body against radiation for the reactor that was supposed to be in the airplane to Russia . I had no background for that kind of thing . I was just fresh out of college really . I realized I was out of my depth , but they decided - he was a pharmacist , I believe , and he wanted to do experiments with rats . They brought in the rat colony . By that time we had a couple of assistants , and I was supposed to be the group leader . One of the men , Ray Waldrop - you may have talked to him . I asked him if he minded working for a woman because he was really more experienced than I , although I had the degree . It was fine with him . There was also another worker , Saul Segal , who was quite a character in his own right . I took the rats in the cages over to the reactor , the " Old Lady " at X - 10 , and put them through what they called " rabbits " and radiated them for certain amount of time . We couldn 't kill the darn things . Then we used the older ones that had already been radiated , they were just tough as anything . I think the experiment was really a failure , although they may have found that to be the case in some later work with older people - that the cells are not dividing as fast and they 're not as subject to radiation . But we didn 't get into that . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was actually not K - 25 . It was beyond there . As I said , the bus took us - the bus dumped people off at K - 25 , and they went on west to just before you get to the Gallaher Bridge . You turn right there and go right past the power station there . It was used for a long time - the power house , and then NEPA was beyond that . The native rats came in - was it domestic experimental rats ? That was not good . I had a janitor who helped me , even though he could 've lost his job for doing it . He helped me clean cages . I always appreciated that . MRS . DAVIDSON : When they got rid of the rats , which was a blessing , my group leader then became Bill Browning , who was a fine scientist . He worked on the Van de Graaff generator . We had an interesting argument . Saul Segal thought he should be the one to do it since he was a man and I was a woman who would be leaving soon ; and it turned out that he left for California before I had left to have my baby . His argument didn 't hold with me anyway , but we argued about that some . We did run the Van de Graaff , and we also did some experiments on metallic sodium . It was nasty stuff to work with . It caught on fire if it was exposed to air . You had to work with that under oil in the glove box . I think that work all had to be repeated after NEPA left for Cincinnati with G . E . . When they moved part of NEPA to X - 10 , they called it the ANP , or something about aircraft and nuclear power . I was not connected with that because my first baby was born in August 1951 . I left in July . MRS . DAVIDSON : I heard somebody say that they had to repeat it all . My boss , the Division Director of Chemistry was interested in vitamin E , and thought it had a lot of protective influence . We worked with that . That was some of the work I did in chemistry - the lab part of it in the early days . It was not good work , I think . I 'm not blaming myself , but some of the other men who were doing chemical work - I think altogether we didn 't come up with anything . MRS . DAVIDSON : It may have been ahead of it 's time for nuclear submarines . I don 't know whether the engineering people thought that or not . In our group which was the chemistry and the physics , my friend who got me the job was Jim Trice . A fellow named Art Miller and somebody named Coneybearwere in the Physics Division . And then there were some others - Fred Maienschein . I did some work for him one time . It was work on beryllium for one thing . I didn 't work with any of the active beryllium . I didn 't do any lab work then , but I did some journal research . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't think they were that far along . I 'm not sure what happened to that part of it . As I said , in July of 1951 they moved to Cincinnati , Evensville , above Cincinnati . I don 't know how many people actually went up there . Most of my friends moved elsewhere . MR . HUNNICUTT : You mentioned the location of the operation was past the steam plant that was on the Clinch River . Was that the same location where the S - 50 project was located ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I think that was the name of our plot of land . I think those - I never was quite sure how they got the designations , but that was the Fairchild domain , I think . MRS . DAVIDSON : Really , it was just when our eyes met . It was very romantic . He followed our group home to the Columbia Hall to see where I lived . But at the time I thought he was too young , and I didn 't think he was following me . I was with a group of other girls . Later on , one of the women in the dormitory , who was a gym teacher in the Oak Ridge schools , told me I really ought to meet Jack Davidson that he loved to ride bicycles ; I was just back from my bicycle trip in Europe . I didn 't know who he was , and then I went to a church group meeting at my Presbyterian Church for young people one Sunday evening . A friend of mine had brought Jack Davidson , and he was the one whose eyes I had met and he had met mine . Sure enough , he loved to ride bicycles . That was the start of a good thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : We did a little bit . On our dates , that 's really what we did mostly at first . We rode out to West Outer Drive and had those wonderful big hills , not too much traffic at that time . We went out to the water tower at the top of Louisiana and had a picnic , and then rode back . When we got really good , we rode our bicycles over to Concord Park one day . I had gotten some chicken breasts at the grocery . I guess it was the A & P at Jackson Square . I was going to fry them for a picnic to take along over to Concord Park . When I went to the refrigerator to get them , they had turned into wings . Somebody had eaten my chicken breast . Jack was a good sport about that . He didn 't care . We had a nice ride . It was before they had improved Lovell Road . It was a pretty rough ride over there , but we were able to enjoy it . MRS . DAVIDSON : He had his bicycle . It was probably a Grey Stone . For me , he rented a bicycle from his work friend . I had forgotten what his name was . We went over to one of the D Streets , I think , and rode them . I didn 't have my English 3 - speed here . I guess I brought it later , but at that time I didn 't have it . MRS . DAVIDSON : That was a problem . I complained to my friend Jim Trice 's wife , Dot , who happened to live around the corner on Outer Drive at that time . She said the boardwalk was used a lot for dating , and of course the theaters . I guess we were outdoors people . I don 't know . MRS . DAVIDSON : He was a graduate of Georgia Tech . At the time he graduated , he was very young . He came up to see about a job , and he was drafted . No , he was in danger of being drafted right away , but they didn 't hire him . He did go to work for NASA , which was at that time NACA , in Virginia ; and worked over there a short time before he was taken into the Army . He had gone through Georgia Tech on a " War Manpower " loan . He was sent to some place to be an MP , I think . He wrote a night letter , which is a 50 - word telegram that was cheaper at night . He wrote a night letter to Stimson , the Secretary of War , telling them they had paid for his college education ; and here he was sitting in a camp doing nothing down in Alabama . He was transferred to the SED , he would never say that was the reason he was transferred . It may or may not have been . He arrived with the SED - he arrived in Oak Ridge the day Roosevelt died , which was in April 1945 , he was here with his group for maybe six weeks before they went out to Los Alamos . So he spent the rest of the war out there . Then he used his G . I . Bill - he stayed on at Los Alamos . They told them they would let him out of the Army if he would agree to stay on as a civilian . So he took that . Then when he did leave , he went to Annapolis and took a liberal arts course because he felt that he had missed out on it at Georgia Tech . He had a year at St . John 's College of Annapolis ; and then all along I guess he thought he would like to come back here . He came back - he arrived on Armistice Day , now Veterans Day , of 1948 . I was here a couple of months before he came , but we met shortly after Christmas in 1949 . MRS . DAVIDSON : Too long . We were married in May 1950 . He wanted to pay off his loan before we could get married , so I helped him along with that . I fed him some . He was very welcome at the D House of girls . I was going to tell you that during the war , there were nine girls in the house , and they slept on shifts on the bunk beds . There were only six of us when I was there . There were a couple of the boyfriends around , and one of them cut the grass . I think Jack did the - empty the clinkers from the furnace , the coal furnace . They made themselves useful . They got their dinner . MRS . DAVIDSON : Most of the houses were a very good design really , and a whole lot better built than we gave them credit for . But each one that I knew of had a corner set off or closed off as a coal storage place that could be filled through a window from the outside , and then you could use the - there was an opening on the inside that you could use to put coal into the furnace . That was awful of course , but that 's what all the houses were doing in that time , too . We had a yard full of clinkers over there . MRS . DAVIDSON : We were taken care of by a Big Brother - the government . They brought the coal around , and you didn 't do a thing . That was part of the rent . When we got our house here on Orange Lane , that 's another story . Are you ready for that yet ? MRS . DAVIDSON : We went back to my home in Louisville , Kentucky , to be married . We had planned to fly to Nashville , but it turned out the Delta Queen was coming through Louisville the next morning . My mother had told us we could not get married the week before because it was too busy with Derby Day . So we delayed until May 13 . Then we spent the night in Louisville at the Brown Hotel , where she pulled some strings to get us a room because it was still very full of visitors from the Derby . We got on the Delta Queen , and our friends were all on the dock to see us off . They had us almost convinced that we were on Daylight Saving Time , and the Delta Queen was not , and we had missed it . But we rode down just as far as Paducah . We were anxious to start in life you know . We lived on Wadell Circle in a K apartment . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was a two - story thing . I guess it was a two - bedroom up above , and we had K - 1 . It was sort of underground at the front and open at the back . We had a nice back porch . There was a closet under the stairway and a very small kitchen . It had a table that folded down . It was not as compact as a flattop , but the furnishings that they had did double duty . You could fold it up and have more room . MRS . DAVIDSON : The K apartment was heated with the coal furnace , but there was a janitor who came around and took care of it for us . We were taken care of by Roane Anderson . MRS . DAVIDSON : We lived in the K from May 1950 , until we got this house in July 1952 . It was said - the word around town was that you couldn 't get a two - bedroom house unless you had three children , all of different sex . We had been on the list for this house ever since we knew our daughter was coming along . That was a long time to wait . We had been offered two houses - Florida Avenue , where the parking was across the street and the backyard just dropped off . We thought that was totally unsuitable for a new child . We turned both of those down . If we had turned this one down , we would 've gone to the bottom of the long list . But we loved this place of the trees and the dead end lane neighborhood . So we sat outside in front all weekend because we were not top on the list . The reason the other people didn 't take it was that the previous owner , Jim Cox and Charlotte , had put in an oil furnace ; and nobody wanted to pay $ 200 for the oil furnace . Since I had been working , we had saved my salary from work , and we had $ 200 to pay . Also , they didn 't want to be in the high rent district . This house rented for something like $ 45 instead of $ 43 in the lower rent districts . MRS . DAVIDSON : The Oak Ridge cemesto houses that were built - I think this house was built in the fall of 1944 or 1943 . Maybe it was ' 43 . The B house has two bedrooms and of course a bath and a kitchen with a dinette into a long narrow living room . It was about 24 feet by 40 something feet . It was small and convenient . It didn 't have much storage space , but it 's been a wonderful house for us because of the trees . We are on a greenbelt , and I enjoy that very much . It 's a nice private neighborhood just above Jackson Square . MRS . DAVIDSON : Our cemesto has a fireplace , and it had a complete brick wall . Some of the B houses had a brick wall just beyond the fireplace . MRS . DAVIDSON : There are hardwood floors in all the cemestos , I believe . Our house has maple flooring , and a lot of them had oak . Wood was hard to come by in the wartime . We love the color - the reddish color of the maple . MRS . DAVIDSON : Adele is our second daughter , and she was two years younger . Our son is Bill Davidson or William . He was born in November of 1954 . He 's just now turning 58 . MRS . DAVIDSON : All three of our children went to Cedar Hill . They had split grades there , so I think the classes were one half size . They would take the kids a half from one grade , and half from the next grade , and that worked out just fine . MRS . DAVIDSON : Cedar Hill was wonderful . It was very special . Mr . Dodd was the principal , and he saw to it - he had the best teachers or at least as good as any . Actually in those days all the teachers and Oak Ridge were special because many of them had been recruited from Columbia Teachers College , along with the superintendent . Others were specially recruited for the job . They were a group a part , I think , from a lot of teachers . MRS . DAVIDSON : The girls both went to Jefferson when it was on the hill at Jackson Square , and Bill was in the first year at the new Jefferson that was over on Fairbanks Road . His was the first class there . They all went through Oak Ridge High . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you recall some of the classes your daughters took while they were in junior high ? Was there Home Ec . or things related to girls ? MRS . DAVIDSON : No , they were on the college prep track . They took eighth grade algebra and that kind of thing . Of course English and math and social studies and science - our older girl I think took biology ; and I 'm not sure if Adele had a more general science course . It just depended on the teacher that they had . They had an excellent education , and the girls were both Merit semifinalists . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course . I was in the PTA . I 'm not sure if I was ever a room mother , but I of course helped with parties and things . MRS . DAVIDSON : The teachers recruited them from each class to help with parties mostly . They helped with any activities that they didn 't really have time to do . MRS . DAVIDSON : Parent - Teacher Association , a time honored group . It got extra things for the school . I got involved with raincoats for the school patrol . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess maybe I was a treasurer of the Cedar Hill PTA , and this goal was to get those yellow slicker raincoat so kids could be visible to the drivers . I found out how much the things cost , and then I estimated postage . At the PTA meeting , Alvin Weinberg was president . He had a son or two in school at the time . He took me to task for estimating the postage , so I had to ask for just the money for the coats themselves since I didn 't really know what the postage is going to be . I thought that was interesting that he wanted to keep it to the exact penny . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think they just wore what the other kids wore . One day we had a deep snow and Bill was in kindergarten , and the snow was up over their boots . I think he had some corduroys . The teacher was making the kids take their pants off and dry them on the radiator , and he wouldn 't do it . I had to go up to the school and take him some fresh pants , some dry clothes . He was very young - just four when he started . MR . HUNNICUTT : Let 's go back a few years . Do you remember 1945 when they dropped the bomb on Japan ? You remember where you were ? And what was your reaction ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I do remember that very clearly because it was the summer after my junior year in college , and I was a camp counselor up in Door County , Wisconsin . There was no electricity at the camp , so we counselors - after we got the kids to bed , went to the state park nearby . This was at Fish Creek , Wisconsin . We would listen to people 's car radios . We knew for about a week that something was happening , but we didn 't know just what . It was very deeply moving when the bomb was dropped , and we thought it would bring an end to the war . Of course , I had friends and a brother on Guam and a cousin was in Europe and others . So that was very deeply moving . I had a book of poetry - my favorite poems at the camp with me . One of my 12 - year - olds picked out a poem - " Once to every man and nation comes a moment to decide " - she read that , and I thought that was very astute of her , a youngster to be able to do that . MRS . DAVIDSON : My husband thought they should have dropped a sample first , but I didn 't feel that way since the first bomb didn 't phase the Japanese . I didn 't think the test one would have either . I was just so glad that the war was over . People could settle down and get into real life again . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think I was in transition from the dormitory to the house , and my husband 's brothers came up from Georgia to witness the opening . So we drove in their car around , and we watched the parade from , I believe , down on the eastern end of the Turnpike down near the warehouses to get out of the traffic . We never could figure out why they invited Marie " The Body " McDonald and [ inaudible ] to ride in the open car for the parade . We couldn 't figure out what they had to do with it , but we did see the burning of the magnesium ribbon . That was exciting . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was only toward town from Elza Gate . I know the central part of town , the Jackson Square area , was very crowded . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think they name the streets for famous cities in the country , and of course the alphabetical designations were very helpful . But Jackson Square , I assume , was named for New Orleans . That 's all I know about it . MRS . DAVIDSON : Sometimes you would pick up the telephone , and the other party was talking . I believe they had different rings . I think maybe the other party had one ring , and we had two . There were four - party lines , but if we were on a four - party line , only the other one was active . I think maybe we were . The other two lines were not being used . MR . HUNNICUTT : When you are raising your family , did you hang your clothes outside on the clothesline ? Did you have a dryer ? What did you use ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I hung them outside on the clothesline . As I said , when we moved here , Anne was a year old . Not much more than three years after that , we had three babies . I was able to talk my husband into getting a dryer that time . Before that , he had built a pulley out of my kitchen window . There was a drop off in the back , and he was able to string it to a tree in the woods . I was able to reel those cloth diapers and reel them in and out . The only problem was that the birds like the trees , too . Sometimes I had to do some re - washing . MR . HUNNICUTT : So in those days you use cloth diapers ? Today we use disposable diapers . How do you think you would 've done if you had disposable diapers ? MRS . DAVIDSON : At one point , when our children were out playing Kick the Can , there were over 40 children on the lane . There were about 20 or 21 houses . There were almost as many dogs . It was just a glorious place for them to grow up . They seem to get along remarkably well most of the time , especially in the early days . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes . We went down there on the opening , and got the radioactive dimes on that occasion . The museum at that time was down at Jefferson Circle . I don 't think any of us ever had our hair stand out on the Van De Graff generator or whatever it was , but we took the children . We went out ourselves . Of course my husband was interested in that kind of thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : Sometimes they walked to Jefferson , but by that time they were carrying pretty heavy books . One of the neighbors on Outer Drive wanted to have a carpool , so we joined that . MRS . DAVIDSON : When Anne was in the fifth grade , they had to write what they did on Friday nights . The teacher would call me and say , " Is it true that you gave your children ice water and watched TV on Friday nights ? " That was how generous we were with them . We didn 't get a TV until they were probably five or six years old . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course it was black and white . The reason we got it - I guess finally it was that the children were always going to the neighbors ' house to watch TV . We decided that we should get our own . They watched things like " Pinky Lee " and I 've forgotten what else . MRS . DAVIDSON : I remember that fondly because my first real date with my husband was going to dinner there with him . He invited me to go to a concert in Knoxville , and his excuse was that we should get to know each other better before he took me to the city with him . That was one thing . I remember there were parties there , and our company had a party at the Oak Terrace Ballroom . One of the NEPA fellows wore a Tarzan costume , which was mostly nothing . It turned out that he lived in the neighborhood . MRS . DAVIDSON : That was just below the dormitory where I lived in Columbia Hall . Jack went there looking for me , he thought I would eat breakfast there and then he could have breakfast with me ; but I ate in the dormitory . He didn 't find me there . When we came back from our bicycle ride to Concord Park , I remember we stopped by there , and he drank two or three Mountain Dew drinks . That surprised me , but we had worked off a lot of sweat . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , we took our children out there and saw " Lawrence of Arabia " and " The 10 Commandment " and those things . It was quite nice . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was about where Kroger 's - where that is now , on the southeast part of Illinois Avenue . It was a nice thing . That was a special treat for the children to go out there . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't think so . I think they were mostly in the car . They had a drawing one time , Jack won something . It was actually nothing , but he did win . MRS . DAVIDSON : I sure did . My three children were born there . It was a green structure , like so many of the buildings in Oak Ridge . I guess the present building is built on that place . It was okay . I didn 't have any problems with it , except after my second child . I had a staph infection from the hospital . Even an Army wife with a private room got an infection there . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , I think they also had been recruited ; and a lot of them were from Tulane University . The time I was sick with my infection , they were having a reunion at Tulane , and my doctor and another one were gone for the reunion . I didn 't like the one who took care of me . He didn 't do a good job . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was okay . I don 't remember having any problems with it . We knew Dr . Rogers from our church , and we went to him . He was called away to the service , I believe . Maybe it was the Korean War , but then he came back . MRS . DAVIDSON : We met at Pine Valley School . The choir sat on the bleachers , and the minister sat under the halo of the basketball net . My husband was a Methodist , and he went to the First Methodist Church . They had a big youth group there . When we were first married , we tried to take them both in . We went to Sunday school one place , and church another until we finally settled on the Presbyterian . It was smaller , and we knew more people . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course the people . I love my trees and my house . I love all the activities . Both my husband and I have always loved music and enjoy the concerts a lot . The symphony concerts with Waldo Cohn conducting were held at Jefferson Junior High on the Kentucky Avenue hill . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you think back about all the people that you knew in the early days ? Do you think it was unusual for everybody to get along - the many people that were here ? MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , I guess so . I didn 't think about it because we just did . It was just fun . Everybody was away from home , and we had to be family for each other . That was particularly true in this close neighborhood . MRS . DAVIDSON : I 'm pleased for the most part . I think we 've made good progress . We 've kept up with the outside world . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think we came through at the very best of times . It was not the pressure of war , but we were growing community . I think things were happening at the Lab . Both of my husband and I loved the Lab because there were so many good things going on out there . It gives us hope for the future . [ Editor 's Note : This transcript has been edited at Mrs . Davidson 's request . The corresponding audio and video components have remained unchanged . ] Click tabs to swap between content that is broken into logical sections . MR . HUNNICUTT : This interview is for the Center of Oak Ridge Oral History . The date is November 8 , 2012 . I am Don Hunnicutt in the home of Mrs . Mary Ann Davidson , 117 Orange Lane , Oak Ridge , Tennessee , to take her oral history about living in Oak Ridge , Tennessee . Please state your full name and your place of birth and your date of birth . MRS . DAVIDSON : My name is Mary Ann Davidson . My date of birth is January 12 , 1925 . I was born in Louisville , Kentucky . I lived there all my early life until I graduated from college . MRS . DAVIDSON : My father was William H . Courtenay . He was born in 1890 , on March 3 . He was in World War I and lived his entire life in Louisville and Shelbyville , Kentucky . He worked for the Mengel Company . They imported mahogany and hardwood from Africa and Central America . He delivered those to customers . He didn 't consider himself a salesman , but he sold them to the furniture factory - furniture makers around Kentucky , mostly Indiana and Cincinnati and some in Tennessee . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , he did not . The Louisville Male High School was considered a fine school at that time . They said that graduates could enter Harvard in their second year . The principal had written textbooks that were apparently used all over . But my father was interested in raising ponies . His father had a farm in Shelbyville , Kentucky . If you 'd didn 't make the grade , you are special . And Dr . Ruben Post - Halleck , the famous principal of the school , told him if he took an exam in math , he could be entered back in . He did that , and he aced the test . He was back in . Then he was a special in English , so they told him if he memorized the " Lady of the Lake " and said that he could get back in school . So he did that . I think he never did finish . He was a twin , and his twin was more of an engineering type and went to manual training high school . MR . HUNNICUTT : What about your mother 's school history ? MRS . DAVIDSON : She grew up in several small towns in western Kentucky . Her father worked for the L & N Railroad . She had her high school in Hopkinsville , Kentucky . She had to stay home - or she went to junior college nearby . She had a scholarship to Randolph Macon Women 's College , but she couldn 't take it because her mother was ill and died at age 50 . It was about the year I was born , I think . MRS . DAVIDSON : His name was William Howard Courtenay III . My father was named for his uncle , who was also William Howard . My older brother works for Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green in the physics department . He made instruments . My younger brother was a pediatrician in Louisville , and he is still living on a farm in Shelbyville . He 's interested in Kentucky antiques . MR . HUNNICUTT : Yes . MRS . DAVIDSON : I went to an unusual kindergarten and first grade . I was at what they called the Enterprise Branch of I . N . Bloom School . It was only kindergarten and first grade . It was in the older building , where we had a Pot Belly Stove . I think we had a maid to help us take our leggings off in the cold weather - galoshes . It was really a wonderful school . It was almost like a private one . It was public . We did things like making butter and we had an orchestra . I played the triangle . I had started a little bit earlier when my younger brother was born . Louisville had half semester , half - year grades . I would 've been a half year , but I skipped the last half of kindergarten . I went to the school board and took a test and went on , so they put me in the regular school year . I went through the big school the I . N . Bloom School and Highland Junior High School in Louisville . Then I went to Atherton High School for Girls . The Louisville public schools were segregated - boys and girls . There were about 900 girls at Atherton . My graduating class was about 200 , and I was the valedictorian . MRS . DAVIDSON : They are pants to keep your legs warm . They zipped up from the inside of the ankle bone up to about knee - high , I guess it was . They were a royal pain to take on and off , so the teacher had to have help to do that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was just ordinary . I 'm sure the girls wore dresses , and the little boys wore suits - not suits , but pants and shirts . MRS . DAVIDSON : I came to Oak Ridge after I graduated from college . I had two years of getting a master 's at Emory while I worked at my alma mater , Agnes Scott College in Decatur , Georgia . I was the chemistry lab instructor . So after those two years were up , I was interested in working in chemistry or biochemistry . My master 's was in biochemistry . In Louisville , there was nothing in that field , except liquor and paint - neither of which I was interested in . In Atlanta , I would like to stay in Atlanta , I heard that Oak Ridge was an interesting new place , and a lot was going on here . One of my dear college friends had recently married a physicist from the University of Kentucky , so I visited them here . I guess that must have been 1947 . Her husband was working at NEPA . He said they were looking for people with a chemistry degree . I applied , and I was accepted . I didn 't know that until I had completed the clearance , so I took the opportunity to go to Europe at an American youth hostel bicycle tour of Western Europe in the summer of 1948 . When I got home , I found that I had indeed gotten the job at Oak Ridge . So I came down here . MRS . DAVIDSON : I was wondering that . I think I came by train . When I interviewed earlier in the spring , my interview was at the Andrew Johnson Hotel . It was one of the private rooms . I had never seen the company here . I think I must have been met by a car and driver and brought to Oak Ridge . MRS . DAVIDSON : I came in through the Vermont Gateway , which is where the gas station is now on the corner of what I call Vermont . They call it North Rutgers now . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , I think it must 've been after that . That would 've been at Christmas time . When I applied , I imagine it was early spring . MRS . DAVIDSON : We called the company NEPA , for Nuclear Energy for the Propulsion of Aircraft . It was managed by the Fairchild Corporation the way Union Carbide or one of the other contractors managed the lab . I did not know until the first day I went to work just what the company was doing . They handed me a volume of information that said , " We are looking for - we are trying to make an airplane powered by nuclear energy that could fly to Russia and back without refueling . " That was a great shock to me . MRS . DAVIDSON : I lived in Columbia Hall Dormitory . I was very surprised to find that the rent was $ 15 a month until I realized it was one very small room . That was my living quarters . I took the opportunity to stay out of it as much as possible . I did that by babysitting in some of the B and D houses in the evening . Grandmothers were not here since it was a closed community . Babysitters were in short supply , and even though I didn 't need the money , it was good to get out of the dormitory . MRS . DAVIDSON : The dormitory was like Cheyenne Hall . It was the same type of building . It had wooden stairways from the second - floor hall down on each end . I lived on the second floor . Our dormitory was mostly nurses , since it was up on the hill next to the hospital - I think where the west parking lot is now . There was a kitchen on each end where we could have our own breakfast . Of course we were at the plant at lunchtime , and then we usually went out to supper . I opened the refrigerator door one morning and somebody 's milk came spilling out down my front . Everybody just stuffed things into the refrigerator . MRS . DAVIDSON : I had a single room with a twin bed and enough room to walk to the window by the bed . There was a little table that served as a desk with a chair . There was a much coveted dormitory dresser - a tall one with a number of drawers . They were very popular . MRS . DAVIDSON : They had a wonderful bus service here . Travel wasn 't really a problem . We walked , of course , from the dormitory to Jackson Square and ate supper usually at the Mayflower , which is where I first saw my husband - to - be . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was on the corner of Tennessee , right across from the Soup Kitchen and the Texaco gas station there on the northeast corner . It was a very popular place . In fact , there were several places you could eat . It was the Central Cafeteria , and the T & C Cafeteria in Jackson Square , which is about where the Epicurean is now toward the garden . MRS . DAVIDSON : It must 've been the A & P on Jackson Square . Jackson Square was really the center of activity as far as I was concerned at that time . I still love it . I hope it keeps going . MRS . DAVIDSON : The department stores - the big department store was Taylor 's at the time . They had a wonderful book department headed by Mrs . Keyes , whose daughter I knew at work . They had really fine art books and other books that they would have a great sale on once or twice a year . We were very happy with that . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was in the middle of the block between where Big Ed 's is in the corner . I guess it 's mostly used by the engineering company now . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , not frequently , but I went and saw - there was a theater down at Big Ed 's in Jackson Square and where the Playhouse is now . That was the main one . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , the jewelry store was on the corner that was Henebree 's , I think . No , that was Heneger 's . MR . HUNNICUTT : Henebree ? MRS . DAVIDSON : Henebree . McCrory 's 5 & 10 was there . There was a drugstore - a Service Drugstore . I guess that was where Big Ed 's is now , on the very corner . There was Jackson Square Pharmacy , and on the other side the Hamilton Bank was there next to the movie theater . And Samuel 's Men 's Store was a very nice store . The Jackson Square Pharmacy was there , but in between , which the Pharmacy later took over was a Kay 's Ice Cream Store . We used to go there and - my husband and I would when we were dating . I liked to get coffee with ice cream in it , so we went there . MR . HUNNICUTT : I believe that was Taff Moody Ice Cream - they served Kay 's Ice Cream . MRS . DAVIDSON : Was it ? I didn 't remember that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I can 't say that I do . It was just a given , I suppose . It didn 't make a big dent in my memory . After six months of the dormitory , I moved to a D house on Norman Lane . That was another era . MR . HUNNICUTT : What is a D house ? MRS . DAVIDSON : A D house was a large three bedroom house . They were very much desired . They were really nice houses - still a lot of them are . The house was - there were five other girls who lived there - two of whom had been college friends . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , it would 've been upstairs . It was the second one to the end . A radiation technologist lived on the corner , and I lived there with school teachers and nurses who made up most of the dorm . MR . HUNNICUTT : Let 's talk a little bit about the dorm again . If I had a message for you or someone left a message for you , how did you retrieve your messages ? Was there a desk when you went in ? MRS . DAVIDSON : There was a desk downstairs . I remember the Valentine 's Day - I guess it must 've been 1949 . The message was that I had some flowers , some red roses . I had just met my husband - to - be at that time . I got all excited , and when I got to the desk , it was from somebody else . I enjoyed the red roses , but not as much as I might have . The thing was that there were ladies - a lot of the women who lived in the dorm worked on the night shift . They would sit around a large kind of living room , I guess they called it . They were all staring when I got flowers . I had to walk around , and it was embarrassing . MRS . DAVIDSON : I was there in the winter of 1948 . I 'm very cold natured , but I don 't remember being cold . We had those heavy navy blanket - navy blue blankets . This brings up a story if I jump to it later on . We were moved from the D house after another six months into the brand - new Garden Apartments on Villanova Road . They needed our D house for families . The people who moved in were the Andersons of the Anderson Hilltop Grocery . Of course , the furniture all belonged to the government there . So the Garden Apartments were not furnished , so we had dwindled down from 6 to 4 people who needed furniture . I took a day off and went to an auction the government set up down at the warehouses . I got seven beds and three or four dressers - much more than I could have used . But the beds were in great demand at work because all the young men who worked there were having children and needed beds . So we took the four . Also I got two sofas , and we could use but one ; so I sold one . They were really shabby awful sofas . Since it was all going to surplus anyway , we switched and took the nice sofa from the D house and left them the bad one . It was all taken away anyhow , so I didn 't feel too bad about that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't really remember about the telephone . We didn 't use the telephone much . We never used it for long - distance except for emergencies and calls home . I don 't remember that as being a problem particularly . MRS . DAVIDSON : I suppose I went on the bus . I did not have a car . One of the housemates from Norman Lane had gotten the car , but she would 've been at work at K - 25 . I don 't know . I may have gotten a ride . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess I paid somebody to deliver it . I don 't know . Maybe some of the fellows at work picked up their beds that they wanted . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was one of those warehouses down at the [ Oak Ridge ] Turnpike on Warehouse Road . I don 't know exactly where it was . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess it was on the bulletin boards at work , or there was a newspaper at the Lab . I guess I heard about it that way . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think probably so - in the newsletters they came around , also at the recreation building - the rec hall - at Jackson Square that was the library upstairs and the rec hall downstairs . Word - of - mouth - I don 't remember . We had a need and found the answer to it . MRS . DAVIDSON : I had to punch a clock at eight in the morning when I first started . I guess we got out at 4 : 30 or 5 o ' clock . We had bus service that went from the bus terminal - the Central one - that 's now by Bus Terminal Road . Later on after we were married , we lived on Waddell Circle and went from there to the Jefferson bus terminal . I went - I rode on the K - 25 bus , and they went out past K - 25 to the road that the powerhouse was on and NEPA was beyond that out by the river . MRS . DAVIDSON : There was some kind of management services office . I 'm not sure what it was called - the Roane Anderson Corporation at that time , I guess . I think that 's where I rented the dormitory room . I probably got bus tokens - I guess I got the tokens of the bus terminal . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think I had a checking account probably at Hamilton Bank in Jackson Square . I don 't recall otherwise . I know I did later . One thing I wanted to say about the buses - if you wanted to go to Clinton to do any shopping , more than what you could have in Oak Ridge or to meet somebody or something , there was a bus that ran frequently back and forth between the bus terminal and Clinton . There was a young man on the bus who had a sing - songy sales pitch for " peanuts , popcorn , Cracker Jacks , candy , and chewing gum . " He wouldn 't drive , but he would sell his wares all the way to Clinton and back . I always wondered who that was because he obviously had some talent . MRS . DAVIDSON : I 'm sure I did . I don 't know what became of it . I guess I had to turn it back in . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think somebody just got - one of the guards got on the bus and checked everybody 's badges . It was not a big thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : Probably . I don 't remember . What I do remember about that was my mother was coming down one time for my birthday - it must 've been in January 1949 . She rode the train . I told her that I would get a ride to meet her . Of course , the train didn 't stop at Oak Ridge . It went on to Knoxville , so I bummed a ride with one of the men in our group . He was actually the technical assistant to the director . His car was a broken down old thing with no floorboards in the back seat , which was pretty bad when my mother saw it . But she didn 't see it because when we got to Knoxville , she was not there . When we were coming back from the gateway entrance , she was not there . There was a message that she was waiting for us at the Elza Gate Station . She had told the conductor she had to get off at Oak Ridge . That 's where she was going , and I was going to meet her . So she slid down the Elza bank over there . She had my birthday cake - a large chocolate cake . She slid downhill with that , and somehow they stopped her at the guard gate at Elza . She waited there for us . MRS . DAVIDSON : Just for her - let her off like a milk train . They ordinarily didn 't stop there , but she wouldn 't have it otherwise . MRS . DAVIDSON : I used the library and rec hall . On Sunday afternoons , they played music ; and you could sit and write letters home , which is what I think I did a good bit . Later on in the better weather , there were tennis courts and a swimming pool . I don 't remember going to movies much . We went to church groups . There were so many young people ; it was just like a party all the time . Nothing in particular stands out . It was just fun . MRS . DAVIDSON : In the company I was , that was not true . There were a lot of women of course - of course , the dormitory was full of school teachers and nurses . But NEPA was mostly men . There were two parts to the Fairchild - the science and engineering part , which was bigger . I happen to be in the research part . My boss was a chemist - Vince Calkins . It was my job to - this was a real shocker to me - to find a chemical that would protect the human body against radiation for the reactor that was supposed to be in the airplane to Russia . I had no background for that kind of thing . I was just fresh out of college really . I realized I was out of my depth , but they decided - he was a pharmacist , I believe , and he wanted to do experiments with rats . They brought in the rat colony . By that time we had a couple of assistants , and I was supposed to be the group leader . One of the men , Ray Waldrop - you may have talked to him . I asked him if he minded working for a woman because he was really more experienced than I , although I had the degree . It was fine with him . There was also another worker , Saul Segal , who was quite a character in his own right . I took the rats in the cages over to the reactor , the " Old Lady " at X - 10 , and put them through what they called " rabbits " and radiated them for certain amount of time . We couldn 't kill the darn things . Then we used the older ones that had already been radiated , they were just tough as anything . I think the experiment was really a failure , although they may have found that to be the case in some later work with older people - that the cells are not dividing as fast and they 're not as subject to radiation . But we didn 't get into that . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was actually not K - 25 . It was beyond there . As I said , the bus took us - the bus dumped people off at K - 25 , and they went on west to just before you get to the Gallaher Bridge . You turn right there and go right past the power station there . It was used for a long time - the power house , and then NEPA was beyond that . The native rats came in - was it domestic experimental rats ? That was not good . I had a janitor who helped me , even though he could 've lost his job for doing it . He helped me clean cages . I always appreciated that . MRS . DAVIDSON : When they got rid of the rats , which was a blessing , my group leader then became Bill Browning , who was a fine scientist . He worked on the Van de Graaff generator . We had an interesting argument . Saul Segal thought he should be the one to do it since he was a man and I was a woman who would be leaving soon ; and it turned out that he left for California before I had left to have my baby . His argument didn 't hold with me anyway , but we argued about that some . We did run the Van de Graaff , and we also did some experiments on metallic sodium . It was nasty stuff to work with . It caught on fire if it was exposed to air . You had to work with that under oil in the glove box . I think that work all had to be repeated after NEPA left for Cincinnati with G . E . . When they moved part of NEPA to X - 10 , they called it the ANP , or something about aircraft and nuclear power . I was not connected with that because my first baby was born in August 1951 . I left in July . MRS . DAVIDSON : I heard somebody say that they had to repeat it all . My boss , the Division Director of Chemistry was interested in vitamin E , and thought it had a lot of protective influence . We worked with that . That was some of the work I did in chemistry - the lab part of it in the early days . It was not good work , I think . I 'm not blaming myself , but some of the other men who were doing chemical work - I think altogether we didn 't come up with anything . MRS . DAVIDSON : It may have been ahead of it 's time for nuclear submarines . I don 't know whether the engineering people thought that or not . In our group which was the chemistry and the physics , my friend who got me the job was Jim Trice . A fellow named Art Miller and somebody named Coneybearwere in the Physics Division . And then there were some others - Fred Maienschein . I did some work for him one time . It was work on beryllium for one thing . I didn 't work with any of the active beryllium . I didn 't do any lab work then , but I did some journal research . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't think they were that far along . I 'm not sure what happened to that part of it . As I said , in July of 1951 they moved to Cincinnati , Evensville , above Cincinnati . I don 't know how many people actually went up there . Most of my friends moved elsewhere . MR . HUNNICUTT : You mentioned the location of the operation was past the steam plant that was on the Clinch River . Was that the same location where the S - 50 project was located ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I think that was the name of our plot of land . I think those - I never was quite sure how they got the designations , but that was the Fairchild domain , I think . MRS . DAVIDSON : Really , it was just when our eyes met . It was very romantic . He followed our group home to the Columbia Hall to see where I lived . But at the time I thought he was too young , and I didn 't think he was following me . I was with a group of other girls . Later on , one of the women in the dormitory , who was a gym teacher in the Oak Ridge schools , told me I really ought to meet Jack Davidson that he loved to ride bicycles ; I was just back from my bicycle trip in Europe . I didn 't know who he was , and then I went to a church group meeting at my Presbyterian Church for young people one Sunday evening . A friend of mine had brought Jack Davidson , and he was the one whose eyes I had met and he had met mine . Sure enough , he loved to ride bicycles . That was the start of a good thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : We did a little bit . On our dates , that 's really what we did mostly at first . We rode out to West Outer Drive and had those wonderful big hills , not too much traffic at that time . We went out to the water tower at the top of Louisiana and had a picnic , and then rode back . When we got really good , we rode our bicycles over to Concord Park one day . I had gotten some chicken breasts at the grocery . I guess it was the A & P at Jackson Square . I was going to fry them for a picnic to take along over to Concord Park . When I went to the refrigerator to get them , they had turned into wings . Somebody had eaten my chicken breast . Jack was a good sport about that . He didn 't care . We had a nice ride . It was before they had improved Lovell Road . It was a pretty rough ride over there , but we were able to enjoy it . MRS . DAVIDSON : He had his bicycle . It was probably a Grey Stone . For me , he rented a bicycle from his work friend . I had forgotten what his name was . We went over to one of the D Streets , I think , and rode them . I didn 't have my English 3 - speed here . I guess I brought it later , but at that time I didn 't have it . MRS . DAVIDSON : That was a problem . I complained to my friend Jim Trice 's wife , Dot , who happened to live around the corner on Outer Drive at that time . She said the boardwalk was used a lot for dating , and of course the theaters . I guess we were outdoors people . I don 't know . MRS . DAVIDSON : He was a graduate of Georgia Tech . At the time he graduated , he was very young . He came up to see about a job , and he was drafted . No , he was in danger of being drafted right away , but they didn 't hire him . He did go to work for NASA , which was at that time NACA , in Virginia ; and worked over there a short time before he was taken into the Army . He had gone through Georgia Tech on a " War Manpower " loan . He was sent to some place to be an MP , I think . He wrote a night letter , which is a 50 - word telegram that was cheaper at night . He wrote a night letter to Stimson , the Secretary of War , telling them they had paid for his college education ; and here he was sitting in a camp doing nothing down in Alabama . He was transferred to the SED , he would never say that was the reason he was transferred . It may or may not have been . He arrived with the SED - he arrived in Oak Ridge the day Roosevelt died , which was in April 1945 , he was here with his group for maybe six weeks before they went out to Los Alamos . So he spent the rest of the war out there . Then he used his G . I . Bill - he stayed on at Los Alamos . They told them they would let him out of the Army if he would agree to stay on as a civilian . So he took that . Then when he did leave , he went to Annapolis and took a liberal arts course because he felt that he had missed out on it at Georgia Tech . He had a year at St . John 's College of Annapolis ; and then all along I guess he thought he would like to come back here . He came back - he arrived on Armistice Day , now Veterans Day , of 1948 . I was here a couple of months before he came , but we met shortly after Christmas in 1949 . MRS . DAVIDSON : Too long . We were married in May 1950 . He wanted to pay off his loan before we could get married , so I helped him along with that . I fed him some . He was very welcome at the D House of girls . I was going to tell you that during the war , there were nine girls in the house , and they slept on shifts on the bunk beds . There were only six of us when I was there . There were a couple of the boyfriends around , and one of them cut the grass . I think Jack did the - empty the clinkers from the furnace , the coal furnace . They made themselves useful . They got their dinner . MR . HUNNICUTT : Tell me about the coal furnace briefly . MRS . DAVIDSON : Most of the houses were a very good design really , and a whole lot better built than we gave them credit for . But each one that I knew of had a corner set off or closed off as a coal storage place that could be filled through a window from the outside , and then you could use the - there was an opening on the inside that you could use to put coal into the furnace . That was awful of course , but that 's what all the houses were doing in that time , too . We had a yard full of clinkers over there . MRS . DAVIDSON : We were taken care of by a Big Brother - the government . They brought the coal around , and you didn 't do a thing . That was part of the rent . When we got our house here on Orange Lane , that 's another story . Are you ready for that yet ? MRS . DAVIDSON : We went back to my home in Louisville , Kentucky , to be married . We had planned to fly to Nashville , but it turned out the Delta Queen was coming through Louisville the next morning . My mother had told us we could not get married the week before because it was too busy with Derby Day . So we delayed until May 13 . Then we spent the night in Louisville at the Brown Hotel , where she pulled some strings to get us a room because it was still very full of visitors from the Derby . We got on the Delta Queen , and our friends were all on the dock to see us off . They had us almost convinced that we were on Daylight Saving Time , and the Delta Queen was not , and we had missed it . But we rode down just as far as Paducah . We were anxious to start in life you know . We lived on Wadell Circle in a K apartment . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you recall the number ? MRS . DAVIDSON : It was a two - story thing . I guess it was a two - bedroom up above , and we had K - 1 . It was sort of underground at the front and open at the back . We had a nice back porch . There was a closet under the stairway and a very small kitchen . It had a table that folded down . It was not as compact as a flattop , but the furnishings that they had did double duty . You could fold it up and have more room . MRS . DAVIDSON : The K apartment was heated with the coal furnace , but there was a janitor who came around and took care of it for us . We were taken care of by Roane Anderson . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you remember what the rent was ? MRS . DAVIDSON : We lived in the K from May 1950 , until we got this house in July 1952 . It was said - the word around town was that you couldn 't get a two - bedroom house unless you had three children , all of different sex . We had been on the list for this house ever since we knew our daughter was coming along . That was a long time to wait . We had been offered two houses - Florida Avenue , where the parking was across the street and the backyard just dropped off . We thought that was totally unsuitable for a new child . We turned both of those down . If we had turned this one down , we would 've gone to the bottom of the long list . But we loved this place of the trees and the dead end lane neighborhood . So we sat outside in front all weekend because we were not top on the list . The reason the other people didn 't take it was that the previous owner , Jim Cox and Charlotte , had put in an oil furnace ; and nobody wanted to pay $ 200 for the oil furnace . Since I had been working , we had saved my salary from work , and we had $ 200 to pay . Also , they didn 't want to be in the high rent district . This house rented for something like $ 45 instead of $ 43 in the lower rent districts . MRS . DAVIDSON : The Oak Ridge cemesto houses that were built - I think this house was built in the fall of 1944 or 1943 . Maybe it was ' 43 . The B house has two bedrooms and of course a bath and a kitchen with a dinette into a long narrow living room . It was about 24 feet by 40 something feet . It was small and convenient . It didn 't have much storage space , but it 's been a wonderful house for us because of the trees . We are on a greenbelt , and I enjoy that very much . It 's a nice private neighborhood just above Jackson Square . MRS . DAVIDSON : Our cemesto has a fireplace , and it had a complete brick wall . Some of the B houses had a brick wall just beyond the fireplace . MRS . DAVIDSON : There are hardwood floors in all the cemestos , I believe . Our house has maple flooring , and a lot of them had oak . Wood was hard to come by in the wartime . We love the color - the reddish color of the maple . MRS . DAVIDSON : Adele is our second daughter , and she was two years younger . Our son is Bill Davidson or William . He was born in November of 1954 . He 's just now turning 58 . MR . HUNNICUTT : So your first daughter went to Cedar Hill ? MRS . DAVIDSON : All three of our children went to Cedar Hill . They had split grades there , so I think the classes were one half size . They would take the kids a half from one grade , and half from the next grade , and that worked out just fine . MRS . DAVIDSON : Cedar Hill was wonderful . It was very special . Mr . Dodd was the principal , and he saw to it - he had the best teachers or at least as good as any . Actually in those days all the teachers and Oak Ridge were special because many of them had been recruited from Columbia Teachers College , along with the superintendent . Others were specially recruited for the job . They were a group a part , I think , from a lot of teachers . MRS . DAVIDSON : The girls both went to Jefferson when it was on the hill at Jackson Square , and Bill was in the first year at the new Jefferson that was over on Fairbanks Road . His was the first class there . They all went through Oak Ridge High . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you recall some of the classes your daughters took while they were in junior high ? Was there Home Ec . or things related to girls ? MRS . DAVIDSON : No , they were on the college prep track . They took eighth grade algebra and that kind of thing . Of course English and math and social studies and science - our older girl I think took biology ; and I 'm not sure if Adele had a more general science course . It just depended on the teacher that they had . They had an excellent education , and the girls were both Merit semifinalists . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course . I was in the PTA . I 'm not sure if I was ever a room mother , but I of course helped with parties and things . MRS . DAVIDSON : The teachers recruited them from each class to help with parties mostly . They helped with any activities that they didn 't really have time to do . MRS . DAVIDSON : Parent - Teacher Association , a time honored group . It got extra things for the school . I got involved with raincoats for the school patrol . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess maybe I was a treasurer of the Cedar Hill PTA , and this goal was to get those yellow slicker raincoat so kids could be visible to the drivers . I found out how much the things cost , and then I estimated postage . At the PTA meeting , Alvin Weinberg was president . He had a son or two in school at the time . He took me to task for estimating the postage , so I had to ask for just the money for the coats themselves since I didn 't really know what the postage is going to be . I thought that was interesting that he wanted to keep it to the exact penny . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think they just wore what the other kids wore . One day we had a deep snow and Bill was in kindergarten , and the snow was up over their boots . I think he had some corduroys . The teacher was making the kids take their pants off and dry them on the radiator , and he wouldn 't do it . I had to go up to the school and take him some fresh pants , some dry clothes . He was very young - just four when he started . MR . HUNNICUTT : Let 's go back a few years . Do you remember 1945 when they dropped the bomb on Japan ? You remember where you were ? And what was your reaction ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I do remember that very clearly because it was the summer after my junior year in college , and I was a camp counselor up in Door County , Wisconsin . There was no electricity at the camp , so we counselors - after we got the kids to bed , went to the state park nearby . This was at Fish Creek , Wisconsin . We would listen to people 's car radios . We knew for about a week that something was happening , but we didn 't know just what . It was very deeply moving when the bomb was dropped , and we thought it would bring an end to the war . Of course , I had friends and a brother on Guam and a cousin was in Europe and others . So that was very deeply moving . I had a book of poetry - my favorite poems at the camp with me . One of my 12 - year - olds picked out a poem - " Once to every man and nation comes a moment to decide " - she read that , and I thought that was very astute of her , a youngster to be able to do that . MRS . DAVIDSON : My husband thought they should have dropped a sample first , but I didn 't feel that way since the first bomb didn 't phase the Japanese . I didn 't think the test one would have either . I was just so glad that the war was over . People could settle down and get into real life again . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think I was in transition from the dormitory to the house , and my husband 's brothers came up from Georgia to witness the opening . So we drove in their car around , and we watched the parade from , I believe , down on the eastern end of the Turnpike down near the warehouses to get out of the traffic . We never could figure out why they invited Marie " The Body " McDonald and [ inaudible ] to ride in the open car for the parade . We couldn 't figure out what they had to do with it , but we did see the burning of the magnesium ribbon . That was exciting . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was only toward town from Elza Gate . I know the central part of town , the Jackson Square area , was very crowded . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think they name the streets for famous cities in the country , and of course the alphabetical designations were very helpful . But Jackson Square , I assume , was named for New Orleans . That 's all I know about it . MRS . DAVIDSON : Sometimes you would pick up the telephone , and the other party was talking . I believe they had different rings . I think maybe the other party had one ring , and we had two . There were four - party lines , but if we were on a four - party line , only the other one was active . I think maybe we were . The other two lines were not being used . MR . HUNNICUTT : When you are raising your family , did you hang your clothes outside on the clothesline ? Did you have a dryer ? What did you use ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I hung them outside on the clothesline . As I said , when we moved here , Anne was a year old . Not much more than three years after that , we had three babies . I was able to talk my husband into getting a dryer that time . Before that , he had built a pulley out of my kitchen window . There was a drop off in the back , and he was able to string it to a tree in the woods . I was able to reel those cloth diapers and reel them in and out . The only problem was that the birds like the trees , too . Sometimes I had to do some re - washing . MR . HUNNICUTT : So in those days you use cloth diapers ? Today we use disposable diapers . How do you think you would 've done if you had disposable diapers ? MRS . DAVIDSON : At one point , when our children were out playing Kick the Can , there were over 40 children on the lane . There were about 20 or 21 houses . There were almost as many dogs . It was just a glorious place for them to grow up . They seem to get along remarkably well most of the time , especially in the early days . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes . We went down there on the opening , and got the radioactive dimes on that occasion . The museum at that time was down at Jefferson Circle . I don 't think any of us ever had our hair stand out on the Van De Graff generator or whatever it was , but we took the children . We went out ourselves . Of course my husband was interested in that kind of thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : Sometimes they walked to Jefferson , but by that time they were carrying pretty heavy books . One of the neighbors on Outer Drive wanted to have a carpool , so we joined that . MRS . DAVIDSON : When Anne was in the fifth grade , they had to write what they did on Friday nights . The teacher would call me and say , " Is it true that you gave your children ice water and watched TV on Friday nights ? " That was how generous we were with them . We didn 't get a TV until they were probably five or six years old . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course it was black and white . The reason we got it - I guess finally it was that the children were always going to the neighbors ' house to watch TV . We decided that we should get our own . They watched things like " Pinky Lee " and I 've forgotten what else . MRS . DAVIDSON : I remember that fondly because my first real date with my husband was going to dinner there with him . He invited me to go to a concert in Knoxville , and his excuse was that we should get to know each other better before he took me to the city with him . That was one thing . I remember there were parties there , and our company had a party at the Oak Terrace Ballroom . One of the NEPA fellows wore a Tarzan costume , which was mostly nothing . It turned out that he lived in the neighborhood . MR . HUNNICUTT : What was the Oak Terrace ballroom - where was it located ? MRS . DAVIDSON : That was just below the dormitory where I lived in Columbia Hall . Jack went there looking for me , he thought I would eat breakfast there and then he could have breakfast with me ; but I ate in the dormitory . He didn 't find me there . When we came back from our bicycle ride to Concord Park , I remember we stopped by there , and he drank two or three Mountain Dew drinks . That surprised me , but we had worked off a lot of sweat . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , we took our children out there and saw " Lawrence of Arabia " and " The 10 Commandment " and those things . It was quite nice . MR . HUNNICUTT : Where was it located ? MRS . DAVIDSON : It was about where Kroger 's - where that is now , on the southeast part of Illinois Avenue . It was a nice thing . That was a special treat for the children to go out there . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't think so . I think they were mostly in the car . They had a drawing one time , Jack won something . It was actually nothing , but he did win . MRS . DAVIDSON : I sure did . My three children were born there . It was a green structure , like so many of the buildings in Oak Ridge . I guess the present building is built on that place . It was okay . I didn 't have any problems with it , except after my second child . I had a staph infection from the hospital . Even an Army wife with a private room got an infection there . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , I think they also had been recruited ; and a lot of them were from Tulane University . The time I was sick with my infection , they were having a reunion at Tulane , and my doctor and another one were gone for the reunion . I didn 't like the one who took care of me . He didn 't do a good job . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was okay . I don 't remember having any problems with it . We knew Dr . Rogers from our church , and we went to him . He was called away to the service , I believe . Maybe it was the Korean War , but then he came back . MRS . DAVIDSON : We met at Pine Valley School . The choir sat on the bleachers , and the minister sat under the halo of the basketball net . My husband was a Methodist , and he went to the First Methodist Church . They had a big youth group there . When we were first married , we tried to take them both in . We went to Sunday school one place , and church another until we finally settled on the Presbyterian . It was smaller , and we knew more people . MR . HUNNICUTT : Thinking back , what do you like best about Oak Ridge ? MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course the people . I love my trees and my house . I love all the activities . Both my husband and I have always loved music and enjoy the concerts a lot . The symphony concerts with Waldo Cohn conducting were held at Jefferson Junior High on the Kentucky Avenue hill . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you think back about all the people that you knew in the early days ? Do you think it was unusual for everybody to get along - the many people that were here ? MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , I guess so . I didn 't think about it because we just did . It was just fun . Everybody was away from home , and we had to be family for each other . That was particularly true in this close neighborhood . MRS . DAVIDSON : I 'm pleased for the most part . I think we 've made good progress . We 've kept up with the outside world . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't know . I 'll probably think of things after you leave . Nothing particular comes to mind . MR . HUNNICUTT : I would like to thank you for your time , and I think this interview will be very helpful for someone in the future to see how you lived in Oak Ridge in the early days . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think we came through at the very best of times . It was not the pressure of war , but we were growing community . I think things were happening at the Lab . Both of my husband and I loved the Lab because there were so many good things going on out there . It gives us hope for the future . MR . HUNNICUTT : I thank you very much for your time . [ Editor 's Note : This transcript has been edited at Mrs . Davidson 's request . The corresponding audio and video components have remained unchanged . ] Your rating was saved . you wish to report :

MR . HUNNICUTT : This interview is for the Center of Oak Ridge Oral History . The date is November 8 , 2012 . I am Don Hunnicutt in the home of Mrs . Mary Ann Davidson , 117 Orange Lane , Oak Ridge , Tennessee , to take her oral history about living in Oak Ridge , Tennessee . Please state your full name and your place of birth and your date of birth . MRS . DAVIDSON : My name is Mary Ann Davidson . My date of birth is January 12 , 1925 . I was born in Louisville , Kentucky . I lived there all my early life until I graduated from college . MRS . DAVIDSON : My father was William H . Courtenay . He was born in 1890 , on March 3 . He was in World War I and lived his entire life in Louisville and Shelbyville , Kentucky . He worked for the Mengel Company . They imported mahogany and hardwood from Africa and Central America . He delivered those to customers . He didn 't consider himself a salesman , but he sold them to the furniture factory - furniture makers around Kentucky , mostly Indiana and Cincinnati and some in Tennessee . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , he did not . The Louisville Male High School was considered a fine school at that time . They said that graduates could enter Harvard in their second year . The principal had written textbooks that were apparently used all over . But my father was interested in raising ponies . His father had a farm in Shelbyville , Kentucky . If you 'd didn 't make the grade , you are special . And Dr . Ruben Post - Halleck , the famous principal of the school , told him if he took an exam in math , he could be entered back in . He did that , and he aced the test . He was back in . Then he was a special in English , so they told him if he memorized the " Lady of the Lake " and said that he could get back in school . So he did that . I think he never did finish . He was a twin , and his twin was more of an engineering type and went to manual training high school . MRS . DAVIDSON : She grew up in several small towns in western Kentucky . Her father worked for the L & N Railroad . She had her high school in Hopkinsville , Kentucky . She had to stay home - or she went to junior college nearby . She had a scholarship to Randolph Macon Women 's College , but she couldn 't take it because her mother was ill and died at age 50 . It was about the year I was born , I think . MRS . DAVIDSON : His name was William Howard Courtenay III . My father was named for his uncle , who was also William Howard . My older brother works for Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green in the physics department . He made instruments . My younger brother was a pediatrician in Louisville , and he is still living on a farm in Shelbyville . He 's interested in Kentucky antiques . MRS . DAVIDSON : I went to an unusual kindergarten and first grade . I was at what they called the Enterprise Branch of I . N . Bloom School . It was only kindergarten and first grade . It was in the older building , where we had a Pot Belly Stove . I think we had a maid to help us take our leggings off in the cold weather - galoshes . It was really a wonderful school . It was almost like a private one . It was public . We did things like making butter and we had an orchestra . I played the triangle . I had started a little bit earlier when my younger brother was born . Louisville had half semester , half - year grades . I would 've been a half year , but I skipped the last half of kindergarten . I went to the school board and took a test and went on , so they put me in the regular school year . I went through the big school the I . N . Bloom School and Highland Junior High School in Louisville . Then I went to Atherton High School for Girls . The Louisville public schools were segregated - boys and girls . There were about 900 girls at Atherton . My graduating class was about 200 , and I was the valedictorian . MRS . DAVIDSON : They are pants to keep your legs warm . They zipped up from the inside of the ankle bone up to about knee - high , I guess it was . They were a royal pain to take on and off , so the teacher had to have help to do that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was just ordinary . I 'm sure the girls wore dresses , and the little boys wore suits - not suits , but pants and shirts . MRS . DAVIDSON : I came to Oak Ridge after I graduated from college . I had two years of getting a master 's at Emory while I worked at my alma mater , Agnes Scott College in Decatur , Georgia . I was the chemistry lab instructor . So after those two years were up , I was interested in working in chemistry or biochemistry . My master 's was in biochemistry . In Louisville , there was nothing in that field , except liquor and paint - neither of which I was interested in . In Atlanta , I would like to stay in Atlanta , I heard that Oak Ridge was an interesting new place , and a lot was going on here . One of my dear college friends had recently married a physicist from the University of Kentucky , so I visited them here . I guess that must have been 1947 . Her husband was working at NEPA . He said they were looking for people with a chemistry degree . I applied , and I was accepted . I didn 't know that until I had completed the clearance , so I took the opportunity to go to Europe at an American youth hostel bicycle tour of Western Europe in the summer of 1948 . When I got home , I found that I had indeed gotten the job at Oak Ridge . So I came down here . MRS . DAVIDSON : I was wondering that . I think I came by train . When I interviewed earlier in the spring , my interview was at the Andrew Johnson Hotel . It was one of the private rooms . I had never seen the company here . I think I must have been met by a car and driver and brought to Oak Ridge . MRS . DAVIDSON : I came in through the Vermont Gateway , which is where the gas station is now on the corner of what I call Vermont . They call it North Rutgers now . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , I think it must 've been after that . That would 've been at Christmas time . When I applied , I imagine it was early spring . MRS . DAVIDSON : We called the company NEPA , for Nuclear Energy for the Propulsion of Aircraft . It was managed by the Fairchild Corporation the way Union Carbide or one of the other contractors managed the lab . I did not know until the first day I went to work just what the company was doing . They handed me a volume of information that said , " We are looking for - we are trying to make an airplane powered by nuclear energy that could fly to Russia and back without refueling . " That was a great shock to me . MRS . DAVIDSON : I lived in Columbia Hall Dormitory . I was very surprised to find that the rent was $ 15 a month until I realized it was one very small room . That was my living quarters . I took the opportunity to stay out of it as much as possible . I did that by babysitting in some of the B and D houses in the evening . Grandmothers were not here since it was a closed community . Babysitters were in short supply , and even though I didn 't need the money , it was good to get out of the dormitory . MRS . DAVIDSON : The dormitory was like Cheyenne Hall . It was the same type of building . It had wooden stairways from the second - floor hall down on each end . I lived on the second floor . Our dormitory was mostly nurses , since it was up on the hill next to the hospital - I think where the west parking lot is now . There was a kitchen on each end where we could have our own breakfast . Of course we were at the plant at lunchtime , and then we usually went out to supper . I opened the refrigerator door one morning and somebody 's milk came spilling out down my front . Everybody just stuffed things into the refrigerator . MRS . DAVIDSON : I had a single room with a twin bed and enough room to walk to the window by the bed . There was a little table that served as a desk with a chair . There was a much coveted dormitory dresser - a tall one with a number of drawers . They were very popular . MRS . DAVIDSON : They had a wonderful bus service here . Travel wasn 't really a problem . We walked , of course , from the dormitory to Jackson Square and ate supper usually at the Mayflower , which is where I first saw my husband - to - be . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was on the corner of Tennessee , right across from the Soup Kitchen and the Texaco gas station there on the northeast corner . It was a very popular place . In fact , there were several places you could eat . It was the Central Cafeteria , and the T & C Cafeteria in Jackson Square , which is about where the Epicurean is now toward the garden . MRS . DAVIDSON : It must 've been the A & P on Jackson Square . Jackson Square was really the center of activity as far as I was concerned at that time . I still love it . I hope it keeps going . MRS . DAVIDSON : The department stores - the big department store was Taylor 's at the time . They had a wonderful book department headed by Mrs . Keyes , whose daughter I knew at work . They had really fine art books and other books that they would have a great sale on once or twice a year . We were very happy with that . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was in the middle of the block between where Big Ed 's is in the corner . I guess it 's mostly used by the engineering company now . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , not frequently , but I went and saw - there was a theater down at Big Ed 's in Jackson Square and where the Playhouse is now . That was the main one . MRS . DAVIDSON : Henebree . McCrory 's 5 & 10 was there . There was a drugstore - a Service Drugstore . I guess that was where Big Ed 's is now , on the very corner . There was Jackson Square Pharmacy , and on the other side the Hamilton Bank was there next to the movie theater . And Samuel 's Men 's Store was a very nice store . The Jackson Square Pharmacy was there , but in between , which the Pharmacy later took over was a Kay 's Ice Cream Store . We used to go there and - my husband and I would when we were dating . I liked to get coffee with ice cream in it , so we went there . MRS . DAVIDSON : I can 't say that I do . It was just a given , I suppose . It didn 't make a big dent in my memory . After six months of the dormitory , I moved to a D house on Norman Lane . That was another era . MRS . DAVIDSON : A D house was a large three bedroom house . They were very much desired . They were really nice houses - still a lot of them are . The house was - there were five other girls who lived there - two of whom had been college friends . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , it would 've been upstairs . It was the second one to the end . A radiation technologist lived on the corner , and I lived there with school teachers and nurses who made up most of the dorm . MR . HUNNICUTT : Let 's talk a little bit about the dorm again . If I had a message for you or someone left a message for you , how did you retrieve your messages ? Was there a desk when you went in ? MRS . DAVIDSON : There was a desk downstairs . I remember the Valentine 's Day - I guess it must 've been 1949 . The message was that I had some flowers , some red roses . I had just met my husband - to - be at that time . I got all excited , and when I got to the desk , it was from somebody else . I enjoyed the red roses , but not as much as I might have . The thing was that there were ladies - a lot of the women who lived in the dorm worked on the night shift . They would sit around a large kind of living room , I guess they called it . They were all staring when I got flowers . I had to walk around , and it was embarrassing . MRS . DAVIDSON : I was there in the winter of 1948 . I 'm very cold natured , but I don 't remember being cold . We had those heavy navy blanket - navy blue blankets . This brings up a story if I jump to it later on . We were moved from the D house after another six months into the brand - new Garden Apartments on Villanova Road . They needed our D house for families . The people who moved in were the Andersons of the Anderson Hilltop Grocery . Of course , the furniture all belonged to the government there . So the Garden Apartments were not furnished , so we had dwindled down from 6 to 4 people who needed furniture . I took a day off and went to an auction the government set up down at the warehouses . I got seven beds and three or four dressers - much more than I could have used . But the beds were in great demand at work because all the young men who worked there were having children and needed beds . So we took the four . Also I got two sofas , and we could use but one ; so I sold one . They were really shabby awful sofas . Since it was all going to surplus anyway , we switched and took the nice sofa from the D house and left them the bad one . It was all taken away anyhow , so I didn 't feel too bad about that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't really remember about the telephone . We didn 't use the telephone much . We never used it for long - distance except for emergencies and calls home . I don 't remember that as being a problem particularly . MRS . DAVIDSON : I suppose I went on the bus . I did not have a car . One of the housemates from Norman Lane had gotten the car , but she would 've been at work at K - 25 . I don 't know . I may have gotten a ride . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess I paid somebody to deliver it . I don 't know . Maybe some of the fellows at work picked up their beds that they wanted . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was one of those warehouses down at the [ Oak Ridge ] Turnpike on Warehouse Road . I don 't know exactly where it was . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess it was on the bulletin boards at work , or there was a newspaper at the Lab . I guess I heard about it that way . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think probably so - in the newsletters they came around , also at the recreation building - the rec hall - at Jackson Square that was the library upstairs and the rec hall downstairs . Word - of - mouth - I don 't remember . We had a need and found the answer to it . MRS . DAVIDSON : I had to punch a clock at eight in the morning when I first started . I guess we got out at 4 : 30 or 5 o ' clock . We had bus service that went from the bus terminal - the Central one - that 's now by Bus Terminal Road . Later on after we were married , we lived on Waddell Circle and went from there to the Jefferson bus terminal . I went - I rode on the K - 25 bus , and they went out past K - 25 to the road that the powerhouse was on and NEPA was beyond that out by the river . MRS . DAVIDSON : There was some kind of management services office . I 'm not sure what it was called - the Roane Anderson Corporation at that time , I guess . I think that 's where I rented the dormitory room . I probably got bus tokens - I guess I got the tokens of the bus terminal . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think I had a checking account probably at Hamilton Bank in Jackson Square . I don 't recall otherwise . I know I did later . One thing I wanted to say about the buses - if you wanted to go to Clinton to do any shopping , more than what you could have in Oak Ridge or to meet somebody or something , there was a bus that ran frequently back and forth between the bus terminal and Clinton . There was a young man on the bus who had a sing - songy sales pitch for " peanuts , popcorn , Cracker Jacks , candy , and chewing gum . " He wouldn 't drive , but he would sell his wares all the way to Clinton and back . I always wondered who that was because he obviously had some talent . MRS . DAVIDSON : I 'm sure I did . I don 't know what became of it . I guess I had to turn it back in . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think somebody just got - one of the guards got on the bus and checked everybody 's badges . It was not a big thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : Probably . I don 't remember . What I do remember about that was my mother was coming down one time for my birthday - it must 've been in January 1949 . She rode the train . I told her that I would get a ride to meet her . Of course , the train didn 't stop at Oak Ridge . It went on to Knoxville , so I bummed a ride with one of the men in our group . He was actually the technical assistant to the director . His car was a broken down old thing with no floorboards in the back seat , which was pretty bad when my mother saw it . But she didn 't see it because when we got to Knoxville , she was not there . When we were coming back from the gateway entrance , she was not there . There was a message that she was waiting for us at the Elza Gate Station . She had told the conductor she had to get off at Oak Ridge . That 's where she was going , and I was going to meet her . So she slid down the Elza bank over there . She had my birthday cake - a large chocolate cake . She slid downhill with that , and somehow they stopped her at the guard gate at Elza . She waited there for us . MRS . DAVIDSON : Just for her - let her off like a milk train . They ordinarily didn 't stop there , but she wouldn 't have it otherwise . MRS . DAVIDSON : I used the library and rec hall . On Sunday afternoons , they played music ; and you could sit and write letters home , which is what I think I did a good bit . Later on in the better weather , there were tennis courts and a swimming pool . I don 't remember going to movies much . We went to church groups . There were so many young people ; it was just like a party all the time . Nothing in particular stands out . It was just fun . MRS . DAVIDSON : In the company I was , that was not true . There were a lot of women of course - of course , the dormitory was full of school teachers and nurses . But NEPA was mostly men . There were two parts to the Fairchild - the science and engineering part , which was bigger . I happen to be in the research part . My boss was a chemist - Vince Calkins . It was my job to - this was a real shocker to me - to find a chemical that would protect the human body against radiation for the reactor that was supposed to be in the airplane to Russia . I had no background for that kind of thing . I was just fresh out of college really . I realized I was out of my depth , but they decided - he was a pharmacist , I believe , and he wanted to do experiments with rats . They brought in the rat colony . By that time we had a couple of assistants , and I was supposed to be the group leader . One of the men , Ray Waldrop - you may have talked to him . I asked him if he minded working for a woman because he was really more experienced than I , although I had the degree . It was fine with him . There was also another worker , Saul Segal , who was quite a character in his own right . I took the rats in the cages over to the reactor , the " Old Lady " at X - 10 , and put them through what they called " rabbits " and radiated them for certain amount of time . We couldn 't kill the darn things . Then we used the older ones that had already been radiated , they were just tough as anything . I think the experiment was really a failure , although they may have found that to be the case in some later work with older people - that the cells are not dividing as fast and they 're not as subject to radiation . But we didn 't get into that . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was actually not K - 25 . It was beyond there . As I said , the bus took us - the bus dumped people off at K - 25 , and they went on west to just before you get to the Gallaher Bridge . You turn right there and go right past the power station there . It was used for a long time - the power house , and then NEPA was beyond that . The native rats came in - was it domestic experimental rats ? That was not good . I had a janitor who helped me , even though he could 've lost his job for doing it . He helped me clean cages . I always appreciated that . MRS . DAVIDSON : When they got rid of the rats , which was a blessing , my group leader then became Bill Browning , who was a fine scientist . He worked on the Van de Graaff generator . We had an interesting argument . Saul Segal thought he should be the one to do it since he was a man and I was a woman who would be leaving soon ; and it turned out that he left for California before I had left to have my baby . His argument didn 't hold with me anyway , but we argued about that some . We did run the Van de Graaff , and we also did some experiments on metallic sodium . It was nasty stuff to work with . It caught on fire if it was exposed to air . You had to work with that under oil in the glove box . I think that work all had to be repeated after NEPA left for Cincinnati with G . E . . When they moved part of NEPA to X - 10 , they called it the ANP , or something about aircraft and nuclear power . I was not connected with that because my first baby was born in August 1951 . I left in July . MRS . DAVIDSON : I heard somebody say that they had to repeat it all . My boss , the Division Director of Chemistry was interested in vitamin E , and thought it had a lot of protective influence . We worked with that . That was some of the work I did in chemistry - the lab part of it in the early days . It was not good work , I think . I 'm not blaming myself , but some of the other men who were doing chemical work - I think altogether we didn 't come up with anything . MRS . DAVIDSON : It may have been ahead of it 's time for nuclear submarines . I don 't know whether the engineering people thought that or not . In our group which was the chemistry and the physics , my friend who got me the job was Jim Trice . A fellow named Art Miller and somebody named Coneybearwere in the Physics Division . And then there were some others - Fred Maienschein . I did some work for him one time . It was work on beryllium for one thing . I didn 't work with any of the active beryllium . I didn 't do any lab work then , but I did some journal research . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't think they were that far along . I 'm not sure what happened to that part of it . As I said , in July of 1951 they moved to Cincinnati , Evensville , above Cincinnati . I don 't know how many people actually went up there . Most of my friends moved elsewhere . MR . HUNNICUTT : You mentioned the location of the operation was past the steam plant that was on the Clinch River . Was that the same location where the S - 50 project was located ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I think that was the name of our plot of land . I think those - I never was quite sure how they got the designations , but that was the Fairchild domain , I think . MRS . DAVIDSON : Really , it was just when our eyes met . It was very romantic . He followed our group home to the Columbia Hall to see where I lived . But at the time I thought he was too young , and I didn 't think he was following me . I was with a group of other girls . Later on , one of the women in the dormitory , who was a gym teacher in the Oak Ridge schools , told me I really ought to meet Jack Davidson that he loved to ride bicycles ; I was just back from my bicycle trip in Europe . I didn 't know who he was , and then I went to a church group meeting at my Presbyterian Church for young people one Sunday evening . A friend of mine had brought Jack Davidson , and he was the one whose eyes I had met and he had met mine . Sure enough , he loved to ride bicycles . That was the start of a good thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : We did a little bit . On our dates , that 's really what we did mostly at first . We rode out to West Outer Drive and had those wonderful big hills , not too much traffic at that time . We went out to the water tower at the top of Louisiana and had a picnic , and then rode back . When we got really good , we rode our bicycles over to Concord Park one day . I had gotten some chicken breasts at the grocery . I guess it was the A & P at Jackson Square . I was going to fry them for a picnic to take along over to Concord Park . When I went to the refrigerator to get them , they had turned into wings . Somebody had eaten my chicken breast . Jack was a good sport about that . He didn 't care . We had a nice ride . It was before they had improved Lovell Road . It was a pretty rough ride over there , but we were able to enjoy it . MRS . DAVIDSON : He had his bicycle . It was probably a Grey Stone . For me , he rented a bicycle from his work friend . I had forgotten what his name was . We went over to one of the D Streets , I think , and rode them . I didn 't have my English 3 - speed here . I guess I brought it later , but at that time I didn 't have it . MRS . DAVIDSON : That was a problem . I complained to my friend Jim Trice 's wife , Dot , who happened to live around the corner on Outer Drive at that time . She said the boardwalk was used a lot for dating , and of course the theaters . I guess we were outdoors people . I don 't know . MRS . DAVIDSON : He was a graduate of Georgia Tech . At the time he graduated , he was very young . He came up to see about a job , and he was drafted . No , he was in danger of being drafted right away , but they didn 't hire him . He did go to work for NASA , which was at that time NACA , in Virginia ; and worked over there a short time before he was taken into the Army . He had gone through Georgia Tech on a " War Manpower " loan . He was sent to some place to be an MP , I think . He wrote a night letter , which is a 50 - word telegram that was cheaper at night . He wrote a night letter to Stimson , the Secretary of War , telling them they had paid for his college education ; and here he was sitting in a camp doing nothing down in Alabama . He was transferred to the SED , he would never say that was the reason he was transferred . It may or may not have been . He arrived with the SED - he arrived in Oak Ridge the day Roosevelt died , which was in April 1945 , he was here with his group for maybe six weeks before they went out to Los Alamos . So he spent the rest of the war out there . Then he used his G . I . Bill - he stayed on at Los Alamos . They told them they would let him out of the Army if he would agree to stay on as a civilian . So he took that . Then when he did leave , he went to Annapolis and took a liberal arts course because he felt that he had missed out on it at Georgia Tech . He had a year at St . John 's College of Annapolis ; and then all along I guess he thought he would like to come back here . He came back - he arrived on Armistice Day , now Veterans Day , of 1948 . I was here a couple of months before he came , but we met shortly after Christmas in 1949 . MRS . DAVIDSON : Too long . We were married in May 1950 . He wanted to pay off his loan before we could get married , so I helped him along with that . I fed him some . He was very welcome at the D House of girls . I was going to tell you that during the war , there were nine girls in the house , and they slept on shifts on the bunk beds . There were only six of us when I was there . There were a couple of the boyfriends around , and one of them cut the grass . I think Jack did the - empty the clinkers from the furnace , the coal furnace . They made themselves useful . They got their dinner . MRS . DAVIDSON : Most of the houses were a very good design really , and a whole lot better built than we gave them credit for . But each one that I knew of had a corner set off or closed off as a coal storage place that could be filled through a window from the outside , and then you could use the - there was an opening on the inside that you could use to put coal into the furnace . That was awful of course , but that 's what all the houses were doing in that time , too . We had a yard full of clinkers over there . MRS . DAVIDSON : We were taken care of by a Big Brother - the government . They brought the coal around , and you didn 't do a thing . That was part of the rent . When we got our house here on Orange Lane , that 's another story . Are you ready for that yet ? MRS . DAVIDSON : We went back to my home in Louisville , Kentucky , to be married . We had planned to fly to Nashville , but it turned out the Delta Queen was coming through Louisville the next morning . My mother had told us we could not get married the week before because it was too busy with Derby Day . So we delayed until May 13 . Then we spent the night in Louisville at the Brown Hotel , where she pulled some strings to get us a room because it was still very full of visitors from the Derby . We got on the Delta Queen , and our friends were all on the dock to see us off . They had us almost convinced that we were on Daylight Saving Time , and the Delta Queen was not , and we had missed it . But we rode down just as far as Paducah . We were anxious to start in life you know . We lived on Wadell Circle in a K apartment . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was a two - story thing . I guess it was a two - bedroom up above , and we had K - 1 . It was sort of underground at the front and open at the back . We had a nice back porch . There was a closet under the stairway and a very small kitchen . It had a table that folded down . It was not as compact as a flattop , but the furnishings that they had did double duty . You could fold it up and have more room . MRS . DAVIDSON : The K apartment was heated with the coal furnace , but there was a janitor who came around and took care of it for us . We were taken care of by Roane Anderson . MRS . DAVIDSON : We lived in the K from May 1950 , until we got this house in July 1952 . It was said - the word around town was that you couldn 't get a two - bedroom house unless you had three children , all of different sex . We had been on the list for this house ever since we knew our daughter was coming along . That was a long time to wait . We had been offered two houses - Florida Avenue , where the parking was across the street and the backyard just dropped off . We thought that was totally unsuitable for a new child . We turned both of those down . If we had turned this one down , we would 've gone to the bottom of the long list . But we loved this place of the trees and the dead end lane neighborhood . So we sat outside in front all weekend because we were not top on the list . The reason the other people didn 't take it was that the previous owner , Jim Cox and Charlotte , had put in an oil furnace ; and nobody wanted to pay $ 200 for the oil furnace . Since I had been working , we had saved my salary from work , and we had $ 200 to pay . Also , they didn 't want to be in the high rent district . This house rented for something like $ 45 instead of $ 43 in the lower rent districts . MRS . DAVIDSON : The Oak Ridge cemesto houses that were built - I think this house was built in the fall of 1944 or 1943 . Maybe it was ' 43 . The B house has two bedrooms and of course a bath and a kitchen with a dinette into a long narrow living room . It was about 24 feet by 40 something feet . It was small and convenient . It didn 't have much storage space , but it 's been a wonderful house for us because of the trees . We are on a greenbelt , and I enjoy that very much . It 's a nice private neighborhood just above Jackson Square . MRS . DAVIDSON : Our cemesto has a fireplace , and it had a complete brick wall . Some of the B houses had a brick wall just beyond the fireplace . MRS . DAVIDSON : There are hardwood floors in all the cemestos , I believe . Our house has maple flooring , and a lot of them had oak . Wood was hard to come by in the wartime . We love the color - the reddish color of the maple . MRS . DAVIDSON : Adele is our second daughter , and she was two years younger . Our son is Bill Davidson or William . He was born in November of 1954 . He 's just now turning 58 . MRS . DAVIDSON : All three of our children went to Cedar Hill . They had split grades there , so I think the classes were one half size . They would take the kids a half from one grade , and half from the next grade , and that worked out just fine . MRS . DAVIDSON : Cedar Hill was wonderful . It was very special . Mr . Dodd was the principal , and he saw to it - he had the best teachers or at least as good as any . Actually in those days all the teachers and Oak Ridge were special because many of them had been recruited from Columbia Teachers College , along with the superintendent . Others were specially recruited for the job . They were a group a part , I think , from a lot of teachers . MRS . DAVIDSON : The girls both went to Jefferson when it was on the hill at Jackson Square , and Bill was in the first year at the new Jefferson that was over on Fairbanks Road . His was the first class there . They all went through Oak Ridge High . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you recall some of the classes your daughters took while they were in junior high ? Was there Home Ec . or things related to girls ? MRS . DAVIDSON : No , they were on the college prep track . They took eighth grade algebra and that kind of thing . Of course English and math and social studies and science - our older girl I think took biology ; and I 'm not sure if Adele had a more general science course . It just depended on the teacher that they had . They had an excellent education , and the girls were both Merit semifinalists . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course . I was in the PTA . I 'm not sure if I was ever a room mother , but I of course helped with parties and things . MRS . DAVIDSON : The teachers recruited them from each class to help with parties mostly . They helped with any activities that they didn 't really have time to do . MRS . DAVIDSON : Parent - Teacher Association , a time honored group . It got extra things for the school . I got involved with raincoats for the school patrol . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess maybe I was a treasurer of the Cedar Hill PTA , and this goal was to get those yellow slicker raincoat so kids could be visible to the drivers . I found out how much the things cost , and then I estimated postage . At the PTA meeting , Alvin Weinberg was president . He had a son or two in school at the time . He took me to task for estimating the postage , so I had to ask for just the money for the coats themselves since I didn 't really know what the postage is going to be . I thought that was interesting that he wanted to keep it to the exact penny . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think they just wore what the other kids wore . One day we had a deep snow and Bill was in kindergarten , and the snow was up over their boots . I think he had some corduroys . The teacher was making the kids take their pants off and dry them on the radiator , and he wouldn 't do it . I had to go up to the school and take him some fresh pants , some dry clothes . He was very young - just four when he started . MR . HUNNICUTT : Let 's go back a few years . Do you remember 1945 when they dropped the bomb on Japan ? You remember where you were ? And what was your reaction ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I do remember that very clearly because it was the summer after my junior year in college , and I was a camp counselor up in Door County , Wisconsin . There was no electricity at the camp , so we counselors - after we got the kids to bed , went to the state park nearby . This was at Fish Creek , Wisconsin . We would listen to people 's car radios . We knew for about a week that something was happening , but we didn 't know just what . It was very deeply moving when the bomb was dropped , and we thought it would bring an end to the war . Of course , I had friends and a brother on Guam and a cousin was in Europe and others . So that was very deeply moving . I had a book of poetry - my favorite poems at the camp with me . One of my 12 - year - olds picked out a poem - " Once to every man and nation comes a moment to decide " - she read that , and I thought that was very astute of her , a youngster to be able to do that . MRS . DAVIDSON : My husband thought they should have dropped a sample first , but I didn 't feel that way since the first bomb didn 't phase the Japanese . I didn 't think the test one would have either . I was just so glad that the war was over . People could settle down and get into real life again . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think I was in transition from the dormitory to the house , and my husband 's brothers came up from Georgia to witness the opening . So we drove in their car around , and we watched the parade from , I believe , down on the eastern end of the Turnpike down near the warehouses to get out of the traffic . We never could figure out why they invited Marie " The Body " McDonald and [ inaudible ] to ride in the open car for the parade . We couldn 't figure out what they had to do with it , but we did see the burning of the magnesium ribbon . That was exciting . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was only toward town from Elza Gate . I know the central part of town , the Jackson Square area , was very crowded . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think they name the streets for famous cities in the country , and of course the alphabetical designations were very helpful . But Jackson Square , I assume , was named for New Orleans . That 's all I know about it . MRS . DAVIDSON : Sometimes you would pick up the telephone , and the other party was talking . I believe they had different rings . I think maybe the other party had one ring , and we had two . There were four - party lines , but if we were on a four - party line , only the other one was active . I think maybe we were . The other two lines were not being used . MR . HUNNICUTT : When you are raising your family , did you hang your clothes outside on the clothesline ? Did you have a dryer ? What did you use ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I hung them outside on the clothesline . As I said , when we moved here , Anne was a year old . Not much more than three years after that , we had three babies . I was able to talk my husband into getting a dryer that time . Before that , he had built a pulley out of my kitchen window . There was a drop off in the back , and he was able to string it to a tree in the woods . I was able to reel those cloth diapers and reel them in and out . The only problem was that the birds like the trees , too . Sometimes I had to do some re - washing . MR . HUNNICUTT : So in those days you use cloth diapers ? Today we use disposable diapers . How do you think you would 've done if you had disposable diapers ? MRS . DAVIDSON : At one point , when our children were out playing Kick the Can , there were over 40 children on the lane . There were about 20 or 21 houses . There were almost as many dogs . It was just a glorious place for them to grow up . They seem to get along remarkably well most of the time , especially in the early days . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes . We went down there on the opening , and got the radioactive dimes on that occasion . The museum at that time was down at Jefferson Circle . I don 't think any of us ever had our hair stand out on the Van De Graff generator or whatever it was , but we took the children . We went out ourselves . Of course my husband was interested in that kind of thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : Sometimes they walked to Jefferson , but by that time they were carrying pretty heavy books . One of the neighbors on Outer Drive wanted to have a carpool , so we joined that . MRS . DAVIDSON : When Anne was in the fifth grade , they had to write what they did on Friday nights . The teacher would call me and say , " Is it true that you gave your children ice water and watched TV on Friday nights ? " That was how generous we were with them . We didn 't get a TV until they were probably five or six years old . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course it was black and white . The reason we got it - I guess finally it was that the children were always going to the neighbors ' house to watch TV . We decided that we should get our own . They watched things like " Pinky Lee " and I 've forgotten what else . MRS . DAVIDSON : I remember that fondly because my first real date with my husband was going to dinner there with him . He invited me to go to a concert in Knoxville , and his excuse was that we should get to know each other better before he took me to the city with him . That was one thing . I remember there were parties there , and our company had a party at the Oak Terrace Ballroom . One of the NEPA fellows wore a Tarzan costume , which was mostly nothing . It turned out that he lived in the neighborhood . MRS . DAVIDSON : That was just below the dormitory where I lived in Columbia Hall . Jack went there looking for me , he thought I would eat breakfast there and then he could have breakfast with me ; but I ate in the dormitory . He didn 't find me there . When we came back from our bicycle ride to Concord Park , I remember we stopped by there , and he drank two or three Mountain Dew drinks . That surprised me , but we had worked off a lot of sweat . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , we took our children out there and saw " Lawrence of Arabia " and " The 10 Commandment " and those things . It was quite nice . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was about where Kroger 's - where that is now , on the southeast part of Illinois Avenue . It was a nice thing . That was a special treat for the children to go out there . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't think so . I think they were mostly in the car . They had a drawing one time , Jack won something . It was actually nothing , but he did win . MRS . DAVIDSON : I sure did . My three children were born there . It was a green structure , like so many of the buildings in Oak Ridge . I guess the present building is built on that place . It was okay . I didn 't have any problems with it , except after my second child . I had a staph infection from the hospital . Even an Army wife with a private room got an infection there . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , I think they also had been recruited ; and a lot of them were from Tulane University . The time I was sick with my infection , they were having a reunion at Tulane , and my doctor and another one were gone for the reunion . I didn 't like the one who took care of me . He didn 't do a good job . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was okay . I don 't remember having any problems with it . We knew Dr . Rogers from our church , and we went to him . He was called away to the service , I believe . Maybe it was the Korean War , but then he came back . MRS . DAVIDSON : We met at Pine Valley School . The choir sat on the bleachers , and the minister sat under the halo of the basketball net . My husband was a Methodist , and he went to the First Methodist Church . They had a big youth group there . When we were first married , we tried to take them both in . We went to Sunday school one place , and church another until we finally settled on the Presbyterian . It was smaller , and we knew more people . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course the people . I love my trees and my house . I love all the activities . Both my husband and I have always loved music and enjoy the concerts a lot . The symphony concerts with Waldo Cohn conducting were held at Jefferson Junior High on the Kentucky Avenue hill . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you think back about all the people that you knew in the early days ? Do you think it was unusual for everybody to get along - the many people that were here ? MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , I guess so . I didn 't think about it because we just did . It was just fun . Everybody was away from home , and we had to be family for each other . That was particularly true in this close neighborhood . MRS . DAVIDSON : I 'm pleased for the most part . I think we 've made good progress . We 've kept up with the outside world . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think we came through at the very best of times . It was not the pressure of war , but we were growing community . I think things were happening at the Lab . Both of my husband and I loved the Lab because there were so many good things going on out there . It gives us hope for the future . [ Editor 's Note : This transcript has been edited at Mrs . Davidson 's request . The corresponding audio and video components have remained unchanged . ] Click tabs to swap between content that is broken into logical sections . MR . HUNNICUTT : This interview is for the Center of Oak Ridge Oral History . The date is November 8 , 2012 . I am Don Hunnicutt in the home of Mrs . Mary Ann Davidson , 117 Orange Lane , Oak Ridge , Tennessee , to take her oral history about living in Oak Ridge , Tennessee . Please state your full name and your place of birth and your date of birth . MRS . DAVIDSON : My name is Mary Ann Davidson . My date of birth is January 12 , 1925 . I was born in Louisville , Kentucky . I lived there all my early life until I graduated from college . MRS . DAVIDSON : My father was William H . Courtenay . He was born in 1890 , on March 3 . He was in World War I and lived his entire life in Louisville and Shelbyville , Kentucky . He worked for the Mengel Company . They imported mahogany and hardwood from Africa and Central America . He delivered those to customers . He didn 't consider himself a salesman , but he sold them to the furniture factory - furniture makers around Kentucky , mostly Indiana and Cincinnati and some in Tennessee . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , he did not . The Louisville Male High School was considered a fine school at that time . They said that graduates could enter Harvard in their second year . The principal had written textbooks that were apparently used all over . But my father was interested in raising ponies . His father had a farm in Shelbyville , Kentucky . If you 'd didn 't make the grade , you are special . And Dr . Ruben Post - Halleck , the famous principal of the school , told him if he took an exam in math , he could be entered back in . He did that , and he aced the test . He was back in . Then he was a special in English , so they told him if he memorized the " Lady of the Lake " and said that he could get back in school . So he did that . I think he never did finish . He was a twin , and his twin was more of an engineering type and went to manual training high school . MR . HUNNICUTT : What about your mother 's school history ? MRS . DAVIDSON : She grew up in several small towns in western Kentucky . Her father worked for the L & N Railroad . She had her high school in Hopkinsville , Kentucky . She had to stay home - or she went to junior college nearby . She had a scholarship to Randolph Macon Women 's College , but she couldn 't take it because her mother was ill and died at age 50 . It was about the year I was born , I think . MRS . DAVIDSON : His name was William Howard Courtenay III . My father was named for his uncle , who was also William Howard . My older brother works for Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green in the physics department . He made instruments . My younger brother was a pediatrician in Louisville , and he is still living on a farm in Shelbyville . He 's interested in Kentucky antiques . MR . HUNNICUTT : Yes . MRS . DAVIDSON : I went to an unusual kindergarten and first grade . I was at what they called the Enterprise Branch of I . N . Bloom School . It was only kindergarten and first grade . It was in the older building , where we had a Pot Belly Stove . I think we had a maid to help us take our leggings off in the cold weather - galoshes . It was really a wonderful school . It was almost like a private one . It was public . We did things like making butter and we had an orchestra . I played the triangle . I had started a little bit earlier when my younger brother was born . Louisville had half semester , half - year grades . I would 've been a half year , but I skipped the last half of kindergarten . I went to the school board and took a test and went on , so they put me in the regular school year . I went through the big school the I . N . Bloom School and Highland Junior High School in Louisville . Then I went to Atherton High School for Girls . The Louisville public schools were segregated - boys and girls . There were about 900 girls at Atherton . My graduating class was about 200 , and I was the valedictorian . MRS . DAVIDSON : They are pants to keep your legs warm . They zipped up from the inside of the ankle bone up to about knee - high , I guess it was . They were a royal pain to take on and off , so the teacher had to have help to do that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was just ordinary . I 'm sure the girls wore dresses , and the little boys wore suits - not suits , but pants and shirts . MRS . DAVIDSON : I came to Oak Ridge after I graduated from college . I had two years of getting a master 's at Emory while I worked at my alma mater , Agnes Scott College in Decatur , Georgia . I was the chemistry lab instructor . So after those two years were up , I was interested in working in chemistry or biochemistry . My master 's was in biochemistry . In Louisville , there was nothing in that field , except liquor and paint - neither of which I was interested in . In Atlanta , I would like to stay in Atlanta , I heard that Oak Ridge was an interesting new place , and a lot was going on here . One of my dear college friends had recently married a physicist from the University of Kentucky , so I visited them here . I guess that must have been 1947 . Her husband was working at NEPA . He said they were looking for people with a chemistry degree . I applied , and I was accepted . I didn 't know that until I had completed the clearance , so I took the opportunity to go to Europe at an American youth hostel bicycle tour of Western Europe in the summer of 1948 . When I got home , I found that I had indeed gotten the job at Oak Ridge . So I came down here . MRS . DAVIDSON : I was wondering that . I think I came by train . When I interviewed earlier in the spring , my interview was at the Andrew Johnson Hotel . It was one of the private rooms . I had never seen the company here . I think I must have been met by a car and driver and brought to Oak Ridge . MRS . DAVIDSON : I came in through the Vermont Gateway , which is where the gas station is now on the corner of what I call Vermont . They call it North Rutgers now . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , I think it must 've been after that . That would 've been at Christmas time . When I applied , I imagine it was early spring . MRS . DAVIDSON : We called the company NEPA , for Nuclear Energy for the Propulsion of Aircraft . It was managed by the Fairchild Corporation the way Union Carbide or one of the other contractors managed the lab . I did not know until the first day I went to work just what the company was doing . They handed me a volume of information that said , " We are looking for - we are trying to make an airplane powered by nuclear energy that could fly to Russia and back without refueling . " That was a great shock to me . MRS . DAVIDSON : I lived in Columbia Hall Dormitory . I was very surprised to find that the rent was $ 15 a month until I realized it was one very small room . That was my living quarters . I took the opportunity to stay out of it as much as possible . I did that by babysitting in some of the B and D houses in the evening . Grandmothers were not here since it was a closed community . Babysitters were in short supply , and even though I didn 't need the money , it was good to get out of the dormitory . MRS . DAVIDSON : The dormitory was like Cheyenne Hall . It was the same type of building . It had wooden stairways from the second - floor hall down on each end . I lived on the second floor . Our dormitory was mostly nurses , since it was up on the hill next to the hospital - I think where the west parking lot is now . There was a kitchen on each end where we could have our own breakfast . Of course we were at the plant at lunchtime , and then we usually went out to supper . I opened the refrigerator door one morning and somebody 's milk came spilling out down my front . Everybody just stuffed things into the refrigerator . MRS . DAVIDSON : I had a single room with a twin bed and enough room to walk to the window by the bed . There was a little table that served as a desk with a chair . There was a much coveted dormitory dresser - a tall one with a number of drawers . They were very popular . MRS . DAVIDSON : They had a wonderful bus service here . Travel wasn 't really a problem . We walked , of course , from the dormitory to Jackson Square and ate supper usually at the Mayflower , which is where I first saw my husband - to - be . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was on the corner of Tennessee , right across from the Soup Kitchen and the Texaco gas station there on the northeast corner . It was a very popular place . In fact , there were several places you could eat . It was the Central Cafeteria , and the T & C Cafeteria in Jackson Square , which is about where the Epicurean is now toward the garden . MRS . DAVIDSON : It must 've been the A & P on Jackson Square . Jackson Square was really the center of activity as far as I was concerned at that time . I still love it . I hope it keeps going . MRS . DAVIDSON : The department stores - the big department store was Taylor 's at the time . They had a wonderful book department headed by Mrs . Keyes , whose daughter I knew at work . They had really fine art books and other books that they would have a great sale on once or twice a year . We were very happy with that . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was in the middle of the block between where Big Ed 's is in the corner . I guess it 's mostly used by the engineering company now . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , not frequently , but I went and saw - there was a theater down at Big Ed 's in Jackson Square and where the Playhouse is now . That was the main one . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , the jewelry store was on the corner that was Henebree 's , I think . No , that was Heneger 's . MR . HUNNICUTT : Henebree ? MRS . DAVIDSON : Henebree . McCrory 's 5 & 10 was there . There was a drugstore - a Service Drugstore . I guess that was where Big Ed 's is now , on the very corner . There was Jackson Square Pharmacy , and on the other side the Hamilton Bank was there next to the movie theater . And Samuel 's Men 's Store was a very nice store . The Jackson Square Pharmacy was there , but in between , which the Pharmacy later took over was a Kay 's Ice Cream Store . We used to go there and - my husband and I would when we were dating . I liked to get coffee with ice cream in it , so we went there . MR . HUNNICUTT : I believe that was Taff Moody Ice Cream - they served Kay 's Ice Cream . MRS . DAVIDSON : Was it ? I didn 't remember that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I can 't say that I do . It was just a given , I suppose . It didn 't make a big dent in my memory . After six months of the dormitory , I moved to a D house on Norman Lane . That was another era . MR . HUNNICUTT : What is a D house ? MRS . DAVIDSON : A D house was a large three bedroom house . They were very much desired . They were really nice houses - still a lot of them are . The house was - there were five other girls who lived there - two of whom had been college friends . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , it would 've been upstairs . It was the second one to the end . A radiation technologist lived on the corner , and I lived there with school teachers and nurses who made up most of the dorm . MR . HUNNICUTT : Let 's talk a little bit about the dorm again . If I had a message for you or someone left a message for you , how did you retrieve your messages ? Was there a desk when you went in ? MRS . DAVIDSON : There was a desk downstairs . I remember the Valentine 's Day - I guess it must 've been 1949 . The message was that I had some flowers , some red roses . I had just met my husband - to - be at that time . I got all excited , and when I got to the desk , it was from somebody else . I enjoyed the red roses , but not as much as I might have . The thing was that there were ladies - a lot of the women who lived in the dorm worked on the night shift . They would sit around a large kind of living room , I guess they called it . They were all staring when I got flowers . I had to walk around , and it was embarrassing . MRS . DAVIDSON : I was there in the winter of 1948 . I 'm very cold natured , but I don 't remember being cold . We had those heavy navy blanket - navy blue blankets . This brings up a story if I jump to it later on . We were moved from the D house after another six months into the brand - new Garden Apartments on Villanova Road . They needed our D house for families . The people who moved in were the Andersons of the Anderson Hilltop Grocery . Of course , the furniture all belonged to the government there . So the Garden Apartments were not furnished , so we had dwindled down from 6 to 4 people who needed furniture . I took a day off and went to an auction the government set up down at the warehouses . I got seven beds and three or four dressers - much more than I could have used . But the beds were in great demand at work because all the young men who worked there were having children and needed beds . So we took the four . Also I got two sofas , and we could use but one ; so I sold one . They were really shabby awful sofas . Since it was all going to surplus anyway , we switched and took the nice sofa from the D house and left them the bad one . It was all taken away anyhow , so I didn 't feel too bad about that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't really remember about the telephone . We didn 't use the telephone much . We never used it for long - distance except for emergencies and calls home . I don 't remember that as being a problem particularly . MRS . DAVIDSON : I suppose I went on the bus . I did not have a car . One of the housemates from Norman Lane had gotten the car , but she would 've been at work at K - 25 . I don 't know . I may have gotten a ride . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess I paid somebody to deliver it . I don 't know . Maybe some of the fellows at work picked up their beds that they wanted . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was one of those warehouses down at the [ Oak Ridge ] Turnpike on Warehouse Road . I don 't know exactly where it was . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess it was on the bulletin boards at work , or there was a newspaper at the Lab . I guess I heard about it that way . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think probably so - in the newsletters they came around , also at the recreation building - the rec hall - at Jackson Square that was the library upstairs and the rec hall downstairs . Word - of - mouth - I don 't remember . We had a need and found the answer to it . MRS . DAVIDSON : I had to punch a clock at eight in the morning when I first started . I guess we got out at 4 : 30 or 5 o ' clock . We had bus service that went from the bus terminal - the Central one - that 's now by Bus Terminal Road . Later on after we were married , we lived on Waddell Circle and went from there to the Jefferson bus terminal . I went - I rode on the K - 25 bus , and they went out past K - 25 to the road that the powerhouse was on and NEPA was beyond that out by the river . MRS . DAVIDSON : There was some kind of management services office . I 'm not sure what it was called - the Roane Anderson Corporation at that time , I guess . I think that 's where I rented the dormitory room . I probably got bus tokens - I guess I got the tokens of the bus terminal . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think I had a checking account probably at Hamilton Bank in Jackson Square . I don 't recall otherwise . I know I did later . One thing I wanted to say about the buses - if you wanted to go to Clinton to do any shopping , more than what you could have in Oak Ridge or to meet somebody or something , there was a bus that ran frequently back and forth between the bus terminal and Clinton . There was a young man on the bus who had a sing - songy sales pitch for " peanuts , popcorn , Cracker Jacks , candy , and chewing gum . " He wouldn 't drive , but he would sell his wares all the way to Clinton and back . I always wondered who that was because he obviously had some talent . MRS . DAVIDSON : I 'm sure I did . I don 't know what became of it . I guess I had to turn it back in . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think somebody just got - one of the guards got on the bus and checked everybody 's badges . It was not a big thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : Probably . I don 't remember . What I do remember about that was my mother was coming down one time for my birthday - it must 've been in January 1949 . She rode the train . I told her that I would get a ride to meet her . Of course , the train didn 't stop at Oak Ridge . It went on to Knoxville , so I bummed a ride with one of the men in our group . He was actually the technical assistant to the director . His car was a broken down old thing with no floorboards in the back seat , which was pretty bad when my mother saw it . But she didn 't see it because when we got to Knoxville , she was not there . When we were coming back from the gateway entrance , she was not there . There was a message that she was waiting for us at the Elza Gate Station . She had told the conductor she had to get off at Oak Ridge . That 's where she was going , and I was going to meet her . So she slid down the Elza bank over there . She had my birthday cake - a large chocolate cake . She slid downhill with that , and somehow they stopped her at the guard gate at Elza . She waited there for us . MRS . DAVIDSON : Just for her - let her off like a milk train . They ordinarily didn 't stop there , but she wouldn 't have it otherwise . MRS . DAVIDSON : I used the library and rec hall . On Sunday afternoons , they played music ; and you could sit and write letters home , which is what I think I did a good bit . Later on in the better weather , there were tennis courts and a swimming pool . I don 't remember going to movies much . We went to church groups . There were so many young people ; it was just like a party all the time . Nothing in particular stands out . It was just fun . MRS . DAVIDSON : In the company I was , that was not true . There were a lot of women of course - of course , the dormitory was full of school teachers and nurses . But NEPA was mostly men . There were two parts to the Fairchild - the science and engineering part , which was bigger . I happen to be in the research part . My boss was a chemist - Vince Calkins . It was my job to - this was a real shocker to me - to find a chemical that would protect the human body against radiation for the reactor that was supposed to be in the airplane to Russia . I had no background for that kind of thing . I was just fresh out of college really . I realized I was out of my depth , but they decided - he was a pharmacist , I believe , and he wanted to do experiments with rats . They brought in the rat colony . By that time we had a couple of assistants , and I was supposed to be the group leader . One of the men , Ray Waldrop - you may have talked to him . I asked him if he minded working for a woman because he was really more experienced than I , although I had the degree . It was fine with him . There was also another worker , Saul Segal , who was quite a character in his own right . I took the rats in the cages over to the reactor , the " Old Lady " at X - 10 , and put them through what they called " rabbits " and radiated them for certain amount of time . We couldn 't kill the darn things . Then we used the older ones that had already been radiated , they were just tough as anything . I think the experiment was really a failure , although they may have found that to be the case in some later work with older people - that the cells are not dividing as fast and they 're not as subject to radiation . But we didn 't get into that . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was actually not K - 25 . It was beyond there . As I said , the bus took us - the bus dumped people off at K - 25 , and they went on west to just before you get to the Gallaher Bridge . You turn right there and go right past the power station there . It was used for a long time - the power house , and then NEPA was beyond that . The native rats came in - was it domestic experimental rats ? That was not good . I had a janitor who helped me , even though he could 've lost his job for doing it . He helped me clean cages . I always appreciated that . MRS . DAVIDSON : When they got rid of the rats , which was a blessing , my group leader then became Bill Browning , who was a fine scientist . He worked on the Van de Graaff generator . We had an interesting argument . Saul Segal thought he should be the one to do it since he was a man and I was a woman who would be leaving soon ; and it turned out that he left for California before I had left to have my baby . His argument didn 't hold with me anyway , but we argued about that some . We did run the Van de Graaff , and we also did some experiments on metallic sodium . It was nasty stuff to work with . It caught on fire if it was exposed to air . You had to work with that under oil in the glove box . I think that work all had to be repeated after NEPA left for Cincinnati with G . E . . When they moved part of NEPA to X - 10 , they called it the ANP , or something about aircraft and nuclear power . I was not connected with that because my first baby was born in August 1951 . I left in July . MRS . DAVIDSON : I heard somebody say that they had to repeat it all . My boss , the Division Director of Chemistry was interested in vitamin E , and thought it had a lot of protective influence . We worked with that . That was some of the work I did in chemistry - the lab part of it in the early days . It was not good work , I think . I 'm not blaming myself , but some of the other men who were doing chemical work - I think altogether we didn 't come up with anything . MRS . DAVIDSON : It may have been ahead of it 's time for nuclear submarines . I don 't know whether the engineering people thought that or not . In our group which was the chemistry and the physics , my friend who got me the job was Jim Trice . A fellow named Art Miller and somebody named Coneybearwere in the Physics Division . And then there were some others - Fred Maienschein . I did some work for him one time . It was work on beryllium for one thing . I didn 't work with any of the active beryllium . I didn 't do any lab work then , but I did some journal research . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't think they were that far along . I 'm not sure what happened to that part of it . As I said , in July of 1951 they moved to Cincinnati , Evensville , above Cincinnati . I don 't know how many people actually went up there . Most of my friends moved elsewhere . MR . HUNNICUTT : You mentioned the location of the operation was past the steam plant that was on the Clinch River . Was that the same location where the S - 50 project was located ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I think that was the name of our plot of land . I think those - I never was quite sure how they got the designations , but that was the Fairchild domain , I think . MRS . DAVIDSON : Really , it was just when our eyes met . It was very romantic . He followed our group home to the Columbia Hall to see where I lived . But at the time I thought he was too young , and I didn 't think he was following me . I was with a group of other girls . Later on , one of the women in the dormitory , who was a gym teacher in the Oak Ridge schools , told me I really ought to meet Jack Davidson that he loved to ride bicycles ; I was just back from my bicycle trip in Europe . I didn 't know who he was , and then I went to a church group meeting at my Presbyterian Church for young people one Sunday evening . A friend of mine had brought Jack Davidson , and he was the one whose eyes I had met and he had met mine . Sure enough , he loved to ride bicycles . That was the start of a good thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : We did a little bit . On our dates , that 's really what we did mostly at first . We rode out to West Outer Drive and had those wonderful big hills , not too much traffic at that time . We went out to the water tower at the top of Louisiana and had a picnic , and then rode back . When we got really good , we rode our bicycles over to Concord Park one day . I had gotten some chicken breasts at the grocery . I guess it was the A & P at Jackson Square . I was going to fry them for a picnic to take along over to Concord Park . When I went to the refrigerator to get them , they had turned into wings . Somebody had eaten my chicken breast . Jack was a good sport about that . He didn 't care . We had a nice ride . It was before they had improved Lovell Road . It was a pretty rough ride over there , but we were able to enjoy it . MRS . DAVIDSON : He had his bicycle . It was probably a Grey Stone . For me , he rented a bicycle from his work friend . I had forgotten what his name was . We went over to one of the D Streets , I think , and rode them . I didn 't have my English 3 - speed here . I guess I brought it later , but at that time I didn 't have it . MRS . DAVIDSON : That was a problem . I complained to my friend Jim Trice 's wife , Dot , who happened to live around the corner on Outer Drive at that time . She said the boardwalk was used a lot for dating , and of course the theaters . I guess we were outdoors people . I don 't know . MRS . DAVIDSON : He was a graduate of Georgia Tech . At the time he graduated , he was very young . He came up to see about a job , and he was drafted . No , he was in danger of being drafted right away , but they didn 't hire him . He did go to work for NASA , which was at that time NACA , in Virginia ; and worked over there a short time before he was taken into the Army . He had gone through Georgia Tech on a " War Manpower " loan . He was sent to some place to be an MP , I think . He wrote a night letter , which is a 50 - word telegram that was cheaper at night . He wrote a night letter to Stimson , the Secretary of War , telling them they had paid for his college education ; and here he was sitting in a camp doing nothing down in Alabama . He was transferred to the SED , he would never say that was the reason he was transferred . It may or may not have been . He arrived with the SED - he arrived in Oak Ridge the day Roosevelt died , which was in April 1945 , he was here with his group for maybe six weeks before they went out to Los Alamos . So he spent the rest of the war out there . Then he used his G . I . Bill - he stayed on at Los Alamos . They told them they would let him out of the Army if he would agree to stay on as a civilian . So he took that . Then when he did leave , he went to Annapolis and took a liberal arts course because he felt that he had missed out on it at Georgia Tech . He had a year at St . John 's College of Annapolis ; and then all along I guess he thought he would like to come back here . He came back - he arrived on Armistice Day , now Veterans Day , of 1948 . I was here a couple of months before he came , but we met shortly after Christmas in 1949 . MRS . DAVIDSON : Too long . We were married in May 1950 . He wanted to pay off his loan before we could get married , so I helped him along with that . I fed him some . He was very welcome at the D House of girls . I was going to tell you that during the war , there were nine girls in the house , and they slept on shifts on the bunk beds . There were only six of us when I was there . There were a couple of the boyfriends around , and one of them cut the grass . I think Jack did the - empty the clinkers from the furnace , the coal furnace . They made themselves useful . They got their dinner . MR . HUNNICUTT : Tell me about the coal furnace briefly . MRS . DAVIDSON : Most of the houses were a very good design really , and a whole lot better built than we gave them credit for . But each one that I knew of had a corner set off or closed off as a coal storage place that could be filled through a window from the outside , and then you could use the - there was an opening on the inside that you could use to put coal into the furnace . That was awful of course , but that 's what all the houses were doing in that time , too . We had a yard full of clinkers over there . MRS . DAVIDSON : We were taken care of by a Big Brother - the government . They brought the coal around , and you didn 't do a thing . That was part of the rent . When we got our house here on Orange Lane , that 's another story . Are you ready for that yet ? MRS . DAVIDSON : We went back to my home in Louisville , Kentucky , to be married . We had planned to fly to Nashville , but it turned out the Delta Queen was coming through Louisville the next morning . My mother had told us we could not get married the week before because it was too busy with Derby Day . So we delayed until May 13 . Then we spent the night in Louisville at the Brown Hotel , where she pulled some strings to get us a room because it was still very full of visitors from the Derby . We got on the Delta Queen , and our friends were all on the dock to see us off . They had us almost convinced that we were on Daylight Saving Time , and the Delta Queen was not , and we had missed it . But we rode down just as far as Paducah . We were anxious to start in life you know . We lived on Wadell Circle in a K apartment . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you recall the number ? MRS . DAVIDSON : It was a two - story thing . I guess it was a two - bedroom up above , and we had K - 1 . It was sort of underground at the front and open at the back . We had a nice back porch . There was a closet under the stairway and a very small kitchen . It had a table that folded down . It was not as compact as a flattop , but the furnishings that they had did double duty . You could fold it up and have more room . MRS . DAVIDSON : The K apartment was heated with the coal furnace , but there was a janitor who came around and took care of it for us . We were taken care of by Roane Anderson . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you remember what the rent was ? MRS . DAVIDSON : We lived in the K from May 1950 , until we got this house in July 1952 . It was said - the word around town was that you couldn 't get a two - bedroom house unless you had three children , all of different sex . We had been on the list for this house ever since we knew our daughter was coming along . That was a long time to wait . We had been offered two houses - Florida Avenue , where the parking was across the street and the backyard just dropped off . We thought that was totally unsuitable for a new child . We turned both of those down . If we had turned this one down , we would 've gone to the bottom of the long list . But we loved this place of the trees and the dead end lane neighborhood . So we sat outside in front all weekend because we were not top on the list . The reason the other people didn 't take it was that the previous owner , Jim Cox and Charlotte , had put in an oil furnace ; and nobody wanted to pay $ 200 for the oil furnace . Since I had been working , we had saved my salary from work , and we had $ 200 to pay . Also , they didn 't want to be in the high rent district . This house rented for something like $ 45 instead of $ 43 in the lower rent districts . MRS . DAVIDSON : The Oak Ridge cemesto houses that were built - I think this house was built in the fall of 1944 or 1943 . Maybe it was ' 43 . The B house has two bedrooms and of course a bath and a kitchen with a dinette into a long narrow living room . It was about 24 feet by 40 something feet . It was small and convenient . It didn 't have much storage space , but it 's been a wonderful house for us because of the trees . We are on a greenbelt , and I enjoy that very much . It 's a nice private neighborhood just above Jackson Square . MRS . DAVIDSON : Our cemesto has a fireplace , and it had a complete brick wall . Some of the B houses had a brick wall just beyond the fireplace . MRS . DAVIDSON : There are hardwood floors in all the cemestos , I believe . Our house has maple flooring , and a lot of them had oak . Wood was hard to come by in the wartime . We love the color - the reddish color of the maple . MRS . DAVIDSON : Adele is our second daughter , and she was two years younger . Our son is Bill Davidson or William . He was born in November of 1954 . He 's just now turning 58 . MR . HUNNICUTT : So your first daughter went to Cedar Hill ? MRS . DAVIDSON : All three of our children went to Cedar Hill . They had split grades there , so I think the classes were one half size . They would take the kids a half from one grade , and half from the next grade , and that worked out just fine . MRS . DAVIDSON : Cedar Hill was wonderful . It was very special . Mr . Dodd was the principal , and he saw to it - he had the best teachers or at least as good as any . Actually in those days all the teachers and Oak Ridge were special because many of them had been recruited from Columbia Teachers College , along with the superintendent . Others were specially recruited for the job . They were a group a part , I think , from a lot of teachers . MRS . DAVIDSON : The girls both went to Jefferson when it was on the hill at Jackson Square , and Bill was in the first year at the new Jefferson that was over on Fairbanks Road . His was the first class there . They all went through Oak Ridge High . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you recall some of the classes your daughters took while they were in junior high ? Was there Home Ec . or things related to girls ? MRS . DAVIDSON : No , they were on the college prep track . They took eighth grade algebra and that kind of thing . Of course English and math and social studies and science - our older girl I think took biology ; and I 'm not sure if Adele had a more general science course . It just depended on the teacher that they had . They had an excellent education , and the girls were both Merit semifinalists . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course . I was in the PTA . I 'm not sure if I was ever a room mother , but I of course helped with parties and things . MRS . DAVIDSON : The teachers recruited them from each class to help with parties mostly . They helped with any activities that they didn 't really have time to do . MRS . DAVIDSON : Parent - Teacher Association , a time honored group . It got extra things for the school . I got involved with raincoats for the school patrol . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess maybe I was a treasurer of the Cedar Hill PTA , and this goal was to get those yellow slicker raincoat so kids could be visible to the drivers . I found out how much the things cost , and then I estimated postage . At the PTA meeting , Alvin Weinberg was president . He had a son or two in school at the time . He took me to task for estimating the postage , so I had to ask for just the money for the coats themselves since I didn 't really know what the postage is going to be . I thought that was interesting that he wanted to keep it to the exact penny . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think they just wore what the other kids wore . One day we had a deep snow and Bill was in kindergarten , and the snow was up over their boots . I think he had some corduroys . The teacher was making the kids take their pants off and dry them on the radiator , and he wouldn 't do it . I had to go up to the school and take him some fresh pants , some dry clothes . He was very young - just four when he started . MR . HUNNICUTT : Let 's go back a few years . Do you remember 1945 when they dropped the bomb on Japan ? You remember where you were ? And what was your reaction ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I do remember that very clearly because it was the summer after my junior year in college , and I was a camp counselor up in Door County , Wisconsin . There was no electricity at the camp , so we counselors - after we got the kids to bed , went to the state park nearby . This was at Fish Creek , Wisconsin . We would listen to people 's car radios . We knew for about a week that something was happening , but we didn 't know just what . It was very deeply moving when the bomb was dropped , and we thought it would bring an end to the war . Of course , I had friends and a brother on Guam and a cousin was in Europe and others . So that was very deeply moving . I had a book of poetry - my favorite poems at the camp with me . One of my 12 - year - olds picked out a poem - " Once to every man and nation comes a moment to decide " - she read that , and I thought that was very astute of her , a youngster to be able to do that . MRS . DAVIDSON : My husband thought they should have dropped a sample first , but I didn 't feel that way since the first bomb didn 't phase the Japanese . I didn 't think the test one would have either . I was just so glad that the war was over . People could settle down and get into real life again . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think I was in transition from the dormitory to the house , and my husband 's brothers came up from Georgia to witness the opening . So we drove in their car around , and we watched the parade from , I believe , down on the eastern end of the Turnpike down near the warehouses to get out of the traffic . We never could figure out why they invited Marie " The Body " McDonald and [ inaudible ] to ride in the open car for the parade . We couldn 't figure out what they had to do with it , but we did see the burning of the magnesium ribbon . That was exciting . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was only toward town from Elza Gate . I know the central part of town , the Jackson Square area , was very crowded . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think they name the streets for famous cities in the country , and of course the alphabetical designations were very helpful . But Jackson Square , I assume , was named for New Orleans . That 's all I know about it . MRS . DAVIDSON : Sometimes you would pick up the telephone , and the other party was talking . I believe they had different rings . I think maybe the other party had one ring , and we had two . There were four - party lines , but if we were on a four - party line , only the other one was active . I think maybe we were . The other two lines were not being used . MR . HUNNICUTT : When you are raising your family , did you hang your clothes outside on the clothesline ? Did you have a dryer ? What did you use ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I hung them outside on the clothesline . As I said , when we moved here , Anne was a year old . Not much more than three years after that , we had three babies . I was able to talk my husband into getting a dryer that time . Before that , he had built a pulley out of my kitchen window . There was a drop off in the back , and he was able to string it to a tree in the woods . I was able to reel those cloth diapers and reel them in and out . The only problem was that the birds like the trees , too . Sometimes I had to do some re - washing . MR . HUNNICUTT : So in those days you use cloth diapers ? Today we use disposable diapers . How do you think you would 've done if you had disposable diapers ? MRS . DAVIDSON : At one point , when our children were out playing Kick the Can , there were over 40 children on the lane . There were about 20 or 21 houses . There were almost as many dogs . It was just a glorious place for them to grow up . They seem to get along remarkably well most of the time , especially in the early days . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes . We went down there on the opening , and got the radioactive dimes on that occasion . The museum at that time was down at Jefferson Circle . I don 't think any of us ever had our hair stand out on the Van De Graff generator or whatever it was , but we took the children . We went out ourselves . Of course my husband was interested in that kind of thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : Sometimes they walked to Jefferson , but by that time they were carrying pretty heavy books . One of the neighbors on Outer Drive wanted to have a carpool , so we joined that . MRS . DAVIDSON : When Anne was in the fifth grade , they had to write what they did on Friday nights . The teacher would call me and say , " Is it true that you gave your children ice water and watched TV on Friday nights ? " That was how generous we were with them . We didn 't get a TV until they were probably five or six years old . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course it was black and white . The reason we got it - I guess finally it was that the children were always going to the neighbors ' house to watch TV . We decided that we should get our own . They watched things like " Pinky Lee " and I 've forgotten what else . MRS . DAVIDSON : I remember that fondly because my first real date with my husband was going to dinner there with him . He invited me to go to a concert in Knoxville , and his excuse was that we should get to know each other better before he took me to the city with him . That was one thing . I remember there were parties there , and our company had a party at the Oak Terrace Ballroom . One of the NEPA fellows wore a Tarzan costume , which was mostly nothing . It turned out that he lived in the neighborhood . MR . HUNNICUTT : What was the Oak Terrace ballroom - where was it located ? MRS . DAVIDSON : That was just below the dormitory where I lived in Columbia Hall . Jack went there looking for me , he thought I would eat breakfast there and then he could have breakfast with me ; but I ate in the dormitory . He didn 't find me there . When we came back from our bicycle ride to Concord Park , I remember we stopped by there , and he drank two or three Mountain Dew drinks . That surprised me , but we had worked off a lot of sweat . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , we took our children out there and saw " Lawrence of Arabia " and " The 10 Commandment " and those things . It was quite nice . MR . HUNNICUTT : Where was it located ? MRS . DAVIDSON : It was about where Kroger 's - where that is now , on the southeast part of Illinois Avenue . It was a nice thing . That was a special treat for the children to go out there . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't think so . I think they were mostly in the car . They had a drawing one time , Jack won something . It was actually nothing , but he did win . MRS . DAVIDSON : I sure did . My three children were born there . It was a green structure , like so many of the buildings in Oak Ridge . I guess the present building is built on that place . It was okay . I didn 't have any problems with it , except after my second child . I had a staph infection from the hospital . Even an Army wife with a private room got an infection there . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , I think they also had been recruited ; and a lot of them were from Tulane University . The time I was sick with my infection , they were having a reunion at Tulane , and my doctor and another one were gone for the reunion . I didn 't like the one who took care of me . He didn 't do a good job . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was okay . I don 't remember having any problems with it . We knew Dr . Rogers from our church , and we went to him . He was called away to the service , I believe . Maybe it was the Korean War , but then he came back . MRS . DAVIDSON : We met at Pine Valley School . The choir sat on the bleachers , and the minister sat under the halo of the basketball net . My husband was a Methodist , and he went to the First Methodist Church . They had a big youth group there . When we were first married , we tried to take them both in . We went to Sunday school one place , and church another until we finally settled on the Presbyterian . It was smaller , and we knew more people . MR . HUNNICUTT : Thinking back , what do you like best about Oak Ridge ? MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course the people . I love my trees and my house . I love all the activities . Both my husband and I have always loved music and enjoy the concerts a lot . The symphony concerts with Waldo Cohn conducting were held at Jefferson Junior High on the Kentucky Avenue hill . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you think back about all the people that you knew in the early days ? Do you think it was unusual for everybody to get along - the many people that were here ? MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , I guess so . I didn 't think about it because we just did . It was just fun . Everybody was away from home , and we had to be family for each other . That was particularly true in this close neighborhood . MRS . DAVIDSON : I 'm pleased for the most part . I think we 've made good progress . We 've kept up with the outside world . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't know . I 'll probably think of things after you leave . Nothing particular comes to mind . MR . HUNNICUTT : I would like to thank you for your time , and I think this interview will be very helpful for someone in the future to see how you lived in Oak Ridge in the early days . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think we came through at the very best of times . It was not the pressure of war , but we were growing community . I think things were happening at the Lab . Both of my husband and I loved the Lab because there were so many good things going on out there . It gives us hope for the future . MR . HUNNICUTT : I thank you very much for your time . [ Editor 's Note : This transcript has been edited at Mrs . Davidson 's request . The corresponding audio and video components have remained unchanged . ] Your rating was saved . you wish to report :

MR . HUNNICUTT : This interview is for the Center of Oak Ridge Oral History . The date is November 8 , 2012 . I am Don Hunnicutt in the home of Mrs . Mary Ann Davidson , 117 Orange Lane , Oak Ridge , Tennessee , to take her oral history about living in Oak Ridge , Tennessee . Please state your full name and your place of birth and your date of birth . MRS . DAVIDSON : My name is Mary Ann Davidson . My date of birth is January 12 , 1925 . I was born in Louisville , Kentucky . I lived there all my early life until I graduated from college . MRS . DAVIDSON : My father was William H . Courtenay . He was born in 1890 , on March 3 . He was in World War I and lived his entire life in Louisville and Shelbyville , Kentucky . He worked for the Mengel Company . They imported mahogany and hardwood from Africa and Central America . He delivered those to customers . He didn 't consider himself a salesman , but he sold them to the furniture factory - furniture makers around Kentucky , mostly Indiana and Cincinnati and some in Tennessee . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , he did not . The Louisville Male High School was considered a fine school at that time . They said that graduates could enter Harvard in their second year . The principal had written textbooks that were apparently used all over . But my father was interested in raising ponies . His father had a farm in Shelbyville , Kentucky . If you 'd didn 't make the grade , you are special . And Dr . Ruben Post - Halleck , the famous principal of the school , told him if he took an exam in math , he could be entered back in . He did that , and he aced the test . He was back in . Then he was a special in English , so they told him if he memorized the " Lady of the Lake " and said that he could get back in school . So he did that . I think he never did finish . He was a twin , and his twin was more of an engineering type and went to manual training high school . MRS . DAVIDSON : She grew up in several small towns in western Kentucky . Her father worked for the L & N Railroad . She had her high school in Hopkinsville , Kentucky . She had to stay home - or she went to junior college nearby . She had a scholarship to Randolph Macon Women 's College , but she couldn 't take it because her mother was ill and died at age 50 . It was about the year I was born , I think . MRS . DAVIDSON : His name was William Howard Courtenay III . My father was named for his uncle , who was also William Howard . My older brother works for Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green in the physics department . He made instruments . My younger brother was a pediatrician in Louisville , and he is still living on a farm in Shelbyville . He 's interested in Kentucky antiques . MRS . DAVIDSON : I went to an unusual kindergarten and first grade . I was at what they called the Enterprise Branch of I . N . Bloom School . It was only kindergarten and first grade . It was in the older building , where we had a Pot Belly Stove . I think we had a maid to help us take our leggings off in the cold weather - galoshes . It was really a wonderful school . It was almost like a private one . It was public . We did things like making butter and we had an orchestra . I played the triangle . I had started a little bit earlier when my younger brother was born . Louisville had half semester , half - year grades . I would 've been a half year , but I skipped the last half of kindergarten . I went to the school board and took a test and went on , so they put me in the regular school year . I went through the big school the I . N . Bloom School and Highland Junior High School in Louisville . Then I went to Atherton High School for Girls . The Louisville public schools were segregated - boys and girls . There were about 900 girls at Atherton . My graduating class was about 200 , and I was the valedictorian . MRS . DAVIDSON : They are pants to keep your legs warm . They zipped up from the inside of the ankle bone up to about knee - high , I guess it was . They were a royal pain to take on and off , so the teacher had to have help to do that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was just ordinary . I 'm sure the girls wore dresses , and the little boys wore suits - not suits , but pants and shirts . MRS . DAVIDSON : I came to Oak Ridge after I graduated from college . I had two years of getting a master 's at Emory while I worked at my alma mater , Agnes Scott College in Decatur , Georgia . I was the chemistry lab instructor . So after those two years were up , I was interested in working in chemistry or biochemistry . My master 's was in biochemistry . In Louisville , there was nothing in that field , except liquor and paint - neither of which I was interested in . In Atlanta , I would like to stay in Atlanta , I heard that Oak Ridge was an interesting new place , and a lot was going on here . One of my dear college friends had recently married a physicist from the University of Kentucky , so I visited them here . I guess that must have been 1947 . Her husband was working at NEPA . He said they were looking for people with a chemistry degree . I applied , and I was accepted . I didn 't know that until I had completed the clearance , so I took the opportunity to go to Europe at an American youth hostel bicycle tour of Western Europe in the summer of 1948 . When I got home , I found that I had indeed gotten the job at Oak Ridge . So I came down here . MRS . DAVIDSON : I was wondering that . I think I came by train . When I interviewed earlier in the spring , my interview was at the Andrew Johnson Hotel . It was one of the private rooms . I had never seen the company here . I think I must have been met by a car and driver and brought to Oak Ridge . MRS . DAVIDSON : I came in through the Vermont Gateway , which is where the gas station is now on the corner of what I call Vermont . They call it North Rutgers now . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , I think it must 've been after that . That would 've been at Christmas time . When I applied , I imagine it was early spring . MRS . DAVIDSON : We called the company NEPA , for Nuclear Energy for the Propulsion of Aircraft . It was managed by the Fairchild Corporation the way Union Carbide or one of the other contractors managed the lab . I did not know until the first day I went to work just what the company was doing . They handed me a volume of information that said , " We are looking for - we are trying to make an airplane powered by nuclear energy that could fly to Russia and back without refueling . " That was a great shock to me . MRS . DAVIDSON : I lived in Columbia Hall Dormitory . I was very surprised to find that the rent was $ 15 a month until I realized it was one very small room . That was my living quarters . I took the opportunity to stay out of it as much as possible . I did that by babysitting in some of the B and D houses in the evening . Grandmothers were not here since it was a closed community . Babysitters were in short supply , and even though I didn 't need the money , it was good to get out of the dormitory . MRS . DAVIDSON : The dormitory was like Cheyenne Hall . It was the same type of building . It had wooden stairways from the second - floor hall down on each end . I lived on the second floor . Our dormitory was mostly nurses , since it was up on the hill next to the hospital - I think where the west parking lot is now . There was a kitchen on each end where we could have our own breakfast . Of course we were at the plant at lunchtime , and then we usually went out to supper . I opened the refrigerator door one morning and somebody 's milk came spilling out down my front . Everybody just stuffed things into the refrigerator . MRS . DAVIDSON : I had a single room with a twin bed and enough room to walk to the window by the bed . There was a little table that served as a desk with a chair . There was a much coveted dormitory dresser - a tall one with a number of drawers . They were very popular . MRS . DAVIDSON : They had a wonderful bus service here . Travel wasn 't really a problem . We walked , of course , from the dormitory to Jackson Square and ate supper usually at the Mayflower , which is where I first saw my husband - to - be . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was on the corner of Tennessee , right across from the Soup Kitchen and the Texaco gas station there on the northeast corner . It was a very popular place . In fact , there were several places you could eat . It was the Central Cafeteria , and the T & C Cafeteria in Jackson Square , which is about where the Epicurean is now toward the garden . MRS . DAVIDSON : It must 've been the A & P on Jackson Square . Jackson Square was really the center of activity as far as I was concerned at that time . I still love it . I hope it keeps going . MRS . DAVIDSON : The department stores - the big department store was Taylor 's at the time . They had a wonderful book department headed by Mrs . Keyes , whose daughter I knew at work . They had really fine art books and other books that they would have a great sale on once or twice a year . We were very happy with that . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was in the middle of the block between where Big Ed 's is in the corner . I guess it 's mostly used by the engineering company now . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , not frequently , but I went and saw - there was a theater down at Big Ed 's in Jackson Square and where the Playhouse is now . That was the main one . MRS . DAVIDSON : Henebree . McCrory 's 5 & 10 was there . There was a drugstore - a Service Drugstore . I guess that was where Big Ed 's is now , on the very corner . There was Jackson Square Pharmacy , and on the other side the Hamilton Bank was there next to the movie theater . And Samuel 's Men 's Store was a very nice store . The Jackson Square Pharmacy was there , but in between , which the Pharmacy later took over was a Kay 's Ice Cream Store . We used to go there and - my husband and I would when we were dating . I liked to get coffee with ice cream in it , so we went there . MRS . DAVIDSON : I can 't say that I do . It was just a given , I suppose . It didn 't make a big dent in my memory . After six months of the dormitory , I moved to a D house on Norman Lane . That was another era . MRS . DAVIDSON : A D house was a large three bedroom house . They were very much desired . They were really nice houses - still a lot of them are . The house was - there were five other girls who lived there - two of whom had been college friends . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , it would 've been upstairs . It was the second one to the end . A radiation technologist lived on the corner , and I lived there with school teachers and nurses who made up most of the dorm . MR . HUNNICUTT : Let 's talk a little bit about the dorm again . If I had a message for you or someone left a message for you , how did you retrieve your messages ? Was there a desk when you went in ? MRS . DAVIDSON : There was a desk downstairs . I remember the Valentine 's Day - I guess it must 've been 1949 . The message was that I had some flowers , some red roses . I had just met my husband - to - be at that time . I got all excited , and when I got to the desk , it was from somebody else . I enjoyed the red roses , but not as much as I might have . The thing was that there were ladies - a lot of the women who lived in the dorm worked on the night shift . They would sit around a large kind of living room , I guess they called it . They were all staring when I got flowers . I had to walk around , and it was embarrassing . MRS . DAVIDSON : I was there in the winter of 1948 . I 'm very cold natured , but I don 't remember being cold . We had those heavy navy blanket - navy blue blankets . This brings up a story if I jump to it later on . We were moved from the D house after another six months into the brand - new Garden Apartments on Villanova Road . They needed our D house for families . The people who moved in were the Andersons of the Anderson Hilltop Grocery . Of course , the furniture all belonged to the government there . So the Garden Apartments were not furnished , so we had dwindled down from 6 to 4 people who needed furniture . I took a day off and went to an auction the government set up down at the warehouses . I got seven beds and three or four dressers - much more than I could have used . But the beds were in great demand at work because all the young men who worked there were having children and needed beds . So we took the four . Also I got two sofas , and we could use but one ; so I sold one . They were really shabby awful sofas . Since it was all going to surplus anyway , we switched and took the nice sofa from the D house and left them the bad one . It was all taken away anyhow , so I didn 't feel too bad about that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't really remember about the telephone . We didn 't use the telephone much . We never used it for long - distance except for emergencies and calls home . I don 't remember that as being a problem particularly . MRS . DAVIDSON : I suppose I went on the bus . I did not have a car . One of the housemates from Norman Lane had gotten the car , but she would 've been at work at K - 25 . I don 't know . I may have gotten a ride . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess I paid somebody to deliver it . I don 't know . Maybe some of the fellows at work picked up their beds that they wanted . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was one of those warehouses down at the [ Oak Ridge ] Turnpike on Warehouse Road . I don 't know exactly where it was . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess it was on the bulletin boards at work , or there was a newspaper at the Lab . I guess I heard about it that way . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think probably so - in the newsletters they came around , also at the recreation building - the rec hall - at Jackson Square that was the library upstairs and the rec hall downstairs . Word - of - mouth - I don 't remember . We had a need and found the answer to it . MRS . DAVIDSON : I had to punch a clock at eight in the morning when I first started . I guess we got out at 4 : 30 or 5 o ' clock . We had bus service that went from the bus terminal - the Central one - that 's now by Bus Terminal Road . Later on after we were married , we lived on Waddell Circle and went from there to the Jefferson bus terminal . I went - I rode on the K - 25 bus , and they went out past K - 25 to the road that the powerhouse was on and NEPA was beyond that out by the river . MRS . DAVIDSON : There was some kind of management services office . I 'm not sure what it was called - the Roane Anderson Corporation at that time , I guess . I think that 's where I rented the dormitory room . I probably got bus tokens - I guess I got the tokens of the bus terminal . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think I had a checking account probably at Hamilton Bank in Jackson Square . I don 't recall otherwise . I know I did later . One thing I wanted to say about the buses - if you wanted to go to Clinton to do any shopping , more than what you could have in Oak Ridge or to meet somebody or something , there was a bus that ran frequently back and forth between the bus terminal and Clinton . There was a young man on the bus who had a sing - songy sales pitch for " peanuts , popcorn , Cracker Jacks , candy , and chewing gum . " He wouldn 't drive , but he would sell his wares all the way to Clinton and back . I always wondered who that was because he obviously had some talent . MRS . DAVIDSON : I 'm sure I did . I don 't know what became of it . I guess I had to turn it back in . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think somebody just got - one of the guards got on the bus and checked everybody 's badges . It was not a big thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : Probably . I don 't remember . What I do remember about that was my mother was coming down one time for my birthday - it must 've been in January 1949 . She rode the train . I told her that I would get a ride to meet her . Of course , the train didn 't stop at Oak Ridge . It went on to Knoxville , so I bummed a ride with one of the men in our group . He was actually the technical assistant to the director . His car was a broken down old thing with no floorboards in the back seat , which was pretty bad when my mother saw it . But she didn 't see it because when we got to Knoxville , she was not there . When we were coming back from the gateway entrance , she was not there . There was a message that she was waiting for us at the Elza Gate Station . She had told the conductor she had to get off at Oak Ridge . That 's where she was going , and I was going to meet her . So she slid down the Elza bank over there . She had my birthday cake - a large chocolate cake . She slid downhill with that , and somehow they stopped her at the guard gate at Elza . She waited there for us . MRS . DAVIDSON : Just for her - let her off like a milk train . They ordinarily didn 't stop there , but she wouldn 't have it otherwise . MRS . DAVIDSON : I used the library and rec hall . On Sunday afternoons , they played music ; and you could sit and write letters home , which is what I think I did a good bit . Later on in the better weather , there were tennis courts and a swimming pool . I don 't remember going to movies much . We went to church groups . There were so many young people ; it was just like a party all the time . Nothing in particular stands out . It was just fun . MRS . DAVIDSON : In the company I was , that was not true . There were a lot of women of course - of course , the dormitory was full of school teachers and nurses . But NEPA was mostly men . There were two parts to the Fairchild - the science and engineering part , which was bigger . I happen to be in the research part . My boss was a chemist - Vince Calkins . It was my job to - this was a real shocker to me - to find a chemical that would protect the human body against radiation for the reactor that was supposed to be in the airplane to Russia . I had no background for that kind of thing . I was just fresh out of college really . I realized I was out of my depth , but they decided - he was a pharmacist , I believe , and he wanted to do experiments with rats . They brought in the rat colony . By that time we had a couple of assistants , and I was supposed to be the group leader . One of the men , Ray Waldrop - you may have talked to him . I asked him if he minded working for a woman because he was really more experienced than I , although I had the degree . It was fine with him . There was also another worker , Saul Segal , who was quite a character in his own right . I took the rats in the cages over to the reactor , the " Old Lady " at X - 10 , and put them through what they called " rabbits " and radiated them for certain amount of time . We couldn 't kill the darn things . Then we used the older ones that had already been radiated , they were just tough as anything . I think the experiment was really a failure , although they may have found that to be the case in some later work with older people - that the cells are not dividing as fast and they 're not as subject to radiation . But we didn 't get into that . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was actually not K - 25 . It was beyond there . As I said , the bus took us - the bus dumped people off at K - 25 , and they went on west to just before you get to the Gallaher Bridge . You turn right there and go right past the power station there . It was used for a long time - the power house , and then NEPA was beyond that . The native rats came in - was it domestic experimental rats ? That was not good . I had a janitor who helped me , even though he could 've lost his job for doing it . He helped me clean cages . I always appreciated that . MRS . DAVIDSON : When they got rid of the rats , which was a blessing , my group leader then became Bill Browning , who was a fine scientist . He worked on the Van de Graaff generator . We had an interesting argument . Saul Segal thought he should be the one to do it since he was a man and I was a woman who would be leaving soon ; and it turned out that he left for California before I had left to have my baby . His argument didn 't hold with me anyway , but we argued about that some . We did run the Van de Graaff , and we also did some experiments on metallic sodium . It was nasty stuff to work with . It caught on fire if it was exposed to air . You had to work with that under oil in the glove box . I think that work all had to be repeated after NEPA left for Cincinnati with G . E . . When they moved part of NEPA to X - 10 , they called it the ANP , or something about aircraft and nuclear power . I was not connected with that because my first baby was born in August 1951 . I left in July . MRS . DAVIDSON : I heard somebody say that they had to repeat it all . My boss , the Division Director of Chemistry was interested in vitamin E , and thought it had a lot of protective influence . We worked with that . That was some of the work I did in chemistry - the lab part of it in the early days . It was not good work , I think . I 'm not blaming myself , but some of the other men who were doing chemical work - I think altogether we didn 't come up with anything . MRS . DAVIDSON : It may have been ahead of it 's time for nuclear submarines . I don 't know whether the engineering people thought that or not . In our group which was the chemistry and the physics , my friend who got me the job was Jim Trice . A fellow named Art Miller and somebody named Coneybearwere in the Physics Division . And then there were some others - Fred Maienschein . I did some work for him one time . It was work on beryllium for one thing . I didn 't work with any of the active beryllium . I didn 't do any lab work then , but I did some journal research . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't think they were that far along . I 'm not sure what happened to that part of it . As I said , in July of 1951 they moved to Cincinnati , Evensville , above Cincinnati . I don 't know how many people actually went up there . Most of my friends moved elsewhere . MR . HUNNICUTT : You mentioned the location of the operation was past the steam plant that was on the Clinch River . Was that the same location where the S - 50 project was located ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I think that was the name of our plot of land . I think those - I never was quite sure how they got the designations , but that was the Fairchild domain , I think . MRS . DAVIDSON : Really , it was just when our eyes met . It was very romantic . He followed our group home to the Columbia Hall to see where I lived . But at the time I thought he was too young , and I didn 't think he was following me . I was with a group of other girls . Later on , one of the women in the dormitory , who was a gym teacher in the Oak Ridge schools , told me I really ought to meet Jack Davidson that he loved to ride bicycles ; I was just back from my bicycle trip in Europe . I didn 't know who he was , and then I went to a church group meeting at my Presbyterian Church for young people one Sunday evening . A friend of mine had brought Jack Davidson , and he was the one whose eyes I had met and he had met mine . Sure enough , he loved to ride bicycles . That was the start of a good thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : We did a little bit . On our dates , that 's really what we did mostly at first . We rode out to West Outer Drive and had those wonderful big hills , not too much traffic at that time . We went out to the water tower at the top of Louisiana and had a picnic , and then rode back . When we got really good , we rode our bicycles over to Concord Park one day . I had gotten some chicken breasts at the grocery . I guess it was the A & P at Jackson Square . I was going to fry them for a picnic to take along over to Concord Park . When I went to the refrigerator to get them , they had turned into wings . Somebody had eaten my chicken breast . Jack was a good sport about that . He didn 't care . We had a nice ride . It was before they had improved Lovell Road . It was a pretty rough ride over there , but we were able to enjoy it . MRS . DAVIDSON : He had his bicycle . It was probably a Grey Stone . For me , he rented a bicycle from his work friend . I had forgotten what his name was . We went over to one of the D Streets , I think , and rode them . I didn 't have my English 3 - speed here . I guess I brought it later , but at that time I didn 't have it . MRS . DAVIDSON : That was a problem . I complained to my friend Jim Trice 's wife , Dot , who happened to live around the corner on Outer Drive at that time . She said the boardwalk was used a lot for dating , and of course the theaters . I guess we were outdoors people . I don 't know . MRS . DAVIDSON : He was a graduate of Georgia Tech . At the time he graduated , he was very young . He came up to see about a job , and he was drafted . No , he was in danger of being drafted right away , but they didn 't hire him . He did go to work for NASA , which was at that time NACA , in Virginia ; and worked over there a short time before he was taken into the Army . He had gone through Georgia Tech on a " War Manpower " loan . He was sent to some place to be an MP , I think . He wrote a night letter , which is a 50 - word telegram that was cheaper at night . He wrote a night letter to Stimson , the Secretary of War , telling them they had paid for his college education ; and here he was sitting in a camp doing nothing down in Alabama . He was transferred to the SED , he would never say that was the reason he was transferred . It may or may not have been . He arrived with the SED - he arrived in Oak Ridge the day Roosevelt died , which was in April 1945 , he was here with his group for maybe six weeks before they went out to Los Alamos . So he spent the rest of the war out there . Then he used his G . I . Bill - he stayed on at Los Alamos . They told them they would let him out of the Army if he would agree to stay on as a civilian . So he took that . Then when he did leave , he went to Annapolis and took a liberal arts course because he felt that he had missed out on it at Georgia Tech . He had a year at St . John 's College of Annapolis ; and then all along I guess he thought he would like to come back here . He came back - he arrived on Armistice Day , now Veterans Day , of 1948 . I was here a couple of months before he came , but we met shortly after Christmas in 1949 . MRS . DAVIDSON : Too long . We were married in May 1950 . He wanted to pay off his loan before we could get married , so I helped him along with that . I fed him some . He was very welcome at the D House of girls . I was going to tell you that during the war , there were nine girls in the house , and they slept on shifts on the bunk beds . There were only six of us when I was there . There were a couple of the boyfriends around , and one of them cut the grass . I think Jack did the - empty the clinkers from the furnace , the coal furnace . They made themselves useful . They got their dinner . MRS . DAVIDSON : Most of the houses were a very good design really , and a whole lot better built than we gave them credit for . But each one that I knew of had a corner set off or closed off as a coal storage place that could be filled through a window from the outside , and then you could use the - there was an opening on the inside that you could use to put coal into the furnace . That was awful of course , but that 's what all the houses were doing in that time , too . We had a yard full of clinkers over there . MRS . DAVIDSON : We were taken care of by a Big Brother - the government . They brought the coal around , and you didn 't do a thing . That was part of the rent . When we got our house here on Orange Lane , that 's another story . Are you ready for that yet ? MRS . DAVIDSON : We went back to my home in Louisville , Kentucky , to be married . We had planned to fly to Nashville , but it turned out the Delta Queen was coming through Louisville the next morning . My mother had told us we could not get married the week before because it was too busy with Derby Day . So we delayed until May 13 . Then we spent the night in Louisville at the Brown Hotel , where she pulled some strings to get us a room because it was still very full of visitors from the Derby . We got on the Delta Queen , and our friends were all on the dock to see us off . They had us almost convinced that we were on Daylight Saving Time , and the Delta Queen was not , and we had missed it . But we rode down just as far as Paducah . We were anxious to start in life you know . We lived on Wadell Circle in a K apartment . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was a two - story thing . I guess it was a two - bedroom up above , and we had K - 1 . It was sort of underground at the front and open at the back . We had a nice back porch . There was a closet under the stairway and a very small kitchen . It had a table that folded down . It was not as compact as a flattop , but the furnishings that they had did double duty . You could fold it up and have more room . MRS . DAVIDSON : The K apartment was heated with the coal furnace , but there was a janitor who came around and took care of it for us . We were taken care of by Roane Anderson . MRS . DAVIDSON : We lived in the K from May 1950 , until we got this house in July 1952 . It was said - the word around town was that you couldn 't get a two - bedroom house unless you had three children , all of different sex . We had been on the list for this house ever since we knew our daughter was coming along . That was a long time to wait . We had been offered two houses - Florida Avenue , where the parking was across the street and the backyard just dropped off . We thought that was totally unsuitable for a new child . We turned both of those down . If we had turned this one down , we would 've gone to the bottom of the long list . But we loved this place of the trees and the dead end lane neighborhood . So we sat outside in front all weekend because we were not top on the list . The reason the other people didn 't take it was that the previous owner , Jim Cox and Charlotte , had put in an oil furnace ; and nobody wanted to pay $ 200 for the oil furnace . Since I had been working , we had saved my salary from work , and we had $ 200 to pay . Also , they didn 't want to be in the high rent district . This house rented for something like $ 45 instead of $ 43 in the lower rent districts . MRS . DAVIDSON : The Oak Ridge cemesto houses that were built - I think this house was built in the fall of 1944 or 1943 . Maybe it was ' 43 . The B house has two bedrooms and of course a bath and a kitchen with a dinette into a long narrow living room . It was about 24 feet by 40 something feet . It was small and convenient . It didn 't have much storage space , but it 's been a wonderful house for us because of the trees . We are on a greenbelt , and I enjoy that very much . It 's a nice private neighborhood just above Jackson Square . MRS . DAVIDSON : Our cemesto has a fireplace , and it had a complete brick wall . Some of the B houses had a brick wall just beyond the fireplace . MRS . DAVIDSON : There are hardwood floors in all the cemestos , I believe . Our house has maple flooring , and a lot of them had oak . Wood was hard to come by in the wartime . We love the color - the reddish color of the maple . MRS . DAVIDSON : Adele is our second daughter , and she was two years younger . Our son is Bill Davidson or William . He was born in November of 1954 . He 's just now turning 58 . MRS . DAVIDSON : All three of our children went to Cedar Hill . They had split grades there , so I think the classes were one half size . They would take the kids a half from one grade , and half from the next grade , and that worked out just fine . MRS . DAVIDSON : Cedar Hill was wonderful . It was very special . Mr . Dodd was the principal , and he saw to it - he had the best teachers or at least as good as any . Actually in those days all the teachers and Oak Ridge were special because many of them had been recruited from Columbia Teachers College , along with the superintendent . Others were specially recruited for the job . They were a group a part , I think , from a lot of teachers . MRS . DAVIDSON : The girls both went to Jefferson when it was on the hill at Jackson Square , and Bill was in the first year at the new Jefferson that was over on Fairbanks Road . His was the first class there . They all went through Oak Ridge High . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you recall some of the classes your daughters took while they were in junior high ? Was there Home Ec . or things related to girls ? MRS . DAVIDSON : No , they were on the college prep track . They took eighth grade algebra and that kind of thing . Of course English and math and social studies and science - our older girl I think took biology ; and I 'm not sure if Adele had a more general science course . It just depended on the teacher that they had . They had an excellent education , and the girls were both Merit semifinalists . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course . I was in the PTA . I 'm not sure if I was ever a room mother , but I of course helped with parties and things . MRS . DAVIDSON : The teachers recruited them from each class to help with parties mostly . They helped with any activities that they didn 't really have time to do . MRS . DAVIDSON : Parent - Teacher Association , a time honored group . It got extra things for the school . I got involved with raincoats for the school patrol . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess maybe I was a treasurer of the Cedar Hill PTA , and this goal was to get those yellow slicker raincoat so kids could be visible to the drivers . I found out how much the things cost , and then I estimated postage . At the PTA meeting , Alvin Weinberg was president . He had a son or two in school at the time . He took me to task for estimating the postage , so I had to ask for just the money for the coats themselves since I didn 't really know what the postage is going to be . I thought that was interesting that he wanted to keep it to the exact penny . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think they just wore what the other kids wore . One day we had a deep snow and Bill was in kindergarten , and the snow was up over their boots . I think he had some corduroys . The teacher was making the kids take their pants off and dry them on the radiator , and he wouldn 't do it . I had to go up to the school and take him some fresh pants , some dry clothes . He was very young - just four when he started . MR . HUNNICUTT : Let 's go back a few years . Do you remember 1945 when they dropped the bomb on Japan ? You remember where you were ? And what was your reaction ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I do remember that very clearly because it was the summer after my junior year in college , and I was a camp counselor up in Door County , Wisconsin . There was no electricity at the camp , so we counselors - after we got the kids to bed , went to the state park nearby . This was at Fish Creek , Wisconsin . We would listen to people 's car radios . We knew for about a week that something was happening , but we didn 't know just what . It was very deeply moving when the bomb was dropped , and we thought it would bring an end to the war . Of course , I had friends and a brother on Guam and a cousin was in Europe and others . So that was very deeply moving . I had a book of poetry - my favorite poems at the camp with me . One of my 12 - year - olds picked out a poem - " Once to every man and nation comes a moment to decide " - she read that , and I thought that was very astute of her , a youngster to be able to do that . MRS . DAVIDSON : My husband thought they should have dropped a sample first , but I didn 't feel that way since the first bomb didn 't phase the Japanese . I didn 't think the test one would have either . I was just so glad that the war was over . People could settle down and get into real life again . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think I was in transition from the dormitory to the house , and my husband 's brothers came up from Georgia to witness the opening . So we drove in their car around , and we watched the parade from , I believe , down on the eastern end of the Turnpike down near the warehouses to get out of the traffic . We never could figure out why they invited Marie " The Body " McDonald and [ inaudible ] to ride in the open car for the parade . We couldn 't figure out what they had to do with it , but we did see the burning of the magnesium ribbon . That was exciting . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was only toward town from Elza Gate . I know the central part of town , the Jackson Square area , was very crowded . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think they name the streets for famous cities in the country , and of course the alphabetical designations were very helpful . But Jackson Square , I assume , was named for New Orleans . That 's all I know about it . MRS . DAVIDSON : Sometimes you would pick up the telephone , and the other party was talking . I believe they had different rings . I think maybe the other party had one ring , and we had two . There were four - party lines , but if we were on a four - party line , only the other one was active . I think maybe we were . The other two lines were not being used . MR . HUNNICUTT : When you are raising your family , did you hang your clothes outside on the clothesline ? Did you have a dryer ? What did you use ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I hung them outside on the clothesline . As I said , when we moved here , Anne was a year old . Not much more than three years after that , we had three babies . I was able to talk my husband into getting a dryer that time . Before that , he had built a pulley out of my kitchen window . There was a drop off in the back , and he was able to string it to a tree in the woods . I was able to reel those cloth diapers and reel them in and out . The only problem was that the birds like the trees , too . Sometimes I had to do some re - washing . MR . HUNNICUTT : So in those days you use cloth diapers ? Today we use disposable diapers . How do you think you would 've done if you had disposable diapers ? MRS . DAVIDSON : At one point , when our children were out playing Kick the Can , there were over 40 children on the lane . There were about 20 or 21 houses . There were almost as many dogs . It was just a glorious place for them to grow up . They seem to get along remarkably well most of the time , especially in the early days . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes . We went down there on the opening , and got the radioactive dimes on that occasion . The museum at that time was down at Jefferson Circle . I don 't think any of us ever had our hair stand out on the Van De Graff generator or whatever it was , but we took the children . We went out ourselves . Of course my husband was interested in that kind of thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : Sometimes they walked to Jefferson , but by that time they were carrying pretty heavy books . One of the neighbors on Outer Drive wanted to have a carpool , so we joined that . MRS . DAVIDSON : When Anne was in the fifth grade , they had to write what they did on Friday nights . The teacher would call me and say , " Is it true that you gave your children ice water and watched TV on Friday nights ? " That was how generous we were with them . We didn 't get a TV until they were probably five or six years old . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course it was black and white . The reason we got it - I guess finally it was that the children were always going to the neighbors ' house to watch TV . We decided that we should get our own . They watched things like " Pinky Lee " and I 've forgotten what else . MRS . DAVIDSON : I remember that fondly because my first real date with my husband was going to dinner there with him . He invited me to go to a concert in Knoxville , and his excuse was that we should get to know each other better before he took me to the city with him . That was one thing . I remember there were parties there , and our company had a party at the Oak Terrace Ballroom . One of the NEPA fellows wore a Tarzan costume , which was mostly nothing . It turned out that he lived in the neighborhood . MRS . DAVIDSON : That was just below the dormitory where I lived in Columbia Hall . Jack went there looking for me , he thought I would eat breakfast there and then he could have breakfast with me ; but I ate in the dormitory . He didn 't find me there . When we came back from our bicycle ride to Concord Park , I remember we stopped by there , and he drank two or three Mountain Dew drinks . That surprised me , but we had worked off a lot of sweat . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , we took our children out there and saw " Lawrence of Arabia " and " The 10 Commandment " and those things . It was quite nice . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was about where Kroger 's - where that is now , on the southeast part of Illinois Avenue . It was a nice thing . That was a special treat for the children to go out there . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't think so . I think they were mostly in the car . They had a drawing one time , Jack won something . It was actually nothing , but he did win . MRS . DAVIDSON : I sure did . My three children were born there . It was a green structure , like so many of the buildings in Oak Ridge . I guess the present building is built on that place . It was okay . I didn 't have any problems with it , except after my second child . I had a staph infection from the hospital . Even an Army wife with a private room got an infection there . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , I think they also had been recruited ; and a lot of them were from Tulane University . The time I was sick with my infection , they were having a reunion at Tulane , and my doctor and another one were gone for the reunion . I didn 't like the one who took care of me . He didn 't do a good job . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was okay . I don 't remember having any problems with it . We knew Dr . Rogers from our church , and we went to him . He was called away to the service , I believe . Maybe it was the Korean War , but then he came back . MRS . DAVIDSON : We met at Pine Valley School . The choir sat on the bleachers , and the minister sat under the halo of the basketball net . My husband was a Methodist , and he went to the First Methodist Church . They had a big youth group there . When we were first married , we tried to take them both in . We went to Sunday school one place , and church another until we finally settled on the Presbyterian . It was smaller , and we knew more people . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course the people . I love my trees and my house . I love all the activities . Both my husband and I have always loved music and enjoy the concerts a lot . The symphony concerts with Waldo Cohn conducting were held at Jefferson Junior High on the Kentucky Avenue hill . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you think back about all the people that you knew in the early days ? Do you think it was unusual for everybody to get along - the many people that were here ? MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , I guess so . I didn 't think about it because we just did . It was just fun . Everybody was away from home , and we had to be family for each other . That was particularly true in this close neighborhood . MRS . DAVIDSON : I 'm pleased for the most part . I think we 've made good progress . We 've kept up with the outside world . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think we came through at the very best of times . It was not the pressure of war , but we were growing community . I think things were happening at the Lab . Both of my husband and I loved the Lab because there were so many good things going on out there . It gives us hope for the future . [ Editor 's Note : This transcript has been edited at Mrs . Davidson 's request . The corresponding audio and video components have remained unchanged . ] Click tabs to swap between content that is broken into logical sections . MR . HUNNICUTT : This interview is for the Center of Oak Ridge Oral History . The date is November 8 , 2012 . I am Don Hunnicutt in the home of Mrs . Mary Ann Davidson , 117 Orange Lane , Oak Ridge , Tennessee , to take her oral history about living in Oak Ridge , Tennessee . Please state your full name and your place of birth and your date of birth . MRS . DAVIDSON : My name is Mary Ann Davidson . My date of birth is January 12 , 1925 . I was born in Louisville , Kentucky . I lived there all my early life until I graduated from college . MRS . DAVIDSON : My father was William H . Courtenay . He was born in 1890 , on March 3 . He was in World War I and lived his entire life in Louisville and Shelbyville , Kentucky . He worked for the Mengel Company . They imported mahogany and hardwood from Africa and Central America . He delivered those to customers . He didn 't consider himself a salesman , but he sold them to the furniture factory - furniture makers around Kentucky , mostly Indiana and Cincinnati and some in Tennessee . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , he did not . The Louisville Male High School was considered a fine school at that time . They said that graduates could enter Harvard in their second year . The principal had written textbooks that were apparently used all over . But my father was interested in raising ponies . His father had a farm in Shelbyville , Kentucky . If you 'd didn 't make the grade , you are special . And Dr . Ruben Post - Halleck , the famous principal of the school , told him if he took an exam in math , he could be entered back in . He did that , and he aced the test . He was back in . Then he was a special in English , so they told him if he memorized the " Lady of the Lake " and said that he could get back in school . So he did that . I think he never did finish . He was a twin , and his twin was more of an engineering type and went to manual training high school . MR . HUNNICUTT : What about your mother 's school history ? MRS . DAVIDSON : She grew up in several small towns in western Kentucky . Her father worked for the L & N Railroad . She had her high school in Hopkinsville , Kentucky . She had to stay home - or she went to junior college nearby . She had a scholarship to Randolph Macon Women 's College , but she couldn 't take it because her mother was ill and died at age 50 . It was about the year I was born , I think . MRS . DAVIDSON : His name was William Howard Courtenay III . My father was named for his uncle , who was also William Howard . My older brother works for Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green in the physics department . He made instruments . My younger brother was a pediatrician in Louisville , and he is still living on a farm in Shelbyville . He 's interested in Kentucky antiques . MR . HUNNICUTT : Yes . MRS . DAVIDSON : I went to an unusual kindergarten and first grade . I was at what they called the Enterprise Branch of I . N . Bloom School . It was only kindergarten and first grade . It was in the older building , where we had a Pot Belly Stove . I think we had a maid to help us take our leggings off in the cold weather - galoshes . It was really a wonderful school . It was almost like a private one . It was public . We did things like making butter and we had an orchestra . I played the triangle . I had started a little bit earlier when my younger brother was born . Louisville had half semester , half - year grades . I would 've been a half year , but I skipped the last half of kindergarten . I went to the school board and took a test and went on , so they put me in the regular school year . I went through the big school the I . N . Bloom School and Highland Junior High School in Louisville . Then I went to Atherton High School for Girls . The Louisville public schools were segregated - boys and girls . There were about 900 girls at Atherton . My graduating class was about 200 , and I was the valedictorian . MRS . DAVIDSON : They are pants to keep your legs warm . They zipped up from the inside of the ankle bone up to about knee - high , I guess it was . They were a royal pain to take on and off , so the teacher had to have help to do that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was just ordinary . I 'm sure the girls wore dresses , and the little boys wore suits - not suits , but pants and shirts . MRS . DAVIDSON : I came to Oak Ridge after I graduated from college . I had two years of getting a master 's at Emory while I worked at my alma mater , Agnes Scott College in Decatur , Georgia . I was the chemistry lab instructor . So after those two years were up , I was interested in working in chemistry or biochemistry . My master 's was in biochemistry . In Louisville , there was nothing in that field , except liquor and paint - neither of which I was interested in . In Atlanta , I would like to stay in Atlanta , I heard that Oak Ridge was an interesting new place , and a lot was going on here . One of my dear college friends had recently married a physicist from the University of Kentucky , so I visited them here . I guess that must have been 1947 . Her husband was working at NEPA . He said they were looking for people with a chemistry degree . I applied , and I was accepted . I didn 't know that until I had completed the clearance , so I took the opportunity to go to Europe at an American youth hostel bicycle tour of Western Europe in the summer of 1948 . When I got home , I found that I had indeed gotten the job at Oak Ridge . So I came down here . MRS . DAVIDSON : I was wondering that . I think I came by train . When I interviewed earlier in the spring , my interview was at the Andrew Johnson Hotel . It was one of the private rooms . I had never seen the company here . I think I must have been met by a car and driver and brought to Oak Ridge . MRS . DAVIDSON : I came in through the Vermont Gateway , which is where the gas station is now on the corner of what I call Vermont . They call it North Rutgers now . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , I think it must 've been after that . That would 've been at Christmas time . When I applied , I imagine it was early spring . MRS . DAVIDSON : We called the company NEPA , for Nuclear Energy for the Propulsion of Aircraft . It was managed by the Fairchild Corporation the way Union Carbide or one of the other contractors managed the lab . I did not know until the first day I went to work just what the company was doing . They handed me a volume of information that said , " We are looking for - we are trying to make an airplane powered by nuclear energy that could fly to Russia and back without refueling . " That was a great shock to me . MRS . DAVIDSON : I lived in Columbia Hall Dormitory . I was very surprised to find that the rent was $ 15 a month until I realized it was one very small room . That was my living quarters . I took the opportunity to stay out of it as much as possible . I did that by babysitting in some of the B and D houses in the evening . Grandmothers were not here since it was a closed community . Babysitters were in short supply , and even though I didn 't need the money , it was good to get out of the dormitory . MRS . DAVIDSON : The dormitory was like Cheyenne Hall . It was the same type of building . It had wooden stairways from the second - floor hall down on each end . I lived on the second floor . Our dormitory was mostly nurses , since it was up on the hill next to the hospital - I think where the west parking lot is now . There was a kitchen on each end where we could have our own breakfast . Of course we were at the plant at lunchtime , and then we usually went out to supper . I opened the refrigerator door one morning and somebody 's milk came spilling out down my front . Everybody just stuffed things into the refrigerator . MRS . DAVIDSON : I had a single room with a twin bed and enough room to walk to the window by the bed . There was a little table that served as a desk with a chair . There was a much coveted dormitory dresser - a tall one with a number of drawers . They were very popular . MRS . DAVIDSON : They had a wonderful bus service here . Travel wasn 't really a problem . We walked , of course , from the dormitory to Jackson Square and ate supper usually at the Mayflower , which is where I first saw my husband - to - be . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was on the corner of Tennessee , right across from the Soup Kitchen and the Texaco gas station there on the northeast corner . It was a very popular place . In fact , there were several places you could eat . It was the Central Cafeteria , and the T & C Cafeteria in Jackson Square , which is about where the Epicurean is now toward the garden . MRS . DAVIDSON : It must 've been the A & P on Jackson Square . Jackson Square was really the center of activity as far as I was concerned at that time . I still love it . I hope it keeps going . MRS . DAVIDSON : The department stores - the big department store was Taylor 's at the time . They had a wonderful book department headed by Mrs . Keyes , whose daughter I knew at work . They had really fine art books and other books that they would have a great sale on once or twice a year . We were very happy with that . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was in the middle of the block between where Big Ed 's is in the corner . I guess it 's mostly used by the engineering company now . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , not frequently , but I went and saw - there was a theater down at Big Ed 's in Jackson Square and where the Playhouse is now . That was the main one . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , the jewelry store was on the corner that was Henebree 's , I think . No , that was Heneger 's . MR . HUNNICUTT : Henebree ? MRS . DAVIDSON : Henebree . McCrory 's 5 & 10 was there . There was a drugstore - a Service Drugstore . I guess that was where Big Ed 's is now , on the very corner . There was Jackson Square Pharmacy , and on the other side the Hamilton Bank was there next to the movie theater . And Samuel 's Men 's Store was a very nice store . The Jackson Square Pharmacy was there , but in between , which the Pharmacy later took over was a Kay 's Ice Cream Store . We used to go there and - my husband and I would when we were dating . I liked to get coffee with ice cream in it , so we went there . MR . HUNNICUTT : I believe that was Taff Moody Ice Cream - they served Kay 's Ice Cream . MRS . DAVIDSON : Was it ? I didn 't remember that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I can 't say that I do . It was just a given , I suppose . It didn 't make a big dent in my memory . After six months of the dormitory , I moved to a D house on Norman Lane . That was another era . MR . HUNNICUTT : What is a D house ? MRS . DAVIDSON : A D house was a large three bedroom house . They were very much desired . They were really nice houses - still a lot of them are . The house was - there were five other girls who lived there - two of whom had been college friends . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , it would 've been upstairs . It was the second one to the end . A radiation technologist lived on the corner , and I lived there with school teachers and nurses who made up most of the dorm . MR . HUNNICUTT : Let 's talk a little bit about the dorm again . If I had a message for you or someone left a message for you , how did you retrieve your messages ? Was there a desk when you went in ? MRS . DAVIDSON : There was a desk downstairs . I remember the Valentine 's Day - I guess it must 've been 1949 . The message was that I had some flowers , some red roses . I had just met my husband - to - be at that time . I got all excited , and when I got to the desk , it was from somebody else . I enjoyed the red roses , but not as much as I might have . The thing was that there were ladies - a lot of the women who lived in the dorm worked on the night shift . They would sit around a large kind of living room , I guess they called it . They were all staring when I got flowers . I had to walk around , and it was embarrassing . MRS . DAVIDSON : I was there in the winter of 1948 . I 'm very cold natured , but I don 't remember being cold . We had those heavy navy blanket - navy blue blankets . This brings up a story if I jump to it later on . We were moved from the D house after another six months into the brand - new Garden Apartments on Villanova Road . They needed our D house for families . The people who moved in were the Andersons of the Anderson Hilltop Grocery . Of course , the furniture all belonged to the government there . So the Garden Apartments were not furnished , so we had dwindled down from 6 to 4 people who needed furniture . I took a day off and went to an auction the government set up down at the warehouses . I got seven beds and three or four dressers - much more than I could have used . But the beds were in great demand at work because all the young men who worked there were having children and needed beds . So we took the four . Also I got two sofas , and we could use but one ; so I sold one . They were really shabby awful sofas . Since it was all going to surplus anyway , we switched and took the nice sofa from the D house and left them the bad one . It was all taken away anyhow , so I didn 't feel too bad about that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't really remember about the telephone . We didn 't use the telephone much . We never used it for long - distance except for emergencies and calls home . I don 't remember that as being a problem particularly . MRS . DAVIDSON : I suppose I went on the bus . I did not have a car . One of the housemates from Norman Lane had gotten the car , but she would 've been at work at K - 25 . I don 't know . I may have gotten a ride . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess I paid somebody to deliver it . I don 't know . Maybe some of the fellows at work picked up their beds that they wanted . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was one of those warehouses down at the [ Oak Ridge ] Turnpike on Warehouse Road . I don 't know exactly where it was . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess it was on the bulletin boards at work , or there was a newspaper at the Lab . I guess I heard about it that way . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think probably so - in the newsletters they came around , also at the recreation building - the rec hall - at Jackson Square that was the library upstairs and the rec hall downstairs . Word - of - mouth - I don 't remember . We had a need and found the answer to it . MRS . DAVIDSON : I had to punch a clock at eight in the morning when I first started . I guess we got out at 4 : 30 or 5 o ' clock . We had bus service that went from the bus terminal - the Central one - that 's now by Bus Terminal Road . Later on after we were married , we lived on Waddell Circle and went from there to the Jefferson bus terminal . I went - I rode on the K - 25 bus , and they went out past K - 25 to the road that the powerhouse was on and NEPA was beyond that out by the river . MRS . DAVIDSON : There was some kind of management services office . I 'm not sure what it was called - the Roane Anderson Corporation at that time , I guess . I think that 's where I rented the dormitory room . I probably got bus tokens - I guess I got the tokens of the bus terminal . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think I had a checking account probably at Hamilton Bank in Jackson Square . I don 't recall otherwise . I know I did later . One thing I wanted to say about the buses - if you wanted to go to Clinton to do any shopping , more than what you could have in Oak Ridge or to meet somebody or something , there was a bus that ran frequently back and forth between the bus terminal and Clinton . There was a young man on the bus who had a sing - songy sales pitch for " peanuts , popcorn , Cracker Jacks , candy , and chewing gum . " He wouldn 't drive , but he would sell his wares all the way to Clinton and back . I always wondered who that was because he obviously had some talent . MRS . DAVIDSON : I 'm sure I did . I don 't know what became of it . I guess I had to turn it back in . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think somebody just got - one of the guards got on the bus and checked everybody 's badges . It was not a big thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : Probably . I don 't remember . What I do remember about that was my mother was coming down one time for my birthday - it must 've been in January 1949 . She rode the train . I told her that I would get a ride to meet her . Of course , the train didn 't stop at Oak Ridge . It went on to Knoxville , so I bummed a ride with one of the men in our group . He was actually the technical assistant to the director . His car was a broken down old thing with no floorboards in the back seat , which was pretty bad when my mother saw it . But she didn 't see it because when we got to Knoxville , she was not there . When we were coming back from the gateway entrance , she was not there . There was a message that she was waiting for us at the Elza Gate Station . She had told the conductor she had to get off at Oak Ridge . That 's where she was going , and I was going to meet her . So she slid down the Elza bank over there . She had my birthday cake - a large chocolate cake . She slid downhill with that , and somehow they stopped her at the guard gate at Elza . She waited there for us . MRS . DAVIDSON : Just for her - let her off like a milk train . They ordinarily didn 't stop there , but she wouldn 't have it otherwise . MRS . DAVIDSON : I used the library and rec hall . On Sunday afternoons , they played music ; and you could sit and write letters home , which is what I think I did a good bit . Later on in the better weather , there were tennis courts and a swimming pool . I don 't remember going to movies much . We went to church groups . There were so many young people ; it was just like a party all the time . Nothing in particular stands out . It was just fun . MRS . DAVIDSON : In the company I was , that was not true . There were a lot of women of course - of course , the dormitory was full of school teachers and nurses . But NEPA was mostly men . There were two parts to the Fairchild - the science and engineering part , which was bigger . I happen to be in the research part . My boss was a chemist - Vince Calkins . It was my job to - this was a real shocker to me - to find a chemical that would protect the human body against radiation for the reactor that was supposed to be in the airplane to Russia . I had no background for that kind of thing . I was just fresh out of college really . I realized I was out of my depth , but they decided - he was a pharmacist , I believe , and he wanted to do experiments with rats . They brought in the rat colony . By that time we had a couple of assistants , and I was supposed to be the group leader . One of the men , Ray Waldrop - you may have talked to him . I asked him if he minded working for a woman because he was really more experienced than I , although I had the degree . It was fine with him . There was also another worker , Saul Segal , who was quite a character in his own right . I took the rats in the cages over to the reactor , the " Old Lady " at X - 10 , and put them through what they called " rabbits " and radiated them for certain amount of time . We couldn 't kill the darn things . Then we used the older ones that had already been radiated , they were just tough as anything . I think the experiment was really a failure , although they may have found that to be the case in some later work with older people - that the cells are not dividing as fast and they 're not as subject to radiation . But we didn 't get into that . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was actually not K - 25 . It was beyond there . As I said , the bus took us - the bus dumped people off at K - 25 , and they went on west to just before you get to the Gallaher Bridge . You turn right there and go right past the power station there . It was used for a long time - the power house , and then NEPA was beyond that . The native rats came in - was it domestic experimental rats ? That was not good . I had a janitor who helped me , even though he could 've lost his job for doing it . He helped me clean cages . I always appreciated that . MRS . DAVIDSON : When they got rid of the rats , which was a blessing , my group leader then became Bill Browning , who was a fine scientist . He worked on the Van de Graaff generator . We had an interesting argument . Saul Segal thought he should be the one to do it since he was a man and I was a woman who would be leaving soon ; and it turned out that he left for California before I had left to have my baby . His argument didn 't hold with me anyway , but we argued about that some . We did run the Van de Graaff , and we also did some experiments on metallic sodium . It was nasty stuff to work with . It caught on fire if it was exposed to air . You had to work with that under oil in the glove box . I think that work all had to be repeated after NEPA left for Cincinnati with G . E . . When they moved part of NEPA to X - 10 , they called it the ANP , or something about aircraft and nuclear power . I was not connected with that because my first baby was born in August 1951 . I left in July . MRS . DAVIDSON : I heard somebody say that they had to repeat it all . My boss , the Division Director of Chemistry was interested in vitamin E , and thought it had a lot of protective influence . We worked with that . That was some of the work I did in chemistry - the lab part of it in the early days . It was not good work , I think . I 'm not blaming myself , but some of the other men who were doing chemical work - I think altogether we didn 't come up with anything . MRS . DAVIDSON : It may have been ahead of it 's time for nuclear submarines . I don 't know whether the engineering people thought that or not . In our group which was the chemistry and the physics , my friend who got me the job was Jim Trice . A fellow named Art Miller and somebody named Coneybearwere in the Physics Division . And then there were some others - Fred Maienschein . I did some work for him one time . It was work on beryllium for one thing . I didn 't work with any of the active beryllium . I didn 't do any lab work then , but I did some journal research . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't think they were that far along . I 'm not sure what happened to that part of it . As I said , in July of 1951 they moved to Cincinnati , Evensville , above Cincinnati . I don 't know how many people actually went up there . Most of my friends moved elsewhere . MR . HUNNICUTT : You mentioned the location of the operation was past the steam plant that was on the Clinch River . Was that the same location where the S - 50 project was located ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I think that was the name of our plot of land . I think those - I never was quite sure how they got the designations , but that was the Fairchild domain , I think . MRS . DAVIDSON : Really , it was just when our eyes met . It was very romantic . He followed our group home to the Columbia Hall to see where I lived . But at the time I thought he was too young , and I didn 't think he was following me . I was with a group of other girls . Later on , one of the women in the dormitory , who was a gym teacher in the Oak Ridge schools , told me I really ought to meet Jack Davidson that he loved to ride bicycles ; I was just back from my bicycle trip in Europe . I didn 't know who he was , and then I went to a church group meeting at my Presbyterian Church for young people one Sunday evening . A friend of mine had brought Jack Davidson , and he was the one whose eyes I had met and he had met mine . Sure enough , he loved to ride bicycles . That was the start of a good thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : We did a little bit . On our dates , that 's really what we did mostly at first . We rode out to West Outer Drive and had those wonderful big hills , not too much traffic at that time . We went out to the water tower at the top of Louisiana and had a picnic , and then rode back . When we got really good , we rode our bicycles over to Concord Park one day . I had gotten some chicken breasts at the grocery . I guess it was the A & P at Jackson Square . I was going to fry them for a picnic to take along over to Concord Park . When I went to the refrigerator to get them , they had turned into wings . Somebody had eaten my chicken breast . Jack was a good sport about that . He didn 't care . We had a nice ride . It was before they had improved Lovell Road . It was a pretty rough ride over there , but we were able to enjoy it . MRS . DAVIDSON : He had his bicycle . It was probably a Grey Stone . For me , he rented a bicycle from his work friend . I had forgotten what his name was . We went over to one of the D Streets , I think , and rode them . I didn 't have my English 3 - speed here . I guess I brought it later , but at that time I didn 't have it . MRS . DAVIDSON : That was a problem . I complained to my friend Jim Trice 's wife , Dot , who happened to live around the corner on Outer Drive at that time . She said the boardwalk was used a lot for dating , and of course the theaters . I guess we were outdoors people . I don 't know . MRS . DAVIDSON : He was a graduate of Georgia Tech . At the time he graduated , he was very young . He came up to see about a job , and he was drafted . No , he was in danger of being drafted right away , but they didn 't hire him . He did go to work for NASA , which was at that time NACA , in Virginia ; and worked over there a short time before he was taken into the Army . He had gone through Georgia Tech on a " War Manpower " loan . He was sent to some place to be an MP , I think . He wrote a night letter , which is a 50 - word telegram that was cheaper at night . He wrote a night letter to Stimson , the Secretary of War , telling them they had paid for his college education ; and here he was sitting in a camp doing nothing down in Alabama . He was transferred to the SED , he would never say that was the reason he was transferred . It may or may not have been . He arrived with the SED - he arrived in Oak Ridge the day Roosevelt died , which was in April 1945 , he was here with his group for maybe six weeks before they went out to Los Alamos . So he spent the rest of the war out there . Then he used his G . I . Bill - he stayed on at Los Alamos . They told them they would let him out of the Army if he would agree to stay on as a civilian . So he took that . Then when he did leave , he went to Annapolis and took a liberal arts course because he felt that he had missed out on it at Georgia Tech . He had a year at St . John 's College of Annapolis ; and then all along I guess he thought he would like to come back here . He came back - he arrived on Armistice Day , now Veterans Day , of 1948 . I was here a couple of months before he came , but we met shortly after Christmas in 1949 . MRS . DAVIDSON : Too long . We were married in May 1950 . He wanted to pay off his loan before we could get married , so I helped him along with that . I fed him some . He was very welcome at the D House of girls . I was going to tell you that during the war , there were nine girls in the house , and they slept on shifts on the bunk beds . There were only six of us when I was there . There were a couple of the boyfriends around , and one of them cut the grass . I think Jack did the - empty the clinkers from the furnace , the coal furnace . They made themselves useful . They got their dinner . MR . HUNNICUTT : Tell me about the coal furnace briefly . MRS . DAVIDSON : Most of the houses were a very good design really , and a whole lot better built than we gave them credit for . But each one that I knew of had a corner set off or closed off as a coal storage place that could be filled through a window from the outside , and then you could use the - there was an opening on the inside that you could use to put coal into the furnace . That was awful of course , but that 's what all the houses were doing in that time , too . We had a yard full of clinkers over there . MRS . DAVIDSON : We were taken care of by a Big Brother - the government . They brought the coal around , and you didn 't do a thing . That was part of the rent . When we got our house here on Orange Lane , that 's another story . Are you ready for that yet ? MRS . DAVIDSON : We went back to my home in Louisville , Kentucky , to be married . We had planned to fly to Nashville , but it turned out the Delta Queen was coming through Louisville the next morning . My mother had told us we could not get married the week before because it was too busy with Derby Day . So we delayed until May 13 . Then we spent the night in Louisville at the Brown Hotel , where she pulled some strings to get us a room because it was still very full of visitors from the Derby . We got on the Delta Queen , and our friends were all on the dock to see us off . They had us almost convinced that we were on Daylight Saving Time , and the Delta Queen was not , and we had missed it . But we rode down just as far as Paducah . We were anxious to start in life you know . We lived on Wadell Circle in a K apartment . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you recall the number ? MRS . DAVIDSON : It was a two - story thing . I guess it was a two - bedroom up above , and we had K - 1 . It was sort of underground at the front and open at the back . We had a nice back porch . There was a closet under the stairway and a very small kitchen . It had a table that folded down . It was not as compact as a flattop , but the furnishings that they had did double duty . You could fold it up and have more room . MRS . DAVIDSON : The K apartment was heated with the coal furnace , but there was a janitor who came around and took care of it for us . We were taken care of by Roane Anderson . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you remember what the rent was ? MRS . DAVIDSON : We lived in the K from May 1950 , until we got this house in July 1952 . It was said - the word around town was that you couldn 't get a two - bedroom house unless you had three children , all of different sex . We had been on the list for this house ever since we knew our daughter was coming along . That was a long time to wait . We had been offered two houses - Florida Avenue , where the parking was across the street and the backyard just dropped off . We thought that was totally unsuitable for a new child . We turned both of those down . If we had turned this one down , we would 've gone to the bottom of the long list . But we loved this place of the trees and the dead end lane neighborhood . So we sat outside in front all weekend because we were not top on the list . The reason the other people didn 't take it was that the previous owner , Jim Cox and Charlotte , had put in an oil furnace ; and nobody wanted to pay $ 200 for the oil furnace . Since I had been working , we had saved my salary from work , and we had $ 200 to pay . Also , they didn 't want to be in the high rent district . This house rented for something like $ 45 instead of $ 43 in the lower rent districts . MRS . DAVIDSON : The Oak Ridge cemesto houses that were built - I think this house was built in the fall of 1944 or 1943 . Maybe it was ' 43 . The B house has two bedrooms and of course a bath and a kitchen with a dinette into a long narrow living room . It was about 24 feet by 40 something feet . It was small and convenient . It didn 't have much storage space , but it 's been a wonderful house for us because of the trees . We are on a greenbelt , and I enjoy that very much . It 's a nice private neighborhood just above Jackson Square . MRS . DAVIDSON : Our cemesto has a fireplace , and it had a complete brick wall . Some of the B houses had a brick wall just beyond the fireplace . MRS . DAVIDSON : There are hardwood floors in all the cemestos , I believe . Our house has maple flooring , and a lot of them had oak . Wood was hard to come by in the wartime . We love the color - the reddish color of the maple . MRS . DAVIDSON : Adele is our second daughter , and she was two years younger . Our son is Bill Davidson or William . He was born in November of 1954 . He 's just now turning 58 . MR . HUNNICUTT : So your first daughter went to Cedar Hill ? MRS . DAVIDSON : All three of our children went to Cedar Hill . They had split grades there , so I think the classes were one half size . They would take the kids a half from one grade , and half from the next grade , and that worked out just fine . MRS . DAVIDSON : Cedar Hill was wonderful . It was very special . Mr . Dodd was the principal , and he saw to it - he had the best teachers or at least as good as any . Actually in those days all the teachers and Oak Ridge were special because many of them had been recruited from Columbia Teachers College , along with the superintendent . Others were specially recruited for the job . They were a group a part , I think , from a lot of teachers . MRS . DAVIDSON : The girls both went to Jefferson when it was on the hill at Jackson Square , and Bill was in the first year at the new Jefferson that was over on Fairbanks Road . His was the first class there . They all went through Oak Ridge High . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you recall some of the classes your daughters took while they were in junior high ? Was there Home Ec . or things related to girls ? MRS . DAVIDSON : No , they were on the college prep track . They took eighth grade algebra and that kind of thing . Of course English and math and social studies and science - our older girl I think took biology ; and I 'm not sure if Adele had a more general science course . It just depended on the teacher that they had . They had an excellent education , and the girls were both Merit semifinalists . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course . I was in the PTA . I 'm not sure if I was ever a room mother , but I of course helped with parties and things . MRS . DAVIDSON : The teachers recruited them from each class to help with parties mostly . They helped with any activities that they didn 't really have time to do . MRS . DAVIDSON : Parent - Teacher Association , a time honored group . It got extra things for the school . I got involved with raincoats for the school patrol . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess maybe I was a treasurer of the Cedar Hill PTA , and this goal was to get those yellow slicker raincoat so kids could be visible to the drivers . I found out how much the things cost , and then I estimated postage . At the PTA meeting , Alvin Weinberg was president . He had a son or two in school at the time . He took me to task for estimating the postage , so I had to ask for just the money for the coats themselves since I didn 't really know what the postage is going to be . I thought that was interesting that he wanted to keep it to the exact penny . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think they just wore what the other kids wore . One day we had a deep snow and Bill was in kindergarten , and the snow was up over their boots . I think he had some corduroys . The teacher was making the kids take their pants off and dry them on the radiator , and he wouldn 't do it . I had to go up to the school and take him some fresh pants , some dry clothes . He was very young - just four when he started . MR . HUNNICUTT : Let 's go back a few years . Do you remember 1945 when they dropped the bomb on Japan ? You remember where you were ? And what was your reaction ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I do remember that very clearly because it was the summer after my junior year in college , and I was a camp counselor up in Door County , Wisconsin . There was no electricity at the camp , so we counselors - after we got the kids to bed , went to the state park nearby . This was at Fish Creek , Wisconsin . We would listen to people 's car radios . We knew for about a week that something was happening , but we didn 't know just what . It was very deeply moving when the bomb was dropped , and we thought it would bring an end to the war . Of course , I had friends and a brother on Guam and a cousin was in Europe and others . So that was very deeply moving . I had a book of poetry - my favorite poems at the camp with me . One of my 12 - year - olds picked out a poem - " Once to every man and nation comes a moment to decide " - she read that , and I thought that was very astute of her , a youngster to be able to do that . MRS . DAVIDSON : My husband thought they should have dropped a sample first , but I didn 't feel that way since the first bomb didn 't phase the Japanese . I didn 't think the test one would have either . I was just so glad that the war was over . People could settle down and get into real life again . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think I was in transition from the dormitory to the house , and my husband 's brothers came up from Georgia to witness the opening . So we drove in their car around , and we watched the parade from , I believe , down on the eastern end of the Turnpike down near the warehouses to get out of the traffic . We never could figure out why they invited Marie " The Body " McDonald and [ inaudible ] to ride in the open car for the parade . We couldn 't figure out what they had to do with it , but we did see the burning of the magnesium ribbon . That was exciting . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was only toward town from Elza Gate . I know the central part of town , the Jackson Square area , was very crowded . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think they name the streets for famous cities in the country , and of course the alphabetical designations were very helpful . But Jackson Square , I assume , was named for New Orleans . That 's all I know about it . MRS . DAVIDSON : Sometimes you would pick up the telephone , and the other party was talking . I believe they had different rings . I think maybe the other party had one ring , and we had two . There were four - party lines , but if we were on a four - party line , only the other one was active . I think maybe we were . The other two lines were not being used . MR . HUNNICUTT : When you are raising your family , did you hang your clothes outside on the clothesline ? Did you have a dryer ? What did you use ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I hung them outside on the clothesline . As I said , when we moved here , Anne was a year old . Not much more than three years after that , we had three babies . I was able to talk my husband into getting a dryer that time . Before that , he had built a pulley out of my kitchen window . There was a drop off in the back , and he was able to string it to a tree in the woods . I was able to reel those cloth diapers and reel them in and out . The only problem was that the birds like the trees , too . Sometimes I had to do some re - washing . MR . HUNNICUTT : So in those days you use cloth diapers ? Today we use disposable diapers . How do you think you would 've done if you had disposable diapers ? MRS . DAVIDSON : At one point , when our children were out playing Kick the Can , there were over 40 children on the lane . There were about 20 or 21 houses . There were almost as many dogs . It was just a glorious place for them to grow up . They seem to get along remarkably well most of the time , especially in the early days . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes . We went down there on the opening , and got the radioactive dimes on that occasion . The museum at that time was down at Jefferson Circle . I don 't think any of us ever had our hair stand out on the Van De Graff generator or whatever it was , but we took the children . We went out ourselves . Of course my husband was interested in that kind of thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : Sometimes they walked to Jefferson , but by that time they were carrying pretty heavy books . One of the neighbors on Outer Drive wanted to have a carpool , so we joined that . MRS . DAVIDSON : When Anne was in the fifth grade , they had to write what they did on Friday nights . The teacher would call me and say , " Is it true that you gave your children ice water and watched TV on Friday nights ? " That was how generous we were with them . We didn 't get a TV until they were probably five or six years old . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course it was black and white . The reason we got it - I guess finally it was that the children were always going to the neighbors ' house to watch TV . We decided that we should get our own . They watched things like " Pinky Lee " and I 've forgotten what else . MRS . DAVIDSON : I remember that fondly because my first real date with my husband was going to dinner there with him . He invited me to go to a concert in Knoxville , and his excuse was that we should get to know each other better before he took me to the city with him . That was one thing . I remember there were parties there , and our company had a party at the Oak Terrace Ballroom . One of the NEPA fellows wore a Tarzan costume , which was mostly nothing . It turned out that he lived in the neighborhood . MR . HUNNICUTT : What was the Oak Terrace ballroom - where was it located ? MRS . DAVIDSON : That was just below the dormitory where I lived in Columbia Hall . Jack went there looking for me , he thought I would eat breakfast there and then he could have breakfast with me ; but I ate in the dormitory . He didn 't find me there . When we came back from our bicycle ride to Concord Park , I remember we stopped by there , and he drank two or three Mountain Dew drinks . That surprised me , but we had worked off a lot of sweat . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , we took our children out there and saw " Lawrence of Arabia " and " The 10 Commandment " and those things . It was quite nice . MR . HUNNICUTT : Where was it located ? MRS . DAVIDSON : It was about where Kroger 's - where that is now , on the southeast part of Illinois Avenue . It was a nice thing . That was a special treat for the children to go out there . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't think so . I think they were mostly in the car . They had a drawing one time , Jack won something . It was actually nothing , but he did win . MRS . DAVIDSON : I sure did . My three children were born there . It was a green structure , like so many of the buildings in Oak Ridge . I guess the present building is built on that place . It was okay . I didn 't have any problems with it , except after my second child . I had a staph infection from the hospital . Even an Army wife with a private room got an infection there . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , I think they also had been recruited ; and a lot of them were from Tulane University . The time I was sick with my infection , they were having a reunion at Tulane , and my doctor and another one were gone for the reunion . I didn 't like the one who took care of me . He didn 't do a good job . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was okay . I don 't remember having any problems with it . We knew Dr . Rogers from our church , and we went to him . He was called away to the service , I believe . Maybe it was the Korean War , but then he came back . MRS . DAVIDSON : We met at Pine Valley School . The choir sat on the bleachers , and the minister sat under the halo of the basketball net . My husband was a Methodist , and he went to the First Methodist Church . They had a big youth group there . When we were first married , we tried to take them both in . We went to Sunday school one place , and church another until we finally settled on the Presbyterian . It was smaller , and we knew more people . MR . HUNNICUTT : Thinking back , what do you like best about Oak Ridge ? MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course the people . I love my trees and my house . I love all the activities . Both my husband and I have always loved music and enjoy the concerts a lot . The symphony concerts with Waldo Cohn conducting were held at Jefferson Junior High on the Kentucky Avenue hill . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you think back about all the people that you knew in the early days ? Do you think it was unusual for everybody to get along - the many people that were here ? MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , I guess so . I didn 't think about it because we just did . It was just fun . Everybody was away from home , and we had to be family for each other . That was particularly true in this close neighborhood . MRS . DAVIDSON : I 'm pleased for the most part . I think we 've made good progress . We 've kept up with the outside world . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't know . I 'll probably think of things after you leave . Nothing particular comes to mind . MR . HUNNICUTT : I would like to thank you for your time , and I think this interview will be very helpful for someone in the future to see how you lived in Oak Ridge in the early days . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think we came through at the very best of times . It was not the pressure of war , but we were growing community . I think things were happening at the Lab . Both of my husband and I loved the Lab because there were so many good things going on out there . It gives us hope for the future . MR . HUNNICUTT : I thank you very much for your time . [ Editor 's Note : This transcript has been edited at Mrs . Davidson 's request . The corresponding audio and video components have remained unchanged . ] Your rating was saved . you wish to report :

MR . HUNNICUTT : This interview is for the Center of Oak Ridge Oral History . The date is November 8 , 2012 . I am Don Hunnicutt in the home of Mrs . Mary Ann Davidson , 117 Orange Lane , Oak Ridge , Tennessee , to take her oral history about living in Oak Ridge , Tennessee . Please state your full name and your place of birth and your date of birth . MRS . DAVIDSON : My name is Mary Ann Davidson . My date of birth is January 12 , 1925 . I was born in Louisville , Kentucky . I lived there all my early life until I graduated from college . MRS . DAVIDSON : My father was William H . Courtenay . He was born in 1890 , on March 3 . He was in World War I and lived his entire life in Louisville and Shelbyville , Kentucky . He worked for the Mengel Company . They imported mahogany and hardwood from Africa and Central America . He delivered those to customers . He didn 't consider himself a salesman , but he sold them to the furniture factory - furniture makers around Kentucky , mostly Indiana and Cincinnati and some in Tennessee . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , he did not . The Louisville Male High School was considered a fine school at that time . They said that graduates could enter Harvard in their second year . The principal had written textbooks that were apparently used all over . But my father was interested in raising ponies . His father had a farm in Shelbyville , Kentucky . If you 'd didn 't make the grade , you are special . And Dr . Ruben Post - Halleck , the famous principal of the school , told him if he took an exam in math , he could be entered back in . He did that , and he aced the test . He was back in . Then he was a special in English , so they told him if he memorized the " Lady of the Lake " and said that he could get back in school . So he did that . I think he never did finish . He was a twin , and his twin was more of an engineering type and went to manual training high school . MRS . DAVIDSON : She grew up in several small towns in western Kentucky . Her father worked for the L & N Railroad . She had her high school in Hopkinsville , Kentucky . She had to stay home - or she went to junior college nearby . She had a scholarship to Randolph Macon Women 's College , but she couldn 't take it because her mother was ill and died at age 50 . It was about the year I was born , I think . MRS . DAVIDSON : His name was William Howard Courtenay III . My father was named for his uncle , who was also William Howard . My older brother works for Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green in the physics department . He made instruments . My younger brother was a pediatrician in Louisville , and he is still living on a farm in Shelbyville . He 's interested in Kentucky antiques . MRS . DAVIDSON : I went to an unusual kindergarten and first grade . I was at what they called the Enterprise Branch of I . N . Bloom School . It was only kindergarten and first grade . It was in the older building , where we had a Pot Belly Stove . I think we had a maid to help us take our leggings off in the cold weather - galoshes . It was really a wonderful school . It was almost like a private one . It was public . We did things like making butter and we had an orchestra . I played the triangle . I had started a little bit earlier when my younger brother was born . Louisville had half semester , half - year grades . I would 've been a half year , but I skipped the last half of kindergarten . I went to the school board and took a test and went on , so they put me in the regular school year . I went through the big school the I . N . Bloom School and Highland Junior High School in Louisville . Then I went to Atherton High School for Girls . The Louisville public schools were segregated - boys and girls . There were about 900 girls at Atherton . My graduating class was about 200 , and I was the valedictorian . MRS . DAVIDSON : They are pants to keep your legs warm . They zipped up from the inside of the ankle bone up to about knee - high , I guess it was . They were a royal pain to take on and off , so the teacher had to have help to do that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was just ordinary . I 'm sure the girls wore dresses , and the little boys wore suits - not suits , but pants and shirts . MRS . DAVIDSON : I came to Oak Ridge after I graduated from college . I had two years of getting a master 's at Emory while I worked at my alma mater , Agnes Scott College in Decatur , Georgia . I was the chemistry lab instructor . So after those two years were up , I was interested in working in chemistry or biochemistry . My master 's was in biochemistry . In Louisville , there was nothing in that field , except liquor and paint - neither of which I was interested in . In Atlanta , I would like to stay in Atlanta , I heard that Oak Ridge was an interesting new place , and a lot was going on here . One of my dear college friends had recently married a physicist from the University of Kentucky , so I visited them here . I guess that must have been 1947 . Her husband was working at NEPA . He said they were looking for people with a chemistry degree . I applied , and I was accepted . I didn 't know that until I had completed the clearance , so I took the opportunity to go to Europe at an American youth hostel bicycle tour of Western Europe in the summer of 1948 . When I got home , I found that I had indeed gotten the job at Oak Ridge . So I came down here . MRS . DAVIDSON : I was wondering that . I think I came by train . When I interviewed earlier in the spring , my interview was at the Andrew Johnson Hotel . It was one of the private rooms . I had never seen the company here . I think I must have been met by a car and driver and brought to Oak Ridge . MRS . DAVIDSON : I came in through the Vermont Gateway , which is where the gas station is now on the corner of what I call Vermont . They call it North Rutgers now . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , I think it must 've been after that . That would 've been at Christmas time . When I applied , I imagine it was early spring . MRS . DAVIDSON : We called the company NEPA , for Nuclear Energy for the Propulsion of Aircraft . It was managed by the Fairchild Corporation the way Union Carbide or one of the other contractors managed the lab . I did not know until the first day I went to work just what the company was doing . They handed me a volume of information that said , " We are looking for - we are trying to make an airplane powered by nuclear energy that could fly to Russia and back without refueling . " That was a great shock to me . MRS . DAVIDSON : I lived in Columbia Hall Dormitory . I was very surprised to find that the rent was $ 15 a month until I realized it was one very small room . That was my living quarters . I took the opportunity to stay out of it as much as possible . I did that by babysitting in some of the B and D houses in the evening . Grandmothers were not here since it was a closed community . Babysitters were in short supply , and even though I didn 't need the money , it was good to get out of the dormitory . MRS . DAVIDSON : The dormitory was like Cheyenne Hall . It was the same type of building . It had wooden stairways from the second - floor hall down on each end . I lived on the second floor . Our dormitory was mostly nurses , since it was up on the hill next to the hospital - I think where the west parking lot is now . There was a kitchen on each end where we could have our own breakfast . Of course we were at the plant at lunchtime , and then we usually went out to supper . I opened the refrigerator door one morning and somebody 's milk came spilling out down my front . Everybody just stuffed things into the refrigerator . MRS . DAVIDSON : I had a single room with a twin bed and enough room to walk to the window by the bed . There was a little table that served as a desk with a chair . There was a much coveted dormitory dresser - a tall one with a number of drawers . They were very popular . MRS . DAVIDSON : They had a wonderful bus service here . Travel wasn 't really a problem . We walked , of course , from the dormitory to Jackson Square and ate supper usually at the Mayflower , which is where I first saw my husband - to - be . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was on the corner of Tennessee , right across from the Soup Kitchen and the Texaco gas station there on the northeast corner . It was a very popular place . In fact , there were several places you could eat . It was the Central Cafeteria , and the T & C Cafeteria in Jackson Square , which is about where the Epicurean is now toward the garden . MRS . DAVIDSON : It must 've been the A & P on Jackson Square . Jackson Square was really the center of activity as far as I was concerned at that time . I still love it . I hope it keeps going . MRS . DAVIDSON : The department stores - the big department store was Taylor 's at the time . They had a wonderful book department headed by Mrs . Keyes , whose daughter I knew at work . They had really fine art books and other books that they would have a great sale on once or twice a year . We were very happy with that . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was in the middle of the block between where Big Ed 's is in the corner . I guess it 's mostly used by the engineering company now . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , not frequently , but I went and saw - there was a theater down at Big Ed 's in Jackson Square and where the Playhouse is now . That was the main one . MRS . DAVIDSON : Henebree . McCrory 's 5 & 10 was there . There was a drugstore - a Service Drugstore . I guess that was where Big Ed 's is now , on the very corner . There was Jackson Square Pharmacy , and on the other side the Hamilton Bank was there next to the movie theater . And Samuel 's Men 's Store was a very nice store . The Jackson Square Pharmacy was there , but in between , which the Pharmacy later took over was a Kay 's Ice Cream Store . We used to go there and - my husband and I would when we were dating . I liked to get coffee with ice cream in it , so we went there . MRS . DAVIDSON : I can 't say that I do . It was just a given , I suppose . It didn 't make a big dent in my memory . After six months of the dormitory , I moved to a D house on Norman Lane . That was another era . MRS . DAVIDSON : A D house was a large three bedroom house . They were very much desired . They were really nice houses - still a lot of them are . The house was - there were five other girls who lived there - two of whom had been college friends . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , it would 've been upstairs . It was the second one to the end . A radiation technologist lived on the corner , and I lived there with school teachers and nurses who made up most of the dorm . MR . HUNNICUTT : Let 's talk a little bit about the dorm again . If I had a message for you or someone left a message for you , how did you retrieve your messages ? Was there a desk when you went in ? MRS . DAVIDSON : There was a desk downstairs . I remember the Valentine 's Day - I guess it must 've been 1949 . The message was that I had some flowers , some red roses . I had just met my husband - to - be at that time . I got all excited , and when I got to the desk , it was from somebody else . I enjoyed the red roses , but not as much as I might have . The thing was that there were ladies - a lot of the women who lived in the dorm worked on the night shift . They would sit around a large kind of living room , I guess they called it . They were all staring when I got flowers . I had to walk around , and it was embarrassing . MRS . DAVIDSON : I was there in the winter of 1948 . I 'm very cold natured , but I don 't remember being cold . We had those heavy navy blanket - navy blue blankets . This brings up a story if I jump to it later on . We were moved from the D house after another six months into the brand - new Garden Apartments on Villanova Road . They needed our D house for families . The people who moved in were the Andersons of the Anderson Hilltop Grocery . Of course , the furniture all belonged to the government there . So the Garden Apartments were not furnished , so we had dwindled down from 6 to 4 people who needed furniture . I took a day off and went to an auction the government set up down at the warehouses . I got seven beds and three or four dressers - much more than I could have used . But the beds were in great demand at work because all the young men who worked there were having children and needed beds . So we took the four . Also I got two sofas , and we could use but one ; so I sold one . They were really shabby awful sofas . Since it was all going to surplus anyway , we switched and took the nice sofa from the D house and left them the bad one . It was all taken away anyhow , so I didn 't feel too bad about that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't really remember about the telephone . We didn 't use the telephone much . We never used it for long - distance except for emergencies and calls home . I don 't remember that as being a problem particularly . MRS . DAVIDSON : I suppose I went on the bus . I did not have a car . One of the housemates from Norman Lane had gotten the car , but she would 've been at work at K - 25 . I don 't know . I may have gotten a ride . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess I paid somebody to deliver it . I don 't know . Maybe some of the fellows at work picked up their beds that they wanted . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was one of those warehouses down at the [ Oak Ridge ] Turnpike on Warehouse Road . I don 't know exactly where it was . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess it was on the bulletin boards at work , or there was a newspaper at the Lab . I guess I heard about it that way . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think probably so - in the newsletters they came around , also at the recreation building - the rec hall - at Jackson Square that was the library upstairs and the rec hall downstairs . Word - of - mouth - I don 't remember . We had a need and found the answer to it . MRS . DAVIDSON : I had to punch a clock at eight in the morning when I first started . I guess we got out at 4 : 30 or 5 o ' clock . We had bus service that went from the bus terminal - the Central one - that 's now by Bus Terminal Road . Later on after we were married , we lived on Waddell Circle and went from there to the Jefferson bus terminal . I went - I rode on the K - 25 bus , and they went out past K - 25 to the road that the powerhouse was on and NEPA was beyond that out by the river . MRS . DAVIDSON : There was some kind of management services office . I 'm not sure what it was called - the Roane Anderson Corporation at that time , I guess . I think that 's where I rented the dormitory room . I probably got bus tokens - I guess I got the tokens of the bus terminal . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think I had a checking account probably at Hamilton Bank in Jackson Square . I don 't recall otherwise . I know I did later . One thing I wanted to say about the buses - if you wanted to go to Clinton to do any shopping , more than what you could have in Oak Ridge or to meet somebody or something , there was a bus that ran frequently back and forth between the bus terminal and Clinton . There was a young man on the bus who had a sing - songy sales pitch for " peanuts , popcorn , Cracker Jacks , candy , and chewing gum . " He wouldn 't drive , but he would sell his wares all the way to Clinton and back . I always wondered who that was because he obviously had some talent . MRS . DAVIDSON : I 'm sure I did . I don 't know what became of it . I guess I had to turn it back in . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think somebody just got - one of the guards got on the bus and checked everybody 's badges . It was not a big thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : Probably . I don 't remember . What I do remember about that was my mother was coming down one time for my birthday - it must 've been in January 1949 . She rode the train . I told her that I would get a ride to meet her . Of course , the train didn 't stop at Oak Ridge . It went on to Knoxville , so I bummed a ride with one of the men in our group . He was actually the technical assistant to the director . His car was a broken down old thing with no floorboards in the back seat , which was pretty bad when my mother saw it . But she didn 't see it because when we got to Knoxville , she was not there . When we were coming back from the gateway entrance , she was not there . There was a message that she was waiting for us at the Elza Gate Station . She had told the conductor she had to get off at Oak Ridge . That 's where she was going , and I was going to meet her . So she slid down the Elza bank over there . She had my birthday cake - a large chocolate cake . She slid downhill with that , and somehow they stopped her at the guard gate at Elza . She waited there for us . MRS . DAVIDSON : Just for her - let her off like a milk train . They ordinarily didn 't stop there , but she wouldn 't have it otherwise . MRS . DAVIDSON : I used the library and rec hall . On Sunday afternoons , they played music ; and you could sit and write letters home , which is what I think I did a good bit . Later on in the better weather , there were tennis courts and a swimming pool . I don 't remember going to movies much . We went to church groups . There were so many young people ; it was just like a party all the time . Nothing in particular stands out . It was just fun . MRS . DAVIDSON : In the company I was , that was not true . There were a lot of women of course - of course , the dormitory was full of school teachers and nurses . But NEPA was mostly men . There were two parts to the Fairchild - the science and engineering part , which was bigger . I happen to be in the research part . My boss was a chemist - Vince Calkins . It was my job to - this was a real shocker to me - to find a chemical that would protect the human body against radiation for the reactor that was supposed to be in the airplane to Russia . I had no background for that kind of thing . I was just fresh out of college really . I realized I was out of my depth , but they decided - he was a pharmacist , I believe , and he wanted to do experiments with rats . They brought in the rat colony . By that time we had a couple of assistants , and I was supposed to be the group leader . One of the men , Ray Waldrop - you may have talked to him . I asked him if he minded working for a woman because he was really more experienced than I , although I had the degree . It was fine with him . There was also another worker , Saul Segal , who was quite a character in his own right . I took the rats in the cages over to the reactor , the " Old Lady " at X - 10 , and put them through what they called " rabbits " and radiated them for certain amount of time . We couldn 't kill the darn things . Then we used the older ones that had already been radiated , they were just tough as anything . I think the experiment was really a failure , although they may have found that to be the case in some later work with older people - that the cells are not dividing as fast and they 're not as subject to radiation . But we didn 't get into that . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was actually not K - 25 . It was beyond there . As I said , the bus took us - the bus dumped people off at K - 25 , and they went on west to just before you get to the Gallaher Bridge . You turn right there and go right past the power station there . It was used for a long time - the power house , and then NEPA was beyond that . The native rats came in - was it domestic experimental rats ? That was not good . I had a janitor who helped me , even though he could 've lost his job for doing it . He helped me clean cages . I always appreciated that . MRS . DAVIDSON : When they got rid of the rats , which was a blessing , my group leader then became Bill Browning , who was a fine scientist . He worked on the Van de Graaff generator . We had an interesting argument . Saul Segal thought he should be the one to do it since he was a man and I was a woman who would be leaving soon ; and it turned out that he left for California before I had left to have my baby . His argument didn 't hold with me anyway , but we argued about that some . We did run the Van de Graaff , and we also did some experiments on metallic sodium . It was nasty stuff to work with . It caught on fire if it was exposed to air . You had to work with that under oil in the glove box . I think that work all had to be repeated after NEPA left for Cincinnati with G . E . . When they moved part of NEPA to X - 10 , they called it the ANP , or something about aircraft and nuclear power . I was not connected with that because my first baby was born in August 1951 . I left in July . MRS . DAVIDSON : I heard somebody say that they had to repeat it all . My boss , the Division Director of Chemistry was interested in vitamin E , and thought it had a lot of protective influence . We worked with that . That was some of the work I did in chemistry - the lab part of it in the early days . It was not good work , I think . I 'm not blaming myself , but some of the other men who were doing chemical work - I think altogether we didn 't come up with anything . MRS . DAVIDSON : It may have been ahead of it 's time for nuclear submarines . I don 't know whether the engineering people thought that or not . In our group which was the chemistry and the physics , my friend who got me the job was Jim Trice . A fellow named Art Miller and somebody named Coneybearwere in the Physics Division . And then there were some others - Fred Maienschein . I did some work for him one time . It was work on beryllium for one thing . I didn 't work with any of the active beryllium . I didn 't do any lab work then , but I did some journal research . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't think they were that far along . I 'm not sure what happened to that part of it . As I said , in July of 1951 they moved to Cincinnati , Evensville , above Cincinnati . I don 't know how many people actually went up there . Most of my friends moved elsewhere . MR . HUNNICUTT : You mentioned the location of the operation was past the steam plant that was on the Clinch River . Was that the same location where the S - 50 project was located ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I think that was the name of our plot of land . I think those - I never was quite sure how they got the designations , but that was the Fairchild domain , I think . MRS . DAVIDSON : Really , it was just when our eyes met . It was very romantic . He followed our group home to the Columbia Hall to see where I lived . But at the time I thought he was too young , and I didn 't think he was following me . I was with a group of other girls . Later on , one of the women in the dormitory , who was a gym teacher in the Oak Ridge schools , told me I really ought to meet Jack Davidson that he loved to ride bicycles ; I was just back from my bicycle trip in Europe . I didn 't know who he was , and then I went to a church group meeting at my Presbyterian Church for young people one Sunday evening . A friend of mine had brought Jack Davidson , and he was the one whose eyes I had met and he had met mine . Sure enough , he loved to ride bicycles . That was the start of a good thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : We did a little bit . On our dates , that 's really what we did mostly at first . We rode out to West Outer Drive and had those wonderful big hills , not too much traffic at that time . We went out to the water tower at the top of Louisiana and had a picnic , and then rode back . When we got really good , we rode our bicycles over to Concord Park one day . I had gotten some chicken breasts at the grocery . I guess it was the A & P at Jackson Square . I was going to fry them for a picnic to take along over to Concord Park . When I went to the refrigerator to get them , they had turned into wings . Somebody had eaten my chicken breast . Jack was a good sport about that . He didn 't care . We had a nice ride . It was before they had improved Lovell Road . It was a pretty rough ride over there , but we were able to enjoy it . MRS . DAVIDSON : He had his bicycle . It was probably a Grey Stone . For me , he rented a bicycle from his work friend . I had forgotten what his name was . We went over to one of the D Streets , I think , and rode them . I didn 't have my English 3 - speed here . I guess I brought it later , but at that time I didn 't have it . MRS . DAVIDSON : That was a problem . I complained to my friend Jim Trice 's wife , Dot , who happened to live around the corner on Outer Drive at that time . She said the boardwalk was used a lot for dating , and of course the theaters . I guess we were outdoors people . I don 't know . MRS . DAVIDSON : He was a graduate of Georgia Tech . At the time he graduated , he was very young . He came up to see about a job , and he was drafted . No , he was in danger of being drafted right away , but they didn 't hire him . He did go to work for NASA , which was at that time NACA , in Virginia ; and worked over there a short time before he was taken into the Army . He had gone through Georgia Tech on a " War Manpower " loan . He was sent to some place to be an MP , I think . He wrote a night letter , which is a 50 - word telegram that was cheaper at night . He wrote a night letter to Stimson , the Secretary of War , telling them they had paid for his college education ; and here he was sitting in a camp doing nothing down in Alabama . He was transferred to the SED , he would never say that was the reason he was transferred . It may or may not have been . He arrived with the SED - he arrived in Oak Ridge the day Roosevelt died , which was in April 1945 , he was here with his group for maybe six weeks before they went out to Los Alamos . So he spent the rest of the war out there . Then he used his G . I . Bill - he stayed on at Los Alamos . They told them they would let him out of the Army if he would agree to stay on as a civilian . So he took that . Then when he did leave , he went to Annapolis and took a liberal arts course because he felt that he had missed out on it at Georgia Tech . He had a year at St . John 's College of Annapolis ; and then all along I guess he thought he would like to come back here . He came back - he arrived on Armistice Day , now Veterans Day , of 1948 . I was here a couple of months before he came , but we met shortly after Christmas in 1949 . MRS . DAVIDSON : Too long . We were married in May 1950 . He wanted to pay off his loan before we could get married , so I helped him along with that . I fed him some . He was very welcome at the D House of girls . I was going to tell you that during the war , there were nine girls in the house , and they slept on shifts on the bunk beds . There were only six of us when I was there . There were a couple of the boyfriends around , and one of them cut the grass . I think Jack did the - empty the clinkers from the furnace , the coal furnace . They made themselves useful . They got their dinner . MRS . DAVIDSON : Most of the houses were a very good design really , and a whole lot better built than we gave them credit for . But each one that I knew of had a corner set off or closed off as a coal storage place that could be filled through a window from the outside , and then you could use the - there was an opening on the inside that you could use to put coal into the furnace . That was awful of course , but that 's what all the houses were doing in that time , too . We had a yard full of clinkers over there . MRS . DAVIDSON : We were taken care of by a Big Brother - the government . They brought the coal around , and you didn 't do a thing . That was part of the rent . When we got our house here on Orange Lane , that 's another story . Are you ready for that yet ? MRS . DAVIDSON : We went back to my home in Louisville , Kentucky , to be married . We had planned to fly to Nashville , but it turned out the Delta Queen was coming through Louisville the next morning . My mother had told us we could not get married the week before because it was too busy with Derby Day . So we delayed until May 13 . Then we spent the night in Louisville at the Brown Hotel , where she pulled some strings to get us a room because it was still very full of visitors from the Derby . We got on the Delta Queen , and our friends were all on the dock to see us off . They had us almost convinced that we were on Daylight Saving Time , and the Delta Queen was not , and we had missed it . But we rode down just as far as Paducah . We were anxious to start in life you know . We lived on Wadell Circle in a K apartment . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was a two - story thing . I guess it was a two - bedroom up above , and we had K - 1 . It was sort of underground at the front and open at the back . We had a nice back porch . There was a closet under the stairway and a very small kitchen . It had a table that folded down . It was not as compact as a flattop , but the furnishings that they had did double duty . You could fold it up and have more room . MRS . DAVIDSON : The K apartment was heated with the coal furnace , but there was a janitor who came around and took care of it for us . We were taken care of by Roane Anderson . MRS . DAVIDSON : We lived in the K from May 1950 , until we got this house in July 1952 . It was said - the word around town was that you couldn 't get a two - bedroom house unless you had three children , all of different sex . We had been on the list for this house ever since we knew our daughter was coming along . That was a long time to wait . We had been offered two houses - Florida Avenue , where the parking was across the street and the backyard just dropped off . We thought that was totally unsuitable for a new child . We turned both of those down . If we had turned this one down , we would 've gone to the bottom of the long list . But we loved this place of the trees and the dead end lane neighborhood . So we sat outside in front all weekend because we were not top on the list . The reason the other people didn 't take it was that the previous owner , Jim Cox and Charlotte , had put in an oil furnace ; and nobody wanted to pay $ 200 for the oil furnace . Since I had been working , we had saved my salary from work , and we had $ 200 to pay . Also , they didn 't want to be in the high rent district . This house rented for something like $ 45 instead of $ 43 in the lower rent districts . MRS . DAVIDSON : The Oak Ridge cemesto houses that were built - I think this house was built in the fall of 1944 or 1943 . Maybe it was ' 43 . The B house has two bedrooms and of course a bath and a kitchen with a dinette into a long narrow living room . It was about 24 feet by 40 something feet . It was small and convenient . It didn 't have much storage space , but it 's been a wonderful house for us because of the trees . We are on a greenbelt , and I enjoy that very much . It 's a nice private neighborhood just above Jackson Square . MRS . DAVIDSON : Our cemesto has a fireplace , and it had a complete brick wall . Some of the B houses had a brick wall just beyond the fireplace . MRS . DAVIDSON : There are hardwood floors in all the cemestos , I believe . Our house has maple flooring , and a lot of them had oak . Wood was hard to come by in the wartime . We love the color - the reddish color of the maple . MRS . DAVIDSON : Adele is our second daughter , and she was two years younger . Our son is Bill Davidson or William . He was born in November of 1954 . He 's just now turning 58 . MRS . DAVIDSON : All three of our children went to Cedar Hill . They had split grades there , so I think the classes were one half size . They would take the kids a half from one grade , and half from the next grade , and that worked out just fine . MRS . DAVIDSON : Cedar Hill was wonderful . It was very special . Mr . Dodd was the principal , and he saw to it - he had the best teachers or at least as good as any . Actually in those days all the teachers and Oak Ridge were special because many of them had been recruited from Columbia Teachers College , along with the superintendent . Others were specially recruited for the job . They were a group a part , I think , from a lot of teachers . MRS . DAVIDSON : The girls both went to Jefferson when it was on the hill at Jackson Square , and Bill was in the first year at the new Jefferson that was over on Fairbanks Road . His was the first class there . They all went through Oak Ridge High . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you recall some of the classes your daughters took while they were in junior high ? Was there Home Ec . or things related to girls ? MRS . DAVIDSON : No , they were on the college prep track . They took eighth grade algebra and that kind of thing . Of course English and math and social studies and science - our older girl I think took biology ; and I 'm not sure if Adele had a more general science course . It just depended on the teacher that they had . They had an excellent education , and the girls were both Merit semifinalists . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course . I was in the PTA . I 'm not sure if I was ever a room mother , but I of course helped with parties and things . MRS . DAVIDSON : The teachers recruited them from each class to help with parties mostly . They helped with any activities that they didn 't really have time to do . MRS . DAVIDSON : Parent - Teacher Association , a time honored group . It got extra things for the school . I got involved with raincoats for the school patrol . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess maybe I was a treasurer of the Cedar Hill PTA , and this goal was to get those yellow slicker raincoat so kids could be visible to the drivers . I found out how much the things cost , and then I estimated postage . At the PTA meeting , Alvin Weinberg was president . He had a son or two in school at the time . He took me to task for estimating the postage , so I had to ask for just the money for the coats themselves since I didn 't really know what the postage is going to be . I thought that was interesting that he wanted to keep it to the exact penny . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think they just wore what the other kids wore . One day we had a deep snow and Bill was in kindergarten , and the snow was up over their boots . I think he had some corduroys . The teacher was making the kids take their pants off and dry them on the radiator , and he wouldn 't do it . I had to go up to the school and take him some fresh pants , some dry clothes . He was very young - just four when he started . MR . HUNNICUTT : Let 's go back a few years . Do you remember 1945 when they dropped the bomb on Japan ? You remember where you were ? And what was your reaction ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I do remember that very clearly because it was the summer after my junior year in college , and I was a camp counselor up in Door County , Wisconsin . There was no electricity at the camp , so we counselors - after we got the kids to bed , went to the state park nearby . This was at Fish Creek , Wisconsin . We would listen to people 's car radios . We knew for about a week that something was happening , but we didn 't know just what . It was very deeply moving when the bomb was dropped , and we thought it would bring an end to the war . Of course , I had friends and a brother on Guam and a cousin was in Europe and others . So that was very deeply moving . I had a book of poetry - my favorite poems at the camp with me . One of my 12 - year - olds picked out a poem - " Once to every man and nation comes a moment to decide " - she read that , and I thought that was very astute of her , a youngster to be able to do that . MRS . DAVIDSON : My husband thought they should have dropped a sample first , but I didn 't feel that way since the first bomb didn 't phase the Japanese . I didn 't think the test one would have either . I was just so glad that the war was over . People could settle down and get into real life again . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think I was in transition from the dormitory to the house , and my husband 's brothers came up from Georgia to witness the opening . So we drove in their car around , and we watched the parade from , I believe , down on the eastern end of the Turnpike down near the warehouses to get out of the traffic . We never could figure out why they invited Marie " The Body " McDonald and [ inaudible ] to ride in the open car for the parade . We couldn 't figure out what they had to do with it , but we did see the burning of the magnesium ribbon . That was exciting . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was only toward town from Elza Gate . I know the central part of town , the Jackson Square area , was very crowded . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think they name the streets for famous cities in the country , and of course the alphabetical designations were very helpful . But Jackson Square , I assume , was named for New Orleans . That 's all I know about it . MRS . DAVIDSON : Sometimes you would pick up the telephone , and the other party was talking . I believe they had different rings . I think maybe the other party had one ring , and we had two . There were four - party lines , but if we were on a four - party line , only the other one was active . I think maybe we were . The other two lines were not being used . MR . HUNNICUTT : When you are raising your family , did you hang your clothes outside on the clothesline ? Did you have a dryer ? What did you use ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I hung them outside on the clothesline . As I said , when we moved here , Anne was a year old . Not much more than three years after that , we had three babies . I was able to talk my husband into getting a dryer that time . Before that , he had built a pulley out of my kitchen window . There was a drop off in the back , and he was able to string it to a tree in the woods . I was able to reel those cloth diapers and reel them in and out . The only problem was that the birds like the trees , too . Sometimes I had to do some re - washing . MR . HUNNICUTT : So in those days you use cloth diapers ? Today we use disposable diapers . How do you think you would 've done if you had disposable diapers ? MRS . DAVIDSON : At one point , when our children were out playing Kick the Can , there were over 40 children on the lane . There were about 20 or 21 houses . There were almost as many dogs . It was just a glorious place for them to grow up . They seem to get along remarkably well most of the time , especially in the early days . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes . We went down there on the opening , and got the radioactive dimes on that occasion . The museum at that time was down at Jefferson Circle . I don 't think any of us ever had our hair stand out on the Van De Graff generator or whatever it was , but we took the children . We went out ourselves . Of course my husband was interested in that kind of thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : Sometimes they walked to Jefferson , but by that time they were carrying pretty heavy books . One of the neighbors on Outer Drive wanted to have a carpool , so we joined that . MRS . DAVIDSON : When Anne was in the fifth grade , they had to write what they did on Friday nights . The teacher would call me and say , " Is it true that you gave your children ice water and watched TV on Friday nights ? " That was how generous we were with them . We didn 't get a TV until they were probably five or six years old . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course it was black and white . The reason we got it - I guess finally it was that the children were always going to the neighbors ' house to watch TV . We decided that we should get our own . They watched things like " Pinky Lee " and I 've forgotten what else . MRS . DAVIDSON : I remember that fondly because my first real date with my husband was going to dinner there with him . He invited me to go to a concert in Knoxville , and his excuse was that we should get to know each other better before he took me to the city with him . That was one thing . I remember there were parties there , and our company had a party at the Oak Terrace Ballroom . One of the NEPA fellows wore a Tarzan costume , which was mostly nothing . It turned out that he lived in the neighborhood . MRS . DAVIDSON : That was just below the dormitory where I lived in Columbia Hall . Jack went there looking for me , he thought I would eat breakfast there and then he could have breakfast with me ; but I ate in the dormitory . He didn 't find me there . When we came back from our bicycle ride to Concord Park , I remember we stopped by there , and he drank two or three Mountain Dew drinks . That surprised me , but we had worked off a lot of sweat . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , we took our children out there and saw " Lawrence of Arabia " and " The 10 Commandment " and those things . It was quite nice . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was about where Kroger 's - where that is now , on the southeast part of Illinois Avenue . It was a nice thing . That was a special treat for the children to go out there . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't think so . I think they were mostly in the car . They had a drawing one time , Jack won something . It was actually nothing , but he did win . MRS . DAVIDSON : I sure did . My three children were born there . It was a green structure , like so many of the buildings in Oak Ridge . I guess the present building is built on that place . It was okay . I didn 't have any problems with it , except after my second child . I had a staph infection from the hospital . Even an Army wife with a private room got an infection there . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , I think they also had been recruited ; and a lot of them were from Tulane University . The time I was sick with my infection , they were having a reunion at Tulane , and my doctor and another one were gone for the reunion . I didn 't like the one who took care of me . He didn 't do a good job . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was okay . I don 't remember having any problems with it . We knew Dr . Rogers from our church , and we went to him . He was called away to the service , I believe . Maybe it was the Korean War , but then he came back . MRS . DAVIDSON : We met at Pine Valley School . The choir sat on the bleachers , and the minister sat under the halo of the basketball net . My husband was a Methodist , and he went to the First Methodist Church . They had a big youth group there . When we were first married , we tried to take them both in . We went to Sunday school one place , and church another until we finally settled on the Presbyterian . It was smaller , and we knew more people . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course the people . I love my trees and my house . I love all the activities . Both my husband and I have always loved music and enjoy the concerts a lot . The symphony concerts with Waldo Cohn conducting were held at Jefferson Junior High on the Kentucky Avenue hill . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you think back about all the people that you knew in the early days ? Do you think it was unusual for everybody to get along - the many people that were here ? MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , I guess so . I didn 't think about it because we just did . It was just fun . Everybody was away from home , and we had to be family for each other . That was particularly true in this close neighborhood . MRS . DAVIDSON : I 'm pleased for the most part . I think we 've made good progress . We 've kept up with the outside world . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think we came through at the very best of times . It was not the pressure of war , but we were growing community . I think things were happening at the Lab . Both of my husband and I loved the Lab because there were so many good things going on out there . It gives us hope for the future . [ Editor 's Note : This transcript has been edited at Mrs . Davidson 's request . The corresponding audio and video components have remained unchanged . ] Click tabs to swap between content that is broken into logical sections . MR . HUNNICUTT : This interview is for the Center of Oak Ridge Oral History . The date is November 8 , 2012 . I am Don Hunnicutt in the home of Mrs . Mary Ann Davidson , 117 Orange Lane , Oak Ridge , Tennessee , to take her oral history about living in Oak Ridge , Tennessee . Please state your full name and your place of birth and your date of birth . MRS . DAVIDSON : My name is Mary Ann Davidson . My date of birth is January 12 , 1925 . I was born in Louisville , Kentucky . I lived there all my early life until I graduated from college . MRS . DAVIDSON : My father was William H . Courtenay . He was born in 1890 , on March 3 . He was in World War I and lived his entire life in Louisville and Shelbyville , Kentucky . He worked for the Mengel Company . They imported mahogany and hardwood from Africa and Central America . He delivered those to customers . He didn 't consider himself a salesman , but he sold them to the furniture factory - furniture makers around Kentucky , mostly Indiana and Cincinnati and some in Tennessee . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , he did not . The Louisville Male High School was considered a fine school at that time . They said that graduates could enter Harvard in their second year . The principal had written textbooks that were apparently used all over . But my father was interested in raising ponies . His father had a farm in Shelbyville , Kentucky . If you 'd didn 't make the grade , you are special . And Dr . Ruben Post - Halleck , the famous principal of the school , told him if he took an exam in math , he could be entered back in . He did that , and he aced the test . He was back in . Then he was a special in English , so they told him if he memorized the " Lady of the Lake " and said that he could get back in school . So he did that . I think he never did finish . He was a twin , and his twin was more of an engineering type and went to manual training high school . MR . HUNNICUTT : What about your mother 's school history ? MRS . DAVIDSON : She grew up in several small towns in western Kentucky . Her father worked for the L & N Railroad . She had her high school in Hopkinsville , Kentucky . She had to stay home - or she went to junior college nearby . She had a scholarship to Randolph Macon Women 's College , but she couldn 't take it because her mother was ill and died at age 50 . It was about the year I was born , I think . MRS . DAVIDSON : His name was William Howard Courtenay III . My father was named for his uncle , who was also William Howard . My older brother works for Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green in the physics department . He made instruments . My younger brother was a pediatrician in Louisville , and he is still living on a farm in Shelbyville . He 's interested in Kentucky antiques . MR . HUNNICUTT : Yes . MRS . DAVIDSON : I went to an unusual kindergarten and first grade . I was at what they called the Enterprise Branch of I . N . Bloom School . It was only kindergarten and first grade . It was in the older building , where we had a Pot Belly Stove . I think we had a maid to help us take our leggings off in the cold weather - galoshes . It was really a wonderful school . It was almost like a private one . It was public . We did things like making butter and we had an orchestra . I played the triangle . I had started a little bit earlier when my younger brother was born . Louisville had half semester , half - year grades . I would 've been a half year , but I skipped the last half of kindergarten . I went to the school board and took a test and went on , so they put me in the regular school year . I went through the big school the I . N . Bloom School and Highland Junior High School in Louisville . Then I went to Atherton High School for Girls . The Louisville public schools were segregated - boys and girls . There were about 900 girls at Atherton . My graduating class was about 200 , and I was the valedictorian . MRS . DAVIDSON : They are pants to keep your legs warm . They zipped up from the inside of the ankle bone up to about knee - high , I guess it was . They were a royal pain to take on and off , so the teacher had to have help to do that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was just ordinary . I 'm sure the girls wore dresses , and the little boys wore suits - not suits , but pants and shirts . MRS . DAVIDSON : I came to Oak Ridge after I graduated from college . I had two years of getting a master 's at Emory while I worked at my alma mater , Agnes Scott College in Decatur , Georgia . I was the chemistry lab instructor . So after those two years were up , I was interested in working in chemistry or biochemistry . My master 's was in biochemistry . In Louisville , there was nothing in that field , except liquor and paint - neither of which I was interested in . In Atlanta , I would like to stay in Atlanta , I heard that Oak Ridge was an interesting new place , and a lot was going on here . One of my dear college friends had recently married a physicist from the University of Kentucky , so I visited them here . I guess that must have been 1947 . Her husband was working at NEPA . He said they were looking for people with a chemistry degree . I applied , and I was accepted . I didn 't know that until I had completed the clearance , so I took the opportunity to go to Europe at an American youth hostel bicycle tour of Western Europe in the summer of 1948 . When I got home , I found that I had indeed gotten the job at Oak Ridge . So I came down here . MRS . DAVIDSON : I was wondering that . I think I came by train . When I interviewed earlier in the spring , my interview was at the Andrew Johnson Hotel . It was one of the private rooms . I had never seen the company here . I think I must have been met by a car and driver and brought to Oak Ridge . MRS . DAVIDSON : I came in through the Vermont Gateway , which is where the gas station is now on the corner of what I call Vermont . They call it North Rutgers now . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , I think it must 've been after that . That would 've been at Christmas time . When I applied , I imagine it was early spring . MRS . DAVIDSON : We called the company NEPA , for Nuclear Energy for the Propulsion of Aircraft . It was managed by the Fairchild Corporation the way Union Carbide or one of the other contractors managed the lab . I did not know until the first day I went to work just what the company was doing . They handed me a volume of information that said , " We are looking for - we are trying to make an airplane powered by nuclear energy that could fly to Russia and back without refueling . " That was a great shock to me . MRS . DAVIDSON : I lived in Columbia Hall Dormitory . I was very surprised to find that the rent was $ 15 a month until I realized it was one very small room . That was my living quarters . I took the opportunity to stay out of it as much as possible . I did that by babysitting in some of the B and D houses in the evening . Grandmothers were not here since it was a closed community . Babysitters were in short supply , and even though I didn 't need the money , it was good to get out of the dormitory . MRS . DAVIDSON : The dormitory was like Cheyenne Hall . It was the same type of building . It had wooden stairways from the second - floor hall down on each end . I lived on the second floor . Our dormitory was mostly nurses , since it was up on the hill next to the hospital - I think where the west parking lot is now . There was a kitchen on each end where we could have our own breakfast . Of course we were at the plant at lunchtime , and then we usually went out to supper . I opened the refrigerator door one morning and somebody 's milk came spilling out down my front . Everybody just stuffed things into the refrigerator . MRS . DAVIDSON : I had a single room with a twin bed and enough room to walk to the window by the bed . There was a little table that served as a desk with a chair . There was a much coveted dormitory dresser - a tall one with a number of drawers . They were very popular . MRS . DAVIDSON : They had a wonderful bus service here . Travel wasn 't really a problem . We walked , of course , from the dormitory to Jackson Square and ate supper usually at the Mayflower , which is where I first saw my husband - to - be . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was on the corner of Tennessee , right across from the Soup Kitchen and the Texaco gas station there on the northeast corner . It was a very popular place . In fact , there were several places you could eat . It was the Central Cafeteria , and the T & C Cafeteria in Jackson Square , which is about where the Epicurean is now toward the garden . MRS . DAVIDSON : It must 've been the A & P on Jackson Square . Jackson Square was really the center of activity as far as I was concerned at that time . I still love it . I hope it keeps going . MRS . DAVIDSON : The department stores - the big department store was Taylor 's at the time . They had a wonderful book department headed by Mrs . Keyes , whose daughter I knew at work . They had really fine art books and other books that they would have a great sale on once or twice a year . We were very happy with that . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was in the middle of the block between where Big Ed 's is in the corner . I guess it 's mostly used by the engineering company now . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , not frequently , but I went and saw - there was a theater down at Big Ed 's in Jackson Square and where the Playhouse is now . That was the main one . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , the jewelry store was on the corner that was Henebree 's , I think . No , that was Heneger 's . MR . HUNNICUTT : Henebree ? MRS . DAVIDSON : Henebree . McCrory 's 5 & 10 was there . There was a drugstore - a Service Drugstore . I guess that was where Big Ed 's is now , on the very corner . There was Jackson Square Pharmacy , and on the other side the Hamilton Bank was there next to the movie theater . And Samuel 's Men 's Store was a very nice store . The Jackson Square Pharmacy was there , but in between , which the Pharmacy later took over was a Kay 's Ice Cream Store . We used to go there and - my husband and I would when we were dating . I liked to get coffee with ice cream in it , so we went there . MR . HUNNICUTT : I believe that was Taff Moody Ice Cream - they served Kay 's Ice Cream . MRS . DAVIDSON : Was it ? I didn 't remember that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I can 't say that I do . It was just a given , I suppose . It didn 't make a big dent in my memory . After six months of the dormitory , I moved to a D house on Norman Lane . That was another era . MR . HUNNICUTT : What is a D house ? MRS . DAVIDSON : A D house was a large three bedroom house . They were very much desired . They were really nice houses - still a lot of them are . The house was - there were five other girls who lived there - two of whom had been college friends . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , it would 've been upstairs . It was the second one to the end . A radiation technologist lived on the corner , and I lived there with school teachers and nurses who made up most of the dorm . MR . HUNNICUTT : Let 's talk a little bit about the dorm again . If I had a message for you or someone left a message for you , how did you retrieve your messages ? Was there a desk when you went in ? MRS . DAVIDSON : There was a desk downstairs . I remember the Valentine 's Day - I guess it must 've been 1949 . The message was that I had some flowers , some red roses . I had just met my husband - to - be at that time . I got all excited , and when I got to the desk , it was from somebody else . I enjoyed the red roses , but not as much as I might have . The thing was that there were ladies - a lot of the women who lived in the dorm worked on the night shift . They would sit around a large kind of living room , I guess they called it . They were all staring when I got flowers . I had to walk around , and it was embarrassing . MRS . DAVIDSON : I was there in the winter of 1948 . I 'm very cold natured , but I don 't remember being cold . We had those heavy navy blanket - navy blue blankets . This brings up a story if I jump to it later on . We were moved from the D house after another six months into the brand - new Garden Apartments on Villanova Road . They needed our D house for families . The people who moved in were the Andersons of the Anderson Hilltop Grocery . Of course , the furniture all belonged to the government there . So the Garden Apartments were not furnished , so we had dwindled down from 6 to 4 people who needed furniture . I took a day off and went to an auction the government set up down at the warehouses . I got seven beds and three or four dressers - much more than I could have used . But the beds were in great demand at work because all the young men who worked there were having children and needed beds . So we took the four . Also I got two sofas , and we could use but one ; so I sold one . They were really shabby awful sofas . Since it was all going to surplus anyway , we switched and took the nice sofa from the D house and left them the bad one . It was all taken away anyhow , so I didn 't feel too bad about that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't really remember about the telephone . We didn 't use the telephone much . We never used it for long - distance except for emergencies and calls home . I don 't remember that as being a problem particularly . MRS . DAVIDSON : I suppose I went on the bus . I did not have a car . One of the housemates from Norman Lane had gotten the car , but she would 've been at work at K - 25 . I don 't know . I may have gotten a ride . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess I paid somebody to deliver it . I don 't know . Maybe some of the fellows at work picked up their beds that they wanted . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was one of those warehouses down at the [ Oak Ridge ] Turnpike on Warehouse Road . I don 't know exactly where it was . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess it was on the bulletin boards at work , or there was a newspaper at the Lab . I guess I heard about it that way . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think probably so - in the newsletters they came around , also at the recreation building - the rec hall - at Jackson Square that was the library upstairs and the rec hall downstairs . Word - of - mouth - I don 't remember . We had a need and found the answer to it . MRS . DAVIDSON : I had to punch a clock at eight in the morning when I first started . I guess we got out at 4 : 30 or 5 o ' clock . We had bus service that went from the bus terminal - the Central one - that 's now by Bus Terminal Road . Later on after we were married , we lived on Waddell Circle and went from there to the Jefferson bus terminal . I went - I rode on the K - 25 bus , and they went out past K - 25 to the road that the powerhouse was on and NEPA was beyond that out by the river . MRS . DAVIDSON : There was some kind of management services office . I 'm not sure what it was called - the Roane Anderson Corporation at that time , I guess . I think that 's where I rented the dormitory room . I probably got bus tokens - I guess I got the tokens of the bus terminal . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think I had a checking account probably at Hamilton Bank in Jackson Square . I don 't recall otherwise . I know I did later . One thing I wanted to say about the buses - if you wanted to go to Clinton to do any shopping , more than what you could have in Oak Ridge or to meet somebody or something , there was a bus that ran frequently back and forth between the bus terminal and Clinton . There was a young man on the bus who had a sing - songy sales pitch for " peanuts , popcorn , Cracker Jacks , candy , and chewing gum . " He wouldn 't drive , but he would sell his wares all the way to Clinton and back . I always wondered who that was because he obviously had some talent . MRS . DAVIDSON : I 'm sure I did . I don 't know what became of it . I guess I had to turn it back in . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think somebody just got - one of the guards got on the bus and checked everybody 's badges . It was not a big thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : Probably . I don 't remember . What I do remember about that was my mother was coming down one time for my birthday - it must 've been in January 1949 . She rode the train . I told her that I would get a ride to meet her . Of course , the train didn 't stop at Oak Ridge . It went on to Knoxville , so I bummed a ride with one of the men in our group . He was actually the technical assistant to the director . His car was a broken down old thing with no floorboards in the back seat , which was pretty bad when my mother saw it . But she didn 't see it because when we got to Knoxville , she was not there . When we were coming back from the gateway entrance , she was not there . There was a message that she was waiting for us at the Elza Gate Station . She had told the conductor she had to get off at Oak Ridge . That 's where she was going , and I was going to meet her . So she slid down the Elza bank over there . She had my birthday cake - a large chocolate cake . She slid downhill with that , and somehow they stopped her at the guard gate at Elza . She waited there for us . MRS . DAVIDSON : Just for her - let her off like a milk train . They ordinarily didn 't stop there , but she wouldn 't have it otherwise . MRS . DAVIDSON : I used the library and rec hall . On Sunday afternoons , they played music ; and you could sit and write letters home , which is what I think I did a good bit . Later on in the better weather , there were tennis courts and a swimming pool . I don 't remember going to movies much . We went to church groups . There were so many young people ; it was just like a party all the time . Nothing in particular stands out . It was just fun . MRS . DAVIDSON : In the company I was , that was not true . There were a lot of women of course - of course , the dormitory was full of school teachers and nurses . But NEPA was mostly men . There were two parts to the Fairchild - the science and engineering part , which was bigger . I happen to be in the research part . My boss was a chemist - Vince Calkins . It was my job to - this was a real shocker to me - to find a chemical that would protect the human body against radiation for the reactor that was supposed to be in the airplane to Russia . I had no background for that kind of thing . I was just fresh out of college really . I realized I was out of my depth , but they decided - he was a pharmacist , I believe , and he wanted to do experiments with rats . They brought in the rat colony . By that time we had a couple of assistants , and I was supposed to be the group leader . One of the men , Ray Waldrop - you may have talked to him . I asked him if he minded working for a woman because he was really more experienced than I , although I had the degree . It was fine with him . There was also another worker , Saul Segal , who was quite a character in his own right . I took the rats in the cages over to the reactor , the " Old Lady " at X - 10 , and put them through what they called " rabbits " and radiated them for certain amount of time . We couldn 't kill the darn things . Then we used the older ones that had already been radiated , they were just tough as anything . I think the experiment was really a failure , although they may have found that to be the case in some later work with older people - that the cells are not dividing as fast and they 're not as subject to radiation . But we didn 't get into that . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was actually not K - 25 . It was beyond there . As I said , the bus took us - the bus dumped people off at K - 25 , and they went on west to just before you get to the Gallaher Bridge . You turn right there and go right past the power station there . It was used for a long time - the power house , and then NEPA was beyond that . The native rats came in - was it domestic experimental rats ? That was not good . I had a janitor who helped me , even though he could 've lost his job for doing it . He helped me clean cages . I always appreciated that . MRS . DAVIDSON : When they got rid of the rats , which was a blessing , my group leader then became Bill Browning , who was a fine scientist . He worked on the Van de Graaff generator . We had an interesting argument . Saul Segal thought he should be the one to do it since he was a man and I was a woman who would be leaving soon ; and it turned out that he left for California before I had left to have my baby . His argument didn 't hold with me anyway , but we argued about that some . We did run the Van de Graaff , and we also did some experiments on metallic sodium . It was nasty stuff to work with . It caught on fire if it was exposed to air . You had to work with that under oil in the glove box . I think that work all had to be repeated after NEPA left for Cincinnati with G . E . . When they moved part of NEPA to X - 10 , they called it the ANP , or something about aircraft and nuclear power . I was not connected with that because my first baby was born in August 1951 . I left in July . MRS . DAVIDSON : I heard somebody say that they had to repeat it all . My boss , the Division Director of Chemistry was interested in vitamin E , and thought it had a lot of protective influence . We worked with that . That was some of the work I did in chemistry - the lab part of it in the early days . It was not good work , I think . I 'm not blaming myself , but some of the other men who were doing chemical work - I think altogether we didn 't come up with anything . MRS . DAVIDSON : It may have been ahead of it 's time for nuclear submarines . I don 't know whether the engineering people thought that or not . In our group which was the chemistry and the physics , my friend who got me the job was Jim Trice . A fellow named Art Miller and somebody named Coneybearwere in the Physics Division . And then there were some others - Fred Maienschein . I did some work for him one time . It was work on beryllium for one thing . I didn 't work with any of the active beryllium . I didn 't do any lab work then , but I did some journal research . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't think they were that far along . I 'm not sure what happened to that part of it . As I said , in July of 1951 they moved to Cincinnati , Evensville , above Cincinnati . I don 't know how many people actually went up there . Most of my friends moved elsewhere . MR . HUNNICUTT : You mentioned the location of the operation was past the steam plant that was on the Clinch River . Was that the same location where the S - 50 project was located ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I think that was the name of our plot of land . I think those - I never was quite sure how they got the designations , but that was the Fairchild domain , I think . MRS . DAVIDSON : Really , it was just when our eyes met . It was very romantic . He followed our group home to the Columbia Hall to see where I lived . But at the time I thought he was too young , and I didn 't think he was following me . I was with a group of other girls . Later on , one of the women in the dormitory , who was a gym teacher in the Oak Ridge schools , told me I really ought to meet Jack Davidson that he loved to ride bicycles ; I was just back from my bicycle trip in Europe . I didn 't know who he was , and then I went to a church group meeting at my Presbyterian Church for young people one Sunday evening . A friend of mine had brought Jack Davidson , and he was the one whose eyes I had met and he had met mine . Sure enough , he loved to ride bicycles . That was the start of a good thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : We did a little bit . On our dates , that 's really what we did mostly at first . We rode out to West Outer Drive and had those wonderful big hills , not too much traffic at that time . We went out to the water tower at the top of Louisiana and had a picnic , and then rode back . When we got really good , we rode our bicycles over to Concord Park one day . I had gotten some chicken breasts at the grocery . I guess it was the A & P at Jackson Square . I was going to fry them for a picnic to take along over to Concord Park . When I went to the refrigerator to get them , they had turned into wings . Somebody had eaten my chicken breast . Jack was a good sport about that . He didn 't care . We had a nice ride . It was before they had improved Lovell Road . It was a pretty rough ride over there , but we were able to enjoy it . MRS . DAVIDSON : He had his bicycle . It was probably a Grey Stone . For me , he rented a bicycle from his work friend . I had forgotten what his name was . We went over to one of the D Streets , I think , and rode them . I didn 't have my English 3 - speed here . I guess I brought it later , but at that time I didn 't have it . MRS . DAVIDSON : That was a problem . I complained to my friend Jim Trice 's wife , Dot , who happened to live around the corner on Outer Drive at that time . She said the boardwalk was used a lot for dating , and of course the theaters . I guess we were outdoors people . I don 't know . MRS . DAVIDSON : He was a graduate of Georgia Tech . At the time he graduated , he was very young . He came up to see about a job , and he was drafted . No , he was in danger of being drafted right away , but they didn 't hire him . He did go to work for NASA , which was at that time NACA , in Virginia ; and worked over there a short time before he was taken into the Army . He had gone through Georgia Tech on a " War Manpower " loan . He was sent to some place to be an MP , I think . He wrote a night letter , which is a 50 - word telegram that was cheaper at night . He wrote a night letter to Stimson , the Secretary of War , telling them they had paid for his college education ; and here he was sitting in a camp doing nothing down in Alabama . He was transferred to the SED , he would never say that was the reason he was transferred . It may or may not have been . He arrived with the SED - he arrived in Oak Ridge the day Roosevelt died , which was in April 1945 , he was here with his group for maybe six weeks before they went out to Los Alamos . So he spent the rest of the war out there . Then he used his G . I . Bill - he stayed on at Los Alamos . They told them they would let him out of the Army if he would agree to stay on as a civilian . So he took that . Then when he did leave , he went to Annapolis and took a liberal arts course because he felt that he had missed out on it at Georgia Tech . He had a year at St . John 's College of Annapolis ; and then all along I guess he thought he would like to come back here . He came back - he arrived on Armistice Day , now Veterans Day , of 1948 . I was here a couple of months before he came , but we met shortly after Christmas in 1949 . MRS . DAVIDSON : Too long . We were married in May 1950 . He wanted to pay off his loan before we could get married , so I helped him along with that . I fed him some . He was very welcome at the D House of girls . I was going to tell you that during the war , there were nine girls in the house , and they slept on shifts on the bunk beds . There were only six of us when I was there . There were a couple of the boyfriends around , and one of them cut the grass . I think Jack did the - empty the clinkers from the furnace , the coal furnace . They made themselves useful . They got their dinner . MR . HUNNICUTT : Tell me about the coal furnace briefly . MRS . DAVIDSON : Most of the houses were a very good design really , and a whole lot better built than we gave them credit for . But each one that I knew of had a corner set off or closed off as a coal storage place that could be filled through a window from the outside , and then you could use the - there was an opening on the inside that you could use to put coal into the furnace . That was awful of course , but that 's what all the houses were doing in that time , too . We had a yard full of clinkers over there . MRS . DAVIDSON : We were taken care of by a Big Brother - the government . They brought the coal around , and you didn 't do a thing . That was part of the rent . When we got our house here on Orange Lane , that 's another story . Are you ready for that yet ? MRS . DAVIDSON : We went back to my home in Louisville , Kentucky , to be married . We had planned to fly to Nashville , but it turned out the Delta Queen was coming through Louisville the next morning . My mother had told us we could not get married the week before because it was too busy with Derby Day . So we delayed until May 13 . Then we spent the night in Louisville at the Brown Hotel , where she pulled some strings to get us a room because it was still very full of visitors from the Derby . We got on the Delta Queen , and our friends were all on the dock to see us off . They had us almost convinced that we were on Daylight Saving Time , and the Delta Queen was not , and we had missed it . But we rode down just as far as Paducah . We were anxious to start in life you know . We lived on Wadell Circle in a K apartment . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you recall the number ? MRS . DAVIDSON : It was a two - story thing . I guess it was a two - bedroom up above , and we had K - 1 . It was sort of underground at the front and open at the back . We had a nice back porch . There was a closet under the stairway and a very small kitchen . It had a table that folded down . It was not as compact as a flattop , but the furnishings that they had did double duty . You could fold it up and have more room . MRS . DAVIDSON : The K apartment was heated with the coal furnace , but there was a janitor who came around and took care of it for us . We were taken care of by Roane Anderson . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you remember what the rent was ? MRS . DAVIDSON : We lived in the K from May 1950 , until we got this house in July 1952 . It was said - the word around town was that you couldn 't get a two - bedroom house unless you had three children , all of different sex . We had been on the list for this house ever since we knew our daughter was coming along . That was a long time to wait . We had been offered two houses - Florida Avenue , where the parking was across the street and the backyard just dropped off . We thought that was totally unsuitable for a new child . We turned both of those down . If we had turned this one down , we would 've gone to the bottom of the long list . But we loved this place of the trees and the dead end lane neighborhood . So we sat outside in front all weekend because we were not top on the list . The reason the other people didn 't take it was that the previous owner , Jim Cox and Charlotte , had put in an oil furnace ; and nobody wanted to pay $ 200 for the oil furnace . Since I had been working , we had saved my salary from work , and we had $ 200 to pay . Also , they didn 't want to be in the high rent district . This house rented for something like $ 45 instead of $ 43 in the lower rent districts . MRS . DAVIDSON : The Oak Ridge cemesto houses that were built - I think this house was built in the fall of 1944 or 1943 . Maybe it was ' 43 . The B house has two bedrooms and of course a bath and a kitchen with a dinette into a long narrow living room . It was about 24 feet by 40 something feet . It was small and convenient . It didn 't have much storage space , but it 's been a wonderful house for us because of the trees . We are on a greenbelt , and I enjoy that very much . It 's a nice private neighborhood just above Jackson Square . MRS . DAVIDSON : Our cemesto has a fireplace , and it had a complete brick wall . Some of the B houses had a brick wall just beyond the fireplace . MRS . DAVIDSON : There are hardwood floors in all the cemestos , I believe . Our house has maple flooring , and a lot of them had oak . Wood was hard to come by in the wartime . We love the color - the reddish color of the maple . MRS . DAVIDSON : Adele is our second daughter , and she was two years younger . Our son is Bill Davidson or William . He was born in November of 1954 . He 's just now turning 58 . MR . HUNNICUTT : So your first daughter went to Cedar Hill ? MRS . DAVIDSON : All three of our children went to Cedar Hill . They had split grades there , so I think the classes were one half size . They would take the kids a half from one grade , and half from the next grade , and that worked out just fine . MRS . DAVIDSON : Cedar Hill was wonderful . It was very special . Mr . Dodd was the principal , and he saw to it - he had the best teachers or at least as good as any . Actually in those days all the teachers and Oak Ridge were special because many of them had been recruited from Columbia Teachers College , along with the superintendent . Others were specially recruited for the job . They were a group a part , I think , from a lot of teachers . MRS . DAVIDSON : The girls both went to Jefferson when it was on the hill at Jackson Square , and Bill was in the first year at the new Jefferson that was over on Fairbanks Road . His was the first class there . They all went through Oak Ridge High . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you recall some of the classes your daughters took while they were in junior high ? Was there Home Ec . or things related to girls ? MRS . DAVIDSON : No , they were on the college prep track . They took eighth grade algebra and that kind of thing . Of course English and math and social studies and science - our older girl I think took biology ; and I 'm not sure if Adele had a more general science course . It just depended on the teacher that they had . They had an excellent education , and the girls were both Merit semifinalists . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course . I was in the PTA . I 'm not sure if I was ever a room mother , but I of course helped with parties and things . MRS . DAVIDSON : The teachers recruited them from each class to help with parties mostly . They helped with any activities that they didn 't really have time to do . MRS . DAVIDSON : Parent - Teacher Association , a time honored group . It got extra things for the school . I got involved with raincoats for the school patrol . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess maybe I was a treasurer of the Cedar Hill PTA , and this goal was to get those yellow slicker raincoat so kids could be visible to the drivers . I found out how much the things cost , and then I estimated postage . At the PTA meeting , Alvin Weinberg was president . He had a son or two in school at the time . He took me to task for estimating the postage , so I had to ask for just the money for the coats themselves since I didn 't really know what the postage is going to be . I thought that was interesting that he wanted to keep it to the exact penny . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think they just wore what the other kids wore . One day we had a deep snow and Bill was in kindergarten , and the snow was up over their boots . I think he had some corduroys . The teacher was making the kids take their pants off and dry them on the radiator , and he wouldn 't do it . I had to go up to the school and take him some fresh pants , some dry clothes . He was very young - just four when he started . MR . HUNNICUTT : Let 's go back a few years . Do you remember 1945 when they dropped the bomb on Japan ? You remember where you were ? And what was your reaction ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I do remember that very clearly because it was the summer after my junior year in college , and I was a camp counselor up in Door County , Wisconsin . There was no electricity at the camp , so we counselors - after we got the kids to bed , went to the state park nearby . This was at Fish Creek , Wisconsin . We would listen to people 's car radios . We knew for about a week that something was happening , but we didn 't know just what . It was very deeply moving when the bomb was dropped , and we thought it would bring an end to the war . Of course , I had friends and a brother on Guam and a cousin was in Europe and others . So that was very deeply moving . I had a book of poetry - my favorite poems at the camp with me . One of my 12 - year - olds picked out a poem - " Once to every man and nation comes a moment to decide " - she read that , and I thought that was very astute of her , a youngster to be able to do that . MRS . DAVIDSON : My husband thought they should have dropped a sample first , but I didn 't feel that way since the first bomb didn 't phase the Japanese . I didn 't think the test one would have either . I was just so glad that the war was over . People could settle down and get into real life again . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think I was in transition from the dormitory to the house , and my husband 's brothers came up from Georgia to witness the opening . So we drove in their car around , and we watched the parade from , I believe , down on the eastern end of the Turnpike down near the warehouses to get out of the traffic . We never could figure out why they invited Marie " The Body " McDonald and [ inaudible ] to ride in the open car for the parade . We couldn 't figure out what they had to do with it , but we did see the burning of the magnesium ribbon . That was exciting . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was only toward town from Elza Gate . I know the central part of town , the Jackson Square area , was very crowded . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think they name the streets for famous cities in the country , and of course the alphabetical designations were very helpful . But Jackson Square , I assume , was named for New Orleans . That 's all I know about it . MRS . DAVIDSON : Sometimes you would pick up the telephone , and the other party was talking . I believe they had different rings . I think maybe the other party had one ring , and we had two . There were four - party lines , but if we were on a four - party line , only the other one was active . I think maybe we were . The other two lines were not being used . MR . HUNNICUTT : When you are raising your family , did you hang your clothes outside on the clothesline ? Did you have a dryer ? What did you use ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I hung them outside on the clothesline . As I said , when we moved here , Anne was a year old . Not much more than three years after that , we had three babies . I was able to talk my husband into getting a dryer that time . Before that , he had built a pulley out of my kitchen window . There was a drop off in the back , and he was able to string it to a tree in the woods . I was able to reel those cloth diapers and reel them in and out . The only problem was that the birds like the trees , too . Sometimes I had to do some re - washing . MR . HUNNICUTT : So in those days you use cloth diapers ? Today we use disposable diapers . How do you think you would 've done if you had disposable diapers ? MRS . DAVIDSON : At one point , when our children were out playing Kick the Can , there were over 40 children on the lane . There were about 20 or 21 houses . There were almost as many dogs . It was just a glorious place for them to grow up . They seem to get along remarkably well most of the time , especially in the early days . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes . We went down there on the opening , and got the radioactive dimes on that occasion . The museum at that time was down at Jefferson Circle . I don 't think any of us ever had our hair stand out on the Van De Graff generator or whatever it was , but we took the children . We went out ourselves . Of course my husband was interested in that kind of thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : Sometimes they walked to Jefferson , but by that time they were carrying pretty heavy books . One of the neighbors on Outer Drive wanted to have a carpool , so we joined that . MRS . DAVIDSON : When Anne was in the fifth grade , they had to write what they did on Friday nights . The teacher would call me and say , " Is it true that you gave your children ice water and watched TV on Friday nights ? " That was how generous we were with them . We didn 't get a TV until they were probably five or six years old . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course it was black and white . The reason we got it - I guess finally it was that the children were always going to the neighbors ' house to watch TV . We decided that we should get our own . They watched things like " Pinky Lee " and I 've forgotten what else . MRS . DAVIDSON : I remember that fondly because my first real date with my husband was going to dinner there with him . He invited me to go to a concert in Knoxville , and his excuse was that we should get to know each other better before he took me to the city with him . That was one thing . I remember there were parties there , and our company had a party at the Oak Terrace Ballroom . One of the NEPA fellows wore a Tarzan costume , which was mostly nothing . It turned out that he lived in the neighborhood . MR . HUNNICUTT : What was the Oak Terrace ballroom - where was it located ? MRS . DAVIDSON : That was just below the dormitory where I lived in Columbia Hall . Jack went there looking for me , he thought I would eat breakfast there and then he could have breakfast with me ; but I ate in the dormitory . He didn 't find me there . When we came back from our bicycle ride to Concord Park , I remember we stopped by there , and he drank two or three Mountain Dew drinks . That surprised me , but we had worked off a lot of sweat . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , we took our children out there and saw " Lawrence of Arabia " and " The 10 Commandment " and those things . It was quite nice . MR . HUNNICUTT : Where was it located ? MRS . DAVIDSON : It was about where Kroger 's - where that is now , on the southeast part of Illinois Avenue . It was a nice thing . That was a special treat for the children to go out there . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't think so . I think they were mostly in the car . They had a drawing one time , Jack won something . It was actually nothing , but he did win . MRS . DAVIDSON : I sure did . My three children were born there . It was a green structure , like so many of the buildings in Oak Ridge . I guess the present building is built on that place . It was okay . I didn 't have any problems with it , except after my second child . I had a staph infection from the hospital . Even an Army wife with a private room got an infection there . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , I think they also had been recruited ; and a lot of them were from Tulane University . The time I was sick with my infection , they were having a reunion at Tulane , and my doctor and another one were gone for the reunion . I didn 't like the one who took care of me . He didn 't do a good job . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was okay . I don 't remember having any problems with it . We knew Dr . Rogers from our church , and we went to him . He was called away to the service , I believe . Maybe it was the Korean War , but then he came back . MRS . DAVIDSON : We met at Pine Valley School . The choir sat on the bleachers , and the minister sat under the halo of the basketball net . My husband was a Methodist , and he went to the First Methodist Church . They had a big youth group there . When we were first married , we tried to take them both in . We went to Sunday school one place , and church another until we finally settled on the Presbyterian . It was smaller , and we knew more people . MR . HUNNICUTT : Thinking back , what do you like best about Oak Ridge ? MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course the people . I love my trees and my house . I love all the activities . Both my husband and I have always loved music and enjoy the concerts a lot . The symphony concerts with Waldo Cohn conducting were held at Jefferson Junior High on the Kentucky Avenue hill . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you think back about all the people that you knew in the early days ? Do you think it was unusual for everybody to get along - the many people that were here ? MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , I guess so . I didn 't think about it because we just did . It was just fun . Everybody was away from home , and we had to be family for each other . That was particularly true in this close neighborhood . MRS . DAVIDSON : I 'm pleased for the most part . I think we 've made good progress . We 've kept up with the outside world . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't know . I 'll probably think of things after you leave . Nothing particular comes to mind . MR . HUNNICUTT : I would like to thank you for your time , and I think this interview will be very helpful for someone in the future to see how you lived in Oak Ridge in the early days . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think we came through at the very best of times . It was not the pressure of war , but we were growing community . I think things were happening at the Lab . Both of my husband and I loved the Lab because there were so many good things going on out there . It gives us hope for the future . MR . HUNNICUTT : I thank you very much for your time . [ Editor 's Note : This transcript has been edited at Mrs . Davidson 's request . The corresponding audio and video components have remained unchanged . ] Your rating was saved . you wish to report :

MR . HUNNICUTT : This interview is for the Center of Oak Ridge Oral History . The date is November 8 , 2012 . I am Don Hunnicutt in the home of Mrs . Mary Ann Davidson , 117 Orange Lane , Oak Ridge , Tennessee , to take her oral history about living in Oak Ridge , Tennessee . Please state your full name and your place of birth and your date of birth . MRS . DAVIDSON : My name is Mary Ann Davidson . My date of birth is January 12 , 1925 . I was born in Louisville , Kentucky . I lived there all my early life until I graduated from college . MRS . DAVIDSON : My father was William H . Courtenay . He was born in 1890 , on March 3 . He was in World War I and lived his entire life in Louisville and Shelbyville , Kentucky . He worked for the Mengel Company . They imported mahogany and hardwood from Africa and Central America . He delivered those to customers . He didn 't consider himself a salesman , but he sold them to the furniture factory - furniture makers around Kentucky , mostly Indiana and Cincinnati and some in Tennessee . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , he did not . The Louisville Male High School was considered a fine school at that time . They said that graduates could enter Harvard in their second year . The principal had written textbooks that were apparently used all over . But my father was interested in raising ponies . His father had a farm in Shelbyville , Kentucky . If you 'd didn 't make the grade , you are special . And Dr . Ruben Post - Halleck , the famous principal of the school , told him if he took an exam in math , he could be entered back in . He did that , and he aced the test . He was back in . Then he was a special in English , so they told him if he memorized the " Lady of the Lake " and said that he could get back in school . So he did that . I think he never did finish . He was a twin , and his twin was more of an engineering type and went to manual training high school . MRS . DAVIDSON : She grew up in several small towns in western Kentucky . Her father worked for the L & N Railroad . She had her high school in Hopkinsville , Kentucky . She had to stay home - or she went to junior college nearby . She had a scholarship to Randolph Macon Women 's College , but she couldn 't take it because her mother was ill and died at age 50 . It was about the year I was born , I think . MRS . DAVIDSON : His name was William Howard Courtenay III . My father was named for his uncle , who was also William Howard . My older brother works for Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green in the physics department . He made instruments . My younger brother was a pediatrician in Louisville , and he is still living on a farm in Shelbyville . He 's interested in Kentucky antiques . MRS . DAVIDSON : I went to an unusual kindergarten and first grade . I was at what they called the Enterprise Branch of I . N . Bloom School . It was only kindergarten and first grade . It was in the older building , where we had a Pot Belly Stove . I think we had a maid to help us take our leggings off in the cold weather - galoshes . It was really a wonderful school . It was almost like a private one . It was public . We did things like making butter and we had an orchestra . I played the triangle . I had started a little bit earlier when my younger brother was born . Louisville had half semester , half - year grades . I would 've been a half year , but I skipped the last half of kindergarten . I went to the school board and took a test and went on , so they put me in the regular school year . I went through the big school the I . N . Bloom School and Highland Junior High School in Louisville . Then I went to Atherton High School for Girls . The Louisville public schools were segregated - boys and girls . There were about 900 girls at Atherton . My graduating class was about 200 , and I was the valedictorian . MRS . DAVIDSON : They are pants to keep your legs warm . They zipped up from the inside of the ankle bone up to about knee - high , I guess it was . They were a royal pain to take on and off , so the teacher had to have help to do that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was just ordinary . I 'm sure the girls wore dresses , and the little boys wore suits - not suits , but pants and shirts . MRS . DAVIDSON : I came to Oak Ridge after I graduated from college . I had two years of getting a master 's at Emory while I worked at my alma mater , Agnes Scott College in Decatur , Georgia . I was the chemistry lab instructor . So after those two years were up , I was interested in working in chemistry or biochemistry . My master 's was in biochemistry . In Louisville , there was nothing in that field , except liquor and paint - neither of which I was interested in . In Atlanta , I would like to stay in Atlanta , I heard that Oak Ridge was an interesting new place , and a lot was going on here . One of my dear college friends had recently married a physicist from the University of Kentucky , so I visited them here . I guess that must have been 1947 . Her husband was working at NEPA . He said they were looking for people with a chemistry degree . I applied , and I was accepted . I didn 't know that until I had completed the clearance , so I took the opportunity to go to Europe at an American youth hostel bicycle tour of Western Europe in the summer of 1948 . When I got home , I found that I had indeed gotten the job at Oak Ridge . So I came down here . MRS . DAVIDSON : I was wondering that . I think I came by train . When I interviewed earlier in the spring , my interview was at the Andrew Johnson Hotel . It was one of the private rooms . I had never seen the company here . I think I must have been met by a car and driver and brought to Oak Ridge . MRS . DAVIDSON : I came in through the Vermont Gateway , which is where the gas station is now on the corner of what I call Vermont . They call it North Rutgers now . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , I think it must 've been after that . That would 've been at Christmas time . When I applied , I imagine it was early spring . MRS . DAVIDSON : We called the company NEPA , for Nuclear Energy for the Propulsion of Aircraft . It was managed by the Fairchild Corporation the way Union Carbide or one of the other contractors managed the lab . I did not know until the first day I went to work just what the company was doing . They handed me a volume of information that said , " We are looking for - we are trying to make an airplane powered by nuclear energy that could fly to Russia and back without refueling . " That was a great shock to me . MRS . DAVIDSON : I lived in Columbia Hall Dormitory . I was very surprised to find that the rent was $ 15 a month until I realized it was one very small room . That was my living quarters . I took the opportunity to stay out of it as much as possible . I did that by babysitting in some of the B and D houses in the evening . Grandmothers were not here since it was a closed community . Babysitters were in short supply , and even though I didn 't need the money , it was good to get out of the dormitory . MRS . DAVIDSON : The dormitory was like Cheyenne Hall . It was the same type of building . It had wooden stairways from the second - floor hall down on each end . I lived on the second floor . Our dormitory was mostly nurses , since it was up on the hill next to the hospital - I think where the west parking lot is now . There was a kitchen on each end where we could have our own breakfast . Of course we were at the plant at lunchtime , and then we usually went out to supper . I opened the refrigerator door one morning and somebody 's milk came spilling out down my front . Everybody just stuffed things into the refrigerator . MRS . DAVIDSON : I had a single room with a twin bed and enough room to walk to the window by the bed . There was a little table that served as a desk with a chair . There was a much coveted dormitory dresser - a tall one with a number of drawers . They were very popular . MRS . DAVIDSON : They had a wonderful bus service here . Travel wasn 't really a problem . We walked , of course , from the dormitory to Jackson Square and ate supper usually at the Mayflower , which is where I first saw my husband - to - be . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was on the corner of Tennessee , right across from the Soup Kitchen and the Texaco gas station there on the northeast corner . It was a very popular place . In fact , there were several places you could eat . It was the Central Cafeteria , and the T & C Cafeteria in Jackson Square , which is about where the Epicurean is now toward the garden . MRS . DAVIDSON : It must 've been the A & P on Jackson Square . Jackson Square was really the center of activity as far as I was concerned at that time . I still love it . I hope it keeps going . MRS . DAVIDSON : The department stores - the big department store was Taylor 's at the time . They had a wonderful book department headed by Mrs . Keyes , whose daughter I knew at work . They had really fine art books and other books that they would have a great sale on once or twice a year . We were very happy with that . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was in the middle of the block between where Big Ed 's is in the corner . I guess it 's mostly used by the engineering company now . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , not frequently , but I went and saw - there was a theater down at Big Ed 's in Jackson Square and where the Playhouse is now . That was the main one . MRS . DAVIDSON : Henebree . McCrory 's 5 & 10 was there . There was a drugstore - a Service Drugstore . I guess that was where Big Ed 's is now , on the very corner . There was Jackson Square Pharmacy , and on the other side the Hamilton Bank was there next to the movie theater . And Samuel 's Men 's Store was a very nice store . The Jackson Square Pharmacy was there , but in between , which the Pharmacy later took over was a Kay 's Ice Cream Store . We used to go there and - my husband and I would when we were dating . I liked to get coffee with ice cream in it , so we went there . MRS . DAVIDSON : I can 't say that I do . It was just a given , I suppose . It didn 't make a big dent in my memory . After six months of the dormitory , I moved to a D house on Norman Lane . That was another era . MRS . DAVIDSON : A D house was a large three bedroom house . They were very much desired . They were really nice houses - still a lot of them are . The house was - there were five other girls who lived there - two of whom had been college friends . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , it would 've been upstairs . It was the second one to the end . A radiation technologist lived on the corner , and I lived there with school teachers and nurses who made up most of the dorm . MR . HUNNICUTT : Let 's talk a little bit about the dorm again . If I had a message for you or someone left a message for you , how did you retrieve your messages ? Was there a desk when you went in ? MRS . DAVIDSON : There was a desk downstairs . I remember the Valentine 's Day - I guess it must 've been 1949 . The message was that I had some flowers , some red roses . I had just met my husband - to - be at that time . I got all excited , and when I got to the desk , it was from somebody else . I enjoyed the red roses , but not as much as I might have . The thing was that there were ladies - a lot of the women who lived in the dorm worked on the night shift . They would sit around a large kind of living room , I guess they called it . They were all staring when I got flowers . I had to walk around , and it was embarrassing . MRS . DAVIDSON : I was there in the winter of 1948 . I 'm very cold natured , but I don 't remember being cold . We had those heavy navy blanket - navy blue blankets . This brings up a story if I jump to it later on . We were moved from the D house after another six months into the brand - new Garden Apartments on Villanova Road . They needed our D house for families . The people who moved in were the Andersons of the Anderson Hilltop Grocery . Of course , the furniture all belonged to the government there . So the Garden Apartments were not furnished , so we had dwindled down from 6 to 4 people who needed furniture . I took a day off and went to an auction the government set up down at the warehouses . I got seven beds and three or four dressers - much more than I could have used . But the beds were in great demand at work because all the young men who worked there were having children and needed beds . So we took the four . Also I got two sofas , and we could use but one ; so I sold one . They were really shabby awful sofas . Since it was all going to surplus anyway , we switched and took the nice sofa from the D house and left them the bad one . It was all taken away anyhow , so I didn 't feel too bad about that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't really remember about the telephone . We didn 't use the telephone much . We never used it for long - distance except for emergencies and calls home . I don 't remember that as being a problem particularly . MRS . DAVIDSON : I suppose I went on the bus . I did not have a car . One of the housemates from Norman Lane had gotten the car , but she would 've been at work at K - 25 . I don 't know . I may have gotten a ride . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess I paid somebody to deliver it . I don 't know . Maybe some of the fellows at work picked up their beds that they wanted . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was one of those warehouses down at the [ Oak Ridge ] Turnpike on Warehouse Road . I don 't know exactly where it was . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess it was on the bulletin boards at work , or there was a newspaper at the Lab . I guess I heard about it that way . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think probably so - in the newsletters they came around , also at the recreation building - the rec hall - at Jackson Square that was the library upstairs and the rec hall downstairs . Word - of - mouth - I don 't remember . We had a need and found the answer to it . MRS . DAVIDSON : I had to punch a clock at eight in the morning when I first started . I guess we got out at 4 : 30 or 5 o ' clock . We had bus service that went from the bus terminal - the Central one - that 's now by Bus Terminal Road . Later on after we were married , we lived on Waddell Circle and went from there to the Jefferson bus terminal . I went - I rode on the K - 25 bus , and they went out past K - 25 to the road that the powerhouse was on and NEPA was beyond that out by the river . MRS . DAVIDSON : There was some kind of management services office . I 'm not sure what it was called - the Roane Anderson Corporation at that time , I guess . I think that 's where I rented the dormitory room . I probably got bus tokens - I guess I got the tokens of the bus terminal . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think I had a checking account probably at Hamilton Bank in Jackson Square . I don 't recall otherwise . I know I did later . One thing I wanted to say about the buses - if you wanted to go to Clinton to do any shopping , more than what you could have in Oak Ridge or to meet somebody or something , there was a bus that ran frequently back and forth between the bus terminal and Clinton . There was a young man on the bus who had a sing - songy sales pitch for " peanuts , popcorn , Cracker Jacks , candy , and chewing gum . " He wouldn 't drive , but he would sell his wares all the way to Clinton and back . I always wondered who that was because he obviously had some talent . MRS . DAVIDSON : I 'm sure I did . I don 't know what became of it . I guess I had to turn it back in . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think somebody just got - one of the guards got on the bus and checked everybody 's badges . It was not a big thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : Probably . I don 't remember . What I do remember about that was my mother was coming down one time for my birthday - it must 've been in January 1949 . She rode the train . I told her that I would get a ride to meet her . Of course , the train didn 't stop at Oak Ridge . It went on to Knoxville , so I bummed a ride with one of the men in our group . He was actually the technical assistant to the director . His car was a broken down old thing with no floorboards in the back seat , which was pretty bad when my mother saw it . But she didn 't see it because when we got to Knoxville , she was not there . When we were coming back from the gateway entrance , she was not there . There was a message that she was waiting for us at the Elza Gate Station . She had told the conductor she had to get off at Oak Ridge . That 's where she was going , and I was going to meet her . So she slid down the Elza bank over there . She had my birthday cake - a large chocolate cake . She slid downhill with that , and somehow they stopped her at the guard gate at Elza . She waited there for us . MRS . DAVIDSON : Just for her - let her off like a milk train . They ordinarily didn 't stop there , but she wouldn 't have it otherwise . MRS . DAVIDSON : I used the library and rec hall . On Sunday afternoons , they played music ; and you could sit and write letters home , which is what I think I did a good bit . Later on in the better weather , there were tennis courts and a swimming pool . I don 't remember going to movies much . We went to church groups . There were so many young people ; it was just like a party all the time . Nothing in particular stands out . It was just fun . MRS . DAVIDSON : In the company I was , that was not true . There were a lot of women of course - of course , the dormitory was full of school teachers and nurses . But NEPA was mostly men . There were two parts to the Fairchild - the science and engineering part , which was bigger . I happen to be in the research part . My boss was a chemist - Vince Calkins . It was my job to - this was a real shocker to me - to find a chemical that would protect the human body against radiation for the reactor that was supposed to be in the airplane to Russia . I had no background for that kind of thing . I was just fresh out of college really . I realized I was out of my depth , but they decided - he was a pharmacist , I believe , and he wanted to do experiments with rats . They brought in the rat colony . By that time we had a couple of assistants , and I was supposed to be the group leader . One of the men , Ray Waldrop - you may have talked to him . I asked him if he minded working for a woman because he was really more experienced than I , although I had the degree . It was fine with him . There was also another worker , Saul Segal , who was quite a character in his own right . I took the rats in the cages over to the reactor , the " Old Lady " at X - 10 , and put them through what they called " rabbits " and radiated them for certain amount of time . We couldn 't kill the darn things . Then we used the older ones that had already been radiated , they were just tough as anything . I think the experiment was really a failure , although they may have found that to be the case in some later work with older people - that the cells are not dividing as fast and they 're not as subject to radiation . But we didn 't get into that . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was actually not K - 25 . It was beyond there . As I said , the bus took us - the bus dumped people off at K - 25 , and they went on west to just before you get to the Gallaher Bridge . You turn right there and go right past the power station there . It was used for a long time - the power house , and then NEPA was beyond that . The native rats came in - was it domestic experimental rats ? That was not good . I had a janitor who helped me , even though he could 've lost his job for doing it . He helped me clean cages . I always appreciated that . MRS . DAVIDSON : When they got rid of the rats , which was a blessing , my group leader then became Bill Browning , who was a fine scientist . He worked on the Van de Graaff generator . We had an interesting argument . Saul Segal thought he should be the one to do it since he was a man and I was a woman who would be leaving soon ; and it turned out that he left for California before I had left to have my baby . His argument didn 't hold with me anyway , but we argued about that some . We did run the Van de Graaff , and we also did some experiments on metallic sodium . It was nasty stuff to work with . It caught on fire if it was exposed to air . You had to work with that under oil in the glove box . I think that work all had to be repeated after NEPA left for Cincinnati with G . E . . When they moved part of NEPA to X - 10 , they called it the ANP , or something about aircraft and nuclear power . I was not connected with that because my first baby was born in August 1951 . I left in July . MRS . DAVIDSON : I heard somebody say that they had to repeat it all . My boss , the Division Director of Chemistry was interested in vitamin E , and thought it had a lot of protective influence . We worked with that . That was some of the work I did in chemistry - the lab part of it in the early days . It was not good work , I think . I 'm not blaming myself , but some of the other men who were doing chemical work - I think altogether we didn 't come up with anything . MRS . DAVIDSON : It may have been ahead of it 's time for nuclear submarines . I don 't know whether the engineering people thought that or not . In our group which was the chemistry and the physics , my friend who got me the job was Jim Trice . A fellow named Art Miller and somebody named Coneybearwere in the Physics Division . And then there were some others - Fred Maienschein . I did some work for him one time . It was work on beryllium for one thing . I didn 't work with any of the active beryllium . I didn 't do any lab work then , but I did some journal research . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't think they were that far along . I 'm not sure what happened to that part of it . As I said , in July of 1951 they moved to Cincinnati , Evensville , above Cincinnati . I don 't know how many people actually went up there . Most of my friends moved elsewhere . MR . HUNNICUTT : You mentioned the location of the operation was past the steam plant that was on the Clinch River . Was that the same location where the S - 50 project was located ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I think that was the name of our plot of land . I think those - I never was quite sure how they got the designations , but that was the Fairchild domain , I think . MRS . DAVIDSON : Really , it was just when our eyes met . It was very romantic . He followed our group home to the Columbia Hall to see where I lived . But at the time I thought he was too young , and I didn 't think he was following me . I was with a group of other girls . Later on , one of the women in the dormitory , who was a gym teacher in the Oak Ridge schools , told me I really ought to meet Jack Davidson that he loved to ride bicycles ; I was just back from my bicycle trip in Europe . I didn 't know who he was , and then I went to a church group meeting at my Presbyterian Church for young people one Sunday evening . A friend of mine had brought Jack Davidson , and he was the one whose eyes I had met and he had met mine . Sure enough , he loved to ride bicycles . That was the start of a good thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : We did a little bit . On our dates , that 's really what we did mostly at first . We rode out to West Outer Drive and had those wonderful big hills , not too much traffic at that time . We went out to the water tower at the top of Louisiana and had a picnic , and then rode back . When we got really good , we rode our bicycles over to Concord Park one day . I had gotten some chicken breasts at the grocery . I guess it was the A & P at Jackson Square . I was going to fry them for a picnic to take along over to Concord Park . When I went to the refrigerator to get them , they had turned into wings . Somebody had eaten my chicken breast . Jack was a good sport about that . He didn 't care . We had a nice ride . It was before they had improved Lovell Road . It was a pretty rough ride over there , but we were able to enjoy it . MRS . DAVIDSON : He had his bicycle . It was probably a Grey Stone . For me , he rented a bicycle from his work friend . I had forgotten what his name was . We went over to one of the D Streets , I think , and rode them . I didn 't have my English 3 - speed here . I guess I brought it later , but at that time I didn 't have it . MRS . DAVIDSON : That was a problem . I complained to my friend Jim Trice 's wife , Dot , who happened to live around the corner on Outer Drive at that time . She said the boardwalk was used a lot for dating , and of course the theaters . I guess we were outdoors people . I don 't know . MRS . DAVIDSON : He was a graduate of Georgia Tech . At the time he graduated , he was very young . He came up to see about a job , and he was drafted . No , he was in danger of being drafted right away , but they didn 't hire him . He did go to work for NASA , which was at that time NACA , in Virginia ; and worked over there a short time before he was taken into the Army . He had gone through Georgia Tech on a " War Manpower " loan . He was sent to some place to be an MP , I think . He wrote a night letter , which is a 50 - word telegram that was cheaper at night . He wrote a night letter to Stimson , the Secretary of War , telling them they had paid for his college education ; and here he was sitting in a camp doing nothing down in Alabama . He was transferred to the SED , he would never say that was the reason he was transferred . It may or may not have been . He arrived with the SED - he arrived in Oak Ridge the day Roosevelt died , which was in April 1945 , he was here with his group for maybe six weeks before they went out to Los Alamos . So he spent the rest of the war out there . Then he used his G . I . Bill - he stayed on at Los Alamos . They told them they would let him out of the Army if he would agree to stay on as a civilian . So he took that . Then when he did leave , he went to Annapolis and took a liberal arts course because he felt that he had missed out on it at Georgia Tech . He had a year at St . John 's College of Annapolis ; and then all along I guess he thought he would like to come back here . He came back - he arrived on Armistice Day , now Veterans Day , of 1948 . I was here a couple of months before he came , but we met shortly after Christmas in 1949 . MRS . DAVIDSON : Too long . We were married in May 1950 . He wanted to pay off his loan before we could get married , so I helped him along with that . I fed him some . He was very welcome at the D House of girls . I was going to tell you that during the war , there were nine girls in the house , and they slept on shifts on the bunk beds . There were only six of us when I was there . There were a couple of the boyfriends around , and one of them cut the grass . I think Jack did the - empty the clinkers from the furnace , the coal furnace . They made themselves useful . They got their dinner . MRS . DAVIDSON : Most of the houses were a very good design really , and a whole lot better built than we gave them credit for . But each one that I knew of had a corner set off or closed off as a coal storage place that could be filled through a window from the outside , and then you could use the - there was an opening on the inside that you could use to put coal into the furnace . That was awful of course , but that 's what all the houses were doing in that time , too . We had a yard full of clinkers over there . MRS . DAVIDSON : We were taken care of by a Big Brother - the government . They brought the coal around , and you didn 't do a thing . That was part of the rent . When we got our house here on Orange Lane , that 's another story . Are you ready for that yet ? MRS . DAVIDSON : We went back to my home in Louisville , Kentucky , to be married . We had planned to fly to Nashville , but it turned out the Delta Queen was coming through Louisville the next morning . My mother had told us we could not get married the week before because it was too busy with Derby Day . So we delayed until May 13 . Then we spent the night in Louisville at the Brown Hotel , where she pulled some strings to get us a room because it was still very full of visitors from the Derby . We got on the Delta Queen , and our friends were all on the dock to see us off . They had us almost convinced that we were on Daylight Saving Time , and the Delta Queen was not , and we had missed it . But we rode down just as far as Paducah . We were anxious to start in life you know . We lived on Wadell Circle in a K apartment . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was a two - story thing . I guess it was a two - bedroom up above , and we had K - 1 . It was sort of underground at the front and open at the back . We had a nice back porch . There was a closet under the stairway and a very small kitchen . It had a table that folded down . It was not as compact as a flattop , but the furnishings that they had did double duty . You could fold it up and have more room . MRS . DAVIDSON : The K apartment was heated with the coal furnace , but there was a janitor who came around and took care of it for us . We were taken care of by Roane Anderson . MRS . DAVIDSON : We lived in the K from May 1950 , until we got this house in July 1952 . It was said - the word around town was that you couldn 't get a two - bedroom house unless you had three children , all of different sex . We had been on the list for this house ever since we knew our daughter was coming along . That was a long time to wait . We had been offered two houses - Florida Avenue , where the parking was across the street and the backyard just dropped off . We thought that was totally unsuitable for a new child . We turned both of those down . If we had turned this one down , we would 've gone to the bottom of the long list . But we loved this place of the trees and the dead end lane neighborhood . So we sat outside in front all weekend because we were not top on the list . The reason the other people didn 't take it was that the previous owner , Jim Cox and Charlotte , had put in an oil furnace ; and nobody wanted to pay $ 200 for the oil furnace . Since I had been working , we had saved my salary from work , and we had $ 200 to pay . Also , they didn 't want to be in the high rent district . This house rented for something like $ 45 instead of $ 43 in the lower rent districts . MRS . DAVIDSON : The Oak Ridge cemesto houses that were built - I think this house was built in the fall of 1944 or 1943 . Maybe it was ' 43 . The B house has two bedrooms and of course a bath and a kitchen with a dinette into a long narrow living room . It was about 24 feet by 40 something feet . It was small and convenient . It didn 't have much storage space , but it 's been a wonderful house for us because of the trees . We are on a greenbelt , and I enjoy that very much . It 's a nice private neighborhood just above Jackson Square . MRS . DAVIDSON : Our cemesto has a fireplace , and it had a complete brick wall . Some of the B houses had a brick wall just beyond the fireplace . MRS . DAVIDSON : There are hardwood floors in all the cemestos , I believe . Our house has maple flooring , and a lot of them had oak . Wood was hard to come by in the wartime . We love the color - the reddish color of the maple . MRS . DAVIDSON : Adele is our second daughter , and she was two years younger . Our son is Bill Davidson or William . He was born in November of 1954 . He 's just now turning 58 . MRS . DAVIDSON : All three of our children went to Cedar Hill . They had split grades there , so I think the classes were one half size . They would take the kids a half from one grade , and half from the next grade , and that worked out just fine . MRS . DAVIDSON : Cedar Hill was wonderful . It was very special . Mr . Dodd was the principal , and he saw to it - he had the best teachers or at least as good as any . Actually in those days all the teachers and Oak Ridge were special because many of them had been recruited from Columbia Teachers College , along with the superintendent . Others were specially recruited for the job . They were a group a part , I think , from a lot of teachers . MRS . DAVIDSON : The girls both went to Jefferson when it was on the hill at Jackson Square , and Bill was in the first year at the new Jefferson that was over on Fairbanks Road . His was the first class there . They all went through Oak Ridge High . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you recall some of the classes your daughters took while they were in junior high ? Was there Home Ec . or things related to girls ? MRS . DAVIDSON : No , they were on the college prep track . They took eighth grade algebra and that kind of thing . Of course English and math and social studies and science - our older girl I think took biology ; and I 'm not sure if Adele had a more general science course . It just depended on the teacher that they had . They had an excellent education , and the girls were both Merit semifinalists . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course . I was in the PTA . I 'm not sure if I was ever a room mother , but I of course helped with parties and things . MRS . DAVIDSON : The teachers recruited them from each class to help with parties mostly . They helped with any activities that they didn 't really have time to do . MRS . DAVIDSON : Parent - Teacher Association , a time honored group . It got extra things for the school . I got involved with raincoats for the school patrol . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess maybe I was a treasurer of the Cedar Hill PTA , and this goal was to get those yellow slicker raincoat so kids could be visible to the drivers . I found out how much the things cost , and then I estimated postage . At the PTA meeting , Alvin Weinberg was president . He had a son or two in school at the time . He took me to task for estimating the postage , so I had to ask for just the money for the coats themselves since I didn 't really know what the postage is going to be . I thought that was interesting that he wanted to keep it to the exact penny . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think they just wore what the other kids wore . One day we had a deep snow and Bill was in kindergarten , and the snow was up over their boots . I think he had some corduroys . The teacher was making the kids take their pants off and dry them on the radiator , and he wouldn 't do it . I had to go up to the school and take him some fresh pants , some dry clothes . He was very young - just four when he started . MR . HUNNICUTT : Let 's go back a few years . Do you remember 1945 when they dropped the bomb on Japan ? You remember where you were ? And what was your reaction ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I do remember that very clearly because it was the summer after my junior year in college , and I was a camp counselor up in Door County , Wisconsin . There was no electricity at the camp , so we counselors - after we got the kids to bed , went to the state park nearby . This was at Fish Creek , Wisconsin . We would listen to people 's car radios . We knew for about a week that something was happening , but we didn 't know just what . It was very deeply moving when the bomb was dropped , and we thought it would bring an end to the war . Of course , I had friends and a brother on Guam and a cousin was in Europe and others . So that was very deeply moving . I had a book of poetry - my favorite poems at the camp with me . One of my 12 - year - olds picked out a poem - " Once to every man and nation comes a moment to decide " - she read that , and I thought that was very astute of her , a youngster to be able to do that . MRS . DAVIDSON : My husband thought they should have dropped a sample first , but I didn 't feel that way since the first bomb didn 't phase the Japanese . I didn 't think the test one would have either . I was just so glad that the war was over . People could settle down and get into real life again . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think I was in transition from the dormitory to the house , and my husband 's brothers came up from Georgia to witness the opening . So we drove in their car around , and we watched the parade from , I believe , down on the eastern end of the Turnpike down near the warehouses to get out of the traffic . We never could figure out why they invited Marie " The Body " McDonald and [ inaudible ] to ride in the open car for the parade . We couldn 't figure out what they had to do with it , but we did see the burning of the magnesium ribbon . That was exciting . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was only toward town from Elza Gate . I know the central part of town , the Jackson Square area , was very crowded . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think they name the streets for famous cities in the country , and of course the alphabetical designations were very helpful . But Jackson Square , I assume , was named for New Orleans . That 's all I know about it . MRS . DAVIDSON : Sometimes you would pick up the telephone , and the other party was talking . I believe they had different rings . I think maybe the other party had one ring , and we had two . There were four - party lines , but if we were on a four - party line , only the other one was active . I think maybe we were . The other two lines were not being used . MR . HUNNICUTT : When you are raising your family , did you hang your clothes outside on the clothesline ? Did you have a dryer ? What did you use ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I hung them outside on the clothesline . As I said , when we moved here , Anne was a year old . Not much more than three years after that , we had three babies . I was able to talk my husband into getting a dryer that time . Before that , he had built a pulley out of my kitchen window . There was a drop off in the back , and he was able to string it to a tree in the woods . I was able to reel those cloth diapers and reel them in and out . The only problem was that the birds like the trees , too . Sometimes I had to do some re - washing . MR . HUNNICUTT : So in those days you use cloth diapers ? Today we use disposable diapers . How do you think you would 've done if you had disposable diapers ? MRS . DAVIDSON : At one point , when our children were out playing Kick the Can , there were over 40 children on the lane . There were about 20 or 21 houses . There were almost as many dogs . It was just a glorious place for them to grow up . They seem to get along remarkably well most of the time , especially in the early days . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes . We went down there on the opening , and got the radioactive dimes on that occasion . The museum at that time was down at Jefferson Circle . I don 't think any of us ever had our hair stand out on the Van De Graff generator or whatever it was , but we took the children . We went out ourselves . Of course my husband was interested in that kind of thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : Sometimes they walked to Jefferson , but by that time they were carrying pretty heavy books . One of the neighbors on Outer Drive wanted to have a carpool , so we joined that . MRS . DAVIDSON : When Anne was in the fifth grade , they had to write what they did on Friday nights . The teacher would call me and say , " Is it true that you gave your children ice water and watched TV on Friday nights ? " That was how generous we were with them . We didn 't get a TV until they were probably five or six years old . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course it was black and white . The reason we got it - I guess finally it was that the children were always going to the neighbors ' house to watch TV . We decided that we should get our own . They watched things like " Pinky Lee " and I 've forgotten what else . MRS . DAVIDSON : I remember that fondly because my first real date with my husband was going to dinner there with him . He invited me to go to a concert in Knoxville , and his excuse was that we should get to know each other better before he took me to the city with him . That was one thing . I remember there were parties there , and our company had a party at the Oak Terrace Ballroom . One of the NEPA fellows wore a Tarzan costume , which was mostly nothing . It turned out that he lived in the neighborhood . MRS . DAVIDSON : That was just below the dormitory where I lived in Columbia Hall . Jack went there looking for me , he thought I would eat breakfast there and then he could have breakfast with me ; but I ate in the dormitory . He didn 't find me there . When we came back from our bicycle ride to Concord Park , I remember we stopped by there , and he drank two or three Mountain Dew drinks . That surprised me , but we had worked off a lot of sweat . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , we took our children out there and saw " Lawrence of Arabia " and " The 10 Commandment " and those things . It was quite nice . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was about where Kroger 's - where that is now , on the southeast part of Illinois Avenue . It was a nice thing . That was a special treat for the children to go out there . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't think so . I think they were mostly in the car . They had a drawing one time , Jack won something . It was actually nothing , but he did win . MRS . DAVIDSON : I sure did . My three children were born there . It was a green structure , like so many of the buildings in Oak Ridge . I guess the present building is built on that place . It was okay . I didn 't have any problems with it , except after my second child . I had a staph infection from the hospital . Even an Army wife with a private room got an infection there . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , I think they also had been recruited ; and a lot of them were from Tulane University . The time I was sick with my infection , they were having a reunion at Tulane , and my doctor and another one were gone for the reunion . I didn 't like the one who took care of me . He didn 't do a good job . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was okay . I don 't remember having any problems with it . We knew Dr . Rogers from our church , and we went to him . He was called away to the service , I believe . Maybe it was the Korean War , but then he came back . MRS . DAVIDSON : We met at Pine Valley School . The choir sat on the bleachers , and the minister sat under the halo of the basketball net . My husband was a Methodist , and he went to the First Methodist Church . They had a big youth group there . When we were first married , we tried to take them both in . We went to Sunday school one place , and church another until we finally settled on the Presbyterian . It was smaller , and we knew more people . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course the people . I love my trees and my house . I love all the activities . Both my husband and I have always loved music and enjoy the concerts a lot . The symphony concerts with Waldo Cohn conducting were held at Jefferson Junior High on the Kentucky Avenue hill . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you think back about all the people that you knew in the early days ? Do you think it was unusual for everybody to get along - the many people that were here ? MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , I guess so . I didn 't think about it because we just did . It was just fun . Everybody was away from home , and we had to be family for each other . That was particularly true in this close neighborhood . MRS . DAVIDSON : I 'm pleased for the most part . I think we 've made good progress . We 've kept up with the outside world . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think we came through at the very best of times . It was not the pressure of war , but we were growing community . I think things were happening at the Lab . Both of my husband and I loved the Lab because there were so many good things going on out there . It gives us hope for the future . [ Editor 's Note : This transcript has been edited at Mrs . Davidson 's request . The corresponding audio and video components have remained unchanged . ] Click tabs to swap between content that is broken into logical sections . MR . HUNNICUTT : This interview is for the Center of Oak Ridge Oral History . The date is November 8 , 2012 . I am Don Hunnicutt in the home of Mrs . Mary Ann Davidson , 117 Orange Lane , Oak Ridge , Tennessee , to take her oral history about living in Oak Ridge , Tennessee . Please state your full name and your place of birth and your date of birth . MRS . DAVIDSON : My name is Mary Ann Davidson . My date of birth is January 12 , 1925 . I was born in Louisville , Kentucky . I lived there all my early life until I graduated from college . MRS . DAVIDSON : My father was William H . Courtenay . He was born in 1890 , on March 3 . He was in World War I and lived his entire life in Louisville and Shelbyville , Kentucky . He worked for the Mengel Company . They imported mahogany and hardwood from Africa and Central America . He delivered those to customers . He didn 't consider himself a salesman , but he sold them to the furniture factory - furniture makers around Kentucky , mostly Indiana and Cincinnati and some in Tennessee . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , he did not . The Louisville Male High School was considered a fine school at that time . They said that graduates could enter Harvard in their second year . The principal had written textbooks that were apparently used all over . But my father was interested in raising ponies . His father had a farm in Shelbyville , Kentucky . If you 'd didn 't make the grade , you are special . And Dr . Ruben Post - Halleck , the famous principal of the school , told him if he took an exam in math , he could be entered back in . He did that , and he aced the test . He was back in . Then he was a special in English , so they told him if he memorized the " Lady of the Lake " and said that he could get back in school . So he did that . I think he never did finish . He was a twin , and his twin was more of an engineering type and went to manual training high school . MR . HUNNICUTT : What about your mother 's school history ? MRS . DAVIDSON : She grew up in several small towns in western Kentucky . Her father worked for the L & N Railroad . She had her high school in Hopkinsville , Kentucky . She had to stay home - or she went to junior college nearby . She had a scholarship to Randolph Macon Women 's College , but she couldn 't take it because her mother was ill and died at age 50 . It was about the year I was born , I think . MRS . DAVIDSON : His name was William Howard Courtenay III . My father was named for his uncle , who was also William Howard . My older brother works for Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green in the physics department . He made instruments . My younger brother was a pediatrician in Louisville , and he is still living on a farm in Shelbyville . He 's interested in Kentucky antiques . MR . HUNNICUTT : Yes . MRS . DAVIDSON : I went to an unusual kindergarten and first grade . I was at what they called the Enterprise Branch of I . N . Bloom School . It was only kindergarten and first grade . It was in the older building , where we had a Pot Belly Stove . I think we had a maid to help us take our leggings off in the cold weather - galoshes . It was really a wonderful school . It was almost like a private one . It was public . We did things like making butter and we had an orchestra . I played the triangle . I had started a little bit earlier when my younger brother was born . Louisville had half semester , half - year grades . I would 've been a half year , but I skipped the last half of kindergarten . I went to the school board and took a test and went on , so they put me in the regular school year . I went through the big school the I . N . Bloom School and Highland Junior High School in Louisville . Then I went to Atherton High School for Girls . The Louisville public schools were segregated - boys and girls . There were about 900 girls at Atherton . My graduating class was about 200 , and I was the valedictorian . MRS . DAVIDSON : They are pants to keep your legs warm . They zipped up from the inside of the ankle bone up to about knee - high , I guess it was . They were a royal pain to take on and off , so the teacher had to have help to do that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was just ordinary . I 'm sure the girls wore dresses , and the little boys wore suits - not suits , but pants and shirts . MRS . DAVIDSON : I came to Oak Ridge after I graduated from college . I had two years of getting a master 's at Emory while I worked at my alma mater , Agnes Scott College in Decatur , Georgia . I was the chemistry lab instructor . So after those two years were up , I was interested in working in chemistry or biochemistry . My master 's was in biochemistry . In Louisville , there was nothing in that field , except liquor and paint - neither of which I was interested in . In Atlanta , I would like to stay in Atlanta , I heard that Oak Ridge was an interesting new place , and a lot was going on here . One of my dear college friends had recently married a physicist from the University of Kentucky , so I visited them here . I guess that must have been 1947 . Her husband was working at NEPA . He said they were looking for people with a chemistry degree . I applied , and I was accepted . I didn 't know that until I had completed the clearance , so I took the opportunity to go to Europe at an American youth hostel bicycle tour of Western Europe in the summer of 1948 . When I got home , I found that I had indeed gotten the job at Oak Ridge . So I came down here . MRS . DAVIDSON : I was wondering that . I think I came by train . When I interviewed earlier in the spring , my interview was at the Andrew Johnson Hotel . It was one of the private rooms . I had never seen the company here . I think I must have been met by a car and driver and brought to Oak Ridge . MRS . DAVIDSON : I came in through the Vermont Gateway , which is where the gas station is now on the corner of what I call Vermont . They call it North Rutgers now . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , I think it must 've been after that . That would 've been at Christmas time . When I applied , I imagine it was early spring . MRS . DAVIDSON : We called the company NEPA , for Nuclear Energy for the Propulsion of Aircraft . It was managed by the Fairchild Corporation the way Union Carbide or one of the other contractors managed the lab . I did not know until the first day I went to work just what the company was doing . They handed me a volume of information that said , " We are looking for - we are trying to make an airplane powered by nuclear energy that could fly to Russia and back without refueling . " That was a great shock to me . MRS . DAVIDSON : I lived in Columbia Hall Dormitory . I was very surprised to find that the rent was $ 15 a month until I realized it was one very small room . That was my living quarters . I took the opportunity to stay out of it as much as possible . I did that by babysitting in some of the B and D houses in the evening . Grandmothers were not here since it was a closed community . Babysitters were in short supply , and even though I didn 't need the money , it was good to get out of the dormitory . MRS . DAVIDSON : The dormitory was like Cheyenne Hall . It was the same type of building . It had wooden stairways from the second - floor hall down on each end . I lived on the second floor . Our dormitory was mostly nurses , since it was up on the hill next to the hospital - I think where the west parking lot is now . There was a kitchen on each end where we could have our own breakfast . Of course we were at the plant at lunchtime , and then we usually went out to supper . I opened the refrigerator door one morning and somebody 's milk came spilling out down my front . Everybody just stuffed things into the refrigerator . MRS . DAVIDSON : I had a single room with a twin bed and enough room to walk to the window by the bed . There was a little table that served as a desk with a chair . There was a much coveted dormitory dresser - a tall one with a number of drawers . They were very popular . MRS . DAVIDSON : They had a wonderful bus service here . Travel wasn 't really a problem . We walked , of course , from the dormitory to Jackson Square and ate supper usually at the Mayflower , which is where I first saw my husband - to - be . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was on the corner of Tennessee , right across from the Soup Kitchen and the Texaco gas station there on the northeast corner . It was a very popular place . In fact , there were several places you could eat . It was the Central Cafeteria , and the T & C Cafeteria in Jackson Square , which is about where the Epicurean is now toward the garden . MRS . DAVIDSON : It must 've been the A & P on Jackson Square . Jackson Square was really the center of activity as far as I was concerned at that time . I still love it . I hope it keeps going . MRS . DAVIDSON : The department stores - the big department store was Taylor 's at the time . They had a wonderful book department headed by Mrs . Keyes , whose daughter I knew at work . They had really fine art books and other books that they would have a great sale on once or twice a year . We were very happy with that . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was in the middle of the block between where Big Ed 's is in the corner . I guess it 's mostly used by the engineering company now . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , not frequently , but I went and saw - there was a theater down at Big Ed 's in Jackson Square and where the Playhouse is now . That was the main one . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , the jewelry store was on the corner that was Henebree 's , I think . No , that was Heneger 's . MR . HUNNICUTT : Henebree ? MRS . DAVIDSON : Henebree . McCrory 's 5 & 10 was there . There was a drugstore - a Service Drugstore . I guess that was where Big Ed 's is now , on the very corner . There was Jackson Square Pharmacy , and on the other side the Hamilton Bank was there next to the movie theater . And Samuel 's Men 's Store was a very nice store . The Jackson Square Pharmacy was there , but in between , which the Pharmacy later took over was a Kay 's Ice Cream Store . We used to go there and - my husband and I would when we were dating . I liked to get coffee with ice cream in it , so we went there . MR . HUNNICUTT : I believe that was Taff Moody Ice Cream - they served Kay 's Ice Cream . MRS . DAVIDSON : Was it ? I didn 't remember that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I can 't say that I do . It was just a given , I suppose . It didn 't make a big dent in my memory . After six months of the dormitory , I moved to a D house on Norman Lane . That was another era . MR . HUNNICUTT : What is a D house ? MRS . DAVIDSON : A D house was a large three bedroom house . They were very much desired . They were really nice houses - still a lot of them are . The house was - there were five other girls who lived there - two of whom had been college friends . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , it would 've been upstairs . It was the second one to the end . A radiation technologist lived on the corner , and I lived there with school teachers and nurses who made up most of the dorm . MR . HUNNICUTT : Let 's talk a little bit about the dorm again . If I had a message for you or someone left a message for you , how did you retrieve your messages ? Was there a desk when you went in ? MRS . DAVIDSON : There was a desk downstairs . I remember the Valentine 's Day - I guess it must 've been 1949 . The message was that I had some flowers , some red roses . I had just met my husband - to - be at that time . I got all excited , and when I got to the desk , it was from somebody else . I enjoyed the red roses , but not as much as I might have . The thing was that there were ladies - a lot of the women who lived in the dorm worked on the night shift . They would sit around a large kind of living room , I guess they called it . They were all staring when I got flowers . I had to walk around , and it was embarrassing . MRS . DAVIDSON : I was there in the winter of 1948 . I 'm very cold natured , but I don 't remember being cold . We had those heavy navy blanket - navy blue blankets . This brings up a story if I jump to it later on . We were moved from the D house after another six months into the brand - new Garden Apartments on Villanova Road . They needed our D house for families . The people who moved in were the Andersons of the Anderson Hilltop Grocery . Of course , the furniture all belonged to the government there . So the Garden Apartments were not furnished , so we had dwindled down from 6 to 4 people who needed furniture . I took a day off and went to an auction the government set up down at the warehouses . I got seven beds and three or four dressers - much more than I could have used . But the beds were in great demand at work because all the young men who worked there were having children and needed beds . So we took the four . Also I got two sofas , and we could use but one ; so I sold one . They were really shabby awful sofas . Since it was all going to surplus anyway , we switched and took the nice sofa from the D house and left them the bad one . It was all taken away anyhow , so I didn 't feel too bad about that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't really remember about the telephone . We didn 't use the telephone much . We never used it for long - distance except for emergencies and calls home . I don 't remember that as being a problem particularly . MRS . DAVIDSON : I suppose I went on the bus . I did not have a car . One of the housemates from Norman Lane had gotten the car , but she would 've been at work at K - 25 . I don 't know . I may have gotten a ride . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess I paid somebody to deliver it . I don 't know . Maybe some of the fellows at work picked up their beds that they wanted . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was one of those warehouses down at the [ Oak Ridge ] Turnpike on Warehouse Road . I don 't know exactly where it was . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess it was on the bulletin boards at work , or there was a newspaper at the Lab . I guess I heard about it that way . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think probably so - in the newsletters they came around , also at the recreation building - the rec hall - at Jackson Square that was the library upstairs and the rec hall downstairs . Word - of - mouth - I don 't remember . We had a need and found the answer to it . MRS . DAVIDSON : I had to punch a clock at eight in the morning when I first started . I guess we got out at 4 : 30 or 5 o ' clock . We had bus service that went from the bus terminal - the Central one - that 's now by Bus Terminal Road . Later on after we were married , we lived on Waddell Circle and went from there to the Jefferson bus terminal . I went - I rode on the K - 25 bus , and they went out past K - 25 to the road that the powerhouse was on and NEPA was beyond that out by the river . MRS . DAVIDSON : There was some kind of management services office . I 'm not sure what it was called - the Roane Anderson Corporation at that time , I guess . I think that 's where I rented the dormitory room . I probably got bus tokens - I guess I got the tokens of the bus terminal . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think I had a checking account probably at Hamilton Bank in Jackson Square . I don 't recall otherwise . I know I did later . One thing I wanted to say about the buses - if you wanted to go to Clinton to do any shopping , more than what you could have in Oak Ridge or to meet somebody or something , there was a bus that ran frequently back and forth between the bus terminal and Clinton . There was a young man on the bus who had a sing - songy sales pitch for " peanuts , popcorn , Cracker Jacks , candy , and chewing gum . " He wouldn 't drive , but he would sell his wares all the way to Clinton and back . I always wondered who that was because he obviously had some talent . MRS . DAVIDSON : I 'm sure I did . I don 't know what became of it . I guess I had to turn it back in . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think somebody just got - one of the guards got on the bus and checked everybody 's badges . It was not a big thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : Probably . I don 't remember . What I do remember about that was my mother was coming down one time for my birthday - it must 've been in January 1949 . She rode the train . I told her that I would get a ride to meet her . Of course , the train didn 't stop at Oak Ridge . It went on to Knoxville , so I bummed a ride with one of the men in our group . He was actually the technical assistant to the director . His car was a broken down old thing with no floorboards in the back seat , which was pretty bad when my mother saw it . But she didn 't see it because when we got to Knoxville , she was not there . When we were coming back from the gateway entrance , she was not there . There was a message that she was waiting for us at the Elza Gate Station . She had told the conductor she had to get off at Oak Ridge . That 's where she was going , and I was going to meet her . So she slid down the Elza bank over there . She had my birthday cake - a large chocolate cake . She slid downhill with that , and somehow they stopped her at the guard gate at Elza . She waited there for us . MRS . DAVIDSON : Just for her - let her off like a milk train . They ordinarily didn 't stop there , but she wouldn 't have it otherwise . MRS . DAVIDSON : I used the library and rec hall . On Sunday afternoons , they played music ; and you could sit and write letters home , which is what I think I did a good bit . Later on in the better weather , there were tennis courts and a swimming pool . I don 't remember going to movies much . We went to church groups . There were so many young people ; it was just like a party all the time . Nothing in particular stands out . It was just fun . MRS . DAVIDSON : In the company I was , that was not true . There were a lot of women of course - of course , the dormitory was full of school teachers and nurses . But NEPA was mostly men . There were two parts to the Fairchild - the science and engineering part , which was bigger . I happen to be in the research part . My boss was a chemist - Vince Calkins . It was my job to - this was a real shocker to me - to find a chemical that would protect the human body against radiation for the reactor that was supposed to be in the airplane to Russia . I had no background for that kind of thing . I was just fresh out of college really . I realized I was out of my depth , but they decided - he was a pharmacist , I believe , and he wanted to do experiments with rats . They brought in the rat colony . By that time we had a couple of assistants , and I was supposed to be the group leader . One of the men , Ray Waldrop - you may have talked to him . I asked him if he minded working for a woman because he was really more experienced than I , although I had the degree . It was fine with him . There was also another worker , Saul Segal , who was quite a character in his own right . I took the rats in the cages over to the reactor , the " Old Lady " at X - 10 , and put them through what they called " rabbits " and radiated them for certain amount of time . We couldn 't kill the darn things . Then we used the older ones that had already been radiated , they were just tough as anything . I think the experiment was really a failure , although they may have found that to be the case in some later work with older people - that the cells are not dividing as fast and they 're not as subject to radiation . But we didn 't get into that . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was actually not K - 25 . It was beyond there . As I said , the bus took us - the bus dumped people off at K - 25 , and they went on west to just before you get to the Gallaher Bridge . You turn right there and go right past the power station there . It was used for a long time - the power house , and then NEPA was beyond that . The native rats came in - was it domestic experimental rats ? That was not good . I had a janitor who helped me , even though he could 've lost his job for doing it . He helped me clean cages . I always appreciated that . MRS . DAVIDSON : When they got rid of the rats , which was a blessing , my group leader then became Bill Browning , who was a fine scientist . He worked on the Van de Graaff generator . We had an interesting argument . Saul Segal thought he should be the one to do it since he was a man and I was a woman who would be leaving soon ; and it turned out that he left for California before I had left to have my baby . His argument didn 't hold with me anyway , but we argued about that some . We did run the Van de Graaff , and we also did some experiments on metallic sodium . It was nasty stuff to work with . It caught on fire if it was exposed to air . You had to work with that under oil in the glove box . I think that work all had to be repeated after NEPA left for Cincinnati with G . E . . When they moved part of NEPA to X - 10 , they called it the ANP , or something about aircraft and nuclear power . I was not connected with that because my first baby was born in August 1951 . I left in July . MRS . DAVIDSON : I heard somebody say that they had to repeat it all . My boss , the Division Director of Chemistry was interested in vitamin E , and thought it had a lot of protective influence . We worked with that . That was some of the work I did in chemistry - the lab part of it in the early days . It was not good work , I think . I 'm not blaming myself , but some of the other men who were doing chemical work - I think altogether we didn 't come up with anything . MRS . DAVIDSON : It may have been ahead of it 's time for nuclear submarines . I don 't know whether the engineering people thought that or not . In our group which was the chemistry and the physics , my friend who got me the job was Jim Trice . A fellow named Art Miller and somebody named Coneybearwere in the Physics Division . And then there were some others - Fred Maienschein . I did some work for him one time . It was work on beryllium for one thing . I didn 't work with any of the active beryllium . I didn 't do any lab work then , but I did some journal research . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't think they were that far along . I 'm not sure what happened to that part of it . As I said , in July of 1951 they moved to Cincinnati , Evensville , above Cincinnati . I don 't know how many people actually went up there . Most of my friends moved elsewhere . MR . HUNNICUTT : You mentioned the location of the operation was past the steam plant that was on the Clinch River . Was that the same location where the S - 50 project was located ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I think that was the name of our plot of land . I think those - I never was quite sure how they got the designations , but that was the Fairchild domain , I think . MRS . DAVIDSON : Really , it was just when our eyes met . It was very romantic . He followed our group home to the Columbia Hall to see where I lived . But at the time I thought he was too young , and I didn 't think he was following me . I was with a group of other girls . Later on , one of the women in the dormitory , who was a gym teacher in the Oak Ridge schools , told me I really ought to meet Jack Davidson that he loved to ride bicycles ; I was just back from my bicycle trip in Europe . I didn 't know who he was , and then I went to a church group meeting at my Presbyterian Church for young people one Sunday evening . A friend of mine had brought Jack Davidson , and he was the one whose eyes I had met and he had met mine . Sure enough , he loved to ride bicycles . That was the start of a good thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : We did a little bit . On our dates , that 's really what we did mostly at first . We rode out to West Outer Drive and had those wonderful big hills , not too much traffic at that time . We went out to the water tower at the top of Louisiana and had a picnic , and then rode back . When we got really good , we rode our bicycles over to Concord Park one day . I had gotten some chicken breasts at the grocery . I guess it was the A & P at Jackson Square . I was going to fry them for a picnic to take along over to Concord Park . When I went to the refrigerator to get them , they had turned into wings . Somebody had eaten my chicken breast . Jack was a good sport about that . He didn 't care . We had a nice ride . It was before they had improved Lovell Road . It was a pretty rough ride over there , but we were able to enjoy it . MRS . DAVIDSON : He had his bicycle . It was probably a Grey Stone . For me , he rented a bicycle from his work friend . I had forgotten what his name was . We went over to one of the D Streets , I think , and rode them . I didn 't have my English 3 - speed here . I guess I brought it later , but at that time I didn 't have it . MRS . DAVIDSON : That was a problem . I complained to my friend Jim Trice 's wife , Dot , who happened to live around the corner on Outer Drive at that time . She said the boardwalk was used a lot for dating , and of course the theaters . I guess we were outdoors people . I don 't know . MRS . DAVIDSON : He was a graduate of Georgia Tech . At the time he graduated , he was very young . He came up to see about a job , and he was drafted . No , he was in danger of being drafted right away , but they didn 't hire him . He did go to work for NASA , which was at that time NACA , in Virginia ; and worked over there a short time before he was taken into the Army . He had gone through Georgia Tech on a " War Manpower " loan . He was sent to some place to be an MP , I think . He wrote a night letter , which is a 50 - word telegram that was cheaper at night . He wrote a night letter to Stimson , the Secretary of War , telling them they had paid for his college education ; and here he was sitting in a camp doing nothing down in Alabama . He was transferred to the SED , he would never say that was the reason he was transferred . It may or may not have been . He arrived with the SED - he arrived in Oak Ridge the day Roosevelt died , which was in April 1945 , he was here with his group for maybe six weeks before they went out to Los Alamos . So he spent the rest of the war out there . Then he used his G . I . Bill - he stayed on at Los Alamos . They told them they would let him out of the Army if he would agree to stay on as a civilian . So he took that . Then when he did leave , he went to Annapolis and took a liberal arts course because he felt that he had missed out on it at Georgia Tech . He had a year at St . John 's College of Annapolis ; and then all along I guess he thought he would like to come back here . He came back - he arrived on Armistice Day , now Veterans Day , of 1948 . I was here a couple of months before he came , but we met shortly after Christmas in 1949 . MRS . DAVIDSON : Too long . We were married in May 1950 . He wanted to pay off his loan before we could get married , so I helped him along with that . I fed him some . He was very welcome at the D House of girls . I was going to tell you that during the war , there were nine girls in the house , and they slept on shifts on the bunk beds . There were only six of us when I was there . There were a couple of the boyfriends around , and one of them cut the grass . I think Jack did the - empty the clinkers from the furnace , the coal furnace . They made themselves useful . They got their dinner . MR . HUNNICUTT : Tell me about the coal furnace briefly . MRS . DAVIDSON : Most of the houses were a very good design really , and a whole lot better built than we gave them credit for . But each one that I knew of had a corner set off or closed off as a coal storage place that could be filled through a window from the outside , and then you could use the - there was an opening on the inside that you could use to put coal into the furnace . That was awful of course , but that 's what all the houses were doing in that time , too . We had a yard full of clinkers over there . MRS . DAVIDSON : We were taken care of by a Big Brother - the government . They brought the coal around , and you didn 't do a thing . That was part of the rent . When we got our house here on Orange Lane , that 's another story . Are you ready for that yet ? MRS . DAVIDSON : We went back to my home in Louisville , Kentucky , to be married . We had planned to fly to Nashville , but it turned out the Delta Queen was coming through Louisville the next morning . My mother had told us we could not get married the week before because it was too busy with Derby Day . So we delayed until May 13 . Then we spent the night in Louisville at the Brown Hotel , where she pulled some strings to get us a room because it was still very full of visitors from the Derby . We got on the Delta Queen , and our friends were all on the dock to see us off . They had us almost convinced that we were on Daylight Saving Time , and the Delta Queen was not , and we had missed it . But we rode down just as far as Paducah . We were anxious to start in life you know . We lived on Wadell Circle in a K apartment . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you recall the number ? MRS . DAVIDSON : It was a two - story thing . I guess it was a two - bedroom up above , and we had K - 1 . It was sort of underground at the front and open at the back . We had a nice back porch . There was a closet under the stairway and a very small kitchen . It had a table that folded down . It was not as compact as a flattop , but the furnishings that they had did double duty . You could fold it up and have more room . MRS . DAVIDSON : The K apartment was heated with the coal furnace , but there was a janitor who came around and took care of it for us . We were taken care of by Roane Anderson . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you remember what the rent was ? MRS . DAVIDSON : We lived in the K from May 1950 , until we got this house in July 1952 . It was said - the word around town was that you couldn 't get a two - bedroom house unless you had three children , all of different sex . We had been on the list for this house ever since we knew our daughter was coming along . That was a long time to wait . We had been offered two houses - Florida Avenue , where the parking was across the street and the backyard just dropped off . We thought that was totally unsuitable for a new child . We turned both of those down . If we had turned this one down , we would 've gone to the bottom of the long list . But we loved this place of the trees and the dead end lane neighborhood . So we sat outside in front all weekend because we were not top on the list . The reason the other people didn 't take it was that the previous owner , Jim Cox and Charlotte , had put in an oil furnace ; and nobody wanted to pay $ 200 for the oil furnace . Since I had been working , we had saved my salary from work , and we had $ 200 to pay . Also , they didn 't want to be in the high rent district . This house rented for something like $ 45 instead of $ 43 in the lower rent districts . MRS . DAVIDSON : The Oak Ridge cemesto houses that were built - I think this house was built in the fall of 1944 or 1943 . Maybe it was ' 43 . The B house has two bedrooms and of course a bath and a kitchen with a dinette into a long narrow living room . It was about 24 feet by 40 something feet . It was small and convenient . It didn 't have much storage space , but it 's been a wonderful house for us because of the trees . We are on a greenbelt , and I enjoy that very much . It 's a nice private neighborhood just above Jackson Square . MRS . DAVIDSON : Our cemesto has a fireplace , and it had a complete brick wall . Some of the B houses had a brick wall just beyond the fireplace . MRS . DAVIDSON : There are hardwood floors in all the cemestos , I believe . Our house has maple flooring , and a lot of them had oak . Wood was hard to come by in the wartime . We love the color - the reddish color of the maple . MRS . DAVIDSON : Adele is our second daughter , and she was two years younger . Our son is Bill Davidson or William . He was born in November of 1954 . He 's just now turning 58 . MR . HUNNICUTT : So your first daughter went to Cedar Hill ? MRS . DAVIDSON : All three of our children went to Cedar Hill . They had split grades there , so I think the classes were one half size . They would take the kids a half from one grade , and half from the next grade , and that worked out just fine . MRS . DAVIDSON : Cedar Hill was wonderful . It was very special . Mr . Dodd was the principal , and he saw to it - he had the best teachers or at least as good as any . Actually in those days all the teachers and Oak Ridge were special because many of them had been recruited from Columbia Teachers College , along with the superintendent . Others were specially recruited for the job . They were a group a part , I think , from a lot of teachers . MRS . DAVIDSON : The girls both went to Jefferson when it was on the hill at Jackson Square , and Bill was in the first year at the new Jefferson that was over on Fairbanks Road . His was the first class there . They all went through Oak Ridge High . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you recall some of the classes your daughters took while they were in junior high ? Was there Home Ec . or things related to girls ? MRS . DAVIDSON : No , they were on the college prep track . They took eighth grade algebra and that kind of thing . Of course English and math and social studies and science - our older girl I think took biology ; and I 'm not sure if Adele had a more general science course . It just depended on the teacher that they had . They had an excellent education , and the girls were both Merit semifinalists . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course . I was in the PTA . I 'm not sure if I was ever a room mother , but I of course helped with parties and things . MRS . DAVIDSON : The teachers recruited them from each class to help with parties mostly . They helped with any activities that they didn 't really have time to do . MRS . DAVIDSON : Parent - Teacher Association , a time honored group . It got extra things for the school . I got involved with raincoats for the school patrol . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess maybe I was a treasurer of the Cedar Hill PTA , and this goal was to get those yellow slicker raincoat so kids could be visible to the drivers . I found out how much the things cost , and then I estimated postage . At the PTA meeting , Alvin Weinberg was president . He had a son or two in school at the time . He took me to task for estimating the postage , so I had to ask for just the money for the coats themselves since I didn 't really know what the postage is going to be . I thought that was interesting that he wanted to keep it to the exact penny . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think they just wore what the other kids wore . One day we had a deep snow and Bill was in kindergarten , and the snow was up over their boots . I think he had some corduroys . The teacher was making the kids take their pants off and dry them on the radiator , and he wouldn 't do it . I had to go up to the school and take him some fresh pants , some dry clothes . He was very young - just four when he started . MR . HUNNICUTT : Let 's go back a few years . Do you remember 1945 when they dropped the bomb on Japan ? You remember where you were ? And what was your reaction ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I do remember that very clearly because it was the summer after my junior year in college , and I was a camp counselor up in Door County , Wisconsin . There was no electricity at the camp , so we counselors - after we got the kids to bed , went to the state park nearby . This was at Fish Creek , Wisconsin . We would listen to people 's car radios . We knew for about a week that something was happening , but we didn 't know just what . It was very deeply moving when the bomb was dropped , and we thought it would bring an end to the war . Of course , I had friends and a brother on Guam and a cousin was in Europe and others . So that was very deeply moving . I had a book of poetry - my favorite poems at the camp with me . One of my 12 - year - olds picked out a poem - " Once to every man and nation comes a moment to decide " - she read that , and I thought that was very astute of her , a youngster to be able to do that . MRS . DAVIDSON : My husband thought they should have dropped a sample first , but I didn 't feel that way since the first bomb didn 't phase the Japanese . I didn 't think the test one would have either . I was just so glad that the war was over . People could settle down and get into real life again . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think I was in transition from the dormitory to the house , and my husband 's brothers came up from Georgia to witness the opening . So we drove in their car around , and we watched the parade from , I believe , down on the eastern end of the Turnpike down near the warehouses to get out of the traffic . We never could figure out why they invited Marie " The Body " McDonald and [ inaudible ] to ride in the open car for the parade . We couldn 't figure out what they had to do with it , but we did see the burning of the magnesium ribbon . That was exciting . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was only toward town from Elza Gate . I know the central part of town , the Jackson Square area , was very crowded . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think they name the streets for famous cities in the country , and of course the alphabetical designations were very helpful . But Jackson Square , I assume , was named for New Orleans . That 's all I know about it . MRS . DAVIDSON : Sometimes you would pick up the telephone , and the other party was talking . I believe they had different rings . I think maybe the other party had one ring , and we had two . There were four - party lines , but if we were on a four - party line , only the other one was active . I think maybe we were . The other two lines were not being used . MR . HUNNICUTT : When you are raising your family , did you hang your clothes outside on the clothesline ? Did you have a dryer ? What did you use ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I hung them outside on the clothesline . As I said , when we moved here , Anne was a year old . Not much more than three years after that , we had three babies . I was able to talk my husband into getting a dryer that time . Before that , he had built a pulley out of my kitchen window . There was a drop off in the back , and he was able to string it to a tree in the woods . I was able to reel those cloth diapers and reel them in and out . The only problem was that the birds like the trees , too . Sometimes I had to do some re - washing . MR . HUNNICUTT : So in those days you use cloth diapers ? Today we use disposable diapers . How do you think you would 've done if you had disposable diapers ? MRS . DAVIDSON : At one point , when our children were out playing Kick the Can , there were over 40 children on the lane . There were about 20 or 21 houses . There were almost as many dogs . It was just a glorious place for them to grow up . They seem to get along remarkably well most of the time , especially in the early days . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes . We went down there on the opening , and got the radioactive dimes on that occasion . The museum at that time was down at Jefferson Circle . I don 't think any of us ever had our hair stand out on the Van De Graff generator or whatever it was , but we took the children . We went out ourselves . Of course my husband was interested in that kind of thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : Sometimes they walked to Jefferson , but by that time they were carrying pretty heavy books . One of the neighbors on Outer Drive wanted to have a carpool , so we joined that . MRS . DAVIDSON : When Anne was in the fifth grade , they had to write what they did on Friday nights . The teacher would call me and say , " Is it true that you gave your children ice water and watched TV on Friday nights ? " That was how generous we were with them . We didn 't get a TV until they were probably five or six years old . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course it was black and white . The reason we got it - I guess finally it was that the children were always going to the neighbors ' house to watch TV . We decided that we should get our own . They watched things like " Pinky Lee " and I 've forgotten what else . MRS . DAVIDSON : I remember that fondly because my first real date with my husband was going to dinner there with him . He invited me to go to a concert in Knoxville , and his excuse was that we should get to know each other better before he took me to the city with him . That was one thing . I remember there were parties there , and our company had a party at the Oak Terrace Ballroom . One of the NEPA fellows wore a Tarzan costume , which was mostly nothing . It turned out that he lived in the neighborhood . MR . HUNNICUTT : What was the Oak Terrace ballroom - where was it located ? MRS . DAVIDSON : That was just below the dormitory where I lived in Columbia Hall . Jack went there looking for me , he thought I would eat breakfast there and then he could have breakfast with me ; but I ate in the dormitory . He didn 't find me there . When we came back from our bicycle ride to Concord Park , I remember we stopped by there , and he drank two or three Mountain Dew drinks . That surprised me , but we had worked off a lot of sweat . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , we took our children out there and saw " Lawrence of Arabia " and " The 10 Commandment " and those things . It was quite nice . MR . HUNNICUTT : Where was it located ? MRS . DAVIDSON : It was about where Kroger 's - where that is now , on the southeast part of Illinois Avenue . It was a nice thing . That was a special treat for the children to go out there . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't think so . I think they were mostly in the car . They had a drawing one time , Jack won something . It was actually nothing , but he did win . MRS . DAVIDSON : I sure did . My three children were born there . It was a green structure , like so many of the buildings in Oak Ridge . I guess the present building is built on that place . It was okay . I didn 't have any problems with it , except after my second child . I had a staph infection from the hospital . Even an Army wife with a private room got an infection there . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , I think they also had been recruited ; and a lot of them were from Tulane University . The time I was sick with my infection , they were having a reunion at Tulane , and my doctor and another one were gone for the reunion . I didn 't like the one who took care of me . He didn 't do a good job . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was okay . I don 't remember having any problems with it . We knew Dr . Rogers from our church , and we went to him . He was called away to the service , I believe . Maybe it was the Korean War , but then he came back . MRS . DAVIDSON : We met at Pine Valley School . The choir sat on the bleachers , and the minister sat under the halo of the basketball net . My husband was a Methodist , and he went to the First Methodist Church . They had a big youth group there . When we were first married , we tried to take them both in . We went to Sunday school one place , and church another until we finally settled on the Presbyterian . It was smaller , and we knew more people . MR . HUNNICUTT : Thinking back , what do you like best about Oak Ridge ? MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course the people . I love my trees and my house . I love all the activities . Both my husband and I have always loved music and enjoy the concerts a lot . The symphony concerts with Waldo Cohn conducting were held at Jefferson Junior High on the Kentucky Avenue hill . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you think back about all the people that you knew in the early days ? Do you think it was unusual for everybody to get along - the many people that were here ? MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , I guess so . I didn 't think about it because we just did . It was just fun . Everybody was away from home , and we had to be family for each other . That was particularly true in this close neighborhood . MRS . DAVIDSON : I 'm pleased for the most part . I think we 've made good progress . We 've kept up with the outside world . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't know . I 'll probably think of things after you leave . Nothing particular comes to mind . MR . HUNNICUTT : I would like to thank you for your time , and I think this interview will be very helpful for someone in the future to see how you lived in Oak Ridge in the early days . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think we came through at the very best of times . It was not the pressure of war , but we were growing community . I think things were happening at the Lab . Both of my husband and I loved the Lab because there were so many good things going on out there . It gives us hope for the future . MR . HUNNICUTT : I thank you very much for your time . [ Editor 's Note : This transcript has been edited at Mrs . Davidson 's request . The corresponding audio and video components have remained unchanged . ] Your rating was saved . you wish to report :

MR . HUNNICUTT : This interview is for the Center of Oak Ridge Oral History . The date is November 8 , 2012 . I am Don Hunnicutt in the home of Mrs . Mary Ann Davidson , 117 Orange Lane , Oak Ridge , Tennessee , to take her oral history about living in Oak Ridge , Tennessee . Please state your full name and your place of birth and your date of birth . MRS . DAVIDSON : My name is Mary Ann Davidson . My date of birth is January 12 , 1925 . I was born in Louisville , Kentucky . I lived there all my early life until I graduated from college . MRS . DAVIDSON : My father was William H . Courtenay . He was born in 1890 , on March 3 . He was in World War I and lived his entire life in Louisville and Shelbyville , Kentucky . He worked for the Mengel Company . They imported mahogany and hardwood from Africa and Central America . He delivered those to customers . He didn 't consider himself a salesman , but he sold them to the furniture factory - furniture makers around Kentucky , mostly Indiana and Cincinnati and some in Tennessee . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , he did not . The Louisville Male High School was considered a fine school at that time . They said that graduates could enter Harvard in their second year . The principal had written textbooks that were apparently used all over . But my father was interested in raising ponies . His father had a farm in Shelbyville , Kentucky . If you 'd didn 't make the grade , you are special . And Dr . Ruben Post - Halleck , the famous principal of the school , told him if he took an exam in math , he could be entered back in . He did that , and he aced the test . He was back in . Then he was a special in English , so they told him if he memorized the " Lady of the Lake " and said that he could get back in school . So he did that . I think he never did finish . He was a twin , and his twin was more of an engineering type and went to manual training high school . MRS . DAVIDSON : She grew up in several small towns in western Kentucky . Her father worked for the L & N Railroad . She had her high school in Hopkinsville , Kentucky . She had to stay home - or she went to junior college nearby . She had a scholarship to Randolph Macon Women 's College , but she couldn 't take it because her mother was ill and died at age 50 . It was about the year I was born , I think . MRS . DAVIDSON : His name was William Howard Courtenay III . My father was named for his uncle , who was also William Howard . My older brother works for Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green in the physics department . He made instruments . My younger brother was a pediatrician in Louisville , and he is still living on a farm in Shelbyville . He 's interested in Kentucky antiques . MRS . DAVIDSON : I went to an unusual kindergarten and first grade . I was at what they called the Enterprise Branch of I . N . Bloom School . It was only kindergarten and first grade . It was in the older building , where we had a Pot Belly Stove . I think we had a maid to help us take our leggings off in the cold weather - galoshes . It was really a wonderful school . It was almost like a private one . It was public . We did things like making butter and we had an orchestra . I played the triangle . I had started a little bit earlier when my younger brother was born . Louisville had half semester , half - year grades . I would 've been a half year , but I skipped the last half of kindergarten . I went to the school board and took a test and went on , so they put me in the regular school year . I went through the big school the I . N . Bloom School and Highland Junior High School in Louisville . Then I went to Atherton High School for Girls . The Louisville public schools were segregated - boys and girls . There were about 900 girls at Atherton . My graduating class was about 200 , and I was the valedictorian . MRS . DAVIDSON : They are pants to keep your legs warm . They zipped up from the inside of the ankle bone up to about knee - high , I guess it was . They were a royal pain to take on and off , so the teacher had to have help to do that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was just ordinary . I 'm sure the girls wore dresses , and the little boys wore suits - not suits , but pants and shirts . MRS . DAVIDSON : I came to Oak Ridge after I graduated from college . I had two years of getting a master 's at Emory while I worked at my alma mater , Agnes Scott College in Decatur , Georgia . I was the chemistry lab instructor . So after those two years were up , I was interested in working in chemistry or biochemistry . My master 's was in biochemistry . In Louisville , there was nothing in that field , except liquor and paint - neither of which I was interested in . In Atlanta , I would like to stay in Atlanta , I heard that Oak Ridge was an interesting new place , and a lot was going on here . One of my dear college friends had recently married a physicist from the University of Kentucky , so I visited them here . I guess that must have been 1947 . Her husband was working at NEPA . He said they were looking for people with a chemistry degree . I applied , and I was accepted . I didn 't know that until I had completed the clearance , so I took the opportunity to go to Europe at an American youth hostel bicycle tour of Western Europe in the summer of 1948 . When I got home , I found that I had indeed gotten the job at Oak Ridge . So I came down here . MRS . DAVIDSON : I was wondering that . I think I came by train . When I interviewed earlier in the spring , my interview was at the Andrew Johnson Hotel . It was one of the private rooms . I had never seen the company here . I think I must have been met by a car and driver and brought to Oak Ridge . MRS . DAVIDSON : I came in through the Vermont Gateway , which is where the gas station is now on the corner of what I call Vermont . They call it North Rutgers now . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , I think it must 've been after that . That would 've been at Christmas time . When I applied , I imagine it was early spring . MRS . DAVIDSON : We called the company NEPA , for Nuclear Energy for the Propulsion of Aircraft . It was managed by the Fairchild Corporation the way Union Carbide or one of the other contractors managed the lab . I did not know until the first day I went to work just what the company was doing . They handed me a volume of information that said , " We are looking for - we are trying to make an airplane powered by nuclear energy that could fly to Russia and back without refueling . " That was a great shock to me . MRS . DAVIDSON : I lived in Columbia Hall Dormitory . I was very surprised to find that the rent was $ 15 a month until I realized it was one very small room . That was my living quarters . I took the opportunity to stay out of it as much as possible . I did that by babysitting in some of the B and D houses in the evening . Grandmothers were not here since it was a closed community . Babysitters were in short supply , and even though I didn 't need the money , it was good to get out of the dormitory . MRS . DAVIDSON : The dormitory was like Cheyenne Hall . It was the same type of building . It had wooden stairways from the second - floor hall down on each end . I lived on the second floor . Our dormitory was mostly nurses , since it was up on the hill next to the hospital - I think where the west parking lot is now . There was a kitchen on each end where we could have our own breakfast . Of course we were at the plant at lunchtime , and then we usually went out to supper . I opened the refrigerator door one morning and somebody 's milk came spilling out down my front . Everybody just stuffed things into the refrigerator . MRS . DAVIDSON : I had a single room with a twin bed and enough room to walk to the window by the bed . There was a little table that served as a desk with a chair . There was a much coveted dormitory dresser - a tall one with a number of drawers . They were very popular . MRS . DAVIDSON : They had a wonderful bus service here . Travel wasn 't really a problem . We walked , of course , from the dormitory to Jackson Square and ate supper usually at the Mayflower , which is where I first saw my husband - to - be . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was on the corner of Tennessee , right across from the Soup Kitchen and the Texaco gas station there on the northeast corner . It was a very popular place . In fact , there were several places you could eat . It was the Central Cafeteria , and the T & C Cafeteria in Jackson Square , which is about where the Epicurean is now toward the garden . MRS . DAVIDSON : It must 've been the A & P on Jackson Square . Jackson Square was really the center of activity as far as I was concerned at that time . I still love it . I hope it keeps going . MRS . DAVIDSON : The department stores - the big department store was Taylor 's at the time . They had a wonderful book department headed by Mrs . Keyes , whose daughter I knew at work . They had really fine art books and other books that they would have a great sale on once or twice a year . We were very happy with that . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was in the middle of the block between where Big Ed 's is in the corner . I guess it 's mostly used by the engineering company now . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , not frequently , but I went and saw - there was a theater down at Big Ed 's in Jackson Square and where the Playhouse is now . That was the main one . MRS . DAVIDSON : Henebree . McCrory 's 5 & 10 was there . There was a drugstore - a Service Drugstore . I guess that was where Big Ed 's is now , on the very corner . There was Jackson Square Pharmacy , and on the other side the Hamilton Bank was there next to the movie theater . And Samuel 's Men 's Store was a very nice store . The Jackson Square Pharmacy was there , but in between , which the Pharmacy later took over was a Kay 's Ice Cream Store . We used to go there and - my husband and I would when we were dating . I liked to get coffee with ice cream in it , so we went there . MRS . DAVIDSON : I can 't say that I do . It was just a given , I suppose . It didn 't make a big dent in my memory . After six months of the dormitory , I moved to a D house on Norman Lane . That was another era . MRS . DAVIDSON : A D house was a large three bedroom house . They were very much desired . They were really nice houses - still a lot of them are . The house was - there were five other girls who lived there - two of whom had been college friends . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , it would 've been upstairs . It was the second one to the end . A radiation technologist lived on the corner , and I lived there with school teachers and nurses who made up most of the dorm . MR . HUNNICUTT : Let 's talk a little bit about the dorm again . If I had a message for you or someone left a message for you , how did you retrieve your messages ? Was there a desk when you went in ? MRS . DAVIDSON : There was a desk downstairs . I remember the Valentine 's Day - I guess it must 've been 1949 . The message was that I had some flowers , some red roses . I had just met my husband - to - be at that time . I got all excited , and when I got to the desk , it was from somebody else . I enjoyed the red roses , but not as much as I might have . The thing was that there were ladies - a lot of the women who lived in the dorm worked on the night shift . They would sit around a large kind of living room , I guess they called it . They were all staring when I got flowers . I had to walk around , and it was embarrassing . MRS . DAVIDSON : I was there in the winter of 1948 . I 'm very cold natured , but I don 't remember being cold . We had those heavy navy blanket - navy blue blankets . This brings up a story if I jump to it later on . We were moved from the D house after another six months into the brand - new Garden Apartments on Villanova Road . They needed our D house for families . The people who moved in were the Andersons of the Anderson Hilltop Grocery . Of course , the furniture all belonged to the government there . So the Garden Apartments were not furnished , so we had dwindled down from 6 to 4 people who needed furniture . I took a day off and went to an auction the government set up down at the warehouses . I got seven beds and three or four dressers - much more than I could have used . But the beds were in great demand at work because all the young men who worked there were having children and needed beds . So we took the four . Also I got two sofas , and we could use but one ; so I sold one . They were really shabby awful sofas . Since it was all going to surplus anyway , we switched and took the nice sofa from the D house and left them the bad one . It was all taken away anyhow , so I didn 't feel too bad about that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't really remember about the telephone . We didn 't use the telephone much . We never used it for long - distance except for emergencies and calls home . I don 't remember that as being a problem particularly . MRS . DAVIDSON : I suppose I went on the bus . I did not have a car . One of the housemates from Norman Lane had gotten the car , but she would 've been at work at K - 25 . I don 't know . I may have gotten a ride . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess I paid somebody to deliver it . I don 't know . Maybe some of the fellows at work picked up their beds that they wanted . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was one of those warehouses down at the [ Oak Ridge ] Turnpike on Warehouse Road . I don 't know exactly where it was . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess it was on the bulletin boards at work , or there was a newspaper at the Lab . I guess I heard about it that way . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think probably so - in the newsletters they came around , also at the recreation building - the rec hall - at Jackson Square that was the library upstairs and the rec hall downstairs . Word - of - mouth - I don 't remember . We had a need and found the answer to it . MRS . DAVIDSON : I had to punch a clock at eight in the morning when I first started . I guess we got out at 4 : 30 or 5 o ' clock . We had bus service that went from the bus terminal - the Central one - that 's now by Bus Terminal Road . Later on after we were married , we lived on Waddell Circle and went from there to the Jefferson bus terminal . I went - I rode on the K - 25 bus , and they went out past K - 25 to the road that the powerhouse was on and NEPA was beyond that out by the river . MRS . DAVIDSON : There was some kind of management services office . I 'm not sure what it was called - the Roane Anderson Corporation at that time , I guess . I think that 's where I rented the dormitory room . I probably got bus tokens - I guess I got the tokens of the bus terminal . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think I had a checking account probably at Hamilton Bank in Jackson Square . I don 't recall otherwise . I know I did later . One thing I wanted to say about the buses - if you wanted to go to Clinton to do any shopping , more than what you could have in Oak Ridge or to meet somebody or something , there was a bus that ran frequently back and forth between the bus terminal and Clinton . There was a young man on the bus who had a sing - songy sales pitch for " peanuts , popcorn , Cracker Jacks , candy , and chewing gum . " He wouldn 't drive , but he would sell his wares all the way to Clinton and back . I always wondered who that was because he obviously had some talent . MRS . DAVIDSON : I 'm sure I did . I don 't know what became of it . I guess I had to turn it back in . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think somebody just got - one of the guards got on the bus and checked everybody 's badges . It was not a big thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : Probably . I don 't remember . What I do remember about that was my mother was coming down one time for my birthday - it must 've been in January 1949 . She rode the train . I told her that I would get a ride to meet her . Of course , the train didn 't stop at Oak Ridge . It went on to Knoxville , so I bummed a ride with one of the men in our group . He was actually the technical assistant to the director . His car was a broken down old thing with no floorboards in the back seat , which was pretty bad when my mother saw it . But she didn 't see it because when we got to Knoxville , she was not there . When we were coming back from the gateway entrance , she was not there . There was a message that she was waiting for us at the Elza Gate Station . She had told the conductor she had to get off at Oak Ridge . That 's where she was going , and I was going to meet her . So she slid down the Elza bank over there . She had my birthday cake - a large chocolate cake . She slid downhill with that , and somehow they stopped her at the guard gate at Elza . She waited there for us . MRS . DAVIDSON : Just for her - let her off like a milk train . They ordinarily didn 't stop there , but she wouldn 't have it otherwise . MRS . DAVIDSON : I used the library and rec hall . On Sunday afternoons , they played music ; and you could sit and write letters home , which is what I think I did a good bit . Later on in the better weather , there were tennis courts and a swimming pool . I don 't remember going to movies much . We went to church groups . There were so many young people ; it was just like a party all the time . Nothing in particular stands out . It was just fun . MRS . DAVIDSON : In the company I was , that was not true . There were a lot of women of course - of course , the dormitory was full of school teachers and nurses . But NEPA was mostly men . There were two parts to the Fairchild - the science and engineering part , which was bigger . I happen to be in the research part . My boss was a chemist - Vince Calkins . It was my job to - this was a real shocker to me - to find a chemical that would protect the human body against radiation for the reactor that was supposed to be in the airplane to Russia . I had no background for that kind of thing . I was just fresh out of college really . I realized I was out of my depth , but they decided - he was a pharmacist , I believe , and he wanted to do experiments with rats . They brought in the rat colony . By that time we had a couple of assistants , and I was supposed to be the group leader . One of the men , Ray Waldrop - you may have talked to him . I asked him if he minded working for a woman because he was really more experienced than I , although I had the degree . It was fine with him . There was also another worker , Saul Segal , who was quite a character in his own right . I took the rats in the cages over to the reactor , the " Old Lady " at X - 10 , and put them through what they called " rabbits " and radiated them for certain amount of time . We couldn 't kill the darn things . Then we used the older ones that had already been radiated , they were just tough as anything . I think the experiment was really a failure , although they may have found that to be the case in some later work with older people - that the cells are not dividing as fast and they 're not as subject to radiation . But we didn 't get into that . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was actually not K - 25 . It was beyond there . As I said , the bus took us - the bus dumped people off at K - 25 , and they went on west to just before you get to the Gallaher Bridge . You turn right there and go right past the power station there . It was used for a long time - the power house , and then NEPA was beyond that . The native rats came in - was it domestic experimental rats ? That was not good . I had a janitor who helped me , even though he could 've lost his job for doing it . He helped me clean cages . I always appreciated that . MRS . DAVIDSON : When they got rid of the rats , which was a blessing , my group leader then became Bill Browning , who was a fine scientist . He worked on the Van de Graaff generator . We had an interesting argument . Saul Segal thought he should be the one to do it since he was a man and I was a woman who would be leaving soon ; and it turned out that he left for California before I had left to have my baby . His argument didn 't hold with me anyway , but we argued about that some . We did run the Van de Graaff , and we also did some experiments on metallic sodium . It was nasty stuff to work with . It caught on fire if it was exposed to air . You had to work with that under oil in the glove box . I think that work all had to be repeated after NEPA left for Cincinnati with G . E . . When they moved part of NEPA to X - 10 , they called it the ANP , or something about aircraft and nuclear power . I was not connected with that because my first baby was born in August 1951 . I left in July . MRS . DAVIDSON : I heard somebody say that they had to repeat it all . My boss , the Division Director of Chemistry was interested in vitamin E , and thought it had a lot of protective influence . We worked with that . That was some of the work I did in chemistry - the lab part of it in the early days . It was not good work , I think . I 'm not blaming myself , but some of the other men who were doing chemical work - I think altogether we didn 't come up with anything . MRS . DAVIDSON : It may have been ahead of it 's time for nuclear submarines . I don 't know whether the engineering people thought that or not . In our group which was the chemistry and the physics , my friend who got me the job was Jim Trice . A fellow named Art Miller and somebody named Coneybearwere in the Physics Division . And then there were some others - Fred Maienschein . I did some work for him one time . It was work on beryllium for one thing . I didn 't work with any of the active beryllium . I didn 't do any lab work then , but I did some journal research . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't think they were that far along . I 'm not sure what happened to that part of it . As I said , in July of 1951 they moved to Cincinnati , Evensville , above Cincinnati . I don 't know how many people actually went up there . Most of my friends moved elsewhere . MR . HUNNICUTT : You mentioned the location of the operation was past the steam plant that was on the Clinch River . Was that the same location where the S - 50 project was located ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I think that was the name of our plot of land . I think those - I never was quite sure how they got the designations , but that was the Fairchild domain , I think . MRS . DAVIDSON : Really , it was just when our eyes met . It was very romantic . He followed our group home to the Columbia Hall to see where I lived . But at the time I thought he was too young , and I didn 't think he was following me . I was with a group of other girls . Later on , one of the women in the dormitory , who was a gym teacher in the Oak Ridge schools , told me I really ought to meet Jack Davidson that he loved to ride bicycles ; I was just back from my bicycle trip in Europe . I didn 't know who he was , and then I went to a church group meeting at my Presbyterian Church for young people one Sunday evening . A friend of mine had brought Jack Davidson , and he was the one whose eyes I had met and he had met mine . Sure enough , he loved to ride bicycles . That was the start of a good thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : We did a little bit . On our dates , that 's really what we did mostly at first . We rode out to West Outer Drive and had those wonderful big hills , not too much traffic at that time . We went out to the water tower at the top of Louisiana and had a picnic , and then rode back . When we got really good , we rode our bicycles over to Concord Park one day . I had gotten some chicken breasts at the grocery . I guess it was the A & P at Jackson Square . I was going to fry them for a picnic to take along over to Concord Park . When I went to the refrigerator to get them , they had turned into wings . Somebody had eaten my chicken breast . Jack was a good sport about that . He didn 't care . We had a nice ride . It was before they had improved Lovell Road . It was a pretty rough ride over there , but we were able to enjoy it . MRS . DAVIDSON : He had his bicycle . It was probably a Grey Stone . For me , he rented a bicycle from his work friend . I had forgotten what his name was . We went over to one of the D Streets , I think , and rode them . I didn 't have my English 3 - speed here . I guess I brought it later , but at that time I didn 't have it . MRS . DAVIDSON : That was a problem . I complained to my friend Jim Trice 's wife , Dot , who happened to live around the corner on Outer Drive at that time . She said the boardwalk was used a lot for dating , and of course the theaters . I guess we were outdoors people . I don 't know . MRS . DAVIDSON : He was a graduate of Georgia Tech . At the time he graduated , he was very young . He came up to see about a job , and he was drafted . No , he was in danger of being drafted right away , but they didn 't hire him . He did go to work for NASA , which was at that time NACA , in Virginia ; and worked over there a short time before he was taken into the Army . He had gone through Georgia Tech on a " War Manpower " loan . He was sent to some place to be an MP , I think . He wrote a night letter , which is a 50 - word telegram that was cheaper at night . He wrote a night letter to Stimson , the Secretary of War , telling them they had paid for his college education ; and here he was sitting in a camp doing nothing down in Alabama . He was transferred to the SED , he would never say that was the reason he was transferred . It may or may not have been . He arrived with the SED - he arrived in Oak Ridge the day Roosevelt died , which was in April 1945 , he was here with his group for maybe six weeks before they went out to Los Alamos . So he spent the rest of the war out there . Then he used his G . I . Bill - he stayed on at Los Alamos . They told them they would let him out of the Army if he would agree to stay on as a civilian . So he took that . Then when he did leave , he went to Annapolis and took a liberal arts course because he felt that he had missed out on it at Georgia Tech . He had a year at St . John 's College of Annapolis ; and then all along I guess he thought he would like to come back here . He came back - he arrived on Armistice Day , now Veterans Day , of 1948 . I was here a couple of months before he came , but we met shortly after Christmas in 1949 . MRS . DAVIDSON : Too long . We were married in May 1950 . He wanted to pay off his loan before we could get married , so I helped him along with that . I fed him some . He was very welcome at the D House of girls . I was going to tell you that during the war , there were nine girls in the house , and they slept on shifts on the bunk beds . There were only six of us when I was there . There were a couple of the boyfriends around , and one of them cut the grass . I think Jack did the - empty the clinkers from the furnace , the coal furnace . They made themselves useful . They got their dinner . MRS . DAVIDSON : Most of the houses were a very good design really , and a whole lot better built than we gave them credit for . But each one that I knew of had a corner set off or closed off as a coal storage place that could be filled through a window from the outside , and then you could use the - there was an opening on the inside that you could use to put coal into the furnace . That was awful of course , but that 's what all the houses were doing in that time , too . We had a yard full of clinkers over there . MRS . DAVIDSON : We were taken care of by a Big Brother - the government . They brought the coal around , and you didn 't do a thing . That was part of the rent . When we got our house here on Orange Lane , that 's another story . Are you ready for that yet ? MRS . DAVIDSON : We went back to my home in Louisville , Kentucky , to be married . We had planned to fly to Nashville , but it turned out the Delta Queen was coming through Louisville the next morning . My mother had told us we could not get married the week before because it was too busy with Derby Day . So we delayed until May 13 . Then we spent the night in Louisville at the Brown Hotel , where she pulled some strings to get us a room because it was still very full of visitors from the Derby . We got on the Delta Queen , and our friends were all on the dock to see us off . They had us almost convinced that we were on Daylight Saving Time , and the Delta Queen was not , and we had missed it . But we rode down just as far as Paducah . We were anxious to start in life you know . We lived on Wadell Circle in a K apartment . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was a two - story thing . I guess it was a two - bedroom up above , and we had K - 1 . It was sort of underground at the front and open at the back . We had a nice back porch . There was a closet under the stairway and a very small kitchen . It had a table that folded down . It was not as compact as a flattop , but the furnishings that they had did double duty . You could fold it up and have more room . MRS . DAVIDSON : The K apartment was heated with the coal furnace , but there was a janitor who came around and took care of it for us . We were taken care of by Roane Anderson . MRS . DAVIDSON : We lived in the K from May 1950 , until we got this house in July 1952 . It was said - the word around town was that you couldn 't get a two - bedroom house unless you had three children , all of different sex . We had been on the list for this house ever since we knew our daughter was coming along . That was a long time to wait . We had been offered two houses - Florida Avenue , where the parking was across the street and the backyard just dropped off . We thought that was totally unsuitable for a new child . We turned both of those down . If we had turned this one down , we would 've gone to the bottom of the long list . But we loved this place of the trees and the dead end lane neighborhood . So we sat outside in front all weekend because we were not top on the list . The reason the other people didn 't take it was that the previous owner , Jim Cox and Charlotte , had put in an oil furnace ; and nobody wanted to pay $ 200 for the oil furnace . Since I had been working , we had saved my salary from work , and we had $ 200 to pay . Also , they didn 't want to be in the high rent district . This house rented for something like $ 45 instead of $ 43 in the lower rent districts . MRS . DAVIDSON : The Oak Ridge cemesto houses that were built - I think this house was built in the fall of 1944 or 1943 . Maybe it was ' 43 . The B house has two bedrooms and of course a bath and a kitchen with a dinette into a long narrow living room . It was about 24 feet by 40 something feet . It was small and convenient . It didn 't have much storage space , but it 's been a wonderful house for us because of the trees . We are on a greenbelt , and I enjoy that very much . It 's a nice private neighborhood just above Jackson Square . MRS . DAVIDSON : Our cemesto has a fireplace , and it had a complete brick wall . Some of the B houses had a brick wall just beyond the fireplace . MRS . DAVIDSON : There are hardwood floors in all the cemestos , I believe . Our house has maple flooring , and a lot of them had oak . Wood was hard to come by in the wartime . We love the color - the reddish color of the maple . MRS . DAVIDSON : Adele is our second daughter , and she was two years younger . Our son is Bill Davidson or William . He was born in November of 1954 . He 's just now turning 58 . MRS . DAVIDSON : All three of our children went to Cedar Hill . They had split grades there , so I think the classes were one half size . They would take the kids a half from one grade , and half from the next grade , and that worked out just fine . MRS . DAVIDSON : Cedar Hill was wonderful . It was very special . Mr . Dodd was the principal , and he saw to it - he had the best teachers or at least as good as any . Actually in those days all the teachers and Oak Ridge were special because many of them had been recruited from Columbia Teachers College , along with the superintendent . Others were specially recruited for the job . They were a group a part , I think , from a lot of teachers . MRS . DAVIDSON : The girls both went to Jefferson when it was on the hill at Jackson Square , and Bill was in the first year at the new Jefferson that was over on Fairbanks Road . His was the first class there . They all went through Oak Ridge High . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you recall some of the classes your daughters took while they were in junior high ? Was there Home Ec . or things related to girls ? MRS . DAVIDSON : No , they were on the college prep track . They took eighth grade algebra and that kind of thing . Of course English and math and social studies and science - our older girl I think took biology ; and I 'm not sure if Adele had a more general science course . It just depended on the teacher that they had . They had an excellent education , and the girls were both Merit semifinalists . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course . I was in the PTA . I 'm not sure if I was ever a room mother , but I of course helped with parties and things . MRS . DAVIDSON : The teachers recruited them from each class to help with parties mostly . They helped with any activities that they didn 't really have time to do . MRS . DAVIDSON : Parent - Teacher Association , a time honored group . It got extra things for the school . I got involved with raincoats for the school patrol . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess maybe I was a treasurer of the Cedar Hill PTA , and this goal was to get those yellow slicker raincoat so kids could be visible to the drivers . I found out how much the things cost , and then I estimated postage . At the PTA meeting , Alvin Weinberg was president . He had a son or two in school at the time . He took me to task for estimating the postage , so I had to ask for just the money for the coats themselves since I didn 't really know what the postage is going to be . I thought that was interesting that he wanted to keep it to the exact penny . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think they just wore what the other kids wore . One day we had a deep snow and Bill was in kindergarten , and the snow was up over their boots . I think he had some corduroys . The teacher was making the kids take their pants off and dry them on the radiator , and he wouldn 't do it . I had to go up to the school and take him some fresh pants , some dry clothes . He was very young - just four when he started . MR . HUNNICUTT : Let 's go back a few years . Do you remember 1945 when they dropped the bomb on Japan ? You remember where you were ? And what was your reaction ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I do remember that very clearly because it was the summer after my junior year in college , and I was a camp counselor up in Door County , Wisconsin . There was no electricity at the camp , so we counselors - after we got the kids to bed , went to the state park nearby . This was at Fish Creek , Wisconsin . We would listen to people 's car radios . We knew for about a week that something was happening , but we didn 't know just what . It was very deeply moving when the bomb was dropped , and we thought it would bring an end to the war . Of course , I had friends and a brother on Guam and a cousin was in Europe and others . So that was very deeply moving . I had a book of poetry - my favorite poems at the camp with me . One of my 12 - year - olds picked out a poem - " Once to every man and nation comes a moment to decide " - she read that , and I thought that was very astute of her , a youngster to be able to do that . MRS . DAVIDSON : My husband thought they should have dropped a sample first , but I didn 't feel that way since the first bomb didn 't phase the Japanese . I didn 't think the test one would have either . I was just so glad that the war was over . People could settle down and get into real life again . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think I was in transition from the dormitory to the house , and my husband 's brothers came up from Georgia to witness the opening . So we drove in their car around , and we watched the parade from , I believe , down on the eastern end of the Turnpike down near the warehouses to get out of the traffic . We never could figure out why they invited Marie " The Body " McDonald and [ inaudible ] to ride in the open car for the parade . We couldn 't figure out what they had to do with it , but we did see the burning of the magnesium ribbon . That was exciting . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was only toward town from Elza Gate . I know the central part of town , the Jackson Square area , was very crowded . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think they name the streets for famous cities in the country , and of course the alphabetical designations were very helpful . But Jackson Square , I assume , was named for New Orleans . That 's all I know about it . MRS . DAVIDSON : Sometimes you would pick up the telephone , and the other party was talking . I believe they had different rings . I think maybe the other party had one ring , and we had two . There were four - party lines , but if we were on a four - party line , only the other one was active . I think maybe we were . The other two lines were not being used . MR . HUNNICUTT : When you are raising your family , did you hang your clothes outside on the clothesline ? Did you have a dryer ? What did you use ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I hung them outside on the clothesline . As I said , when we moved here , Anne was a year old . Not much more than three years after that , we had three babies . I was able to talk my husband into getting a dryer that time . Before that , he had built a pulley out of my kitchen window . There was a drop off in the back , and he was able to string it to a tree in the woods . I was able to reel those cloth diapers and reel them in and out . The only problem was that the birds like the trees , too . Sometimes I had to do some re - washing . MR . HUNNICUTT : So in those days you use cloth diapers ? Today we use disposable diapers . How do you think you would 've done if you had disposable diapers ? MRS . DAVIDSON : At one point , when our children were out playing Kick the Can , there were over 40 children on the lane . There were about 20 or 21 houses . There were almost as many dogs . It was just a glorious place for them to grow up . They seem to get along remarkably well most of the time , especially in the early days . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes . We went down there on the opening , and got the radioactive dimes on that occasion . The museum at that time was down at Jefferson Circle . I don 't think any of us ever had our hair stand out on the Van De Graff generator or whatever it was , but we took the children . We went out ourselves . Of course my husband was interested in that kind of thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : Sometimes they walked to Jefferson , but by that time they were carrying pretty heavy books . One of the neighbors on Outer Drive wanted to have a carpool , so we joined that . MRS . DAVIDSON : When Anne was in the fifth grade , they had to write what they did on Friday nights . The teacher would call me and say , " Is it true that you gave your children ice water and watched TV on Friday nights ? " That was how generous we were with them . We didn 't get a TV until they were probably five or six years old . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course it was black and white . The reason we got it - I guess finally it was that the children were always going to the neighbors ' house to watch TV . We decided that we should get our own . They watched things like " Pinky Lee " and I 've forgotten what else . MRS . DAVIDSON : I remember that fondly because my first real date with my husband was going to dinner there with him . He invited me to go to a concert in Knoxville , and his excuse was that we should get to know each other better before he took me to the city with him . That was one thing . I remember there were parties there , and our company had a party at the Oak Terrace Ballroom . One of the NEPA fellows wore a Tarzan costume , which was mostly nothing . It turned out that he lived in the neighborhood . MRS . DAVIDSON : That was just below the dormitory where I lived in Columbia Hall . Jack went there looking for me , he thought I would eat breakfast there and then he could have breakfast with me ; but I ate in the dormitory . He didn 't find me there . When we came back from our bicycle ride to Concord Park , I remember we stopped by there , and he drank two or three Mountain Dew drinks . That surprised me , but we had worked off a lot of sweat . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , we took our children out there and saw " Lawrence of Arabia " and " The 10 Commandment " and those things . It was quite nice . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was about where Kroger 's - where that is now , on the southeast part of Illinois Avenue . It was a nice thing . That was a special treat for the children to go out there . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't think so . I think they were mostly in the car . They had a drawing one time , Jack won something . It was actually nothing , but he did win . MRS . DAVIDSON : I sure did . My three children were born there . It was a green structure , like so many of the buildings in Oak Ridge . I guess the present building is built on that place . It was okay . I didn 't have any problems with it , except after my second child . I had a staph infection from the hospital . Even an Army wife with a private room got an infection there . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , I think they also had been recruited ; and a lot of them were from Tulane University . The time I was sick with my infection , they were having a reunion at Tulane , and my doctor and another one were gone for the reunion . I didn 't like the one who took care of me . He didn 't do a good job . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was okay . I don 't remember having any problems with it . We knew Dr . Rogers from our church , and we went to him . He was called away to the service , I believe . Maybe it was the Korean War , but then he came back . MRS . DAVIDSON : We met at Pine Valley School . The choir sat on the bleachers , and the minister sat under the halo of the basketball net . My husband was a Methodist , and he went to the First Methodist Church . They had a big youth group there . When we were first married , we tried to take them both in . We went to Sunday school one place , and church another until we finally settled on the Presbyterian . It was smaller , and we knew more people . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course the people . I love my trees and my house . I love all the activities . Both my husband and I have always loved music and enjoy the concerts a lot . The symphony concerts with Waldo Cohn conducting were held at Jefferson Junior High on the Kentucky Avenue hill . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you think back about all the people that you knew in the early days ? Do you think it was unusual for everybody to get along - the many people that were here ? MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , I guess so . I didn 't think about it because we just did . It was just fun . Everybody was away from home , and we had to be family for each other . That was particularly true in this close neighborhood . MRS . DAVIDSON : I 'm pleased for the most part . I think we 've made good progress . We 've kept up with the outside world . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think we came through at the very best of times . It was not the pressure of war , but we were growing community . I think things were happening at the Lab . Both of my husband and I loved the Lab because there were so many good things going on out there . It gives us hope for the future . [ Editor 's Note : This transcript has been edited at Mrs . Davidson 's request . The corresponding audio and video components have remained unchanged . ] Click tabs to swap between content that is broken into logical sections . MR . HUNNICUTT : This interview is for the Center of Oak Ridge Oral History . The date is November 8 , 2012 . I am Don Hunnicutt in the home of Mrs . Mary Ann Davidson , 117 Orange Lane , Oak Ridge , Tennessee , to take her oral history about living in Oak Ridge , Tennessee . Please state your full name and your place of birth and your date of birth . MRS . DAVIDSON : My name is Mary Ann Davidson . My date of birth is January 12 , 1925 . I was born in Louisville , Kentucky . I lived there all my early life until I graduated from college . MRS . DAVIDSON : My father was William H . Courtenay . He was born in 1890 , on March 3 . He was in World War I and lived his entire life in Louisville and Shelbyville , Kentucky . He worked for the Mengel Company . They imported mahogany and hardwood from Africa and Central America . He delivered those to customers . He didn 't consider himself a salesman , but he sold them to the furniture factory - furniture makers around Kentucky , mostly Indiana and Cincinnati and some in Tennessee . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , he did not . The Louisville Male High School was considered a fine school at that time . They said that graduates could enter Harvard in their second year . The principal had written textbooks that were apparently used all over . But my father was interested in raising ponies . His father had a farm in Shelbyville , Kentucky . If you 'd didn 't make the grade , you are special . And Dr . Ruben Post - Halleck , the famous principal of the school , told him if he took an exam in math , he could be entered back in . He did that , and he aced the test . He was back in . Then he was a special in English , so they told him if he memorized the " Lady of the Lake " and said that he could get back in school . So he did that . I think he never did finish . He was a twin , and his twin was more of an engineering type and went to manual training high school . MR . HUNNICUTT : What about your mother 's school history ? MRS . DAVIDSON : She grew up in several small towns in western Kentucky . Her father worked for the L & N Railroad . She had her high school in Hopkinsville , Kentucky . She had to stay home - or she went to junior college nearby . She had a scholarship to Randolph Macon Women 's College , but she couldn 't take it because her mother was ill and died at age 50 . It was about the year I was born , I think . MRS . DAVIDSON : His name was William Howard Courtenay III . My father was named for his uncle , who was also William Howard . My older brother works for Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green in the physics department . He made instruments . My younger brother was a pediatrician in Louisville , and he is still living on a farm in Shelbyville . He 's interested in Kentucky antiques . MR . HUNNICUTT : Yes . MRS . DAVIDSON : I went to an unusual kindergarten and first grade . I was at what they called the Enterprise Branch of I . N . Bloom School . It was only kindergarten and first grade . It was in the older building , where we had a Pot Belly Stove . I think we had a maid to help us take our leggings off in the cold weather - galoshes . It was really a wonderful school . It was almost like a private one . It was public . We did things like making butter and we had an orchestra . I played the triangle . I had started a little bit earlier when my younger brother was born . Louisville had half semester , half - year grades . I would 've been a half year , but I skipped the last half of kindergarten . I went to the school board and took a test and went on , so they put me in the regular school year . I went through the big school the I . N . Bloom School and Highland Junior High School in Louisville . Then I went to Atherton High School for Girls . The Louisville public schools were segregated - boys and girls . There were about 900 girls at Atherton . My graduating class was about 200 , and I was the valedictorian . MRS . DAVIDSON : They are pants to keep your legs warm . They zipped up from the inside of the ankle bone up to about knee - high , I guess it was . They were a royal pain to take on and off , so the teacher had to have help to do that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was just ordinary . I 'm sure the girls wore dresses , and the little boys wore suits - not suits , but pants and shirts . MRS . DAVIDSON : I came to Oak Ridge after I graduated from college . I had two years of getting a master 's at Emory while I worked at my alma mater , Agnes Scott College in Decatur , Georgia . I was the chemistry lab instructor . So after those two years were up , I was interested in working in chemistry or biochemistry . My master 's was in biochemistry . In Louisville , there was nothing in that field , except liquor and paint - neither of which I was interested in . In Atlanta , I would like to stay in Atlanta , I heard that Oak Ridge was an interesting new place , and a lot was going on here . One of my dear college friends had recently married a physicist from the University of Kentucky , so I visited them here . I guess that must have been 1947 . Her husband was working at NEPA . He said they were looking for people with a chemistry degree . I applied , and I was accepted . I didn 't know that until I had completed the clearance , so I took the opportunity to go to Europe at an American youth hostel bicycle tour of Western Europe in the summer of 1948 . When I got home , I found that I had indeed gotten the job at Oak Ridge . So I came down here . MRS . DAVIDSON : I was wondering that . I think I came by train . When I interviewed earlier in the spring , my interview was at the Andrew Johnson Hotel . It was one of the private rooms . I had never seen the company here . I think I must have been met by a car and driver and brought to Oak Ridge . MRS . DAVIDSON : I came in through the Vermont Gateway , which is where the gas station is now on the corner of what I call Vermont . They call it North Rutgers now . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , I think it must 've been after that . That would 've been at Christmas time . When I applied , I imagine it was early spring . MRS . DAVIDSON : We called the company NEPA , for Nuclear Energy for the Propulsion of Aircraft . It was managed by the Fairchild Corporation the way Union Carbide or one of the other contractors managed the lab . I did not know until the first day I went to work just what the company was doing . They handed me a volume of information that said , " We are looking for - we are trying to make an airplane powered by nuclear energy that could fly to Russia and back without refueling . " That was a great shock to me . MRS . DAVIDSON : I lived in Columbia Hall Dormitory . I was very surprised to find that the rent was $ 15 a month until I realized it was one very small room . That was my living quarters . I took the opportunity to stay out of it as much as possible . I did that by babysitting in some of the B and D houses in the evening . Grandmothers were not here since it was a closed community . Babysitters were in short supply , and even though I didn 't need the money , it was good to get out of the dormitory . MRS . DAVIDSON : The dormitory was like Cheyenne Hall . It was the same type of building . It had wooden stairways from the second - floor hall down on each end . I lived on the second floor . Our dormitory was mostly nurses , since it was up on the hill next to the hospital - I think where the west parking lot is now . There was a kitchen on each end where we could have our own breakfast . Of course we were at the plant at lunchtime , and then we usually went out to supper . I opened the refrigerator door one morning and somebody 's milk came spilling out down my front . Everybody just stuffed things into the refrigerator . MRS . DAVIDSON : I had a single room with a twin bed and enough room to walk to the window by the bed . There was a little table that served as a desk with a chair . There was a much coveted dormitory dresser - a tall one with a number of drawers . They were very popular . MRS . DAVIDSON : They had a wonderful bus service here . Travel wasn 't really a problem . We walked , of course , from the dormitory to Jackson Square and ate supper usually at the Mayflower , which is where I first saw my husband - to - be . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was on the corner of Tennessee , right across from the Soup Kitchen and the Texaco gas station there on the northeast corner . It was a very popular place . In fact , there were several places you could eat . It was the Central Cafeteria , and the T & C Cafeteria in Jackson Square , which is about where the Epicurean is now toward the garden . MRS . DAVIDSON : It must 've been the A & P on Jackson Square . Jackson Square was really the center of activity as far as I was concerned at that time . I still love it . I hope it keeps going . MRS . DAVIDSON : The department stores - the big department store was Taylor 's at the time . They had a wonderful book department headed by Mrs . Keyes , whose daughter I knew at work . They had really fine art books and other books that they would have a great sale on once or twice a year . We were very happy with that . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was in the middle of the block between where Big Ed 's is in the corner . I guess it 's mostly used by the engineering company now . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , not frequently , but I went and saw - there was a theater down at Big Ed 's in Jackson Square and where the Playhouse is now . That was the main one . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , the jewelry store was on the corner that was Henebree 's , I think . No , that was Heneger 's . MR . HUNNICUTT : Henebree ? MRS . DAVIDSON : Henebree . McCrory 's 5 & 10 was there . There was a drugstore - a Service Drugstore . I guess that was where Big Ed 's is now , on the very corner . There was Jackson Square Pharmacy , and on the other side the Hamilton Bank was there next to the movie theater . And Samuel 's Men 's Store was a very nice store . The Jackson Square Pharmacy was there , but in between , which the Pharmacy later took over was a Kay 's Ice Cream Store . We used to go there and - my husband and I would when we were dating . I liked to get coffee with ice cream in it , so we went there . MR . HUNNICUTT : I believe that was Taff Moody Ice Cream - they served Kay 's Ice Cream . MRS . DAVIDSON : Was it ? I didn 't remember that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I can 't say that I do . It was just a given , I suppose . It didn 't make a big dent in my memory . After six months of the dormitory , I moved to a D house on Norman Lane . That was another era . MR . HUNNICUTT : What is a D house ? MRS . DAVIDSON : A D house was a large three bedroom house . They were very much desired . They were really nice houses - still a lot of them are . The house was - there were five other girls who lived there - two of whom had been college friends . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , it would 've been upstairs . It was the second one to the end . A radiation technologist lived on the corner , and I lived there with school teachers and nurses who made up most of the dorm . MR . HUNNICUTT : Let 's talk a little bit about the dorm again . If I had a message for you or someone left a message for you , how did you retrieve your messages ? Was there a desk when you went in ? MRS . DAVIDSON : There was a desk downstairs . I remember the Valentine 's Day - I guess it must 've been 1949 . The message was that I had some flowers , some red roses . I had just met my husband - to - be at that time . I got all excited , and when I got to the desk , it was from somebody else . I enjoyed the red roses , but not as much as I might have . The thing was that there were ladies - a lot of the women who lived in the dorm worked on the night shift . They would sit around a large kind of living room , I guess they called it . They were all staring when I got flowers . I had to walk around , and it was embarrassing . MRS . DAVIDSON : I was there in the winter of 1948 . I 'm very cold natured , but I don 't remember being cold . We had those heavy navy blanket - navy blue blankets . This brings up a story if I jump to it later on . We were moved from the D house after another six months into the brand - new Garden Apartments on Villanova Road . They needed our D house for families . The people who moved in were the Andersons of the Anderson Hilltop Grocery . Of course , the furniture all belonged to the government there . So the Garden Apartments were not furnished , so we had dwindled down from 6 to 4 people who needed furniture . I took a day off and went to an auction the government set up down at the warehouses . I got seven beds and three or four dressers - much more than I could have used . But the beds were in great demand at work because all the young men who worked there were having children and needed beds . So we took the four . Also I got two sofas , and we could use but one ; so I sold one . They were really shabby awful sofas . Since it was all going to surplus anyway , we switched and took the nice sofa from the D house and left them the bad one . It was all taken away anyhow , so I didn 't feel too bad about that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't really remember about the telephone . We didn 't use the telephone much . We never used it for long - distance except for emergencies and calls home . I don 't remember that as being a problem particularly . MRS . DAVIDSON : I suppose I went on the bus . I did not have a car . One of the housemates from Norman Lane had gotten the car , but she would 've been at work at K - 25 . I don 't know . I may have gotten a ride . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess I paid somebody to deliver it . I don 't know . Maybe some of the fellows at work picked up their beds that they wanted . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was one of those warehouses down at the [ Oak Ridge ] Turnpike on Warehouse Road . I don 't know exactly where it was . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess it was on the bulletin boards at work , or there was a newspaper at the Lab . I guess I heard about it that way . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think probably so - in the newsletters they came around , also at the recreation building - the rec hall - at Jackson Square that was the library upstairs and the rec hall downstairs . Word - of - mouth - I don 't remember . We had a need and found the answer to it . MRS . DAVIDSON : I had to punch a clock at eight in the morning when I first started . I guess we got out at 4 : 30 or 5 o ' clock . We had bus service that went from the bus terminal - the Central one - that 's now by Bus Terminal Road . Later on after we were married , we lived on Waddell Circle and went from there to the Jefferson bus terminal . I went - I rode on the K - 25 bus , and they went out past K - 25 to the road that the powerhouse was on and NEPA was beyond that out by the river . MRS . DAVIDSON : There was some kind of management services office . I 'm not sure what it was called - the Roane Anderson Corporation at that time , I guess . I think that 's where I rented the dormitory room . I probably got bus tokens - I guess I got the tokens of the bus terminal . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think I had a checking account probably at Hamilton Bank in Jackson Square . I don 't recall otherwise . I know I did later . One thing I wanted to say about the buses - if you wanted to go to Clinton to do any shopping , more than what you could have in Oak Ridge or to meet somebody or something , there was a bus that ran frequently back and forth between the bus terminal and Clinton . There was a young man on the bus who had a sing - songy sales pitch for " peanuts , popcorn , Cracker Jacks , candy , and chewing gum . " He wouldn 't drive , but he would sell his wares all the way to Clinton and back . I always wondered who that was because he obviously had some talent . MRS . DAVIDSON : I 'm sure I did . I don 't know what became of it . I guess I had to turn it back in . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think somebody just got - one of the guards got on the bus and checked everybody 's badges . It was not a big thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : Probably . I don 't remember . What I do remember about that was my mother was coming down one time for my birthday - it must 've been in January 1949 . She rode the train . I told her that I would get a ride to meet her . Of course , the train didn 't stop at Oak Ridge . It went on to Knoxville , so I bummed a ride with one of the men in our group . He was actually the technical assistant to the director . His car was a broken down old thing with no floorboards in the back seat , which was pretty bad when my mother saw it . But she didn 't see it because when we got to Knoxville , she was not there . When we were coming back from the gateway entrance , she was not there . There was a message that she was waiting for us at the Elza Gate Station . She had told the conductor she had to get off at Oak Ridge . That 's where she was going , and I was going to meet her . So she slid down the Elza bank over there . She had my birthday cake - a large chocolate cake . She slid downhill with that , and somehow they stopped her at the guard gate at Elza . She waited there for us . MRS . DAVIDSON : Just for her - let her off like a milk train . They ordinarily didn 't stop there , but she wouldn 't have it otherwise . MRS . DAVIDSON : I used the library and rec hall . On Sunday afternoons , they played music ; and you could sit and write letters home , which is what I think I did a good bit . Later on in the better weather , there were tennis courts and a swimming pool . I don 't remember going to movies much . We went to church groups . There were so many young people ; it was just like a party all the time . Nothing in particular stands out . It was just fun . MRS . DAVIDSON : In the company I was , that was not true . There were a lot of women of course - of course , the dormitory was full of school teachers and nurses . But NEPA was mostly men . There were two parts to the Fairchild - the science and engineering part , which was bigger . I happen to be in the research part . My boss was a chemist - Vince Calkins . It was my job to - this was a real shocker to me - to find a chemical that would protect the human body against radiation for the reactor that was supposed to be in the airplane to Russia . I had no background for that kind of thing . I was just fresh out of college really . I realized I was out of my depth , but they decided - he was a pharmacist , I believe , and he wanted to do experiments with rats . They brought in the rat colony . By that time we had a couple of assistants , and I was supposed to be the group leader . One of the men , Ray Waldrop - you may have talked to him . I asked him if he minded working for a woman because he was really more experienced than I , although I had the degree . It was fine with him . There was also another worker , Saul Segal , who was quite a character in his own right . I took the rats in the cages over to the reactor , the " Old Lady " at X - 10 , and put them through what they called " rabbits " and radiated them for certain amount of time . We couldn 't kill the darn things . Then we used the older ones that had already been radiated , they were just tough as anything . I think the experiment was really a failure , although they may have found that to be the case in some later work with older people - that the cells are not dividing as fast and they 're not as subject to radiation . But we didn 't get into that . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was actually not K - 25 . It was beyond there . As I said , the bus took us - the bus dumped people off at K - 25 , and they went on west to just before you get to the Gallaher Bridge . You turn right there and go right past the power station there . It was used for a long time - the power house , and then NEPA was beyond that . The native rats came in - was it domestic experimental rats ? That was not good . I had a janitor who helped me , even though he could 've lost his job for doing it . He helped me clean cages . I always appreciated that . MRS . DAVIDSON : When they got rid of the rats , which was a blessing , my group leader then became Bill Browning , who was a fine scientist . He worked on the Van de Graaff generator . We had an interesting argument . Saul Segal thought he should be the one to do it since he was a man and I was a woman who would be leaving soon ; and it turned out that he left for California before I had left to have my baby . His argument didn 't hold with me anyway , but we argued about that some . We did run the Van de Graaff , and we also did some experiments on metallic sodium . It was nasty stuff to work with . It caught on fire if it was exposed to air . You had to work with that under oil in the glove box . I think that work all had to be repeated after NEPA left for Cincinnati with G . E . . When they moved part of NEPA to X - 10 , they called it the ANP , or something about aircraft and nuclear power . I was not connected with that because my first baby was born in August 1951 . I left in July . MRS . DAVIDSON : I heard somebody say that they had to repeat it all . My boss , the Division Director of Chemistry was interested in vitamin E , and thought it had a lot of protective influence . We worked with that . That was some of the work I did in chemistry - the lab part of it in the early days . It was not good work , I think . I 'm not blaming myself , but some of the other men who were doing chemical work - I think altogether we didn 't come up with anything . MRS . DAVIDSON : It may have been ahead of it 's time for nuclear submarines . I don 't know whether the engineering people thought that or not . In our group which was the chemistry and the physics , my friend who got me the job was Jim Trice . A fellow named Art Miller and somebody named Coneybearwere in the Physics Division . And then there were some others - Fred Maienschein . I did some work for him one time . It was work on beryllium for one thing . I didn 't work with any of the active beryllium . I didn 't do any lab work then , but I did some journal research . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't think they were that far along . I 'm not sure what happened to that part of it . As I said , in July of 1951 they moved to Cincinnati , Evensville , above Cincinnati . I don 't know how many people actually went up there . Most of my friends moved elsewhere . MR . HUNNICUTT : You mentioned the location of the operation was past the steam plant that was on the Clinch River . Was that the same location where the S - 50 project was located ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I think that was the name of our plot of land . I think those - I never was quite sure how they got the designations , but that was the Fairchild domain , I think . MRS . DAVIDSON : Really , it was just when our eyes met . It was very romantic . He followed our group home to the Columbia Hall to see where I lived . But at the time I thought he was too young , and I didn 't think he was following me . I was with a group of other girls . Later on , one of the women in the dormitory , who was a gym teacher in the Oak Ridge schools , told me I really ought to meet Jack Davidson that he loved to ride bicycles ; I was just back from my bicycle trip in Europe . I didn 't know who he was , and then I went to a church group meeting at my Presbyterian Church for young people one Sunday evening . A friend of mine had brought Jack Davidson , and he was the one whose eyes I had met and he had met mine . Sure enough , he loved to ride bicycles . That was the start of a good thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : We did a little bit . On our dates , that 's really what we did mostly at first . We rode out to West Outer Drive and had those wonderful big hills , not too much traffic at that time . We went out to the water tower at the top of Louisiana and had a picnic , and then rode back . When we got really good , we rode our bicycles over to Concord Park one day . I had gotten some chicken breasts at the grocery . I guess it was the A & P at Jackson Square . I was going to fry them for a picnic to take along over to Concord Park . When I went to the refrigerator to get them , they had turned into wings . Somebody had eaten my chicken breast . Jack was a good sport about that . He didn 't care . We had a nice ride . It was before they had improved Lovell Road . It was a pretty rough ride over there , but we were able to enjoy it . MRS . DAVIDSON : He had his bicycle . It was probably a Grey Stone . For me , he rented a bicycle from his work friend . I had forgotten what his name was . We went over to one of the D Streets , I think , and rode them . I didn 't have my English 3 - speed here . I guess I brought it later , but at that time I didn 't have it . MRS . DAVIDSON : That was a problem . I complained to my friend Jim Trice 's wife , Dot , who happened to live around the corner on Outer Drive at that time . She said the boardwalk was used a lot for dating , and of course the theaters . I guess we were outdoors people . I don 't know . MRS . DAVIDSON : He was a graduate of Georgia Tech . At the time he graduated , he was very young . He came up to see about a job , and he was drafted . No , he was in danger of being drafted right away , but they didn 't hire him . He did go to work for NASA , which was at that time NACA , in Virginia ; and worked over there a short time before he was taken into the Army . He had gone through Georgia Tech on a " War Manpower " loan . He was sent to some place to be an MP , I think . He wrote a night letter , which is a 50 - word telegram that was cheaper at night . He wrote a night letter to Stimson , the Secretary of War , telling them they had paid for his college education ; and here he was sitting in a camp doing nothing down in Alabama . He was transferred to the SED , he would never say that was the reason he was transferred . It may or may not have been . He arrived with the SED - he arrived in Oak Ridge the day Roosevelt died , which was in April 1945 , he was here with his group for maybe six weeks before they went out to Los Alamos . So he spent the rest of the war out there . Then he used his G . I . Bill - he stayed on at Los Alamos . They told them they would let him out of the Army if he would agree to stay on as a civilian . So he took that . Then when he did leave , he went to Annapolis and took a liberal arts course because he felt that he had missed out on it at Georgia Tech . He had a year at St . John 's College of Annapolis ; and then all along I guess he thought he would like to come back here . He came back - he arrived on Armistice Day , now Veterans Day , of 1948 . I was here a couple of months before he came , but we met shortly after Christmas in 1949 . MRS . DAVIDSON : Too long . We were married in May 1950 . He wanted to pay off his loan before we could get married , so I helped him along with that . I fed him some . He was very welcome at the D House of girls . I was going to tell you that during the war , there were nine girls in the house , and they slept on shifts on the bunk beds . There were only six of us when I was there . There were a couple of the boyfriends around , and one of them cut the grass . I think Jack did the - empty the clinkers from the furnace , the coal furnace . They made themselves useful . They got their dinner . MR . HUNNICUTT : Tell me about the coal furnace briefly . MRS . DAVIDSON : Most of the houses were a very good design really , and a whole lot better built than we gave them credit for . But each one that I knew of had a corner set off or closed off as a coal storage place that could be filled through a window from the outside , and then you could use the - there was an opening on the inside that you could use to put coal into the furnace . That was awful of course , but that 's what all the houses were doing in that time , too . We had a yard full of clinkers over there . MRS . DAVIDSON : We were taken care of by a Big Brother - the government . They brought the coal around , and you didn 't do a thing . That was part of the rent . When we got our house here on Orange Lane , that 's another story . Are you ready for that yet ? MRS . DAVIDSON : We went back to my home in Louisville , Kentucky , to be married . We had planned to fly to Nashville , but it turned out the Delta Queen was coming through Louisville the next morning . My mother had told us we could not get married the week before because it was too busy with Derby Day . So we delayed until May 13 . Then we spent the night in Louisville at the Brown Hotel , where she pulled some strings to get us a room because it was still very full of visitors from the Derby . We got on the Delta Queen , and our friends were all on the dock to see us off . They had us almost convinced that we were on Daylight Saving Time , and the Delta Queen was not , and we had missed it . But we rode down just as far as Paducah . We were anxious to start in life you know . We lived on Wadell Circle in a K apartment . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you recall the number ? MRS . DAVIDSON : It was a two - story thing . I guess it was a two - bedroom up above , and we had K - 1 . It was sort of underground at the front and open at the back . We had a nice back porch . There was a closet under the stairway and a very small kitchen . It had a table that folded down . It was not as compact as a flattop , but the furnishings that they had did double duty . You could fold it up and have more room . MRS . DAVIDSON : The K apartment was heated with the coal furnace , but there was a janitor who came around and took care of it for us . We were taken care of by Roane Anderson . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you remember what the rent was ? MRS . DAVIDSON : We lived in the K from May 1950 , until we got this house in July 1952 . It was said - the word around town was that you couldn 't get a two - bedroom house unless you had three children , all of different sex . We had been on the list for this house ever since we knew our daughter was coming along . That was a long time to wait . We had been offered two houses - Florida Avenue , where the parking was across the street and the backyard just dropped off . We thought that was totally unsuitable for a new child . We turned both of those down . If we had turned this one down , we would 've gone to the bottom of the long list . But we loved this place of the trees and the dead end lane neighborhood . So we sat outside in front all weekend because we were not top on the list . The reason the other people didn 't take it was that the previous owner , Jim Cox and Charlotte , had put in an oil furnace ; and nobody wanted to pay $ 200 for the oil furnace . Since I had been working , we had saved my salary from work , and we had $ 200 to pay . Also , they didn 't want to be in the high rent district . This house rented for something like $ 45 instead of $ 43 in the lower rent districts . MRS . DAVIDSON : The Oak Ridge cemesto houses that were built - I think this house was built in the fall of 1944 or 1943 . Maybe it was ' 43 . The B house has two bedrooms and of course a bath and a kitchen with a dinette into a long narrow living room . It was about 24 feet by 40 something feet . It was small and convenient . It didn 't have much storage space , but it 's been a wonderful house for us because of the trees . We are on a greenbelt , and I enjoy that very much . It 's a nice private neighborhood just above Jackson Square . MRS . DAVIDSON : Our cemesto has a fireplace , and it had a complete brick wall . Some of the B houses had a brick wall just beyond the fireplace . MRS . DAVIDSON : There are hardwood floors in all the cemestos , I believe . Our house has maple flooring , and a lot of them had oak . Wood was hard to come by in the wartime . We love the color - the reddish color of the maple . MRS . DAVIDSON : Adele is our second daughter , and she was two years younger . Our son is Bill Davidson or William . He was born in November of 1954 . He 's just now turning 58 . MR . HUNNICUTT : So your first daughter went to Cedar Hill ? MRS . DAVIDSON : All three of our children went to Cedar Hill . They had split grades there , so I think the classes were one half size . They would take the kids a half from one grade , and half from the next grade , and that worked out just fine . MRS . DAVIDSON : Cedar Hill was wonderful . It was very special . Mr . Dodd was the principal , and he saw to it - he had the best teachers or at least as good as any . Actually in those days all the teachers and Oak Ridge were special because many of them had been recruited from Columbia Teachers College , along with the superintendent . Others were specially recruited for the job . They were a group a part , I think , from a lot of teachers . MRS . DAVIDSON : The girls both went to Jefferson when it was on the hill at Jackson Square , and Bill was in the first year at the new Jefferson that was over on Fairbanks Road . His was the first class there . They all went through Oak Ridge High . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you recall some of the classes your daughters took while they were in junior high ? Was there Home Ec . or things related to girls ? MRS . DAVIDSON : No , they were on the college prep track . They took eighth grade algebra and that kind of thing . Of course English and math and social studies and science - our older girl I think took biology ; and I 'm not sure if Adele had a more general science course . It just depended on the teacher that they had . They had an excellent education , and the girls were both Merit semifinalists . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course . I was in the PTA . I 'm not sure if I was ever a room mother , but I of course helped with parties and things . MRS . DAVIDSON : The teachers recruited them from each class to help with parties mostly . They helped with any activities that they didn 't really have time to do . MRS . DAVIDSON : Parent - Teacher Association , a time honored group . It got extra things for the school . I got involved with raincoats for the school patrol . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess maybe I was a treasurer of the Cedar Hill PTA , and this goal was to get those yellow slicker raincoat so kids could be visible to the drivers . I found out how much the things cost , and then I estimated postage . At the PTA meeting , Alvin Weinberg was president . He had a son or two in school at the time . He took me to task for estimating the postage , so I had to ask for just the money for the coats themselves since I didn 't really know what the postage is going to be . I thought that was interesting that he wanted to keep it to the exact penny . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think they just wore what the other kids wore . One day we had a deep snow and Bill was in kindergarten , and the snow was up over their boots . I think he had some corduroys . The teacher was making the kids take their pants off and dry them on the radiator , and he wouldn 't do it . I had to go up to the school and take him some fresh pants , some dry clothes . He was very young - just four when he started . MR . HUNNICUTT : Let 's go back a few years . Do you remember 1945 when they dropped the bomb on Japan ? You remember where you were ? And what was your reaction ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I do remember that very clearly because it was the summer after my junior year in college , and I was a camp counselor up in Door County , Wisconsin . There was no electricity at the camp , so we counselors - after we got the kids to bed , went to the state park nearby . This was at Fish Creek , Wisconsin . We would listen to people 's car radios . We knew for about a week that something was happening , but we didn 't know just what . It was very deeply moving when the bomb was dropped , and we thought it would bring an end to the war . Of course , I had friends and a brother on Guam and a cousin was in Europe and others . So that was very deeply moving . I had a book of poetry - my favorite poems at the camp with me . One of my 12 - year - olds picked out a poem - " Once to every man and nation comes a moment to decide " - she read that , and I thought that was very astute of her , a youngster to be able to do that . MRS . DAVIDSON : My husband thought they should have dropped a sample first , but I didn 't feel that way since the first bomb didn 't phase the Japanese . I didn 't think the test one would have either . I was just so glad that the war was over . People could settle down and get into real life again . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think I was in transition from the dormitory to the house , and my husband 's brothers came up from Georgia to witness the opening . So we drove in their car around , and we watched the parade from , I believe , down on the eastern end of the Turnpike down near the warehouses to get out of the traffic . We never could figure out why they invited Marie " The Body " McDonald and [ inaudible ] to ride in the open car for the parade . We couldn 't figure out what they had to do with it , but we did see the burning of the magnesium ribbon . That was exciting . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was only toward town from Elza Gate . I know the central part of town , the Jackson Square area , was very crowded . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think they name the streets for famous cities in the country , and of course the alphabetical designations were very helpful . But Jackson Square , I assume , was named for New Orleans . That 's all I know about it . MRS . DAVIDSON : Sometimes you would pick up the telephone , and the other party was talking . I believe they had different rings . I think maybe the other party had one ring , and we had two . There were four - party lines , but if we were on a four - party line , only the other one was active . I think maybe we were . The other two lines were not being used . MR . HUNNICUTT : When you are raising your family , did you hang your clothes outside on the clothesline ? Did you have a dryer ? What did you use ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I hung them outside on the clothesline . As I said , when we moved here , Anne was a year old . Not much more than three years after that , we had three babies . I was able to talk my husband into getting a dryer that time . Before that , he had built a pulley out of my kitchen window . There was a drop off in the back , and he was able to string it to a tree in the woods . I was able to reel those cloth diapers and reel them in and out . The only problem was that the birds like the trees , too . Sometimes I had to do some re - washing . MR . HUNNICUTT : So in those days you use cloth diapers ? Today we use disposable diapers . How do you think you would 've done if you had disposable diapers ? MRS . DAVIDSON : At one point , when our children were out playing Kick the Can , there were over 40 children on the lane . There were about 20 or 21 houses . There were almost as many dogs . It was just a glorious place for them to grow up . They seem to get along remarkably well most of the time , especially in the early days . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes . We went down there on the opening , and got the radioactive dimes on that occasion . The museum at that time was down at Jefferson Circle . I don 't think any of us ever had our hair stand out on the Van De Graff generator or whatever it was , but we took the children . We went out ourselves . Of course my husband was interested in that kind of thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : Sometimes they walked to Jefferson , but by that time they were carrying pretty heavy books . One of the neighbors on Outer Drive wanted to have a carpool , so we joined that . MRS . DAVIDSON : When Anne was in the fifth grade , they had to write what they did on Friday nights . The teacher would call me and say , " Is it true that you gave your children ice water and watched TV on Friday nights ? " That was how generous we were with them . We didn 't get a TV until they were probably five or six years old . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course it was black and white . The reason we got it - I guess finally it was that the children were always going to the neighbors ' house to watch TV . We decided that we should get our own . They watched things like " Pinky Lee " and I 've forgotten what else . MRS . DAVIDSON : I remember that fondly because my first real date with my husband was going to dinner there with him . He invited me to go to a concert in Knoxville , and his excuse was that we should get to know each other better before he took me to the city with him . That was one thing . I remember there were parties there , and our company had a party at the Oak Terrace Ballroom . One of the NEPA fellows wore a Tarzan costume , which was mostly nothing . It turned out that he lived in the neighborhood . MR . HUNNICUTT : What was the Oak Terrace ballroom - where was it located ? MRS . DAVIDSON : That was just below the dormitory where I lived in Columbia Hall . Jack went there looking for me , he thought I would eat breakfast there and then he could have breakfast with me ; but I ate in the dormitory . He didn 't find me there . When we came back from our bicycle ride to Concord Park , I remember we stopped by there , and he drank two or three Mountain Dew drinks . That surprised me , but we had worked off a lot of sweat . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , we took our children out there and saw " Lawrence of Arabia " and " The 10 Commandment " and those things . It was quite nice . MR . HUNNICUTT : Where was it located ? MRS . DAVIDSON : It was about where Kroger 's - where that is now , on the southeast part of Illinois Avenue . It was a nice thing . That was a special treat for the children to go out there . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't think so . I think they were mostly in the car . They had a drawing one time , Jack won something . It was actually nothing , but he did win . MRS . DAVIDSON : I sure did . My three children were born there . It was a green structure , like so many of the buildings in Oak Ridge . I guess the present building is built on that place . It was okay . I didn 't have any problems with it , except after my second child . I had a staph infection from the hospital . Even an Army wife with a private room got an infection there . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , I think they also had been recruited ; and a lot of them were from Tulane University . The time I was sick with my infection , they were having a reunion at Tulane , and my doctor and another one were gone for the reunion . I didn 't like the one who took care of me . He didn 't do a good job . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was okay . I don 't remember having any problems with it . We knew Dr . Rogers from our church , and we went to him . He was called away to the service , I believe . Maybe it was the Korean War , but then he came back . MRS . DAVIDSON : We met at Pine Valley School . The choir sat on the bleachers , and the minister sat under the halo of the basketball net . My husband was a Methodist , and he went to the First Methodist Church . They had a big youth group there . When we were first married , we tried to take them both in . We went to Sunday school one place , and church another until we finally settled on the Presbyterian . It was smaller , and we knew more people . MR . HUNNICUTT : Thinking back , what do you like best about Oak Ridge ? MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course the people . I love my trees and my house . I love all the activities . Both my husband and I have always loved music and enjoy the concerts a lot . The symphony concerts with Waldo Cohn conducting were held at Jefferson Junior High on the Kentucky Avenue hill . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you think back about all the people that you knew in the early days ? Do you think it was unusual for everybody to get along - the many people that were here ? MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , I guess so . I didn 't think about it because we just did . It was just fun . Everybody was away from home , and we had to be family for each other . That was particularly true in this close neighborhood . MRS . DAVIDSON : I 'm pleased for the most part . I think we 've made good progress . We 've kept up with the outside world . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't know . I 'll probably think of things after you leave . Nothing particular comes to mind . MR . HUNNICUTT : I would like to thank you for your time , and I think this interview will be very helpful for someone in the future to see how you lived in Oak Ridge in the early days . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think we came through at the very best of times . It was not the pressure of war , but we were growing community . I think things were happening at the Lab . Both of my husband and I loved the Lab because there were so many good things going on out there . It gives us hope for the future . MR . HUNNICUTT : I thank you very much for your time . [ Editor 's Note : This transcript has been edited at Mrs . Davidson 's request . The corresponding audio and video components have remained unchanged . ] Your rating was saved . you wish to report :

MR . HUNNICUTT : This interview is for the Center of Oak Ridge Oral History . The date is November 8 , 2012 . I am Don Hunnicutt in the home of Mrs . Mary Ann Davidson , 117 Orange Lane , Oak Ridge , Tennessee , to take her oral history about living in Oak Ridge , Tennessee . Please state your full name and your place of birth and your date of birth . MRS . DAVIDSON : My name is Mary Ann Davidson . My date of birth is January 12 , 1925 . I was born in Louisville , Kentucky . I lived there all my early life until I graduated from college . MRS . DAVIDSON : My father was William H . Courtenay . He was born in 1890 , on March 3 . He was in World War I and lived his entire life in Louisville and Shelbyville , Kentucky . He worked for the Mengel Company . They imported mahogany and hardwood from Africa and Central America . He delivered those to customers . He didn 't consider himself a salesman , but he sold them to the furniture factory - furniture makers around Kentucky , mostly Indiana and Cincinnati and some in Tennessee . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , he did not . The Louisville Male High School was considered a fine school at that time . They said that graduates could enter Harvard in their second year . The principal had written textbooks that were apparently used all over . But my father was interested in raising ponies . His father had a farm in Shelbyville , Kentucky . If you 'd didn 't make the grade , you are special . And Dr . Ruben Post - Halleck , the famous principal of the school , told him if he took an exam in math , he could be entered back in . He did that , and he aced the test . He was back in . Then he was a special in English , so they told him if he memorized the " Lady of the Lake " and said that he could get back in school . So he did that . I think he never did finish . He was a twin , and his twin was more of an engineering type and went to manual training high school . MRS . DAVIDSON : She grew up in several small towns in western Kentucky . Her father worked for the L & N Railroad . She had her high school in Hopkinsville , Kentucky . She had to stay home - or she went to junior college nearby . She had a scholarship to Randolph Macon Women 's College , but she couldn 't take it because her mother was ill and died at age 50 . It was about the year I was born , I think . MRS . DAVIDSON : His name was William Howard Courtenay III . My father was named for his uncle , who was also William Howard . My older brother works for Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green in the physics department . He made instruments . My younger brother was a pediatrician in Louisville , and he is still living on a farm in Shelbyville . He 's interested in Kentucky antiques . MRS . DAVIDSON : I went to an unusual kindergarten and first grade . I was at what they called the Enterprise Branch of I . N . Bloom School . It was only kindergarten and first grade . It was in the older building , where we had a Pot Belly Stove . I think we had a maid to help us take our leggings off in the cold weather - galoshes . It was really a wonderful school . It was almost like a private one . It was public . We did things like making butter and we had an orchestra . I played the triangle . I had started a little bit earlier when my younger brother was born . Louisville had half semester , half - year grades . I would 've been a half year , but I skipped the last half of kindergarten . I went to the school board and took a test and went on , so they put me in the regular school year . I went through the big school the I . N . Bloom School and Highland Junior High School in Louisville . Then I went to Atherton High School for Girls . The Louisville public schools were segregated - boys and girls . There were about 900 girls at Atherton . My graduating class was about 200 , and I was the valedictorian . MRS . DAVIDSON : They are pants to keep your legs warm . They zipped up from the inside of the ankle bone up to about knee - high , I guess it was . They were a royal pain to take on and off , so the teacher had to have help to do that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was just ordinary . I 'm sure the girls wore dresses , and the little boys wore suits - not suits , but pants and shirts . MRS . DAVIDSON : I came to Oak Ridge after I graduated from college . I had two years of getting a master 's at Emory while I worked at my alma mater , Agnes Scott College in Decatur , Georgia . I was the chemistry lab instructor . So after those two years were up , I was interested in working in chemistry or biochemistry . My master 's was in biochemistry . In Louisville , there was nothing in that field , except liquor and paint - neither of which I was interested in . In Atlanta , I would like to stay in Atlanta , I heard that Oak Ridge was an interesting new place , and a lot was going on here . One of my dear college friends had recently married a physicist from the University of Kentucky , so I visited them here . I guess that must have been 1947 . Her husband was working at NEPA . He said they were looking for people with a chemistry degree . I applied , and I was accepted . I didn 't know that until I had completed the clearance , so I took the opportunity to go to Europe at an American youth hostel bicycle tour of Western Europe in the summer of 1948 . When I got home , I found that I had indeed gotten the job at Oak Ridge . So I came down here . MRS . DAVIDSON : I was wondering that . I think I came by train . When I interviewed earlier in the spring , my interview was at the Andrew Johnson Hotel . It was one of the private rooms . I had never seen the company here . I think I must have been met by a car and driver and brought to Oak Ridge . MRS . DAVIDSON : I came in through the Vermont Gateway , which is where the gas station is now on the corner of what I call Vermont . They call it North Rutgers now . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , I think it must 've been after that . That would 've been at Christmas time . When I applied , I imagine it was early spring . MRS . DAVIDSON : We called the company NEPA , for Nuclear Energy for the Propulsion of Aircraft . It was managed by the Fairchild Corporation the way Union Carbide or one of the other contractors managed the lab . I did not know until the first day I went to work just what the company was doing . They handed me a volume of information that said , " We are looking for - we are trying to make an airplane powered by nuclear energy that could fly to Russia and back without refueling . " That was a great shock to me . MRS . DAVIDSON : I lived in Columbia Hall Dormitory . I was very surprised to find that the rent was $ 15 a month until I realized it was one very small room . That was my living quarters . I took the opportunity to stay out of it as much as possible . I did that by babysitting in some of the B and D houses in the evening . Grandmothers were not here since it was a closed community . Babysitters were in short supply , and even though I didn 't need the money , it was good to get out of the dormitory . MRS . DAVIDSON : The dormitory was like Cheyenne Hall . It was the same type of building . It had wooden stairways from the second - floor hall down on each end . I lived on the second floor . Our dormitory was mostly nurses , since it was up on the hill next to the hospital - I think where the west parking lot is now . There was a kitchen on each end where we could have our own breakfast . Of course we were at the plant at lunchtime , and then we usually went out to supper . I opened the refrigerator door one morning and somebody 's milk came spilling out down my front . Everybody just stuffed things into the refrigerator . MRS . DAVIDSON : I had a single room with a twin bed and enough room to walk to the window by the bed . There was a little table that served as a desk with a chair . There was a much coveted dormitory dresser - a tall one with a number of drawers . They were very popular . MRS . DAVIDSON : They had a wonderful bus service here . Travel wasn 't really a problem . We walked , of course , from the dormitory to Jackson Square and ate supper usually at the Mayflower , which is where I first saw my husband - to - be . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was on the corner of Tennessee , right across from the Soup Kitchen and the Texaco gas station there on the northeast corner . It was a very popular place . In fact , there were several places you could eat . It was the Central Cafeteria , and the T & C Cafeteria in Jackson Square , which is about where the Epicurean is now toward the garden . MRS . DAVIDSON : It must 've been the A & P on Jackson Square . Jackson Square was really the center of activity as far as I was concerned at that time . I still love it . I hope it keeps going . MRS . DAVIDSON : The department stores - the big department store was Taylor 's at the time . They had a wonderful book department headed by Mrs . Keyes , whose daughter I knew at work . They had really fine art books and other books that they would have a great sale on once or twice a year . We were very happy with that . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was in the middle of the block between where Big Ed 's is in the corner . I guess it 's mostly used by the engineering company now . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , not frequently , but I went and saw - there was a theater down at Big Ed 's in Jackson Square and where the Playhouse is now . That was the main one . MRS . DAVIDSON : Henebree . McCrory 's 5 & 10 was there . There was a drugstore - a Service Drugstore . I guess that was where Big Ed 's is now , on the very corner . There was Jackson Square Pharmacy , and on the other side the Hamilton Bank was there next to the movie theater . And Samuel 's Men 's Store was a very nice store . The Jackson Square Pharmacy was there , but in between , which the Pharmacy later took over was a Kay 's Ice Cream Store . We used to go there and - my husband and I would when we were dating . I liked to get coffee with ice cream in it , so we went there . MRS . DAVIDSON : I can 't say that I do . It was just a given , I suppose . It didn 't make a big dent in my memory . After six months of the dormitory , I moved to a D house on Norman Lane . That was another era . MRS . DAVIDSON : A D house was a large three bedroom house . They were very much desired . They were really nice houses - still a lot of them are . The house was - there were five other girls who lived there - two of whom had been college friends . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , it would 've been upstairs . It was the second one to the end . A radiation technologist lived on the corner , and I lived there with school teachers and nurses who made up most of the dorm . MR . HUNNICUTT : Let 's talk a little bit about the dorm again . If I had a message for you or someone left a message for you , how did you retrieve your messages ? Was there a desk when you went in ? MRS . DAVIDSON : There was a desk downstairs . I remember the Valentine 's Day - I guess it must 've been 1949 . The message was that I had some flowers , some red roses . I had just met my husband - to - be at that time . I got all excited , and when I got to the desk , it was from somebody else . I enjoyed the red roses , but not as much as I might have . The thing was that there were ladies - a lot of the women who lived in the dorm worked on the night shift . They would sit around a large kind of living room , I guess they called it . They were all staring when I got flowers . I had to walk around , and it was embarrassing . MRS . DAVIDSON : I was there in the winter of 1948 . I 'm very cold natured , but I don 't remember being cold . We had those heavy navy blanket - navy blue blankets . This brings up a story if I jump to it later on . We were moved from the D house after another six months into the brand - new Garden Apartments on Villanova Road . They needed our D house for families . The people who moved in were the Andersons of the Anderson Hilltop Grocery . Of course , the furniture all belonged to the government there . So the Garden Apartments were not furnished , so we had dwindled down from 6 to 4 people who needed furniture . I took a day off and went to an auction the government set up down at the warehouses . I got seven beds and three or four dressers - much more than I could have used . But the beds were in great demand at work because all the young men who worked there were having children and needed beds . So we took the four . Also I got two sofas , and we could use but one ; so I sold one . They were really shabby awful sofas . Since it was all going to surplus anyway , we switched and took the nice sofa from the D house and left them the bad one . It was all taken away anyhow , so I didn 't feel too bad about that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't really remember about the telephone . We didn 't use the telephone much . We never used it for long - distance except for emergencies and calls home . I don 't remember that as being a problem particularly . MRS . DAVIDSON : I suppose I went on the bus . I did not have a car . One of the housemates from Norman Lane had gotten the car , but she would 've been at work at K - 25 . I don 't know . I may have gotten a ride . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess I paid somebody to deliver it . I don 't know . Maybe some of the fellows at work picked up their beds that they wanted . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was one of those warehouses down at the [ Oak Ridge ] Turnpike on Warehouse Road . I don 't know exactly where it was . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess it was on the bulletin boards at work , or there was a newspaper at the Lab . I guess I heard about it that way . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think probably so - in the newsletters they came around , also at the recreation building - the rec hall - at Jackson Square that was the library upstairs and the rec hall downstairs . Word - of - mouth - I don 't remember . We had a need and found the answer to it . MRS . DAVIDSON : I had to punch a clock at eight in the morning when I first started . I guess we got out at 4 : 30 or 5 o ' clock . We had bus service that went from the bus terminal - the Central one - that 's now by Bus Terminal Road . Later on after we were married , we lived on Waddell Circle and went from there to the Jefferson bus terminal . I went - I rode on the K - 25 bus , and they went out past K - 25 to the road that the powerhouse was on and NEPA was beyond that out by the river . MRS . DAVIDSON : There was some kind of management services office . I 'm not sure what it was called - the Roane Anderson Corporation at that time , I guess . I think that 's where I rented the dormitory room . I probably got bus tokens - I guess I got the tokens of the bus terminal . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think I had a checking account probably at Hamilton Bank in Jackson Square . I don 't recall otherwise . I know I did later . One thing I wanted to say about the buses - if you wanted to go to Clinton to do any shopping , more than what you could have in Oak Ridge or to meet somebody or something , there was a bus that ran frequently back and forth between the bus terminal and Clinton . There was a young man on the bus who had a sing - songy sales pitch for " peanuts , popcorn , Cracker Jacks , candy , and chewing gum . " He wouldn 't drive , but he would sell his wares all the way to Clinton and back . I always wondered who that was because he obviously had some talent . MRS . DAVIDSON : I 'm sure I did . I don 't know what became of it . I guess I had to turn it back in . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think somebody just got - one of the guards got on the bus and checked everybody 's badges . It was not a big thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : Probably . I don 't remember . What I do remember about that was my mother was coming down one time for my birthday - it must 've been in January 1949 . She rode the train . I told her that I would get a ride to meet her . Of course , the train didn 't stop at Oak Ridge . It went on to Knoxville , so I bummed a ride with one of the men in our group . He was actually the technical assistant to the director . His car was a broken down old thing with no floorboards in the back seat , which was pretty bad when my mother saw it . But she didn 't see it because when we got to Knoxville , she was not there . When we were coming back from the gateway entrance , she was not there . There was a message that she was waiting for us at the Elza Gate Station . She had told the conductor she had to get off at Oak Ridge . That 's where she was going , and I was going to meet her . So she slid down the Elza bank over there . She had my birthday cake - a large chocolate cake . She slid downhill with that , and somehow they stopped her at the guard gate at Elza . She waited there for us . MRS . DAVIDSON : Just for her - let her off like a milk train . They ordinarily didn 't stop there , but she wouldn 't have it otherwise . MRS . DAVIDSON : I used the library and rec hall . On Sunday afternoons , they played music ; and you could sit and write letters home , which is what I think I did a good bit . Later on in the better weather , there were tennis courts and a swimming pool . I don 't remember going to movies much . We went to church groups . There were so many young people ; it was just like a party all the time . Nothing in particular stands out . It was just fun . MRS . DAVIDSON : In the company I was , that was not true . There were a lot of women of course - of course , the dormitory was full of school teachers and nurses . But NEPA was mostly men . There were two parts to the Fairchild - the science and engineering part , which was bigger . I happen to be in the research part . My boss was a chemist - Vince Calkins . It was my job to - this was a real shocker to me - to find a chemical that would protect the human body against radiation for the reactor that was supposed to be in the airplane to Russia . I had no background for that kind of thing . I was just fresh out of college really . I realized I was out of my depth , but they decided - he was a pharmacist , I believe , and he wanted to do experiments with rats . They brought in the rat colony . By that time we had a couple of assistants , and I was supposed to be the group leader . One of the men , Ray Waldrop - you may have talked to him . I asked him if he minded working for a woman because he was really more experienced than I , although I had the degree . It was fine with him . There was also another worker , Saul Segal , who was quite a character in his own right . I took the rats in the cages over to the reactor , the " Old Lady " at X - 10 , and put them through what they called " rabbits " and radiated them for certain amount of time . We couldn 't kill the darn things . Then we used the older ones that had already been radiated , they were just tough as anything . I think the experiment was really a failure , although they may have found that to be the case in some later work with older people - that the cells are not dividing as fast and they 're not as subject to radiation . But we didn 't get into that . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was actually not K - 25 . It was beyond there . As I said , the bus took us - the bus dumped people off at K - 25 , and they went on west to just before you get to the Gallaher Bridge . You turn right there and go right past the power station there . It was used for a long time - the power house , and then NEPA was beyond that . The native rats came in - was it domestic experimental rats ? That was not good . I had a janitor who helped me , even though he could 've lost his job for doing it . He helped me clean cages . I always appreciated that . MRS . DAVIDSON : When they got rid of the rats , which was a blessing , my group leader then became Bill Browning , who was a fine scientist . He worked on the Van de Graaff generator . We had an interesting argument . Saul Segal thought he should be the one to do it since he was a man and I was a woman who would be leaving soon ; and it turned out that he left for California before I had left to have my baby . His argument didn 't hold with me anyway , but we argued about that some . We did run the Van de Graaff , and we also did some experiments on metallic sodium . It was nasty stuff to work with . It caught on fire if it was exposed to air . You had to work with that under oil in the glove box . I think that work all had to be repeated after NEPA left for Cincinnati with G . E . . When they moved part of NEPA to X - 10 , they called it the ANP , or something about aircraft and nuclear power . I was not connected with that because my first baby was born in August 1951 . I left in July . MRS . DAVIDSON : I heard somebody say that they had to repeat it all . My boss , the Division Director of Chemistry was interested in vitamin E , and thought it had a lot of protective influence . We worked with that . That was some of the work I did in chemistry - the lab part of it in the early days . It was not good work , I think . I 'm not blaming myself , but some of the other men who were doing chemical work - I think altogether we didn 't come up with anything . MRS . DAVIDSON : It may have been ahead of it 's time for nuclear submarines . I don 't know whether the engineering people thought that or not . In our group which was the chemistry and the physics , my friend who got me the job was Jim Trice . A fellow named Art Miller and somebody named Coneybearwere in the Physics Division . And then there were some others - Fred Maienschein . I did some work for him one time . It was work on beryllium for one thing . I didn 't work with any of the active beryllium . I didn 't do any lab work then , but I did some journal research . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't think they were that far along . I 'm not sure what happened to that part of it . As I said , in July of 1951 they moved to Cincinnati , Evensville , above Cincinnati . I don 't know how many people actually went up there . Most of my friends moved elsewhere . MR . HUNNICUTT : You mentioned the location of the operation was past the steam plant that was on the Clinch River . Was that the same location where the S - 50 project was located ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I think that was the name of our plot of land . I think those - I never was quite sure how they got the designations , but that was the Fairchild domain , I think . MRS . DAVIDSON : Really , it was just when our eyes met . It was very romantic . He followed our group home to the Columbia Hall to see where I lived . But at the time I thought he was too young , and I didn 't think he was following me . I was with a group of other girls . Later on , one of the women in the dormitory , who was a gym teacher in the Oak Ridge schools , told me I really ought to meet Jack Davidson that he loved to ride bicycles ; I was just back from my bicycle trip in Europe . I didn 't know who he was , and then I went to a church group meeting at my Presbyterian Church for young people one Sunday evening . A friend of mine had brought Jack Davidson , and he was the one whose eyes I had met and he had met mine . Sure enough , he loved to ride bicycles . That was the start of a good thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : We did a little bit . On our dates , that 's really what we did mostly at first . We rode out to West Outer Drive and had those wonderful big hills , not too much traffic at that time . We went out to the water tower at the top of Louisiana and had a picnic , and then rode back . When we got really good , we rode our bicycles over to Concord Park one day . I had gotten some chicken breasts at the grocery . I guess it was the A & P at Jackson Square . I was going to fry them for a picnic to take along over to Concord Park . When I went to the refrigerator to get them , they had turned into wings . Somebody had eaten my chicken breast . Jack was a good sport about that . He didn 't care . We had a nice ride . It was before they had improved Lovell Road . It was a pretty rough ride over there , but we were able to enjoy it . MRS . DAVIDSON : He had his bicycle . It was probably a Grey Stone . For me , he rented a bicycle from his work friend . I had forgotten what his name was . We went over to one of the D Streets , I think , and rode them . I didn 't have my English 3 - speed here . I guess I brought it later , but at that time I didn 't have it . MRS . DAVIDSON : That was a problem . I complained to my friend Jim Trice 's wife , Dot , who happened to live around the corner on Outer Drive at that time . She said the boardwalk was used a lot for dating , and of course the theaters . I guess we were outdoors people . I don 't know . MRS . DAVIDSON : He was a graduate of Georgia Tech . At the time he graduated , he was very young . He came up to see about a job , and he was drafted . No , he was in danger of being drafted right away , but they didn 't hire him . He did go to work for NASA , which was at that time NACA , in Virginia ; and worked over there a short time before he was taken into the Army . He had gone through Georgia Tech on a " War Manpower " loan . He was sent to some place to be an MP , I think . He wrote a night letter , which is a 50 - word telegram that was cheaper at night . He wrote a night letter to Stimson , the Secretary of War , telling them they had paid for his college education ; and here he was sitting in a camp doing nothing down in Alabama . He was transferred to the SED , he would never say that was the reason he was transferred . It may or may not have been . He arrived with the SED - he arrived in Oak Ridge the day Roosevelt died , which was in April 1945 , he was here with his group for maybe six weeks before they went out to Los Alamos . So he spent the rest of the war out there . Then he used his G . I . Bill - he stayed on at Los Alamos . They told them they would let him out of the Army if he would agree to stay on as a civilian . So he took that . Then when he did leave , he went to Annapolis and took a liberal arts course because he felt that he had missed out on it at Georgia Tech . He had a year at St . John 's College of Annapolis ; and then all along I guess he thought he would like to come back here . He came back - he arrived on Armistice Day , now Veterans Day , of 1948 . I was here a couple of months before he came , but we met shortly after Christmas in 1949 . MRS . DAVIDSON : Too long . We were married in May 1950 . He wanted to pay off his loan before we could get married , so I helped him along with that . I fed him some . He was very welcome at the D House of girls . I was going to tell you that during the war , there were nine girls in the house , and they slept on shifts on the bunk beds . There were only six of us when I was there . There were a couple of the boyfriends around , and one of them cut the grass . I think Jack did the - empty the clinkers from the furnace , the coal furnace . They made themselves useful . They got their dinner . MRS . DAVIDSON : Most of the houses were a very good design really , and a whole lot better built than we gave them credit for . But each one that I knew of had a corner set off or closed off as a coal storage place that could be filled through a window from the outside , and then you could use the - there was an opening on the inside that you could use to put coal into the furnace . That was awful of course , but that 's what all the houses were doing in that time , too . We had a yard full of clinkers over there . MRS . DAVIDSON : We were taken care of by a Big Brother - the government . They brought the coal around , and you didn 't do a thing . That was part of the rent . When we got our house here on Orange Lane , that 's another story . Are you ready for that yet ? MRS . DAVIDSON : We went back to my home in Louisville , Kentucky , to be married . We had planned to fly to Nashville , but it turned out the Delta Queen was coming through Louisville the next morning . My mother had told us we could not get married the week before because it was too busy with Derby Day . So we delayed until May 13 . Then we spent the night in Louisville at the Brown Hotel , where she pulled some strings to get us a room because it was still very full of visitors from the Derby . We got on the Delta Queen , and our friends were all on the dock to see us off . They had us almost convinced that we were on Daylight Saving Time , and the Delta Queen was not , and we had missed it . But we rode down just as far as Paducah . We were anxious to start in life you know . We lived on Wadell Circle in a K apartment . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was a two - story thing . I guess it was a two - bedroom up above , and we had K - 1 . It was sort of underground at the front and open at the back . We had a nice back porch . There was a closet under the stairway and a very small kitchen . It had a table that folded down . It was not as compact as a flattop , but the furnishings that they had did double duty . You could fold it up and have more room . MRS . DAVIDSON : The K apartment was heated with the coal furnace , but there was a janitor who came around and took care of it for us . We were taken care of by Roane Anderson . MRS . DAVIDSON : We lived in the K from May 1950 , until we got this house in July 1952 . It was said - the word around town was that you couldn 't get a two - bedroom house unless you had three children , all of different sex . We had been on the list for this house ever since we knew our daughter was coming along . That was a long time to wait . We had been offered two houses - Florida Avenue , where the parking was across the street and the backyard just dropped off . We thought that was totally unsuitable for a new child . We turned both of those down . If we had turned this one down , we would 've gone to the bottom of the long list . But we loved this place of the trees and the dead end lane neighborhood . So we sat outside in front all weekend because we were not top on the list . The reason the other people didn 't take it was that the previous owner , Jim Cox and Charlotte , had put in an oil furnace ; and nobody wanted to pay $ 200 for the oil furnace . Since I had been working , we had saved my salary from work , and we had $ 200 to pay . Also , they didn 't want to be in the high rent district . This house rented for something like $ 45 instead of $ 43 in the lower rent districts . MRS . DAVIDSON : The Oak Ridge cemesto houses that were built - I think this house was built in the fall of 1944 or 1943 . Maybe it was ' 43 . The B house has two bedrooms and of course a bath and a kitchen with a dinette into a long narrow living room . It was about 24 feet by 40 something feet . It was small and convenient . It didn 't have much storage space , but it 's been a wonderful house for us because of the trees . We are on a greenbelt , and I enjoy that very much . It 's a nice private neighborhood just above Jackson Square . MRS . DAVIDSON : Our cemesto has a fireplace , and it had a complete brick wall . Some of the B houses had a brick wall just beyond the fireplace . MRS . DAVIDSON : There are hardwood floors in all the cemestos , I believe . Our house has maple flooring , and a lot of them had oak . Wood was hard to come by in the wartime . We love the color - the reddish color of the maple . MRS . DAVIDSON : Adele is our second daughter , and she was two years younger . Our son is Bill Davidson or William . He was born in November of 1954 . He 's just now turning 58 . MRS . DAVIDSON : All three of our children went to Cedar Hill . They had split grades there , so I think the classes were one half size . They would take the kids a half from one grade , and half from the next grade , and that worked out just fine . MRS . DAVIDSON : Cedar Hill was wonderful . It was very special . Mr . Dodd was the principal , and he saw to it - he had the best teachers or at least as good as any . Actually in those days all the teachers and Oak Ridge were special because many of them had been recruited from Columbia Teachers College , along with the superintendent . Others were specially recruited for the job . They were a group a part , I think , from a lot of teachers . MRS . DAVIDSON : The girls both went to Jefferson when it was on the hill at Jackson Square , and Bill was in the first year at the new Jefferson that was over on Fairbanks Road . His was the first class there . They all went through Oak Ridge High . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you recall some of the classes your daughters took while they were in junior high ? Was there Home Ec . or things related to girls ? MRS . DAVIDSON : No , they were on the college prep track . They took eighth grade algebra and that kind of thing . Of course English and math and social studies and science - our older girl I think took biology ; and I 'm not sure if Adele had a more general science course . It just depended on the teacher that they had . They had an excellent education , and the girls were both Merit semifinalists . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course . I was in the PTA . I 'm not sure if I was ever a room mother , but I of course helped with parties and things . MRS . DAVIDSON : The teachers recruited them from each class to help with parties mostly . They helped with any activities that they didn 't really have time to do . MRS . DAVIDSON : Parent - Teacher Association , a time honored group . It got extra things for the school . I got involved with raincoats for the school patrol . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess maybe I was a treasurer of the Cedar Hill PTA , and this goal was to get those yellow slicker raincoat so kids could be visible to the drivers . I found out how much the things cost , and then I estimated postage . At the PTA meeting , Alvin Weinberg was president . He had a son or two in school at the time . He took me to task for estimating the postage , so I had to ask for just the money for the coats themselves since I didn 't really know what the postage is going to be . I thought that was interesting that he wanted to keep it to the exact penny . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think they just wore what the other kids wore . One day we had a deep snow and Bill was in kindergarten , and the snow was up over their boots . I think he had some corduroys . The teacher was making the kids take their pants off and dry them on the radiator , and he wouldn 't do it . I had to go up to the school and take him some fresh pants , some dry clothes . He was very young - just four when he started . MR . HUNNICUTT : Let 's go back a few years . Do you remember 1945 when they dropped the bomb on Japan ? You remember where you were ? And what was your reaction ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I do remember that very clearly because it was the summer after my junior year in college , and I was a camp counselor up in Door County , Wisconsin . There was no electricity at the camp , so we counselors - after we got the kids to bed , went to the state park nearby . This was at Fish Creek , Wisconsin . We would listen to people 's car radios . We knew for about a week that something was happening , but we didn 't know just what . It was very deeply moving when the bomb was dropped , and we thought it would bring an end to the war . Of course , I had friends and a brother on Guam and a cousin was in Europe and others . So that was very deeply moving . I had a book of poetry - my favorite poems at the camp with me . One of my 12 - year - olds picked out a poem - " Once to every man and nation comes a moment to decide " - she read that , and I thought that was very astute of her , a youngster to be able to do that . MRS . DAVIDSON : My husband thought they should have dropped a sample first , but I didn 't feel that way since the first bomb didn 't phase the Japanese . I didn 't think the test one would have either . I was just so glad that the war was over . People could settle down and get into real life again . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think I was in transition from the dormitory to the house , and my husband 's brothers came up from Georgia to witness the opening . So we drove in their car around , and we watched the parade from , I believe , down on the eastern end of the Turnpike down near the warehouses to get out of the traffic . We never could figure out why they invited Marie " The Body " McDonald and [ inaudible ] to ride in the open car for the parade . We couldn 't figure out what they had to do with it , but we did see the burning of the magnesium ribbon . That was exciting . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was only toward town from Elza Gate . I know the central part of town , the Jackson Square area , was very crowded . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think they name the streets for famous cities in the country , and of course the alphabetical designations were very helpful . But Jackson Square , I assume , was named for New Orleans . That 's all I know about it . MRS . DAVIDSON : Sometimes you would pick up the telephone , and the other party was talking . I believe they had different rings . I think maybe the other party had one ring , and we had two . There were four - party lines , but if we were on a four - party line , only the other one was active . I think maybe we were . The other two lines were not being used . MR . HUNNICUTT : When you are raising your family , did you hang your clothes outside on the clothesline ? Did you have a dryer ? What did you use ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I hung them outside on the clothesline . As I said , when we moved here , Anne was a year old . Not much more than three years after that , we had three babies . I was able to talk my husband into getting a dryer that time . Before that , he had built a pulley out of my kitchen window . There was a drop off in the back , and he was able to string it to a tree in the woods . I was able to reel those cloth diapers and reel them in and out . The only problem was that the birds like the trees , too . Sometimes I had to do some re - washing . MR . HUNNICUTT : So in those days you use cloth diapers ? Today we use disposable diapers . How do you think you would 've done if you had disposable diapers ? MRS . DAVIDSON : At one point , when our children were out playing Kick the Can , there were over 40 children on the lane . There were about 20 or 21 houses . There were almost as many dogs . It was just a glorious place for them to grow up . They seem to get along remarkably well most of the time , especially in the early days . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes . We went down there on the opening , and got the radioactive dimes on that occasion . The museum at that time was down at Jefferson Circle . I don 't think any of us ever had our hair stand out on the Van De Graff generator or whatever it was , but we took the children . We went out ourselves . Of course my husband was interested in that kind of thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : Sometimes they walked to Jefferson , but by that time they were carrying pretty heavy books . One of the neighbors on Outer Drive wanted to have a carpool , so we joined that . MRS . DAVIDSON : When Anne was in the fifth grade , they had to write what they did on Friday nights . The teacher would call me and say , " Is it true that you gave your children ice water and watched TV on Friday nights ? " That was how generous we were with them . We didn 't get a TV until they were probably five or six years old . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course it was black and white . The reason we got it - I guess finally it was that the children were always going to the neighbors ' house to watch TV . We decided that we should get our own . They watched things like " Pinky Lee " and I 've forgotten what else . MRS . DAVIDSON : I remember that fondly because my first real date with my husband was going to dinner there with him . He invited me to go to a concert in Knoxville , and his excuse was that we should get to know each other better before he took me to the city with him . That was one thing . I remember there were parties there , and our company had a party at the Oak Terrace Ballroom . One of the NEPA fellows wore a Tarzan costume , which was mostly nothing . It turned out that he lived in the neighborhood . MRS . DAVIDSON : That was just below the dormitory where I lived in Columbia Hall . Jack went there looking for me , he thought I would eat breakfast there and then he could have breakfast with me ; but I ate in the dormitory . He didn 't find me there . When we came back from our bicycle ride to Concord Park , I remember we stopped by there , and he drank two or three Mountain Dew drinks . That surprised me , but we had worked off a lot of sweat . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , we took our children out there and saw " Lawrence of Arabia " and " The 10 Commandment " and those things . It was quite nice . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was about where Kroger 's - where that is now , on the southeast part of Illinois Avenue . It was a nice thing . That was a special treat for the children to go out there . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't think so . I think they were mostly in the car . They had a drawing one time , Jack won something . It was actually nothing , but he did win . MRS . DAVIDSON : I sure did . My three children were born there . It was a green structure , like so many of the buildings in Oak Ridge . I guess the present building is built on that place . It was okay . I didn 't have any problems with it , except after my second child . I had a staph infection from the hospital . Even an Army wife with a private room got an infection there . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , I think they also had been recruited ; and a lot of them were from Tulane University . The time I was sick with my infection , they were having a reunion at Tulane , and my doctor and another one were gone for the reunion . I didn 't like the one who took care of me . He didn 't do a good job . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was okay . I don 't remember having any problems with it . We knew Dr . Rogers from our church , and we went to him . He was called away to the service , I believe . Maybe it was the Korean War , but then he came back . MRS . DAVIDSON : We met at Pine Valley School . The choir sat on the bleachers , and the minister sat under the halo of the basketball net . My husband was a Methodist , and he went to the First Methodist Church . They had a big youth group there . When we were first married , we tried to take them both in . We went to Sunday school one place , and church another until we finally settled on the Presbyterian . It was smaller , and we knew more people . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course the people . I love my trees and my house . I love all the activities . Both my husband and I have always loved music and enjoy the concerts a lot . The symphony concerts with Waldo Cohn conducting were held at Jefferson Junior High on the Kentucky Avenue hill . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you think back about all the people that you knew in the early days ? Do you think it was unusual for everybody to get along - the many people that were here ? MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , I guess so . I didn 't think about it because we just did . It was just fun . Everybody was away from home , and we had to be family for each other . That was particularly true in this close neighborhood . MRS . DAVIDSON : I 'm pleased for the most part . I think we 've made good progress . We 've kept up with the outside world . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think we came through at the very best of times . It was not the pressure of war , but we were growing community . I think things were happening at the Lab . Both of my husband and I loved the Lab because there were so many good things going on out there . It gives us hope for the future . [ Editor 's Note : This transcript has been edited at Mrs . Davidson 's request . The corresponding audio and video components have remained unchanged . ] Click tabs to swap between content that is broken into logical sections . MR . HUNNICUTT : This interview is for the Center of Oak Ridge Oral History . The date is November 8 , 2012 . I am Don Hunnicutt in the home of Mrs . Mary Ann Davidson , 117 Orange Lane , Oak Ridge , Tennessee , to take her oral history about living in Oak Ridge , Tennessee . Please state your full name and your place of birth and your date of birth . MRS . DAVIDSON : My name is Mary Ann Davidson . My date of birth is January 12 , 1925 . I was born in Louisville , Kentucky . I lived there all my early life until I graduated from college . MRS . DAVIDSON : My father was William H . Courtenay . He was born in 1890 , on March 3 . He was in World War I and lived his entire life in Louisville and Shelbyville , Kentucky . He worked for the Mengel Company . They imported mahogany and hardwood from Africa and Central America . He delivered those to customers . He didn 't consider himself a salesman , but he sold them to the furniture factory - furniture makers around Kentucky , mostly Indiana and Cincinnati and some in Tennessee . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , he did not . The Louisville Male High School was considered a fine school at that time . They said that graduates could enter Harvard in their second year . The principal had written textbooks that were apparently used all over . But my father was interested in raising ponies . His father had a farm in Shelbyville , Kentucky . If you 'd didn 't make the grade , you are special . And Dr . Ruben Post - Halleck , the famous principal of the school , told him if he took an exam in math , he could be entered back in . He did that , and he aced the test . He was back in . Then he was a special in English , so they told him if he memorized the " Lady of the Lake " and said that he could get back in school . So he did that . I think he never did finish . He was a twin , and his twin was more of an engineering type and went to manual training high school . MR . HUNNICUTT : What about your mother 's school history ? MRS . DAVIDSON : She grew up in several small towns in western Kentucky . Her father worked for the L & N Railroad . She had her high school in Hopkinsville , Kentucky . She had to stay home - or she went to junior college nearby . She had a scholarship to Randolph Macon Women 's College , but she couldn 't take it because her mother was ill and died at age 50 . It was about the year I was born , I think . MRS . DAVIDSON : His name was William Howard Courtenay III . My father was named for his uncle , who was also William Howard . My older brother works for Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green in the physics department . He made instruments . My younger brother was a pediatrician in Louisville , and he is still living on a farm in Shelbyville . He 's interested in Kentucky antiques . MR . HUNNICUTT : Yes . MRS . DAVIDSON : I went to an unusual kindergarten and first grade . I was at what they called the Enterprise Branch of I . N . Bloom School . It was only kindergarten and first grade . It was in the older building , where we had a Pot Belly Stove . I think we had a maid to help us take our leggings off in the cold weather - galoshes . It was really a wonderful school . It was almost like a private one . It was public . We did things like making butter and we had an orchestra . I played the triangle . I had started a little bit earlier when my younger brother was born . Louisville had half semester , half - year grades . I would 've been a half year , but I skipped the last half of kindergarten . I went to the school board and took a test and went on , so they put me in the regular school year . I went through the big school the I . N . Bloom School and Highland Junior High School in Louisville . Then I went to Atherton High School for Girls . The Louisville public schools were segregated - boys and girls . There were about 900 girls at Atherton . My graduating class was about 200 , and I was the valedictorian . MRS . DAVIDSON : They are pants to keep your legs warm . They zipped up from the inside of the ankle bone up to about knee - high , I guess it was . They were a royal pain to take on and off , so the teacher had to have help to do that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was just ordinary . I 'm sure the girls wore dresses , and the little boys wore suits - not suits , but pants and shirts . MRS . DAVIDSON : I came to Oak Ridge after I graduated from college . I had two years of getting a master 's at Emory while I worked at my alma mater , Agnes Scott College in Decatur , Georgia . I was the chemistry lab instructor . So after those two years were up , I was interested in working in chemistry or biochemistry . My master 's was in biochemistry . In Louisville , there was nothing in that field , except liquor and paint - neither of which I was interested in . In Atlanta , I would like to stay in Atlanta , I heard that Oak Ridge was an interesting new place , and a lot was going on here . One of my dear college friends had recently married a physicist from the University of Kentucky , so I visited them here . I guess that must have been 1947 . Her husband was working at NEPA . He said they were looking for people with a chemistry degree . I applied , and I was accepted . I didn 't know that until I had completed the clearance , so I took the opportunity to go to Europe at an American youth hostel bicycle tour of Western Europe in the summer of 1948 . When I got home , I found that I had indeed gotten the job at Oak Ridge . So I came down here . MRS . DAVIDSON : I was wondering that . I think I came by train . When I interviewed earlier in the spring , my interview was at the Andrew Johnson Hotel . It was one of the private rooms . I had never seen the company here . I think I must have been met by a car and driver and brought to Oak Ridge . MRS . DAVIDSON : I came in through the Vermont Gateway , which is where the gas station is now on the corner of what I call Vermont . They call it North Rutgers now . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , I think it must 've been after that . That would 've been at Christmas time . When I applied , I imagine it was early spring . MRS . DAVIDSON : We called the company NEPA , for Nuclear Energy for the Propulsion of Aircraft . It was managed by the Fairchild Corporation the way Union Carbide or one of the other contractors managed the lab . I did not know until the first day I went to work just what the company was doing . They handed me a volume of information that said , " We are looking for - we are trying to make an airplane powered by nuclear energy that could fly to Russia and back without refueling . " That was a great shock to me . MRS . DAVIDSON : I lived in Columbia Hall Dormitory . I was very surprised to find that the rent was $ 15 a month until I realized it was one very small room . That was my living quarters . I took the opportunity to stay out of it as much as possible . I did that by babysitting in some of the B and D houses in the evening . Grandmothers were not here since it was a closed community . Babysitters were in short supply , and even though I didn 't need the money , it was good to get out of the dormitory . MRS . DAVIDSON : The dormitory was like Cheyenne Hall . It was the same type of building . It had wooden stairways from the second - floor hall down on each end . I lived on the second floor . Our dormitory was mostly nurses , since it was up on the hill next to the hospital - I think where the west parking lot is now . There was a kitchen on each end where we could have our own breakfast . Of course we were at the plant at lunchtime , and then we usually went out to supper . I opened the refrigerator door one morning and somebody 's milk came spilling out down my front . Everybody just stuffed things into the refrigerator . MRS . DAVIDSON : I had a single room with a twin bed and enough room to walk to the window by the bed . There was a little table that served as a desk with a chair . There was a much coveted dormitory dresser - a tall one with a number of drawers . They were very popular . MRS . DAVIDSON : They had a wonderful bus service here . Travel wasn 't really a problem . We walked , of course , from the dormitory to Jackson Square and ate supper usually at the Mayflower , which is where I first saw my husband - to - be . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was on the corner of Tennessee , right across from the Soup Kitchen and the Texaco gas station there on the northeast corner . It was a very popular place . In fact , there were several places you could eat . It was the Central Cafeteria , and the T & C Cafeteria in Jackson Square , which is about where the Epicurean is now toward the garden . MRS . DAVIDSON : It must 've been the A & P on Jackson Square . Jackson Square was really the center of activity as far as I was concerned at that time . I still love it . I hope it keeps going . MRS . DAVIDSON : The department stores - the big department store was Taylor 's at the time . They had a wonderful book department headed by Mrs . Keyes , whose daughter I knew at work . They had really fine art books and other books that they would have a great sale on once or twice a year . We were very happy with that . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was in the middle of the block between where Big Ed 's is in the corner . I guess it 's mostly used by the engineering company now . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , not frequently , but I went and saw - there was a theater down at Big Ed 's in Jackson Square and where the Playhouse is now . That was the main one . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , the jewelry store was on the corner that was Henebree 's , I think . No , that was Heneger 's . MR . HUNNICUTT : Henebree ? MRS . DAVIDSON : Henebree . McCrory 's 5 & 10 was there . There was a drugstore - a Service Drugstore . I guess that was where Big Ed 's is now , on the very corner . There was Jackson Square Pharmacy , and on the other side the Hamilton Bank was there next to the movie theater . And Samuel 's Men 's Store was a very nice store . The Jackson Square Pharmacy was there , but in between , which the Pharmacy later took over was a Kay 's Ice Cream Store . We used to go there and - my husband and I would when we were dating . I liked to get coffee with ice cream in it , so we went there . MR . HUNNICUTT : I believe that was Taff Moody Ice Cream - they served Kay 's Ice Cream . MRS . DAVIDSON : Was it ? I didn 't remember that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I can 't say that I do . It was just a given , I suppose . It didn 't make a big dent in my memory . After six months of the dormitory , I moved to a D house on Norman Lane . That was another era . MR . HUNNICUTT : What is a D house ? MRS . DAVIDSON : A D house was a large three bedroom house . They were very much desired . They were really nice houses - still a lot of them are . The house was - there were five other girls who lived there - two of whom had been college friends . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , it would 've been upstairs . It was the second one to the end . A radiation technologist lived on the corner , and I lived there with school teachers and nurses who made up most of the dorm . MR . HUNNICUTT : Let 's talk a little bit about the dorm again . If I had a message for you or someone left a message for you , how did you retrieve your messages ? Was there a desk when you went in ? MRS . DAVIDSON : There was a desk downstairs . I remember the Valentine 's Day - I guess it must 've been 1949 . The message was that I had some flowers , some red roses . I had just met my husband - to - be at that time . I got all excited , and when I got to the desk , it was from somebody else . I enjoyed the red roses , but not as much as I might have . The thing was that there were ladies - a lot of the women who lived in the dorm worked on the night shift . They would sit around a large kind of living room , I guess they called it . They were all staring when I got flowers . I had to walk around , and it was embarrassing . MRS . DAVIDSON : I was there in the winter of 1948 . I 'm very cold natured , but I don 't remember being cold . We had those heavy navy blanket - navy blue blankets . This brings up a story if I jump to it later on . We were moved from the D house after another six months into the brand - new Garden Apartments on Villanova Road . They needed our D house for families . The people who moved in were the Andersons of the Anderson Hilltop Grocery . Of course , the furniture all belonged to the government there . So the Garden Apartments were not furnished , so we had dwindled down from 6 to 4 people who needed furniture . I took a day off and went to an auction the government set up down at the warehouses . I got seven beds and three or four dressers - much more than I could have used . But the beds were in great demand at work because all the young men who worked there were having children and needed beds . So we took the four . Also I got two sofas , and we could use but one ; so I sold one . They were really shabby awful sofas . Since it was all going to surplus anyway , we switched and took the nice sofa from the D house and left them the bad one . It was all taken away anyhow , so I didn 't feel too bad about that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't really remember about the telephone . We didn 't use the telephone much . We never used it for long - distance except for emergencies and calls home . I don 't remember that as being a problem particularly . MRS . DAVIDSON : I suppose I went on the bus . I did not have a car . One of the housemates from Norman Lane had gotten the car , but she would 've been at work at K - 25 . I don 't know . I may have gotten a ride . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess I paid somebody to deliver it . I don 't know . Maybe some of the fellows at work picked up their beds that they wanted . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was one of those warehouses down at the [ Oak Ridge ] Turnpike on Warehouse Road . I don 't know exactly where it was . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess it was on the bulletin boards at work , or there was a newspaper at the Lab . I guess I heard about it that way . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think probably so - in the newsletters they came around , also at the recreation building - the rec hall - at Jackson Square that was the library upstairs and the rec hall downstairs . Word - of - mouth - I don 't remember . We had a need and found the answer to it . MRS . DAVIDSON : I had to punch a clock at eight in the morning when I first started . I guess we got out at 4 : 30 or 5 o ' clock . We had bus service that went from the bus terminal - the Central one - that 's now by Bus Terminal Road . Later on after we were married , we lived on Waddell Circle and went from there to the Jefferson bus terminal . I went - I rode on the K - 25 bus , and they went out past K - 25 to the road that the powerhouse was on and NEPA was beyond that out by the river . MRS . DAVIDSON : There was some kind of management services office . I 'm not sure what it was called - the Roane Anderson Corporation at that time , I guess . I think that 's where I rented the dormitory room . I probably got bus tokens - I guess I got the tokens of the bus terminal . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think I had a checking account probably at Hamilton Bank in Jackson Square . I don 't recall otherwise . I know I did later . One thing I wanted to say about the buses - if you wanted to go to Clinton to do any shopping , more than what you could have in Oak Ridge or to meet somebody or something , there was a bus that ran frequently back and forth between the bus terminal and Clinton . There was a young man on the bus who had a sing - songy sales pitch for " peanuts , popcorn , Cracker Jacks , candy , and chewing gum . " He wouldn 't drive , but he would sell his wares all the way to Clinton and back . I always wondered who that was because he obviously had some talent . MRS . DAVIDSON : I 'm sure I did . I don 't know what became of it . I guess I had to turn it back in . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think somebody just got - one of the guards got on the bus and checked everybody 's badges . It was not a big thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : Probably . I don 't remember . What I do remember about that was my mother was coming down one time for my birthday - it must 've been in January 1949 . She rode the train . I told her that I would get a ride to meet her . Of course , the train didn 't stop at Oak Ridge . It went on to Knoxville , so I bummed a ride with one of the men in our group . He was actually the technical assistant to the director . His car was a broken down old thing with no floorboards in the back seat , which was pretty bad when my mother saw it . But she didn 't see it because when we got to Knoxville , she was not there . When we were coming back from the gateway entrance , she was not there . There was a message that she was waiting for us at the Elza Gate Station . She had told the conductor she had to get off at Oak Ridge . That 's where she was going , and I was going to meet her . So she slid down the Elza bank over there . She had my birthday cake - a large chocolate cake . She slid downhill with that , and somehow they stopped her at the guard gate at Elza . She waited there for us . MRS . DAVIDSON : Just for her - let her off like a milk train . They ordinarily didn 't stop there , but she wouldn 't have it otherwise . MRS . DAVIDSON : I used the library and rec hall . On Sunday afternoons , they played music ; and you could sit and write letters home , which is what I think I did a good bit . Later on in the better weather , there were tennis courts and a swimming pool . I don 't remember going to movies much . We went to church groups . There were so many young people ; it was just like a party all the time . Nothing in particular stands out . It was just fun . MRS . DAVIDSON : In the company I was , that was not true . There were a lot of women of course - of course , the dormitory was full of school teachers and nurses . But NEPA was mostly men . There were two parts to the Fairchild - the science and engineering part , which was bigger . I happen to be in the research part . My boss was a chemist - Vince Calkins . It was my job to - this was a real shocker to me - to find a chemical that would protect the human body against radiation for the reactor that was supposed to be in the airplane to Russia . I had no background for that kind of thing . I was just fresh out of college really . I realized I was out of my depth , but they decided - he was a pharmacist , I believe , and he wanted to do experiments with rats . They brought in the rat colony . By that time we had a couple of assistants , and I was supposed to be the group leader . One of the men , Ray Waldrop - you may have talked to him . I asked him if he minded working for a woman because he was really more experienced than I , although I had the degree . It was fine with him . There was also another worker , Saul Segal , who was quite a character in his own right . I took the rats in the cages over to the reactor , the " Old Lady " at X - 10 , and put them through what they called " rabbits " and radiated them for certain amount of time . We couldn 't kill the darn things . Then we used the older ones that had already been radiated , they were just tough as anything . I think the experiment was really a failure , although they may have found that to be the case in some later work with older people - that the cells are not dividing as fast and they 're not as subject to radiation . But we didn 't get into that . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was actually not K - 25 . It was beyond there . As I said , the bus took us - the bus dumped people off at K - 25 , and they went on west to just before you get to the Gallaher Bridge . You turn right there and go right past the power station there . It was used for a long time - the power house , and then NEPA was beyond that . The native rats came in - was it domestic experimental rats ? That was not good . I had a janitor who helped me , even though he could 've lost his job for doing it . He helped me clean cages . I always appreciated that . MRS . DAVIDSON : When they got rid of the rats , which was a blessing , my group leader then became Bill Browning , who was a fine scientist . He worked on the Van de Graaff generator . We had an interesting argument . Saul Segal thought he should be the one to do it since he was a man and I was a woman who would be leaving soon ; and it turned out that he left for California before I had left to have my baby . His argument didn 't hold with me anyway , but we argued about that some . We did run the Van de Graaff , and we also did some experiments on metallic sodium . It was nasty stuff to work with . It caught on fire if it was exposed to air . You had to work with that under oil in the glove box . I think that work all had to be repeated after NEPA left for Cincinnati with G . E . . When they moved part of NEPA to X - 10 , they called it the ANP , or something about aircraft and nuclear power . I was not connected with that because my first baby was born in August 1951 . I left in July . MRS . DAVIDSON : I heard somebody say that they had to repeat it all . My boss , the Division Director of Chemistry was interested in vitamin E , and thought it had a lot of protective influence . We worked with that . That was some of the work I did in chemistry - the lab part of it in the early days . It was not good work , I think . I 'm not blaming myself , but some of the other men who were doing chemical work - I think altogether we didn 't come up with anything . MRS . DAVIDSON : It may have been ahead of it 's time for nuclear submarines . I don 't know whether the engineering people thought that or not . In our group which was the chemistry and the physics , my friend who got me the job was Jim Trice . A fellow named Art Miller and somebody named Coneybearwere in the Physics Division . And then there were some others - Fred Maienschein . I did some work for him one time . It was work on beryllium for one thing . I didn 't work with any of the active beryllium . I didn 't do any lab work then , but I did some journal research . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't think they were that far along . I 'm not sure what happened to that part of it . As I said , in July of 1951 they moved to Cincinnati , Evensville , above Cincinnati . I don 't know how many people actually went up there . Most of my friends moved elsewhere . MR . HUNNICUTT : You mentioned the location of the operation was past the steam plant that was on the Clinch River . Was that the same location where the S - 50 project was located ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I think that was the name of our plot of land . I think those - I never was quite sure how they got the designations , but that was the Fairchild domain , I think . MRS . DAVIDSON : Really , it was just when our eyes met . It was very romantic . He followed our group home to the Columbia Hall to see where I lived . But at the time I thought he was too young , and I didn 't think he was following me . I was with a group of other girls . Later on , one of the women in the dormitory , who was a gym teacher in the Oak Ridge schools , told me I really ought to meet Jack Davidson that he loved to ride bicycles ; I was just back from my bicycle trip in Europe . I didn 't know who he was , and then I went to a church group meeting at my Presbyterian Church for young people one Sunday evening . A friend of mine had brought Jack Davidson , and he was the one whose eyes I had met and he had met mine . Sure enough , he loved to ride bicycles . That was the start of a good thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : We did a little bit . On our dates , that 's really what we did mostly at first . We rode out to West Outer Drive and had those wonderful big hills , not too much traffic at that time . We went out to the water tower at the top of Louisiana and had a picnic , and then rode back . When we got really good , we rode our bicycles over to Concord Park one day . I had gotten some chicken breasts at the grocery . I guess it was the A & P at Jackson Square . I was going to fry them for a picnic to take along over to Concord Park . When I went to the refrigerator to get them , they had turned into wings . Somebody had eaten my chicken breast . Jack was a good sport about that . He didn 't care . We had a nice ride . It was before they had improved Lovell Road . It was a pretty rough ride over there , but we were able to enjoy it . MRS . DAVIDSON : He had his bicycle . It was probably a Grey Stone . For me , he rented a bicycle from his work friend . I had forgotten what his name was . We went over to one of the D Streets , I think , and rode them . I didn 't have my English 3 - speed here . I guess I brought it later , but at that time I didn 't have it . MRS . DAVIDSON : That was a problem . I complained to my friend Jim Trice 's wife , Dot , who happened to live around the corner on Outer Drive at that time . She said the boardwalk was used a lot for dating , and of course the theaters . I guess we were outdoors people . I don 't know . MRS . DAVIDSON : He was a graduate of Georgia Tech . At the time he graduated , he was very young . He came up to see about a job , and he was drafted . No , he was in danger of being drafted right away , but they didn 't hire him . He did go to work for NASA , which was at that time NACA , in Virginia ; and worked over there a short time before he was taken into the Army . He had gone through Georgia Tech on a " War Manpower " loan . He was sent to some place to be an MP , I think . He wrote a night letter , which is a 50 - word telegram that was cheaper at night . He wrote a night letter to Stimson , the Secretary of War , telling them they had paid for his college education ; and here he was sitting in a camp doing nothing down in Alabama . He was transferred to the SED , he would never say that was the reason he was transferred . It may or may not have been . He arrived with the SED - he arrived in Oak Ridge the day Roosevelt died , which was in April 1945 , he was here with his group for maybe six weeks before they went out to Los Alamos . So he spent the rest of the war out there . Then he used his G . I . Bill - he stayed on at Los Alamos . They told them they would let him out of the Army if he would agree to stay on as a civilian . So he took that . Then when he did leave , he went to Annapolis and took a liberal arts course because he felt that he had missed out on it at Georgia Tech . He had a year at St . John 's College of Annapolis ; and then all along I guess he thought he would like to come back here . He came back - he arrived on Armistice Day , now Veterans Day , of 1948 . I was here a couple of months before he came , but we met shortly after Christmas in 1949 . MRS . DAVIDSON : Too long . We were married in May 1950 . He wanted to pay off his loan before we could get married , so I helped him along with that . I fed him some . He was very welcome at the D House of girls . I was going to tell you that during the war , there were nine girls in the house , and they slept on shifts on the bunk beds . There were only six of us when I was there . There were a couple of the boyfriends around , and one of them cut the grass . I think Jack did the - empty the clinkers from the furnace , the coal furnace . They made themselves useful . They got their dinner . MR . HUNNICUTT : Tell me about the coal furnace briefly . MRS . DAVIDSON : Most of the houses were a very good design really , and a whole lot better built than we gave them credit for . But each one that I knew of had a corner set off or closed off as a coal storage place that could be filled through a window from the outside , and then you could use the - there was an opening on the inside that you could use to put coal into the furnace . That was awful of course , but that 's what all the houses were doing in that time , too . We had a yard full of clinkers over there . MRS . DAVIDSON : We were taken care of by a Big Brother - the government . They brought the coal around , and you didn 't do a thing . That was part of the rent . When we got our house here on Orange Lane , that 's another story . Are you ready for that yet ? MRS . DAVIDSON : We went back to my home in Louisville , Kentucky , to be married . We had planned to fly to Nashville , but it turned out the Delta Queen was coming through Louisville the next morning . My mother had told us we could not get married the week before because it was too busy with Derby Day . So we delayed until May 13 . Then we spent the night in Louisville at the Brown Hotel , where she pulled some strings to get us a room because it was still very full of visitors from the Derby . We got on the Delta Queen , and our friends were all on the dock to see us off . They had us almost convinced that we were on Daylight Saving Time , and the Delta Queen was not , and we had missed it . But we rode down just as far as Paducah . We were anxious to start in life you know . We lived on Wadell Circle in a K apartment . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you recall the number ? MRS . DAVIDSON : It was a two - story thing . I guess it was a two - bedroom up above , and we had K - 1 . It was sort of underground at the front and open at the back . We had a nice back porch . There was a closet under the stairway and a very small kitchen . It had a table that folded down . It was not as compact as a flattop , but the furnishings that they had did double duty . You could fold it up and have more room . MRS . DAVIDSON : The K apartment was heated with the coal furnace , but there was a janitor who came around and took care of it for us . We were taken care of by Roane Anderson . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you remember what the rent was ? MRS . DAVIDSON : We lived in the K from May 1950 , until we got this house in July 1952 . It was said - the word around town was that you couldn 't get a two - bedroom house unless you had three children , all of different sex . We had been on the list for this house ever since we knew our daughter was coming along . That was a long time to wait . We had been offered two houses - Florida Avenue , where the parking was across the street and the backyard just dropped off . We thought that was totally unsuitable for a new child . We turned both of those down . If we had turned this one down , we would 've gone to the bottom of the long list . But we loved this place of the trees and the dead end lane neighborhood . So we sat outside in front all weekend because we were not top on the list . The reason the other people didn 't take it was that the previous owner , Jim Cox and Charlotte , had put in an oil furnace ; and nobody wanted to pay $ 200 for the oil furnace . Since I had been working , we had saved my salary from work , and we had $ 200 to pay . Also , they didn 't want to be in the high rent district . This house rented for something like $ 45 instead of $ 43 in the lower rent districts . MRS . DAVIDSON : The Oak Ridge cemesto houses that were built - I think this house was built in the fall of 1944 or 1943 . Maybe it was ' 43 . The B house has two bedrooms and of course a bath and a kitchen with a dinette into a long narrow living room . It was about 24 feet by 40 something feet . It was small and convenient . It didn 't have much storage space , but it 's been a wonderful house for us because of the trees . We are on a greenbelt , and I enjoy that very much . It 's a nice private neighborhood just above Jackson Square . MRS . DAVIDSON : Our cemesto has a fireplace , and it had a complete brick wall . Some of the B houses had a brick wall just beyond the fireplace . MRS . DAVIDSON : There are hardwood floors in all the cemestos , I believe . Our house has maple flooring , and a lot of them had oak . Wood was hard to come by in the wartime . We love the color - the reddish color of the maple . MRS . DAVIDSON : Adele is our second daughter , and she was two years younger . Our son is Bill Davidson or William . He was born in November of 1954 . He 's just now turning 58 . MR . HUNNICUTT : So your first daughter went to Cedar Hill ? MRS . DAVIDSON : All three of our children went to Cedar Hill . They had split grades there , so I think the classes were one half size . They would take the kids a half from one grade , and half from the next grade , and that worked out just fine . MRS . DAVIDSON : Cedar Hill was wonderful . It was very special . Mr . Dodd was the principal , and he saw to it - he had the best teachers or at least as good as any . Actually in those days all the teachers and Oak Ridge were special because many of them had been recruited from Columbia Teachers College , along with the superintendent . Others were specially recruited for the job . They were a group a part , I think , from a lot of teachers . MRS . DAVIDSON : The girls both went to Jefferson when it was on the hill at Jackson Square , and Bill was in the first year at the new Jefferson that was over on Fairbanks Road . His was the first class there . They all went through Oak Ridge High . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you recall some of the classes your daughters took while they were in junior high ? Was there Home Ec . or things related to girls ? MRS . DAVIDSON : No , they were on the college prep track . They took eighth grade algebra and that kind of thing . Of course English and math and social studies and science - our older girl I think took biology ; and I 'm not sure if Adele had a more general science course . It just depended on the teacher that they had . They had an excellent education , and the girls were both Merit semifinalists . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course . I was in the PTA . I 'm not sure if I was ever a room mother , but I of course helped with parties and things . MRS . DAVIDSON : The teachers recruited them from each class to help with parties mostly . They helped with any activities that they didn 't really have time to do . MRS . DAVIDSON : Parent - Teacher Association , a time honored group . It got extra things for the school . I got involved with raincoats for the school patrol . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess maybe I was a treasurer of the Cedar Hill PTA , and this goal was to get those yellow slicker raincoat so kids could be visible to the drivers . I found out how much the things cost , and then I estimated postage . At the PTA meeting , Alvin Weinberg was president . He had a son or two in school at the time . He took me to task for estimating the postage , so I had to ask for just the money for the coats themselves since I didn 't really know what the postage is going to be . I thought that was interesting that he wanted to keep it to the exact penny . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think they just wore what the other kids wore . One day we had a deep snow and Bill was in kindergarten , and the snow was up over their boots . I think he had some corduroys . The teacher was making the kids take their pants off and dry them on the radiator , and he wouldn 't do it . I had to go up to the school and take him some fresh pants , some dry clothes . He was very young - just four when he started . MR . HUNNICUTT : Let 's go back a few years . Do you remember 1945 when they dropped the bomb on Japan ? You remember where you were ? And what was your reaction ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I do remember that very clearly because it was the summer after my junior year in college , and I was a camp counselor up in Door County , Wisconsin . There was no electricity at the camp , so we counselors - after we got the kids to bed , went to the state park nearby . This was at Fish Creek , Wisconsin . We would listen to people 's car radios . We knew for about a week that something was happening , but we didn 't know just what . It was very deeply moving when the bomb was dropped , and we thought it would bring an end to the war . Of course , I had friends and a brother on Guam and a cousin was in Europe and others . So that was very deeply moving . I had a book of poetry - my favorite poems at the camp with me . One of my 12 - year - olds picked out a poem - " Once to every man and nation comes a moment to decide " - she read that , and I thought that was very astute of her , a youngster to be able to do that . MRS . DAVIDSON : My husband thought they should have dropped a sample first , but I didn 't feel that way since the first bomb didn 't phase the Japanese . I didn 't think the test one would have either . I was just so glad that the war was over . People could settle down and get into real life again . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think I was in transition from the dormitory to the house , and my husband 's brothers came up from Georgia to witness the opening . So we drove in their car around , and we watched the parade from , I believe , down on the eastern end of the Turnpike down near the warehouses to get out of the traffic . We never could figure out why they invited Marie " The Body " McDonald and [ inaudible ] to ride in the open car for the parade . We couldn 't figure out what they had to do with it , but we did see the burning of the magnesium ribbon . That was exciting . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was only toward town from Elza Gate . I know the central part of town , the Jackson Square area , was very crowded . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think they name the streets for famous cities in the country , and of course the alphabetical designations were very helpful . But Jackson Square , I assume , was named for New Orleans . That 's all I know about it . MRS . DAVIDSON : Sometimes you would pick up the telephone , and the other party was talking . I believe they had different rings . I think maybe the other party had one ring , and we had two . There were four - party lines , but if we were on a four - party line , only the other one was active . I think maybe we were . The other two lines were not being used . MR . HUNNICUTT : When you are raising your family , did you hang your clothes outside on the clothesline ? Did you have a dryer ? What did you use ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I hung them outside on the clothesline . As I said , when we moved here , Anne was a year old . Not much more than three years after that , we had three babies . I was able to talk my husband into getting a dryer that time . Before that , he had built a pulley out of my kitchen window . There was a drop off in the back , and he was able to string it to a tree in the woods . I was able to reel those cloth diapers and reel them in and out . The only problem was that the birds like the trees , too . Sometimes I had to do some re - washing . MR . HUNNICUTT : So in those days you use cloth diapers ? Today we use disposable diapers . How do you think you would 've done if you had disposable diapers ? MRS . DAVIDSON : At one point , when our children were out playing Kick the Can , there were over 40 children on the lane . There were about 20 or 21 houses . There were almost as many dogs . It was just a glorious place for them to grow up . They seem to get along remarkably well most of the time , especially in the early days . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes . We went down there on the opening , and got the radioactive dimes on that occasion . The museum at that time was down at Jefferson Circle . I don 't think any of us ever had our hair stand out on the Van De Graff generator or whatever it was , but we took the children . We went out ourselves . Of course my husband was interested in that kind of thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : Sometimes they walked to Jefferson , but by that time they were carrying pretty heavy books . One of the neighbors on Outer Drive wanted to have a carpool , so we joined that . MRS . DAVIDSON : When Anne was in the fifth grade , they had to write what they did on Friday nights . The teacher would call me and say , " Is it true that you gave your children ice water and watched TV on Friday nights ? " That was how generous we were with them . We didn 't get a TV until they were probably five or six years old . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course it was black and white . The reason we got it - I guess finally it was that the children were always going to the neighbors ' house to watch TV . We decided that we should get our own . They watched things like " Pinky Lee " and I 've forgotten what else . MRS . DAVIDSON : I remember that fondly because my first real date with my husband was going to dinner there with him . He invited me to go to a concert in Knoxville , and his excuse was that we should get to know each other better before he took me to the city with him . That was one thing . I remember there were parties there , and our company had a party at the Oak Terrace Ballroom . One of the NEPA fellows wore a Tarzan costume , which was mostly nothing . It turned out that he lived in the neighborhood . MR . HUNNICUTT : What was the Oak Terrace ballroom - where was it located ? MRS . DAVIDSON : That was just below the dormitory where I lived in Columbia Hall . Jack went there looking for me , he thought I would eat breakfast there and then he could have breakfast with me ; but I ate in the dormitory . He didn 't find me there . When we came back from our bicycle ride to Concord Park , I remember we stopped by there , and he drank two or three Mountain Dew drinks . That surprised me , but we had worked off a lot of sweat . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , we took our children out there and saw " Lawrence of Arabia " and " The 10 Commandment " and those things . It was quite nice . MR . HUNNICUTT : Where was it located ? MRS . DAVIDSON : It was about where Kroger 's - where that is now , on the southeast part of Illinois Avenue . It was a nice thing . That was a special treat for the children to go out there . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't think so . I think they were mostly in the car . They had a drawing one time , Jack won something . It was actually nothing , but he did win . MRS . DAVIDSON : I sure did . My three children were born there . It was a green structure , like so many of the buildings in Oak Ridge . I guess the present building is built on that place . It was okay . I didn 't have any problems with it , except after my second child . I had a staph infection from the hospital . Even an Army wife with a private room got an infection there . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , I think they also had been recruited ; and a lot of them were from Tulane University . The time I was sick with my infection , they were having a reunion at Tulane , and my doctor and another one were gone for the reunion . I didn 't like the one who took care of me . He didn 't do a good job . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was okay . I don 't remember having any problems with it . We knew Dr . Rogers from our church , and we went to him . He was called away to the service , I believe . Maybe it was the Korean War , but then he came back . MRS . DAVIDSON : We met at Pine Valley School . The choir sat on the bleachers , and the minister sat under the halo of the basketball net . My husband was a Methodist , and he went to the First Methodist Church . They had a big youth group there . When we were first married , we tried to take them both in . We went to Sunday school one place , and church another until we finally settled on the Presbyterian . It was smaller , and we knew more people . MR . HUNNICUTT : Thinking back , what do you like best about Oak Ridge ? MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course the people . I love my trees and my house . I love all the activities . Both my husband and I have always loved music and enjoy the concerts a lot . The symphony concerts with Waldo Cohn conducting were held at Jefferson Junior High on the Kentucky Avenue hill . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you think back about all the people that you knew in the early days ? Do you think it was unusual for everybody to get along - the many people that were here ? MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , I guess so . I didn 't think about it because we just did . It was just fun . Everybody was away from home , and we had to be family for each other . That was particularly true in this close neighborhood . MRS . DAVIDSON : I 'm pleased for the most part . I think we 've made good progress . We 've kept up with the outside world . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't know . I 'll probably think of things after you leave . Nothing particular comes to mind . MR . HUNNICUTT : I would like to thank you for your time , and I think this interview will be very helpful for someone in the future to see how you lived in Oak Ridge in the early days . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think we came through at the very best of times . It was not the pressure of war , but we were growing community . I think things were happening at the Lab . Both of my husband and I loved the Lab because there were so many good things going on out there . It gives us hope for the future . MR . HUNNICUTT : I thank you very much for your time . [ Editor 's Note : This transcript has been edited at Mrs . Davidson 's request . The corresponding audio and video components have remained unchanged . ] Your rating was saved . you wish to report :

MR . HUNNICUTT : This interview is for the Center of Oak Ridge Oral History . The date is November 8 , 2012 . I am Don Hunnicutt in the home of Mrs . Mary Ann Davidson , 117 Orange Lane , Oak Ridge , Tennessee , to take her oral history about living in Oak Ridge , Tennessee . Please state your full name and your place of birth and your date of birth . MRS . DAVIDSON : My name is Mary Ann Davidson . My date of birth is January 12 , 1925 . I was born in Louisville , Kentucky . I lived there all my early life until I graduated from college . MRS . DAVIDSON : My father was William H . Courtenay . He was born in 1890 , on March 3 . He was in World War I and lived his entire life in Louisville and Shelbyville , Kentucky . He worked for the Mengel Company . They imported mahogany and hardwood from Africa and Central America . He delivered those to customers . He didn 't consider himself a salesman , but he sold them to the furniture factory - furniture makers around Kentucky , mostly Indiana and Cincinnati and some in Tennessee . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , he did not . The Louisville Male High School was considered a fine school at that time . They said that graduates could enter Harvard in their second year . The principal had written textbooks that were apparently used all over . But my father was interested in raising ponies . His father had a farm in Shelbyville , Kentucky . If you 'd didn 't make the grade , you are special . And Dr . Ruben Post - Halleck , the famous principal of the school , told him if he took an exam in math , he could be entered back in . He did that , and he aced the test . He was back in . Then he was a special in English , so they told him if he memorized the " Lady of the Lake " and said that he could get back in school . So he did that . I think he never did finish . He was a twin , and his twin was more of an engineering type and went to manual training high school . MRS . DAVIDSON : She grew up in several small towns in western Kentucky . Her father worked for the L & N Railroad . She had her high school in Hopkinsville , Kentucky . She had to stay home - or she went to junior college nearby . She had a scholarship to Randolph Macon Women 's College , but she couldn 't take it because her mother was ill and died at age 50 . It was about the year I was born , I think . MRS . DAVIDSON : His name was William Howard Courtenay III . My father was named for his uncle , who was also William Howard . My older brother works for Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green in the physics department . He made instruments . My younger brother was a pediatrician in Louisville , and he is still living on a farm in Shelbyville . He 's interested in Kentucky antiques . MRS . DAVIDSON : I went to an unusual kindergarten and first grade . I was at what they called the Enterprise Branch of I . N . Bloom School . It was only kindergarten and first grade . It was in the older building , where we had a Pot Belly Stove . I think we had a maid to help us take our leggings off in the cold weather - galoshes . It was really a wonderful school . It was almost like a private one . It was public . We did things like making butter and we had an orchestra . I played the triangle . I had started a little bit earlier when my younger brother was born . Louisville had half semester , half - year grades . I would 've been a half year , but I skipped the last half of kindergarten . I went to the school board and took a test and went on , so they put me in the regular school year . I went through the big school the I . N . Bloom School and Highland Junior High School in Louisville . Then I went to Atherton High School for Girls . The Louisville public schools were segregated - boys and girls . There were about 900 girls at Atherton . My graduating class was about 200 , and I was the valedictorian . MRS . DAVIDSON : They are pants to keep your legs warm . They zipped up from the inside of the ankle bone up to about knee - high , I guess it was . They were a royal pain to take on and off , so the teacher had to have help to do that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was just ordinary . I 'm sure the girls wore dresses , and the little boys wore suits - not suits , but pants and shirts . MRS . DAVIDSON : I came to Oak Ridge after I graduated from college . I had two years of getting a master 's at Emory while I worked at my alma mater , Agnes Scott College in Decatur , Georgia . I was the chemistry lab instructor . So after those two years were up , I was interested in working in chemistry or biochemistry . My master 's was in biochemistry . In Louisville , there was nothing in that field , except liquor and paint - neither of which I was interested in . In Atlanta , I would like to stay in Atlanta , I heard that Oak Ridge was an interesting new place , and a lot was going on here . One of my dear college friends had recently married a physicist from the University of Kentucky , so I visited them here . I guess that must have been 1947 . Her husband was working at NEPA . He said they were looking for people with a chemistry degree . I applied , and I was accepted . I didn 't know that until I had completed the clearance , so I took the opportunity to go to Europe at an American youth hostel bicycle tour of Western Europe in the summer of 1948 . When I got home , I found that I had indeed gotten the job at Oak Ridge . So I came down here . MRS . DAVIDSON : I was wondering that . I think I came by train . When I interviewed earlier in the spring , my interview was at the Andrew Johnson Hotel . It was one of the private rooms . I had never seen the company here . I think I must have been met by a car and driver and brought to Oak Ridge . MRS . DAVIDSON : I came in through the Vermont Gateway , which is where the gas station is now on the corner of what I call Vermont . They call it North Rutgers now . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , I think it must 've been after that . That would 've been at Christmas time . When I applied , I imagine it was early spring . MRS . DAVIDSON : We called the company NEPA , for Nuclear Energy for the Propulsion of Aircraft . It was managed by the Fairchild Corporation the way Union Carbide or one of the other contractors managed the lab . I did not know until the first day I went to work just what the company was doing . They handed me a volume of information that said , " We are looking for - we are trying to make an airplane powered by nuclear energy that could fly to Russia and back without refueling . " That was a great shock to me . MRS . DAVIDSON : I lived in Columbia Hall Dormitory . I was very surprised to find that the rent was $ 15 a month until I realized it was one very small room . That was my living quarters . I took the opportunity to stay out of it as much as possible . I did that by babysitting in some of the B and D houses in the evening . Grandmothers were not here since it was a closed community . Babysitters were in short supply , and even though I didn 't need the money , it was good to get out of the dormitory . MRS . DAVIDSON : The dormitory was like Cheyenne Hall . It was the same type of building . It had wooden stairways from the second - floor hall down on each end . I lived on the second floor . Our dormitory was mostly nurses , since it was up on the hill next to the hospital - I think where the west parking lot is now . There was a kitchen on each end where we could have our own breakfast . Of course we were at the plant at lunchtime , and then we usually went out to supper . I opened the refrigerator door one morning and somebody 's milk came spilling out down my front . Everybody just stuffed things into the refrigerator . MRS . DAVIDSON : I had a single room with a twin bed and enough room to walk to the window by the bed . There was a little table that served as a desk with a chair . There was a much coveted dormitory dresser - a tall one with a number of drawers . They were very popular . MRS . DAVIDSON : They had a wonderful bus service here . Travel wasn 't really a problem . We walked , of course , from the dormitory to Jackson Square and ate supper usually at the Mayflower , which is where I first saw my husband - to - be . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was on the corner of Tennessee , right across from the Soup Kitchen and the Texaco gas station there on the northeast corner . It was a very popular place . In fact , there were several places you could eat . It was the Central Cafeteria , and the T & C Cafeteria in Jackson Square , which is about where the Epicurean is now toward the garden . MRS . DAVIDSON : It must 've been the A & P on Jackson Square . Jackson Square was really the center of activity as far as I was concerned at that time . I still love it . I hope it keeps going . MRS . DAVIDSON : The department stores - the big department store was Taylor 's at the time . They had a wonderful book department headed by Mrs . Keyes , whose daughter I knew at work . They had really fine art books and other books that they would have a great sale on once or twice a year . We were very happy with that . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was in the middle of the block between where Big Ed 's is in the corner . I guess it 's mostly used by the engineering company now . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , not frequently , but I went and saw - there was a theater down at Big Ed 's in Jackson Square and where the Playhouse is now . That was the main one . MRS . DAVIDSON : Henebree . McCrory 's 5 & 10 was there . There was a drugstore - a Service Drugstore . I guess that was where Big Ed 's is now , on the very corner . There was Jackson Square Pharmacy , and on the other side the Hamilton Bank was there next to the movie theater . And Samuel 's Men 's Store was a very nice store . The Jackson Square Pharmacy was there , but in between , which the Pharmacy later took over was a Kay 's Ice Cream Store . We used to go there and - my husband and I would when we were dating . I liked to get coffee with ice cream in it , so we went there . MRS . DAVIDSON : I can 't say that I do . It was just a given , I suppose . It didn 't make a big dent in my memory . After six months of the dormitory , I moved to a D house on Norman Lane . That was another era . MRS . DAVIDSON : A D house was a large three bedroom house . They were very much desired . They were really nice houses - still a lot of them are . The house was - there were five other girls who lived there - two of whom had been college friends . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , it would 've been upstairs . It was the second one to the end . A radiation technologist lived on the corner , and I lived there with school teachers and nurses who made up most of the dorm . MR . HUNNICUTT : Let 's talk a little bit about the dorm again . If I had a message for you or someone left a message for you , how did you retrieve your messages ? Was there a desk when you went in ? MRS . DAVIDSON : There was a desk downstairs . I remember the Valentine 's Day - I guess it must 've been 1949 . The message was that I had some flowers , some red roses . I had just met my husband - to - be at that time . I got all excited , and when I got to the desk , it was from somebody else . I enjoyed the red roses , but not as much as I might have . The thing was that there were ladies - a lot of the women who lived in the dorm worked on the night shift . They would sit around a large kind of living room , I guess they called it . They were all staring when I got flowers . I had to walk around , and it was embarrassing . MRS . DAVIDSON : I was there in the winter of 1948 . I 'm very cold natured , but I don 't remember being cold . We had those heavy navy blanket - navy blue blankets . This brings up a story if I jump to it later on . We were moved from the D house after another six months into the brand - new Garden Apartments on Villanova Road . They needed our D house for families . The people who moved in were the Andersons of the Anderson Hilltop Grocery . Of course , the furniture all belonged to the government there . So the Garden Apartments were not furnished , so we had dwindled down from 6 to 4 people who needed furniture . I took a day off and went to an auction the government set up down at the warehouses . I got seven beds and three or four dressers - much more than I could have used . But the beds were in great demand at work because all the young men who worked there were having children and needed beds . So we took the four . Also I got two sofas , and we could use but one ; so I sold one . They were really shabby awful sofas . Since it was all going to surplus anyway , we switched and took the nice sofa from the D house and left them the bad one . It was all taken away anyhow , so I didn 't feel too bad about that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't really remember about the telephone . We didn 't use the telephone much . We never used it for long - distance except for emergencies and calls home . I don 't remember that as being a problem particularly . MRS . DAVIDSON : I suppose I went on the bus . I did not have a car . One of the housemates from Norman Lane had gotten the car , but she would 've been at work at K - 25 . I don 't know . I may have gotten a ride . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess I paid somebody to deliver it . I don 't know . Maybe some of the fellows at work picked up their beds that they wanted . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was one of those warehouses down at the [ Oak Ridge ] Turnpike on Warehouse Road . I don 't know exactly where it was . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess it was on the bulletin boards at work , or there was a newspaper at the Lab . I guess I heard about it that way . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think probably so - in the newsletters they came around , also at the recreation building - the rec hall - at Jackson Square that was the library upstairs and the rec hall downstairs . Word - of - mouth - I don 't remember . We had a need and found the answer to it . MRS . DAVIDSON : I had to punch a clock at eight in the morning when I first started . I guess we got out at 4 : 30 or 5 o ' clock . We had bus service that went from the bus terminal - the Central one - that 's now by Bus Terminal Road . Later on after we were married , we lived on Waddell Circle and went from there to the Jefferson bus terminal . I went - I rode on the K - 25 bus , and they went out past K - 25 to the road that the powerhouse was on and NEPA was beyond that out by the river . MRS . DAVIDSON : There was some kind of management services office . I 'm not sure what it was called - the Roane Anderson Corporation at that time , I guess . I think that 's where I rented the dormitory room . I probably got bus tokens - I guess I got the tokens of the bus terminal . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think I had a checking account probably at Hamilton Bank in Jackson Square . I don 't recall otherwise . I know I did later . One thing I wanted to say about the buses - if you wanted to go to Clinton to do any shopping , more than what you could have in Oak Ridge or to meet somebody or something , there was a bus that ran frequently back and forth between the bus terminal and Clinton . There was a young man on the bus who had a sing - songy sales pitch for " peanuts , popcorn , Cracker Jacks , candy , and chewing gum . " He wouldn 't drive , but he would sell his wares all the way to Clinton and back . I always wondered who that was because he obviously had some talent . MRS . DAVIDSON : I 'm sure I did . I don 't know what became of it . I guess I had to turn it back in . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think somebody just got - one of the guards got on the bus and checked everybody 's badges . It was not a big thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : Probably . I don 't remember . What I do remember about that was my mother was coming down one time for my birthday - it must 've been in January 1949 . She rode the train . I told her that I would get a ride to meet her . Of course , the train didn 't stop at Oak Ridge . It went on to Knoxville , so I bummed a ride with one of the men in our group . He was actually the technical assistant to the director . His car was a broken down old thing with no floorboards in the back seat , which was pretty bad when my mother saw it . But she didn 't see it because when we got to Knoxville , she was not there . When we were coming back from the gateway entrance , she was not there . There was a message that she was waiting for us at the Elza Gate Station . She had told the conductor she had to get off at Oak Ridge . That 's where she was going , and I was going to meet her . So she slid down the Elza bank over there . She had my birthday cake - a large chocolate cake . She slid downhill with that , and somehow they stopped her at the guard gate at Elza . She waited there for us . MRS . DAVIDSON : Just for her - let her off like a milk train . They ordinarily didn 't stop there , but she wouldn 't have it otherwise . MRS . DAVIDSON : I used the library and rec hall . On Sunday afternoons , they played music ; and you could sit and write letters home , which is what I think I did a good bit . Later on in the better weather , there were tennis courts and a swimming pool . I don 't remember going to movies much . We went to church groups . There were so many young people ; it was just like a party all the time . Nothing in particular stands out . It was just fun . MRS . DAVIDSON : In the company I was , that was not true . There were a lot of women of course - of course , the dormitory was full of school teachers and nurses . But NEPA was mostly men . There were two parts to the Fairchild - the science and engineering part , which was bigger . I happen to be in the research part . My boss was a chemist - Vince Calkins . It was my job to - this was a real shocker to me - to find a chemical that would protect the human body against radiation for the reactor that was supposed to be in the airplane to Russia . I had no background for that kind of thing . I was just fresh out of college really . I realized I was out of my depth , but they decided - he was a pharmacist , I believe , and he wanted to do experiments with rats . They brought in the rat colony . By that time we had a couple of assistants , and I was supposed to be the group leader . One of the men , Ray Waldrop - you may have talked to him . I asked him if he minded working for a woman because he was really more experienced than I , although I had the degree . It was fine with him . There was also another worker , Saul Segal , who was quite a character in his own right . I took the rats in the cages over to the reactor , the " Old Lady " at X - 10 , and put them through what they called " rabbits " and radiated them for certain amount of time . We couldn 't kill the darn things . Then we used the older ones that had already been radiated , they were just tough as anything . I think the experiment was really a failure , although they may have found that to be the case in some later work with older people - that the cells are not dividing as fast and they 're not as subject to radiation . But we didn 't get into that . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was actually not K - 25 . It was beyond there . As I said , the bus took us - the bus dumped people off at K - 25 , and they went on west to just before you get to the Gallaher Bridge . You turn right there and go right past the power station there . It was used for a long time - the power house , and then NEPA was beyond that . The native rats came in - was it domestic experimental rats ? That was not good . I had a janitor who helped me , even though he could 've lost his job for doing it . He helped me clean cages . I always appreciated that . MRS . DAVIDSON : When they got rid of the rats , which was a blessing , my group leader then became Bill Browning , who was a fine scientist . He worked on the Van de Graaff generator . We had an interesting argument . Saul Segal thought he should be the one to do it since he was a man and I was a woman who would be leaving soon ; and it turned out that he left for California before I had left to have my baby . His argument didn 't hold with me anyway , but we argued about that some . We did run the Van de Graaff , and we also did some experiments on metallic sodium . It was nasty stuff to work with . It caught on fire if it was exposed to air . You had to work with that under oil in the glove box . I think that work all had to be repeated after NEPA left for Cincinnati with G . E . . When they moved part of NEPA to X - 10 , they called it the ANP , or something about aircraft and nuclear power . I was not connected with that because my first baby was born in August 1951 . I left in July . MRS . DAVIDSON : I heard somebody say that they had to repeat it all . My boss , the Division Director of Chemistry was interested in vitamin E , and thought it had a lot of protective influence . We worked with that . That was some of the work I did in chemistry - the lab part of it in the early days . It was not good work , I think . I 'm not blaming myself , but some of the other men who were doing chemical work - I think altogether we didn 't come up with anything . MRS . DAVIDSON : It may have been ahead of it 's time for nuclear submarines . I don 't know whether the engineering people thought that or not . In our group which was the chemistry and the physics , my friend who got me the job was Jim Trice . A fellow named Art Miller and somebody named Coneybearwere in the Physics Division . And then there were some others - Fred Maienschein . I did some work for him one time . It was work on beryllium for one thing . I didn 't work with any of the active beryllium . I didn 't do any lab work then , but I did some journal research . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't think they were that far along . I 'm not sure what happened to that part of it . As I said , in July of 1951 they moved to Cincinnati , Evensville , above Cincinnati . I don 't know how many people actually went up there . Most of my friends moved elsewhere . MR . HUNNICUTT : You mentioned the location of the operation was past the steam plant that was on the Clinch River . Was that the same location where the S - 50 project was located ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I think that was the name of our plot of land . I think those - I never was quite sure how they got the designations , but that was the Fairchild domain , I think . MRS . DAVIDSON : Really , it was just when our eyes met . It was very romantic . He followed our group home to the Columbia Hall to see where I lived . But at the time I thought he was too young , and I didn 't think he was following me . I was with a group of other girls . Later on , one of the women in the dormitory , who was a gym teacher in the Oak Ridge schools , told me I really ought to meet Jack Davidson that he loved to ride bicycles ; I was just back from my bicycle trip in Europe . I didn 't know who he was , and then I went to a church group meeting at my Presbyterian Church for young people one Sunday evening . A friend of mine had brought Jack Davidson , and he was the one whose eyes I had met and he had met mine . Sure enough , he loved to ride bicycles . That was the start of a good thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : We did a little bit . On our dates , that 's really what we did mostly at first . We rode out to West Outer Drive and had those wonderful big hills , not too much traffic at that time . We went out to the water tower at the top of Louisiana and had a picnic , and then rode back . When we got really good , we rode our bicycles over to Concord Park one day . I had gotten some chicken breasts at the grocery . I guess it was the A & P at Jackson Square . I was going to fry them for a picnic to take along over to Concord Park . When I went to the refrigerator to get them , they had turned into wings . Somebody had eaten my chicken breast . Jack was a good sport about that . He didn 't care . We had a nice ride . It was before they had improved Lovell Road . It was a pretty rough ride over there , but we were able to enjoy it . MRS . DAVIDSON : He had his bicycle . It was probably a Grey Stone . For me , he rented a bicycle from his work friend . I had forgotten what his name was . We went over to one of the D Streets , I think , and rode them . I didn 't have my English 3 - speed here . I guess I brought it later , but at that time I didn 't have it . MRS . DAVIDSON : That was a problem . I complained to my friend Jim Trice 's wife , Dot , who happened to live around the corner on Outer Drive at that time . She said the boardwalk was used a lot for dating , and of course the theaters . I guess we were outdoors people . I don 't know . MRS . DAVIDSON : He was a graduate of Georgia Tech . At the time he graduated , he was very young . He came up to see about a job , and he was drafted . No , he was in danger of being drafted right away , but they didn 't hire him . He did go to work for NASA , which was at that time NACA , in Virginia ; and worked over there a short time before he was taken into the Army . He had gone through Georgia Tech on a " War Manpower " loan . He was sent to some place to be an MP , I think . He wrote a night letter , which is a 50 - word telegram that was cheaper at night . He wrote a night letter to Stimson , the Secretary of War , telling them they had paid for his college education ; and here he was sitting in a camp doing nothing down in Alabama . He was transferred to the SED , he would never say that was the reason he was transferred . It may or may not have been . He arrived with the SED - he arrived in Oak Ridge the day Roosevelt died , which was in April 1945 , he was here with his group for maybe six weeks before they went out to Los Alamos . So he spent the rest of the war out there . Then he used his G . I . Bill - he stayed on at Los Alamos . They told them they would let him out of the Army if he would agree to stay on as a civilian . So he took that . Then when he did leave , he went to Annapolis and took a liberal arts course because he felt that he had missed out on it at Georgia Tech . He had a year at St . John 's College of Annapolis ; and then all along I guess he thought he would like to come back here . He came back - he arrived on Armistice Day , now Veterans Day , of 1948 . I was here a couple of months before he came , but we met shortly after Christmas in 1949 . MRS . DAVIDSON : Too long . We were married in May 1950 . He wanted to pay off his loan before we could get married , so I helped him along with that . I fed him some . He was very welcome at the D House of girls . I was going to tell you that during the war , there were nine girls in the house , and they slept on shifts on the bunk beds . There were only six of us when I was there . There were a couple of the boyfriends around , and one of them cut the grass . I think Jack did the - empty the clinkers from the furnace , the coal furnace . They made themselves useful . They got their dinner . MRS . DAVIDSON : Most of the houses were a very good design really , and a whole lot better built than we gave them credit for . But each one that I knew of had a corner set off or closed off as a coal storage place that could be filled through a window from the outside , and then you could use the - there was an opening on the inside that you could use to put coal into the furnace . That was awful of course , but that 's what all the houses were doing in that time , too . We had a yard full of clinkers over there . MRS . DAVIDSON : We were taken care of by a Big Brother - the government . They brought the coal around , and you didn 't do a thing . That was part of the rent . When we got our house here on Orange Lane , that 's another story . Are you ready for that yet ? MRS . DAVIDSON : We went back to my home in Louisville , Kentucky , to be married . We had planned to fly to Nashville , but it turned out the Delta Queen was coming through Louisville the next morning . My mother had told us we could not get married the week before because it was too busy with Derby Day . So we delayed until May 13 . Then we spent the night in Louisville at the Brown Hotel , where she pulled some strings to get us a room because it was still very full of visitors from the Derby . We got on the Delta Queen , and our friends were all on the dock to see us off . They had us almost convinced that we were on Daylight Saving Time , and the Delta Queen was not , and we had missed it . But we rode down just as far as Paducah . We were anxious to start in life you know . We lived on Wadell Circle in a K apartment . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was a two - story thing . I guess it was a two - bedroom up above , and we had K - 1 . It was sort of underground at the front and open at the back . We had a nice back porch . There was a closet under the stairway and a very small kitchen . It had a table that folded down . It was not as compact as a flattop , but the furnishings that they had did double duty . You could fold it up and have more room . MRS . DAVIDSON : The K apartment was heated with the coal furnace , but there was a janitor who came around and took care of it for us . We were taken care of by Roane Anderson . MRS . DAVIDSON : We lived in the K from May 1950 , until we got this house in July 1952 . It was said - the word around town was that you couldn 't get a two - bedroom house unless you had three children , all of different sex . We had been on the list for this house ever since we knew our daughter was coming along . That was a long time to wait . We had been offered two houses - Florida Avenue , where the parking was across the street and the backyard just dropped off . We thought that was totally unsuitable for a new child . We turned both of those down . If we had turned this one down , we would 've gone to the bottom of the long list . But we loved this place of the trees and the dead end lane neighborhood . So we sat outside in front all weekend because we were not top on the list . The reason the other people didn 't take it was that the previous owner , Jim Cox and Charlotte , had put in an oil furnace ; and nobody wanted to pay $ 200 for the oil furnace . Since I had been working , we had saved my salary from work , and we had $ 200 to pay . Also , they didn 't want to be in the high rent district . This house rented for something like $ 45 instead of $ 43 in the lower rent districts . MRS . DAVIDSON : The Oak Ridge cemesto houses that were built - I think this house was built in the fall of 1944 or 1943 . Maybe it was ' 43 . The B house has two bedrooms and of course a bath and a kitchen with a dinette into a long narrow living room . It was about 24 feet by 40 something feet . It was small and convenient . It didn 't have much storage space , but it 's been a wonderful house for us because of the trees . We are on a greenbelt , and I enjoy that very much . It 's a nice private neighborhood just above Jackson Square . MRS . DAVIDSON : Our cemesto has a fireplace , and it had a complete brick wall . Some of the B houses had a brick wall just beyond the fireplace . MRS . DAVIDSON : There are hardwood floors in all the cemestos , I believe . Our house has maple flooring , and a lot of them had oak . Wood was hard to come by in the wartime . We love the color - the reddish color of the maple . MRS . DAVIDSON : Adele is our second daughter , and she was two years younger . Our son is Bill Davidson or William . He was born in November of 1954 . He 's just now turning 58 . MRS . DAVIDSON : All three of our children went to Cedar Hill . They had split grades there , so I think the classes were one half size . They would take the kids a half from one grade , and half from the next grade , and that worked out just fine . MRS . DAVIDSON : Cedar Hill was wonderful . It was very special . Mr . Dodd was the principal , and he saw to it - he had the best teachers or at least as good as any . Actually in those days all the teachers and Oak Ridge were special because many of them had been recruited from Columbia Teachers College , along with the superintendent . Others were specially recruited for the job . They were a group a part , I think , from a lot of teachers . MRS . DAVIDSON : The girls both went to Jefferson when it was on the hill at Jackson Square , and Bill was in the first year at the new Jefferson that was over on Fairbanks Road . His was the first class there . They all went through Oak Ridge High . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you recall some of the classes your daughters took while they were in junior high ? Was there Home Ec . or things related to girls ? MRS . DAVIDSON : No , they were on the college prep track . They took eighth grade algebra and that kind of thing . Of course English and math and social studies and science - our older girl I think took biology ; and I 'm not sure if Adele had a more general science course . It just depended on the teacher that they had . They had an excellent education , and the girls were both Merit semifinalists . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course . I was in the PTA . I 'm not sure if I was ever a room mother , but I of course helped with parties and things . MRS . DAVIDSON : The teachers recruited them from each class to help with parties mostly . They helped with any activities that they didn 't really have time to do . MRS . DAVIDSON : Parent - Teacher Association , a time honored group . It got extra things for the school . I got involved with raincoats for the school patrol . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess maybe I was a treasurer of the Cedar Hill PTA , and this goal was to get those yellow slicker raincoat so kids could be visible to the drivers . I found out how much the things cost , and then I estimated postage . At the PTA meeting , Alvin Weinberg was president . He had a son or two in school at the time . He took me to task for estimating the postage , so I had to ask for just the money for the coats themselves since I didn 't really know what the postage is going to be . I thought that was interesting that he wanted to keep it to the exact penny . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think they just wore what the other kids wore . One day we had a deep snow and Bill was in kindergarten , and the snow was up over their boots . I think he had some corduroys . The teacher was making the kids take their pants off and dry them on the radiator , and he wouldn 't do it . I had to go up to the school and take him some fresh pants , some dry clothes . He was very young - just four when he started . MR . HUNNICUTT : Let 's go back a few years . Do you remember 1945 when they dropped the bomb on Japan ? You remember where you were ? And what was your reaction ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I do remember that very clearly because it was the summer after my junior year in college , and I was a camp counselor up in Door County , Wisconsin . There was no electricity at the camp , so we counselors - after we got the kids to bed , went to the state park nearby . This was at Fish Creek , Wisconsin . We would listen to people 's car radios . We knew for about a week that something was happening , but we didn 't know just what . It was very deeply moving when the bomb was dropped , and we thought it would bring an end to the war . Of course , I had friends and a brother on Guam and a cousin was in Europe and others . So that was very deeply moving . I had a book of poetry - my favorite poems at the camp with me . One of my 12 - year - olds picked out a poem - " Once to every man and nation comes a moment to decide " - she read that , and I thought that was very astute of her , a youngster to be able to do that . MRS . DAVIDSON : My husband thought they should have dropped a sample first , but I didn 't feel that way since the first bomb didn 't phase the Japanese . I didn 't think the test one would have either . I was just so glad that the war was over . People could settle down and get into real life again . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think I was in transition from the dormitory to the house , and my husband 's brothers came up from Georgia to witness the opening . So we drove in their car around , and we watched the parade from , I believe , down on the eastern end of the Turnpike down near the warehouses to get out of the traffic . We never could figure out why they invited Marie " The Body " McDonald and [ inaudible ] to ride in the open car for the parade . We couldn 't figure out what they had to do with it , but we did see the burning of the magnesium ribbon . That was exciting . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was only toward town from Elza Gate . I know the central part of town , the Jackson Square area , was very crowded . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think they name the streets for famous cities in the country , and of course the alphabetical designations were very helpful . But Jackson Square , I assume , was named for New Orleans . That 's all I know about it . MRS . DAVIDSON : Sometimes you would pick up the telephone , and the other party was talking . I believe they had different rings . I think maybe the other party had one ring , and we had two . There were four - party lines , but if we were on a four - party line , only the other one was active . I think maybe we were . The other two lines were not being used . MR . HUNNICUTT : When you are raising your family , did you hang your clothes outside on the clothesline ? Did you have a dryer ? What did you use ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I hung them outside on the clothesline . As I said , when we moved here , Anne was a year old . Not much more than three years after that , we had three babies . I was able to talk my husband into getting a dryer that time . Before that , he had built a pulley out of my kitchen window . There was a drop off in the back , and he was able to string it to a tree in the woods . I was able to reel those cloth diapers and reel them in and out . The only problem was that the birds like the trees , too . Sometimes I had to do some re - washing . MR . HUNNICUTT : So in those days you use cloth diapers ? Today we use disposable diapers . How do you think you would 've done if you had disposable diapers ? MRS . DAVIDSON : At one point , when our children were out playing Kick the Can , there were over 40 children on the lane . There were about 20 or 21 houses . There were almost as many dogs . It was just a glorious place for them to grow up . They seem to get along remarkably well most of the time , especially in the early days . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes . We went down there on the opening , and got the radioactive dimes on that occasion . The museum at that time was down at Jefferson Circle . I don 't think any of us ever had our hair stand out on the Van De Graff generator or whatever it was , but we took the children . We went out ourselves . Of course my husband was interested in that kind of thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : Sometimes they walked to Jefferson , but by that time they were carrying pretty heavy books . One of the neighbors on Outer Drive wanted to have a carpool , so we joined that . MRS . DAVIDSON : When Anne was in the fifth grade , they had to write what they did on Friday nights . The teacher would call me and say , " Is it true that you gave your children ice water and watched TV on Friday nights ? " That was how generous we were with them . We didn 't get a TV until they were probably five or six years old . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course it was black and white . The reason we got it - I guess finally it was that the children were always going to the neighbors ' house to watch TV . We decided that we should get our own . They watched things like " Pinky Lee " and I 've forgotten what else . MRS . DAVIDSON : I remember that fondly because my first real date with my husband was going to dinner there with him . He invited me to go to a concert in Knoxville , and his excuse was that we should get to know each other better before he took me to the city with him . That was one thing . I remember there were parties there , and our company had a party at the Oak Terrace Ballroom . One of the NEPA fellows wore a Tarzan costume , which was mostly nothing . It turned out that he lived in the neighborhood . MRS . DAVIDSON : That was just below the dormitory where I lived in Columbia Hall . Jack went there looking for me , he thought I would eat breakfast there and then he could have breakfast with me ; but I ate in the dormitory . He didn 't find me there . When we came back from our bicycle ride to Concord Park , I remember we stopped by there , and he drank two or three Mountain Dew drinks . That surprised me , but we had worked off a lot of sweat . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , we took our children out there and saw " Lawrence of Arabia " and " The 10 Commandment " and those things . It was quite nice . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was about where Kroger 's - where that is now , on the southeast part of Illinois Avenue . It was a nice thing . That was a special treat for the children to go out there . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't think so . I think they were mostly in the car . They had a drawing one time , Jack won something . It was actually nothing , but he did win . MRS . DAVIDSON : I sure did . My three children were born there . It was a green structure , like so many of the buildings in Oak Ridge . I guess the present building is built on that place . It was okay . I didn 't have any problems with it , except after my second child . I had a staph infection from the hospital . Even an Army wife with a private room got an infection there . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , I think they also had been recruited ; and a lot of them were from Tulane University . The time I was sick with my infection , they were having a reunion at Tulane , and my doctor and another one were gone for the reunion . I didn 't like the one who took care of me . He didn 't do a good job . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was okay . I don 't remember having any problems with it . We knew Dr . Rogers from our church , and we went to him . He was called away to the service , I believe . Maybe it was the Korean War , but then he came back . MRS . DAVIDSON : We met at Pine Valley School . The choir sat on the bleachers , and the minister sat under the halo of the basketball net . My husband was a Methodist , and he went to the First Methodist Church . They had a big youth group there . When we were first married , we tried to take them both in . We went to Sunday school one place , and church another until we finally settled on the Presbyterian . It was smaller , and we knew more people . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course the people . I love my trees and my house . I love all the activities . Both my husband and I have always loved music and enjoy the concerts a lot . The symphony concerts with Waldo Cohn conducting were held at Jefferson Junior High on the Kentucky Avenue hill . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you think back about all the people that you knew in the early days ? Do you think it was unusual for everybody to get along - the many people that were here ? MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , I guess so . I didn 't think about it because we just did . It was just fun . Everybody was away from home , and we had to be family for each other . That was particularly true in this close neighborhood . MRS . DAVIDSON : I 'm pleased for the most part . I think we 've made good progress . We 've kept up with the outside world . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think we came through at the very best of times . It was not the pressure of war , but we were growing community . I think things were happening at the Lab . Both of my husband and I loved the Lab because there were so many good things going on out there . It gives us hope for the future . [ Editor 's Note : This transcript has been edited at Mrs . Davidson 's request . The corresponding audio and video components have remained unchanged . ] Click tabs to swap between content that is broken into logical sections . MR . HUNNICUTT : This interview is for the Center of Oak Ridge Oral History . The date is November 8 , 2012 . I am Don Hunnicutt in the home of Mrs . Mary Ann Davidson , 117 Orange Lane , Oak Ridge , Tennessee , to take her oral history about living in Oak Ridge , Tennessee . Please state your full name and your place of birth and your date of birth . MRS . DAVIDSON : My name is Mary Ann Davidson . My date of birth is January 12 , 1925 . I was born in Louisville , Kentucky . I lived there all my early life until I graduated from college . MRS . DAVIDSON : My father was William H . Courtenay . He was born in 1890 , on March 3 . He was in World War I and lived his entire life in Louisville and Shelbyville , Kentucky . He worked for the Mengel Company . They imported mahogany and hardwood from Africa and Central America . He delivered those to customers . He didn 't consider himself a salesman , but he sold them to the furniture factory - furniture makers around Kentucky , mostly Indiana and Cincinnati and some in Tennessee . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , he did not . The Louisville Male High School was considered a fine school at that time . They said that graduates could enter Harvard in their second year . The principal had written textbooks that were apparently used all over . But my father was interested in raising ponies . His father had a farm in Shelbyville , Kentucky . If you 'd didn 't make the grade , you are special . And Dr . Ruben Post - Halleck , the famous principal of the school , told him if he took an exam in math , he could be entered back in . He did that , and he aced the test . He was back in . Then he was a special in English , so they told him if he memorized the " Lady of the Lake " and said that he could get back in school . So he did that . I think he never did finish . He was a twin , and his twin was more of an engineering type and went to manual training high school . MR . HUNNICUTT : What about your mother 's school history ? MRS . DAVIDSON : She grew up in several small towns in western Kentucky . Her father worked for the L & N Railroad . She had her high school in Hopkinsville , Kentucky . She had to stay home - or she went to junior college nearby . She had a scholarship to Randolph Macon Women 's College , but she couldn 't take it because her mother was ill and died at age 50 . It was about the year I was born , I think . MRS . DAVIDSON : His name was William Howard Courtenay III . My father was named for his uncle , who was also William Howard . My older brother works for Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green in the physics department . He made instruments . My younger brother was a pediatrician in Louisville , and he is still living on a farm in Shelbyville . He 's interested in Kentucky antiques . MR . HUNNICUTT : Yes . MRS . DAVIDSON : I went to an unusual kindergarten and first grade . I was at what they called the Enterprise Branch of I . N . Bloom School . It was only kindergarten and first grade . It was in the older building , where we had a Pot Belly Stove . I think we had a maid to help us take our leggings off in the cold weather - galoshes . It was really a wonderful school . It was almost like a private one . It was public . We did things like making butter and we had an orchestra . I played the triangle . I had started a little bit earlier when my younger brother was born . Louisville had half semester , half - year grades . I would 've been a half year , but I skipped the last half of kindergarten . I went to the school board and took a test and went on , so they put me in the regular school year . I went through the big school the I . N . Bloom School and Highland Junior High School in Louisville . Then I went to Atherton High School for Girls . The Louisville public schools were segregated - boys and girls . There were about 900 girls at Atherton . My graduating class was about 200 , and I was the valedictorian . MRS . DAVIDSON : They are pants to keep your legs warm . They zipped up from the inside of the ankle bone up to about knee - high , I guess it was . They were a royal pain to take on and off , so the teacher had to have help to do that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was just ordinary . I 'm sure the girls wore dresses , and the little boys wore suits - not suits , but pants and shirts . MRS . DAVIDSON : I came to Oak Ridge after I graduated from college . I had two years of getting a master 's at Emory while I worked at my alma mater , Agnes Scott College in Decatur , Georgia . I was the chemistry lab instructor . So after those two years were up , I was interested in working in chemistry or biochemistry . My master 's was in biochemistry . In Louisville , there was nothing in that field , except liquor and paint - neither of which I was interested in . In Atlanta , I would like to stay in Atlanta , I heard that Oak Ridge was an interesting new place , and a lot was going on here . One of my dear college friends had recently married a physicist from the University of Kentucky , so I visited them here . I guess that must have been 1947 . Her husband was working at NEPA . He said they were looking for people with a chemistry degree . I applied , and I was accepted . I didn 't know that until I had completed the clearance , so I took the opportunity to go to Europe at an American youth hostel bicycle tour of Western Europe in the summer of 1948 . When I got home , I found that I had indeed gotten the job at Oak Ridge . So I came down here . MRS . DAVIDSON : I was wondering that . I think I came by train . When I interviewed earlier in the spring , my interview was at the Andrew Johnson Hotel . It was one of the private rooms . I had never seen the company here . I think I must have been met by a car and driver and brought to Oak Ridge . MRS . DAVIDSON : I came in through the Vermont Gateway , which is where the gas station is now on the corner of what I call Vermont . They call it North Rutgers now . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , I think it must 've been after that . That would 've been at Christmas time . When I applied , I imagine it was early spring . MRS . DAVIDSON : We called the company NEPA , for Nuclear Energy for the Propulsion of Aircraft . It was managed by the Fairchild Corporation the way Union Carbide or one of the other contractors managed the lab . I did not know until the first day I went to work just what the company was doing . They handed me a volume of information that said , " We are looking for - we are trying to make an airplane powered by nuclear energy that could fly to Russia and back without refueling . " That was a great shock to me . MRS . DAVIDSON : I lived in Columbia Hall Dormitory . I was very surprised to find that the rent was $ 15 a month until I realized it was one very small room . That was my living quarters . I took the opportunity to stay out of it as much as possible . I did that by babysitting in some of the B and D houses in the evening . Grandmothers were not here since it was a closed community . Babysitters were in short supply , and even though I didn 't need the money , it was good to get out of the dormitory . MRS . DAVIDSON : The dormitory was like Cheyenne Hall . It was the same type of building . It had wooden stairways from the second - floor hall down on each end . I lived on the second floor . Our dormitory was mostly nurses , since it was up on the hill next to the hospital - I think where the west parking lot is now . There was a kitchen on each end where we could have our own breakfast . Of course we were at the plant at lunchtime , and then we usually went out to supper . I opened the refrigerator door one morning and somebody 's milk came spilling out down my front . Everybody just stuffed things into the refrigerator . MRS . DAVIDSON : I had a single room with a twin bed and enough room to walk to the window by the bed . There was a little table that served as a desk with a chair . There was a much coveted dormitory dresser - a tall one with a number of drawers . They were very popular . MRS . DAVIDSON : They had a wonderful bus service here . Travel wasn 't really a problem . We walked , of course , from the dormitory to Jackson Square and ate supper usually at the Mayflower , which is where I first saw my husband - to - be . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was on the corner of Tennessee , right across from the Soup Kitchen and the Texaco gas station there on the northeast corner . It was a very popular place . In fact , there were several places you could eat . It was the Central Cafeteria , and the T & C Cafeteria in Jackson Square , which is about where the Epicurean is now toward the garden . MRS . DAVIDSON : It must 've been the A & P on Jackson Square . Jackson Square was really the center of activity as far as I was concerned at that time . I still love it . I hope it keeps going . MRS . DAVIDSON : The department stores - the big department store was Taylor 's at the time . They had a wonderful book department headed by Mrs . Keyes , whose daughter I knew at work . They had really fine art books and other books that they would have a great sale on once or twice a year . We were very happy with that . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was in the middle of the block between where Big Ed 's is in the corner . I guess it 's mostly used by the engineering company now . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , not frequently , but I went and saw - there was a theater down at Big Ed 's in Jackson Square and where the Playhouse is now . That was the main one . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , the jewelry store was on the corner that was Henebree 's , I think . No , that was Heneger 's . MR . HUNNICUTT : Henebree ? MRS . DAVIDSON : Henebree . McCrory 's 5 & 10 was there . There was a drugstore - a Service Drugstore . I guess that was where Big Ed 's is now , on the very corner . There was Jackson Square Pharmacy , and on the other side the Hamilton Bank was there next to the movie theater . And Samuel 's Men 's Store was a very nice store . The Jackson Square Pharmacy was there , but in between , which the Pharmacy later took over was a Kay 's Ice Cream Store . We used to go there and - my husband and I would when we were dating . I liked to get coffee with ice cream in it , so we went there . MR . HUNNICUTT : I believe that was Taff Moody Ice Cream - they served Kay 's Ice Cream . MRS . DAVIDSON : Was it ? I didn 't remember that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I can 't say that I do . It was just a given , I suppose . It didn 't make a big dent in my memory . After six months of the dormitory , I moved to a D house on Norman Lane . That was another era . MR . HUNNICUTT : What is a D house ? MRS . DAVIDSON : A D house was a large three bedroom house . They were very much desired . They were really nice houses - still a lot of them are . The house was - there were five other girls who lived there - two of whom had been college friends . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , it would 've been upstairs . It was the second one to the end . A radiation technologist lived on the corner , and I lived there with school teachers and nurses who made up most of the dorm . MR . HUNNICUTT : Let 's talk a little bit about the dorm again . If I had a message for you or someone left a message for you , how did you retrieve your messages ? Was there a desk when you went in ? MRS . DAVIDSON : There was a desk downstairs . I remember the Valentine 's Day - I guess it must 've been 1949 . The message was that I had some flowers , some red roses . I had just met my husband - to - be at that time . I got all excited , and when I got to the desk , it was from somebody else . I enjoyed the red roses , but not as much as I might have . The thing was that there were ladies - a lot of the women who lived in the dorm worked on the night shift . They would sit around a large kind of living room , I guess they called it . They were all staring when I got flowers . I had to walk around , and it was embarrassing . MRS . DAVIDSON : I was there in the winter of 1948 . I 'm very cold natured , but I don 't remember being cold . We had those heavy navy blanket - navy blue blankets . This brings up a story if I jump to it later on . We were moved from the D house after another six months into the brand - new Garden Apartments on Villanova Road . They needed our D house for families . The people who moved in were the Andersons of the Anderson Hilltop Grocery . Of course , the furniture all belonged to the government there . So the Garden Apartments were not furnished , so we had dwindled down from 6 to 4 people who needed furniture . I took a day off and went to an auction the government set up down at the warehouses . I got seven beds and three or four dressers - much more than I could have used . But the beds were in great demand at work because all the young men who worked there were having children and needed beds . So we took the four . Also I got two sofas , and we could use but one ; so I sold one . They were really shabby awful sofas . Since it was all going to surplus anyway , we switched and took the nice sofa from the D house and left them the bad one . It was all taken away anyhow , so I didn 't feel too bad about that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't really remember about the telephone . We didn 't use the telephone much . We never used it for long - distance except for emergencies and calls home . I don 't remember that as being a problem particularly . MRS . DAVIDSON : I suppose I went on the bus . I did not have a car . One of the housemates from Norman Lane had gotten the car , but she would 've been at work at K - 25 . I don 't know . I may have gotten a ride . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess I paid somebody to deliver it . I don 't know . Maybe some of the fellows at work picked up their beds that they wanted . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was one of those warehouses down at the [ Oak Ridge ] Turnpike on Warehouse Road . I don 't know exactly where it was . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess it was on the bulletin boards at work , or there was a newspaper at the Lab . I guess I heard about it that way . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think probably so - in the newsletters they came around , also at the recreation building - the rec hall - at Jackson Square that was the library upstairs and the rec hall downstairs . Word - of - mouth - I don 't remember . We had a need and found the answer to it . MRS . DAVIDSON : I had to punch a clock at eight in the morning when I first started . I guess we got out at 4 : 30 or 5 o ' clock . We had bus service that went from the bus terminal - the Central one - that 's now by Bus Terminal Road . Later on after we were married , we lived on Waddell Circle and went from there to the Jefferson bus terminal . I went - I rode on the K - 25 bus , and they went out past K - 25 to the road that the powerhouse was on and NEPA was beyond that out by the river . MRS . DAVIDSON : There was some kind of management services office . I 'm not sure what it was called - the Roane Anderson Corporation at that time , I guess . I think that 's where I rented the dormitory room . I probably got bus tokens - I guess I got the tokens of the bus terminal . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think I had a checking account probably at Hamilton Bank in Jackson Square . I don 't recall otherwise . I know I did later . One thing I wanted to say about the buses - if you wanted to go to Clinton to do any shopping , more than what you could have in Oak Ridge or to meet somebody or something , there was a bus that ran frequently back and forth between the bus terminal and Clinton . There was a young man on the bus who had a sing - songy sales pitch for " peanuts , popcorn , Cracker Jacks , candy , and chewing gum . " He wouldn 't drive , but he would sell his wares all the way to Clinton and back . I always wondered who that was because he obviously had some talent . MRS . DAVIDSON : I 'm sure I did . I don 't know what became of it . I guess I had to turn it back in . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think somebody just got - one of the guards got on the bus and checked everybody 's badges . It was not a big thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : Probably . I don 't remember . What I do remember about that was my mother was coming down one time for my birthday - it must 've been in January 1949 . She rode the train . I told her that I would get a ride to meet her . Of course , the train didn 't stop at Oak Ridge . It went on to Knoxville , so I bummed a ride with one of the men in our group . He was actually the technical assistant to the director . His car was a broken down old thing with no floorboards in the back seat , which was pretty bad when my mother saw it . But she didn 't see it because when we got to Knoxville , she was not there . When we were coming back from the gateway entrance , she was not there . There was a message that she was waiting for us at the Elza Gate Station . She had told the conductor she had to get off at Oak Ridge . That 's where she was going , and I was going to meet her . So she slid down the Elza bank over there . She had my birthday cake - a large chocolate cake . She slid downhill with that , and somehow they stopped her at the guard gate at Elza . She waited there for us . MRS . DAVIDSON : Just for her - let her off like a milk train . They ordinarily didn 't stop there , but she wouldn 't have it otherwise . MRS . DAVIDSON : I used the library and rec hall . On Sunday afternoons , they played music ; and you could sit and write letters home , which is what I think I did a good bit . Later on in the better weather , there were tennis courts and a swimming pool . I don 't remember going to movies much . We went to church groups . There were so many young people ; it was just like a party all the time . Nothing in particular stands out . It was just fun . MRS . DAVIDSON : In the company I was , that was not true . There were a lot of women of course - of course , the dormitory was full of school teachers and nurses . But NEPA was mostly men . There were two parts to the Fairchild - the science and engineering part , which was bigger . I happen to be in the research part . My boss was a chemist - Vince Calkins . It was my job to - this was a real shocker to me - to find a chemical that would protect the human body against radiation for the reactor that was supposed to be in the airplane to Russia . I had no background for that kind of thing . I was just fresh out of college really . I realized I was out of my depth , but they decided - he was a pharmacist , I believe , and he wanted to do experiments with rats . They brought in the rat colony . By that time we had a couple of assistants , and I was supposed to be the group leader . One of the men , Ray Waldrop - you may have talked to him . I asked him if he minded working for a woman because he was really more experienced than I , although I had the degree . It was fine with him . There was also another worker , Saul Segal , who was quite a character in his own right . I took the rats in the cages over to the reactor , the " Old Lady " at X - 10 , and put them through what they called " rabbits " and radiated them for certain amount of time . We couldn 't kill the darn things . Then we used the older ones that had already been radiated , they were just tough as anything . I think the experiment was really a failure , although they may have found that to be the case in some later work with older people - that the cells are not dividing as fast and they 're not as subject to radiation . But we didn 't get into that . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was actually not K - 25 . It was beyond there . As I said , the bus took us - the bus dumped people off at K - 25 , and they went on west to just before you get to the Gallaher Bridge . You turn right there and go right past the power station there . It was used for a long time - the power house , and then NEPA was beyond that . The native rats came in - was it domestic experimental rats ? That was not good . I had a janitor who helped me , even though he could 've lost his job for doing it . He helped me clean cages . I always appreciated that . MRS . DAVIDSON : When they got rid of the rats , which was a blessing , my group leader then became Bill Browning , who was a fine scientist . He worked on the Van de Graaff generator . We had an interesting argument . Saul Segal thought he should be the one to do it since he was a man and I was a woman who would be leaving soon ; and it turned out that he left for California before I had left to have my baby . His argument didn 't hold with me anyway , but we argued about that some . We did run the Van de Graaff , and we also did some experiments on metallic sodium . It was nasty stuff to work with . It caught on fire if it was exposed to air . You had to work with that under oil in the glove box . I think that work all had to be repeated after NEPA left for Cincinnati with G . E . . When they moved part of NEPA to X - 10 , they called it the ANP , or something about aircraft and nuclear power . I was not connected with that because my first baby was born in August 1951 . I left in July . MRS . DAVIDSON : I heard somebody say that they had to repeat it all . My boss , the Division Director of Chemistry was interested in vitamin E , and thought it had a lot of protective influence . We worked with that . That was some of the work I did in chemistry - the lab part of it in the early days . It was not good work , I think . I 'm not blaming myself , but some of the other men who were doing chemical work - I think altogether we didn 't come up with anything . MRS . DAVIDSON : It may have been ahead of it 's time for nuclear submarines . I don 't know whether the engineering people thought that or not . In our group which was the chemistry and the physics , my friend who got me the job was Jim Trice . A fellow named Art Miller and somebody named Coneybearwere in the Physics Division . And then there were some others - Fred Maienschein . I did some work for him one time . It was work on beryllium for one thing . I didn 't work with any of the active beryllium . I didn 't do any lab work then , but I did some journal research . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't think they were that far along . I 'm not sure what happened to that part of it . As I said , in July of 1951 they moved to Cincinnati , Evensville , above Cincinnati . I don 't know how many people actually went up there . Most of my friends moved elsewhere . MR . HUNNICUTT : You mentioned the location of the operation was past the steam plant that was on the Clinch River . Was that the same location where the S - 50 project was located ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I think that was the name of our plot of land . I think those - I never was quite sure how they got the designations , but that was the Fairchild domain , I think . MRS . DAVIDSON : Really , it was just when our eyes met . It was very romantic . He followed our group home to the Columbia Hall to see where I lived . But at the time I thought he was too young , and I didn 't think he was following me . I was with a group of other girls . Later on , one of the women in the dormitory , who was a gym teacher in the Oak Ridge schools , told me I really ought to meet Jack Davidson that he loved to ride bicycles ; I was just back from my bicycle trip in Europe . I didn 't know who he was , and then I went to a church group meeting at my Presbyterian Church for young people one Sunday evening . A friend of mine had brought Jack Davidson , and he was the one whose eyes I had met and he had met mine . Sure enough , he loved to ride bicycles . That was the start of a good thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : We did a little bit . On our dates , that 's really what we did mostly at first . We rode out to West Outer Drive and had those wonderful big hills , not too much traffic at that time . We went out to the water tower at the top of Louisiana and had a picnic , and then rode back . When we got really good , we rode our bicycles over to Concord Park one day . I had gotten some chicken breasts at the grocery . I guess it was the A & P at Jackson Square . I was going to fry them for a picnic to take along over to Concord Park . When I went to the refrigerator to get them , they had turned into wings . Somebody had eaten my chicken breast . Jack was a good sport about that . He didn 't care . We had a nice ride . It was before they had improved Lovell Road . It was a pretty rough ride over there , but we were able to enjoy it . MRS . DAVIDSON : He had his bicycle . It was probably a Grey Stone . For me , he rented a bicycle from his work friend . I had forgotten what his name was . We went over to one of the D Streets , I think , and rode them . I didn 't have my English 3 - speed here . I guess I brought it later , but at that time I didn 't have it . MRS . DAVIDSON : That was a problem . I complained to my friend Jim Trice 's wife , Dot , who happened to live around the corner on Outer Drive at that time . She said the boardwalk was used a lot for dating , and of course the theaters . I guess we were outdoors people . I don 't know . MRS . DAVIDSON : He was a graduate of Georgia Tech . At the time he graduated , he was very young . He came up to see about a job , and he was drafted . No , he was in danger of being drafted right away , but they didn 't hire him . He did go to work for NASA , which was at that time NACA , in Virginia ; and worked over there a short time before he was taken into the Army . He had gone through Georgia Tech on a " War Manpower " loan . He was sent to some place to be an MP , I think . He wrote a night letter , which is a 50 - word telegram that was cheaper at night . He wrote a night letter to Stimson , the Secretary of War , telling them they had paid for his college education ; and here he was sitting in a camp doing nothing down in Alabama . He was transferred to the SED , he would never say that was the reason he was transferred . It may or may not have been . He arrived with the SED - he arrived in Oak Ridge the day Roosevelt died , which was in April 1945 , he was here with his group for maybe six weeks before they went out to Los Alamos . So he spent the rest of the war out there . Then he used his G . I . Bill - he stayed on at Los Alamos . They told them they would let him out of the Army if he would agree to stay on as a civilian . So he took that . Then when he did leave , he went to Annapolis and took a liberal arts course because he felt that he had missed out on it at Georgia Tech . He had a year at St . John 's College of Annapolis ; and then all along I guess he thought he would like to come back here . He came back - he arrived on Armistice Day , now Veterans Day , of 1948 . I was here a couple of months before he came , but we met shortly after Christmas in 1949 . MRS . DAVIDSON : Too long . We were married in May 1950 . He wanted to pay off his loan before we could get married , so I helped him along with that . I fed him some . He was very welcome at the D House of girls . I was going to tell you that during the war , there were nine girls in the house , and they slept on shifts on the bunk beds . There were only six of us when I was there . There were a couple of the boyfriends around , and one of them cut the grass . I think Jack did the - empty the clinkers from the furnace , the coal furnace . They made themselves useful . They got their dinner . MR . HUNNICUTT : Tell me about the coal furnace briefly . MRS . DAVIDSON : Most of the houses were a very good design really , and a whole lot better built than we gave them credit for . But each one that I knew of had a corner set off or closed off as a coal storage place that could be filled through a window from the outside , and then you could use the - there was an opening on the inside that you could use to put coal into the furnace . That was awful of course , but that 's what all the houses were doing in that time , too . We had a yard full of clinkers over there . MRS . DAVIDSON : We were taken care of by a Big Brother - the government . They brought the coal around , and you didn 't do a thing . That was part of the rent . When we got our house here on Orange Lane , that 's another story . Are you ready for that yet ? MRS . DAVIDSON : We went back to my home in Louisville , Kentucky , to be married . We had planned to fly to Nashville , but it turned out the Delta Queen was coming through Louisville the next morning . My mother had told us we could not get married the week before because it was too busy with Derby Day . So we delayed until May 13 . Then we spent the night in Louisville at the Brown Hotel , where she pulled some strings to get us a room because it was still very full of visitors from the Derby . We got on the Delta Queen , and our friends were all on the dock to see us off . They had us almost convinced that we were on Daylight Saving Time , and the Delta Queen was not , and we had missed it . But we rode down just as far as Paducah . We were anxious to start in life you know . We lived on Wadell Circle in a K apartment . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you recall the number ? MRS . DAVIDSON : It was a two - story thing . I guess it was a two - bedroom up above , and we had K - 1 . It was sort of underground at the front and open at the back . We had a nice back porch . There was a closet under the stairway and a very small kitchen . It had a table that folded down . It was not as compact as a flattop , but the furnishings that they had did double duty . You could fold it up and have more room . MRS . DAVIDSON : The K apartment was heated with the coal furnace , but there was a janitor who came around and took care of it for us . We were taken care of by Roane Anderson . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you remember what the rent was ? MRS . DAVIDSON : We lived in the K from May 1950 , until we got this house in July 1952 . It was said - the word around town was that you couldn 't get a two - bedroom house unless you had three children , all of different sex . We had been on the list for this house ever since we knew our daughter was coming along . That was a long time to wait . We had been offered two houses - Florida Avenue , where the parking was across the street and the backyard just dropped off . We thought that was totally unsuitable for a new child . We turned both of those down . If we had turned this one down , we would 've gone to the bottom of the long list . But we loved this place of the trees and the dead end lane neighborhood . So we sat outside in front all weekend because we were not top on the list . The reason the other people didn 't take it was that the previous owner , Jim Cox and Charlotte , had put in an oil furnace ; and nobody wanted to pay $ 200 for the oil furnace . Since I had been working , we had saved my salary from work , and we had $ 200 to pay . Also , they didn 't want to be in the high rent district . This house rented for something like $ 45 instead of $ 43 in the lower rent districts . MRS . DAVIDSON : The Oak Ridge cemesto houses that were built - I think this house was built in the fall of 1944 or 1943 . Maybe it was ' 43 . The B house has two bedrooms and of course a bath and a kitchen with a dinette into a long narrow living room . It was about 24 feet by 40 something feet . It was small and convenient . It didn 't have much storage space , but it 's been a wonderful house for us because of the trees . We are on a greenbelt , and I enjoy that very much . It 's a nice private neighborhood just above Jackson Square . MRS . DAVIDSON : Our cemesto has a fireplace , and it had a complete brick wall . Some of the B houses had a brick wall just beyond the fireplace . MRS . DAVIDSON : There are hardwood floors in all the cemestos , I believe . Our house has maple flooring , and a lot of them had oak . Wood was hard to come by in the wartime . We love the color - the reddish color of the maple . MRS . DAVIDSON : Adele is our second daughter , and she was two years younger . Our son is Bill Davidson or William . He was born in November of 1954 . He 's just now turning 58 . MR . HUNNICUTT : So your first daughter went to Cedar Hill ? MRS . DAVIDSON : All three of our children went to Cedar Hill . They had split grades there , so I think the classes were one half size . They would take the kids a half from one grade , and half from the next grade , and that worked out just fine . MRS . DAVIDSON : Cedar Hill was wonderful . It was very special . Mr . Dodd was the principal , and he saw to it - he had the best teachers or at least as good as any . Actually in those days all the teachers and Oak Ridge were special because many of them had been recruited from Columbia Teachers College , along with the superintendent . Others were specially recruited for the job . They were a group a part , I think , from a lot of teachers . MRS . DAVIDSON : The girls both went to Jefferson when it was on the hill at Jackson Square , and Bill was in the first year at the new Jefferson that was over on Fairbanks Road . His was the first class there . They all went through Oak Ridge High . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you recall some of the classes your daughters took while they were in junior high ? Was there Home Ec . or things related to girls ? MRS . DAVIDSON : No , they were on the college prep track . They took eighth grade algebra and that kind of thing . Of course English and math and social studies and science - our older girl I think took biology ; and I 'm not sure if Adele had a more general science course . It just depended on the teacher that they had . They had an excellent education , and the girls were both Merit semifinalists . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course . I was in the PTA . I 'm not sure if I was ever a room mother , but I of course helped with parties and things . MRS . DAVIDSON : The teachers recruited them from each class to help with parties mostly . They helped with any activities that they didn 't really have time to do . MRS . DAVIDSON : Parent - Teacher Association , a time honored group . It got extra things for the school . I got involved with raincoats for the school patrol . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess maybe I was a treasurer of the Cedar Hill PTA , and this goal was to get those yellow slicker raincoat so kids could be visible to the drivers . I found out how much the things cost , and then I estimated postage . At the PTA meeting , Alvin Weinberg was president . He had a son or two in school at the time . He took me to task for estimating the postage , so I had to ask for just the money for the coats themselves since I didn 't really know what the postage is going to be . I thought that was interesting that he wanted to keep it to the exact penny . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think they just wore what the other kids wore . One day we had a deep snow and Bill was in kindergarten , and the snow was up over their boots . I think he had some corduroys . The teacher was making the kids take their pants off and dry them on the radiator , and he wouldn 't do it . I had to go up to the school and take him some fresh pants , some dry clothes . He was very young - just four when he started . MR . HUNNICUTT : Let 's go back a few years . Do you remember 1945 when they dropped the bomb on Japan ? You remember where you were ? And what was your reaction ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I do remember that very clearly because it was the summer after my junior year in college , and I was a camp counselor up in Door County , Wisconsin . There was no electricity at the camp , so we counselors - after we got the kids to bed , went to the state park nearby . This was at Fish Creek , Wisconsin . We would listen to people 's car radios . We knew for about a week that something was happening , but we didn 't know just what . It was very deeply moving when the bomb was dropped , and we thought it would bring an end to the war . Of course , I had friends and a brother on Guam and a cousin was in Europe and others . So that was very deeply moving . I had a book of poetry - my favorite poems at the camp with me . One of my 12 - year - olds picked out a poem - " Once to every man and nation comes a moment to decide " - she read that , and I thought that was very astute of her , a youngster to be able to do that . MRS . DAVIDSON : My husband thought they should have dropped a sample first , but I didn 't feel that way since the first bomb didn 't phase the Japanese . I didn 't think the test one would have either . I was just so glad that the war was over . People could settle down and get into real life again . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think I was in transition from the dormitory to the house , and my husband 's brothers came up from Georgia to witness the opening . So we drove in their car around , and we watched the parade from , I believe , down on the eastern end of the Turnpike down near the warehouses to get out of the traffic . We never could figure out why they invited Marie " The Body " McDonald and [ inaudible ] to ride in the open car for the parade . We couldn 't figure out what they had to do with it , but we did see the burning of the magnesium ribbon . That was exciting . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was only toward town from Elza Gate . I know the central part of town , the Jackson Square area , was very crowded . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think they name the streets for famous cities in the country , and of course the alphabetical designations were very helpful . But Jackson Square , I assume , was named for New Orleans . That 's all I know about it . MRS . DAVIDSON : Sometimes you would pick up the telephone , and the other party was talking . I believe they had different rings . I think maybe the other party had one ring , and we had two . There were four - party lines , but if we were on a four - party line , only the other one was active . I think maybe we were . The other two lines were not being used . MR . HUNNICUTT : When you are raising your family , did you hang your clothes outside on the clothesline ? Did you have a dryer ? What did you use ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I hung them outside on the clothesline . As I said , when we moved here , Anne was a year old . Not much more than three years after that , we had three babies . I was able to talk my husband into getting a dryer that time . Before that , he had built a pulley out of my kitchen window . There was a drop off in the back , and he was able to string it to a tree in the woods . I was able to reel those cloth diapers and reel them in and out . The only problem was that the birds like the trees , too . Sometimes I had to do some re - washing . MR . HUNNICUTT : So in those days you use cloth diapers ? Today we use disposable diapers . How do you think you would 've done if you had disposable diapers ? MRS . DAVIDSON : At one point , when our children were out playing Kick the Can , there were over 40 children on the lane . There were about 20 or 21 houses . There were almost as many dogs . It was just a glorious place for them to grow up . They seem to get along remarkably well most of the time , especially in the early days . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes . We went down there on the opening , and got the radioactive dimes on that occasion . The museum at that time was down at Jefferson Circle . I don 't think any of us ever had our hair stand out on the Van De Graff generator or whatever it was , but we took the children . We went out ourselves . Of course my husband was interested in that kind of thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : Sometimes they walked to Jefferson , but by that time they were carrying pretty heavy books . One of the neighbors on Outer Drive wanted to have a carpool , so we joined that . MRS . DAVIDSON : When Anne was in the fifth grade , they had to write what they did on Friday nights . The teacher would call me and say , " Is it true that you gave your children ice water and watched TV on Friday nights ? " That was how generous we were with them . We didn 't get a TV until they were probably five or six years old . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course it was black and white . The reason we got it - I guess finally it was that the children were always going to the neighbors ' house to watch TV . We decided that we should get our own . They watched things like " Pinky Lee " and I 've forgotten what else . MRS . DAVIDSON : I remember that fondly because my first real date with my husband was going to dinner there with him . He invited me to go to a concert in Knoxville , and his excuse was that we should get to know each other better before he took me to the city with him . That was one thing . I remember there were parties there , and our company had a party at the Oak Terrace Ballroom . One of the NEPA fellows wore a Tarzan costume , which was mostly nothing . It turned out that he lived in the neighborhood . MR . HUNNICUTT : What was the Oak Terrace ballroom - where was it located ? MRS . DAVIDSON : That was just below the dormitory where I lived in Columbia Hall . Jack went there looking for me , he thought I would eat breakfast there and then he could have breakfast with me ; but I ate in the dormitory . He didn 't find me there . When we came back from our bicycle ride to Concord Park , I remember we stopped by there , and he drank two or three Mountain Dew drinks . That surprised me , but we had worked off a lot of sweat . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , we took our children out there and saw " Lawrence of Arabia " and " The 10 Commandment " and those things . It was quite nice . MR . HUNNICUTT : Where was it located ? MRS . DAVIDSON : It was about where Kroger 's - where that is now , on the southeast part of Illinois Avenue . It was a nice thing . That was a special treat for the children to go out there . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't think so . I think they were mostly in the car . They had a drawing one time , Jack won something . It was actually nothing , but he did win . MRS . DAVIDSON : I sure did . My three children were born there . It was a green structure , like so many of the buildings in Oak Ridge . I guess the present building is built on that place . It was okay . I didn 't have any problems with it , except after my second child . I had a staph infection from the hospital . Even an Army wife with a private room got an infection there . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , I think they also had been recruited ; and a lot of them were from Tulane University . The time I was sick with my infection , they were having a reunion at Tulane , and my doctor and another one were gone for the reunion . I didn 't like the one who took care of me . He didn 't do a good job . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was okay . I don 't remember having any problems with it . We knew Dr . Rogers from our church , and we went to him . He was called away to the service , I believe . Maybe it was the Korean War , but then he came back . MRS . DAVIDSON : We met at Pine Valley School . The choir sat on the bleachers , and the minister sat under the halo of the basketball net . My husband was a Methodist , and he went to the First Methodist Church . They had a big youth group there . When we were first married , we tried to take them both in . We went to Sunday school one place , and church another until we finally settled on the Presbyterian . It was smaller , and we knew more people . MR . HUNNICUTT : Thinking back , what do you like best about Oak Ridge ? MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course the people . I love my trees and my house . I love all the activities . Both my husband and I have always loved music and enjoy the concerts a lot . The symphony concerts with Waldo Cohn conducting were held at Jefferson Junior High on the Kentucky Avenue hill . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you think back about all the people that you knew in the early days ? Do you think it was unusual for everybody to get along - the many people that were here ? MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , I guess so . I didn 't think about it because we just did . It was just fun . Everybody was away from home , and we had to be family for each other . That was particularly true in this close neighborhood . MRS . DAVIDSON : I 'm pleased for the most part . I think we 've made good progress . We 've kept up with the outside world . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't know . I 'll probably think of things after you leave . Nothing particular comes to mind . MR . HUNNICUTT : I would like to thank you for your time , and I think this interview will be very helpful for someone in the future to see how you lived in Oak Ridge in the early days . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think we came through at the very best of times . It was not the pressure of war , but we were growing community . I think things were happening at the Lab . Both of my husband and I loved the Lab because there were so many good things going on out there . It gives us hope for the future . MR . HUNNICUTT : I thank you very much for your time . [ Editor 's Note : This transcript has been edited at Mrs . Davidson 's request . The corresponding audio and video components have remained unchanged . ] Your rating was saved . you wish to report :

MR . HUNNICUTT : This interview is for the Center of Oak Ridge Oral History . The date is November 8 , 2012 . I am Don Hunnicutt in the home of Mrs . Mary Ann Davidson , 117 Orange Lane , Oak Ridge , Tennessee , to take her oral history about living in Oak Ridge , Tennessee . Please state your full name and your place of birth and your date of birth . MRS . DAVIDSON : My name is Mary Ann Davidson . My date of birth is January 12 , 1925 . I was born in Louisville , Kentucky . I lived there all my early life until I graduated from college . MRS . DAVIDSON : My father was William H . Courtenay . He was born in 1890 , on March 3 . He was in World War I and lived his entire life in Louisville and Shelbyville , Kentucky . He worked for the Mengel Company . They imported mahogany and hardwood from Africa and Central America . He delivered those to customers . He didn 't consider himself a salesman , but he sold them to the furniture factory - furniture makers around Kentucky , mostly Indiana and Cincinnati and some in Tennessee . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , he did not . The Louisville Male High School was considered a fine school at that time . They said that graduates could enter Harvard in their second year . The principal had written textbooks that were apparently used all over . But my father was interested in raising ponies . His father had a farm in Shelbyville , Kentucky . If you 'd didn 't make the grade , you are special . And Dr . Ruben Post - Halleck , the famous principal of the school , told him if he took an exam in math , he could be entered back in . He did that , and he aced the test . He was back in . Then he was a special in English , so they told him if he memorized the " Lady of the Lake " and said that he could get back in school . So he did that . I think he never did finish . He was a twin , and his twin was more of an engineering type and went to manual training high school . MRS . DAVIDSON : She grew up in several small towns in western Kentucky . Her father worked for the L & N Railroad . She had her high school in Hopkinsville , Kentucky . She had to stay home - or she went to junior college nearby . She had a scholarship to Randolph Macon Women 's College , but she couldn 't take it because her mother was ill and died at age 50 . It was about the year I was born , I think . MRS . DAVIDSON : His name was William Howard Courtenay III . My father was named for his uncle , who was also William Howard . My older brother works for Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green in the physics department . He made instruments . My younger brother was a pediatrician in Louisville , and he is still living on a farm in Shelbyville . He 's interested in Kentucky antiques . MRS . DAVIDSON : I went to an unusual kindergarten and first grade . I was at what they called the Enterprise Branch of I . N . Bloom School . It was only kindergarten and first grade . It was in the older building , where we had a Pot Belly Stove . I think we had a maid to help us take our leggings off in the cold weather - galoshes . It was really a wonderful school . It was almost like a private one . It was public . We did things like making butter and we had an orchestra . I played the triangle . I had started a little bit earlier when my younger brother was born . Louisville had half semester , half - year grades . I would 've been a half year , but I skipped the last half of kindergarten . I went to the school board and took a test and went on , so they put me in the regular school year . I went through the big school the I . N . Bloom School and Highland Junior High School in Louisville . Then I went to Atherton High School for Girls . The Louisville public schools were segregated - boys and girls . There were about 900 girls at Atherton . My graduating class was about 200 , and I was the valedictorian . MRS . DAVIDSON : They are pants to keep your legs warm . They zipped up from the inside of the ankle bone up to about knee - high , I guess it was . They were a royal pain to take on and off , so the teacher had to have help to do that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was just ordinary . I 'm sure the girls wore dresses , and the little boys wore suits - not suits , but pants and shirts . MRS . DAVIDSON : I came to Oak Ridge after I graduated from college . I had two years of getting a master 's at Emory while I worked at my alma mater , Agnes Scott College in Decatur , Georgia . I was the chemistry lab instructor . So after those two years were up , I was interested in working in chemistry or biochemistry . My master 's was in biochemistry . In Louisville , there was nothing in that field , except liquor and paint - neither of which I was interested in . In Atlanta , I would like to stay in Atlanta , I heard that Oak Ridge was an interesting new place , and a lot was going on here . One of my dear college friends had recently married a physicist from the University of Kentucky , so I visited them here . I guess that must have been 1947 . Her husband was working at NEPA . He said they were looking for people with a chemistry degree . I applied , and I was accepted . I didn 't know that until I had completed the clearance , so I took the opportunity to go to Europe at an American youth hostel bicycle tour of Western Europe in the summer of 1948 . When I got home , I found that I had indeed gotten the job at Oak Ridge . So I came down here . MRS . DAVIDSON : I was wondering that . I think I came by train . When I interviewed earlier in the spring , my interview was at the Andrew Johnson Hotel . It was one of the private rooms . I had never seen the company here . I think I must have been met by a car and driver and brought to Oak Ridge . MRS . DAVIDSON : I came in through the Vermont Gateway , which is where the gas station is now on the corner of what I call Vermont . They call it North Rutgers now . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , I think it must 've been after that . That would 've been at Christmas time . When I applied , I imagine it was early spring . MRS . DAVIDSON : We called the company NEPA , for Nuclear Energy for the Propulsion of Aircraft . It was managed by the Fairchild Corporation the way Union Carbide or one of the other contractors managed the lab . I did not know until the first day I went to work just what the company was doing . They handed me a volume of information that said , " We are looking for - we are trying to make an airplane powered by nuclear energy that could fly to Russia and back without refueling . " That was a great shock to me . MRS . DAVIDSON : I lived in Columbia Hall Dormitory . I was very surprised to find that the rent was $ 15 a month until I realized it was one very small room . That was my living quarters . I took the opportunity to stay out of it as much as possible . I did that by babysitting in some of the B and D houses in the evening . Grandmothers were not here since it was a closed community . Babysitters were in short supply , and even though I didn 't need the money , it was good to get out of the dormitory . MRS . DAVIDSON : The dormitory was like Cheyenne Hall . It was the same type of building . It had wooden stairways from the second - floor hall down on each end . I lived on the second floor . Our dormitory was mostly nurses , since it was up on the hill next to the hospital - I think where the west parking lot is now . There was a kitchen on each end where we could have our own breakfast . Of course we were at the plant at lunchtime , and then we usually went out to supper . I opened the refrigerator door one morning and somebody 's milk came spilling out down my front . Everybody just stuffed things into the refrigerator . MRS . DAVIDSON : I had a single room with a twin bed and enough room to walk to the window by the bed . There was a little table that served as a desk with a chair . There was a much coveted dormitory dresser - a tall one with a number of drawers . They were very popular . MRS . DAVIDSON : They had a wonderful bus service here . Travel wasn 't really a problem . We walked , of course , from the dormitory to Jackson Square and ate supper usually at the Mayflower , which is where I first saw my husband - to - be . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was on the corner of Tennessee , right across from the Soup Kitchen and the Texaco gas station there on the northeast corner . It was a very popular place . In fact , there were several places you could eat . It was the Central Cafeteria , and the T & C Cafeteria in Jackson Square , which is about where the Epicurean is now toward the garden . MRS . DAVIDSON : It must 've been the A & P on Jackson Square . Jackson Square was really the center of activity as far as I was concerned at that time . I still love it . I hope it keeps going . MRS . DAVIDSON : The department stores - the big department store was Taylor 's at the time . They had a wonderful book department headed by Mrs . Keyes , whose daughter I knew at work . They had really fine art books and other books that they would have a great sale on once or twice a year . We were very happy with that . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was in the middle of the block between where Big Ed 's is in the corner . I guess it 's mostly used by the engineering company now . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , not frequently , but I went and saw - there was a theater down at Big Ed 's in Jackson Square and where the Playhouse is now . That was the main one . MRS . DAVIDSON : Henebree . McCrory 's 5 & 10 was there . There was a drugstore - a Service Drugstore . I guess that was where Big Ed 's is now , on the very corner . There was Jackson Square Pharmacy , and on the other side the Hamilton Bank was there next to the movie theater . And Samuel 's Men 's Store was a very nice store . The Jackson Square Pharmacy was there , but in between , which the Pharmacy later took over was a Kay 's Ice Cream Store . We used to go there and - my husband and I would when we were dating . I liked to get coffee with ice cream in it , so we went there . MRS . DAVIDSON : I can 't say that I do . It was just a given , I suppose . It didn 't make a big dent in my memory . After six months of the dormitory , I moved to a D house on Norman Lane . That was another era . MRS . DAVIDSON : A D house was a large three bedroom house . They were very much desired . They were really nice houses - still a lot of them are . The house was - there were five other girls who lived there - two of whom had been college friends . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , it would 've been upstairs . It was the second one to the end . A radiation technologist lived on the corner , and I lived there with school teachers and nurses who made up most of the dorm . MR . HUNNICUTT : Let 's talk a little bit about the dorm again . If I had a message for you or someone left a message for you , how did you retrieve your messages ? Was there a desk when you went in ? MRS . DAVIDSON : There was a desk downstairs . I remember the Valentine 's Day - I guess it must 've been 1949 . The message was that I had some flowers , some red roses . I had just met my husband - to - be at that time . I got all excited , and when I got to the desk , it was from somebody else . I enjoyed the red roses , but not as much as I might have . The thing was that there were ladies - a lot of the women who lived in the dorm worked on the night shift . They would sit around a large kind of living room , I guess they called it . They were all staring when I got flowers . I had to walk around , and it was embarrassing . MRS . DAVIDSON : I was there in the winter of 1948 . I 'm very cold natured , but I don 't remember being cold . We had those heavy navy blanket - navy blue blankets . This brings up a story if I jump to it later on . We were moved from the D house after another six months into the brand - new Garden Apartments on Villanova Road . They needed our D house for families . The people who moved in were the Andersons of the Anderson Hilltop Grocery . Of course , the furniture all belonged to the government there . So the Garden Apartments were not furnished , so we had dwindled down from 6 to 4 people who needed furniture . I took a day off and went to an auction the government set up down at the warehouses . I got seven beds and three or four dressers - much more than I could have used . But the beds were in great demand at work because all the young men who worked there were having children and needed beds . So we took the four . Also I got two sofas , and we could use but one ; so I sold one . They were really shabby awful sofas . Since it was all going to surplus anyway , we switched and took the nice sofa from the D house and left them the bad one . It was all taken away anyhow , so I didn 't feel too bad about that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't really remember about the telephone . We didn 't use the telephone much . We never used it for long - distance except for emergencies and calls home . I don 't remember that as being a problem particularly . MRS . DAVIDSON : I suppose I went on the bus . I did not have a car . One of the housemates from Norman Lane had gotten the car , but she would 've been at work at K - 25 . I don 't know . I may have gotten a ride . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess I paid somebody to deliver it . I don 't know . Maybe some of the fellows at work picked up their beds that they wanted . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was one of those warehouses down at the [ Oak Ridge ] Turnpike on Warehouse Road . I don 't know exactly where it was . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess it was on the bulletin boards at work , or there was a newspaper at the Lab . I guess I heard about it that way . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think probably so - in the newsletters they came around , also at the recreation building - the rec hall - at Jackson Square that was the library upstairs and the rec hall downstairs . Word - of - mouth - I don 't remember . We had a need and found the answer to it . MRS . DAVIDSON : I had to punch a clock at eight in the morning when I first started . I guess we got out at 4 : 30 or 5 o ' clock . We had bus service that went from the bus terminal - the Central one - that 's now by Bus Terminal Road . Later on after we were married , we lived on Waddell Circle and went from there to the Jefferson bus terminal . I went - I rode on the K - 25 bus , and they went out past K - 25 to the road that the powerhouse was on and NEPA was beyond that out by the river . MRS . DAVIDSON : There was some kind of management services office . I 'm not sure what it was called - the Roane Anderson Corporation at that time , I guess . I think that 's where I rented the dormitory room . I probably got bus tokens - I guess I got the tokens of the bus terminal . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think I had a checking account probably at Hamilton Bank in Jackson Square . I don 't recall otherwise . I know I did later . One thing I wanted to say about the buses - if you wanted to go to Clinton to do any shopping , more than what you could have in Oak Ridge or to meet somebody or something , there was a bus that ran frequently back and forth between the bus terminal and Clinton . There was a young man on the bus who had a sing - songy sales pitch for " peanuts , popcorn , Cracker Jacks , candy , and chewing gum . " He wouldn 't drive , but he would sell his wares all the way to Clinton and back . I always wondered who that was because he obviously had some talent . MRS . DAVIDSON : I 'm sure I did . I don 't know what became of it . I guess I had to turn it back in . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think somebody just got - one of the guards got on the bus and checked everybody 's badges . It was not a big thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : Probably . I don 't remember . What I do remember about that was my mother was coming down one time for my birthday - it must 've been in January 1949 . She rode the train . I told her that I would get a ride to meet her . Of course , the train didn 't stop at Oak Ridge . It went on to Knoxville , so I bummed a ride with one of the men in our group . He was actually the technical assistant to the director . His car was a broken down old thing with no floorboards in the back seat , which was pretty bad when my mother saw it . But she didn 't see it because when we got to Knoxville , she was not there . When we were coming back from the gateway entrance , she was not there . There was a message that she was waiting for us at the Elza Gate Station . She had told the conductor she had to get off at Oak Ridge . That 's where she was going , and I was going to meet her . So she slid down the Elza bank over there . She had my birthday cake - a large chocolate cake . She slid downhill with that , and somehow they stopped her at the guard gate at Elza . She waited there for us . MRS . DAVIDSON : Just for her - let her off like a milk train . They ordinarily didn 't stop there , but she wouldn 't have it otherwise . MRS . DAVIDSON : I used the library and rec hall . On Sunday afternoons , they played music ; and you could sit and write letters home , which is what I think I did a good bit . Later on in the better weather , there were tennis courts and a swimming pool . I don 't remember going to movies much . We went to church groups . There were so many young people ; it was just like a party all the time . Nothing in particular stands out . It was just fun . MRS . DAVIDSON : In the company I was , that was not true . There were a lot of women of course - of course , the dormitory was full of school teachers and nurses . But NEPA was mostly men . There were two parts to the Fairchild - the science and engineering part , which was bigger . I happen to be in the research part . My boss was a chemist - Vince Calkins . It was my job to - this was a real shocker to me - to find a chemical that would protect the human body against radiation for the reactor that was supposed to be in the airplane to Russia . I had no background for that kind of thing . I was just fresh out of college really . I realized I was out of my depth , but they decided - he was a pharmacist , I believe , and he wanted to do experiments with rats . They brought in the rat colony . By that time we had a couple of assistants , and I was supposed to be the group leader . One of the men , Ray Waldrop - you may have talked to him . I asked him if he minded working for a woman because he was really more experienced than I , although I had the degree . It was fine with him . There was also another worker , Saul Segal , who was quite a character in his own right . I took the rats in the cages over to the reactor , the " Old Lady " at X - 10 , and put them through what they called " rabbits " and radiated them for certain amount of time . We couldn 't kill the darn things . Then we used the older ones that had already been radiated , they were just tough as anything . I think the experiment was really a failure , although they may have found that to be the case in some later work with older people - that the cells are not dividing as fast and they 're not as subject to radiation . But we didn 't get into that . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was actually not K - 25 . It was beyond there . As I said , the bus took us - the bus dumped people off at K - 25 , and they went on west to just before you get to the Gallaher Bridge . You turn right there and go right past the power station there . It was used for a long time - the power house , and then NEPA was beyond that . The native rats came in - was it domestic experimental rats ? That was not good . I had a janitor who helped me , even though he could 've lost his job for doing it . He helped me clean cages . I always appreciated that . MRS . DAVIDSON : When they got rid of the rats , which was a blessing , my group leader then became Bill Browning , who was a fine scientist . He worked on the Van de Graaff generator . We had an interesting argument . Saul Segal thought he should be the one to do it since he was a man and I was a woman who would be leaving soon ; and it turned out that he left for California before I had left to have my baby . His argument didn 't hold with me anyway , but we argued about that some . We did run the Van de Graaff , and we also did some experiments on metallic sodium . It was nasty stuff to work with . It caught on fire if it was exposed to air . You had to work with that under oil in the glove box . I think that work all had to be repeated after NEPA left for Cincinnati with G . E . . When they moved part of NEPA to X - 10 , they called it the ANP , or something about aircraft and nuclear power . I was not connected with that because my first baby was born in August 1951 . I left in July . MRS . DAVIDSON : I heard somebody say that they had to repeat it all . My boss , the Division Director of Chemistry was interested in vitamin E , and thought it had a lot of protective influence . We worked with that . That was some of the work I did in chemistry - the lab part of it in the early days . It was not good work , I think . I 'm not blaming myself , but some of the other men who were doing chemical work - I think altogether we didn 't come up with anything . MRS . DAVIDSON : It may have been ahead of it 's time for nuclear submarines . I don 't know whether the engineering people thought that or not . In our group which was the chemistry and the physics , my friend who got me the job was Jim Trice . A fellow named Art Miller and somebody named Coneybearwere in the Physics Division . And then there were some others - Fred Maienschein . I did some work for him one time . It was work on beryllium for one thing . I didn 't work with any of the active beryllium . I didn 't do any lab work then , but I did some journal research . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't think they were that far along . I 'm not sure what happened to that part of it . As I said , in July of 1951 they moved to Cincinnati , Evensville , above Cincinnati . I don 't know how many people actually went up there . Most of my friends moved elsewhere . MR . HUNNICUTT : You mentioned the location of the operation was past the steam plant that was on the Clinch River . Was that the same location where the S - 50 project was located ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I think that was the name of our plot of land . I think those - I never was quite sure how they got the designations , but that was the Fairchild domain , I think . MRS . DAVIDSON : Really , it was just when our eyes met . It was very romantic . He followed our group home to the Columbia Hall to see where I lived . But at the time I thought he was too young , and I didn 't think he was following me . I was with a group of other girls . Later on , one of the women in the dormitory , who was a gym teacher in the Oak Ridge schools , told me I really ought to meet Jack Davidson that he loved to ride bicycles ; I was just back from my bicycle trip in Europe . I didn 't know who he was , and then I went to a church group meeting at my Presbyterian Church for young people one Sunday evening . A friend of mine had brought Jack Davidson , and he was the one whose eyes I had met and he had met mine . Sure enough , he loved to ride bicycles . That was the start of a good thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : We did a little bit . On our dates , that 's really what we did mostly at first . We rode out to West Outer Drive and had those wonderful big hills , not too much traffic at that time . We went out to the water tower at the top of Louisiana and had a picnic , and then rode back . When we got really good , we rode our bicycles over to Concord Park one day . I had gotten some chicken breasts at the grocery . I guess it was the A & P at Jackson Square . I was going to fry them for a picnic to take along over to Concord Park . When I went to the refrigerator to get them , they had turned into wings . Somebody had eaten my chicken breast . Jack was a good sport about that . He didn 't care . We had a nice ride . It was before they had improved Lovell Road . It was a pretty rough ride over there , but we were able to enjoy it . MRS . DAVIDSON : He had his bicycle . It was probably a Grey Stone . For me , he rented a bicycle from his work friend . I had forgotten what his name was . We went over to one of the D Streets , I think , and rode them . I didn 't have my English 3 - speed here . I guess I brought it later , but at that time I didn 't have it . MRS . DAVIDSON : That was a problem . I complained to my friend Jim Trice 's wife , Dot , who happened to live around the corner on Outer Drive at that time . She said the boardwalk was used a lot for dating , and of course the theaters . I guess we were outdoors people . I don 't know . MRS . DAVIDSON : He was a graduate of Georgia Tech . At the time he graduated , he was very young . He came up to see about a job , and he was drafted . No , he was in danger of being drafted right away , but they didn 't hire him . He did go to work for NASA , which was at that time NACA , in Virginia ; and worked over there a short time before he was taken into the Army . He had gone through Georgia Tech on a " War Manpower " loan . He was sent to some place to be an MP , I think . He wrote a night letter , which is a 50 - word telegram that was cheaper at night . He wrote a night letter to Stimson , the Secretary of War , telling them they had paid for his college education ; and here he was sitting in a camp doing nothing down in Alabama . He was transferred to the SED , he would never say that was the reason he was transferred . It may or may not have been . He arrived with the SED - he arrived in Oak Ridge the day Roosevelt died , which was in April 1945 , he was here with his group for maybe six weeks before they went out to Los Alamos . So he spent the rest of the war out there . Then he used his G . I . Bill - he stayed on at Los Alamos . They told them they would let him out of the Army if he would agree to stay on as a civilian . So he took that . Then when he did leave , he went to Annapolis and took a liberal arts course because he felt that he had missed out on it at Georgia Tech . He had a year at St . John 's College of Annapolis ; and then all along I guess he thought he would like to come back here . He came back - he arrived on Armistice Day , now Veterans Day , of 1948 . I was here a couple of months before he came , but we met shortly after Christmas in 1949 . MRS . DAVIDSON : Too long . We were married in May 1950 . He wanted to pay off his loan before we could get married , so I helped him along with that . I fed him some . He was very welcome at the D House of girls . I was going to tell you that during the war , there were nine girls in the house , and they slept on shifts on the bunk beds . There were only six of us when I was there . There were a couple of the boyfriends around , and one of them cut the grass . I think Jack did the - empty the clinkers from the furnace , the coal furnace . They made themselves useful . They got their dinner . MRS . DAVIDSON : Most of the houses were a very good design really , and a whole lot better built than we gave them credit for . But each one that I knew of had a corner set off or closed off as a coal storage place that could be filled through a window from the outside , and then you could use the - there was an opening on the inside that you could use to put coal into the furnace . That was awful of course , but that 's what all the houses were doing in that time , too . We had a yard full of clinkers over there . MRS . DAVIDSON : We were taken care of by a Big Brother - the government . They brought the coal around , and you didn 't do a thing . That was part of the rent . When we got our house here on Orange Lane , that 's another story . Are you ready for that yet ? MRS . DAVIDSON : We went back to my home in Louisville , Kentucky , to be married . We had planned to fly to Nashville , but it turned out the Delta Queen was coming through Louisville the next morning . My mother had told us we could not get married the week before because it was too busy with Derby Day . So we delayed until May 13 . Then we spent the night in Louisville at the Brown Hotel , where she pulled some strings to get us a room because it was still very full of visitors from the Derby . We got on the Delta Queen , and our friends were all on the dock to see us off . They had us almost convinced that we were on Daylight Saving Time , and the Delta Queen was not , and we had missed it . But we rode down just as far as Paducah . We were anxious to start in life you know . We lived on Wadell Circle in a K apartment . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was a two - story thing . I guess it was a two - bedroom up above , and we had K - 1 . It was sort of underground at the front and open at the back . We had a nice back porch . There was a closet under the stairway and a very small kitchen . It had a table that folded down . It was not as compact as a flattop , but the furnishings that they had did double duty . You could fold it up and have more room . MRS . DAVIDSON : The K apartment was heated with the coal furnace , but there was a janitor who came around and took care of it for us . We were taken care of by Roane Anderson . MRS . DAVIDSON : We lived in the K from May 1950 , until we got this house in July 1952 . It was said - the word around town was that you couldn 't get a two - bedroom house unless you had three children , all of different sex . We had been on the list for this house ever since we knew our daughter was coming along . That was a long time to wait . We had been offered two houses - Florida Avenue , where the parking was across the street and the backyard just dropped off . We thought that was totally unsuitable for a new child . We turned both of those down . If we had turned this one down , we would 've gone to the bottom of the long list . But we loved this place of the trees and the dead end lane neighborhood . So we sat outside in front all weekend because we were not top on the list . The reason the other people didn 't take it was that the previous owner , Jim Cox and Charlotte , had put in an oil furnace ; and nobody wanted to pay $ 200 for the oil furnace . Since I had been working , we had saved my salary from work , and we had $ 200 to pay . Also , they didn 't want to be in the high rent district . This house rented for something like $ 45 instead of $ 43 in the lower rent districts . MRS . DAVIDSON : The Oak Ridge cemesto houses that were built - I think this house was built in the fall of 1944 or 1943 . Maybe it was ' 43 . The B house has two bedrooms and of course a bath and a kitchen with a dinette into a long narrow living room . It was about 24 feet by 40 something feet . It was small and convenient . It didn 't have much storage space , but it 's been a wonderful house for us because of the trees . We are on a greenbelt , and I enjoy that very much . It 's a nice private neighborhood just above Jackson Square . MRS . DAVIDSON : Our cemesto has a fireplace , and it had a complete brick wall . Some of the B houses had a brick wall just beyond the fireplace . MRS . DAVIDSON : There are hardwood floors in all the cemestos , I believe . Our house has maple flooring , and a lot of them had oak . Wood was hard to come by in the wartime . We love the color - the reddish color of the maple . MRS . DAVIDSON : Adele is our second daughter , and she was two years younger . Our son is Bill Davidson or William . He was born in November of 1954 . He 's just now turning 58 . MRS . DAVIDSON : All three of our children went to Cedar Hill . They had split grades there , so I think the classes were one half size . They would take the kids a half from one grade , and half from the next grade , and that worked out just fine . MRS . DAVIDSON : Cedar Hill was wonderful . It was very special . Mr . Dodd was the principal , and he saw to it - he had the best teachers or at least as good as any . Actually in those days all the teachers and Oak Ridge were special because many of them had been recruited from Columbia Teachers College , along with the superintendent . Others were specially recruited for the job . They were a group a part , I think , from a lot of teachers . MRS . DAVIDSON : The girls both went to Jefferson when it was on the hill at Jackson Square , and Bill was in the first year at the new Jefferson that was over on Fairbanks Road . His was the first class there . They all went through Oak Ridge High . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you recall some of the classes your daughters took while they were in junior high ? Was there Home Ec . or things related to girls ? MRS . DAVIDSON : No , they were on the college prep track . They took eighth grade algebra and that kind of thing . Of course English and math and social studies and science - our older girl I think took biology ; and I 'm not sure if Adele had a more general science course . It just depended on the teacher that they had . They had an excellent education , and the girls were both Merit semifinalists . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course . I was in the PTA . I 'm not sure if I was ever a room mother , but I of course helped with parties and things . MRS . DAVIDSON : The teachers recruited them from each class to help with parties mostly . They helped with any activities that they didn 't really have time to do . MRS . DAVIDSON : Parent - Teacher Association , a time honored group . It got extra things for the school . I got involved with raincoats for the school patrol . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess maybe I was a treasurer of the Cedar Hill PTA , and this goal was to get those yellow slicker raincoat so kids could be visible to the drivers . I found out how much the things cost , and then I estimated postage . At the PTA meeting , Alvin Weinberg was president . He had a son or two in school at the time . He took me to task for estimating the postage , so I had to ask for just the money for the coats themselves since I didn 't really know what the postage is going to be . I thought that was interesting that he wanted to keep it to the exact penny . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think they just wore what the other kids wore . One day we had a deep snow and Bill was in kindergarten , and the snow was up over their boots . I think he had some corduroys . The teacher was making the kids take their pants off and dry them on the radiator , and he wouldn 't do it . I had to go up to the school and take him some fresh pants , some dry clothes . He was very young - just four when he started . MR . HUNNICUTT : Let 's go back a few years . Do you remember 1945 when they dropped the bomb on Japan ? You remember where you were ? And what was your reaction ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I do remember that very clearly because it was the summer after my junior year in college , and I was a camp counselor up in Door County , Wisconsin . There was no electricity at the camp , so we counselors - after we got the kids to bed , went to the state park nearby . This was at Fish Creek , Wisconsin . We would listen to people 's car radios . We knew for about a week that something was happening , but we didn 't know just what . It was very deeply moving when the bomb was dropped , and we thought it would bring an end to the war . Of course , I had friends and a brother on Guam and a cousin was in Europe and others . So that was very deeply moving . I had a book of poetry - my favorite poems at the camp with me . One of my 12 - year - olds picked out a poem - " Once to every man and nation comes a moment to decide " - she read that , and I thought that was very astute of her , a youngster to be able to do that . MRS . DAVIDSON : My husband thought they should have dropped a sample first , but I didn 't feel that way since the first bomb didn 't phase the Japanese . I didn 't think the test one would have either . I was just so glad that the war was over . People could settle down and get into real life again . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think I was in transition from the dormitory to the house , and my husband 's brothers came up from Georgia to witness the opening . So we drove in their car around , and we watched the parade from , I believe , down on the eastern end of the Turnpike down near the warehouses to get out of the traffic . We never could figure out why they invited Marie " The Body " McDonald and [ inaudible ] to ride in the open car for the parade . We couldn 't figure out what they had to do with it , but we did see the burning of the magnesium ribbon . That was exciting . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was only toward town from Elza Gate . I know the central part of town , the Jackson Square area , was very crowded . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think they name the streets for famous cities in the country , and of course the alphabetical designations were very helpful . But Jackson Square , I assume , was named for New Orleans . That 's all I know about it . MRS . DAVIDSON : Sometimes you would pick up the telephone , and the other party was talking . I believe they had different rings . I think maybe the other party had one ring , and we had two . There were four - party lines , but if we were on a four - party line , only the other one was active . I think maybe we were . The other two lines were not being used . MR . HUNNICUTT : When you are raising your family , did you hang your clothes outside on the clothesline ? Did you have a dryer ? What did you use ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I hung them outside on the clothesline . As I said , when we moved here , Anne was a year old . Not much more than three years after that , we had three babies . I was able to talk my husband into getting a dryer that time . Before that , he had built a pulley out of my kitchen window . There was a drop off in the back , and he was able to string it to a tree in the woods . I was able to reel those cloth diapers and reel them in and out . The only problem was that the birds like the trees , too . Sometimes I had to do some re - washing . MR . HUNNICUTT : So in those days you use cloth diapers ? Today we use disposable diapers . How do you think you would 've done if you had disposable diapers ? MRS . DAVIDSON : At one point , when our children were out playing Kick the Can , there were over 40 children on the lane . There were about 20 or 21 houses . There were almost as many dogs . It was just a glorious place for them to grow up . They seem to get along remarkably well most of the time , especially in the early days . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes . We went down there on the opening , and got the radioactive dimes on that occasion . The museum at that time was down at Jefferson Circle . I don 't think any of us ever had our hair stand out on the Van De Graff generator or whatever it was , but we took the children . We went out ourselves . Of course my husband was interested in that kind of thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : Sometimes they walked to Jefferson , but by that time they were carrying pretty heavy books . One of the neighbors on Outer Drive wanted to have a carpool , so we joined that . MRS . DAVIDSON : When Anne was in the fifth grade , they had to write what they did on Friday nights . The teacher would call me and say , " Is it true that you gave your children ice water and watched TV on Friday nights ? " That was how generous we were with them . We didn 't get a TV until they were probably five or six years old . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course it was black and white . The reason we got it - I guess finally it was that the children were always going to the neighbors ' house to watch TV . We decided that we should get our own . They watched things like " Pinky Lee " and I 've forgotten what else . MRS . DAVIDSON : I remember that fondly because my first real date with my husband was going to dinner there with him . He invited me to go to a concert in Knoxville , and his excuse was that we should get to know each other better before he took me to the city with him . That was one thing . I remember there were parties there , and our company had a party at the Oak Terrace Ballroom . One of the NEPA fellows wore a Tarzan costume , which was mostly nothing . It turned out that he lived in the neighborhood . MRS . DAVIDSON : That was just below the dormitory where I lived in Columbia Hall . Jack went there looking for me , he thought I would eat breakfast there and then he could have breakfast with me ; but I ate in the dormitory . He didn 't find me there . When we came back from our bicycle ride to Concord Park , I remember we stopped by there , and he drank two or three Mountain Dew drinks . That surprised me , but we had worked off a lot of sweat . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , we took our children out there and saw " Lawrence of Arabia " and " The 10 Commandment " and those things . It was quite nice . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was about where Kroger 's - where that is now , on the southeast part of Illinois Avenue . It was a nice thing . That was a special treat for the children to go out there . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't think so . I think they were mostly in the car . They had a drawing one time , Jack won something . It was actually nothing , but he did win . MRS . DAVIDSON : I sure did . My three children were born there . It was a green structure , like so many of the buildings in Oak Ridge . I guess the present building is built on that place . It was okay . I didn 't have any problems with it , except after my second child . I had a staph infection from the hospital . Even an Army wife with a private room got an infection there . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , I think they also had been recruited ; and a lot of them were from Tulane University . The time I was sick with my infection , they were having a reunion at Tulane , and my doctor and another one were gone for the reunion . I didn 't like the one who took care of me . He didn 't do a good job . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was okay . I don 't remember having any problems with it . We knew Dr . Rogers from our church , and we went to him . He was called away to the service , I believe . Maybe it was the Korean War , but then he came back . MRS . DAVIDSON : We met at Pine Valley School . The choir sat on the bleachers , and the minister sat under the halo of the basketball net . My husband was a Methodist , and he went to the First Methodist Church . They had a big youth group there . When we were first married , we tried to take them both in . We went to Sunday school one place , and church another until we finally settled on the Presbyterian . It was smaller , and we knew more people . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course the people . I love my trees and my house . I love all the activities . Both my husband and I have always loved music and enjoy the concerts a lot . The symphony concerts with Waldo Cohn conducting were held at Jefferson Junior High on the Kentucky Avenue hill . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you think back about all the people that you knew in the early days ? Do you think it was unusual for everybody to get along - the many people that were here ? MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , I guess so . I didn 't think about it because we just did . It was just fun . Everybody was away from home , and we had to be family for each other . That was particularly true in this close neighborhood . MRS . DAVIDSON : I 'm pleased for the most part . I think we 've made good progress . We 've kept up with the outside world . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think we came through at the very best of times . It was not the pressure of war , but we were growing community . I think things were happening at the Lab . Both of my husband and I loved the Lab because there were so many good things going on out there . It gives us hope for the future . [ Editor 's Note : This transcript has been edited at Mrs . Davidson 's request . The corresponding audio and video components have remained unchanged . ] Click tabs to swap between content that is broken into logical sections . MR . HUNNICUTT : This interview is for the Center of Oak Ridge Oral History . The date is November 8 , 2012 . I am Don Hunnicutt in the home of Mrs . Mary Ann Davidson , 117 Orange Lane , Oak Ridge , Tennessee , to take her oral history about living in Oak Ridge , Tennessee . Please state your full name and your place of birth and your date of birth . MRS . DAVIDSON : My name is Mary Ann Davidson . My date of birth is January 12 , 1925 . I was born in Louisville , Kentucky . I lived there all my early life until I graduated from college . MRS . DAVIDSON : My father was William H . Courtenay . He was born in 1890 , on March 3 . He was in World War I and lived his entire life in Louisville and Shelbyville , Kentucky . He worked for the Mengel Company . They imported mahogany and hardwood from Africa and Central America . He delivered those to customers . He didn 't consider himself a salesman , but he sold them to the furniture factory - furniture makers around Kentucky , mostly Indiana and Cincinnati and some in Tennessee . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , he did not . The Louisville Male High School was considered a fine school at that time . They said that graduates could enter Harvard in their second year . The principal had written textbooks that were apparently used all over . But my father was interested in raising ponies . His father had a farm in Shelbyville , Kentucky . If you 'd didn 't make the grade , you are special . And Dr . Ruben Post - Halleck , the famous principal of the school , told him if he took an exam in math , he could be entered back in . He did that , and he aced the test . He was back in . Then he was a special in English , so they told him if he memorized the " Lady of the Lake " and said that he could get back in school . So he did that . I think he never did finish . He was a twin , and his twin was more of an engineering type and went to manual training high school . MR . HUNNICUTT : What about your mother 's school history ? MRS . DAVIDSON : She grew up in several small towns in western Kentucky . Her father worked for the L & N Railroad . She had her high school in Hopkinsville , Kentucky . She had to stay home - or she went to junior college nearby . She had a scholarship to Randolph Macon Women 's College , but she couldn 't take it because her mother was ill and died at age 50 . It was about the year I was born , I think . MRS . DAVIDSON : His name was William Howard Courtenay III . My father was named for his uncle , who was also William Howard . My older brother works for Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green in the physics department . He made instruments . My younger brother was a pediatrician in Louisville , and he is still living on a farm in Shelbyville . He 's interested in Kentucky antiques . MR . HUNNICUTT : Yes . MRS . DAVIDSON : I went to an unusual kindergarten and first grade . I was at what they called the Enterprise Branch of I . N . Bloom School . It was only kindergarten and first grade . It was in the older building , where we had a Pot Belly Stove . I think we had a maid to help us take our leggings off in the cold weather - galoshes . It was really a wonderful school . It was almost like a private one . It was public . We did things like making butter and we had an orchestra . I played the triangle . I had started a little bit earlier when my younger brother was born . Louisville had half semester , half - year grades . I would 've been a half year , but I skipped the last half of kindergarten . I went to the school board and took a test and went on , so they put me in the regular school year . I went through the big school the I . N . Bloom School and Highland Junior High School in Louisville . Then I went to Atherton High School for Girls . The Louisville public schools were segregated - boys and girls . There were about 900 girls at Atherton . My graduating class was about 200 , and I was the valedictorian . MRS . DAVIDSON : They are pants to keep your legs warm . They zipped up from the inside of the ankle bone up to about knee - high , I guess it was . They were a royal pain to take on and off , so the teacher had to have help to do that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was just ordinary . I 'm sure the girls wore dresses , and the little boys wore suits - not suits , but pants and shirts . MRS . DAVIDSON : I came to Oak Ridge after I graduated from college . I had two years of getting a master 's at Emory while I worked at my alma mater , Agnes Scott College in Decatur , Georgia . I was the chemistry lab instructor . So after those two years were up , I was interested in working in chemistry or biochemistry . My master 's was in biochemistry . In Louisville , there was nothing in that field , except liquor and paint - neither of which I was interested in . In Atlanta , I would like to stay in Atlanta , I heard that Oak Ridge was an interesting new place , and a lot was going on here . One of my dear college friends had recently married a physicist from the University of Kentucky , so I visited them here . I guess that must have been 1947 . Her husband was working at NEPA . He said they were looking for people with a chemistry degree . I applied , and I was accepted . I didn 't know that until I had completed the clearance , so I took the opportunity to go to Europe at an American youth hostel bicycle tour of Western Europe in the summer of 1948 . When I got home , I found that I had indeed gotten the job at Oak Ridge . So I came down here . MRS . DAVIDSON : I was wondering that . I think I came by train . When I interviewed earlier in the spring , my interview was at the Andrew Johnson Hotel . It was one of the private rooms . I had never seen the company here . I think I must have been met by a car and driver and brought to Oak Ridge . MRS . DAVIDSON : I came in through the Vermont Gateway , which is where the gas station is now on the corner of what I call Vermont . They call it North Rutgers now . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , I think it must 've been after that . That would 've been at Christmas time . When I applied , I imagine it was early spring . MRS . DAVIDSON : We called the company NEPA , for Nuclear Energy for the Propulsion of Aircraft . It was managed by the Fairchild Corporation the way Union Carbide or one of the other contractors managed the lab . I did not know until the first day I went to work just what the company was doing . They handed me a volume of information that said , " We are looking for - we are trying to make an airplane powered by nuclear energy that could fly to Russia and back without refueling . " That was a great shock to me . MRS . DAVIDSON : I lived in Columbia Hall Dormitory . I was very surprised to find that the rent was $ 15 a month until I realized it was one very small room . That was my living quarters . I took the opportunity to stay out of it as much as possible . I did that by babysitting in some of the B and D houses in the evening . Grandmothers were not here since it was a closed community . Babysitters were in short supply , and even though I didn 't need the money , it was good to get out of the dormitory . MRS . DAVIDSON : The dormitory was like Cheyenne Hall . It was the same type of building . It had wooden stairways from the second - floor hall down on each end . I lived on the second floor . Our dormitory was mostly nurses , since it was up on the hill next to the hospital - I think where the west parking lot is now . There was a kitchen on each end where we could have our own breakfast . Of course we were at the plant at lunchtime , and then we usually went out to supper . I opened the refrigerator door one morning and somebody 's milk came spilling out down my front . Everybody just stuffed things into the refrigerator . MRS . DAVIDSON : I had a single room with a twin bed and enough room to walk to the window by the bed . There was a little table that served as a desk with a chair . There was a much coveted dormitory dresser - a tall one with a number of drawers . They were very popular . MRS . DAVIDSON : They had a wonderful bus service here . Travel wasn 't really a problem . We walked , of course , from the dormitory to Jackson Square and ate supper usually at the Mayflower , which is where I first saw my husband - to - be . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was on the corner of Tennessee , right across from the Soup Kitchen and the Texaco gas station there on the northeast corner . It was a very popular place . In fact , there were several places you could eat . It was the Central Cafeteria , and the T & C Cafeteria in Jackson Square , which is about where the Epicurean is now toward the garden . MRS . DAVIDSON : It must 've been the A & P on Jackson Square . Jackson Square was really the center of activity as far as I was concerned at that time . I still love it . I hope it keeps going . MRS . DAVIDSON : The department stores - the big department store was Taylor 's at the time . They had a wonderful book department headed by Mrs . Keyes , whose daughter I knew at work . They had really fine art books and other books that they would have a great sale on once or twice a year . We were very happy with that . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was in the middle of the block between where Big Ed 's is in the corner . I guess it 's mostly used by the engineering company now . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , not frequently , but I went and saw - there was a theater down at Big Ed 's in Jackson Square and where the Playhouse is now . That was the main one . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , the jewelry store was on the corner that was Henebree 's , I think . No , that was Heneger 's . MR . HUNNICUTT : Henebree ? MRS . DAVIDSON : Henebree . McCrory 's 5 & 10 was there . There was a drugstore - a Service Drugstore . I guess that was where Big Ed 's is now , on the very corner . There was Jackson Square Pharmacy , and on the other side the Hamilton Bank was there next to the movie theater . And Samuel 's Men 's Store was a very nice store . The Jackson Square Pharmacy was there , but in between , which the Pharmacy later took over was a Kay 's Ice Cream Store . We used to go there and - my husband and I would when we were dating . I liked to get coffee with ice cream in it , so we went there . MR . HUNNICUTT : I believe that was Taff Moody Ice Cream - they served Kay 's Ice Cream . MRS . DAVIDSON : Was it ? I didn 't remember that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I can 't say that I do . It was just a given , I suppose . It didn 't make a big dent in my memory . After six months of the dormitory , I moved to a D house on Norman Lane . That was another era . MR . HUNNICUTT : What is a D house ? MRS . DAVIDSON : A D house was a large three bedroom house . They were very much desired . They were really nice houses - still a lot of them are . The house was - there were five other girls who lived there - two of whom had been college friends . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , it would 've been upstairs . It was the second one to the end . A radiation technologist lived on the corner , and I lived there with school teachers and nurses who made up most of the dorm . MR . HUNNICUTT : Let 's talk a little bit about the dorm again . If I had a message for you or someone left a message for you , how did you retrieve your messages ? Was there a desk when you went in ? MRS . DAVIDSON : There was a desk downstairs . I remember the Valentine 's Day - I guess it must 've been 1949 . The message was that I had some flowers , some red roses . I had just met my husband - to - be at that time . I got all excited , and when I got to the desk , it was from somebody else . I enjoyed the red roses , but not as much as I might have . The thing was that there were ladies - a lot of the women who lived in the dorm worked on the night shift . They would sit around a large kind of living room , I guess they called it . They were all staring when I got flowers . I had to walk around , and it was embarrassing . MRS . DAVIDSON : I was there in the winter of 1948 . I 'm very cold natured , but I don 't remember being cold . We had those heavy navy blanket - navy blue blankets . This brings up a story if I jump to it later on . We were moved from the D house after another six months into the brand - new Garden Apartments on Villanova Road . They needed our D house for families . The people who moved in were the Andersons of the Anderson Hilltop Grocery . Of course , the furniture all belonged to the government there . So the Garden Apartments were not furnished , so we had dwindled down from 6 to 4 people who needed furniture . I took a day off and went to an auction the government set up down at the warehouses . I got seven beds and three or four dressers - much more than I could have used . But the beds were in great demand at work because all the young men who worked there were having children and needed beds . So we took the four . Also I got two sofas , and we could use but one ; so I sold one . They were really shabby awful sofas . Since it was all going to surplus anyway , we switched and took the nice sofa from the D house and left them the bad one . It was all taken away anyhow , so I didn 't feel too bad about that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't really remember about the telephone . We didn 't use the telephone much . We never used it for long - distance except for emergencies and calls home . I don 't remember that as being a problem particularly . MRS . DAVIDSON : I suppose I went on the bus . I did not have a car . One of the housemates from Norman Lane had gotten the car , but she would 've been at work at K - 25 . I don 't know . I may have gotten a ride . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess I paid somebody to deliver it . I don 't know . Maybe some of the fellows at work picked up their beds that they wanted . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was one of those warehouses down at the [ Oak Ridge ] Turnpike on Warehouse Road . I don 't know exactly where it was . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess it was on the bulletin boards at work , or there was a newspaper at the Lab . I guess I heard about it that way . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think probably so - in the newsletters they came around , also at the recreation building - the rec hall - at Jackson Square that was the library upstairs and the rec hall downstairs . Word - of - mouth - I don 't remember . We had a need and found the answer to it . MRS . DAVIDSON : I had to punch a clock at eight in the morning when I first started . I guess we got out at 4 : 30 or 5 o ' clock . We had bus service that went from the bus terminal - the Central one - that 's now by Bus Terminal Road . Later on after we were married , we lived on Waddell Circle and went from there to the Jefferson bus terminal . I went - I rode on the K - 25 bus , and they went out past K - 25 to the road that the powerhouse was on and NEPA was beyond that out by the river . MRS . DAVIDSON : There was some kind of management services office . I 'm not sure what it was called - the Roane Anderson Corporation at that time , I guess . I think that 's where I rented the dormitory room . I probably got bus tokens - I guess I got the tokens of the bus terminal . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think I had a checking account probably at Hamilton Bank in Jackson Square . I don 't recall otherwise . I know I did later . One thing I wanted to say about the buses - if you wanted to go to Clinton to do any shopping , more than what you could have in Oak Ridge or to meet somebody or something , there was a bus that ran frequently back and forth between the bus terminal and Clinton . There was a young man on the bus who had a sing - songy sales pitch for " peanuts , popcorn , Cracker Jacks , candy , and chewing gum . " He wouldn 't drive , but he would sell his wares all the way to Clinton and back . I always wondered who that was because he obviously had some talent . MRS . DAVIDSON : I 'm sure I did . I don 't know what became of it . I guess I had to turn it back in . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think somebody just got - one of the guards got on the bus and checked everybody 's badges . It was not a big thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : Probably . I don 't remember . What I do remember about that was my mother was coming down one time for my birthday - it must 've been in January 1949 . She rode the train . I told her that I would get a ride to meet her . Of course , the train didn 't stop at Oak Ridge . It went on to Knoxville , so I bummed a ride with one of the men in our group . He was actually the technical assistant to the director . His car was a broken down old thing with no floorboards in the back seat , which was pretty bad when my mother saw it . But she didn 't see it because when we got to Knoxville , she was not there . When we were coming back from the gateway entrance , she was not there . There was a message that she was waiting for us at the Elza Gate Station . She had told the conductor she had to get off at Oak Ridge . That 's where she was going , and I was going to meet her . So she slid down the Elza bank over there . She had my birthday cake - a large chocolate cake . She slid downhill with that , and somehow they stopped her at the guard gate at Elza . She waited there for us . MRS . DAVIDSON : Just for her - let her off like a milk train . They ordinarily didn 't stop there , but she wouldn 't have it otherwise . MRS . DAVIDSON : I used the library and rec hall . On Sunday afternoons , they played music ; and you could sit and write letters home , which is what I think I did a good bit . Later on in the better weather , there were tennis courts and a swimming pool . I don 't remember going to movies much . We went to church groups . There were so many young people ; it was just like a party all the time . Nothing in particular stands out . It was just fun . MRS . DAVIDSON : In the company I was , that was not true . There were a lot of women of course - of course , the dormitory was full of school teachers and nurses . But NEPA was mostly men . There were two parts to the Fairchild - the science and engineering part , which was bigger . I happen to be in the research part . My boss was a chemist - Vince Calkins . It was my job to - this was a real shocker to me - to find a chemical that would protect the human body against radiation for the reactor that was supposed to be in the airplane to Russia . I had no background for that kind of thing . I was just fresh out of college really . I realized I was out of my depth , but they decided - he was a pharmacist , I believe , and he wanted to do experiments with rats . They brought in the rat colony . By that time we had a couple of assistants , and I was supposed to be the group leader . One of the men , Ray Waldrop - you may have talked to him . I asked him if he minded working for a woman because he was really more experienced than I , although I had the degree . It was fine with him . There was also another worker , Saul Segal , who was quite a character in his own right . I took the rats in the cages over to the reactor , the " Old Lady " at X - 10 , and put them through what they called " rabbits " and radiated them for certain amount of time . We couldn 't kill the darn things . Then we used the older ones that had already been radiated , they were just tough as anything . I think the experiment was really a failure , although they may have found that to be the case in some later work with older people - that the cells are not dividing as fast and they 're not as subject to radiation . But we didn 't get into that . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was actually not K - 25 . It was beyond there . As I said , the bus took us - the bus dumped people off at K - 25 , and they went on west to just before you get to the Gallaher Bridge . You turn right there and go right past the power station there . It was used for a long time - the power house , and then NEPA was beyond that . The native rats came in - was it domestic experimental rats ? That was not good . I had a janitor who helped me , even though he could 've lost his job for doing it . He helped me clean cages . I always appreciated that . MRS . DAVIDSON : When they got rid of the rats , which was a blessing , my group leader then became Bill Browning , who was a fine scientist . He worked on the Van de Graaff generator . We had an interesting argument . Saul Segal thought he should be the one to do it since he was a man and I was a woman who would be leaving soon ; and it turned out that he left for California before I had left to have my baby . His argument didn 't hold with me anyway , but we argued about that some . We did run the Van de Graaff , and we also did some experiments on metallic sodium . It was nasty stuff to work with . It caught on fire if it was exposed to air . You had to work with that under oil in the glove box . I think that work all had to be repeated after NEPA left for Cincinnati with G . E . . When they moved part of NEPA to X - 10 , they called it the ANP , or something about aircraft and nuclear power . I was not connected with that because my first baby was born in August 1951 . I left in July . MRS . DAVIDSON : I heard somebody say that they had to repeat it all . My boss , the Division Director of Chemistry was interested in vitamin E , and thought it had a lot of protective influence . We worked with that . That was some of the work I did in chemistry - the lab part of it in the early days . It was not good work , I think . I 'm not blaming myself , but some of the other men who were doing chemical work - I think altogether we didn 't come up with anything . MRS . DAVIDSON : It may have been ahead of it 's time for nuclear submarines . I don 't know whether the engineering people thought that or not . In our group which was the chemistry and the physics , my friend who got me the job was Jim Trice . A fellow named Art Miller and somebody named Coneybearwere in the Physics Division . And then there were some others - Fred Maienschein . I did some work for him one time . It was work on beryllium for one thing . I didn 't work with any of the active beryllium . I didn 't do any lab work then , but I did some journal research . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't think they were that far along . I 'm not sure what happened to that part of it . As I said , in July of 1951 they moved to Cincinnati , Evensville , above Cincinnati . I don 't know how many people actually went up there . Most of my friends moved elsewhere . MR . HUNNICUTT : You mentioned the location of the operation was past the steam plant that was on the Clinch River . Was that the same location where the S - 50 project was located ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I think that was the name of our plot of land . I think those - I never was quite sure how they got the designations , but that was the Fairchild domain , I think . MRS . DAVIDSON : Really , it was just when our eyes met . It was very romantic . He followed our group home to the Columbia Hall to see where I lived . But at the time I thought he was too young , and I didn 't think he was following me . I was with a group of other girls . Later on , one of the women in the dormitory , who was a gym teacher in the Oak Ridge schools , told me I really ought to meet Jack Davidson that he loved to ride bicycles ; I was just back from my bicycle trip in Europe . I didn 't know who he was , and then I went to a church group meeting at my Presbyterian Church for young people one Sunday evening . A friend of mine had brought Jack Davidson , and he was the one whose eyes I had met and he had met mine . Sure enough , he loved to ride bicycles . That was the start of a good thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : We did a little bit . On our dates , that 's really what we did mostly at first . We rode out to West Outer Drive and had those wonderful big hills , not too much traffic at that time . We went out to the water tower at the top of Louisiana and had a picnic , and then rode back . When we got really good , we rode our bicycles over to Concord Park one day . I had gotten some chicken breasts at the grocery . I guess it was the A & P at Jackson Square . I was going to fry them for a picnic to take along over to Concord Park . When I went to the refrigerator to get them , they had turned into wings . Somebody had eaten my chicken breast . Jack was a good sport about that . He didn 't care . We had a nice ride . It was before they had improved Lovell Road . It was a pretty rough ride over there , but we were able to enjoy it . MRS . DAVIDSON : He had his bicycle . It was probably a Grey Stone . For me , he rented a bicycle from his work friend . I had forgotten what his name was . We went over to one of the D Streets , I think , and rode them . I didn 't have my English 3 - speed here . I guess I brought it later , but at that time I didn 't have it . MRS . DAVIDSON : That was a problem . I complained to my friend Jim Trice 's wife , Dot , who happened to live around the corner on Outer Drive at that time . She said the boardwalk was used a lot for dating , and of course the theaters . I guess we were outdoors people . I don 't know . MRS . DAVIDSON : He was a graduate of Georgia Tech . At the time he graduated , he was very young . He came up to see about a job , and he was drafted . No , he was in danger of being drafted right away , but they didn 't hire him . He did go to work for NASA , which was at that time NACA , in Virginia ; and worked over there a short time before he was taken into the Army . He had gone through Georgia Tech on a " War Manpower " loan . He was sent to some place to be an MP , I think . He wrote a night letter , which is a 50 - word telegram that was cheaper at night . He wrote a night letter to Stimson , the Secretary of War , telling them they had paid for his college education ; and here he was sitting in a camp doing nothing down in Alabama . He was transferred to the SED , he would never say that was the reason he was transferred . It may or may not have been . He arrived with the SED - he arrived in Oak Ridge the day Roosevelt died , which was in April 1945 , he was here with his group for maybe six weeks before they went out to Los Alamos . So he spent the rest of the war out there . Then he used his G . I . Bill - he stayed on at Los Alamos . They told them they would let him out of the Army if he would agree to stay on as a civilian . So he took that . Then when he did leave , he went to Annapolis and took a liberal arts course because he felt that he had missed out on it at Georgia Tech . He had a year at St . John 's College of Annapolis ; and then all along I guess he thought he would like to come back here . He came back - he arrived on Armistice Day , now Veterans Day , of 1948 . I was here a couple of months before he came , but we met shortly after Christmas in 1949 . MRS . DAVIDSON : Too long . We were married in May 1950 . He wanted to pay off his loan before we could get married , so I helped him along with that . I fed him some . He was very welcome at the D House of girls . I was going to tell you that during the war , there were nine girls in the house , and they slept on shifts on the bunk beds . There were only six of us when I was there . There were a couple of the boyfriends around , and one of them cut the grass . I think Jack did the - empty the clinkers from the furnace , the coal furnace . They made themselves useful . They got their dinner . MR . HUNNICUTT : Tell me about the coal furnace briefly . MRS . DAVIDSON : Most of the houses were a very good design really , and a whole lot better built than we gave them credit for . But each one that I knew of had a corner set off or closed off as a coal storage place that could be filled through a window from the outside , and then you could use the - there was an opening on the inside that you could use to put coal into the furnace . That was awful of course , but that 's what all the houses were doing in that time , too . We had a yard full of clinkers over there . MRS . DAVIDSON : We were taken care of by a Big Brother - the government . They brought the coal around , and you didn 't do a thing . That was part of the rent . When we got our house here on Orange Lane , that 's another story . Are you ready for that yet ? MRS . DAVIDSON : We went back to my home in Louisville , Kentucky , to be married . We had planned to fly to Nashville , but it turned out the Delta Queen was coming through Louisville the next morning . My mother had told us we could not get married the week before because it was too busy with Derby Day . So we delayed until May 13 . Then we spent the night in Louisville at the Brown Hotel , where she pulled some strings to get us a room because it was still very full of visitors from the Derby . We got on the Delta Queen , and our friends were all on the dock to see us off . They had us almost convinced that we were on Daylight Saving Time , and the Delta Queen was not , and we had missed it . But we rode down just as far as Paducah . We were anxious to start in life you know . We lived on Wadell Circle in a K apartment . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you recall the number ? MRS . DAVIDSON : It was a two - story thing . I guess it was a two - bedroom up above , and we had K - 1 . It was sort of underground at the front and open at the back . We had a nice back porch . There was a closet under the stairway and a very small kitchen . It had a table that folded down . It was not as compact as a flattop , but the furnishings that they had did double duty . You could fold it up and have more room . MRS . DAVIDSON : The K apartment was heated with the coal furnace , but there was a janitor who came around and took care of it for us . We were taken care of by Roane Anderson . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you remember what the rent was ? MRS . DAVIDSON : We lived in the K from May 1950 , until we got this house in July 1952 . It was said - the word around town was that you couldn 't get a two - bedroom house unless you had three children , all of different sex . We had been on the list for this house ever since we knew our daughter was coming along . That was a long time to wait . We had been offered two houses - Florida Avenue , where the parking was across the street and the backyard just dropped off . We thought that was totally unsuitable for a new child . We turned both of those down . If we had turned this one down , we would 've gone to the bottom of the long list . But we loved this place of the trees and the dead end lane neighborhood . So we sat outside in front all weekend because we were not top on the list . The reason the other people didn 't take it was that the previous owner , Jim Cox and Charlotte , had put in an oil furnace ; and nobody wanted to pay $ 200 for the oil furnace . Since I had been working , we had saved my salary from work , and we had $ 200 to pay . Also , they didn 't want to be in the high rent district . This house rented for something like $ 45 instead of $ 43 in the lower rent districts . MRS . DAVIDSON : The Oak Ridge cemesto houses that were built - I think this house was built in the fall of 1944 or 1943 . Maybe it was ' 43 . The B house has two bedrooms and of course a bath and a kitchen with a dinette into a long narrow living room . It was about 24 feet by 40 something feet . It was small and convenient . It didn 't have much storage space , but it 's been a wonderful house for us because of the trees . We are on a greenbelt , and I enjoy that very much . It 's a nice private neighborhood just above Jackson Square . MRS . DAVIDSON : Our cemesto has a fireplace , and it had a complete brick wall . Some of the B houses had a brick wall just beyond the fireplace . MRS . DAVIDSON : There are hardwood floors in all the cemestos , I believe . Our house has maple flooring , and a lot of them had oak . Wood was hard to come by in the wartime . We love the color - the reddish color of the maple . MRS . DAVIDSON : Adele is our second daughter , and she was two years younger . Our son is Bill Davidson or William . He was born in November of 1954 . He 's just now turning 58 . MR . HUNNICUTT : So your first daughter went to Cedar Hill ? MRS . DAVIDSON : All three of our children went to Cedar Hill . They had split grades there , so I think the classes were one half size . They would take the kids a half from one grade , and half from the next grade , and that worked out just fine . MRS . DAVIDSON : Cedar Hill was wonderful . It was very special . Mr . Dodd was the principal , and he saw to it - he had the best teachers or at least as good as any . Actually in those days all the teachers and Oak Ridge were special because many of them had been recruited from Columbia Teachers College , along with the superintendent . Others were specially recruited for the job . They were a group a part , I think , from a lot of teachers . MRS . DAVIDSON : The girls both went to Jefferson when it was on the hill at Jackson Square , and Bill was in the first year at the new Jefferson that was over on Fairbanks Road . His was the first class there . They all went through Oak Ridge High . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you recall some of the classes your daughters took while they were in junior high ? Was there Home Ec . or things related to girls ? MRS . DAVIDSON : No , they were on the college prep track . They took eighth grade algebra and that kind of thing . Of course English and math and social studies and science - our older girl I think took biology ; and I 'm not sure if Adele had a more general science course . It just depended on the teacher that they had . They had an excellent education , and the girls were both Merit semifinalists . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course . I was in the PTA . I 'm not sure if I was ever a room mother , but I of course helped with parties and things . MRS . DAVIDSON : The teachers recruited them from each class to help with parties mostly . They helped with any activities that they didn 't really have time to do . MRS . DAVIDSON : Parent - Teacher Association , a time honored group . It got extra things for the school . I got involved with raincoats for the school patrol . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess maybe I was a treasurer of the Cedar Hill PTA , and this goal was to get those yellow slicker raincoat so kids could be visible to the drivers . I found out how much the things cost , and then I estimated postage . At the PTA meeting , Alvin Weinberg was president . He had a son or two in school at the time . He took me to task for estimating the postage , so I had to ask for just the money for the coats themselves since I didn 't really know what the postage is going to be . I thought that was interesting that he wanted to keep it to the exact penny . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think they just wore what the other kids wore . One day we had a deep snow and Bill was in kindergarten , and the snow was up over their boots . I think he had some corduroys . The teacher was making the kids take their pants off and dry them on the radiator , and he wouldn 't do it . I had to go up to the school and take him some fresh pants , some dry clothes . He was very young - just four when he started . MR . HUNNICUTT : Let 's go back a few years . Do you remember 1945 when they dropped the bomb on Japan ? You remember where you were ? And what was your reaction ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I do remember that very clearly because it was the summer after my junior year in college , and I was a camp counselor up in Door County , Wisconsin . There was no electricity at the camp , so we counselors - after we got the kids to bed , went to the state park nearby . This was at Fish Creek , Wisconsin . We would listen to people 's car radios . We knew for about a week that something was happening , but we didn 't know just what . It was very deeply moving when the bomb was dropped , and we thought it would bring an end to the war . Of course , I had friends and a brother on Guam and a cousin was in Europe and others . So that was very deeply moving . I had a book of poetry - my favorite poems at the camp with me . One of my 12 - year - olds picked out a poem - " Once to every man and nation comes a moment to decide " - she read that , and I thought that was very astute of her , a youngster to be able to do that . MRS . DAVIDSON : My husband thought they should have dropped a sample first , but I didn 't feel that way since the first bomb didn 't phase the Japanese . I didn 't think the test one would have either . I was just so glad that the war was over . People could settle down and get into real life again . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think I was in transition from the dormitory to the house , and my husband 's brothers came up from Georgia to witness the opening . So we drove in their car around , and we watched the parade from , I believe , down on the eastern end of the Turnpike down near the warehouses to get out of the traffic . We never could figure out why they invited Marie " The Body " McDonald and [ inaudible ] to ride in the open car for the parade . We couldn 't figure out what they had to do with it , but we did see the burning of the magnesium ribbon . That was exciting . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was only toward town from Elza Gate . I know the central part of town , the Jackson Square area , was very crowded . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think they name the streets for famous cities in the country , and of course the alphabetical designations were very helpful . But Jackson Square , I assume , was named for New Orleans . That 's all I know about it . MRS . DAVIDSON : Sometimes you would pick up the telephone , and the other party was talking . I believe they had different rings . I think maybe the other party had one ring , and we had two . There were four - party lines , but if we were on a four - party line , only the other one was active . I think maybe we were . The other two lines were not being used . MR . HUNNICUTT : When you are raising your family , did you hang your clothes outside on the clothesline ? Did you have a dryer ? What did you use ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I hung them outside on the clothesline . As I said , when we moved here , Anne was a year old . Not much more than three years after that , we had three babies . I was able to talk my husband into getting a dryer that time . Before that , he had built a pulley out of my kitchen window . There was a drop off in the back , and he was able to string it to a tree in the woods . I was able to reel those cloth diapers and reel them in and out . The only problem was that the birds like the trees , too . Sometimes I had to do some re - washing . MR . HUNNICUTT : So in those days you use cloth diapers ? Today we use disposable diapers . How do you think you would 've done if you had disposable diapers ? MRS . DAVIDSON : At one point , when our children were out playing Kick the Can , there were over 40 children on the lane . There were about 20 or 21 houses . There were almost as many dogs . It was just a glorious place for them to grow up . They seem to get along remarkably well most of the time , especially in the early days . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes . We went down there on the opening , and got the radioactive dimes on that occasion . The museum at that time was down at Jefferson Circle . I don 't think any of us ever had our hair stand out on the Van De Graff generator or whatever it was , but we took the children . We went out ourselves . Of course my husband was interested in that kind of thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : Sometimes they walked to Jefferson , but by that time they were carrying pretty heavy books . One of the neighbors on Outer Drive wanted to have a carpool , so we joined that . MRS . DAVIDSON : When Anne was in the fifth grade , they had to write what they did on Friday nights . The teacher would call me and say , " Is it true that you gave your children ice water and watched TV on Friday nights ? " That was how generous we were with them . We didn 't get a TV until they were probably five or six years old . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course it was black and white . The reason we got it - I guess finally it was that the children were always going to the neighbors ' house to watch TV . We decided that we should get our own . They watched things like " Pinky Lee " and I 've forgotten what else . MRS . DAVIDSON : I remember that fondly because my first real date with my husband was going to dinner there with him . He invited me to go to a concert in Knoxville , and his excuse was that we should get to know each other better before he took me to the city with him . That was one thing . I remember there were parties there , and our company had a party at the Oak Terrace Ballroom . One of the NEPA fellows wore a Tarzan costume , which was mostly nothing . It turned out that he lived in the neighborhood . MR . HUNNICUTT : What was the Oak Terrace ballroom - where was it located ? MRS . DAVIDSON : That was just below the dormitory where I lived in Columbia Hall . Jack went there looking for me , he thought I would eat breakfast there and then he could have breakfast with me ; but I ate in the dormitory . He didn 't find me there . When we came back from our bicycle ride to Concord Park , I remember we stopped by there , and he drank two or three Mountain Dew drinks . That surprised me , but we had worked off a lot of sweat . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , we took our children out there and saw " Lawrence of Arabia " and " The 10 Commandment " and those things . It was quite nice . MR . HUNNICUTT : Where was it located ? MRS . DAVIDSON : It was about where Kroger 's - where that is now , on the southeast part of Illinois Avenue . It was a nice thing . That was a special treat for the children to go out there . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't think so . I think they were mostly in the car . They had a drawing one time , Jack won something . It was actually nothing , but he did win . MRS . DAVIDSON : I sure did . My three children were born there . It was a green structure , like so many of the buildings in Oak Ridge . I guess the present building is built on that place . It was okay . I didn 't have any problems with it , except after my second child . I had a staph infection from the hospital . Even an Army wife with a private room got an infection there . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , I think they also had been recruited ; and a lot of them were from Tulane University . The time I was sick with my infection , they were having a reunion at Tulane , and my doctor and another one were gone for the reunion . I didn 't like the one who took care of me . He didn 't do a good job . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was okay . I don 't remember having any problems with it . We knew Dr . Rogers from our church , and we went to him . He was called away to the service , I believe . Maybe it was the Korean War , but then he came back . MRS . DAVIDSON : We met at Pine Valley School . The choir sat on the bleachers , and the minister sat under the halo of the basketball net . My husband was a Methodist , and he went to the First Methodist Church . They had a big youth group there . When we were first married , we tried to take them both in . We went to Sunday school one place , and church another until we finally settled on the Presbyterian . It was smaller , and we knew more people . MR . HUNNICUTT : Thinking back , what do you like best about Oak Ridge ? MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course the people . I love my trees and my house . I love all the activities . Both my husband and I have always loved music and enjoy the concerts a lot . The symphony concerts with Waldo Cohn conducting were held at Jefferson Junior High on the Kentucky Avenue hill . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you think back about all the people that you knew in the early days ? Do you think it was unusual for everybody to get along - the many people that were here ? MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , I guess so . I didn 't think about it because we just did . It was just fun . Everybody was away from home , and we had to be family for each other . That was particularly true in this close neighborhood . MRS . DAVIDSON : I 'm pleased for the most part . I think we 've made good progress . We 've kept up with the outside world . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't know . I 'll probably think of things after you leave . Nothing particular comes to mind . MR . HUNNICUTT : I would like to thank you for your time , and I think this interview will be very helpful for someone in the future to see how you lived in Oak Ridge in the early days . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think we came through at the very best of times . It was not the pressure of war , but we were growing community . I think things were happening at the Lab . Both of my husband and I loved the Lab because there were so many good things going on out there . It gives us hope for the future . MR . HUNNICUTT : I thank you very much for your time . [ Editor 's Note : This transcript has been edited at Mrs . Davidson 's request . The corresponding audio and video components have remained unchanged . ] Your rating was saved . you wish to report :

MR . HUNNICUTT : This interview is for the Center of Oak Ridge Oral History . The date is November 8 , 2012 . I am Don Hunnicutt in the home of Mrs . Mary Ann Davidson , 117 Orange Lane , Oak Ridge , Tennessee , to take her oral history about living in Oak Ridge , Tennessee . Please state your full name and your place of birth and your date of birth . MRS . DAVIDSON : My name is Mary Ann Davidson . My date of birth is January 12 , 1925 . I was born in Louisville , Kentucky . I lived there all my early life until I graduated from college . MRS . DAVIDSON : My father was William H . Courtenay . He was born in 1890 , on March 3 . He was in World War I and lived his entire life in Louisville and Shelbyville , Kentucky . He worked for the Mengel Company . They imported mahogany and hardwood from Africa and Central America . He delivered those to customers . He didn 't consider himself a salesman , but he sold them to the furniture factory - furniture makers around Kentucky , mostly Indiana and Cincinnati and some in Tennessee . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , he did not . The Louisville Male High School was considered a fine school at that time . They said that graduates could enter Harvard in their second year . The principal had written textbooks that were apparently used all over . But my father was interested in raising ponies . His father had a farm in Shelbyville , Kentucky . If you 'd didn 't make the grade , you are special . And Dr . Ruben Post - Halleck , the famous principal of the school , told him if he took an exam in math , he could be entered back in . He did that , and he aced the test . He was back in . Then he was a special in English , so they told him if he memorized the " Lady of the Lake " and said that he could get back in school . So he did that . I think he never did finish . He was a twin , and his twin was more of an engineering type and went to manual training high school . MRS . DAVIDSON : She grew up in several small towns in western Kentucky . Her father worked for the L & N Railroad . She had her high school in Hopkinsville , Kentucky . She had to stay home - or she went to junior college nearby . She had a scholarship to Randolph Macon Women 's College , but she couldn 't take it because her mother was ill and died at age 50 . It was about the year I was born , I think . MRS . DAVIDSON : His name was William Howard Courtenay III . My father was named for his uncle , who was also William Howard . My older brother works for Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green in the physics department . He made instruments . My younger brother was a pediatrician in Louisville , and he is still living on a farm in Shelbyville . He 's interested in Kentucky antiques . MRS . DAVIDSON : I went to an unusual kindergarten and first grade . I was at what they called the Enterprise Branch of I . N . Bloom School . It was only kindergarten and first grade . It was in the older building , where we had a Pot Belly Stove . I think we had a maid to help us take our leggings off in the cold weather - galoshes . It was really a wonderful school . It was almost like a private one . It was public . We did things like making butter and we had an orchestra . I played the triangle . I had started a little bit earlier when my younger brother was born . Louisville had half semester , half - year grades . I would 've been a half year , but I skipped the last half of kindergarten . I went to the school board and took a test and went on , so they put me in the regular school year . I went through the big school the I . N . Bloom School and Highland Junior High School in Louisville . Then I went to Atherton High School for Girls . The Louisville public schools were segregated - boys and girls . There were about 900 girls at Atherton . My graduating class was about 200 , and I was the valedictorian . MRS . DAVIDSON : They are pants to keep your legs warm . They zipped up from the inside of the ankle bone up to about knee - high , I guess it was . They were a royal pain to take on and off , so the teacher had to have help to do that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was just ordinary . I 'm sure the girls wore dresses , and the little boys wore suits - not suits , but pants and shirts . MRS . DAVIDSON : I came to Oak Ridge after I graduated from college . I had two years of getting a master 's at Emory while I worked at my alma mater , Agnes Scott College in Decatur , Georgia . I was the chemistry lab instructor . So after those two years were up , I was interested in working in chemistry or biochemistry . My master 's was in biochemistry . In Louisville , there was nothing in that field , except liquor and paint - neither of which I was interested in . In Atlanta , I would like to stay in Atlanta , I heard that Oak Ridge was an interesting new place , and a lot was going on here . One of my dear college friends had recently married a physicist from the University of Kentucky , so I visited them here . I guess that must have been 1947 . Her husband was working at NEPA . He said they were looking for people with a chemistry degree . I applied , and I was accepted . I didn 't know that until I had completed the clearance , so I took the opportunity to go to Europe at an American youth hostel bicycle tour of Western Europe in the summer of 1948 . When I got home , I found that I had indeed gotten the job at Oak Ridge . So I came down here . MRS . DAVIDSON : I was wondering that . I think I came by train . When I interviewed earlier in the spring , my interview was at the Andrew Johnson Hotel . It was one of the private rooms . I had never seen the company here . I think I must have been met by a car and driver and brought to Oak Ridge . MRS . DAVIDSON : I came in through the Vermont Gateway , which is where the gas station is now on the corner of what I call Vermont . They call it North Rutgers now . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , I think it must 've been after that . That would 've been at Christmas time . When I applied , I imagine it was early spring . MRS . DAVIDSON : We called the company NEPA , for Nuclear Energy for the Propulsion of Aircraft . It was managed by the Fairchild Corporation the way Union Carbide or one of the other contractors managed the lab . I did not know until the first day I went to work just what the company was doing . They handed me a volume of information that said , " We are looking for - we are trying to make an airplane powered by nuclear energy that could fly to Russia and back without refueling . " That was a great shock to me . MRS . DAVIDSON : I lived in Columbia Hall Dormitory . I was very surprised to find that the rent was $ 15 a month until I realized it was one very small room . That was my living quarters . I took the opportunity to stay out of it as much as possible . I did that by babysitting in some of the B and D houses in the evening . Grandmothers were not here since it was a closed community . Babysitters were in short supply , and even though I didn 't need the money , it was good to get out of the dormitory . MRS . DAVIDSON : The dormitory was like Cheyenne Hall . It was the same type of building . It had wooden stairways from the second - floor hall down on each end . I lived on the second floor . Our dormitory was mostly nurses , since it was up on the hill next to the hospital - I think where the west parking lot is now . There was a kitchen on each end where we could have our own breakfast . Of course we were at the plant at lunchtime , and then we usually went out to supper . I opened the refrigerator door one morning and somebody 's milk came spilling out down my front . Everybody just stuffed things into the refrigerator . MRS . DAVIDSON : I had a single room with a twin bed and enough room to walk to the window by the bed . There was a little table that served as a desk with a chair . There was a much coveted dormitory dresser - a tall one with a number of drawers . They were very popular . MRS . DAVIDSON : They had a wonderful bus service here . Travel wasn 't really a problem . We walked , of course , from the dormitory to Jackson Square and ate supper usually at the Mayflower , which is where I first saw my husband - to - be . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was on the corner of Tennessee , right across from the Soup Kitchen and the Texaco gas station there on the northeast corner . It was a very popular place . In fact , there were several places you could eat . It was the Central Cafeteria , and the T & C Cafeteria in Jackson Square , which is about where the Epicurean is now toward the garden . MRS . DAVIDSON : It must 've been the A & P on Jackson Square . Jackson Square was really the center of activity as far as I was concerned at that time . I still love it . I hope it keeps going . MRS . DAVIDSON : The department stores - the big department store was Taylor 's at the time . They had a wonderful book department headed by Mrs . Keyes , whose daughter I knew at work . They had really fine art books and other books that they would have a great sale on once or twice a year . We were very happy with that . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was in the middle of the block between where Big Ed 's is in the corner . I guess it 's mostly used by the engineering company now . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , not frequently , but I went and saw - there was a theater down at Big Ed 's in Jackson Square and where the Playhouse is now . That was the main one . MRS . DAVIDSON : Henebree . McCrory 's 5 & 10 was there . There was a drugstore - a Service Drugstore . I guess that was where Big Ed 's is now , on the very corner . There was Jackson Square Pharmacy , and on the other side the Hamilton Bank was there next to the movie theater . And Samuel 's Men 's Store was a very nice store . The Jackson Square Pharmacy was there , but in between , which the Pharmacy later took over was a Kay 's Ice Cream Store . We used to go there and - my husband and I would when we were dating . I liked to get coffee with ice cream in it , so we went there . MRS . DAVIDSON : I can 't say that I do . It was just a given , I suppose . It didn 't make a big dent in my memory . After six months of the dormitory , I moved to a D house on Norman Lane . That was another era . MRS . DAVIDSON : A D house was a large three bedroom house . They were very much desired . They were really nice houses - still a lot of them are . The house was - there were five other girls who lived there - two of whom had been college friends . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , it would 've been upstairs . It was the second one to the end . A radiation technologist lived on the corner , and I lived there with school teachers and nurses who made up most of the dorm . MR . HUNNICUTT : Let 's talk a little bit about the dorm again . If I had a message for you or someone left a message for you , how did you retrieve your messages ? Was there a desk when you went in ? MRS . DAVIDSON : There was a desk downstairs . I remember the Valentine 's Day - I guess it must 've been 1949 . The message was that I had some flowers , some red roses . I had just met my husband - to - be at that time . I got all excited , and when I got to the desk , it was from somebody else . I enjoyed the red roses , but not as much as I might have . The thing was that there were ladies - a lot of the women who lived in the dorm worked on the night shift . They would sit around a large kind of living room , I guess they called it . They were all staring when I got flowers . I had to walk around , and it was embarrassing . MRS . DAVIDSON : I was there in the winter of 1948 . I 'm very cold natured , but I don 't remember being cold . We had those heavy navy blanket - navy blue blankets . This brings up a story if I jump to it later on . We were moved from the D house after another six months into the brand - new Garden Apartments on Villanova Road . They needed our D house for families . The people who moved in were the Andersons of the Anderson Hilltop Grocery . Of course , the furniture all belonged to the government there . So the Garden Apartments were not furnished , so we had dwindled down from 6 to 4 people who needed furniture . I took a day off and went to an auction the government set up down at the warehouses . I got seven beds and three or four dressers - much more than I could have used . But the beds were in great demand at work because all the young men who worked there were having children and needed beds . So we took the four . Also I got two sofas , and we could use but one ; so I sold one . They were really shabby awful sofas . Since it was all going to surplus anyway , we switched and took the nice sofa from the D house and left them the bad one . It was all taken away anyhow , so I didn 't feel too bad about that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't really remember about the telephone . We didn 't use the telephone much . We never used it for long - distance except for emergencies and calls home . I don 't remember that as being a problem particularly . MRS . DAVIDSON : I suppose I went on the bus . I did not have a car . One of the housemates from Norman Lane had gotten the car , but she would 've been at work at K - 25 . I don 't know . I may have gotten a ride . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess I paid somebody to deliver it . I don 't know . Maybe some of the fellows at work picked up their beds that they wanted . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was one of those warehouses down at the [ Oak Ridge ] Turnpike on Warehouse Road . I don 't know exactly where it was . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess it was on the bulletin boards at work , or there was a newspaper at the Lab . I guess I heard about it that way . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think probably so - in the newsletters they came around , also at the recreation building - the rec hall - at Jackson Square that was the library upstairs and the rec hall downstairs . Word - of - mouth - I don 't remember . We had a need and found the answer to it . MRS . DAVIDSON : I had to punch a clock at eight in the morning when I first started . I guess we got out at 4 : 30 or 5 o ' clock . We had bus service that went from the bus terminal - the Central one - that 's now by Bus Terminal Road . Later on after we were married , we lived on Waddell Circle and went from there to the Jefferson bus terminal . I went - I rode on the K - 25 bus , and they went out past K - 25 to the road that the powerhouse was on and NEPA was beyond that out by the river . MRS . DAVIDSON : There was some kind of management services office . I 'm not sure what it was called - the Roane Anderson Corporation at that time , I guess . I think that 's where I rented the dormitory room . I probably got bus tokens - I guess I got the tokens of the bus terminal . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think I had a checking account probably at Hamilton Bank in Jackson Square . I don 't recall otherwise . I know I did later . One thing I wanted to say about the buses - if you wanted to go to Clinton to do any shopping , more than what you could have in Oak Ridge or to meet somebody or something , there was a bus that ran frequently back and forth between the bus terminal and Clinton . There was a young man on the bus who had a sing - songy sales pitch for " peanuts , popcorn , Cracker Jacks , candy , and chewing gum . " He wouldn 't drive , but he would sell his wares all the way to Clinton and back . I always wondered who that was because he obviously had some talent . MRS . DAVIDSON : I 'm sure I did . I don 't know what became of it . I guess I had to turn it back in . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think somebody just got - one of the guards got on the bus and checked everybody 's badges . It was not a big thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : Probably . I don 't remember . What I do remember about that was my mother was coming down one time for my birthday - it must 've been in January 1949 . She rode the train . I told her that I would get a ride to meet her . Of course , the train didn 't stop at Oak Ridge . It went on to Knoxville , so I bummed a ride with one of the men in our group . He was actually the technical assistant to the director . His car was a broken down old thing with no floorboards in the back seat , which was pretty bad when my mother saw it . But she didn 't see it because when we got to Knoxville , she was not there . When we were coming back from the gateway entrance , she was not there . There was a message that she was waiting for us at the Elza Gate Station . She had told the conductor she had to get off at Oak Ridge . That 's where she was going , and I was going to meet her . So she slid down the Elza bank over there . She had my birthday cake - a large chocolate cake . She slid downhill with that , and somehow they stopped her at the guard gate at Elza . She waited there for us . MRS . DAVIDSON : Just for her - let her off like a milk train . They ordinarily didn 't stop there , but she wouldn 't have it otherwise . MRS . DAVIDSON : I used the library and rec hall . On Sunday afternoons , they played music ; and you could sit and write letters home , which is what I think I did a good bit . Later on in the better weather , there were tennis courts and a swimming pool . I don 't remember going to movies much . We went to church groups . There were so many young people ; it was just like a party all the time . Nothing in particular stands out . It was just fun . MRS . DAVIDSON : In the company I was , that was not true . There were a lot of women of course - of course , the dormitory was full of school teachers and nurses . But NEPA was mostly men . There were two parts to the Fairchild - the science and engineering part , which was bigger . I happen to be in the research part . My boss was a chemist - Vince Calkins . It was my job to - this was a real shocker to me - to find a chemical that would protect the human body against radiation for the reactor that was supposed to be in the airplane to Russia . I had no background for that kind of thing . I was just fresh out of college really . I realized I was out of my depth , but they decided - he was a pharmacist , I believe , and he wanted to do experiments with rats . They brought in the rat colony . By that time we had a couple of assistants , and I was supposed to be the group leader . One of the men , Ray Waldrop - you may have talked to him . I asked him if he minded working for a woman because he was really more experienced than I , although I had the degree . It was fine with him . There was also another worker , Saul Segal , who was quite a character in his own right . I took the rats in the cages over to the reactor , the " Old Lady " at X - 10 , and put them through what they called " rabbits " and radiated them for certain amount of time . We couldn 't kill the darn things . Then we used the older ones that had already been radiated , they were just tough as anything . I think the experiment was really a failure , although they may have found that to be the case in some later work with older people - that the cells are not dividing as fast and they 're not as subject to radiation . But we didn 't get into that . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was actually not K - 25 . It was beyond there . As I said , the bus took us - the bus dumped people off at K - 25 , and they went on west to just before you get to the Gallaher Bridge . You turn right there and go right past the power station there . It was used for a long time - the power house , and then NEPA was beyond that . The native rats came in - was it domestic experimental rats ? That was not good . I had a janitor who helped me , even though he could 've lost his job for doing it . He helped me clean cages . I always appreciated that . MRS . DAVIDSON : When they got rid of the rats , which was a blessing , my group leader then became Bill Browning , who was a fine scientist . He worked on the Van de Graaff generator . We had an interesting argument . Saul Segal thought he should be the one to do it since he was a man and I was a woman who would be leaving soon ; and it turned out that he left for California before I had left to have my baby . His argument didn 't hold with me anyway , but we argued about that some . We did run the Van de Graaff , and we also did some experiments on metallic sodium . It was nasty stuff to work with . It caught on fire if it was exposed to air . You had to work with that under oil in the glove box . I think that work all had to be repeated after NEPA left for Cincinnati with G . E . . When they moved part of NEPA to X - 10 , they called it the ANP , or something about aircraft and nuclear power . I was not connected with that because my first baby was born in August 1951 . I left in July . MRS . DAVIDSON : I heard somebody say that they had to repeat it all . My boss , the Division Director of Chemistry was interested in vitamin E , and thought it had a lot of protective influence . We worked with that . That was some of the work I did in chemistry - the lab part of it in the early days . It was not good work , I think . I 'm not blaming myself , but some of the other men who were doing chemical work - I think altogether we didn 't come up with anything . MRS . DAVIDSON : It may have been ahead of it 's time for nuclear submarines . I don 't know whether the engineering people thought that or not . In our group which was the chemistry and the physics , my friend who got me the job was Jim Trice . A fellow named Art Miller and somebody named Coneybearwere in the Physics Division . And then there were some others - Fred Maienschein . I did some work for him one time . It was work on beryllium for one thing . I didn 't work with any of the active beryllium . I didn 't do any lab work then , but I did some journal research . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't think they were that far along . I 'm not sure what happened to that part of it . As I said , in July of 1951 they moved to Cincinnati , Evensville , above Cincinnati . I don 't know how many people actually went up there . Most of my friends moved elsewhere . MR . HUNNICUTT : You mentioned the location of the operation was past the steam plant that was on the Clinch River . Was that the same location where the S - 50 project was located ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I think that was the name of our plot of land . I think those - I never was quite sure how they got the designations , but that was the Fairchild domain , I think . MRS . DAVIDSON : Really , it was just when our eyes met . It was very romantic . He followed our group home to the Columbia Hall to see where I lived . But at the time I thought he was too young , and I didn 't think he was following me . I was with a group of other girls . Later on , one of the women in the dormitory , who was a gym teacher in the Oak Ridge schools , told me I really ought to meet Jack Davidson that he loved to ride bicycles ; I was just back from my bicycle trip in Europe . I didn 't know who he was , and then I went to a church group meeting at my Presbyterian Church for young people one Sunday evening . A friend of mine had brought Jack Davidson , and he was the one whose eyes I had met and he had met mine . Sure enough , he loved to ride bicycles . That was the start of a good thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : We did a little bit . On our dates , that 's really what we did mostly at first . We rode out to West Outer Drive and had those wonderful big hills , not too much traffic at that time . We went out to the water tower at the top of Louisiana and had a picnic , and then rode back . When we got really good , we rode our bicycles over to Concord Park one day . I had gotten some chicken breasts at the grocery . I guess it was the A & P at Jackson Square . I was going to fry them for a picnic to take along over to Concord Park . When I went to the refrigerator to get them , they had turned into wings . Somebody had eaten my chicken breast . Jack was a good sport about that . He didn 't care . We had a nice ride . It was before they had improved Lovell Road . It was a pretty rough ride over there , but we were able to enjoy it . MRS . DAVIDSON : He had his bicycle . It was probably a Grey Stone . For me , he rented a bicycle from his work friend . I had forgotten what his name was . We went over to one of the D Streets , I think , and rode them . I didn 't have my English 3 - speed here . I guess I brought it later , but at that time I didn 't have it . MRS . DAVIDSON : That was a problem . I complained to my friend Jim Trice 's wife , Dot , who happened to live around the corner on Outer Drive at that time . She said the boardwalk was used a lot for dating , and of course the theaters . I guess we were outdoors people . I don 't know . MRS . DAVIDSON : He was a graduate of Georgia Tech . At the time he graduated , he was very young . He came up to see about a job , and he was drafted . No , he was in danger of being drafted right away , but they didn 't hire him . He did go to work for NASA , which was at that time NACA , in Virginia ; and worked over there a short time before he was taken into the Army . He had gone through Georgia Tech on a " War Manpower " loan . He was sent to some place to be an MP , I think . He wrote a night letter , which is a 50 - word telegram that was cheaper at night . He wrote a night letter to Stimson , the Secretary of War , telling them they had paid for his college education ; and here he was sitting in a camp doing nothing down in Alabama . He was transferred to the SED , he would never say that was the reason he was transferred . It may or may not have been . He arrived with the SED - he arrived in Oak Ridge the day Roosevelt died , which was in April 1945 , he was here with his group for maybe six weeks before they went out to Los Alamos . So he spent the rest of the war out there . Then he used his G . I . Bill - he stayed on at Los Alamos . They told them they would let him out of the Army if he would agree to stay on as a civilian . So he took that . Then when he did leave , he went to Annapolis and took a liberal arts course because he felt that he had missed out on it at Georgia Tech . He had a year at St . John 's College of Annapolis ; and then all along I guess he thought he would like to come back here . He came back - he arrived on Armistice Day , now Veterans Day , of 1948 . I was here a couple of months before he came , but we met shortly after Christmas in 1949 . MRS . DAVIDSON : Too long . We were married in May 1950 . He wanted to pay off his loan before we could get married , so I helped him along with that . I fed him some . He was very welcome at the D House of girls . I was going to tell you that during the war , there were nine girls in the house , and they slept on shifts on the bunk beds . There were only six of us when I was there . There were a couple of the boyfriends around , and one of them cut the grass . I think Jack did the - empty the clinkers from the furnace , the coal furnace . They made themselves useful . They got their dinner . MRS . DAVIDSON : Most of the houses were a very good design really , and a whole lot better built than we gave them credit for . But each one that I knew of had a corner set off or closed off as a coal storage place that could be filled through a window from the outside , and then you could use the - there was an opening on the inside that you could use to put coal into the furnace . That was awful of course , but that 's what all the houses were doing in that time , too . We had a yard full of clinkers over there . MRS . DAVIDSON : We were taken care of by a Big Brother - the government . They brought the coal around , and you didn 't do a thing . That was part of the rent . When we got our house here on Orange Lane , that 's another story . Are you ready for that yet ? MRS . DAVIDSON : We went back to my home in Louisville , Kentucky , to be married . We had planned to fly to Nashville , but it turned out the Delta Queen was coming through Louisville the next morning . My mother had told us we could not get married the week before because it was too busy with Derby Day . So we delayed until May 13 . Then we spent the night in Louisville at the Brown Hotel , where she pulled some strings to get us a room because it was still very full of visitors from the Derby . We got on the Delta Queen , and our friends were all on the dock to see us off . They had us almost convinced that we were on Daylight Saving Time , and the Delta Queen was not , and we had missed it . But we rode down just as far as Paducah . We were anxious to start in life you know . We lived on Wadell Circle in a K apartment . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was a two - story thing . I guess it was a two - bedroom up above , and we had K - 1 . It was sort of underground at the front and open at the back . We had a nice back porch . There was a closet under the stairway and a very small kitchen . It had a table that folded down . It was not as compact as a flattop , but the furnishings that they had did double duty . You could fold it up and have more room . MRS . DAVIDSON : The K apartment was heated with the coal furnace , but there was a janitor who came around and took care of it for us . We were taken care of by Roane Anderson . MRS . DAVIDSON : We lived in the K from May 1950 , until we got this house in July 1952 . It was said - the word around town was that you couldn 't get a two - bedroom house unless you had three children , all of different sex . We had been on the list for this house ever since we knew our daughter was coming along . That was a long time to wait . We had been offered two houses - Florida Avenue , where the parking was across the street and the backyard just dropped off . We thought that was totally unsuitable for a new child . We turned both of those down . If we had turned this one down , we would 've gone to the bottom of the long list . But we loved this place of the trees and the dead end lane neighborhood . So we sat outside in front all weekend because we were not top on the list . The reason the other people didn 't take it was that the previous owner , Jim Cox and Charlotte , had put in an oil furnace ; and nobody wanted to pay $ 200 for the oil furnace . Since I had been working , we had saved my salary from work , and we had $ 200 to pay . Also , they didn 't want to be in the high rent district . This house rented for something like $ 45 instead of $ 43 in the lower rent districts . MRS . DAVIDSON : The Oak Ridge cemesto houses that were built - I think this house was built in the fall of 1944 or 1943 . Maybe it was ' 43 . The B house has two bedrooms and of course a bath and a kitchen with a dinette into a long narrow living room . It was about 24 feet by 40 something feet . It was small and convenient . It didn 't have much storage space , but it 's been a wonderful house for us because of the trees . We are on a greenbelt , and I enjoy that very much . It 's a nice private neighborhood just above Jackson Square . MRS . DAVIDSON : Our cemesto has a fireplace , and it had a complete brick wall . Some of the B houses had a brick wall just beyond the fireplace . MRS . DAVIDSON : There are hardwood floors in all the cemestos , I believe . Our house has maple flooring , and a lot of them had oak . Wood was hard to come by in the wartime . We love the color - the reddish color of the maple . MRS . DAVIDSON : Adele is our second daughter , and she was two years younger . Our son is Bill Davidson or William . He was born in November of 1954 . He 's just now turning 58 . MRS . DAVIDSON : All three of our children went to Cedar Hill . They had split grades there , so I think the classes were one half size . They would take the kids a half from one grade , and half from the next grade , and that worked out just fine . MRS . DAVIDSON : Cedar Hill was wonderful . It was very special . Mr . Dodd was the principal , and he saw to it - he had the best teachers or at least as good as any . Actually in those days all the teachers and Oak Ridge were special because many of them had been recruited from Columbia Teachers College , along with the superintendent . Others were specially recruited for the job . They were a group a part , I think , from a lot of teachers . MRS . DAVIDSON : The girls both went to Jefferson when it was on the hill at Jackson Square , and Bill was in the first year at the new Jefferson that was over on Fairbanks Road . His was the first class there . They all went through Oak Ridge High . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you recall some of the classes your daughters took while they were in junior high ? Was there Home Ec . or things related to girls ? MRS . DAVIDSON : No , they were on the college prep track . They took eighth grade algebra and that kind of thing . Of course English and math and social studies and science - our older girl I think took biology ; and I 'm not sure if Adele had a more general science course . It just depended on the teacher that they had . They had an excellent education , and the girls were both Merit semifinalists . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course . I was in the PTA . I 'm not sure if I was ever a room mother , but I of course helped with parties and things . MRS . DAVIDSON : The teachers recruited them from each class to help with parties mostly . They helped with any activities that they didn 't really have time to do . MRS . DAVIDSON : Parent - Teacher Association , a time honored group . It got extra things for the school . I got involved with raincoats for the school patrol . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess maybe I was a treasurer of the Cedar Hill PTA , and this goal was to get those yellow slicker raincoat so kids could be visible to the drivers . I found out how much the things cost , and then I estimated postage . At the PTA meeting , Alvin Weinberg was president . He had a son or two in school at the time . He took me to task for estimating the postage , so I had to ask for just the money for the coats themselves since I didn 't really know what the postage is going to be . I thought that was interesting that he wanted to keep it to the exact penny . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think they just wore what the other kids wore . One day we had a deep snow and Bill was in kindergarten , and the snow was up over their boots . I think he had some corduroys . The teacher was making the kids take their pants off and dry them on the radiator , and he wouldn 't do it . I had to go up to the school and take him some fresh pants , some dry clothes . He was very young - just four when he started . MR . HUNNICUTT : Let 's go back a few years . Do you remember 1945 when they dropped the bomb on Japan ? You remember where you were ? And what was your reaction ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I do remember that very clearly because it was the summer after my junior year in college , and I was a camp counselor up in Door County , Wisconsin . There was no electricity at the camp , so we counselors - after we got the kids to bed , went to the state park nearby . This was at Fish Creek , Wisconsin . We would listen to people 's car radios . We knew for about a week that something was happening , but we didn 't know just what . It was very deeply moving when the bomb was dropped , and we thought it would bring an end to the war . Of course , I had friends and a brother on Guam and a cousin was in Europe and others . So that was very deeply moving . I had a book of poetry - my favorite poems at the camp with me . One of my 12 - year - olds picked out a poem - " Once to every man and nation comes a moment to decide " - she read that , and I thought that was very astute of her , a youngster to be able to do that . MRS . DAVIDSON : My husband thought they should have dropped a sample first , but I didn 't feel that way since the first bomb didn 't phase the Japanese . I didn 't think the test one would have either . I was just so glad that the war was over . People could settle down and get into real life again . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think I was in transition from the dormitory to the house , and my husband 's brothers came up from Georgia to witness the opening . So we drove in their car around , and we watched the parade from , I believe , down on the eastern end of the Turnpike down near the warehouses to get out of the traffic . We never could figure out why they invited Marie " The Body " McDonald and [ inaudible ] to ride in the open car for the parade . We couldn 't figure out what they had to do with it , but we did see the burning of the magnesium ribbon . That was exciting . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was only toward town from Elza Gate . I know the central part of town , the Jackson Square area , was very crowded . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think they name the streets for famous cities in the country , and of course the alphabetical designations were very helpful . But Jackson Square , I assume , was named for New Orleans . That 's all I know about it . MRS . DAVIDSON : Sometimes you would pick up the telephone , and the other party was talking . I believe they had different rings . I think maybe the other party had one ring , and we had two . There were four - party lines , but if we were on a four - party line , only the other one was active . I think maybe we were . The other two lines were not being used . MR . HUNNICUTT : When you are raising your family , did you hang your clothes outside on the clothesline ? Did you have a dryer ? What did you use ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I hung them outside on the clothesline . As I said , when we moved here , Anne was a year old . Not much more than three years after that , we had three babies . I was able to talk my husband into getting a dryer that time . Before that , he had built a pulley out of my kitchen window . There was a drop off in the back , and he was able to string it to a tree in the woods . I was able to reel those cloth diapers and reel them in and out . The only problem was that the birds like the trees , too . Sometimes I had to do some re - washing . MR . HUNNICUTT : So in those days you use cloth diapers ? Today we use disposable diapers . How do you think you would 've done if you had disposable diapers ? MRS . DAVIDSON : At one point , when our children were out playing Kick the Can , there were over 40 children on the lane . There were about 20 or 21 houses . There were almost as many dogs . It was just a glorious place for them to grow up . They seem to get along remarkably well most of the time , especially in the early days . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes . We went down there on the opening , and got the radioactive dimes on that occasion . The museum at that time was down at Jefferson Circle . I don 't think any of us ever had our hair stand out on the Van De Graff generator or whatever it was , but we took the children . We went out ourselves . Of course my husband was interested in that kind of thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : Sometimes they walked to Jefferson , but by that time they were carrying pretty heavy books . One of the neighbors on Outer Drive wanted to have a carpool , so we joined that . MRS . DAVIDSON : When Anne was in the fifth grade , they had to write what they did on Friday nights . The teacher would call me and say , " Is it true that you gave your children ice water and watched TV on Friday nights ? " That was how generous we were with them . We didn 't get a TV until they were probably five or six years old . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course it was black and white . The reason we got it - I guess finally it was that the children were always going to the neighbors ' house to watch TV . We decided that we should get our own . They watched things like " Pinky Lee " and I 've forgotten what else . MRS . DAVIDSON : I remember that fondly because my first real date with my husband was going to dinner there with him . He invited me to go to a concert in Knoxville , and his excuse was that we should get to know each other better before he took me to the city with him . That was one thing . I remember there were parties there , and our company had a party at the Oak Terrace Ballroom . One of the NEPA fellows wore a Tarzan costume , which was mostly nothing . It turned out that he lived in the neighborhood . MRS . DAVIDSON : That was just below the dormitory where I lived in Columbia Hall . Jack went there looking for me , he thought I would eat breakfast there and then he could have breakfast with me ; but I ate in the dormitory . He didn 't find me there . When we came back from our bicycle ride to Concord Park , I remember we stopped by there , and he drank two or three Mountain Dew drinks . That surprised me , but we had worked off a lot of sweat . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , we took our children out there and saw " Lawrence of Arabia " and " The 10 Commandment " and those things . It was quite nice . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was about where Kroger 's - where that is now , on the southeast part of Illinois Avenue . It was a nice thing . That was a special treat for the children to go out there . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't think so . I think they were mostly in the car . They had a drawing one time , Jack won something . It was actually nothing , but he did win . MRS . DAVIDSON : I sure did . My three children were born there . It was a green structure , like so many of the buildings in Oak Ridge . I guess the present building is built on that place . It was okay . I didn 't have any problems with it , except after my second child . I had a staph infection from the hospital . Even an Army wife with a private room got an infection there . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , I think they also had been recruited ; and a lot of them were from Tulane University . The time I was sick with my infection , they were having a reunion at Tulane , and my doctor and another one were gone for the reunion . I didn 't like the one who took care of me . He didn 't do a good job . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was okay . I don 't remember having any problems with it . We knew Dr . Rogers from our church , and we went to him . He was called away to the service , I believe . Maybe it was the Korean War , but then he came back . MRS . DAVIDSON : We met at Pine Valley School . The choir sat on the bleachers , and the minister sat under the halo of the basketball net . My husband was a Methodist , and he went to the First Methodist Church . They had a big youth group there . When we were first married , we tried to take them both in . We went to Sunday school one place , and church another until we finally settled on the Presbyterian . It was smaller , and we knew more people . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course the people . I love my trees and my house . I love all the activities . Both my husband and I have always loved music and enjoy the concerts a lot . The symphony concerts with Waldo Cohn conducting were held at Jefferson Junior High on the Kentucky Avenue hill . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you think back about all the people that you knew in the early days ? Do you think it was unusual for everybody to get along - the many people that were here ? MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , I guess so . I didn 't think about it because we just did . It was just fun . Everybody was away from home , and we had to be family for each other . That was particularly true in this close neighborhood . MRS . DAVIDSON : I 'm pleased for the most part . I think we 've made good progress . We 've kept up with the outside world . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think we came through at the very best of times . It was not the pressure of war , but we were growing community . I think things were happening at the Lab . Both of my husband and I loved the Lab because there were so many good things going on out there . It gives us hope for the future . [ Editor 's Note : This transcript has been edited at Mrs . Davidson 's request . The corresponding audio and video components have remained unchanged . ] Click tabs to swap between content that is broken into logical sections . MR . HUNNICUTT : This interview is for the Center of Oak Ridge Oral History . The date is November 8 , 2012 . I am Don Hunnicutt in the home of Mrs . Mary Ann Davidson , 117 Orange Lane , Oak Ridge , Tennessee , to take her oral history about living in Oak Ridge , Tennessee . Please state your full name and your place of birth and your date of birth . MRS . DAVIDSON : My name is Mary Ann Davidson . My date of birth is January 12 , 1925 . I was born in Louisville , Kentucky . I lived there all my early life until I graduated from college . MRS . DAVIDSON : My father was William H . Courtenay . He was born in 1890 , on March 3 . He was in World War I and lived his entire life in Louisville and Shelbyville , Kentucky . He worked for the Mengel Company . They imported mahogany and hardwood from Africa and Central America . He delivered those to customers . He didn 't consider himself a salesman , but he sold them to the furniture factory - furniture makers around Kentucky , mostly Indiana and Cincinnati and some in Tennessee . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , he did not . The Louisville Male High School was considered a fine school at that time . They said that graduates could enter Harvard in their second year . The principal had written textbooks that were apparently used all over . But my father was interested in raising ponies . His father had a farm in Shelbyville , Kentucky . If you 'd didn 't make the grade , you are special . And Dr . Ruben Post - Halleck , the famous principal of the school , told him if he took an exam in math , he could be entered back in . He did that , and he aced the test . He was back in . Then he was a special in English , so they told him if he memorized the " Lady of the Lake " and said that he could get back in school . So he did that . I think he never did finish . He was a twin , and his twin was more of an engineering type and went to manual training high school . MR . HUNNICUTT : What about your mother 's school history ? MRS . DAVIDSON : She grew up in several small towns in western Kentucky . Her father worked for the L & N Railroad . She had her high school in Hopkinsville , Kentucky . She had to stay home - or she went to junior college nearby . She had a scholarship to Randolph Macon Women 's College , but she couldn 't take it because her mother was ill and died at age 50 . It was about the year I was born , I think . MRS . DAVIDSON : His name was William Howard Courtenay III . My father was named for his uncle , who was also William Howard . My older brother works for Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green in the physics department . He made instruments . My younger brother was a pediatrician in Louisville , and he is still living on a farm in Shelbyville . He 's interested in Kentucky antiques . MR . HUNNICUTT : Yes . MRS . DAVIDSON : I went to an unusual kindergarten and first grade . I was at what they called the Enterprise Branch of I . N . Bloom School . It was only kindergarten and first grade . It was in the older building , where we had a Pot Belly Stove . I think we had a maid to help us take our leggings off in the cold weather - galoshes . It was really a wonderful school . It was almost like a private one . It was public . We did things like making butter and we had an orchestra . I played the triangle . I had started a little bit earlier when my younger brother was born . Louisville had half semester , half - year grades . I would 've been a half year , but I skipped the last half of kindergarten . I went to the school board and took a test and went on , so they put me in the regular school year . I went through the big school the I . N . Bloom School and Highland Junior High School in Louisville . Then I went to Atherton High School for Girls . The Louisville public schools were segregated - boys and girls . There were about 900 girls at Atherton . My graduating class was about 200 , and I was the valedictorian . MRS . DAVIDSON : They are pants to keep your legs warm . They zipped up from the inside of the ankle bone up to about knee - high , I guess it was . They were a royal pain to take on and off , so the teacher had to have help to do that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was just ordinary . I 'm sure the girls wore dresses , and the little boys wore suits - not suits , but pants and shirts . MRS . DAVIDSON : I came to Oak Ridge after I graduated from college . I had two years of getting a master 's at Emory while I worked at my alma mater , Agnes Scott College in Decatur , Georgia . I was the chemistry lab instructor . So after those two years were up , I was interested in working in chemistry or biochemistry . My master 's was in biochemistry . In Louisville , there was nothing in that field , except liquor and paint - neither of which I was interested in . In Atlanta , I would like to stay in Atlanta , I heard that Oak Ridge was an interesting new place , and a lot was going on here . One of my dear college friends had recently married a physicist from the University of Kentucky , so I visited them here . I guess that must have been 1947 . Her husband was working at NEPA . He said they were looking for people with a chemistry degree . I applied , and I was accepted . I didn 't know that until I had completed the clearance , so I took the opportunity to go to Europe at an American youth hostel bicycle tour of Western Europe in the summer of 1948 . When I got home , I found that I had indeed gotten the job at Oak Ridge . So I came down here . MRS . DAVIDSON : I was wondering that . I think I came by train . When I interviewed earlier in the spring , my interview was at the Andrew Johnson Hotel . It was one of the private rooms . I had never seen the company here . I think I must have been met by a car and driver and brought to Oak Ridge . MRS . DAVIDSON : I came in through the Vermont Gateway , which is where the gas station is now on the corner of what I call Vermont . They call it North Rutgers now . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , I think it must 've been after that . That would 've been at Christmas time . When I applied , I imagine it was early spring . MRS . DAVIDSON : We called the company NEPA , for Nuclear Energy for the Propulsion of Aircraft . It was managed by the Fairchild Corporation the way Union Carbide or one of the other contractors managed the lab . I did not know until the first day I went to work just what the company was doing . They handed me a volume of information that said , " We are looking for - we are trying to make an airplane powered by nuclear energy that could fly to Russia and back without refueling . " That was a great shock to me . MRS . DAVIDSON : I lived in Columbia Hall Dormitory . I was very surprised to find that the rent was $ 15 a month until I realized it was one very small room . That was my living quarters . I took the opportunity to stay out of it as much as possible . I did that by babysitting in some of the B and D houses in the evening . Grandmothers were not here since it was a closed community . Babysitters were in short supply , and even though I didn 't need the money , it was good to get out of the dormitory . MRS . DAVIDSON : The dormitory was like Cheyenne Hall . It was the same type of building . It had wooden stairways from the second - floor hall down on each end . I lived on the second floor . Our dormitory was mostly nurses , since it was up on the hill next to the hospital - I think where the west parking lot is now . There was a kitchen on each end where we could have our own breakfast . Of course we were at the plant at lunchtime , and then we usually went out to supper . I opened the refrigerator door one morning and somebody 's milk came spilling out down my front . Everybody just stuffed things into the refrigerator . MRS . DAVIDSON : I had a single room with a twin bed and enough room to walk to the window by the bed . There was a little table that served as a desk with a chair . There was a much coveted dormitory dresser - a tall one with a number of drawers . They were very popular . MRS . DAVIDSON : They had a wonderful bus service here . Travel wasn 't really a problem . We walked , of course , from the dormitory to Jackson Square and ate supper usually at the Mayflower , which is where I first saw my husband - to - be . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was on the corner of Tennessee , right across from the Soup Kitchen and the Texaco gas station there on the northeast corner . It was a very popular place . In fact , there were several places you could eat . It was the Central Cafeteria , and the T & C Cafeteria in Jackson Square , which is about where the Epicurean is now toward the garden . MRS . DAVIDSON : It must 've been the A & P on Jackson Square . Jackson Square was really the center of activity as far as I was concerned at that time . I still love it . I hope it keeps going . MRS . DAVIDSON : The department stores - the big department store was Taylor 's at the time . They had a wonderful book department headed by Mrs . Keyes , whose daughter I knew at work . They had really fine art books and other books that they would have a great sale on once or twice a year . We were very happy with that . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was in the middle of the block between where Big Ed 's is in the corner . I guess it 's mostly used by the engineering company now . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , not frequently , but I went and saw - there was a theater down at Big Ed 's in Jackson Square and where the Playhouse is now . That was the main one . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , the jewelry store was on the corner that was Henebree 's , I think . No , that was Heneger 's . MR . HUNNICUTT : Henebree ? MRS . DAVIDSON : Henebree . McCrory 's 5 & 10 was there . There was a drugstore - a Service Drugstore . I guess that was where Big Ed 's is now , on the very corner . There was Jackson Square Pharmacy , and on the other side the Hamilton Bank was there next to the movie theater . And Samuel 's Men 's Store was a very nice store . The Jackson Square Pharmacy was there , but in between , which the Pharmacy later took over was a Kay 's Ice Cream Store . We used to go there and - my husband and I would when we were dating . I liked to get coffee with ice cream in it , so we went there . MR . HUNNICUTT : I believe that was Taff Moody Ice Cream - they served Kay 's Ice Cream . MRS . DAVIDSON : Was it ? I didn 't remember that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I can 't say that I do . It was just a given , I suppose . It didn 't make a big dent in my memory . After six months of the dormitory , I moved to a D house on Norman Lane . That was another era . MR . HUNNICUTT : What is a D house ? MRS . DAVIDSON : A D house was a large three bedroom house . They were very much desired . They were really nice houses - still a lot of them are . The house was - there were five other girls who lived there - two of whom had been college friends . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , it would 've been upstairs . It was the second one to the end . A radiation technologist lived on the corner , and I lived there with school teachers and nurses who made up most of the dorm . MR . HUNNICUTT : Let 's talk a little bit about the dorm again . If I had a message for you or someone left a message for you , how did you retrieve your messages ? Was there a desk when you went in ? MRS . DAVIDSON : There was a desk downstairs . I remember the Valentine 's Day - I guess it must 've been 1949 . The message was that I had some flowers , some red roses . I had just met my husband - to - be at that time . I got all excited , and when I got to the desk , it was from somebody else . I enjoyed the red roses , but not as much as I might have . The thing was that there were ladies - a lot of the women who lived in the dorm worked on the night shift . They would sit around a large kind of living room , I guess they called it . They were all staring when I got flowers . I had to walk around , and it was embarrassing . MRS . DAVIDSON : I was there in the winter of 1948 . I 'm very cold natured , but I don 't remember being cold . We had those heavy navy blanket - navy blue blankets . This brings up a story if I jump to it later on . We were moved from the D house after another six months into the brand - new Garden Apartments on Villanova Road . They needed our D house for families . The people who moved in were the Andersons of the Anderson Hilltop Grocery . Of course , the furniture all belonged to the government there . So the Garden Apartments were not furnished , so we had dwindled down from 6 to 4 people who needed furniture . I took a day off and went to an auction the government set up down at the warehouses . I got seven beds and three or four dressers - much more than I could have used . But the beds were in great demand at work because all the young men who worked there were having children and needed beds . So we took the four . Also I got two sofas , and we could use but one ; so I sold one . They were really shabby awful sofas . Since it was all going to surplus anyway , we switched and took the nice sofa from the D house and left them the bad one . It was all taken away anyhow , so I didn 't feel too bad about that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't really remember about the telephone . We didn 't use the telephone much . We never used it for long - distance except for emergencies and calls home . I don 't remember that as being a problem particularly . MRS . DAVIDSON : I suppose I went on the bus . I did not have a car . One of the housemates from Norman Lane had gotten the car , but she would 've been at work at K - 25 . I don 't know . I may have gotten a ride . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess I paid somebody to deliver it . I don 't know . Maybe some of the fellows at work picked up their beds that they wanted . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was one of those warehouses down at the [ Oak Ridge ] Turnpike on Warehouse Road . I don 't know exactly where it was . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess it was on the bulletin boards at work , or there was a newspaper at the Lab . I guess I heard about it that way . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think probably so - in the newsletters they came around , also at the recreation building - the rec hall - at Jackson Square that was the library upstairs and the rec hall downstairs . Word - of - mouth - I don 't remember . We had a need and found the answer to it . MRS . DAVIDSON : I had to punch a clock at eight in the morning when I first started . I guess we got out at 4 : 30 or 5 o ' clock . We had bus service that went from the bus terminal - the Central one - that 's now by Bus Terminal Road . Later on after we were married , we lived on Waddell Circle and went from there to the Jefferson bus terminal . I went - I rode on the K - 25 bus , and they went out past K - 25 to the road that the powerhouse was on and NEPA was beyond that out by the river . MRS . DAVIDSON : There was some kind of management services office . I 'm not sure what it was called - the Roane Anderson Corporation at that time , I guess . I think that 's where I rented the dormitory room . I probably got bus tokens - I guess I got the tokens of the bus terminal . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think I had a checking account probably at Hamilton Bank in Jackson Square . I don 't recall otherwise . I know I did later . One thing I wanted to say about the buses - if you wanted to go to Clinton to do any shopping , more than what you could have in Oak Ridge or to meet somebody or something , there was a bus that ran frequently back and forth between the bus terminal and Clinton . There was a young man on the bus who had a sing - songy sales pitch for " peanuts , popcorn , Cracker Jacks , candy , and chewing gum . " He wouldn 't drive , but he would sell his wares all the way to Clinton and back . I always wondered who that was because he obviously had some talent . MRS . DAVIDSON : I 'm sure I did . I don 't know what became of it . I guess I had to turn it back in . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think somebody just got - one of the guards got on the bus and checked everybody 's badges . It was not a big thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : Probably . I don 't remember . What I do remember about that was my mother was coming down one time for my birthday - it must 've been in January 1949 . She rode the train . I told her that I would get a ride to meet her . Of course , the train didn 't stop at Oak Ridge . It went on to Knoxville , so I bummed a ride with one of the men in our group . He was actually the technical assistant to the director . His car was a broken down old thing with no floorboards in the back seat , which was pretty bad when my mother saw it . But she didn 't see it because when we got to Knoxville , she was not there . When we were coming back from the gateway entrance , she was not there . There was a message that she was waiting for us at the Elza Gate Station . She had told the conductor she had to get off at Oak Ridge . That 's where she was going , and I was going to meet her . So she slid down the Elza bank over there . She had my birthday cake - a large chocolate cake . She slid downhill with that , and somehow they stopped her at the guard gate at Elza . She waited there for us . MRS . DAVIDSON : Just for her - let her off like a milk train . They ordinarily didn 't stop there , but she wouldn 't have it otherwise . MRS . DAVIDSON : I used the library and rec hall . On Sunday afternoons , they played music ; and you could sit and write letters home , which is what I think I did a good bit . Later on in the better weather , there were tennis courts and a swimming pool . I don 't remember going to movies much . We went to church groups . There were so many young people ; it was just like a party all the time . Nothing in particular stands out . It was just fun . MRS . DAVIDSON : In the company I was , that was not true . There were a lot of women of course - of course , the dormitory was full of school teachers and nurses . But NEPA was mostly men . There were two parts to the Fairchild - the science and engineering part , which was bigger . I happen to be in the research part . My boss was a chemist - Vince Calkins . It was my job to - this was a real shocker to me - to find a chemical that would protect the human body against radiation for the reactor that was supposed to be in the airplane to Russia . I had no background for that kind of thing . I was just fresh out of college really . I realized I was out of my depth , but they decided - he was a pharmacist , I believe , and he wanted to do experiments with rats . They brought in the rat colony . By that time we had a couple of assistants , and I was supposed to be the group leader . One of the men , Ray Waldrop - you may have talked to him . I asked him if he minded working for a woman because he was really more experienced than I , although I had the degree . It was fine with him . There was also another worker , Saul Segal , who was quite a character in his own right . I took the rats in the cages over to the reactor , the " Old Lady " at X - 10 , and put them through what they called " rabbits " and radiated them for certain amount of time . We couldn 't kill the darn things . Then we used the older ones that had already been radiated , they were just tough as anything . I think the experiment was really a failure , although they may have found that to be the case in some later work with older people - that the cells are not dividing as fast and they 're not as subject to radiation . But we didn 't get into that . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was actually not K - 25 . It was beyond there . As I said , the bus took us - the bus dumped people off at K - 25 , and they went on west to just before you get to the Gallaher Bridge . You turn right there and go right past the power station there . It was used for a long time - the power house , and then NEPA was beyond that . The native rats came in - was it domestic experimental rats ? That was not good . I had a janitor who helped me , even though he could 've lost his job for doing it . He helped me clean cages . I always appreciated that . MRS . DAVIDSON : When they got rid of the rats , which was a blessing , my group leader then became Bill Browning , who was a fine scientist . He worked on the Van de Graaff generator . We had an interesting argument . Saul Segal thought he should be the one to do it since he was a man and I was a woman who would be leaving soon ; and it turned out that he left for California before I had left to have my baby . His argument didn 't hold with me anyway , but we argued about that some . We did run the Van de Graaff , and we also did some experiments on metallic sodium . It was nasty stuff to work with . It caught on fire if it was exposed to air . You had to work with that under oil in the glove box . I think that work all had to be repeated after NEPA left for Cincinnati with G . E . . When they moved part of NEPA to X - 10 , they called it the ANP , or something about aircraft and nuclear power . I was not connected with that because my first baby was born in August 1951 . I left in July . MRS . DAVIDSON : I heard somebody say that they had to repeat it all . My boss , the Division Director of Chemistry was interested in vitamin E , and thought it had a lot of protective influence . We worked with that . That was some of the work I did in chemistry - the lab part of it in the early days . It was not good work , I think . I 'm not blaming myself , but some of the other men who were doing chemical work - I think altogether we didn 't come up with anything . MRS . DAVIDSON : It may have been ahead of it 's time for nuclear submarines . I don 't know whether the engineering people thought that or not . In our group which was the chemistry and the physics , my friend who got me the job was Jim Trice . A fellow named Art Miller and somebody named Coneybearwere in the Physics Division . And then there were some others - Fred Maienschein . I did some work for him one time . It was work on beryllium for one thing . I didn 't work with any of the active beryllium . I didn 't do any lab work then , but I did some journal research . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't think they were that far along . I 'm not sure what happened to that part of it . As I said , in July of 1951 they moved to Cincinnati , Evensville , above Cincinnati . I don 't know how many people actually went up there . Most of my friends moved elsewhere . MR . HUNNICUTT : You mentioned the location of the operation was past the steam plant that was on the Clinch River . Was that the same location where the S - 50 project was located ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I think that was the name of our plot of land . I think those - I never was quite sure how they got the designations , but that was the Fairchild domain , I think . MRS . DAVIDSON : Really , it was just when our eyes met . It was very romantic . He followed our group home to the Columbia Hall to see where I lived . But at the time I thought he was too young , and I didn 't think he was following me . I was with a group of other girls . Later on , one of the women in the dormitory , who was a gym teacher in the Oak Ridge schools , told me I really ought to meet Jack Davidson that he loved to ride bicycles ; I was just back from my bicycle trip in Europe . I didn 't know who he was , and then I went to a church group meeting at my Presbyterian Church for young people one Sunday evening . A friend of mine had brought Jack Davidson , and he was the one whose eyes I had met and he had met mine . Sure enough , he loved to ride bicycles . That was the start of a good thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : We did a little bit . On our dates , that 's really what we did mostly at first . We rode out to West Outer Drive and had those wonderful big hills , not too much traffic at that time . We went out to the water tower at the top of Louisiana and had a picnic , and then rode back . When we got really good , we rode our bicycles over to Concord Park one day . I had gotten some chicken breasts at the grocery . I guess it was the A & P at Jackson Square . I was going to fry them for a picnic to take along over to Concord Park . When I went to the refrigerator to get them , they had turned into wings . Somebody had eaten my chicken breast . Jack was a good sport about that . He didn 't care . We had a nice ride . It was before they had improved Lovell Road . It was a pretty rough ride over there , but we were able to enjoy it . MRS . DAVIDSON : He had his bicycle . It was probably a Grey Stone . For me , he rented a bicycle from his work friend . I had forgotten what his name was . We went over to one of the D Streets , I think , and rode them . I didn 't have my English 3 - speed here . I guess I brought it later , but at that time I didn 't have it . MRS . DAVIDSON : That was a problem . I complained to my friend Jim Trice 's wife , Dot , who happened to live around the corner on Outer Drive at that time . She said the boardwalk was used a lot for dating , and of course the theaters . I guess we were outdoors people . I don 't know . MRS . DAVIDSON : He was a graduate of Georgia Tech . At the time he graduated , he was very young . He came up to see about a job , and he was drafted . No , he was in danger of being drafted right away , but they didn 't hire him . He did go to work for NASA , which was at that time NACA , in Virginia ; and worked over there a short time before he was taken into the Army . He had gone through Georgia Tech on a " War Manpower " loan . He was sent to some place to be an MP , I think . He wrote a night letter , which is a 50 - word telegram that was cheaper at night . He wrote a night letter to Stimson , the Secretary of War , telling them they had paid for his college education ; and here he was sitting in a camp doing nothing down in Alabama . He was transferred to the SED , he would never say that was the reason he was transferred . It may or may not have been . He arrived with the SED - he arrived in Oak Ridge the day Roosevelt died , which was in April 1945 , he was here with his group for maybe six weeks before they went out to Los Alamos . So he spent the rest of the war out there . Then he used his G . I . Bill - he stayed on at Los Alamos . They told them they would let him out of the Army if he would agree to stay on as a civilian . So he took that . Then when he did leave , he went to Annapolis and took a liberal arts course because he felt that he had missed out on it at Georgia Tech . He had a year at St . John 's College of Annapolis ; and then all along I guess he thought he would like to come back here . He came back - he arrived on Armistice Day , now Veterans Day , of 1948 . I was here a couple of months before he came , but we met shortly after Christmas in 1949 . MRS . DAVIDSON : Too long . We were married in May 1950 . He wanted to pay off his loan before we could get married , so I helped him along with that . I fed him some . He was very welcome at the D House of girls . I was going to tell you that during the war , there were nine girls in the house , and they slept on shifts on the bunk beds . There were only six of us when I was there . There were a couple of the boyfriends around , and one of them cut the grass . I think Jack did the - empty the clinkers from the furnace , the coal furnace . They made themselves useful . They got their dinner . MR . HUNNICUTT : Tell me about the coal furnace briefly . MRS . DAVIDSON : Most of the houses were a very good design really , and a whole lot better built than we gave them credit for . But each one that I knew of had a corner set off or closed off as a coal storage place that could be filled through a window from the outside , and then you could use the - there was an opening on the inside that you could use to put coal into the furnace . That was awful of course , but that 's what all the houses were doing in that time , too . We had a yard full of clinkers over there . MRS . DAVIDSON : We were taken care of by a Big Brother - the government . They brought the coal around , and you didn 't do a thing . That was part of the rent . When we got our house here on Orange Lane , that 's another story . Are you ready for that yet ? MRS . DAVIDSON : We went back to my home in Louisville , Kentucky , to be married . We had planned to fly to Nashville , but it turned out the Delta Queen was coming through Louisville the next morning . My mother had told us we could not get married the week before because it was too busy with Derby Day . So we delayed until May 13 . Then we spent the night in Louisville at the Brown Hotel , where she pulled some strings to get us a room because it was still very full of visitors from the Derby . We got on the Delta Queen , and our friends were all on the dock to see us off . They had us almost convinced that we were on Daylight Saving Time , and the Delta Queen was not , and we had missed it . But we rode down just as far as Paducah . We were anxious to start in life you know . We lived on Wadell Circle in a K apartment . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you recall the number ? MRS . DAVIDSON : It was a two - story thing . I guess it was a two - bedroom up above , and we had K - 1 . It was sort of underground at the front and open at the back . We had a nice back porch . There was a closet under the stairway and a very small kitchen . It had a table that folded down . It was not as compact as a flattop , but the furnishings that they had did double duty . You could fold it up and have more room . MRS . DAVIDSON : The K apartment was heated with the coal furnace , but there was a janitor who came around and took care of it for us . We were taken care of by Roane Anderson . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you remember what the rent was ? MRS . DAVIDSON : We lived in the K from May 1950 , until we got this house in July 1952 . It was said - the word around town was that you couldn 't get a two - bedroom house unless you had three children , all of different sex . We had been on the list for this house ever since we knew our daughter was coming along . That was a long time to wait . We had been offered two houses - Florida Avenue , where the parking was across the street and the backyard just dropped off . We thought that was totally unsuitable for a new child . We turned both of those down . If we had turned this one down , we would 've gone to the bottom of the long list . But we loved this place of the trees and the dead end lane neighborhood . So we sat outside in front all weekend because we were not top on the list . The reason the other people didn 't take it was that the previous owner , Jim Cox and Charlotte , had put in an oil furnace ; and nobody wanted to pay $ 200 for the oil furnace . Since I had been working , we had saved my salary from work , and we had $ 200 to pay . Also , they didn 't want to be in the high rent district . This house rented for something like $ 45 instead of $ 43 in the lower rent districts . MRS . DAVIDSON : The Oak Ridge cemesto houses that were built - I think this house was built in the fall of 1944 or 1943 . Maybe it was ' 43 . The B house has two bedrooms and of course a bath and a kitchen with a dinette into a long narrow living room . It was about 24 feet by 40 something feet . It was small and convenient . It didn 't have much storage space , but it 's been a wonderful house for us because of the trees . We are on a greenbelt , and I enjoy that very much . It 's a nice private neighborhood just above Jackson Square . MRS . DAVIDSON : Our cemesto has a fireplace , and it had a complete brick wall . Some of the B houses had a brick wall just beyond the fireplace . MRS . DAVIDSON : There are hardwood floors in all the cemestos , I believe . Our house has maple flooring , and a lot of them had oak . Wood was hard to come by in the wartime . We love the color - the reddish color of the maple . MRS . DAVIDSON : Adele is our second daughter , and she was two years younger . Our son is Bill Davidson or William . He was born in November of 1954 . He 's just now turning 58 . MR . HUNNICUTT : So your first daughter went to Cedar Hill ? MRS . DAVIDSON : All three of our children went to Cedar Hill . They had split grades there , so I think the classes were one half size . They would take the kids a half from one grade , and half from the next grade , and that worked out just fine . MRS . DAVIDSON : Cedar Hill was wonderful . It was very special . Mr . Dodd was the principal , and he saw to it - he had the best teachers or at least as good as any . Actually in those days all the teachers and Oak Ridge were special because many of them had been recruited from Columbia Teachers College , along with the superintendent . Others were specially recruited for the job . They were a group a part , I think , from a lot of teachers . MRS . DAVIDSON : The girls both went to Jefferson when it was on the hill at Jackson Square , and Bill was in the first year at the new Jefferson that was over on Fairbanks Road . His was the first class there . They all went through Oak Ridge High . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you recall some of the classes your daughters took while they were in junior high ? Was there Home Ec . or things related to girls ? MRS . DAVIDSON : No , they were on the college prep track . They took eighth grade algebra and that kind of thing . Of course English and math and social studies and science - our older girl I think took biology ; and I 'm not sure if Adele had a more general science course . It just depended on the teacher that they had . They had an excellent education , and the girls were both Merit semifinalists . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course . I was in the PTA . I 'm not sure if I was ever a room mother , but I of course helped with parties and things . MRS . DAVIDSON : The teachers recruited them from each class to help with parties mostly . They helped with any activities that they didn 't really have time to do . MRS . DAVIDSON : Parent - Teacher Association , a time honored group . It got extra things for the school . I got involved with raincoats for the school patrol . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess maybe I was a treasurer of the Cedar Hill PTA , and this goal was to get those yellow slicker raincoat so kids could be visible to the drivers . I found out how much the things cost , and then I estimated postage . At the PTA meeting , Alvin Weinberg was president . He had a son or two in school at the time . He took me to task for estimating the postage , so I had to ask for just the money for the coats themselves since I didn 't really know what the postage is going to be . I thought that was interesting that he wanted to keep it to the exact penny . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think they just wore what the other kids wore . One day we had a deep snow and Bill was in kindergarten , and the snow was up over their boots . I think he had some corduroys . The teacher was making the kids take their pants off and dry them on the radiator , and he wouldn 't do it . I had to go up to the school and take him some fresh pants , some dry clothes . He was very young - just four when he started . MR . HUNNICUTT : Let 's go back a few years . Do you remember 1945 when they dropped the bomb on Japan ? You remember where you were ? And what was your reaction ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I do remember that very clearly because it was the summer after my junior year in college , and I was a camp counselor up in Door County , Wisconsin . There was no electricity at the camp , so we counselors - after we got the kids to bed , went to the state park nearby . This was at Fish Creek , Wisconsin . We would listen to people 's car radios . We knew for about a week that something was happening , but we didn 't know just what . It was very deeply moving when the bomb was dropped , and we thought it would bring an end to the war . Of course , I had friends and a brother on Guam and a cousin was in Europe and others . So that was very deeply moving . I had a book of poetry - my favorite poems at the camp with me . One of my 12 - year - olds picked out a poem - " Once to every man and nation comes a moment to decide " - she read that , and I thought that was very astute of her , a youngster to be able to do that . MRS . DAVIDSON : My husband thought they should have dropped a sample first , but I didn 't feel that way since the first bomb didn 't phase the Japanese . I didn 't think the test one would have either . I was just so glad that the war was over . People could settle down and get into real life again . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think I was in transition from the dormitory to the house , and my husband 's brothers came up from Georgia to witness the opening . So we drove in their car around , and we watched the parade from , I believe , down on the eastern end of the Turnpike down near the warehouses to get out of the traffic . We never could figure out why they invited Marie " The Body " McDonald and [ inaudible ] to ride in the open car for the parade . We couldn 't figure out what they had to do with it , but we did see the burning of the magnesium ribbon . That was exciting . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was only toward town from Elza Gate . I know the central part of town , the Jackson Square area , was very crowded . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think they name the streets for famous cities in the country , and of course the alphabetical designations were very helpful . But Jackson Square , I assume , was named for New Orleans . That 's all I know about it . MRS . DAVIDSON : Sometimes you would pick up the telephone , and the other party was talking . I believe they had different rings . I think maybe the other party had one ring , and we had two . There were four - party lines , but if we were on a four - party line , only the other one was active . I think maybe we were . The other two lines were not being used . MR . HUNNICUTT : When you are raising your family , did you hang your clothes outside on the clothesline ? Did you have a dryer ? What did you use ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I hung them outside on the clothesline . As I said , when we moved here , Anne was a year old . Not much more than three years after that , we had three babies . I was able to talk my husband into getting a dryer that time . Before that , he had built a pulley out of my kitchen window . There was a drop off in the back , and he was able to string it to a tree in the woods . I was able to reel those cloth diapers and reel them in and out . The only problem was that the birds like the trees , too . Sometimes I had to do some re - washing . MR . HUNNICUTT : So in those days you use cloth diapers ? Today we use disposable diapers . How do you think you would 've done if you had disposable diapers ? MRS . DAVIDSON : At one point , when our children were out playing Kick the Can , there were over 40 children on the lane . There were about 20 or 21 houses . There were almost as many dogs . It was just a glorious place for them to grow up . They seem to get along remarkably well most of the time , especially in the early days . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes . We went down there on the opening , and got the radioactive dimes on that occasion . The museum at that time was down at Jefferson Circle . I don 't think any of us ever had our hair stand out on the Van De Graff generator or whatever it was , but we took the children . We went out ourselves . Of course my husband was interested in that kind of thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : Sometimes they walked to Jefferson , but by that time they were carrying pretty heavy books . One of the neighbors on Outer Drive wanted to have a carpool , so we joined that . MRS . DAVIDSON : When Anne was in the fifth grade , they had to write what they did on Friday nights . The teacher would call me and say , " Is it true that you gave your children ice water and watched TV on Friday nights ? " That was how generous we were with them . We didn 't get a TV until they were probably five or six years old . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course it was black and white . The reason we got it - I guess finally it was that the children were always going to the neighbors ' house to watch TV . We decided that we should get our own . They watched things like " Pinky Lee " and I 've forgotten what else . MRS . DAVIDSON : I remember that fondly because my first real date with my husband was going to dinner there with him . He invited me to go to a concert in Knoxville , and his excuse was that we should get to know each other better before he took me to the city with him . That was one thing . I remember there were parties there , and our company had a party at the Oak Terrace Ballroom . One of the NEPA fellows wore a Tarzan costume , which was mostly nothing . It turned out that he lived in the neighborhood . MR . HUNNICUTT : What was the Oak Terrace ballroom - where was it located ? MRS . DAVIDSON : That was just below the dormitory where I lived in Columbia Hall . Jack went there looking for me , he thought I would eat breakfast there and then he could have breakfast with me ; but I ate in the dormitory . He didn 't find me there . When we came back from our bicycle ride to Concord Park , I remember we stopped by there , and he drank two or three Mountain Dew drinks . That surprised me , but we had worked off a lot of sweat . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , we took our children out there and saw " Lawrence of Arabia " and " The 10 Commandment " and those things . It was quite nice . MR . HUNNICUTT : Where was it located ? MRS . DAVIDSON : It was about where Kroger 's - where that is now , on the southeast part of Illinois Avenue . It was a nice thing . That was a special treat for the children to go out there . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't think so . I think they were mostly in the car . They had a drawing one time , Jack won something . It was actually nothing , but he did win . MRS . DAVIDSON : I sure did . My three children were born there . It was a green structure , like so many of the buildings in Oak Ridge . I guess the present building is built on that place . It was okay . I didn 't have any problems with it , except after my second child . I had a staph infection from the hospital . Even an Army wife with a private room got an infection there . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , I think they also had been recruited ; and a lot of them were from Tulane University . The time I was sick with my infection , they were having a reunion at Tulane , and my doctor and another one were gone for the reunion . I didn 't like the one who took care of me . He didn 't do a good job . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was okay . I don 't remember having any problems with it . We knew Dr . Rogers from our church , and we went to him . He was called away to the service , I believe . Maybe it was the Korean War , but then he came back . MRS . DAVIDSON : We met at Pine Valley School . The choir sat on the bleachers , and the minister sat under the halo of the basketball net . My husband was a Methodist , and he went to the First Methodist Church . They had a big youth group there . When we were first married , we tried to take them both in . We went to Sunday school one place , and church another until we finally settled on the Presbyterian . It was smaller , and we knew more people . MR . HUNNICUTT : Thinking back , what do you like best about Oak Ridge ? MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course the people . I love my trees and my house . I love all the activities . Both my husband and I have always loved music and enjoy the concerts a lot . The symphony concerts with Waldo Cohn conducting were held at Jefferson Junior High on the Kentucky Avenue hill . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you think back about all the people that you knew in the early days ? Do you think it was unusual for everybody to get along - the many people that were here ? MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , I guess so . I didn 't think about it because we just did . It was just fun . Everybody was away from home , and we had to be family for each other . That was particularly true in this close neighborhood . MRS . DAVIDSON : I 'm pleased for the most part . I think we 've made good progress . We 've kept up with the outside world . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't know . I 'll probably think of things after you leave . Nothing particular comes to mind . MR . HUNNICUTT : I would like to thank you for your time , and I think this interview will be very helpful for someone in the future to see how you lived in Oak Ridge in the early days . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think we came through at the very best of times . It was not the pressure of war , but we were growing community . I think things were happening at the Lab . Both of my husband and I loved the Lab because there were so many good things going on out there . It gives us hope for the future . MR . HUNNICUTT : I thank you very much for your time . [ Editor 's Note : This transcript has been edited at Mrs . Davidson 's request . The corresponding audio and video components have remained unchanged . ] Your rating was saved . you wish to report :

MR . HUNNICUTT : This interview is for the Center of Oak Ridge Oral History . The date is November 8 , 2012 . I am Don Hunnicutt in the home of Mrs . Mary Ann Davidson , 117 Orange Lane , Oak Ridge , Tennessee , to take her oral history about living in Oak Ridge , Tennessee . Please state your full name and your place of birth and your date of birth . MRS . DAVIDSON : My name is Mary Ann Davidson . My date of birth is January 12 , 1925 . I was born in Louisville , Kentucky . I lived there all my early life until I graduated from college . MRS . DAVIDSON : My father was William H . Courtenay . He was born in 1890 , on March 3 . He was in World War I and lived his entire life in Louisville and Shelbyville , Kentucky . He worked for the Mengel Company . They imported mahogany and hardwood from Africa and Central America . He delivered those to customers . He didn 't consider himself a salesman , but he sold them to the furniture factory - furniture makers around Kentucky , mostly Indiana and Cincinnati and some in Tennessee . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , he did not . The Louisville Male High School was considered a fine school at that time . They said that graduates could enter Harvard in their second year . The principal had written textbooks that were apparently used all over . But my father was interested in raising ponies . His father had a farm in Shelbyville , Kentucky . If you 'd didn 't make the grade , you are special . And Dr . Ruben Post - Halleck , the famous principal of the school , told him if he took an exam in math , he could be entered back in . He did that , and he aced the test . He was back in . Then he was a special in English , so they told him if he memorized the " Lady of the Lake " and said that he could get back in school . So he did that . I think he never did finish . He was a twin , and his twin was more of an engineering type and went to manual training high school . MRS . DAVIDSON : She grew up in several small towns in western Kentucky . Her father worked for the L & N Railroad . She had her high school in Hopkinsville , Kentucky . She had to stay home - or she went to junior college nearby . She had a scholarship to Randolph Macon Women 's College , but she couldn 't take it because her mother was ill and died at age 50 . It was about the year I was born , I think . MRS . DAVIDSON : His name was William Howard Courtenay III . My father was named for his uncle , who was also William Howard . My older brother works for Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green in the physics department . He made instruments . My younger brother was a pediatrician in Louisville , and he is still living on a farm in Shelbyville . He 's interested in Kentucky antiques . MRS . DAVIDSON : I went to an unusual kindergarten and first grade . I was at what they called the Enterprise Branch of I . N . Bloom School . It was only kindergarten and first grade . It was in the older building , where we had a Pot Belly Stove . I think we had a maid to help us take our leggings off in the cold weather - galoshes . It was really a wonderful school . It was almost like a private one . It was public . We did things like making butter and we had an orchestra . I played the triangle . I had started a little bit earlier when my younger brother was born . Louisville had half semester , half - year grades . I would 've been a half year , but I skipped the last half of kindergarten . I went to the school board and took a test and went on , so they put me in the regular school year . I went through the big school the I . N . Bloom School and Highland Junior High School in Louisville . Then I went to Atherton High School for Girls . The Louisville public schools were segregated - boys and girls . There were about 900 girls at Atherton . My graduating class was about 200 , and I was the valedictorian . MRS . DAVIDSON : They are pants to keep your legs warm . They zipped up from the inside of the ankle bone up to about knee - high , I guess it was . They were a royal pain to take on and off , so the teacher had to have help to do that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was just ordinary . I 'm sure the girls wore dresses , and the little boys wore suits - not suits , but pants and shirts . MRS . DAVIDSON : I came to Oak Ridge after I graduated from college . I had two years of getting a master 's at Emory while I worked at my alma mater , Agnes Scott College in Decatur , Georgia . I was the chemistry lab instructor . So after those two years were up , I was interested in working in chemistry or biochemistry . My master 's was in biochemistry . In Louisville , there was nothing in that field , except liquor and paint - neither of which I was interested in . In Atlanta , I would like to stay in Atlanta , I heard that Oak Ridge was an interesting new place , and a lot was going on here . One of my dear college friends had recently married a physicist from the University of Kentucky , so I visited them here . I guess that must have been 1947 . Her husband was working at NEPA . He said they were looking for people with a chemistry degree . I applied , and I was accepted . I didn 't know that until I had completed the clearance , so I took the opportunity to go to Europe at an American youth hostel bicycle tour of Western Europe in the summer of 1948 . When I got home , I found that I had indeed gotten the job at Oak Ridge . So I came down here . MRS . DAVIDSON : I was wondering that . I think I came by train . When I interviewed earlier in the spring , my interview was at the Andrew Johnson Hotel . It was one of the private rooms . I had never seen the company here . I think I must have been met by a car and driver and brought to Oak Ridge . MRS . DAVIDSON : I came in through the Vermont Gateway , which is where the gas station is now on the corner of what I call Vermont . They call it North Rutgers now . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , I think it must 've been after that . That would 've been at Christmas time . When I applied , I imagine it was early spring . MRS . DAVIDSON : We called the company NEPA , for Nuclear Energy for the Propulsion of Aircraft . It was managed by the Fairchild Corporation the way Union Carbide or one of the other contractors managed the lab . I did not know until the first day I went to work just what the company was doing . They handed me a volume of information that said , " We are looking for - we are trying to make an airplane powered by nuclear energy that could fly to Russia and back without refueling . " That was a great shock to me . MRS . DAVIDSON : I lived in Columbia Hall Dormitory . I was very surprised to find that the rent was $ 15 a month until I realized it was one very small room . That was my living quarters . I took the opportunity to stay out of it as much as possible . I did that by babysitting in some of the B and D houses in the evening . Grandmothers were not here since it was a closed community . Babysitters were in short supply , and even though I didn 't need the money , it was good to get out of the dormitory . MRS . DAVIDSON : The dormitory was like Cheyenne Hall . It was the same type of building . It had wooden stairways from the second - floor hall down on each end . I lived on the second floor . Our dormitory was mostly nurses , since it was up on the hill next to the hospital - I think where the west parking lot is now . There was a kitchen on each end where we could have our own breakfast . Of course we were at the plant at lunchtime , and then we usually went out to supper . I opened the refrigerator door one morning and somebody 's milk came spilling out down my front . Everybody just stuffed things into the refrigerator . MRS . DAVIDSON : I had a single room with a twin bed and enough room to walk to the window by the bed . There was a little table that served as a desk with a chair . There was a much coveted dormitory dresser - a tall one with a number of drawers . They were very popular . MRS . DAVIDSON : They had a wonderful bus service here . Travel wasn 't really a problem . We walked , of course , from the dormitory to Jackson Square and ate supper usually at the Mayflower , which is where I first saw my husband - to - be . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was on the corner of Tennessee , right across from the Soup Kitchen and the Texaco gas station there on the northeast corner . It was a very popular place . In fact , there were several places you could eat . It was the Central Cafeteria , and the T & C Cafeteria in Jackson Square , which is about where the Epicurean is now toward the garden . MRS . DAVIDSON : It must 've been the A & P on Jackson Square . Jackson Square was really the center of activity as far as I was concerned at that time . I still love it . I hope it keeps going . MRS . DAVIDSON : The department stores - the big department store was Taylor 's at the time . They had a wonderful book department headed by Mrs . Keyes , whose daughter I knew at work . They had really fine art books and other books that they would have a great sale on once or twice a year . We were very happy with that . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was in the middle of the block between where Big Ed 's is in the corner . I guess it 's mostly used by the engineering company now . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , not frequently , but I went and saw - there was a theater down at Big Ed 's in Jackson Square and where the Playhouse is now . That was the main one . MRS . DAVIDSON : Henebree . McCrory 's 5 & 10 was there . There was a drugstore - a Service Drugstore . I guess that was where Big Ed 's is now , on the very corner . There was Jackson Square Pharmacy , and on the other side the Hamilton Bank was there next to the movie theater . And Samuel 's Men 's Store was a very nice store . The Jackson Square Pharmacy was there , but in between , which the Pharmacy later took over was a Kay 's Ice Cream Store . We used to go there and - my husband and I would when we were dating . I liked to get coffee with ice cream in it , so we went there . MRS . DAVIDSON : I can 't say that I do . It was just a given , I suppose . It didn 't make a big dent in my memory . After six months of the dormitory , I moved to a D house on Norman Lane . That was another era . MRS . DAVIDSON : A D house was a large three bedroom house . They were very much desired . They were really nice houses - still a lot of them are . The house was - there were five other girls who lived there - two of whom had been college friends . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , it would 've been upstairs . It was the second one to the end . A radiation technologist lived on the corner , and I lived there with school teachers and nurses who made up most of the dorm . MR . HUNNICUTT : Let 's talk a little bit about the dorm again . If I had a message for you or someone left a message for you , how did you retrieve your messages ? Was there a desk when you went in ? MRS . DAVIDSON : There was a desk downstairs . I remember the Valentine 's Day - I guess it must 've been 1949 . The message was that I had some flowers , some red roses . I had just met my husband - to - be at that time . I got all excited , and when I got to the desk , it was from somebody else . I enjoyed the red roses , but not as much as I might have . The thing was that there were ladies - a lot of the women who lived in the dorm worked on the night shift . They would sit around a large kind of living room , I guess they called it . They were all staring when I got flowers . I had to walk around , and it was embarrassing . MRS . DAVIDSON : I was there in the winter of 1948 . I 'm very cold natured , but I don 't remember being cold . We had those heavy navy blanket - navy blue blankets . This brings up a story if I jump to it later on . We were moved from the D house after another six months into the brand - new Garden Apartments on Villanova Road . They needed our D house for families . The people who moved in were the Andersons of the Anderson Hilltop Grocery . Of course , the furniture all belonged to the government there . So the Garden Apartments were not furnished , so we had dwindled down from 6 to 4 people who needed furniture . I took a day off and went to an auction the government set up down at the warehouses . I got seven beds and three or four dressers - much more than I could have used . But the beds were in great demand at work because all the young men who worked there were having children and needed beds . So we took the four . Also I got two sofas , and we could use but one ; so I sold one . They were really shabby awful sofas . Since it was all going to surplus anyway , we switched and took the nice sofa from the D house and left them the bad one . It was all taken away anyhow , so I didn 't feel too bad about that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't really remember about the telephone . We didn 't use the telephone much . We never used it for long - distance except for emergencies and calls home . I don 't remember that as being a problem particularly . MRS . DAVIDSON : I suppose I went on the bus . I did not have a car . One of the housemates from Norman Lane had gotten the car , but she would 've been at work at K - 25 . I don 't know . I may have gotten a ride . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess I paid somebody to deliver it . I don 't know . Maybe some of the fellows at work picked up their beds that they wanted . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was one of those warehouses down at the [ Oak Ridge ] Turnpike on Warehouse Road . I don 't know exactly where it was . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess it was on the bulletin boards at work , or there was a newspaper at the Lab . I guess I heard about it that way . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think probably so - in the newsletters they came around , also at the recreation building - the rec hall - at Jackson Square that was the library upstairs and the rec hall downstairs . Word - of - mouth - I don 't remember . We had a need and found the answer to it . MRS . DAVIDSON : I had to punch a clock at eight in the morning when I first started . I guess we got out at 4 : 30 or 5 o ' clock . We had bus service that went from the bus terminal - the Central one - that 's now by Bus Terminal Road . Later on after we were married , we lived on Waddell Circle and went from there to the Jefferson bus terminal . I went - I rode on the K - 25 bus , and they went out past K - 25 to the road that the powerhouse was on and NEPA was beyond that out by the river . MRS . DAVIDSON : There was some kind of management services office . I 'm not sure what it was called - the Roane Anderson Corporation at that time , I guess . I think that 's where I rented the dormitory room . I probably got bus tokens - I guess I got the tokens of the bus terminal . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think I had a checking account probably at Hamilton Bank in Jackson Square . I don 't recall otherwise . I know I did later . One thing I wanted to say about the buses - if you wanted to go to Clinton to do any shopping , more than what you could have in Oak Ridge or to meet somebody or something , there was a bus that ran frequently back and forth between the bus terminal and Clinton . There was a young man on the bus who had a sing - songy sales pitch for " peanuts , popcorn , Cracker Jacks , candy , and chewing gum . " He wouldn 't drive , but he would sell his wares all the way to Clinton and back . I always wondered who that was because he obviously had some talent . MRS . DAVIDSON : I 'm sure I did . I don 't know what became of it . I guess I had to turn it back in . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think somebody just got - one of the guards got on the bus and checked everybody 's badges . It was not a big thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : Probably . I don 't remember . What I do remember about that was my mother was coming down one time for my birthday - it must 've been in January 1949 . She rode the train . I told her that I would get a ride to meet her . Of course , the train didn 't stop at Oak Ridge . It went on to Knoxville , so I bummed a ride with one of the men in our group . He was actually the technical assistant to the director . His car was a broken down old thing with no floorboards in the back seat , which was pretty bad when my mother saw it . But she didn 't see it because when we got to Knoxville , she was not there . When we were coming back from the gateway entrance , she was not there . There was a message that she was waiting for us at the Elza Gate Station . She had told the conductor she had to get off at Oak Ridge . That 's where she was going , and I was going to meet her . So she slid down the Elza bank over there . She had my birthday cake - a large chocolate cake . She slid downhill with that , and somehow they stopped her at the guard gate at Elza . She waited there for us . MRS . DAVIDSON : Just for her - let her off like a milk train . They ordinarily didn 't stop there , but she wouldn 't have it otherwise . MRS . DAVIDSON : I used the library and rec hall . On Sunday afternoons , they played music ; and you could sit and write letters home , which is what I think I did a good bit . Later on in the better weather , there were tennis courts and a swimming pool . I don 't remember going to movies much . We went to church groups . There were so many young people ; it was just like a party all the time . Nothing in particular stands out . It was just fun . MRS . DAVIDSON : In the company I was , that was not true . There were a lot of women of course - of course , the dormitory was full of school teachers and nurses . But NEPA was mostly men . There were two parts to the Fairchild - the science and engineering part , which was bigger . I happen to be in the research part . My boss was a chemist - Vince Calkins . It was my job to - this was a real shocker to me - to find a chemical that would protect the human body against radiation for the reactor that was supposed to be in the airplane to Russia . I had no background for that kind of thing . I was just fresh out of college really . I realized I was out of my depth , but they decided - he was a pharmacist , I believe , and he wanted to do experiments with rats . They brought in the rat colony . By that time we had a couple of assistants , and I was supposed to be the group leader . One of the men , Ray Waldrop - you may have talked to him . I asked him if he minded working for a woman because he was really more experienced than I , although I had the degree . It was fine with him . There was also another worker , Saul Segal , who was quite a character in his own right . I took the rats in the cages over to the reactor , the " Old Lady " at X - 10 , and put them through what they called " rabbits " and radiated them for certain amount of time . We couldn 't kill the darn things . Then we used the older ones that had already been radiated , they were just tough as anything . I think the experiment was really a failure , although they may have found that to be the case in some later work with older people - that the cells are not dividing as fast and they 're not as subject to radiation . But we didn 't get into that . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was actually not K - 25 . It was beyond there . As I said , the bus took us - the bus dumped people off at K - 25 , and they went on west to just before you get to the Gallaher Bridge . You turn right there and go right past the power station there . It was used for a long time - the power house , and then NEPA was beyond that . The native rats came in - was it domestic experimental rats ? That was not good . I had a janitor who helped me , even though he could 've lost his job for doing it . He helped me clean cages . I always appreciated that . MRS . DAVIDSON : When they got rid of the rats , which was a blessing , my group leader then became Bill Browning , who was a fine scientist . He worked on the Van de Graaff generator . We had an interesting argument . Saul Segal thought he should be the one to do it since he was a man and I was a woman who would be leaving soon ; and it turned out that he left for California before I had left to have my baby . His argument didn 't hold with me anyway , but we argued about that some . We did run the Van de Graaff , and we also did some experiments on metallic sodium . It was nasty stuff to work with . It caught on fire if it was exposed to air . You had to work with that under oil in the glove box . I think that work all had to be repeated after NEPA left for Cincinnati with G . E . . When they moved part of NEPA to X - 10 , they called it the ANP , or something about aircraft and nuclear power . I was not connected with that because my first baby was born in August 1951 . I left in July . MRS . DAVIDSON : I heard somebody say that they had to repeat it all . My boss , the Division Director of Chemistry was interested in vitamin E , and thought it had a lot of protective influence . We worked with that . That was some of the work I did in chemistry - the lab part of it in the early days . It was not good work , I think . I 'm not blaming myself , but some of the other men who were doing chemical work - I think altogether we didn 't come up with anything . MRS . DAVIDSON : It may have been ahead of it 's time for nuclear submarines . I don 't know whether the engineering people thought that or not . In our group which was the chemistry and the physics , my friend who got me the job was Jim Trice . A fellow named Art Miller and somebody named Coneybearwere in the Physics Division . And then there were some others - Fred Maienschein . I did some work for him one time . It was work on beryllium for one thing . I didn 't work with any of the active beryllium . I didn 't do any lab work then , but I did some journal research . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't think they were that far along . I 'm not sure what happened to that part of it . As I said , in July of 1951 they moved to Cincinnati , Evensville , above Cincinnati . I don 't know how many people actually went up there . Most of my friends moved elsewhere . MR . HUNNICUTT : You mentioned the location of the operation was past the steam plant that was on the Clinch River . Was that the same location where the S - 50 project was located ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I think that was the name of our plot of land . I think those - I never was quite sure how they got the designations , but that was the Fairchild domain , I think . MRS . DAVIDSON : Really , it was just when our eyes met . It was very romantic . He followed our group home to the Columbia Hall to see where I lived . But at the time I thought he was too young , and I didn 't think he was following me . I was with a group of other girls . Later on , one of the women in the dormitory , who was a gym teacher in the Oak Ridge schools , told me I really ought to meet Jack Davidson that he loved to ride bicycles ; I was just back from my bicycle trip in Europe . I didn 't know who he was , and then I went to a church group meeting at my Presbyterian Church for young people one Sunday evening . A friend of mine had brought Jack Davidson , and he was the one whose eyes I had met and he had met mine . Sure enough , he loved to ride bicycles . That was the start of a good thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : We did a little bit . On our dates , that 's really what we did mostly at first . We rode out to West Outer Drive and had those wonderful big hills , not too much traffic at that time . We went out to the water tower at the top of Louisiana and had a picnic , and then rode back . When we got really good , we rode our bicycles over to Concord Park one day . I had gotten some chicken breasts at the grocery . I guess it was the A & P at Jackson Square . I was going to fry them for a picnic to take along over to Concord Park . When I went to the refrigerator to get them , they had turned into wings . Somebody had eaten my chicken breast . Jack was a good sport about that . He didn 't care . We had a nice ride . It was before they had improved Lovell Road . It was a pretty rough ride over there , but we were able to enjoy it . MRS . DAVIDSON : He had his bicycle . It was probably a Grey Stone . For me , he rented a bicycle from his work friend . I had forgotten what his name was . We went over to one of the D Streets , I think , and rode them . I didn 't have my English 3 - speed here . I guess I brought it later , but at that time I didn 't have it . MRS . DAVIDSON : That was a problem . I complained to my friend Jim Trice 's wife , Dot , who happened to live around the corner on Outer Drive at that time . She said the boardwalk was used a lot for dating , and of course the theaters . I guess we were outdoors people . I don 't know . MRS . DAVIDSON : He was a graduate of Georgia Tech . At the time he graduated , he was very young . He came up to see about a job , and he was drafted . No , he was in danger of being drafted right away , but they didn 't hire him . He did go to work for NASA , which was at that time NACA , in Virginia ; and worked over there a short time before he was taken into the Army . He had gone through Georgia Tech on a " War Manpower " loan . He was sent to some place to be an MP , I think . He wrote a night letter , which is a 50 - word telegram that was cheaper at night . He wrote a night letter to Stimson , the Secretary of War , telling them they had paid for his college education ; and here he was sitting in a camp doing nothing down in Alabama . He was transferred to the SED , he would never say that was the reason he was transferred . It may or may not have been . He arrived with the SED - he arrived in Oak Ridge the day Roosevelt died , which was in April 1945 , he was here with his group for maybe six weeks before they went out to Los Alamos . So he spent the rest of the war out there . Then he used his G . I . Bill - he stayed on at Los Alamos . They told them they would let him out of the Army if he would agree to stay on as a civilian . So he took that . Then when he did leave , he went to Annapolis and took a liberal arts course because he felt that he had missed out on it at Georgia Tech . He had a year at St . John 's College of Annapolis ; and then all along I guess he thought he would like to come back here . He came back - he arrived on Armistice Day , now Veterans Day , of 1948 . I was here a couple of months before he came , but we met shortly after Christmas in 1949 . MRS . DAVIDSON : Too long . We were married in May 1950 . He wanted to pay off his loan before we could get married , so I helped him along with that . I fed him some . He was very welcome at the D House of girls . I was going to tell you that during the war , there were nine girls in the house , and they slept on shifts on the bunk beds . There were only six of us when I was there . There were a couple of the boyfriends around , and one of them cut the grass . I think Jack did the - empty the clinkers from the furnace , the coal furnace . They made themselves useful . They got their dinner . MRS . DAVIDSON : Most of the houses were a very good design really , and a whole lot better built than we gave them credit for . But each one that I knew of had a corner set off or closed off as a coal storage place that could be filled through a window from the outside , and then you could use the - there was an opening on the inside that you could use to put coal into the furnace . That was awful of course , but that 's what all the houses were doing in that time , too . We had a yard full of clinkers over there . MRS . DAVIDSON : We were taken care of by a Big Brother - the government . They brought the coal around , and you didn 't do a thing . That was part of the rent . When we got our house here on Orange Lane , that 's another story . Are you ready for that yet ? MRS . DAVIDSON : We went back to my home in Louisville , Kentucky , to be married . We had planned to fly to Nashville , but it turned out the Delta Queen was coming through Louisville the next morning . My mother had told us we could not get married the week before because it was too busy with Derby Day . So we delayed until May 13 . Then we spent the night in Louisville at the Brown Hotel , where she pulled some strings to get us a room because it was still very full of visitors from the Derby . We got on the Delta Queen , and our friends were all on the dock to see us off . They had us almost convinced that we were on Daylight Saving Time , and the Delta Queen was not , and we had missed it . But we rode down just as far as Paducah . We were anxious to start in life you know . We lived on Wadell Circle in a K apartment . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was a two - story thing . I guess it was a two - bedroom up above , and we had K - 1 . It was sort of underground at the front and open at the back . We had a nice back porch . There was a closet under the stairway and a very small kitchen . It had a table that folded down . It was not as compact as a flattop , but the furnishings that they had did double duty . You could fold it up and have more room . MRS . DAVIDSON : The K apartment was heated with the coal furnace , but there was a janitor who came around and took care of it for us . We were taken care of by Roane Anderson . MRS . DAVIDSON : We lived in the K from May 1950 , until we got this house in July 1952 . It was said - the word around town was that you couldn 't get a two - bedroom house unless you had three children , all of different sex . We had been on the list for this house ever since we knew our daughter was coming along . That was a long time to wait . We had been offered two houses - Florida Avenue , where the parking was across the street and the backyard just dropped off . We thought that was totally unsuitable for a new child . We turned both of those down . If we had turned this one down , we would 've gone to the bottom of the long list . But we loved this place of the trees and the dead end lane neighborhood . So we sat outside in front all weekend because we were not top on the list . The reason the other people didn 't take it was that the previous owner , Jim Cox and Charlotte , had put in an oil furnace ; and nobody wanted to pay $ 200 for the oil furnace . Since I had been working , we had saved my salary from work , and we had $ 200 to pay . Also , they didn 't want to be in the high rent district . This house rented for something like $ 45 instead of $ 43 in the lower rent districts . MRS . DAVIDSON : The Oak Ridge cemesto houses that were built - I think this house was built in the fall of 1944 or 1943 . Maybe it was ' 43 . The B house has two bedrooms and of course a bath and a kitchen with a dinette into a long narrow living room . It was about 24 feet by 40 something feet . It was small and convenient . It didn 't have much storage space , but it 's been a wonderful house for us because of the trees . We are on a greenbelt , and I enjoy that very much . It 's a nice private neighborhood just above Jackson Square . MRS . DAVIDSON : Our cemesto has a fireplace , and it had a complete brick wall . Some of the B houses had a brick wall just beyond the fireplace . MRS . DAVIDSON : There are hardwood floors in all the cemestos , I believe . Our house has maple flooring , and a lot of them had oak . Wood was hard to come by in the wartime . We love the color - the reddish color of the maple . MRS . DAVIDSON : Adele is our second daughter , and she was two years younger . Our son is Bill Davidson or William . He was born in November of 1954 . He 's just now turning 58 . MRS . DAVIDSON : All three of our children went to Cedar Hill . They had split grades there , so I think the classes were one half size . They would take the kids a half from one grade , and half from the next grade , and that worked out just fine . MRS . DAVIDSON : Cedar Hill was wonderful . It was very special . Mr . Dodd was the principal , and he saw to it - he had the best teachers or at least as good as any . Actually in those days all the teachers and Oak Ridge were special because many of them had been recruited from Columbia Teachers College , along with the superintendent . Others were specially recruited for the job . They were a group a part , I think , from a lot of teachers . MRS . DAVIDSON : The girls both went to Jefferson when it was on the hill at Jackson Square , and Bill was in the first year at the new Jefferson that was over on Fairbanks Road . His was the first class there . They all went through Oak Ridge High . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you recall some of the classes your daughters took while they were in junior high ? Was there Home Ec . or things related to girls ? MRS . DAVIDSON : No , they were on the college prep track . They took eighth grade algebra and that kind of thing . Of course English and math and social studies and science - our older girl I think took biology ; and I 'm not sure if Adele had a more general science course . It just depended on the teacher that they had . They had an excellent education , and the girls were both Merit semifinalists . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course . I was in the PTA . I 'm not sure if I was ever a room mother , but I of course helped with parties and things . MRS . DAVIDSON : The teachers recruited them from each class to help with parties mostly . They helped with any activities that they didn 't really have time to do . MRS . DAVIDSON : Parent - Teacher Association , a time honored group . It got extra things for the school . I got involved with raincoats for the school patrol . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess maybe I was a treasurer of the Cedar Hill PTA , and this goal was to get those yellow slicker raincoat so kids could be visible to the drivers . I found out how much the things cost , and then I estimated postage . At the PTA meeting , Alvin Weinberg was president . He had a son or two in school at the time . He took me to task for estimating the postage , so I had to ask for just the money for the coats themselves since I didn 't really know what the postage is going to be . I thought that was interesting that he wanted to keep it to the exact penny . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think they just wore what the other kids wore . One day we had a deep snow and Bill was in kindergarten , and the snow was up over their boots . I think he had some corduroys . The teacher was making the kids take their pants off and dry them on the radiator , and he wouldn 't do it . I had to go up to the school and take him some fresh pants , some dry clothes . He was very young - just four when he started . MR . HUNNICUTT : Let 's go back a few years . Do you remember 1945 when they dropped the bomb on Japan ? You remember where you were ? And what was your reaction ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I do remember that very clearly because it was the summer after my junior year in college , and I was a camp counselor up in Door County , Wisconsin . There was no electricity at the camp , so we counselors - after we got the kids to bed , went to the state park nearby . This was at Fish Creek , Wisconsin . We would listen to people 's car radios . We knew for about a week that something was happening , but we didn 't know just what . It was very deeply moving when the bomb was dropped , and we thought it would bring an end to the war . Of course , I had friends and a brother on Guam and a cousin was in Europe and others . So that was very deeply moving . I had a book of poetry - my favorite poems at the camp with me . One of my 12 - year - olds picked out a poem - " Once to every man and nation comes a moment to decide " - she read that , and I thought that was very astute of her , a youngster to be able to do that . MRS . DAVIDSON : My husband thought they should have dropped a sample first , but I didn 't feel that way since the first bomb didn 't phase the Japanese . I didn 't think the test one would have either . I was just so glad that the war was over . People could settle down and get into real life again . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think I was in transition from the dormitory to the house , and my husband 's brothers came up from Georgia to witness the opening . So we drove in their car around , and we watched the parade from , I believe , down on the eastern end of the Turnpike down near the warehouses to get out of the traffic . We never could figure out why they invited Marie " The Body " McDonald and [ inaudible ] to ride in the open car for the parade . We couldn 't figure out what they had to do with it , but we did see the burning of the magnesium ribbon . That was exciting . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was only toward town from Elza Gate . I know the central part of town , the Jackson Square area , was very crowded . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think they name the streets for famous cities in the country , and of course the alphabetical designations were very helpful . But Jackson Square , I assume , was named for New Orleans . That 's all I know about it . MRS . DAVIDSON : Sometimes you would pick up the telephone , and the other party was talking . I believe they had different rings . I think maybe the other party had one ring , and we had two . There were four - party lines , but if we were on a four - party line , only the other one was active . I think maybe we were . The other two lines were not being used . MR . HUNNICUTT : When you are raising your family , did you hang your clothes outside on the clothesline ? Did you have a dryer ? What did you use ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I hung them outside on the clothesline . As I said , when we moved here , Anne was a year old . Not much more than three years after that , we had three babies . I was able to talk my husband into getting a dryer that time . Before that , he had built a pulley out of my kitchen window . There was a drop off in the back , and he was able to string it to a tree in the woods . I was able to reel those cloth diapers and reel them in and out . The only problem was that the birds like the trees , too . Sometimes I had to do some re - washing . MR . HUNNICUTT : So in those days you use cloth diapers ? Today we use disposable diapers . How do you think you would 've done if you had disposable diapers ? MRS . DAVIDSON : At one point , when our children were out playing Kick the Can , there were over 40 children on the lane . There were about 20 or 21 houses . There were almost as many dogs . It was just a glorious place for them to grow up . They seem to get along remarkably well most of the time , especially in the early days . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes . We went down there on the opening , and got the radioactive dimes on that occasion . The museum at that time was down at Jefferson Circle . I don 't think any of us ever had our hair stand out on the Van De Graff generator or whatever it was , but we took the children . We went out ourselves . Of course my husband was interested in that kind of thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : Sometimes they walked to Jefferson , but by that time they were carrying pretty heavy books . One of the neighbors on Outer Drive wanted to have a carpool , so we joined that . MRS . DAVIDSON : When Anne was in the fifth grade , they had to write what they did on Friday nights . The teacher would call me and say , " Is it true that you gave your children ice water and watched TV on Friday nights ? " That was how generous we were with them . We didn 't get a TV until they were probably five or six years old . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course it was black and white . The reason we got it - I guess finally it was that the children were always going to the neighbors ' house to watch TV . We decided that we should get our own . They watched things like " Pinky Lee " and I 've forgotten what else . MRS . DAVIDSON : I remember that fondly because my first real date with my husband was going to dinner there with him . He invited me to go to a concert in Knoxville , and his excuse was that we should get to know each other better before he took me to the city with him . That was one thing . I remember there were parties there , and our company had a party at the Oak Terrace Ballroom . One of the NEPA fellows wore a Tarzan costume , which was mostly nothing . It turned out that he lived in the neighborhood . MRS . DAVIDSON : That was just below the dormitory where I lived in Columbia Hall . Jack went there looking for me , he thought I would eat breakfast there and then he could have breakfast with me ; but I ate in the dormitory . He didn 't find me there . When we came back from our bicycle ride to Concord Park , I remember we stopped by there , and he drank two or three Mountain Dew drinks . That surprised me , but we had worked off a lot of sweat . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , we took our children out there and saw " Lawrence of Arabia " and " The 10 Commandment " and those things . It was quite nice . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was about where Kroger 's - where that is now , on the southeast part of Illinois Avenue . It was a nice thing . That was a special treat for the children to go out there . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't think so . I think they were mostly in the car . They had a drawing one time , Jack won something . It was actually nothing , but he did win . MRS . DAVIDSON : I sure did . My three children were born there . It was a green structure , like so many of the buildings in Oak Ridge . I guess the present building is built on that place . It was okay . I didn 't have any problems with it , except after my second child . I had a staph infection from the hospital . Even an Army wife with a private room got an infection there . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , I think they also had been recruited ; and a lot of them were from Tulane University . The time I was sick with my infection , they were having a reunion at Tulane , and my doctor and another one were gone for the reunion . I didn 't like the one who took care of me . He didn 't do a good job . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was okay . I don 't remember having any problems with it . We knew Dr . Rogers from our church , and we went to him . He was called away to the service , I believe . Maybe it was the Korean War , but then he came back . MRS . DAVIDSON : We met at Pine Valley School . The choir sat on the bleachers , and the minister sat under the halo of the basketball net . My husband was a Methodist , and he went to the First Methodist Church . They had a big youth group there . When we were first married , we tried to take them both in . We went to Sunday school one place , and church another until we finally settled on the Presbyterian . It was smaller , and we knew more people . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course the people . I love my trees and my house . I love all the activities . Both my husband and I have always loved music and enjoy the concerts a lot . The symphony concerts with Waldo Cohn conducting were held at Jefferson Junior High on the Kentucky Avenue hill . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you think back about all the people that you knew in the early days ? Do you think it was unusual for everybody to get along - the many people that were here ? MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , I guess so . I didn 't think about it because we just did . It was just fun . Everybody was away from home , and we had to be family for each other . That was particularly true in this close neighborhood . MRS . DAVIDSON : I 'm pleased for the most part . I think we 've made good progress . We 've kept up with the outside world . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think we came through at the very best of times . It was not the pressure of war , but we were growing community . I think things were happening at the Lab . Both of my husband and I loved the Lab because there were so many good things going on out there . It gives us hope for the future . [ Editor 's Note : This transcript has been edited at Mrs . Davidson 's request . The corresponding audio and video components have remained unchanged . ] Click tabs to swap between content that is broken into logical sections . MR . HUNNICUTT : This interview is for the Center of Oak Ridge Oral History . The date is November 8 , 2012 . I am Don Hunnicutt in the home of Mrs . Mary Ann Davidson , 117 Orange Lane , Oak Ridge , Tennessee , to take her oral history about living in Oak Ridge , Tennessee . Please state your full name and your place of birth and your date of birth . MRS . DAVIDSON : My name is Mary Ann Davidson . My date of birth is January 12 , 1925 . I was born in Louisville , Kentucky . I lived there all my early life until I graduated from college . MRS . DAVIDSON : My father was William H . Courtenay . He was born in 1890 , on March 3 . He was in World War I and lived his entire life in Louisville and Shelbyville , Kentucky . He worked for the Mengel Company . They imported mahogany and hardwood from Africa and Central America . He delivered those to customers . He didn 't consider himself a salesman , but he sold them to the furniture factory - furniture makers around Kentucky , mostly Indiana and Cincinnati and some in Tennessee . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , he did not . The Louisville Male High School was considered a fine school at that time . They said that graduates could enter Harvard in their second year . The principal had written textbooks that were apparently used all over . But my father was interested in raising ponies . His father had a farm in Shelbyville , Kentucky . If you 'd didn 't make the grade , you are special . And Dr . Ruben Post - Halleck , the famous principal of the school , told him if he took an exam in math , he could be entered back in . He did that , and he aced the test . He was back in . Then he was a special in English , so they told him if he memorized the " Lady of the Lake " and said that he could get back in school . So he did that . I think he never did finish . He was a twin , and his twin was more of an engineering type and went to manual training high school . MR . HUNNICUTT : What about your mother 's school history ? MRS . DAVIDSON : She grew up in several small towns in western Kentucky . Her father worked for the L & N Railroad . She had her high school in Hopkinsville , Kentucky . She had to stay home - or she went to junior college nearby . She had a scholarship to Randolph Macon Women 's College , but she couldn 't take it because her mother was ill and died at age 50 . It was about the year I was born , I think . MRS . DAVIDSON : His name was William Howard Courtenay III . My father was named for his uncle , who was also William Howard . My older brother works for Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green in the physics department . He made instruments . My younger brother was a pediatrician in Louisville , and he is still living on a farm in Shelbyville . He 's interested in Kentucky antiques . MR . HUNNICUTT : Yes . MRS . DAVIDSON : I went to an unusual kindergarten and first grade . I was at what they called the Enterprise Branch of I . N . Bloom School . It was only kindergarten and first grade . It was in the older building , where we had a Pot Belly Stove . I think we had a maid to help us take our leggings off in the cold weather - galoshes . It was really a wonderful school . It was almost like a private one . It was public . We did things like making butter and we had an orchestra . I played the triangle . I had started a little bit earlier when my younger brother was born . Louisville had half semester , half - year grades . I would 've been a half year , but I skipped the last half of kindergarten . I went to the school board and took a test and went on , so they put me in the regular school year . I went through the big school the I . N . Bloom School and Highland Junior High School in Louisville . Then I went to Atherton High School for Girls . The Louisville public schools were segregated - boys and girls . There were about 900 girls at Atherton . My graduating class was about 200 , and I was the valedictorian . MRS . DAVIDSON : They are pants to keep your legs warm . They zipped up from the inside of the ankle bone up to about knee - high , I guess it was . They were a royal pain to take on and off , so the teacher had to have help to do that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was just ordinary . I 'm sure the girls wore dresses , and the little boys wore suits - not suits , but pants and shirts . MRS . DAVIDSON : I came to Oak Ridge after I graduated from college . I had two years of getting a master 's at Emory while I worked at my alma mater , Agnes Scott College in Decatur , Georgia . I was the chemistry lab instructor . So after those two years were up , I was interested in working in chemistry or biochemistry . My master 's was in biochemistry . In Louisville , there was nothing in that field , except liquor and paint - neither of which I was interested in . In Atlanta , I would like to stay in Atlanta , I heard that Oak Ridge was an interesting new place , and a lot was going on here . One of my dear college friends had recently married a physicist from the University of Kentucky , so I visited them here . I guess that must have been 1947 . Her husband was working at NEPA . He said they were looking for people with a chemistry degree . I applied , and I was accepted . I didn 't know that until I had completed the clearance , so I took the opportunity to go to Europe at an American youth hostel bicycle tour of Western Europe in the summer of 1948 . When I got home , I found that I had indeed gotten the job at Oak Ridge . So I came down here . MRS . DAVIDSON : I was wondering that . I think I came by train . When I interviewed earlier in the spring , my interview was at the Andrew Johnson Hotel . It was one of the private rooms . I had never seen the company here . I think I must have been met by a car and driver and brought to Oak Ridge . MRS . DAVIDSON : I came in through the Vermont Gateway , which is where the gas station is now on the corner of what I call Vermont . They call it North Rutgers now . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , I think it must 've been after that . That would 've been at Christmas time . When I applied , I imagine it was early spring . MRS . DAVIDSON : We called the company NEPA , for Nuclear Energy for the Propulsion of Aircraft . It was managed by the Fairchild Corporation the way Union Carbide or one of the other contractors managed the lab . I did not know until the first day I went to work just what the company was doing . They handed me a volume of information that said , " We are looking for - we are trying to make an airplane powered by nuclear energy that could fly to Russia and back without refueling . " That was a great shock to me . MRS . DAVIDSON : I lived in Columbia Hall Dormitory . I was very surprised to find that the rent was $ 15 a month until I realized it was one very small room . That was my living quarters . I took the opportunity to stay out of it as much as possible . I did that by babysitting in some of the B and D houses in the evening . Grandmothers were not here since it was a closed community . Babysitters were in short supply , and even though I didn 't need the money , it was good to get out of the dormitory . MRS . DAVIDSON : The dormitory was like Cheyenne Hall . It was the same type of building . It had wooden stairways from the second - floor hall down on each end . I lived on the second floor . Our dormitory was mostly nurses , since it was up on the hill next to the hospital - I think where the west parking lot is now . There was a kitchen on each end where we could have our own breakfast . Of course we were at the plant at lunchtime , and then we usually went out to supper . I opened the refrigerator door one morning and somebody 's milk came spilling out down my front . Everybody just stuffed things into the refrigerator . MRS . DAVIDSON : I had a single room with a twin bed and enough room to walk to the window by the bed . There was a little table that served as a desk with a chair . There was a much coveted dormitory dresser - a tall one with a number of drawers . They were very popular . MRS . DAVIDSON : They had a wonderful bus service here . Travel wasn 't really a problem . We walked , of course , from the dormitory to Jackson Square and ate supper usually at the Mayflower , which is where I first saw my husband - to - be . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was on the corner of Tennessee , right across from the Soup Kitchen and the Texaco gas station there on the northeast corner . It was a very popular place . In fact , there were several places you could eat . It was the Central Cafeteria , and the T & C Cafeteria in Jackson Square , which is about where the Epicurean is now toward the garden . MRS . DAVIDSON : It must 've been the A & P on Jackson Square . Jackson Square was really the center of activity as far as I was concerned at that time . I still love it . I hope it keeps going . MRS . DAVIDSON : The department stores - the big department store was Taylor 's at the time . They had a wonderful book department headed by Mrs . Keyes , whose daughter I knew at work . They had really fine art books and other books that they would have a great sale on once or twice a year . We were very happy with that . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was in the middle of the block between where Big Ed 's is in the corner . I guess it 's mostly used by the engineering company now . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , not frequently , but I went and saw - there was a theater down at Big Ed 's in Jackson Square and where the Playhouse is now . That was the main one . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , the jewelry store was on the corner that was Henebree 's , I think . No , that was Heneger 's . MR . HUNNICUTT : Henebree ? MRS . DAVIDSON : Henebree . McCrory 's 5 & 10 was there . There was a drugstore - a Service Drugstore . I guess that was where Big Ed 's is now , on the very corner . There was Jackson Square Pharmacy , and on the other side the Hamilton Bank was there next to the movie theater . And Samuel 's Men 's Store was a very nice store . The Jackson Square Pharmacy was there , but in between , which the Pharmacy later took over was a Kay 's Ice Cream Store . We used to go there and - my husband and I would when we were dating . I liked to get coffee with ice cream in it , so we went there . MR . HUNNICUTT : I believe that was Taff Moody Ice Cream - they served Kay 's Ice Cream . MRS . DAVIDSON : Was it ? I didn 't remember that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I can 't say that I do . It was just a given , I suppose . It didn 't make a big dent in my memory . After six months of the dormitory , I moved to a D house on Norman Lane . That was another era . MR . HUNNICUTT : What is a D house ? MRS . DAVIDSON : A D house was a large three bedroom house . They were very much desired . They were really nice houses - still a lot of them are . The house was - there were five other girls who lived there - two of whom had been college friends . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , it would 've been upstairs . It was the second one to the end . A radiation technologist lived on the corner , and I lived there with school teachers and nurses who made up most of the dorm . MR . HUNNICUTT : Let 's talk a little bit about the dorm again . If I had a message for you or someone left a message for you , how did you retrieve your messages ? Was there a desk when you went in ? MRS . DAVIDSON : There was a desk downstairs . I remember the Valentine 's Day - I guess it must 've been 1949 . The message was that I had some flowers , some red roses . I had just met my husband - to - be at that time . I got all excited , and when I got to the desk , it was from somebody else . I enjoyed the red roses , but not as much as I might have . The thing was that there were ladies - a lot of the women who lived in the dorm worked on the night shift . They would sit around a large kind of living room , I guess they called it . They were all staring when I got flowers . I had to walk around , and it was embarrassing . MRS . DAVIDSON : I was there in the winter of 1948 . I 'm very cold natured , but I don 't remember being cold . We had those heavy navy blanket - navy blue blankets . This brings up a story if I jump to it later on . We were moved from the D house after another six months into the brand - new Garden Apartments on Villanova Road . They needed our D house for families . The people who moved in were the Andersons of the Anderson Hilltop Grocery . Of course , the furniture all belonged to the government there . So the Garden Apartments were not furnished , so we had dwindled down from 6 to 4 people who needed furniture . I took a day off and went to an auction the government set up down at the warehouses . I got seven beds and three or four dressers - much more than I could have used . But the beds were in great demand at work because all the young men who worked there were having children and needed beds . So we took the four . Also I got two sofas , and we could use but one ; so I sold one . They were really shabby awful sofas . Since it was all going to surplus anyway , we switched and took the nice sofa from the D house and left them the bad one . It was all taken away anyhow , so I didn 't feel too bad about that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't really remember about the telephone . We didn 't use the telephone much . We never used it for long - distance except for emergencies and calls home . I don 't remember that as being a problem particularly . MRS . DAVIDSON : I suppose I went on the bus . I did not have a car . One of the housemates from Norman Lane had gotten the car , but she would 've been at work at K - 25 . I don 't know . I may have gotten a ride . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess I paid somebody to deliver it . I don 't know . Maybe some of the fellows at work picked up their beds that they wanted . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was one of those warehouses down at the [ Oak Ridge ] Turnpike on Warehouse Road . I don 't know exactly where it was . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess it was on the bulletin boards at work , or there was a newspaper at the Lab . I guess I heard about it that way . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think probably so - in the newsletters they came around , also at the recreation building - the rec hall - at Jackson Square that was the library upstairs and the rec hall downstairs . Word - of - mouth - I don 't remember . We had a need and found the answer to it . MRS . DAVIDSON : I had to punch a clock at eight in the morning when I first started . I guess we got out at 4 : 30 or 5 o ' clock . We had bus service that went from the bus terminal - the Central one - that 's now by Bus Terminal Road . Later on after we were married , we lived on Waddell Circle and went from there to the Jefferson bus terminal . I went - I rode on the K - 25 bus , and they went out past K - 25 to the road that the powerhouse was on and NEPA was beyond that out by the river . MRS . DAVIDSON : There was some kind of management services office . I 'm not sure what it was called - the Roane Anderson Corporation at that time , I guess . I think that 's where I rented the dormitory room . I probably got bus tokens - I guess I got the tokens of the bus terminal . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think I had a checking account probably at Hamilton Bank in Jackson Square . I don 't recall otherwise . I know I did later . One thing I wanted to say about the buses - if you wanted to go to Clinton to do any shopping , more than what you could have in Oak Ridge or to meet somebody or something , there was a bus that ran frequently back and forth between the bus terminal and Clinton . There was a young man on the bus who had a sing - songy sales pitch for " peanuts , popcorn , Cracker Jacks , candy , and chewing gum . " He wouldn 't drive , but he would sell his wares all the way to Clinton and back . I always wondered who that was because he obviously had some talent . MRS . DAVIDSON : I 'm sure I did . I don 't know what became of it . I guess I had to turn it back in . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think somebody just got - one of the guards got on the bus and checked everybody 's badges . It was not a big thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : Probably . I don 't remember . What I do remember about that was my mother was coming down one time for my birthday - it must 've been in January 1949 . She rode the train . I told her that I would get a ride to meet her . Of course , the train didn 't stop at Oak Ridge . It went on to Knoxville , so I bummed a ride with one of the men in our group . He was actually the technical assistant to the director . His car was a broken down old thing with no floorboards in the back seat , which was pretty bad when my mother saw it . But she didn 't see it because when we got to Knoxville , she was not there . When we were coming back from the gateway entrance , she was not there . There was a message that she was waiting for us at the Elza Gate Station . She had told the conductor she had to get off at Oak Ridge . That 's where she was going , and I was going to meet her . So she slid down the Elza bank over there . She had my birthday cake - a large chocolate cake . She slid downhill with that , and somehow they stopped her at the guard gate at Elza . She waited there for us . MRS . DAVIDSON : Just for her - let her off like a milk train . They ordinarily didn 't stop there , but she wouldn 't have it otherwise . MRS . DAVIDSON : I used the library and rec hall . On Sunday afternoons , they played music ; and you could sit and write letters home , which is what I think I did a good bit . Later on in the better weather , there were tennis courts and a swimming pool . I don 't remember going to movies much . We went to church groups . There were so many young people ; it was just like a party all the time . Nothing in particular stands out . It was just fun . MRS . DAVIDSON : In the company I was , that was not true . There were a lot of women of course - of course , the dormitory was full of school teachers and nurses . But NEPA was mostly men . There were two parts to the Fairchild - the science and engineering part , which was bigger . I happen to be in the research part . My boss was a chemist - Vince Calkins . It was my job to - this was a real shocker to me - to find a chemical that would protect the human body against radiation for the reactor that was supposed to be in the airplane to Russia . I had no background for that kind of thing . I was just fresh out of college really . I realized I was out of my depth , but they decided - he was a pharmacist , I believe , and he wanted to do experiments with rats . They brought in the rat colony . By that time we had a couple of assistants , and I was supposed to be the group leader . One of the men , Ray Waldrop - you may have talked to him . I asked him if he minded working for a woman because he was really more experienced than I , although I had the degree . It was fine with him . There was also another worker , Saul Segal , who was quite a character in his own right . I took the rats in the cages over to the reactor , the " Old Lady " at X - 10 , and put them through what they called " rabbits " and radiated them for certain amount of time . We couldn 't kill the darn things . Then we used the older ones that had already been radiated , they were just tough as anything . I think the experiment was really a failure , although they may have found that to be the case in some later work with older people - that the cells are not dividing as fast and they 're not as subject to radiation . But we didn 't get into that . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was actually not K - 25 . It was beyond there . As I said , the bus took us - the bus dumped people off at K - 25 , and they went on west to just before you get to the Gallaher Bridge . You turn right there and go right past the power station there . It was used for a long time - the power house , and then NEPA was beyond that . The native rats came in - was it domestic experimental rats ? That was not good . I had a janitor who helped me , even though he could 've lost his job for doing it . He helped me clean cages . I always appreciated that . MRS . DAVIDSON : When they got rid of the rats , which was a blessing , my group leader then became Bill Browning , who was a fine scientist . He worked on the Van de Graaff generator . We had an interesting argument . Saul Segal thought he should be the one to do it since he was a man and I was a woman who would be leaving soon ; and it turned out that he left for California before I had left to have my baby . His argument didn 't hold with me anyway , but we argued about that some . We did run the Van de Graaff , and we also did some experiments on metallic sodium . It was nasty stuff to work with . It caught on fire if it was exposed to air . You had to work with that under oil in the glove box . I think that work all had to be repeated after NEPA left for Cincinnati with G . E . . When they moved part of NEPA to X - 10 , they called it the ANP , or something about aircraft and nuclear power . I was not connected with that because my first baby was born in August 1951 . I left in July . MRS . DAVIDSON : I heard somebody say that they had to repeat it all . My boss , the Division Director of Chemistry was interested in vitamin E , and thought it had a lot of protective influence . We worked with that . That was some of the work I did in chemistry - the lab part of it in the early days . It was not good work , I think . I 'm not blaming myself , but some of the other men who were doing chemical work - I think altogether we didn 't come up with anything . MRS . DAVIDSON : It may have been ahead of it 's time for nuclear submarines . I don 't know whether the engineering people thought that or not . In our group which was the chemistry and the physics , my friend who got me the job was Jim Trice . A fellow named Art Miller and somebody named Coneybearwere in the Physics Division . And then there were some others - Fred Maienschein . I did some work for him one time . It was work on beryllium for one thing . I didn 't work with any of the active beryllium . I didn 't do any lab work then , but I did some journal research . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't think they were that far along . I 'm not sure what happened to that part of it . As I said , in July of 1951 they moved to Cincinnati , Evensville , above Cincinnati . I don 't know how many people actually went up there . Most of my friends moved elsewhere . MR . HUNNICUTT : You mentioned the location of the operation was past the steam plant that was on the Clinch River . Was that the same location where the S - 50 project was located ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I think that was the name of our plot of land . I think those - I never was quite sure how they got the designations , but that was the Fairchild domain , I think . MRS . DAVIDSON : Really , it was just when our eyes met . It was very romantic . He followed our group home to the Columbia Hall to see where I lived . But at the time I thought he was too young , and I didn 't think he was following me . I was with a group of other girls . Later on , one of the women in the dormitory , who was a gym teacher in the Oak Ridge schools , told me I really ought to meet Jack Davidson that he loved to ride bicycles ; I was just back from my bicycle trip in Europe . I didn 't know who he was , and then I went to a church group meeting at my Presbyterian Church for young people one Sunday evening . A friend of mine had brought Jack Davidson , and he was the one whose eyes I had met and he had met mine . Sure enough , he loved to ride bicycles . That was the start of a good thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : We did a little bit . On our dates , that 's really what we did mostly at first . We rode out to West Outer Drive and had those wonderful big hills , not too much traffic at that time . We went out to the water tower at the top of Louisiana and had a picnic , and then rode back . When we got really good , we rode our bicycles over to Concord Park one day . I had gotten some chicken breasts at the grocery . I guess it was the A & P at Jackson Square . I was going to fry them for a picnic to take along over to Concord Park . When I went to the refrigerator to get them , they had turned into wings . Somebody had eaten my chicken breast . Jack was a good sport about that . He didn 't care . We had a nice ride . It was before they had improved Lovell Road . It was a pretty rough ride over there , but we were able to enjoy it . MRS . DAVIDSON : He had his bicycle . It was probably a Grey Stone . For me , he rented a bicycle from his work friend . I had forgotten what his name was . We went over to one of the D Streets , I think , and rode them . I didn 't have my English 3 - speed here . I guess I brought it later , but at that time I didn 't have it . MRS . DAVIDSON : That was a problem . I complained to my friend Jim Trice 's wife , Dot , who happened to live around the corner on Outer Drive at that time . She said the boardwalk was used a lot for dating , and of course the theaters . I guess we were outdoors people . I don 't know . MRS . DAVIDSON : He was a graduate of Georgia Tech . At the time he graduated , he was very young . He came up to see about a job , and he was drafted . No , he was in danger of being drafted right away , but they didn 't hire him . He did go to work for NASA , which was at that time NACA , in Virginia ; and worked over there a short time before he was taken into the Army . He had gone through Georgia Tech on a " War Manpower " loan . He was sent to some place to be an MP , I think . He wrote a night letter , which is a 50 - word telegram that was cheaper at night . He wrote a night letter to Stimson , the Secretary of War , telling them they had paid for his college education ; and here he was sitting in a camp doing nothing down in Alabama . He was transferred to the SED , he would never say that was the reason he was transferred . It may or may not have been . He arrived with the SED - he arrived in Oak Ridge the day Roosevelt died , which was in April 1945 , he was here with his group for maybe six weeks before they went out to Los Alamos . So he spent the rest of the war out there . Then he used his G . I . Bill - he stayed on at Los Alamos . They told them they would let him out of the Army if he would agree to stay on as a civilian . So he took that . Then when he did leave , he went to Annapolis and took a liberal arts course because he felt that he had missed out on it at Georgia Tech . He had a year at St . John 's College of Annapolis ; and then all along I guess he thought he would like to come back here . He came back - he arrived on Armistice Day , now Veterans Day , of 1948 . I was here a couple of months before he came , but we met shortly after Christmas in 1949 . MRS . DAVIDSON : Too long . We were married in May 1950 . He wanted to pay off his loan before we could get married , so I helped him along with that . I fed him some . He was very welcome at the D House of girls . I was going to tell you that during the war , there were nine girls in the house , and they slept on shifts on the bunk beds . There were only six of us when I was there . There were a couple of the boyfriends around , and one of them cut the grass . I think Jack did the - empty the clinkers from the furnace , the coal furnace . They made themselves useful . They got their dinner . MR . HUNNICUTT : Tell me about the coal furnace briefly . MRS . DAVIDSON : Most of the houses were a very good design really , and a whole lot better built than we gave them credit for . But each one that I knew of had a corner set off or closed off as a coal storage place that could be filled through a window from the outside , and then you could use the - there was an opening on the inside that you could use to put coal into the furnace . That was awful of course , but that 's what all the houses were doing in that time , too . We had a yard full of clinkers over there . MRS . DAVIDSON : We were taken care of by a Big Brother - the government . They brought the coal around , and you didn 't do a thing . That was part of the rent . When we got our house here on Orange Lane , that 's another story . Are you ready for that yet ? MRS . DAVIDSON : We went back to my home in Louisville , Kentucky , to be married . We had planned to fly to Nashville , but it turned out the Delta Queen was coming through Louisville the next morning . My mother had told us we could not get married the week before because it was too busy with Derby Day . So we delayed until May 13 . Then we spent the night in Louisville at the Brown Hotel , where she pulled some strings to get us a room because it was still very full of visitors from the Derby . We got on the Delta Queen , and our friends were all on the dock to see us off . They had us almost convinced that we were on Daylight Saving Time , and the Delta Queen was not , and we had missed it . But we rode down just as far as Paducah . We were anxious to start in life you know . We lived on Wadell Circle in a K apartment . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you recall the number ? MRS . DAVIDSON : It was a two - story thing . I guess it was a two - bedroom up above , and we had K - 1 . It was sort of underground at the front and open at the back . We had a nice back porch . There was a closet under the stairway and a very small kitchen . It had a table that folded down . It was not as compact as a flattop , but the furnishings that they had did double duty . You could fold it up and have more room . MRS . DAVIDSON : The K apartment was heated with the coal furnace , but there was a janitor who came around and took care of it for us . We were taken care of by Roane Anderson . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you remember what the rent was ? MRS . DAVIDSON : We lived in the K from May 1950 , until we got this house in July 1952 . It was said - the word around town was that you couldn 't get a two - bedroom house unless you had three children , all of different sex . We had been on the list for this house ever since we knew our daughter was coming along . That was a long time to wait . We had been offered two houses - Florida Avenue , where the parking was across the street and the backyard just dropped off . We thought that was totally unsuitable for a new child . We turned both of those down . If we had turned this one down , we would 've gone to the bottom of the long list . But we loved this place of the trees and the dead end lane neighborhood . So we sat outside in front all weekend because we were not top on the list . The reason the other people didn 't take it was that the previous owner , Jim Cox and Charlotte , had put in an oil furnace ; and nobody wanted to pay $ 200 for the oil furnace . Since I had been working , we had saved my salary from work , and we had $ 200 to pay . Also , they didn 't want to be in the high rent district . This house rented for something like $ 45 instead of $ 43 in the lower rent districts . MRS . DAVIDSON : The Oak Ridge cemesto houses that were built - I think this house was built in the fall of 1944 or 1943 . Maybe it was ' 43 . The B house has two bedrooms and of course a bath and a kitchen with a dinette into a long narrow living room . It was about 24 feet by 40 something feet . It was small and convenient . It didn 't have much storage space , but it 's been a wonderful house for us because of the trees . We are on a greenbelt , and I enjoy that very much . It 's a nice private neighborhood just above Jackson Square . MRS . DAVIDSON : Our cemesto has a fireplace , and it had a complete brick wall . Some of the B houses had a brick wall just beyond the fireplace . MRS . DAVIDSON : There are hardwood floors in all the cemestos , I believe . Our house has maple flooring , and a lot of them had oak . Wood was hard to come by in the wartime . We love the color - the reddish color of the maple . MRS . DAVIDSON : Adele is our second daughter , and she was two years younger . Our son is Bill Davidson or William . He was born in November of 1954 . He 's just now turning 58 . MR . HUNNICUTT : So your first daughter went to Cedar Hill ? MRS . DAVIDSON : All three of our children went to Cedar Hill . They had split grades there , so I think the classes were one half size . They would take the kids a half from one grade , and half from the next grade , and that worked out just fine . MRS . DAVIDSON : Cedar Hill was wonderful . It was very special . Mr . Dodd was the principal , and he saw to it - he had the best teachers or at least as good as any . Actually in those days all the teachers and Oak Ridge were special because many of them had been recruited from Columbia Teachers College , along with the superintendent . Others were specially recruited for the job . They were a group a part , I think , from a lot of teachers . MRS . DAVIDSON : The girls both went to Jefferson when it was on the hill at Jackson Square , and Bill was in the first year at the new Jefferson that was over on Fairbanks Road . His was the first class there . They all went through Oak Ridge High . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you recall some of the classes your daughters took while they were in junior high ? Was there Home Ec . or things related to girls ? MRS . DAVIDSON : No , they were on the college prep track . They took eighth grade algebra and that kind of thing . Of course English and math and social studies and science - our older girl I think took biology ; and I 'm not sure if Adele had a more general science course . It just depended on the teacher that they had . They had an excellent education , and the girls were both Merit semifinalists . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course . I was in the PTA . I 'm not sure if I was ever a room mother , but I of course helped with parties and things . MRS . DAVIDSON : The teachers recruited them from each class to help with parties mostly . They helped with any activities that they didn 't really have time to do . MRS . DAVIDSON : Parent - Teacher Association , a time honored group . It got extra things for the school . I got involved with raincoats for the school patrol . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess maybe I was a treasurer of the Cedar Hill PTA , and this goal was to get those yellow slicker raincoat so kids could be visible to the drivers . I found out how much the things cost , and then I estimated postage . At the PTA meeting , Alvin Weinberg was president . He had a son or two in school at the time . He took me to task for estimating the postage , so I had to ask for just the money for the coats themselves since I didn 't really know what the postage is going to be . I thought that was interesting that he wanted to keep it to the exact penny . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think they just wore what the other kids wore . One day we had a deep snow and Bill was in kindergarten , and the snow was up over their boots . I think he had some corduroys . The teacher was making the kids take their pants off and dry them on the radiator , and he wouldn 't do it . I had to go up to the school and take him some fresh pants , some dry clothes . He was very young - just four when he started . MR . HUNNICUTT : Let 's go back a few years . Do you remember 1945 when they dropped the bomb on Japan ? You remember where you were ? And what was your reaction ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I do remember that very clearly because it was the summer after my junior year in college , and I was a camp counselor up in Door County , Wisconsin . There was no electricity at the camp , so we counselors - after we got the kids to bed , went to the state park nearby . This was at Fish Creek , Wisconsin . We would listen to people 's car radios . We knew for about a week that something was happening , but we didn 't know just what . It was very deeply moving when the bomb was dropped , and we thought it would bring an end to the war . Of course , I had friends and a brother on Guam and a cousin was in Europe and others . So that was very deeply moving . I had a book of poetry - my favorite poems at the camp with me . One of my 12 - year - olds picked out a poem - " Once to every man and nation comes a moment to decide " - she read that , and I thought that was very astute of her , a youngster to be able to do that . MRS . DAVIDSON : My husband thought they should have dropped a sample first , but I didn 't feel that way since the first bomb didn 't phase the Japanese . I didn 't think the test one would have either . I was just so glad that the war was over . People could settle down and get into real life again . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think I was in transition from the dormitory to the house , and my husband 's brothers came up from Georgia to witness the opening . So we drove in their car around , and we watched the parade from , I believe , down on the eastern end of the Turnpike down near the warehouses to get out of the traffic . We never could figure out why they invited Marie " The Body " McDonald and [ inaudible ] to ride in the open car for the parade . We couldn 't figure out what they had to do with it , but we did see the burning of the magnesium ribbon . That was exciting . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was only toward town from Elza Gate . I know the central part of town , the Jackson Square area , was very crowded . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think they name the streets for famous cities in the country , and of course the alphabetical designations were very helpful . But Jackson Square , I assume , was named for New Orleans . That 's all I know about it . MRS . DAVIDSON : Sometimes you would pick up the telephone , and the other party was talking . I believe they had different rings . I think maybe the other party had one ring , and we had two . There were four - party lines , but if we were on a four - party line , only the other one was active . I think maybe we were . The other two lines were not being used . MR . HUNNICUTT : When you are raising your family , did you hang your clothes outside on the clothesline ? Did you have a dryer ? What did you use ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I hung them outside on the clothesline . As I said , when we moved here , Anne was a year old . Not much more than three years after that , we had three babies . I was able to talk my husband into getting a dryer that time . Before that , he had built a pulley out of my kitchen window . There was a drop off in the back , and he was able to string it to a tree in the woods . I was able to reel those cloth diapers and reel them in and out . The only problem was that the birds like the trees , too . Sometimes I had to do some re - washing . MR . HUNNICUTT : So in those days you use cloth diapers ? Today we use disposable diapers . How do you think you would 've done if you had disposable diapers ? MRS . DAVIDSON : At one point , when our children were out playing Kick the Can , there were over 40 children on the lane . There were about 20 or 21 houses . There were almost as many dogs . It was just a glorious place for them to grow up . They seem to get along remarkably well most of the time , especially in the early days . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes . We went down there on the opening , and got the radioactive dimes on that occasion . The museum at that time was down at Jefferson Circle . I don 't think any of us ever had our hair stand out on the Van De Graff generator or whatever it was , but we took the children . We went out ourselves . Of course my husband was interested in that kind of thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : Sometimes they walked to Jefferson , but by that time they were carrying pretty heavy books . One of the neighbors on Outer Drive wanted to have a carpool , so we joined that . MRS . DAVIDSON : When Anne was in the fifth grade , they had to write what they did on Friday nights . The teacher would call me and say , " Is it true that you gave your children ice water and watched TV on Friday nights ? " That was how generous we were with them . We didn 't get a TV until they were probably five or six years old . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course it was black and white . The reason we got it - I guess finally it was that the children were always going to the neighbors ' house to watch TV . We decided that we should get our own . They watched things like " Pinky Lee " and I 've forgotten what else . MRS . DAVIDSON : I remember that fondly because my first real date with my husband was going to dinner there with him . He invited me to go to a concert in Knoxville , and his excuse was that we should get to know each other better before he took me to the city with him . That was one thing . I remember there were parties there , and our company had a party at the Oak Terrace Ballroom . One of the NEPA fellows wore a Tarzan costume , which was mostly nothing . It turned out that he lived in the neighborhood . MR . HUNNICUTT : What was the Oak Terrace ballroom - where was it located ? MRS . DAVIDSON : That was just below the dormitory where I lived in Columbia Hall . Jack went there looking for me , he thought I would eat breakfast there and then he could have breakfast with me ; but I ate in the dormitory . He didn 't find me there . When we came back from our bicycle ride to Concord Park , I remember we stopped by there , and he drank two or three Mountain Dew drinks . That surprised me , but we had worked off a lot of sweat . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , we took our children out there and saw " Lawrence of Arabia " and " The 10 Commandment " and those things . It was quite nice . MR . HUNNICUTT : Where was it located ? MRS . DAVIDSON : It was about where Kroger 's - where that is now , on the southeast part of Illinois Avenue . It was a nice thing . That was a special treat for the children to go out there . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't think so . I think they were mostly in the car . They had a drawing one time , Jack won something . It was actually nothing , but he did win . MRS . DAVIDSON : I sure did . My three children were born there . It was a green structure , like so many of the buildings in Oak Ridge . I guess the present building is built on that place . It was okay . I didn 't have any problems with it , except after my second child . I had a staph infection from the hospital . Even an Army wife with a private room got an infection there . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , I think they also had been recruited ; and a lot of them were from Tulane University . The time I was sick with my infection , they were having a reunion at Tulane , and my doctor and another one were gone for the reunion . I didn 't like the one who took care of me . He didn 't do a good job . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was okay . I don 't remember having any problems with it . We knew Dr . Rogers from our church , and we went to him . He was called away to the service , I believe . Maybe it was the Korean War , but then he came back . MRS . DAVIDSON : We met at Pine Valley School . The choir sat on the bleachers , and the minister sat under the halo of the basketball net . My husband was a Methodist , and he went to the First Methodist Church . They had a big youth group there . When we were first married , we tried to take them both in . We went to Sunday school one place , and church another until we finally settled on the Presbyterian . It was smaller , and we knew more people . MR . HUNNICUTT : Thinking back , what do you like best about Oak Ridge ? MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course the people . I love my trees and my house . I love all the activities . Both my husband and I have always loved music and enjoy the concerts a lot . The symphony concerts with Waldo Cohn conducting were held at Jefferson Junior High on the Kentucky Avenue hill . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you think back about all the people that you knew in the early days ? Do you think it was unusual for everybody to get along - the many people that were here ? MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , I guess so . I didn 't think about it because we just did . It was just fun . Everybody was away from home , and we had to be family for each other . That was particularly true in this close neighborhood . MRS . DAVIDSON : I 'm pleased for the most part . I think we 've made good progress . We 've kept up with the outside world . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't know . I 'll probably think of things after you leave . Nothing particular comes to mind . MR . HUNNICUTT : I would like to thank you for your time , and I think this interview will be very helpful for someone in the future to see how you lived in Oak Ridge in the early days . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think we came through at the very best of times . It was not the pressure of war , but we were growing community . I think things were happening at the Lab . Both of my husband and I loved the Lab because there were so many good things going on out there . It gives us hope for the future . MR . HUNNICUTT : I thank you very much for your time . [ Editor 's Note : This transcript has been edited at Mrs . Davidson 's request . The corresponding audio and video components have remained unchanged . ] Your rating was saved . you wish to report :

MR . HUNNICUTT : This interview is for the Center of Oak Ridge Oral History . The date is November 8 , 2012 . I am Don Hunnicutt in the home of Mrs . Mary Ann Davidson , 117 Orange Lane , Oak Ridge , Tennessee , to take her oral history about living in Oak Ridge , Tennessee . Please state your full name and your place of birth and your date of birth . MRS . DAVIDSON : My name is Mary Ann Davidson . My date of birth is January 12 , 1925 . I was born in Louisville , Kentucky . I lived there all my early life until I graduated from college . MRS . DAVIDSON : My father was William H . Courtenay . He was born in 1890 , on March 3 . He was in World War I and lived his entire life in Louisville and Shelbyville , Kentucky . He worked for the Mengel Company . They imported mahogany and hardwood from Africa and Central America . He delivered those to customers . He didn 't consider himself a salesman , but he sold them to the furniture factory - furniture makers around Kentucky , mostly Indiana and Cincinnati and some in Tennessee . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , he did not . The Louisville Male High School was considered a fine school at that time . They said that graduates could enter Harvard in their second year . The principal had written textbooks that were apparently used all over . But my father was interested in raising ponies . His father had a farm in Shelbyville , Kentucky . If you 'd didn 't make the grade , you are special . And Dr . Ruben Post - Halleck , the famous principal of the school , told him if he took an exam in math , he could be entered back in . He did that , and he aced the test . He was back in . Then he was a special in English , so they told him if he memorized the " Lady of the Lake " and said that he could get back in school . So he did that . I think he never did finish . He was a twin , and his twin was more of an engineering type and went to manual training high school . MRS . DAVIDSON : She grew up in several small towns in western Kentucky . Her father worked for the L & N Railroad . She had her high school in Hopkinsville , Kentucky . She had to stay home - or she went to junior college nearby . She had a scholarship to Randolph Macon Women 's College , but she couldn 't take it because her mother was ill and died at age 50 . It was about the year I was born , I think . MRS . DAVIDSON : His name was William Howard Courtenay III . My father was named for his uncle , who was also William Howard . My older brother works for Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green in the physics department . He made instruments . My younger brother was a pediatrician in Louisville , and he is still living on a farm in Shelbyville . He 's interested in Kentucky antiques . MRS . DAVIDSON : I went to an unusual kindergarten and first grade . I was at what they called the Enterprise Branch of I . N . Bloom School . It was only kindergarten and first grade . It was in the older building , where we had a Pot Belly Stove . I think we had a maid to help us take our leggings off in the cold weather - galoshes . It was really a wonderful school . It was almost like a private one . It was public . We did things like making butter and we had an orchestra . I played the triangle . I had started a little bit earlier when my younger brother was born . Louisville had half semester , half - year grades . I would 've been a half year , but I skipped the last half of kindergarten . I went to the school board and took a test and went on , so they put me in the regular school year . I went through the big school the I . N . Bloom School and Highland Junior High School in Louisville . Then I went to Atherton High School for Girls . The Louisville public schools were segregated - boys and girls . There were about 900 girls at Atherton . My graduating class was about 200 , and I was the valedictorian . MRS . DAVIDSON : They are pants to keep your legs warm . They zipped up from the inside of the ankle bone up to about knee - high , I guess it was . They were a royal pain to take on and off , so the teacher had to have help to do that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was just ordinary . I 'm sure the girls wore dresses , and the little boys wore suits - not suits , but pants and shirts . MRS . DAVIDSON : I came to Oak Ridge after I graduated from college . I had two years of getting a master 's at Emory while I worked at my alma mater , Agnes Scott College in Decatur , Georgia . I was the chemistry lab instructor . So after those two years were up , I was interested in working in chemistry or biochemistry . My master 's was in biochemistry . In Louisville , there was nothing in that field , except liquor and paint - neither of which I was interested in . In Atlanta , I would like to stay in Atlanta , I heard that Oak Ridge was an interesting new place , and a lot was going on here . One of my dear college friends had recently married a physicist from the University of Kentucky , so I visited them here . I guess that must have been 1947 . Her husband was working at NEPA . He said they were looking for people with a chemistry degree . I applied , and I was accepted . I didn 't know that until I had completed the clearance , so I took the opportunity to go to Europe at an American youth hostel bicycle tour of Western Europe in the summer of 1948 . When I got home , I found that I had indeed gotten the job at Oak Ridge . So I came down here . MRS . DAVIDSON : I was wondering that . I think I came by train . When I interviewed earlier in the spring , my interview was at the Andrew Johnson Hotel . It was one of the private rooms . I had never seen the company here . I think I must have been met by a car and driver and brought to Oak Ridge . MRS . DAVIDSON : I came in through the Vermont Gateway , which is where the gas station is now on the corner of what I call Vermont . They call it North Rutgers now . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , I think it must 've been after that . That would 've been at Christmas time . When I applied , I imagine it was early spring . MRS . DAVIDSON : We called the company NEPA , for Nuclear Energy for the Propulsion of Aircraft . It was managed by the Fairchild Corporation the way Union Carbide or one of the other contractors managed the lab . I did not know until the first day I went to work just what the company was doing . They handed me a volume of information that said , " We are looking for - we are trying to make an airplane powered by nuclear energy that could fly to Russia and back without refueling . " That was a great shock to me . MRS . DAVIDSON : I lived in Columbia Hall Dormitory . I was very surprised to find that the rent was $ 15 a month until I realized it was one very small room . That was my living quarters . I took the opportunity to stay out of it as much as possible . I did that by babysitting in some of the B and D houses in the evening . Grandmothers were not here since it was a closed community . Babysitters were in short supply , and even though I didn 't need the money , it was good to get out of the dormitory . MRS . DAVIDSON : The dormitory was like Cheyenne Hall . It was the same type of building . It had wooden stairways from the second - floor hall down on each end . I lived on the second floor . Our dormitory was mostly nurses , since it was up on the hill next to the hospital - I think where the west parking lot is now . There was a kitchen on each end where we could have our own breakfast . Of course we were at the plant at lunchtime , and then we usually went out to supper . I opened the refrigerator door one morning and somebody 's milk came spilling out down my front . Everybody just stuffed things into the refrigerator . MRS . DAVIDSON : I had a single room with a twin bed and enough room to walk to the window by the bed . There was a little table that served as a desk with a chair . There was a much coveted dormitory dresser - a tall one with a number of drawers . They were very popular . MRS . DAVIDSON : They had a wonderful bus service here . Travel wasn 't really a problem . We walked , of course , from the dormitory to Jackson Square and ate supper usually at the Mayflower , which is where I first saw my husband - to - be . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was on the corner of Tennessee , right across from the Soup Kitchen and the Texaco gas station there on the northeast corner . It was a very popular place . In fact , there were several places you could eat . It was the Central Cafeteria , and the T & C Cafeteria in Jackson Square , which is about where the Epicurean is now toward the garden . MRS . DAVIDSON : It must 've been the A & P on Jackson Square . Jackson Square was really the center of activity as far as I was concerned at that time . I still love it . I hope it keeps going . MRS . DAVIDSON : The department stores - the big department store was Taylor 's at the time . They had a wonderful book department headed by Mrs . Keyes , whose daughter I knew at work . They had really fine art books and other books that they would have a great sale on once or twice a year . We were very happy with that . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was in the middle of the block between where Big Ed 's is in the corner . I guess it 's mostly used by the engineering company now . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , not frequently , but I went and saw - there was a theater down at Big Ed 's in Jackson Square and where the Playhouse is now . That was the main one . MRS . DAVIDSON : Henebree . McCrory 's 5 & 10 was there . There was a drugstore - a Service Drugstore . I guess that was where Big Ed 's is now , on the very corner . There was Jackson Square Pharmacy , and on the other side the Hamilton Bank was there next to the movie theater . And Samuel 's Men 's Store was a very nice store . The Jackson Square Pharmacy was there , but in between , which the Pharmacy later took over was a Kay 's Ice Cream Store . We used to go there and - my husband and I would when we were dating . I liked to get coffee with ice cream in it , so we went there . MRS . DAVIDSON : I can 't say that I do . It was just a given , I suppose . It didn 't make a big dent in my memory . After six months of the dormitory , I moved to a D house on Norman Lane . That was another era . MRS . DAVIDSON : A D house was a large three bedroom house . They were very much desired . They were really nice houses - still a lot of them are . The house was - there were five other girls who lived there - two of whom had been college friends . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , it would 've been upstairs . It was the second one to the end . A radiation technologist lived on the corner , and I lived there with school teachers and nurses who made up most of the dorm . MR . HUNNICUTT : Let 's talk a little bit about the dorm again . If I had a message for you or someone left a message for you , how did you retrieve your messages ? Was there a desk when you went in ? MRS . DAVIDSON : There was a desk downstairs . I remember the Valentine 's Day - I guess it must 've been 1949 . The message was that I had some flowers , some red roses . I had just met my husband - to - be at that time . I got all excited , and when I got to the desk , it was from somebody else . I enjoyed the red roses , but not as much as I might have . The thing was that there were ladies - a lot of the women who lived in the dorm worked on the night shift . They would sit around a large kind of living room , I guess they called it . They were all staring when I got flowers . I had to walk around , and it was embarrassing . MRS . DAVIDSON : I was there in the winter of 1948 . I 'm very cold natured , but I don 't remember being cold . We had those heavy navy blanket - navy blue blankets . This brings up a story if I jump to it later on . We were moved from the D house after another six months into the brand - new Garden Apartments on Villanova Road . They needed our D house for families . The people who moved in were the Andersons of the Anderson Hilltop Grocery . Of course , the furniture all belonged to the government there . So the Garden Apartments were not furnished , so we had dwindled down from 6 to 4 people who needed furniture . I took a day off and went to an auction the government set up down at the warehouses . I got seven beds and three or four dressers - much more than I could have used . But the beds were in great demand at work because all the young men who worked there were having children and needed beds . So we took the four . Also I got two sofas , and we could use but one ; so I sold one . They were really shabby awful sofas . Since it was all going to surplus anyway , we switched and took the nice sofa from the D house and left them the bad one . It was all taken away anyhow , so I didn 't feel too bad about that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't really remember about the telephone . We didn 't use the telephone much . We never used it for long - distance except for emergencies and calls home . I don 't remember that as being a problem particularly . MRS . DAVIDSON : I suppose I went on the bus . I did not have a car . One of the housemates from Norman Lane had gotten the car , but she would 've been at work at K - 25 . I don 't know . I may have gotten a ride . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess I paid somebody to deliver it . I don 't know . Maybe some of the fellows at work picked up their beds that they wanted . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was one of those warehouses down at the [ Oak Ridge ] Turnpike on Warehouse Road . I don 't know exactly where it was . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess it was on the bulletin boards at work , or there was a newspaper at the Lab . I guess I heard about it that way . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think probably so - in the newsletters they came around , also at the recreation building - the rec hall - at Jackson Square that was the library upstairs and the rec hall downstairs . Word - of - mouth - I don 't remember . We had a need and found the answer to it . MRS . DAVIDSON : I had to punch a clock at eight in the morning when I first started . I guess we got out at 4 : 30 or 5 o ' clock . We had bus service that went from the bus terminal - the Central one - that 's now by Bus Terminal Road . Later on after we were married , we lived on Waddell Circle and went from there to the Jefferson bus terminal . I went - I rode on the K - 25 bus , and they went out past K - 25 to the road that the powerhouse was on and NEPA was beyond that out by the river . MRS . DAVIDSON : There was some kind of management services office . I 'm not sure what it was called - the Roane Anderson Corporation at that time , I guess . I think that 's where I rented the dormitory room . I probably got bus tokens - I guess I got the tokens of the bus terminal . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think I had a checking account probably at Hamilton Bank in Jackson Square . I don 't recall otherwise . I know I did later . One thing I wanted to say about the buses - if you wanted to go to Clinton to do any shopping , more than what you could have in Oak Ridge or to meet somebody or something , there was a bus that ran frequently back and forth between the bus terminal and Clinton . There was a young man on the bus who had a sing - songy sales pitch for " peanuts , popcorn , Cracker Jacks , candy , and chewing gum . " He wouldn 't drive , but he would sell his wares all the way to Clinton and back . I always wondered who that was because he obviously had some talent . MRS . DAVIDSON : I 'm sure I did . I don 't know what became of it . I guess I had to turn it back in . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think somebody just got - one of the guards got on the bus and checked everybody 's badges . It was not a big thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : Probably . I don 't remember . What I do remember about that was my mother was coming down one time for my birthday - it must 've been in January 1949 . She rode the train . I told her that I would get a ride to meet her . Of course , the train didn 't stop at Oak Ridge . It went on to Knoxville , so I bummed a ride with one of the men in our group . He was actually the technical assistant to the director . His car was a broken down old thing with no floorboards in the back seat , which was pretty bad when my mother saw it . But she didn 't see it because when we got to Knoxville , she was not there . When we were coming back from the gateway entrance , she was not there . There was a message that she was waiting for us at the Elza Gate Station . She had told the conductor she had to get off at Oak Ridge . That 's where she was going , and I was going to meet her . So she slid down the Elza bank over there . She had my birthday cake - a large chocolate cake . She slid downhill with that , and somehow they stopped her at the guard gate at Elza . She waited there for us . MRS . DAVIDSON : Just for her - let her off like a milk train . They ordinarily didn 't stop there , but she wouldn 't have it otherwise . MRS . DAVIDSON : I used the library and rec hall . On Sunday afternoons , they played music ; and you could sit and write letters home , which is what I think I did a good bit . Later on in the better weather , there were tennis courts and a swimming pool . I don 't remember going to movies much . We went to church groups . There were so many young people ; it was just like a party all the time . Nothing in particular stands out . It was just fun . MRS . DAVIDSON : In the company I was , that was not true . There were a lot of women of course - of course , the dormitory was full of school teachers and nurses . But NEPA was mostly men . There were two parts to the Fairchild - the science and engineering part , which was bigger . I happen to be in the research part . My boss was a chemist - Vince Calkins . It was my job to - this was a real shocker to me - to find a chemical that would protect the human body against radiation for the reactor that was supposed to be in the airplane to Russia . I had no background for that kind of thing . I was just fresh out of college really . I realized I was out of my depth , but they decided - he was a pharmacist , I believe , and he wanted to do experiments with rats . They brought in the rat colony . By that time we had a couple of assistants , and I was supposed to be the group leader . One of the men , Ray Waldrop - you may have talked to him . I asked him if he minded working for a woman because he was really more experienced than I , although I had the degree . It was fine with him . There was also another worker , Saul Segal , who was quite a character in his own right . I took the rats in the cages over to the reactor , the " Old Lady " at X - 10 , and put them through what they called " rabbits " and radiated them for certain amount of time . We couldn 't kill the darn things . Then we used the older ones that had already been radiated , they were just tough as anything . I think the experiment was really a failure , although they may have found that to be the case in some later work with older people - that the cells are not dividing as fast and they 're not as subject to radiation . But we didn 't get into that . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was actually not K - 25 . It was beyond there . As I said , the bus took us - the bus dumped people off at K - 25 , and they went on west to just before you get to the Gallaher Bridge . You turn right there and go right past the power station there . It was used for a long time - the power house , and then NEPA was beyond that . The native rats came in - was it domestic experimental rats ? That was not good . I had a janitor who helped me , even though he could 've lost his job for doing it . He helped me clean cages . I always appreciated that . MRS . DAVIDSON : When they got rid of the rats , which was a blessing , my group leader then became Bill Browning , who was a fine scientist . He worked on the Van de Graaff generator . We had an interesting argument . Saul Segal thought he should be the one to do it since he was a man and I was a woman who would be leaving soon ; and it turned out that he left for California before I had left to have my baby . His argument didn 't hold with me anyway , but we argued about that some . We did run the Van de Graaff , and we also did some experiments on metallic sodium . It was nasty stuff to work with . It caught on fire if it was exposed to air . You had to work with that under oil in the glove box . I think that work all had to be repeated after NEPA left for Cincinnati with G . E . . When they moved part of NEPA to X - 10 , they called it the ANP , or something about aircraft and nuclear power . I was not connected with that because my first baby was born in August 1951 . I left in July . MRS . DAVIDSON : I heard somebody say that they had to repeat it all . My boss , the Division Director of Chemistry was interested in vitamin E , and thought it had a lot of protective influence . We worked with that . That was some of the work I did in chemistry - the lab part of it in the early days . It was not good work , I think . I 'm not blaming myself , but some of the other men who were doing chemical work - I think altogether we didn 't come up with anything . MRS . DAVIDSON : It may have been ahead of it 's time for nuclear submarines . I don 't know whether the engineering people thought that or not . In our group which was the chemistry and the physics , my friend who got me the job was Jim Trice . A fellow named Art Miller and somebody named Coneybearwere in the Physics Division . And then there were some others - Fred Maienschein . I did some work for him one time . It was work on beryllium for one thing . I didn 't work with any of the active beryllium . I didn 't do any lab work then , but I did some journal research . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't think they were that far along . I 'm not sure what happened to that part of it . As I said , in July of 1951 they moved to Cincinnati , Evensville , above Cincinnati . I don 't know how many people actually went up there . Most of my friends moved elsewhere . MR . HUNNICUTT : You mentioned the location of the operation was past the steam plant that was on the Clinch River . Was that the same location where the S - 50 project was located ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I think that was the name of our plot of land . I think those - I never was quite sure how they got the designations , but that was the Fairchild domain , I think . MRS . DAVIDSON : Really , it was just when our eyes met . It was very romantic . He followed our group home to the Columbia Hall to see where I lived . But at the time I thought he was too young , and I didn 't think he was following me . I was with a group of other girls . Later on , one of the women in the dormitory , who was a gym teacher in the Oak Ridge schools , told me I really ought to meet Jack Davidson that he loved to ride bicycles ; I was just back from my bicycle trip in Europe . I didn 't know who he was , and then I went to a church group meeting at my Presbyterian Church for young people one Sunday evening . A friend of mine had brought Jack Davidson , and he was the one whose eyes I had met and he had met mine . Sure enough , he loved to ride bicycles . That was the start of a good thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : We did a little bit . On our dates , that 's really what we did mostly at first . We rode out to West Outer Drive and had those wonderful big hills , not too much traffic at that time . We went out to the water tower at the top of Louisiana and had a picnic , and then rode back . When we got really good , we rode our bicycles over to Concord Park one day . I had gotten some chicken breasts at the grocery . I guess it was the A & P at Jackson Square . I was going to fry them for a picnic to take along over to Concord Park . When I went to the refrigerator to get them , they had turned into wings . Somebody had eaten my chicken breast . Jack was a good sport about that . He didn 't care . We had a nice ride . It was before they had improved Lovell Road . It was a pretty rough ride over there , but we were able to enjoy it . MRS . DAVIDSON : He had his bicycle . It was probably a Grey Stone . For me , he rented a bicycle from his work friend . I had forgotten what his name was . We went over to one of the D Streets , I think , and rode them . I didn 't have my English 3 - speed here . I guess I brought it later , but at that time I didn 't have it . MRS . DAVIDSON : That was a problem . I complained to my friend Jim Trice 's wife , Dot , who happened to live around the corner on Outer Drive at that time . She said the boardwalk was used a lot for dating , and of course the theaters . I guess we were outdoors people . I don 't know . MRS . DAVIDSON : He was a graduate of Georgia Tech . At the time he graduated , he was very young . He came up to see about a job , and he was drafted . No , he was in danger of being drafted right away , but they didn 't hire him . He did go to work for NASA , which was at that time NACA , in Virginia ; and worked over there a short time before he was taken into the Army . He had gone through Georgia Tech on a " War Manpower " loan . He was sent to some place to be an MP , I think . He wrote a night letter , which is a 50 - word telegram that was cheaper at night . He wrote a night letter to Stimson , the Secretary of War , telling them they had paid for his college education ; and here he was sitting in a camp doing nothing down in Alabama . He was transferred to the SED , he would never say that was the reason he was transferred . It may or may not have been . He arrived with the SED - he arrived in Oak Ridge the day Roosevelt died , which was in April 1945 , he was here with his group for maybe six weeks before they went out to Los Alamos . So he spent the rest of the war out there . Then he used his G . I . Bill - he stayed on at Los Alamos . They told them they would let him out of the Army if he would agree to stay on as a civilian . So he took that . Then when he did leave , he went to Annapolis and took a liberal arts course because he felt that he had missed out on it at Georgia Tech . He had a year at St . John 's College of Annapolis ; and then all along I guess he thought he would like to come back here . He came back - he arrived on Armistice Day , now Veterans Day , of 1948 . I was here a couple of months before he came , but we met shortly after Christmas in 1949 . MRS . DAVIDSON : Too long . We were married in May 1950 . He wanted to pay off his loan before we could get married , so I helped him along with that . I fed him some . He was very welcome at the D House of girls . I was going to tell you that during the war , there were nine girls in the house , and they slept on shifts on the bunk beds . There were only six of us when I was there . There were a couple of the boyfriends around , and one of them cut the grass . I think Jack did the - empty the clinkers from the furnace , the coal furnace . They made themselves useful . They got their dinner . MRS . DAVIDSON : Most of the houses were a very good design really , and a whole lot better built than we gave them credit for . But each one that I knew of had a corner set off or closed off as a coal storage place that could be filled through a window from the outside , and then you could use the - there was an opening on the inside that you could use to put coal into the furnace . That was awful of course , but that 's what all the houses were doing in that time , too . We had a yard full of clinkers over there . MRS . DAVIDSON : We were taken care of by a Big Brother - the government . They brought the coal around , and you didn 't do a thing . That was part of the rent . When we got our house here on Orange Lane , that 's another story . Are you ready for that yet ? MRS . DAVIDSON : We went back to my home in Louisville , Kentucky , to be married . We had planned to fly to Nashville , but it turned out the Delta Queen was coming through Louisville the next morning . My mother had told us we could not get married the week before because it was too busy with Derby Day . So we delayed until May 13 . Then we spent the night in Louisville at the Brown Hotel , where she pulled some strings to get us a room because it was still very full of visitors from the Derby . We got on the Delta Queen , and our friends were all on the dock to see us off . They had us almost convinced that we were on Daylight Saving Time , and the Delta Queen was not , and we had missed it . But we rode down just as far as Paducah . We were anxious to start in life you know . We lived on Wadell Circle in a K apartment . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was a two - story thing . I guess it was a two - bedroom up above , and we had K - 1 . It was sort of underground at the front and open at the back . We had a nice back porch . There was a closet under the stairway and a very small kitchen . It had a table that folded down . It was not as compact as a flattop , but the furnishings that they had did double duty . You could fold it up and have more room . MRS . DAVIDSON : The K apartment was heated with the coal furnace , but there was a janitor who came around and took care of it for us . We were taken care of by Roane Anderson . MRS . DAVIDSON : We lived in the K from May 1950 , until we got this house in July 1952 . It was said - the word around town was that you couldn 't get a two - bedroom house unless you had three children , all of different sex . We had been on the list for this house ever since we knew our daughter was coming along . That was a long time to wait . We had been offered two houses - Florida Avenue , where the parking was across the street and the backyard just dropped off . We thought that was totally unsuitable for a new child . We turned both of those down . If we had turned this one down , we would 've gone to the bottom of the long list . But we loved this place of the trees and the dead end lane neighborhood . So we sat outside in front all weekend because we were not top on the list . The reason the other people didn 't take it was that the previous owner , Jim Cox and Charlotte , had put in an oil furnace ; and nobody wanted to pay $ 200 for the oil furnace . Since I had been working , we had saved my salary from work , and we had $ 200 to pay . Also , they didn 't want to be in the high rent district . This house rented for something like $ 45 instead of $ 43 in the lower rent districts . MRS . DAVIDSON : The Oak Ridge cemesto houses that were built - I think this house was built in the fall of 1944 or 1943 . Maybe it was ' 43 . The B house has two bedrooms and of course a bath and a kitchen with a dinette into a long narrow living room . It was about 24 feet by 40 something feet . It was small and convenient . It didn 't have much storage space , but it 's been a wonderful house for us because of the trees . We are on a greenbelt , and I enjoy that very much . It 's a nice private neighborhood just above Jackson Square . MRS . DAVIDSON : Our cemesto has a fireplace , and it had a complete brick wall . Some of the B houses had a brick wall just beyond the fireplace . MRS . DAVIDSON : There are hardwood floors in all the cemestos , I believe . Our house has maple flooring , and a lot of them had oak . Wood was hard to come by in the wartime . We love the color - the reddish color of the maple . MRS . DAVIDSON : Adele is our second daughter , and she was two years younger . Our son is Bill Davidson or William . He was born in November of 1954 . He 's just now turning 58 . MRS . DAVIDSON : All three of our children went to Cedar Hill . They had split grades there , so I think the classes were one half size . They would take the kids a half from one grade , and half from the next grade , and that worked out just fine . MRS . DAVIDSON : Cedar Hill was wonderful . It was very special . Mr . Dodd was the principal , and he saw to it - he had the best teachers or at least as good as any . Actually in those days all the teachers and Oak Ridge were special because many of them had been recruited from Columbia Teachers College , along with the superintendent . Others were specially recruited for the job . They were a group a part , I think , from a lot of teachers . MRS . DAVIDSON : The girls both went to Jefferson when it was on the hill at Jackson Square , and Bill was in the first year at the new Jefferson that was over on Fairbanks Road . His was the first class there . They all went through Oak Ridge High . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you recall some of the classes your daughters took while they were in junior high ? Was there Home Ec . or things related to girls ? MRS . DAVIDSON : No , they were on the college prep track . They took eighth grade algebra and that kind of thing . Of course English and math and social studies and science - our older girl I think took biology ; and I 'm not sure if Adele had a more general science course . It just depended on the teacher that they had . They had an excellent education , and the girls were both Merit semifinalists . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course . I was in the PTA . I 'm not sure if I was ever a room mother , but I of course helped with parties and things . MRS . DAVIDSON : The teachers recruited them from each class to help with parties mostly . They helped with any activities that they didn 't really have time to do . MRS . DAVIDSON : Parent - Teacher Association , a time honored group . It got extra things for the school . I got involved with raincoats for the school patrol . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess maybe I was a treasurer of the Cedar Hill PTA , and this goal was to get those yellow slicker raincoat so kids could be visible to the drivers . I found out how much the things cost , and then I estimated postage . At the PTA meeting , Alvin Weinberg was president . He had a son or two in school at the time . He took me to task for estimating the postage , so I had to ask for just the money for the coats themselves since I didn 't really know what the postage is going to be . I thought that was interesting that he wanted to keep it to the exact penny . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think they just wore what the other kids wore . One day we had a deep snow and Bill was in kindergarten , and the snow was up over their boots . I think he had some corduroys . The teacher was making the kids take their pants off and dry them on the radiator , and he wouldn 't do it . I had to go up to the school and take him some fresh pants , some dry clothes . He was very young - just four when he started . MR . HUNNICUTT : Let 's go back a few years . Do you remember 1945 when they dropped the bomb on Japan ? You remember where you were ? And what was your reaction ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I do remember that very clearly because it was the summer after my junior year in college , and I was a camp counselor up in Door County , Wisconsin . There was no electricity at the camp , so we counselors - after we got the kids to bed , went to the state park nearby . This was at Fish Creek , Wisconsin . We would listen to people 's car radios . We knew for about a week that something was happening , but we didn 't know just what . It was very deeply moving when the bomb was dropped , and we thought it would bring an end to the war . Of course , I had friends and a brother on Guam and a cousin was in Europe and others . So that was very deeply moving . I had a book of poetry - my favorite poems at the camp with me . One of my 12 - year - olds picked out a poem - " Once to every man and nation comes a moment to decide " - she read that , and I thought that was very astute of her , a youngster to be able to do that . MRS . DAVIDSON : My husband thought they should have dropped a sample first , but I didn 't feel that way since the first bomb didn 't phase the Japanese . I didn 't think the test one would have either . I was just so glad that the war was over . People could settle down and get into real life again . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think I was in transition from the dormitory to the house , and my husband 's brothers came up from Georgia to witness the opening . So we drove in their car around , and we watched the parade from , I believe , down on the eastern end of the Turnpike down near the warehouses to get out of the traffic . We never could figure out why they invited Marie " The Body " McDonald and [ inaudible ] to ride in the open car for the parade . We couldn 't figure out what they had to do with it , but we did see the burning of the magnesium ribbon . That was exciting . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was only toward town from Elza Gate . I know the central part of town , the Jackson Square area , was very crowded . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think they name the streets for famous cities in the country , and of course the alphabetical designations were very helpful . But Jackson Square , I assume , was named for New Orleans . That 's all I know about it . MRS . DAVIDSON : Sometimes you would pick up the telephone , and the other party was talking . I believe they had different rings . I think maybe the other party had one ring , and we had two . There were four - party lines , but if we were on a four - party line , only the other one was active . I think maybe we were . The other two lines were not being used . MR . HUNNICUTT : When you are raising your family , did you hang your clothes outside on the clothesline ? Did you have a dryer ? What did you use ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I hung them outside on the clothesline . As I said , when we moved here , Anne was a year old . Not much more than three years after that , we had three babies . I was able to talk my husband into getting a dryer that time . Before that , he had built a pulley out of my kitchen window . There was a drop off in the back , and he was able to string it to a tree in the woods . I was able to reel those cloth diapers and reel them in and out . The only problem was that the birds like the trees , too . Sometimes I had to do some re - washing . MR . HUNNICUTT : So in those days you use cloth diapers ? Today we use disposable diapers . How do you think you would 've done if you had disposable diapers ? MRS . DAVIDSON : At one point , when our children were out playing Kick the Can , there were over 40 children on the lane . There were about 20 or 21 houses . There were almost as many dogs . It was just a glorious place for them to grow up . They seem to get along remarkably well most of the time , especially in the early days . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes . We went down there on the opening , and got the radioactive dimes on that occasion . The museum at that time was down at Jefferson Circle . I don 't think any of us ever had our hair stand out on the Van De Graff generator or whatever it was , but we took the children . We went out ourselves . Of course my husband was interested in that kind of thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : Sometimes they walked to Jefferson , but by that time they were carrying pretty heavy books . One of the neighbors on Outer Drive wanted to have a carpool , so we joined that . MRS . DAVIDSON : When Anne was in the fifth grade , they had to write what they did on Friday nights . The teacher would call me and say , " Is it true that you gave your children ice water and watched TV on Friday nights ? " That was how generous we were with them . We didn 't get a TV until they were probably five or six years old . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course it was black and white . The reason we got it - I guess finally it was that the children were always going to the neighbors ' house to watch TV . We decided that we should get our own . They watched things like " Pinky Lee " and I 've forgotten what else . MRS . DAVIDSON : I remember that fondly because my first real date with my husband was going to dinner there with him . He invited me to go to a concert in Knoxville , and his excuse was that we should get to know each other better before he took me to the city with him . That was one thing . I remember there were parties there , and our company had a party at the Oak Terrace Ballroom . One of the NEPA fellows wore a Tarzan costume , which was mostly nothing . It turned out that he lived in the neighborhood . MRS . DAVIDSON : That was just below the dormitory where I lived in Columbia Hall . Jack went there looking for me , he thought I would eat breakfast there and then he could have breakfast with me ; but I ate in the dormitory . He didn 't find me there . When we came back from our bicycle ride to Concord Park , I remember we stopped by there , and he drank two or three Mountain Dew drinks . That surprised me , but we had worked off a lot of sweat . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , we took our children out there and saw " Lawrence of Arabia " and " The 10 Commandment " and those things . It was quite nice . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was about where Kroger 's - where that is now , on the southeast part of Illinois Avenue . It was a nice thing . That was a special treat for the children to go out there . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't think so . I think they were mostly in the car . They had a drawing one time , Jack won something . It was actually nothing , but he did win . MRS . DAVIDSON : I sure did . My three children were born there . It was a green structure , like so many of the buildings in Oak Ridge . I guess the present building is built on that place . It was okay . I didn 't have any problems with it , except after my second child . I had a staph infection from the hospital . Even an Army wife with a private room got an infection there . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , I think they also had been recruited ; and a lot of them were from Tulane University . The time I was sick with my infection , they were having a reunion at Tulane , and my doctor and another one were gone for the reunion . I didn 't like the one who took care of me . He didn 't do a good job . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was okay . I don 't remember having any problems with it . We knew Dr . Rogers from our church , and we went to him . He was called away to the service , I believe . Maybe it was the Korean War , but then he came back . MRS . DAVIDSON : We met at Pine Valley School . The choir sat on the bleachers , and the minister sat under the halo of the basketball net . My husband was a Methodist , and he went to the First Methodist Church . They had a big youth group there . When we were first married , we tried to take them both in . We went to Sunday school one place , and church another until we finally settled on the Presbyterian . It was smaller , and we knew more people . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course the people . I love my trees and my house . I love all the activities . Both my husband and I have always loved music and enjoy the concerts a lot . The symphony concerts with Waldo Cohn conducting were held at Jefferson Junior High on the Kentucky Avenue hill . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you think back about all the people that you knew in the early days ? Do you think it was unusual for everybody to get along - the many people that were here ? MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , I guess so . I didn 't think about it because we just did . It was just fun . Everybody was away from home , and we had to be family for each other . That was particularly true in this close neighborhood . MRS . DAVIDSON : I 'm pleased for the most part . I think we 've made good progress . We 've kept up with the outside world . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think we came through at the very best of times . It was not the pressure of war , but we were growing community . I think things were happening at the Lab . Both of my husband and I loved the Lab because there were so many good things going on out there . It gives us hope for the future . [ Editor 's Note : This transcript has been edited at Mrs . Davidson 's request . The corresponding audio and video components have remained unchanged . ] Click tabs to swap between content that is broken into logical sections . MR . HUNNICUTT : This interview is for the Center of Oak Ridge Oral History . The date is November 8 , 2012 . I am Don Hunnicutt in the home of Mrs . Mary Ann Davidson , 117 Orange Lane , Oak Ridge , Tennessee , to take her oral history about living in Oak Ridge , Tennessee . Please state your full name and your place of birth and your date of birth . MRS . DAVIDSON : My name is Mary Ann Davidson . My date of birth is January 12 , 1925 . I was born in Louisville , Kentucky . I lived there all my early life until I graduated from college . MRS . DAVIDSON : My father was William H . Courtenay . He was born in 1890 , on March 3 . He was in World War I and lived his entire life in Louisville and Shelbyville , Kentucky . He worked for the Mengel Company . They imported mahogany and hardwood from Africa and Central America . He delivered those to customers . He didn 't consider himself a salesman , but he sold them to the furniture factory - furniture makers around Kentucky , mostly Indiana and Cincinnati and some in Tennessee . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , he did not . The Louisville Male High School was considered a fine school at that time . They said that graduates could enter Harvard in their second year . The principal had written textbooks that were apparently used all over . But my father was interested in raising ponies . His father had a farm in Shelbyville , Kentucky . If you 'd didn 't make the grade , you are special . And Dr . Ruben Post - Halleck , the famous principal of the school , told him if he took an exam in math , he could be entered back in . He did that , and he aced the test . He was back in . Then he was a special in English , so they told him if he memorized the " Lady of the Lake " and said that he could get back in school . So he did that . I think he never did finish . He was a twin , and his twin was more of an engineering type and went to manual training high school . MR . HUNNICUTT : What about your mother 's school history ? MRS . DAVIDSON : She grew up in several small towns in western Kentucky . Her father worked for the L & N Railroad . She had her high school in Hopkinsville , Kentucky . She had to stay home - or she went to junior college nearby . She had a scholarship to Randolph Macon Women 's College , but she couldn 't take it because her mother was ill and died at age 50 . It was about the year I was born , I think . MRS . DAVIDSON : His name was William Howard Courtenay III . My father was named for his uncle , who was also William Howard . My older brother works for Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green in the physics department . He made instruments . My younger brother was a pediatrician in Louisville , and he is still living on a farm in Shelbyville . He 's interested in Kentucky antiques . MR . HUNNICUTT : Yes . MRS . DAVIDSON : I went to an unusual kindergarten and first grade . I was at what they called the Enterprise Branch of I . N . Bloom School . It was only kindergarten and first grade . It was in the older building , where we had a Pot Belly Stove . I think we had a maid to help us take our leggings off in the cold weather - galoshes . It was really a wonderful school . It was almost like a private one . It was public . We did things like making butter and we had an orchestra . I played the triangle . I had started a little bit earlier when my younger brother was born . Louisville had half semester , half - year grades . I would 've been a half year , but I skipped the last half of kindergarten . I went to the school board and took a test and went on , so they put me in the regular school year . I went through the big school the I . N . Bloom School and Highland Junior High School in Louisville . Then I went to Atherton High School for Girls . The Louisville public schools were segregated - boys and girls . There were about 900 girls at Atherton . My graduating class was about 200 , and I was the valedictorian . MRS . DAVIDSON : They are pants to keep your legs warm . They zipped up from the inside of the ankle bone up to about knee - high , I guess it was . They were a royal pain to take on and off , so the teacher had to have help to do that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was just ordinary . I 'm sure the girls wore dresses , and the little boys wore suits - not suits , but pants and shirts . MRS . DAVIDSON : I came to Oak Ridge after I graduated from college . I had two years of getting a master 's at Emory while I worked at my alma mater , Agnes Scott College in Decatur , Georgia . I was the chemistry lab instructor . So after those two years were up , I was interested in working in chemistry or biochemistry . My master 's was in biochemistry . In Louisville , there was nothing in that field , except liquor and paint - neither of which I was interested in . In Atlanta , I would like to stay in Atlanta , I heard that Oak Ridge was an interesting new place , and a lot was going on here . One of my dear college friends had recently married a physicist from the University of Kentucky , so I visited them here . I guess that must have been 1947 . Her husband was working at NEPA . He said they were looking for people with a chemistry degree . I applied , and I was accepted . I didn 't know that until I had completed the clearance , so I took the opportunity to go to Europe at an American youth hostel bicycle tour of Western Europe in the summer of 1948 . When I got home , I found that I had indeed gotten the job at Oak Ridge . So I came down here . MRS . DAVIDSON : I was wondering that . I think I came by train . When I interviewed earlier in the spring , my interview was at the Andrew Johnson Hotel . It was one of the private rooms . I had never seen the company here . I think I must have been met by a car and driver and brought to Oak Ridge . MRS . DAVIDSON : I came in through the Vermont Gateway , which is where the gas station is now on the corner of what I call Vermont . They call it North Rutgers now . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , I think it must 've been after that . That would 've been at Christmas time . When I applied , I imagine it was early spring . MRS . DAVIDSON : We called the company NEPA , for Nuclear Energy for the Propulsion of Aircraft . It was managed by the Fairchild Corporation the way Union Carbide or one of the other contractors managed the lab . I did not know until the first day I went to work just what the company was doing . They handed me a volume of information that said , " We are looking for - we are trying to make an airplane powered by nuclear energy that could fly to Russia and back without refueling . " That was a great shock to me . MRS . DAVIDSON : I lived in Columbia Hall Dormitory . I was very surprised to find that the rent was $ 15 a month until I realized it was one very small room . That was my living quarters . I took the opportunity to stay out of it as much as possible . I did that by babysitting in some of the B and D houses in the evening . Grandmothers were not here since it was a closed community . Babysitters were in short supply , and even though I didn 't need the money , it was good to get out of the dormitory . MRS . DAVIDSON : The dormitory was like Cheyenne Hall . It was the same type of building . It had wooden stairways from the second - floor hall down on each end . I lived on the second floor . Our dormitory was mostly nurses , since it was up on the hill next to the hospital - I think where the west parking lot is now . There was a kitchen on each end where we could have our own breakfast . Of course we were at the plant at lunchtime , and then we usually went out to supper . I opened the refrigerator door one morning and somebody 's milk came spilling out down my front . Everybody just stuffed things into the refrigerator . MRS . DAVIDSON : I had a single room with a twin bed and enough room to walk to the window by the bed . There was a little table that served as a desk with a chair . There was a much coveted dormitory dresser - a tall one with a number of drawers . They were very popular . MRS . DAVIDSON : They had a wonderful bus service here . Travel wasn 't really a problem . We walked , of course , from the dormitory to Jackson Square and ate supper usually at the Mayflower , which is where I first saw my husband - to - be . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was on the corner of Tennessee , right across from the Soup Kitchen and the Texaco gas station there on the northeast corner . It was a very popular place . In fact , there were several places you could eat . It was the Central Cafeteria , and the T & C Cafeteria in Jackson Square , which is about where the Epicurean is now toward the garden . MRS . DAVIDSON : It must 've been the A & P on Jackson Square . Jackson Square was really the center of activity as far as I was concerned at that time . I still love it . I hope it keeps going . MRS . DAVIDSON : The department stores - the big department store was Taylor 's at the time . They had a wonderful book department headed by Mrs . Keyes , whose daughter I knew at work . They had really fine art books and other books that they would have a great sale on once or twice a year . We were very happy with that . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was in the middle of the block between where Big Ed 's is in the corner . I guess it 's mostly used by the engineering company now . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , not frequently , but I went and saw - there was a theater down at Big Ed 's in Jackson Square and where the Playhouse is now . That was the main one . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , the jewelry store was on the corner that was Henebree 's , I think . No , that was Heneger 's . MR . HUNNICUTT : Henebree ? MRS . DAVIDSON : Henebree . McCrory 's 5 & 10 was there . There was a drugstore - a Service Drugstore . I guess that was where Big Ed 's is now , on the very corner . There was Jackson Square Pharmacy , and on the other side the Hamilton Bank was there next to the movie theater . And Samuel 's Men 's Store was a very nice store . The Jackson Square Pharmacy was there , but in between , which the Pharmacy later took over was a Kay 's Ice Cream Store . We used to go there and - my husband and I would when we were dating . I liked to get coffee with ice cream in it , so we went there . MR . HUNNICUTT : I believe that was Taff Moody Ice Cream - they served Kay 's Ice Cream . MRS . DAVIDSON : Was it ? I didn 't remember that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I can 't say that I do . It was just a given , I suppose . It didn 't make a big dent in my memory . After six months of the dormitory , I moved to a D house on Norman Lane . That was another era . MR . HUNNICUTT : What is a D house ? MRS . DAVIDSON : A D house was a large three bedroom house . They were very much desired . They were really nice houses - still a lot of them are . The house was - there were five other girls who lived there - two of whom had been college friends . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , it would 've been upstairs . It was the second one to the end . A radiation technologist lived on the corner , and I lived there with school teachers and nurses who made up most of the dorm . MR . HUNNICUTT : Let 's talk a little bit about the dorm again . If I had a message for you or someone left a message for you , how did you retrieve your messages ? Was there a desk when you went in ? MRS . DAVIDSON : There was a desk downstairs . I remember the Valentine 's Day - I guess it must 've been 1949 . The message was that I had some flowers , some red roses . I had just met my husband - to - be at that time . I got all excited , and when I got to the desk , it was from somebody else . I enjoyed the red roses , but not as much as I might have . The thing was that there were ladies - a lot of the women who lived in the dorm worked on the night shift . They would sit around a large kind of living room , I guess they called it . They were all staring when I got flowers . I had to walk around , and it was embarrassing . MRS . DAVIDSON : I was there in the winter of 1948 . I 'm very cold natured , but I don 't remember being cold . We had those heavy navy blanket - navy blue blankets . This brings up a story if I jump to it later on . We were moved from the D house after another six months into the brand - new Garden Apartments on Villanova Road . They needed our D house for families . The people who moved in were the Andersons of the Anderson Hilltop Grocery . Of course , the furniture all belonged to the government there . So the Garden Apartments were not furnished , so we had dwindled down from 6 to 4 people who needed furniture . I took a day off and went to an auction the government set up down at the warehouses . I got seven beds and three or four dressers - much more than I could have used . But the beds were in great demand at work because all the young men who worked there were having children and needed beds . So we took the four . Also I got two sofas , and we could use but one ; so I sold one . They were really shabby awful sofas . Since it was all going to surplus anyway , we switched and took the nice sofa from the D house and left them the bad one . It was all taken away anyhow , so I didn 't feel too bad about that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't really remember about the telephone . We didn 't use the telephone much . We never used it for long - distance except for emergencies and calls home . I don 't remember that as being a problem particularly . MRS . DAVIDSON : I suppose I went on the bus . I did not have a car . One of the housemates from Norman Lane had gotten the car , but she would 've been at work at K - 25 . I don 't know . I may have gotten a ride . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess I paid somebody to deliver it . I don 't know . Maybe some of the fellows at work picked up their beds that they wanted . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was one of those warehouses down at the [ Oak Ridge ] Turnpike on Warehouse Road . I don 't know exactly where it was . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess it was on the bulletin boards at work , or there was a newspaper at the Lab . I guess I heard about it that way . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think probably so - in the newsletters they came around , also at the recreation building - the rec hall - at Jackson Square that was the library upstairs and the rec hall downstairs . Word - of - mouth - I don 't remember . We had a need and found the answer to it . MRS . DAVIDSON : I had to punch a clock at eight in the morning when I first started . I guess we got out at 4 : 30 or 5 o ' clock . We had bus service that went from the bus terminal - the Central one - that 's now by Bus Terminal Road . Later on after we were married , we lived on Waddell Circle and went from there to the Jefferson bus terminal . I went - I rode on the K - 25 bus , and they went out past K - 25 to the road that the powerhouse was on and NEPA was beyond that out by the river . MRS . DAVIDSON : There was some kind of management services office . I 'm not sure what it was called - the Roane Anderson Corporation at that time , I guess . I think that 's where I rented the dormitory room . I probably got bus tokens - I guess I got the tokens of the bus terminal . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think I had a checking account probably at Hamilton Bank in Jackson Square . I don 't recall otherwise . I know I did later . One thing I wanted to say about the buses - if you wanted to go to Clinton to do any shopping , more than what you could have in Oak Ridge or to meet somebody or something , there was a bus that ran frequently back and forth between the bus terminal and Clinton . There was a young man on the bus who had a sing - songy sales pitch for " peanuts , popcorn , Cracker Jacks , candy , and chewing gum . " He wouldn 't drive , but he would sell his wares all the way to Clinton and back . I always wondered who that was because he obviously had some talent . MRS . DAVIDSON : I 'm sure I did . I don 't know what became of it . I guess I had to turn it back in . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think somebody just got - one of the guards got on the bus and checked everybody 's badges . It was not a big thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : Probably . I don 't remember . What I do remember about that was my mother was coming down one time for my birthday - it must 've been in January 1949 . She rode the train . I told her that I would get a ride to meet her . Of course , the train didn 't stop at Oak Ridge . It went on to Knoxville , so I bummed a ride with one of the men in our group . He was actually the technical assistant to the director . His car was a broken down old thing with no floorboards in the back seat , which was pretty bad when my mother saw it . But she didn 't see it because when we got to Knoxville , she was not there . When we were coming back from the gateway entrance , she was not there . There was a message that she was waiting for us at the Elza Gate Station . She had told the conductor she had to get off at Oak Ridge . That 's where she was going , and I was going to meet her . So she slid down the Elza bank over there . She had my birthday cake - a large chocolate cake . She slid downhill with that , and somehow they stopped her at the guard gate at Elza . She waited there for us . MRS . DAVIDSON : Just for her - let her off like a milk train . They ordinarily didn 't stop there , but she wouldn 't have it otherwise . MRS . DAVIDSON : I used the library and rec hall . On Sunday afternoons , they played music ; and you could sit and write letters home , which is what I think I did a good bit . Later on in the better weather , there were tennis courts and a swimming pool . I don 't remember going to movies much . We went to church groups . There were so many young people ; it was just like a party all the time . Nothing in particular stands out . It was just fun . MRS . DAVIDSON : In the company I was , that was not true . There were a lot of women of course - of course , the dormitory was full of school teachers and nurses . But NEPA was mostly men . There were two parts to the Fairchild - the science and engineering part , which was bigger . I happen to be in the research part . My boss was a chemist - Vince Calkins . It was my job to - this was a real shocker to me - to find a chemical that would protect the human body against radiation for the reactor that was supposed to be in the airplane to Russia . I had no background for that kind of thing . I was just fresh out of college really . I realized I was out of my depth , but they decided - he was a pharmacist , I believe , and he wanted to do experiments with rats . They brought in the rat colony . By that time we had a couple of assistants , and I was supposed to be the group leader . One of the men , Ray Waldrop - you may have talked to him . I asked him if he minded working for a woman because he was really more experienced than I , although I had the degree . It was fine with him . There was also another worker , Saul Segal , who was quite a character in his own right . I took the rats in the cages over to the reactor , the " Old Lady " at X - 10 , and put them through what they called " rabbits " and radiated them for certain amount of time . We couldn 't kill the darn things . Then we used the older ones that had already been radiated , they were just tough as anything . I think the experiment was really a failure , although they may have found that to be the case in some later work with older people - that the cells are not dividing as fast and they 're not as subject to radiation . But we didn 't get into that . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was actually not K - 25 . It was beyond there . As I said , the bus took us - the bus dumped people off at K - 25 , and they went on west to just before you get to the Gallaher Bridge . You turn right there and go right past the power station there . It was used for a long time - the power house , and then NEPA was beyond that . The native rats came in - was it domestic experimental rats ? That was not good . I had a janitor who helped me , even though he could 've lost his job for doing it . He helped me clean cages . I always appreciated that . MRS . DAVIDSON : When they got rid of the rats , which was a blessing , my group leader then became Bill Browning , who was a fine scientist . He worked on the Van de Graaff generator . We had an interesting argument . Saul Segal thought he should be the one to do it since he was a man and I was a woman who would be leaving soon ; and it turned out that he left for California before I had left to have my baby . His argument didn 't hold with me anyway , but we argued about that some . We did run the Van de Graaff , and we also did some experiments on metallic sodium . It was nasty stuff to work with . It caught on fire if it was exposed to air . You had to work with that under oil in the glove box . I think that work all had to be repeated after NEPA left for Cincinnati with G . E . . When they moved part of NEPA to X - 10 , they called it the ANP , or something about aircraft and nuclear power . I was not connected with that because my first baby was born in August 1951 . I left in July . MRS . DAVIDSON : I heard somebody say that they had to repeat it all . My boss , the Division Director of Chemistry was interested in vitamin E , and thought it had a lot of protective influence . We worked with that . That was some of the work I did in chemistry - the lab part of it in the early days . It was not good work , I think . I 'm not blaming myself , but some of the other men who were doing chemical work - I think altogether we didn 't come up with anything . MRS . DAVIDSON : It may have been ahead of it 's time for nuclear submarines . I don 't know whether the engineering people thought that or not . In our group which was the chemistry and the physics , my friend who got me the job was Jim Trice . A fellow named Art Miller and somebody named Coneybearwere in the Physics Division . And then there were some others - Fred Maienschein . I did some work for him one time . It was work on beryllium for one thing . I didn 't work with any of the active beryllium . I didn 't do any lab work then , but I did some journal research . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't think they were that far along . I 'm not sure what happened to that part of it . As I said , in July of 1951 they moved to Cincinnati , Evensville , above Cincinnati . I don 't know how many people actually went up there . Most of my friends moved elsewhere . MR . HUNNICUTT : You mentioned the location of the operation was past the steam plant that was on the Clinch River . Was that the same location where the S - 50 project was located ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I think that was the name of our plot of land . I think those - I never was quite sure how they got the designations , but that was the Fairchild domain , I think . MRS . DAVIDSON : Really , it was just when our eyes met . It was very romantic . He followed our group home to the Columbia Hall to see where I lived . But at the time I thought he was too young , and I didn 't think he was following me . I was with a group of other girls . Later on , one of the women in the dormitory , who was a gym teacher in the Oak Ridge schools , told me I really ought to meet Jack Davidson that he loved to ride bicycles ; I was just back from my bicycle trip in Europe . I didn 't know who he was , and then I went to a church group meeting at my Presbyterian Church for young people one Sunday evening . A friend of mine had brought Jack Davidson , and he was the one whose eyes I had met and he had met mine . Sure enough , he loved to ride bicycles . That was the start of a good thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : We did a little bit . On our dates , that 's really what we did mostly at first . We rode out to West Outer Drive and had those wonderful big hills , not too much traffic at that time . We went out to the water tower at the top of Louisiana and had a picnic , and then rode back . When we got really good , we rode our bicycles over to Concord Park one day . I had gotten some chicken breasts at the grocery . I guess it was the A & P at Jackson Square . I was going to fry them for a picnic to take along over to Concord Park . When I went to the refrigerator to get them , they had turned into wings . Somebody had eaten my chicken breast . Jack was a good sport about that . He didn 't care . We had a nice ride . It was before they had improved Lovell Road . It was a pretty rough ride over there , but we were able to enjoy it . MRS . DAVIDSON : He had his bicycle . It was probably a Grey Stone . For me , he rented a bicycle from his work friend . I had forgotten what his name was . We went over to one of the D Streets , I think , and rode them . I didn 't have my English 3 - speed here . I guess I brought it later , but at that time I didn 't have it . MRS . DAVIDSON : That was a problem . I complained to my friend Jim Trice 's wife , Dot , who happened to live around the corner on Outer Drive at that time . She said the boardwalk was used a lot for dating , and of course the theaters . I guess we were outdoors people . I don 't know . MRS . DAVIDSON : He was a graduate of Georgia Tech . At the time he graduated , he was very young . He came up to see about a job , and he was drafted . No , he was in danger of being drafted right away , but they didn 't hire him . He did go to work for NASA , which was at that time NACA , in Virginia ; and worked over there a short time before he was taken into the Army . He had gone through Georgia Tech on a " War Manpower " loan . He was sent to some place to be an MP , I think . He wrote a night letter , which is a 50 - word telegram that was cheaper at night . He wrote a night letter to Stimson , the Secretary of War , telling them they had paid for his college education ; and here he was sitting in a camp doing nothing down in Alabama . He was transferred to the SED , he would never say that was the reason he was transferred . It may or may not have been . He arrived with the SED - he arrived in Oak Ridge the day Roosevelt died , which was in April 1945 , he was here with his group for maybe six weeks before they went out to Los Alamos . So he spent the rest of the war out there . Then he used his G . I . Bill - he stayed on at Los Alamos . They told them they would let him out of the Army if he would agree to stay on as a civilian . So he took that . Then when he did leave , he went to Annapolis and took a liberal arts course because he felt that he had missed out on it at Georgia Tech . He had a year at St . John 's College of Annapolis ; and then all along I guess he thought he would like to come back here . He came back - he arrived on Armistice Day , now Veterans Day , of 1948 . I was here a couple of months before he came , but we met shortly after Christmas in 1949 . MRS . DAVIDSON : Too long . We were married in May 1950 . He wanted to pay off his loan before we could get married , so I helped him along with that . I fed him some . He was very welcome at the D House of girls . I was going to tell you that during the war , there were nine girls in the house , and they slept on shifts on the bunk beds . There were only six of us when I was there . There were a couple of the boyfriends around , and one of them cut the grass . I think Jack did the - empty the clinkers from the furnace , the coal furnace . They made themselves useful . They got their dinner . MR . HUNNICUTT : Tell me about the coal furnace briefly . MRS . DAVIDSON : Most of the houses were a very good design really , and a whole lot better built than we gave them credit for . But each one that I knew of had a corner set off or closed off as a coal storage place that could be filled through a window from the outside , and then you could use the - there was an opening on the inside that you could use to put coal into the furnace . That was awful of course , but that 's what all the houses were doing in that time , too . We had a yard full of clinkers over there . MRS . DAVIDSON : We were taken care of by a Big Brother - the government . They brought the coal around , and you didn 't do a thing . That was part of the rent . When we got our house here on Orange Lane , that 's another story . Are you ready for that yet ? MRS . DAVIDSON : We went back to my home in Louisville , Kentucky , to be married . We had planned to fly to Nashville , but it turned out the Delta Queen was coming through Louisville the next morning . My mother had told us we could not get married the week before because it was too busy with Derby Day . So we delayed until May 13 . Then we spent the night in Louisville at the Brown Hotel , where she pulled some strings to get us a room because it was still very full of visitors from the Derby . We got on the Delta Queen , and our friends were all on the dock to see us off . They had us almost convinced that we were on Daylight Saving Time , and the Delta Queen was not , and we had missed it . But we rode down just as far as Paducah . We were anxious to start in life you know . We lived on Wadell Circle in a K apartment . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you recall the number ? MRS . DAVIDSON : It was a two - story thing . I guess it was a two - bedroom up above , and we had K - 1 . It was sort of underground at the front and open at the back . We had a nice back porch . There was a closet under the stairway and a very small kitchen . It had a table that folded down . It was not as compact as a flattop , but the furnishings that they had did double duty . You could fold it up and have more room . MRS . DAVIDSON : The K apartment was heated with the coal furnace , but there was a janitor who came around and took care of it for us . We were taken care of by Roane Anderson . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you remember what the rent was ? MRS . DAVIDSON : We lived in the K from May 1950 , until we got this house in July 1952 . It was said - the word around town was that you couldn 't get a two - bedroom house unless you had three children , all of different sex . We had been on the list for this house ever since we knew our daughter was coming along . That was a long time to wait . We had been offered two houses - Florida Avenue , where the parking was across the street and the backyard just dropped off . We thought that was totally unsuitable for a new child . We turned both of those down . If we had turned this one down , we would 've gone to the bottom of the long list . But we loved this place of the trees and the dead end lane neighborhood . So we sat outside in front all weekend because we were not top on the list . The reason the other people didn 't take it was that the previous owner , Jim Cox and Charlotte , had put in an oil furnace ; and nobody wanted to pay $ 200 for the oil furnace . Since I had been working , we had saved my salary from work , and we had $ 200 to pay . Also , they didn 't want to be in the high rent district . This house rented for something like $ 45 instead of $ 43 in the lower rent districts . MRS . DAVIDSON : The Oak Ridge cemesto houses that were built - I think this house was built in the fall of 1944 or 1943 . Maybe it was ' 43 . The B house has two bedrooms and of course a bath and a kitchen with a dinette into a long narrow living room . It was about 24 feet by 40 something feet . It was small and convenient . It didn 't have much storage space , but it 's been a wonderful house for us because of the trees . We are on a greenbelt , and I enjoy that very much . It 's a nice private neighborhood just above Jackson Square . MRS . DAVIDSON : Our cemesto has a fireplace , and it had a complete brick wall . Some of the B houses had a brick wall just beyond the fireplace . MRS . DAVIDSON : There are hardwood floors in all the cemestos , I believe . Our house has maple flooring , and a lot of them had oak . Wood was hard to come by in the wartime . We love the color - the reddish color of the maple . MRS . DAVIDSON : Adele is our second daughter , and she was two years younger . Our son is Bill Davidson or William . He was born in November of 1954 . He 's just now turning 58 . MR . HUNNICUTT : So your first daughter went to Cedar Hill ? MRS . DAVIDSON : All three of our children went to Cedar Hill . They had split grades there , so I think the classes were one half size . They would take the kids a half from one grade , and half from the next grade , and that worked out just fine . MRS . DAVIDSON : Cedar Hill was wonderful . It was very special . Mr . Dodd was the principal , and he saw to it - he had the best teachers or at least as good as any . Actually in those days all the teachers and Oak Ridge were special because many of them had been recruited from Columbia Teachers College , along with the superintendent . Others were specially recruited for the job . They were a group a part , I think , from a lot of teachers . MRS . DAVIDSON : The girls both went to Jefferson when it was on the hill at Jackson Square , and Bill was in the first year at the new Jefferson that was over on Fairbanks Road . His was the first class there . They all went through Oak Ridge High . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you recall some of the classes your daughters took while they were in junior high ? Was there Home Ec . or things related to girls ? MRS . DAVIDSON : No , they were on the college prep track . They took eighth grade algebra and that kind of thing . Of course English and math and social studies and science - our older girl I think took biology ; and I 'm not sure if Adele had a more general science course . It just depended on the teacher that they had . They had an excellent education , and the girls were both Merit semifinalists . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course . I was in the PTA . I 'm not sure if I was ever a room mother , but I of course helped with parties and things . MRS . DAVIDSON : The teachers recruited them from each class to help with parties mostly . They helped with any activities that they didn 't really have time to do . MRS . DAVIDSON : Parent - Teacher Association , a time honored group . It got extra things for the school . I got involved with raincoats for the school patrol . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess maybe I was a treasurer of the Cedar Hill PTA , and this goal was to get those yellow slicker raincoat so kids could be visible to the drivers . I found out how much the things cost , and then I estimated postage . At the PTA meeting , Alvin Weinberg was president . He had a son or two in school at the time . He took me to task for estimating the postage , so I had to ask for just the money for the coats themselves since I didn 't really know what the postage is going to be . I thought that was interesting that he wanted to keep it to the exact penny . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think they just wore what the other kids wore . One day we had a deep snow and Bill was in kindergarten , and the snow was up over their boots . I think he had some corduroys . The teacher was making the kids take their pants off and dry them on the radiator , and he wouldn 't do it . I had to go up to the school and take him some fresh pants , some dry clothes . He was very young - just four when he started . MR . HUNNICUTT : Let 's go back a few years . Do you remember 1945 when they dropped the bomb on Japan ? You remember where you were ? And what was your reaction ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I do remember that very clearly because it was the summer after my junior year in college , and I was a camp counselor up in Door County , Wisconsin . There was no electricity at the camp , so we counselors - after we got the kids to bed , went to the state park nearby . This was at Fish Creek , Wisconsin . We would listen to people 's car radios . We knew for about a week that something was happening , but we didn 't know just what . It was very deeply moving when the bomb was dropped , and we thought it would bring an end to the war . Of course , I had friends and a brother on Guam and a cousin was in Europe and others . So that was very deeply moving . I had a book of poetry - my favorite poems at the camp with me . One of my 12 - year - olds picked out a poem - " Once to every man and nation comes a moment to decide " - she read that , and I thought that was very astute of her , a youngster to be able to do that . MRS . DAVIDSON : My husband thought they should have dropped a sample first , but I didn 't feel that way since the first bomb didn 't phase the Japanese . I didn 't think the test one would have either . I was just so glad that the war was over . People could settle down and get into real life again . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think I was in transition from the dormitory to the house , and my husband 's brothers came up from Georgia to witness the opening . So we drove in their car around , and we watched the parade from , I believe , down on the eastern end of the Turnpike down near the warehouses to get out of the traffic . We never could figure out why they invited Marie " The Body " McDonald and [ inaudible ] to ride in the open car for the parade . We couldn 't figure out what they had to do with it , but we did see the burning of the magnesium ribbon . That was exciting . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was only toward town from Elza Gate . I know the central part of town , the Jackson Square area , was very crowded . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think they name the streets for famous cities in the country , and of course the alphabetical designations were very helpful . But Jackson Square , I assume , was named for New Orleans . That 's all I know about it . MRS . DAVIDSON : Sometimes you would pick up the telephone , and the other party was talking . I believe they had different rings . I think maybe the other party had one ring , and we had two . There were four - party lines , but if we were on a four - party line , only the other one was active . I think maybe we were . The other two lines were not being used . MR . HUNNICUTT : When you are raising your family , did you hang your clothes outside on the clothesline ? Did you have a dryer ? What did you use ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I hung them outside on the clothesline . As I said , when we moved here , Anne was a year old . Not much more than three years after that , we had three babies . I was able to talk my husband into getting a dryer that time . Before that , he had built a pulley out of my kitchen window . There was a drop off in the back , and he was able to string it to a tree in the woods . I was able to reel those cloth diapers and reel them in and out . The only problem was that the birds like the trees , too . Sometimes I had to do some re - washing . MR . HUNNICUTT : So in those days you use cloth diapers ? Today we use disposable diapers . How do you think you would 've done if you had disposable diapers ? MRS . DAVIDSON : At one point , when our children were out playing Kick the Can , there were over 40 children on the lane . There were about 20 or 21 houses . There were almost as many dogs . It was just a glorious place for them to grow up . They seem to get along remarkably well most of the time , especially in the early days . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes . We went down there on the opening , and got the radioactive dimes on that occasion . The museum at that time was down at Jefferson Circle . I don 't think any of us ever had our hair stand out on the Van De Graff generator or whatever it was , but we took the children . We went out ourselves . Of course my husband was interested in that kind of thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : Sometimes they walked to Jefferson , but by that time they were carrying pretty heavy books . One of the neighbors on Outer Drive wanted to have a carpool , so we joined that . MRS . DAVIDSON : When Anne was in the fifth grade , they had to write what they did on Friday nights . The teacher would call me and say , " Is it true that you gave your children ice water and watched TV on Friday nights ? " That was how generous we were with them . We didn 't get a TV until they were probably five or six years old . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course it was black and white . The reason we got it - I guess finally it was that the children were always going to the neighbors ' house to watch TV . We decided that we should get our own . They watched things like " Pinky Lee " and I 've forgotten what else . MRS . DAVIDSON : I remember that fondly because my first real date with my husband was going to dinner there with him . He invited me to go to a concert in Knoxville , and his excuse was that we should get to know each other better before he took me to the city with him . That was one thing . I remember there were parties there , and our company had a party at the Oak Terrace Ballroom . One of the NEPA fellows wore a Tarzan costume , which was mostly nothing . It turned out that he lived in the neighborhood . MR . HUNNICUTT : What was the Oak Terrace ballroom - where was it located ? MRS . DAVIDSON : That was just below the dormitory where I lived in Columbia Hall . Jack went there looking for me , he thought I would eat breakfast there and then he could have breakfast with me ; but I ate in the dormitory . He didn 't find me there . When we came back from our bicycle ride to Concord Park , I remember we stopped by there , and he drank two or three Mountain Dew drinks . That surprised me , but we had worked off a lot of sweat . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , we took our children out there and saw " Lawrence of Arabia " and " The 10 Commandment " and those things . It was quite nice . MR . HUNNICUTT : Where was it located ? MRS . DAVIDSON : It was about where Kroger 's - where that is now , on the southeast part of Illinois Avenue . It was a nice thing . That was a special treat for the children to go out there . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't think so . I think they were mostly in the car . They had a drawing one time , Jack won something . It was actually nothing , but he did win . MRS . DAVIDSON : I sure did . My three children were born there . It was a green structure , like so many of the buildings in Oak Ridge . I guess the present building is built on that place . It was okay . I didn 't have any problems with it , except after my second child . I had a staph infection from the hospital . Even an Army wife with a private room got an infection there . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , I think they also had been recruited ; and a lot of them were from Tulane University . The time I was sick with my infection , they were having a reunion at Tulane , and my doctor and another one were gone for the reunion . I didn 't like the one who took care of me . He didn 't do a good job . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was okay . I don 't remember having any problems with it . We knew Dr . Rogers from our church , and we went to him . He was called away to the service , I believe . Maybe it was the Korean War , but then he came back . MRS . DAVIDSON : We met at Pine Valley School . The choir sat on the bleachers , and the minister sat under the halo of the basketball net . My husband was a Methodist , and he went to the First Methodist Church . They had a big youth group there . When we were first married , we tried to take them both in . We went to Sunday school one place , and church another until we finally settled on the Presbyterian . It was smaller , and we knew more people . MR . HUNNICUTT : Thinking back , what do you like best about Oak Ridge ? MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course the people . I love my trees and my house . I love all the activities . Both my husband and I have always loved music and enjoy the concerts a lot . The symphony concerts with Waldo Cohn conducting were held at Jefferson Junior High on the Kentucky Avenue hill . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you think back about all the people that you knew in the early days ? Do you think it was unusual for everybody to get along - the many people that were here ? MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , I guess so . I didn 't think about it because we just did . It was just fun . Everybody was away from home , and we had to be family for each other . That was particularly true in this close neighborhood . MRS . DAVIDSON : I 'm pleased for the most part . I think we 've made good progress . We 've kept up with the outside world . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't know . I 'll probably think of things after you leave . Nothing particular comes to mind . MR . HUNNICUTT : I would like to thank you for your time , and I think this interview will be very helpful for someone in the future to see how you lived in Oak Ridge in the early days . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think we came through at the very best of times . It was not the pressure of war , but we were growing community . I think things were happening at the Lab . Both of my husband and I loved the Lab because there were so many good things going on out there . It gives us hope for the future . MR . HUNNICUTT : I thank you very much for your time . [ Editor 's Note : This transcript has been edited at Mrs . Davidson 's request . The corresponding audio and video components have remained unchanged . ] Your rating was saved . you wish to report :

MR . HUNNICUTT : This interview is for the Center of Oak Ridge Oral History . The date is November 8 , 2012 . I am Don Hunnicutt in the home of Mrs . Mary Ann Davidson , 117 Orange Lane , Oak Ridge , Tennessee , to take her oral history about living in Oak Ridge , Tennessee . Please state your full name and your place of birth and your date of birth . MRS . DAVIDSON : My name is Mary Ann Davidson . My date of birth is January 12 , 1925 . I was born in Louisville , Kentucky . I lived there all my early life until I graduated from college . MRS . DAVIDSON : My father was William H . Courtenay . He was born in 1890 , on March 3 . He was in World War I and lived his entire life in Louisville and Shelbyville , Kentucky . He worked for the Mengel Company . They imported mahogany and hardwood from Africa and Central America . He delivered those to customers . He didn 't consider himself a salesman , but he sold them to the furniture factory - furniture makers around Kentucky , mostly Indiana and Cincinnati and some in Tennessee . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , he did not . The Louisville Male High School was considered a fine school at that time . They said that graduates could enter Harvard in their second year . The principal had written textbooks that were apparently used all over . But my father was interested in raising ponies . His father had a farm in Shelbyville , Kentucky . If you 'd didn 't make the grade , you are special . And Dr . Ruben Post - Halleck , the famous principal of the school , told him if he took an exam in math , he could be entered back in . He did that , and he aced the test . He was back in . Then he was a special in English , so they told him if he memorized the " Lady of the Lake " and said that he could get back in school . So he did that . I think he never did finish . He was a twin , and his twin was more of an engineering type and went to manual training high school . MRS . DAVIDSON : She grew up in several small towns in western Kentucky . Her father worked for the L & N Railroad . She had her high school in Hopkinsville , Kentucky . She had to stay home - or she went to junior college nearby . She had a scholarship to Randolph Macon Women 's College , but she couldn 't take it because her mother was ill and died at age 50 . It was about the year I was born , I think . MRS . DAVIDSON : His name was William Howard Courtenay III . My father was named for his uncle , who was also William Howard . My older brother works for Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green in the physics department . He made instruments . My younger brother was a pediatrician in Louisville , and he is still living on a farm in Shelbyville . He 's interested in Kentucky antiques . MRS . DAVIDSON : I went to an unusual kindergarten and first grade . I was at what they called the Enterprise Branch of I . N . Bloom School . It was only kindergarten and first grade . It was in the older building , where we had a Pot Belly Stove . I think we had a maid to help us take our leggings off in the cold weather - galoshes . It was really a wonderful school . It was almost like a private one . It was public . We did things like making butter and we had an orchestra . I played the triangle . I had started a little bit earlier when my younger brother was born . Louisville had half semester , half - year grades . I would 've been a half year , but I skipped the last half of kindergarten . I went to the school board and took a test and went on , so they put me in the regular school year . I went through the big school the I . N . Bloom School and Highland Junior High School in Louisville . Then I went to Atherton High School for Girls . The Louisville public schools were segregated - boys and girls . There were about 900 girls at Atherton . My graduating class was about 200 , and I was the valedictorian . MRS . DAVIDSON : They are pants to keep your legs warm . They zipped up from the inside of the ankle bone up to about knee - high , I guess it was . They were a royal pain to take on and off , so the teacher had to have help to do that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was just ordinary . I 'm sure the girls wore dresses , and the little boys wore suits - not suits , but pants and shirts . MRS . DAVIDSON : I came to Oak Ridge after I graduated from college . I had two years of getting a master 's at Emory while I worked at my alma mater , Agnes Scott College in Decatur , Georgia . I was the chemistry lab instructor . So after those two years were up , I was interested in working in chemistry or biochemistry . My master 's was in biochemistry . In Louisville , there was nothing in that field , except liquor and paint - neither of which I was interested in . In Atlanta , I would like to stay in Atlanta , I heard that Oak Ridge was an interesting new place , and a lot was going on here . One of my dear college friends had recently married a physicist from the University of Kentucky , so I visited them here . I guess that must have been 1947 . Her husband was working at NEPA . He said they were looking for people with a chemistry degree . I applied , and I was accepted . I didn 't know that until I had completed the clearance , so I took the opportunity to go to Europe at an American youth hostel bicycle tour of Western Europe in the summer of 1948 . When I got home , I found that I had indeed gotten the job at Oak Ridge . So I came down here . MRS . DAVIDSON : I was wondering that . I think I came by train . When I interviewed earlier in the spring , my interview was at the Andrew Johnson Hotel . It was one of the private rooms . I had never seen the company here . I think I must have been met by a car and driver and brought to Oak Ridge . MRS . DAVIDSON : I came in through the Vermont Gateway , which is where the gas station is now on the corner of what I call Vermont . They call it North Rutgers now . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , I think it must 've been after that . That would 've been at Christmas time . When I applied , I imagine it was early spring . MRS . DAVIDSON : We called the company NEPA , for Nuclear Energy for the Propulsion of Aircraft . It was managed by the Fairchild Corporation the way Union Carbide or one of the other contractors managed the lab . I did not know until the first day I went to work just what the company was doing . They handed me a volume of information that said , " We are looking for - we are trying to make an airplane powered by nuclear energy that could fly to Russia and back without refueling . " That was a great shock to me . MRS . DAVIDSON : I lived in Columbia Hall Dormitory . I was very surprised to find that the rent was $ 15 a month until I realized it was one very small room . That was my living quarters . I took the opportunity to stay out of it as much as possible . I did that by babysitting in some of the B and D houses in the evening . Grandmothers were not here since it was a closed community . Babysitters were in short supply , and even though I didn 't need the money , it was good to get out of the dormitory . MRS . DAVIDSON : The dormitory was like Cheyenne Hall . It was the same type of building . It had wooden stairways from the second - floor hall down on each end . I lived on the second floor . Our dormitory was mostly nurses , since it was up on the hill next to the hospital - I think where the west parking lot is now . There was a kitchen on each end where we could have our own breakfast . Of course we were at the plant at lunchtime , and then we usually went out to supper . I opened the refrigerator door one morning and somebody 's milk came spilling out down my front . Everybody just stuffed things into the refrigerator . MRS . DAVIDSON : I had a single room with a twin bed and enough room to walk to the window by the bed . There was a little table that served as a desk with a chair . There was a much coveted dormitory dresser - a tall one with a number of drawers . They were very popular . MRS . DAVIDSON : They had a wonderful bus service here . Travel wasn 't really a problem . We walked , of course , from the dormitory to Jackson Square and ate supper usually at the Mayflower , which is where I first saw my husband - to - be . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was on the corner of Tennessee , right across from the Soup Kitchen and the Texaco gas station there on the northeast corner . It was a very popular place . In fact , there were several places you could eat . It was the Central Cafeteria , and the T & C Cafeteria in Jackson Square , which is about where the Epicurean is now toward the garden . MRS . DAVIDSON : It must 've been the A & P on Jackson Square . Jackson Square was really the center of activity as far as I was concerned at that time . I still love it . I hope it keeps going . MRS . DAVIDSON : The department stores - the big department store was Taylor 's at the time . They had a wonderful book department headed by Mrs . Keyes , whose daughter I knew at work . They had really fine art books and other books that they would have a great sale on once or twice a year . We were very happy with that . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was in the middle of the block between where Big Ed 's is in the corner . I guess it 's mostly used by the engineering company now . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , not frequently , but I went and saw - there was a theater down at Big Ed 's in Jackson Square and where the Playhouse is now . That was the main one . MRS . DAVIDSON : Henebree . McCrory 's 5 & 10 was there . There was a drugstore - a Service Drugstore . I guess that was where Big Ed 's is now , on the very corner . There was Jackson Square Pharmacy , and on the other side the Hamilton Bank was there next to the movie theater . And Samuel 's Men 's Store was a very nice store . The Jackson Square Pharmacy was there , but in between , which the Pharmacy later took over was a Kay 's Ice Cream Store . We used to go there and - my husband and I would when we were dating . I liked to get coffee with ice cream in it , so we went there . MRS . DAVIDSON : I can 't say that I do . It was just a given , I suppose . It didn 't make a big dent in my memory . After six months of the dormitory , I moved to a D house on Norman Lane . That was another era . MRS . DAVIDSON : A D house was a large three bedroom house . They were very much desired . They were really nice houses - still a lot of them are . The house was - there were five other girls who lived there - two of whom had been college friends . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , it would 've been upstairs . It was the second one to the end . A radiation technologist lived on the corner , and I lived there with school teachers and nurses who made up most of the dorm . MR . HUNNICUTT : Let 's talk a little bit about the dorm again . If I had a message for you or someone left a message for you , how did you retrieve your messages ? Was there a desk when you went in ? MRS . DAVIDSON : There was a desk downstairs . I remember the Valentine 's Day - I guess it must 've been 1949 . The message was that I had some flowers , some red roses . I had just met my husband - to - be at that time . I got all excited , and when I got to the desk , it was from somebody else . I enjoyed the red roses , but not as much as I might have . The thing was that there were ladies - a lot of the women who lived in the dorm worked on the night shift . They would sit around a large kind of living room , I guess they called it . They were all staring when I got flowers . I had to walk around , and it was embarrassing . MRS . DAVIDSON : I was there in the winter of 1948 . I 'm very cold natured , but I don 't remember being cold . We had those heavy navy blanket - navy blue blankets . This brings up a story if I jump to it later on . We were moved from the D house after another six months into the brand - new Garden Apartments on Villanova Road . They needed our D house for families . The people who moved in were the Andersons of the Anderson Hilltop Grocery . Of course , the furniture all belonged to the government there . So the Garden Apartments were not furnished , so we had dwindled down from 6 to 4 people who needed furniture . I took a day off and went to an auction the government set up down at the warehouses . I got seven beds and three or four dressers - much more than I could have used . But the beds were in great demand at work because all the young men who worked there were having children and needed beds . So we took the four . Also I got two sofas , and we could use but one ; so I sold one . They were really shabby awful sofas . Since it was all going to surplus anyway , we switched and took the nice sofa from the D house and left them the bad one . It was all taken away anyhow , so I didn 't feel too bad about that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't really remember about the telephone . We didn 't use the telephone much . We never used it for long - distance except for emergencies and calls home . I don 't remember that as being a problem particularly . MRS . DAVIDSON : I suppose I went on the bus . I did not have a car . One of the housemates from Norman Lane had gotten the car , but she would 've been at work at K - 25 . I don 't know . I may have gotten a ride . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess I paid somebody to deliver it . I don 't know . Maybe some of the fellows at work picked up their beds that they wanted . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was one of those warehouses down at the [ Oak Ridge ] Turnpike on Warehouse Road . I don 't know exactly where it was . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess it was on the bulletin boards at work , or there was a newspaper at the Lab . I guess I heard about it that way . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think probably so - in the newsletters they came around , also at the recreation building - the rec hall - at Jackson Square that was the library upstairs and the rec hall downstairs . Word - of - mouth - I don 't remember . We had a need and found the answer to it . MRS . DAVIDSON : I had to punch a clock at eight in the morning when I first started . I guess we got out at 4 : 30 or 5 o ' clock . We had bus service that went from the bus terminal - the Central one - that 's now by Bus Terminal Road . Later on after we were married , we lived on Waddell Circle and went from there to the Jefferson bus terminal . I went - I rode on the K - 25 bus , and they went out past K - 25 to the road that the powerhouse was on and NEPA was beyond that out by the river . MRS . DAVIDSON : There was some kind of management services office . I 'm not sure what it was called - the Roane Anderson Corporation at that time , I guess . I think that 's where I rented the dormitory room . I probably got bus tokens - I guess I got the tokens of the bus terminal . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think I had a checking account probably at Hamilton Bank in Jackson Square . I don 't recall otherwise . I know I did later . One thing I wanted to say about the buses - if you wanted to go to Clinton to do any shopping , more than what you could have in Oak Ridge or to meet somebody or something , there was a bus that ran frequently back and forth between the bus terminal and Clinton . There was a young man on the bus who had a sing - songy sales pitch for " peanuts , popcorn , Cracker Jacks , candy , and chewing gum . " He wouldn 't drive , but he would sell his wares all the way to Clinton and back . I always wondered who that was because he obviously had some talent . MRS . DAVIDSON : I 'm sure I did . I don 't know what became of it . I guess I had to turn it back in . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think somebody just got - one of the guards got on the bus and checked everybody 's badges . It was not a big thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : Probably . I don 't remember . What I do remember about that was my mother was coming down one time for my birthday - it must 've been in January 1949 . She rode the train . I told her that I would get a ride to meet her . Of course , the train didn 't stop at Oak Ridge . It went on to Knoxville , so I bummed a ride with one of the men in our group . He was actually the technical assistant to the director . His car was a broken down old thing with no floorboards in the back seat , which was pretty bad when my mother saw it . But she didn 't see it because when we got to Knoxville , she was not there . When we were coming back from the gateway entrance , she was not there . There was a message that she was waiting for us at the Elza Gate Station . She had told the conductor she had to get off at Oak Ridge . That 's where she was going , and I was going to meet her . So she slid down the Elza bank over there . She had my birthday cake - a large chocolate cake . She slid downhill with that , and somehow they stopped her at the guard gate at Elza . She waited there for us . MRS . DAVIDSON : Just for her - let her off like a milk train . They ordinarily didn 't stop there , but she wouldn 't have it otherwise . MRS . DAVIDSON : I used the library and rec hall . On Sunday afternoons , they played music ; and you could sit and write letters home , which is what I think I did a good bit . Later on in the better weather , there were tennis courts and a swimming pool . I don 't remember going to movies much . We went to church groups . There were so many young people ; it was just like a party all the time . Nothing in particular stands out . It was just fun . MRS . DAVIDSON : In the company I was , that was not true . There were a lot of women of course - of course , the dormitory was full of school teachers and nurses . But NEPA was mostly men . There were two parts to the Fairchild - the science and engineering part , which was bigger . I happen to be in the research part . My boss was a chemist - Vince Calkins . It was my job to - this was a real shocker to me - to find a chemical that would protect the human body against radiation for the reactor that was supposed to be in the airplane to Russia . I had no background for that kind of thing . I was just fresh out of college really . I realized I was out of my depth , but they decided - he was a pharmacist , I believe , and he wanted to do experiments with rats . They brought in the rat colony . By that time we had a couple of assistants , and I was supposed to be the group leader . One of the men , Ray Waldrop - you may have talked to him . I asked him if he minded working for a woman because he was really more experienced than I , although I had the degree . It was fine with him . There was also another worker , Saul Segal , who was quite a character in his own right . I took the rats in the cages over to the reactor , the " Old Lady " at X - 10 , and put them through what they called " rabbits " and radiated them for certain amount of time . We couldn 't kill the darn things . Then we used the older ones that had already been radiated , they were just tough as anything . I think the experiment was really a failure , although they may have found that to be the case in some later work with older people - that the cells are not dividing as fast and they 're not as subject to radiation . But we didn 't get into that . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was actually not K - 25 . It was beyond there . As I said , the bus took us - the bus dumped people off at K - 25 , and they went on west to just before you get to the Gallaher Bridge . You turn right there and go right past the power station there . It was used for a long time - the power house , and then NEPA was beyond that . The native rats came in - was it domestic experimental rats ? That was not good . I had a janitor who helped me , even though he could 've lost his job for doing it . He helped me clean cages . I always appreciated that . MRS . DAVIDSON : When they got rid of the rats , which was a blessing , my group leader then became Bill Browning , who was a fine scientist . He worked on the Van de Graaff generator . We had an interesting argument . Saul Segal thought he should be the one to do it since he was a man and I was a woman who would be leaving soon ; and it turned out that he left for California before I had left to have my baby . His argument didn 't hold with me anyway , but we argued about that some . We did run the Van de Graaff , and we also did some experiments on metallic sodium . It was nasty stuff to work with . It caught on fire if it was exposed to air . You had to work with that under oil in the glove box . I think that work all had to be repeated after NEPA left for Cincinnati with G . E . . When they moved part of NEPA to X - 10 , they called it the ANP , or something about aircraft and nuclear power . I was not connected with that because my first baby was born in August 1951 . I left in July . MRS . DAVIDSON : I heard somebody say that they had to repeat it all . My boss , the Division Director of Chemistry was interested in vitamin E , and thought it had a lot of protective influence . We worked with that . That was some of the work I did in chemistry - the lab part of it in the early days . It was not good work , I think . I 'm not blaming myself , but some of the other men who were doing chemical work - I think altogether we didn 't come up with anything . MRS . DAVIDSON : It may have been ahead of it 's time for nuclear submarines . I don 't know whether the engineering people thought that or not . In our group which was the chemistry and the physics , my friend who got me the job was Jim Trice . A fellow named Art Miller and somebody named Coneybearwere in the Physics Division . And then there were some others - Fred Maienschein . I did some work for him one time . It was work on beryllium for one thing . I didn 't work with any of the active beryllium . I didn 't do any lab work then , but I did some journal research . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't think they were that far along . I 'm not sure what happened to that part of it . As I said , in July of 1951 they moved to Cincinnati , Evensville , above Cincinnati . I don 't know how many people actually went up there . Most of my friends moved elsewhere . MR . HUNNICUTT : You mentioned the location of the operation was past the steam plant that was on the Clinch River . Was that the same location where the S - 50 project was located ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I think that was the name of our plot of land . I think those - I never was quite sure how they got the designations , but that was the Fairchild domain , I think . MRS . DAVIDSON : Really , it was just when our eyes met . It was very romantic . He followed our group home to the Columbia Hall to see where I lived . But at the time I thought he was too young , and I didn 't think he was following me . I was with a group of other girls . Later on , one of the women in the dormitory , who was a gym teacher in the Oak Ridge schools , told me I really ought to meet Jack Davidson that he loved to ride bicycles ; I was just back from my bicycle trip in Europe . I didn 't know who he was , and then I went to a church group meeting at my Presbyterian Church for young people one Sunday evening . A friend of mine had brought Jack Davidson , and he was the one whose eyes I had met and he had met mine . Sure enough , he loved to ride bicycles . That was the start of a good thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : We did a little bit . On our dates , that 's really what we did mostly at first . We rode out to West Outer Drive and had those wonderful big hills , not too much traffic at that time . We went out to the water tower at the top of Louisiana and had a picnic , and then rode back . When we got really good , we rode our bicycles over to Concord Park one day . I had gotten some chicken breasts at the grocery . I guess it was the A & P at Jackson Square . I was going to fry them for a picnic to take along over to Concord Park . When I went to the refrigerator to get them , they had turned into wings . Somebody had eaten my chicken breast . Jack was a good sport about that . He didn 't care . We had a nice ride . It was before they had improved Lovell Road . It was a pretty rough ride over there , but we were able to enjoy it . MRS . DAVIDSON : He had his bicycle . It was probably a Grey Stone . For me , he rented a bicycle from his work friend . I had forgotten what his name was . We went over to one of the D Streets , I think , and rode them . I didn 't have my English 3 - speed here . I guess I brought it later , but at that time I didn 't have it . MRS . DAVIDSON : That was a problem . I complained to my friend Jim Trice 's wife , Dot , who happened to live around the corner on Outer Drive at that time . She said the boardwalk was used a lot for dating , and of course the theaters . I guess we were outdoors people . I don 't know . MRS . DAVIDSON : He was a graduate of Georgia Tech . At the time he graduated , he was very young . He came up to see about a job , and he was drafted . No , he was in danger of being drafted right away , but they didn 't hire him . He did go to work for NASA , which was at that time NACA , in Virginia ; and worked over there a short time before he was taken into the Army . He had gone through Georgia Tech on a " War Manpower " loan . He was sent to some place to be an MP , I think . He wrote a night letter , which is a 50 - word telegram that was cheaper at night . He wrote a night letter to Stimson , the Secretary of War , telling them they had paid for his college education ; and here he was sitting in a camp doing nothing down in Alabama . He was transferred to the SED , he would never say that was the reason he was transferred . It may or may not have been . He arrived with the SED - he arrived in Oak Ridge the day Roosevelt died , which was in April 1945 , he was here with his group for maybe six weeks before they went out to Los Alamos . So he spent the rest of the war out there . Then he used his G . I . Bill - he stayed on at Los Alamos . They told them they would let him out of the Army if he would agree to stay on as a civilian . So he took that . Then when he did leave , he went to Annapolis and took a liberal arts course because he felt that he had missed out on it at Georgia Tech . He had a year at St . John 's College of Annapolis ; and then all along I guess he thought he would like to come back here . He came back - he arrived on Armistice Day , now Veterans Day , of 1948 . I was here a couple of months before he came , but we met shortly after Christmas in 1949 . MRS . DAVIDSON : Too long . We were married in May 1950 . He wanted to pay off his loan before we could get married , so I helped him along with that . I fed him some . He was very welcome at the D House of girls . I was going to tell you that during the war , there were nine girls in the house , and they slept on shifts on the bunk beds . There were only six of us when I was there . There were a couple of the boyfriends around , and one of them cut the grass . I think Jack did the - empty the clinkers from the furnace , the coal furnace . They made themselves useful . They got their dinner . MRS . DAVIDSON : Most of the houses were a very good design really , and a whole lot better built than we gave them credit for . But each one that I knew of had a corner set off or closed off as a coal storage place that could be filled through a window from the outside , and then you could use the - there was an opening on the inside that you could use to put coal into the furnace . That was awful of course , but that 's what all the houses were doing in that time , too . We had a yard full of clinkers over there . MRS . DAVIDSON : We were taken care of by a Big Brother - the government . They brought the coal around , and you didn 't do a thing . That was part of the rent . When we got our house here on Orange Lane , that 's another story . Are you ready for that yet ? MRS . DAVIDSON : We went back to my home in Louisville , Kentucky , to be married . We had planned to fly to Nashville , but it turned out the Delta Queen was coming through Louisville the next morning . My mother had told us we could not get married the week before because it was too busy with Derby Day . So we delayed until May 13 . Then we spent the night in Louisville at the Brown Hotel , where she pulled some strings to get us a room because it was still very full of visitors from the Derby . We got on the Delta Queen , and our friends were all on the dock to see us off . They had us almost convinced that we were on Daylight Saving Time , and the Delta Queen was not , and we had missed it . But we rode down just as far as Paducah . We were anxious to start in life you know . We lived on Wadell Circle in a K apartment . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was a two - story thing . I guess it was a two - bedroom up above , and we had K - 1 . It was sort of underground at the front and open at the back . We had a nice back porch . There was a closet under the stairway and a very small kitchen . It had a table that folded down . It was not as compact as a flattop , but the furnishings that they had did double duty . You could fold it up and have more room . MRS . DAVIDSON : The K apartment was heated with the coal furnace , but there was a janitor who came around and took care of it for us . We were taken care of by Roane Anderson . MRS . DAVIDSON : We lived in the K from May 1950 , until we got this house in July 1952 . It was said - the word around town was that you couldn 't get a two - bedroom house unless you had three children , all of different sex . We had been on the list for this house ever since we knew our daughter was coming along . That was a long time to wait . We had been offered two houses - Florida Avenue , where the parking was across the street and the backyard just dropped off . We thought that was totally unsuitable for a new child . We turned both of those down . If we had turned this one down , we would 've gone to the bottom of the long list . But we loved this place of the trees and the dead end lane neighborhood . So we sat outside in front all weekend because we were not top on the list . The reason the other people didn 't take it was that the previous owner , Jim Cox and Charlotte , had put in an oil furnace ; and nobody wanted to pay $ 200 for the oil furnace . Since I had been working , we had saved my salary from work , and we had $ 200 to pay . Also , they didn 't want to be in the high rent district . This house rented for something like $ 45 instead of $ 43 in the lower rent districts . MRS . DAVIDSON : The Oak Ridge cemesto houses that were built - I think this house was built in the fall of 1944 or 1943 . Maybe it was ' 43 . The B house has two bedrooms and of course a bath and a kitchen with a dinette into a long narrow living room . It was about 24 feet by 40 something feet . It was small and convenient . It didn 't have much storage space , but it 's been a wonderful house for us because of the trees . We are on a greenbelt , and I enjoy that very much . It 's a nice private neighborhood just above Jackson Square . MRS . DAVIDSON : Our cemesto has a fireplace , and it had a complete brick wall . Some of the B houses had a brick wall just beyond the fireplace . MRS . DAVIDSON : There are hardwood floors in all the cemestos , I believe . Our house has maple flooring , and a lot of them had oak . Wood was hard to come by in the wartime . We love the color - the reddish color of the maple . MRS . DAVIDSON : Adele is our second daughter , and she was two years younger . Our son is Bill Davidson or William . He was born in November of 1954 . He 's just now turning 58 . MRS . DAVIDSON : All three of our children went to Cedar Hill . They had split grades there , so I think the classes were one half size . They would take the kids a half from one grade , and half from the next grade , and that worked out just fine . MRS . DAVIDSON : Cedar Hill was wonderful . It was very special . Mr . Dodd was the principal , and he saw to it - he had the best teachers or at least as good as any . Actually in those days all the teachers and Oak Ridge were special because many of them had been recruited from Columbia Teachers College , along with the superintendent . Others were specially recruited for the job . They were a group a part , I think , from a lot of teachers . MRS . DAVIDSON : The girls both went to Jefferson when it was on the hill at Jackson Square , and Bill was in the first year at the new Jefferson that was over on Fairbanks Road . His was the first class there . They all went through Oak Ridge High . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you recall some of the classes your daughters took while they were in junior high ? Was there Home Ec . or things related to girls ? MRS . DAVIDSON : No , they were on the college prep track . They took eighth grade algebra and that kind of thing . Of course English and math and social studies and science - our older girl I think took biology ; and I 'm not sure if Adele had a more general science course . It just depended on the teacher that they had . They had an excellent education , and the girls were both Merit semifinalists . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course . I was in the PTA . I 'm not sure if I was ever a room mother , but I of course helped with parties and things . MRS . DAVIDSON : The teachers recruited them from each class to help with parties mostly . They helped with any activities that they didn 't really have time to do . MRS . DAVIDSON : Parent - Teacher Association , a time honored group . It got extra things for the school . I got involved with raincoats for the school patrol . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess maybe I was a treasurer of the Cedar Hill PTA , and this goal was to get those yellow slicker raincoat so kids could be visible to the drivers . I found out how much the things cost , and then I estimated postage . At the PTA meeting , Alvin Weinberg was president . He had a son or two in school at the time . He took me to task for estimating the postage , so I had to ask for just the money for the coats themselves since I didn 't really know what the postage is going to be . I thought that was interesting that he wanted to keep it to the exact penny . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think they just wore what the other kids wore . One day we had a deep snow and Bill was in kindergarten , and the snow was up over their boots . I think he had some corduroys . The teacher was making the kids take their pants off and dry them on the radiator , and he wouldn 't do it . I had to go up to the school and take him some fresh pants , some dry clothes . He was very young - just four when he started . MR . HUNNICUTT : Let 's go back a few years . Do you remember 1945 when they dropped the bomb on Japan ? You remember where you were ? And what was your reaction ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I do remember that very clearly because it was the summer after my junior year in college , and I was a camp counselor up in Door County , Wisconsin . There was no electricity at the camp , so we counselors - after we got the kids to bed , went to the state park nearby . This was at Fish Creek , Wisconsin . We would listen to people 's car radios . We knew for about a week that something was happening , but we didn 't know just what . It was very deeply moving when the bomb was dropped , and we thought it would bring an end to the war . Of course , I had friends and a brother on Guam and a cousin was in Europe and others . So that was very deeply moving . I had a book of poetry - my favorite poems at the camp with me . One of my 12 - year - olds picked out a poem - " Once to every man and nation comes a moment to decide " - she read that , and I thought that was very astute of her , a youngster to be able to do that . MRS . DAVIDSON : My husband thought they should have dropped a sample first , but I didn 't feel that way since the first bomb didn 't phase the Japanese . I didn 't think the test one would have either . I was just so glad that the war was over . People could settle down and get into real life again . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think I was in transition from the dormitory to the house , and my husband 's brothers came up from Georgia to witness the opening . So we drove in their car around , and we watched the parade from , I believe , down on the eastern end of the Turnpike down near the warehouses to get out of the traffic . We never could figure out why they invited Marie " The Body " McDonald and [ inaudible ] to ride in the open car for the parade . We couldn 't figure out what they had to do with it , but we did see the burning of the magnesium ribbon . That was exciting . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was only toward town from Elza Gate . I know the central part of town , the Jackson Square area , was very crowded . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think they name the streets for famous cities in the country , and of course the alphabetical designations were very helpful . But Jackson Square , I assume , was named for New Orleans . That 's all I know about it . MRS . DAVIDSON : Sometimes you would pick up the telephone , and the other party was talking . I believe they had different rings . I think maybe the other party had one ring , and we had two . There were four - party lines , but if we were on a four - party line , only the other one was active . I think maybe we were . The other two lines were not being used . MR . HUNNICUTT : When you are raising your family , did you hang your clothes outside on the clothesline ? Did you have a dryer ? What did you use ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I hung them outside on the clothesline . As I said , when we moved here , Anne was a year old . Not much more than three years after that , we had three babies . I was able to talk my husband into getting a dryer that time . Before that , he had built a pulley out of my kitchen window . There was a drop off in the back , and he was able to string it to a tree in the woods . I was able to reel those cloth diapers and reel them in and out . The only problem was that the birds like the trees , too . Sometimes I had to do some re - washing . MR . HUNNICUTT : So in those days you use cloth diapers ? Today we use disposable diapers . How do you think you would 've done if you had disposable diapers ? MRS . DAVIDSON : At one point , when our children were out playing Kick the Can , there were over 40 children on the lane . There were about 20 or 21 houses . There were almost as many dogs . It was just a glorious place for them to grow up . They seem to get along remarkably well most of the time , especially in the early days . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes . We went down there on the opening , and got the radioactive dimes on that occasion . The museum at that time was down at Jefferson Circle . I don 't think any of us ever had our hair stand out on the Van De Graff generator or whatever it was , but we took the children . We went out ourselves . Of course my husband was interested in that kind of thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : Sometimes they walked to Jefferson , but by that time they were carrying pretty heavy books . One of the neighbors on Outer Drive wanted to have a carpool , so we joined that . MRS . DAVIDSON : When Anne was in the fifth grade , they had to write what they did on Friday nights . The teacher would call me and say , " Is it true that you gave your children ice water and watched TV on Friday nights ? " That was how generous we were with them . We didn 't get a TV until they were probably five or six years old . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course it was black and white . The reason we got it - I guess finally it was that the children were always going to the neighbors ' house to watch TV . We decided that we should get our own . They watched things like " Pinky Lee " and I 've forgotten what else . MRS . DAVIDSON : I remember that fondly because my first real date with my husband was going to dinner there with him . He invited me to go to a concert in Knoxville , and his excuse was that we should get to know each other better before he took me to the city with him . That was one thing . I remember there were parties there , and our company had a party at the Oak Terrace Ballroom . One of the NEPA fellows wore a Tarzan costume , which was mostly nothing . It turned out that he lived in the neighborhood . MRS . DAVIDSON : That was just below the dormitory where I lived in Columbia Hall . Jack went there looking for me , he thought I would eat breakfast there and then he could have breakfast with me ; but I ate in the dormitory . He didn 't find me there . When we came back from our bicycle ride to Concord Park , I remember we stopped by there , and he drank two or three Mountain Dew drinks . That surprised me , but we had worked off a lot of sweat . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , we took our children out there and saw " Lawrence of Arabia " and " The 10 Commandment " and those things . It was quite nice . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was about where Kroger 's - where that is now , on the southeast part of Illinois Avenue . It was a nice thing . That was a special treat for the children to go out there . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't think so . I think they were mostly in the car . They had a drawing one time , Jack won something . It was actually nothing , but he did win . MRS . DAVIDSON : I sure did . My three children were born there . It was a green structure , like so many of the buildings in Oak Ridge . I guess the present building is built on that place . It was okay . I didn 't have any problems with it , except after my second child . I had a staph infection from the hospital . Even an Army wife with a private room got an infection there . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , I think they also had been recruited ; and a lot of them were from Tulane University . The time I was sick with my infection , they were having a reunion at Tulane , and my doctor and another one were gone for the reunion . I didn 't like the one who took care of me . He didn 't do a good job . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was okay . I don 't remember having any problems with it . We knew Dr . Rogers from our church , and we went to him . He was called away to the service , I believe . Maybe it was the Korean War , but then he came back . MRS . DAVIDSON : We met at Pine Valley School . The choir sat on the bleachers , and the minister sat under the halo of the basketball net . My husband was a Methodist , and he went to the First Methodist Church . They had a big youth group there . When we were first married , we tried to take them both in . We went to Sunday school one place , and church another until we finally settled on the Presbyterian . It was smaller , and we knew more people . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course the people . I love my trees and my house . I love all the activities . Both my husband and I have always loved music and enjoy the concerts a lot . The symphony concerts with Waldo Cohn conducting were held at Jefferson Junior High on the Kentucky Avenue hill . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you think back about all the people that you knew in the early days ? Do you think it was unusual for everybody to get along - the many people that were here ? MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , I guess so . I didn 't think about it because we just did . It was just fun . Everybody was away from home , and we had to be family for each other . That was particularly true in this close neighborhood . MRS . DAVIDSON : I 'm pleased for the most part . I think we 've made good progress . We 've kept up with the outside world . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think we came through at the very best of times . It was not the pressure of war , but we were growing community . I think things were happening at the Lab . Both of my husband and I loved the Lab because there were so many good things going on out there . It gives us hope for the future . [ Editor 's Note : This transcript has been edited at Mrs . Davidson 's request . The corresponding audio and video components have remained unchanged . ] Click tabs to swap between content that is broken into logical sections . MR . HUNNICUTT : This interview is for the Center of Oak Ridge Oral History . The date is November 8 , 2012 . I am Don Hunnicutt in the home of Mrs . Mary Ann Davidson , 117 Orange Lane , Oak Ridge , Tennessee , to take her oral history about living in Oak Ridge , Tennessee . Please state your full name and your place of birth and your date of birth . MRS . DAVIDSON : My name is Mary Ann Davidson . My date of birth is January 12 , 1925 . I was born in Louisville , Kentucky . I lived there all my early life until I graduated from college . MRS . DAVIDSON : My father was William H . Courtenay . He was born in 1890 , on March 3 . He was in World War I and lived his entire life in Louisville and Shelbyville , Kentucky . He worked for the Mengel Company . They imported mahogany and hardwood from Africa and Central America . He delivered those to customers . He didn 't consider himself a salesman , but he sold them to the furniture factory - furniture makers around Kentucky , mostly Indiana and Cincinnati and some in Tennessee . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , he did not . The Louisville Male High School was considered a fine school at that time . They said that graduates could enter Harvard in their second year . The principal had written textbooks that were apparently used all over . But my father was interested in raising ponies . His father had a farm in Shelbyville , Kentucky . If you 'd didn 't make the grade , you are special . And Dr . Ruben Post - Halleck , the famous principal of the school , told him if he took an exam in math , he could be entered back in . He did that , and he aced the test . He was back in . Then he was a special in English , so they told him if he memorized the " Lady of the Lake " and said that he could get back in school . So he did that . I think he never did finish . He was a twin , and his twin was more of an engineering type and went to manual training high school . MR . HUNNICUTT : What about your mother 's school history ? MRS . DAVIDSON : She grew up in several small towns in western Kentucky . Her father worked for the L & N Railroad . She had her high school in Hopkinsville , Kentucky . She had to stay home - or she went to junior college nearby . She had a scholarship to Randolph Macon Women 's College , but she couldn 't take it because her mother was ill and died at age 50 . It was about the year I was born , I think . MRS . DAVIDSON : His name was William Howard Courtenay III . My father was named for his uncle , who was also William Howard . My older brother works for Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green in the physics department . He made instruments . My younger brother was a pediatrician in Louisville , and he is still living on a farm in Shelbyville . He 's interested in Kentucky antiques . MR . HUNNICUTT : Yes . MRS . DAVIDSON : I went to an unusual kindergarten and first grade . I was at what they called the Enterprise Branch of I . N . Bloom School . It was only kindergarten and first grade . It was in the older building , where we had a Pot Belly Stove . I think we had a maid to help us take our leggings off in the cold weather - galoshes . It was really a wonderful school . It was almost like a private one . It was public . We did things like making butter and we had an orchestra . I played the triangle . I had started a little bit earlier when my younger brother was born . Louisville had half semester , half - year grades . I would 've been a half year , but I skipped the last half of kindergarten . I went to the school board and took a test and went on , so they put me in the regular school year . I went through the big school the I . N . Bloom School and Highland Junior High School in Louisville . Then I went to Atherton High School for Girls . The Louisville public schools were segregated - boys and girls . There were about 900 girls at Atherton . My graduating class was about 200 , and I was the valedictorian . MRS . DAVIDSON : They are pants to keep your legs warm . They zipped up from the inside of the ankle bone up to about knee - high , I guess it was . They were a royal pain to take on and off , so the teacher had to have help to do that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was just ordinary . I 'm sure the girls wore dresses , and the little boys wore suits - not suits , but pants and shirts . MRS . DAVIDSON : I came to Oak Ridge after I graduated from college . I had two years of getting a master 's at Emory while I worked at my alma mater , Agnes Scott College in Decatur , Georgia . I was the chemistry lab instructor . So after those two years were up , I was interested in working in chemistry or biochemistry . My master 's was in biochemistry . In Louisville , there was nothing in that field , except liquor and paint - neither of which I was interested in . In Atlanta , I would like to stay in Atlanta , I heard that Oak Ridge was an interesting new place , and a lot was going on here . One of my dear college friends had recently married a physicist from the University of Kentucky , so I visited them here . I guess that must have been 1947 . Her husband was working at NEPA . He said they were looking for people with a chemistry degree . I applied , and I was accepted . I didn 't know that until I had completed the clearance , so I took the opportunity to go to Europe at an American youth hostel bicycle tour of Western Europe in the summer of 1948 . When I got home , I found that I had indeed gotten the job at Oak Ridge . So I came down here . MRS . DAVIDSON : I was wondering that . I think I came by train . When I interviewed earlier in the spring , my interview was at the Andrew Johnson Hotel . It was one of the private rooms . I had never seen the company here . I think I must have been met by a car and driver and brought to Oak Ridge . MRS . DAVIDSON : I came in through the Vermont Gateway , which is where the gas station is now on the corner of what I call Vermont . They call it North Rutgers now . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , I think it must 've been after that . That would 've been at Christmas time . When I applied , I imagine it was early spring . MRS . DAVIDSON : We called the company NEPA , for Nuclear Energy for the Propulsion of Aircraft . It was managed by the Fairchild Corporation the way Union Carbide or one of the other contractors managed the lab . I did not know until the first day I went to work just what the company was doing . They handed me a volume of information that said , " We are looking for - we are trying to make an airplane powered by nuclear energy that could fly to Russia and back without refueling . " That was a great shock to me . MRS . DAVIDSON : I lived in Columbia Hall Dormitory . I was very surprised to find that the rent was $ 15 a month until I realized it was one very small room . That was my living quarters . I took the opportunity to stay out of it as much as possible . I did that by babysitting in some of the B and D houses in the evening . Grandmothers were not here since it was a closed community . Babysitters were in short supply , and even though I didn 't need the money , it was good to get out of the dormitory . MRS . DAVIDSON : The dormitory was like Cheyenne Hall . It was the same type of building . It had wooden stairways from the second - floor hall down on each end . I lived on the second floor . Our dormitory was mostly nurses , since it was up on the hill next to the hospital - I think where the west parking lot is now . There was a kitchen on each end where we could have our own breakfast . Of course we were at the plant at lunchtime , and then we usually went out to supper . I opened the refrigerator door one morning and somebody 's milk came spilling out down my front . Everybody just stuffed things into the refrigerator . MRS . DAVIDSON : I had a single room with a twin bed and enough room to walk to the window by the bed . There was a little table that served as a desk with a chair . There was a much coveted dormitory dresser - a tall one with a number of drawers . They were very popular . MRS . DAVIDSON : They had a wonderful bus service here . Travel wasn 't really a problem . We walked , of course , from the dormitory to Jackson Square and ate supper usually at the Mayflower , which is where I first saw my husband - to - be . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was on the corner of Tennessee , right across from the Soup Kitchen and the Texaco gas station there on the northeast corner . It was a very popular place . In fact , there were several places you could eat . It was the Central Cafeteria , and the T & C Cafeteria in Jackson Square , which is about where the Epicurean is now toward the garden . MRS . DAVIDSON : It must 've been the A & P on Jackson Square . Jackson Square was really the center of activity as far as I was concerned at that time . I still love it . I hope it keeps going . MRS . DAVIDSON : The department stores - the big department store was Taylor 's at the time . They had a wonderful book department headed by Mrs . Keyes , whose daughter I knew at work . They had really fine art books and other books that they would have a great sale on once or twice a year . We were very happy with that . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was in the middle of the block between where Big Ed 's is in the corner . I guess it 's mostly used by the engineering company now . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , not frequently , but I went and saw - there was a theater down at Big Ed 's in Jackson Square and where the Playhouse is now . That was the main one . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , the jewelry store was on the corner that was Henebree 's , I think . No , that was Heneger 's . MR . HUNNICUTT : Henebree ? MRS . DAVIDSON : Henebree . McCrory 's 5 & 10 was there . There was a drugstore - a Service Drugstore . I guess that was where Big Ed 's is now , on the very corner . There was Jackson Square Pharmacy , and on the other side the Hamilton Bank was there next to the movie theater . And Samuel 's Men 's Store was a very nice store . The Jackson Square Pharmacy was there , but in between , which the Pharmacy later took over was a Kay 's Ice Cream Store . We used to go there and - my husband and I would when we were dating . I liked to get coffee with ice cream in it , so we went there . MR . HUNNICUTT : I believe that was Taff Moody Ice Cream - they served Kay 's Ice Cream . MRS . DAVIDSON : Was it ? I didn 't remember that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I can 't say that I do . It was just a given , I suppose . It didn 't make a big dent in my memory . After six months of the dormitory , I moved to a D house on Norman Lane . That was another era . MR . HUNNICUTT : What is a D house ? MRS . DAVIDSON : A D house was a large three bedroom house . They were very much desired . They were really nice houses - still a lot of them are . The house was - there were five other girls who lived there - two of whom had been college friends . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , it would 've been upstairs . It was the second one to the end . A radiation technologist lived on the corner , and I lived there with school teachers and nurses who made up most of the dorm . MR . HUNNICUTT : Let 's talk a little bit about the dorm again . If I had a message for you or someone left a message for you , how did you retrieve your messages ? Was there a desk when you went in ? MRS . DAVIDSON : There was a desk downstairs . I remember the Valentine 's Day - I guess it must 've been 1949 . The message was that I had some flowers , some red roses . I had just met my husband - to - be at that time . I got all excited , and when I got to the desk , it was from somebody else . I enjoyed the red roses , but not as much as I might have . The thing was that there were ladies - a lot of the women who lived in the dorm worked on the night shift . They would sit around a large kind of living room , I guess they called it . They were all staring when I got flowers . I had to walk around , and it was embarrassing . MRS . DAVIDSON : I was there in the winter of 1948 . I 'm very cold natured , but I don 't remember being cold . We had those heavy navy blanket - navy blue blankets . This brings up a story if I jump to it later on . We were moved from the D house after another six months into the brand - new Garden Apartments on Villanova Road . They needed our D house for families . The people who moved in were the Andersons of the Anderson Hilltop Grocery . Of course , the furniture all belonged to the government there . So the Garden Apartments were not furnished , so we had dwindled down from 6 to 4 people who needed furniture . I took a day off and went to an auction the government set up down at the warehouses . I got seven beds and three or four dressers - much more than I could have used . But the beds were in great demand at work because all the young men who worked there were having children and needed beds . So we took the four . Also I got two sofas , and we could use but one ; so I sold one . They were really shabby awful sofas . Since it was all going to surplus anyway , we switched and took the nice sofa from the D house and left them the bad one . It was all taken away anyhow , so I didn 't feel too bad about that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't really remember about the telephone . We didn 't use the telephone much . We never used it for long - distance except for emergencies and calls home . I don 't remember that as being a problem particularly . MRS . DAVIDSON : I suppose I went on the bus . I did not have a car . One of the housemates from Norman Lane had gotten the car , but she would 've been at work at K - 25 . I don 't know . I may have gotten a ride . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess I paid somebody to deliver it . I don 't know . Maybe some of the fellows at work picked up their beds that they wanted . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was one of those warehouses down at the [ Oak Ridge ] Turnpike on Warehouse Road . I don 't know exactly where it was . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess it was on the bulletin boards at work , or there was a newspaper at the Lab . I guess I heard about it that way . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think probably so - in the newsletters they came around , also at the recreation building - the rec hall - at Jackson Square that was the library upstairs and the rec hall downstairs . Word - of - mouth - I don 't remember . We had a need and found the answer to it . MRS . DAVIDSON : I had to punch a clock at eight in the morning when I first started . I guess we got out at 4 : 30 or 5 o ' clock . We had bus service that went from the bus terminal - the Central one - that 's now by Bus Terminal Road . Later on after we were married , we lived on Waddell Circle and went from there to the Jefferson bus terminal . I went - I rode on the K - 25 bus , and they went out past K - 25 to the road that the powerhouse was on and NEPA was beyond that out by the river . MRS . DAVIDSON : There was some kind of management services office . I 'm not sure what it was called - the Roane Anderson Corporation at that time , I guess . I think that 's where I rented the dormitory room . I probably got bus tokens - I guess I got the tokens of the bus terminal . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think I had a checking account probably at Hamilton Bank in Jackson Square . I don 't recall otherwise . I know I did later . One thing I wanted to say about the buses - if you wanted to go to Clinton to do any shopping , more than what you could have in Oak Ridge or to meet somebody or something , there was a bus that ran frequently back and forth between the bus terminal and Clinton . There was a young man on the bus who had a sing - songy sales pitch for " peanuts , popcorn , Cracker Jacks , candy , and chewing gum . " He wouldn 't drive , but he would sell his wares all the way to Clinton and back . I always wondered who that was because he obviously had some talent . MRS . DAVIDSON : I 'm sure I did . I don 't know what became of it . I guess I had to turn it back in . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think somebody just got - one of the guards got on the bus and checked everybody 's badges . It was not a big thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : Probably . I don 't remember . What I do remember about that was my mother was coming down one time for my birthday - it must 've been in January 1949 . She rode the train . I told her that I would get a ride to meet her . Of course , the train didn 't stop at Oak Ridge . It went on to Knoxville , so I bummed a ride with one of the men in our group . He was actually the technical assistant to the director . His car was a broken down old thing with no floorboards in the back seat , which was pretty bad when my mother saw it . But she didn 't see it because when we got to Knoxville , she was not there . When we were coming back from the gateway entrance , she was not there . There was a message that she was waiting for us at the Elza Gate Station . She had told the conductor she had to get off at Oak Ridge . That 's where she was going , and I was going to meet her . So she slid down the Elza bank over there . She had my birthday cake - a large chocolate cake . She slid downhill with that , and somehow they stopped her at the guard gate at Elza . She waited there for us . MRS . DAVIDSON : Just for her - let her off like a milk train . They ordinarily didn 't stop there , but she wouldn 't have it otherwise . MRS . DAVIDSON : I used the library and rec hall . On Sunday afternoons , they played music ; and you could sit and write letters home , which is what I think I did a good bit . Later on in the better weather , there were tennis courts and a swimming pool . I don 't remember going to movies much . We went to church groups . There were so many young people ; it was just like a party all the time . Nothing in particular stands out . It was just fun . MRS . DAVIDSON : In the company I was , that was not true . There were a lot of women of course - of course , the dormitory was full of school teachers and nurses . But NEPA was mostly men . There were two parts to the Fairchild - the science and engineering part , which was bigger . I happen to be in the research part . My boss was a chemist - Vince Calkins . It was my job to - this was a real shocker to me - to find a chemical that would protect the human body against radiation for the reactor that was supposed to be in the airplane to Russia . I had no background for that kind of thing . I was just fresh out of college really . I realized I was out of my depth , but they decided - he was a pharmacist , I believe , and he wanted to do experiments with rats . They brought in the rat colony . By that time we had a couple of assistants , and I was supposed to be the group leader . One of the men , Ray Waldrop - you may have talked to him . I asked him if he minded working for a woman because he was really more experienced than I , although I had the degree . It was fine with him . There was also another worker , Saul Segal , who was quite a character in his own right . I took the rats in the cages over to the reactor , the " Old Lady " at X - 10 , and put them through what they called " rabbits " and radiated them for certain amount of time . We couldn 't kill the darn things . Then we used the older ones that had already been radiated , they were just tough as anything . I think the experiment was really a failure , although they may have found that to be the case in some later work with older people - that the cells are not dividing as fast and they 're not as subject to radiation . But we didn 't get into that . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was actually not K - 25 . It was beyond there . As I said , the bus took us - the bus dumped people off at K - 25 , and they went on west to just before you get to the Gallaher Bridge . You turn right there and go right past the power station there . It was used for a long time - the power house , and then NEPA was beyond that . The native rats came in - was it domestic experimental rats ? That was not good . I had a janitor who helped me , even though he could 've lost his job for doing it . He helped me clean cages . I always appreciated that . MRS . DAVIDSON : When they got rid of the rats , which was a blessing , my group leader then became Bill Browning , who was a fine scientist . He worked on the Van de Graaff generator . We had an interesting argument . Saul Segal thought he should be the one to do it since he was a man and I was a woman who would be leaving soon ; and it turned out that he left for California before I had left to have my baby . His argument didn 't hold with me anyway , but we argued about that some . We did run the Van de Graaff , and we also did some experiments on metallic sodium . It was nasty stuff to work with . It caught on fire if it was exposed to air . You had to work with that under oil in the glove box . I think that work all had to be repeated after NEPA left for Cincinnati with G . E . . When they moved part of NEPA to X - 10 , they called it the ANP , or something about aircraft and nuclear power . I was not connected with that because my first baby was born in August 1951 . I left in July . MRS . DAVIDSON : I heard somebody say that they had to repeat it all . My boss , the Division Director of Chemistry was interested in vitamin E , and thought it had a lot of protective influence . We worked with that . That was some of the work I did in chemistry - the lab part of it in the early days . It was not good work , I think . I 'm not blaming myself , but some of the other men who were doing chemical work - I think altogether we didn 't come up with anything . MRS . DAVIDSON : It may have been ahead of it 's time for nuclear submarines . I don 't know whether the engineering people thought that or not . In our group which was the chemistry and the physics , my friend who got me the job was Jim Trice . A fellow named Art Miller and somebody named Coneybearwere in the Physics Division . And then there were some others - Fred Maienschein . I did some work for him one time . It was work on beryllium for one thing . I didn 't work with any of the active beryllium . I didn 't do any lab work then , but I did some journal research . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't think they were that far along . I 'm not sure what happened to that part of it . As I said , in July of 1951 they moved to Cincinnati , Evensville , above Cincinnati . I don 't know how many people actually went up there . Most of my friends moved elsewhere . MR . HUNNICUTT : You mentioned the location of the operation was past the steam plant that was on the Clinch River . Was that the same location where the S - 50 project was located ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I think that was the name of our plot of land . I think those - I never was quite sure how they got the designations , but that was the Fairchild domain , I think . MRS . DAVIDSON : Really , it was just when our eyes met . It was very romantic . He followed our group home to the Columbia Hall to see where I lived . But at the time I thought he was too young , and I didn 't think he was following me . I was with a group of other girls . Later on , one of the women in the dormitory , who was a gym teacher in the Oak Ridge schools , told me I really ought to meet Jack Davidson that he loved to ride bicycles ; I was just back from my bicycle trip in Europe . I didn 't know who he was , and then I went to a church group meeting at my Presbyterian Church for young people one Sunday evening . A friend of mine had brought Jack Davidson , and he was the one whose eyes I had met and he had met mine . Sure enough , he loved to ride bicycles . That was the start of a good thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : We did a little bit . On our dates , that 's really what we did mostly at first . We rode out to West Outer Drive and had those wonderful big hills , not too much traffic at that time . We went out to the water tower at the top of Louisiana and had a picnic , and then rode back . When we got really good , we rode our bicycles over to Concord Park one day . I had gotten some chicken breasts at the grocery . I guess it was the A & P at Jackson Square . I was going to fry them for a picnic to take along over to Concord Park . When I went to the refrigerator to get them , they had turned into wings . Somebody had eaten my chicken breast . Jack was a good sport about that . He didn 't care . We had a nice ride . It was before they had improved Lovell Road . It was a pretty rough ride over there , but we were able to enjoy it . MRS . DAVIDSON : He had his bicycle . It was probably a Grey Stone . For me , he rented a bicycle from his work friend . I had forgotten what his name was . We went over to one of the D Streets , I think , and rode them . I didn 't have my English 3 - speed here . I guess I brought it later , but at that time I didn 't have it . MRS . DAVIDSON : That was a problem . I complained to my friend Jim Trice 's wife , Dot , who happened to live around the corner on Outer Drive at that time . She said the boardwalk was used a lot for dating , and of course the theaters . I guess we were outdoors people . I don 't know . MRS . DAVIDSON : He was a graduate of Georgia Tech . At the time he graduated , he was very young . He came up to see about a job , and he was drafted . No , he was in danger of being drafted right away , but they didn 't hire him . He did go to work for NASA , which was at that time NACA , in Virginia ; and worked over there a short time before he was taken into the Army . He had gone through Georgia Tech on a " War Manpower " loan . He was sent to some place to be an MP , I think . He wrote a night letter , which is a 50 - word telegram that was cheaper at night . He wrote a night letter to Stimson , the Secretary of War , telling them they had paid for his college education ; and here he was sitting in a camp doing nothing down in Alabama . He was transferred to the SED , he would never say that was the reason he was transferred . It may or may not have been . He arrived with the SED - he arrived in Oak Ridge the day Roosevelt died , which was in April 1945 , he was here with his group for maybe six weeks before they went out to Los Alamos . So he spent the rest of the war out there . Then he used his G . I . Bill - he stayed on at Los Alamos . They told them they would let him out of the Army if he would agree to stay on as a civilian . So he took that . Then when he did leave , he went to Annapolis and took a liberal arts course because he felt that he had missed out on it at Georgia Tech . He had a year at St . John 's College of Annapolis ; and then all along I guess he thought he would like to come back here . He came back - he arrived on Armistice Day , now Veterans Day , of 1948 . I was here a couple of months before he came , but we met shortly after Christmas in 1949 . MRS . DAVIDSON : Too long . We were married in May 1950 . He wanted to pay off his loan before we could get married , so I helped him along with that . I fed him some . He was very welcome at the D House of girls . I was going to tell you that during the war , there were nine girls in the house , and they slept on shifts on the bunk beds . There were only six of us when I was there . There were a couple of the boyfriends around , and one of them cut the grass . I think Jack did the - empty the clinkers from the furnace , the coal furnace . They made themselves useful . They got their dinner . MR . HUNNICUTT : Tell me about the coal furnace briefly . MRS . DAVIDSON : Most of the houses were a very good design really , and a whole lot better built than we gave them credit for . But each one that I knew of had a corner set off or closed off as a coal storage place that could be filled through a window from the outside , and then you could use the - there was an opening on the inside that you could use to put coal into the furnace . That was awful of course , but that 's what all the houses were doing in that time , too . We had a yard full of clinkers over there . MRS . DAVIDSON : We were taken care of by a Big Brother - the government . They brought the coal around , and you didn 't do a thing . That was part of the rent . When we got our house here on Orange Lane , that 's another story . Are you ready for that yet ? MRS . DAVIDSON : We went back to my home in Louisville , Kentucky , to be married . We had planned to fly to Nashville , but it turned out the Delta Queen was coming through Louisville the next morning . My mother had told us we could not get married the week before because it was too busy with Derby Day . So we delayed until May 13 . Then we spent the night in Louisville at the Brown Hotel , where she pulled some strings to get us a room because it was still very full of visitors from the Derby . We got on the Delta Queen , and our friends were all on the dock to see us off . They had us almost convinced that we were on Daylight Saving Time , and the Delta Queen was not , and we had missed it . But we rode down just as far as Paducah . We were anxious to start in life you know . We lived on Wadell Circle in a K apartment . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you recall the number ? MRS . DAVIDSON : It was a two - story thing . I guess it was a two - bedroom up above , and we had K - 1 . It was sort of underground at the front and open at the back . We had a nice back porch . There was a closet under the stairway and a very small kitchen . It had a table that folded down . It was not as compact as a flattop , but the furnishings that they had did double duty . You could fold it up and have more room . MRS . DAVIDSON : The K apartment was heated with the coal furnace , but there was a janitor who came around and took care of it for us . We were taken care of by Roane Anderson . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you remember what the rent was ? MRS . DAVIDSON : We lived in the K from May 1950 , until we got this house in July 1952 . It was said - the word around town was that you couldn 't get a two - bedroom house unless you had three children , all of different sex . We had been on the list for this house ever since we knew our daughter was coming along . That was a long time to wait . We had been offered two houses - Florida Avenue , where the parking was across the street and the backyard just dropped off . We thought that was totally unsuitable for a new child . We turned both of those down . If we had turned this one down , we would 've gone to the bottom of the long list . But we loved this place of the trees and the dead end lane neighborhood . So we sat outside in front all weekend because we were not top on the list . The reason the other people didn 't take it was that the previous owner , Jim Cox and Charlotte , had put in an oil furnace ; and nobody wanted to pay $ 200 for the oil furnace . Since I had been working , we had saved my salary from work , and we had $ 200 to pay . Also , they didn 't want to be in the high rent district . This house rented for something like $ 45 instead of $ 43 in the lower rent districts . MRS . DAVIDSON : The Oak Ridge cemesto houses that were built - I think this house was built in the fall of 1944 or 1943 . Maybe it was ' 43 . The B house has two bedrooms and of course a bath and a kitchen with a dinette into a long narrow living room . It was about 24 feet by 40 something feet . It was small and convenient . It didn 't have much storage space , but it 's been a wonderful house for us because of the trees . We are on a greenbelt , and I enjoy that very much . It 's a nice private neighborhood just above Jackson Square . MRS . DAVIDSON : Our cemesto has a fireplace , and it had a complete brick wall . Some of the B houses had a brick wall just beyond the fireplace . MRS . DAVIDSON : There are hardwood floors in all the cemestos , I believe . Our house has maple flooring , and a lot of them had oak . Wood was hard to come by in the wartime . We love the color - the reddish color of the maple . MRS . DAVIDSON : Adele is our second daughter , and she was two years younger . Our son is Bill Davidson or William . He was born in November of 1954 . He 's just now turning 58 . MR . HUNNICUTT : So your first daughter went to Cedar Hill ? MRS . DAVIDSON : All three of our children went to Cedar Hill . They had split grades there , so I think the classes were one half size . They would take the kids a half from one grade , and half from the next grade , and that worked out just fine . MRS . DAVIDSON : Cedar Hill was wonderful . It was very special . Mr . Dodd was the principal , and he saw to it - he had the best teachers or at least as good as any . Actually in those days all the teachers and Oak Ridge were special because many of them had been recruited from Columbia Teachers College , along with the superintendent . Others were specially recruited for the job . They were a group a part , I think , from a lot of teachers . MRS . DAVIDSON : The girls both went to Jefferson when it was on the hill at Jackson Square , and Bill was in the first year at the new Jefferson that was over on Fairbanks Road . His was the first class there . They all went through Oak Ridge High . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you recall some of the classes your daughters took while they were in junior high ? Was there Home Ec . or things related to girls ? MRS . DAVIDSON : No , they were on the college prep track . They took eighth grade algebra and that kind of thing . Of course English and math and social studies and science - our older girl I think took biology ; and I 'm not sure if Adele had a more general science course . It just depended on the teacher that they had . They had an excellent education , and the girls were both Merit semifinalists . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course . I was in the PTA . I 'm not sure if I was ever a room mother , but I of course helped with parties and things . MRS . DAVIDSON : The teachers recruited them from each class to help with parties mostly . They helped with any activities that they didn 't really have time to do . MRS . DAVIDSON : Parent - Teacher Association , a time honored group . It got extra things for the school . I got involved with raincoats for the school patrol . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess maybe I was a treasurer of the Cedar Hill PTA , and this goal was to get those yellow slicker raincoat so kids could be visible to the drivers . I found out how much the things cost , and then I estimated postage . At the PTA meeting , Alvin Weinberg was president . He had a son or two in school at the time . He took me to task for estimating the postage , so I had to ask for just the money for the coats themselves since I didn 't really know what the postage is going to be . I thought that was interesting that he wanted to keep it to the exact penny . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think they just wore what the other kids wore . One day we had a deep snow and Bill was in kindergarten , and the snow was up over their boots . I think he had some corduroys . The teacher was making the kids take their pants off and dry them on the radiator , and he wouldn 't do it . I had to go up to the school and take him some fresh pants , some dry clothes . He was very young - just four when he started . MR . HUNNICUTT : Let 's go back a few years . Do you remember 1945 when they dropped the bomb on Japan ? You remember where you were ? And what was your reaction ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I do remember that very clearly because it was the summer after my junior year in college , and I was a camp counselor up in Door County , Wisconsin . There was no electricity at the camp , so we counselors - after we got the kids to bed , went to the state park nearby . This was at Fish Creek , Wisconsin . We would listen to people 's car radios . We knew for about a week that something was happening , but we didn 't know just what . It was very deeply moving when the bomb was dropped , and we thought it would bring an end to the war . Of course , I had friends and a brother on Guam and a cousin was in Europe and others . So that was very deeply moving . I had a book of poetry - my favorite poems at the camp with me . One of my 12 - year - olds picked out a poem - " Once to every man and nation comes a moment to decide " - she read that , and I thought that was very astute of her , a youngster to be able to do that . MRS . DAVIDSON : My husband thought they should have dropped a sample first , but I didn 't feel that way since the first bomb didn 't phase the Japanese . I didn 't think the test one would have either . I was just so glad that the war was over . People could settle down and get into real life again . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think I was in transition from the dormitory to the house , and my husband 's brothers came up from Georgia to witness the opening . So we drove in their car around , and we watched the parade from , I believe , down on the eastern end of the Turnpike down near the warehouses to get out of the traffic . We never could figure out why they invited Marie " The Body " McDonald and [ inaudible ] to ride in the open car for the parade . We couldn 't figure out what they had to do with it , but we did see the burning of the magnesium ribbon . That was exciting . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was only toward town from Elza Gate . I know the central part of town , the Jackson Square area , was very crowded . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think they name the streets for famous cities in the country , and of course the alphabetical designations were very helpful . But Jackson Square , I assume , was named for New Orleans . That 's all I know about it . MRS . DAVIDSON : Sometimes you would pick up the telephone , and the other party was talking . I believe they had different rings . I think maybe the other party had one ring , and we had two . There were four - party lines , but if we were on a four - party line , only the other one was active . I think maybe we were . The other two lines were not being used . MR . HUNNICUTT : When you are raising your family , did you hang your clothes outside on the clothesline ? Did you have a dryer ? What did you use ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I hung them outside on the clothesline . As I said , when we moved here , Anne was a year old . Not much more than three years after that , we had three babies . I was able to talk my husband into getting a dryer that time . Before that , he had built a pulley out of my kitchen window . There was a drop off in the back , and he was able to string it to a tree in the woods . I was able to reel those cloth diapers and reel them in and out . The only problem was that the birds like the trees , too . Sometimes I had to do some re - washing . MR . HUNNICUTT : So in those days you use cloth diapers ? Today we use disposable diapers . How do you think you would 've done if you had disposable diapers ? MRS . DAVIDSON : At one point , when our children were out playing Kick the Can , there were over 40 children on the lane . There were about 20 or 21 houses . There were almost as many dogs . It was just a glorious place for them to grow up . They seem to get along remarkably well most of the time , especially in the early days . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes . We went down there on the opening , and got the radioactive dimes on that occasion . The museum at that time was down at Jefferson Circle . I don 't think any of us ever had our hair stand out on the Van De Graff generator or whatever it was , but we took the children . We went out ourselves . Of course my husband was interested in that kind of thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : Sometimes they walked to Jefferson , but by that time they were carrying pretty heavy books . One of the neighbors on Outer Drive wanted to have a carpool , so we joined that . MRS . DAVIDSON : When Anne was in the fifth grade , they had to write what they did on Friday nights . The teacher would call me and say , " Is it true that you gave your children ice water and watched TV on Friday nights ? " That was how generous we were with them . We didn 't get a TV until they were probably five or six years old . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course it was black and white . The reason we got it - I guess finally it was that the children were always going to the neighbors ' house to watch TV . We decided that we should get our own . They watched things like " Pinky Lee " and I 've forgotten what else . MRS . DAVIDSON : I remember that fondly because my first real date with my husband was going to dinner there with him . He invited me to go to a concert in Knoxville , and his excuse was that we should get to know each other better before he took me to the city with him . That was one thing . I remember there were parties there , and our company had a party at the Oak Terrace Ballroom . One of the NEPA fellows wore a Tarzan costume , which was mostly nothing . It turned out that he lived in the neighborhood . MR . HUNNICUTT : What was the Oak Terrace ballroom - where was it located ? MRS . DAVIDSON : That was just below the dormitory where I lived in Columbia Hall . Jack went there looking for me , he thought I would eat breakfast there and then he could have breakfast with me ; but I ate in the dormitory . He didn 't find me there . When we came back from our bicycle ride to Concord Park , I remember we stopped by there , and he drank two or three Mountain Dew drinks . That surprised me , but we had worked off a lot of sweat . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , we took our children out there and saw " Lawrence of Arabia " and " The 10 Commandment " and those things . It was quite nice . MR . HUNNICUTT : Where was it located ? MRS . DAVIDSON : It was about where Kroger 's - where that is now , on the southeast part of Illinois Avenue . It was a nice thing . That was a special treat for the children to go out there . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't think so . I think they were mostly in the car . They had a drawing one time , Jack won something . It was actually nothing , but he did win . MRS . DAVIDSON : I sure did . My three children were born there . It was a green structure , like so many of the buildings in Oak Ridge . I guess the present building is built on that place . It was okay . I didn 't have any problems with it , except after my second child . I had a staph infection from the hospital . Even an Army wife with a private room got an infection there . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , I think they also had been recruited ; and a lot of them were from Tulane University . The time I was sick with my infection , they were having a reunion at Tulane , and my doctor and another one were gone for the reunion . I didn 't like the one who took care of me . He didn 't do a good job . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was okay . I don 't remember having any problems with it . We knew Dr . Rogers from our church , and we went to him . He was called away to the service , I believe . Maybe it was the Korean War , but then he came back . MRS . DAVIDSON : We met at Pine Valley School . The choir sat on the bleachers , and the minister sat under the halo of the basketball net . My husband was a Methodist , and he went to the First Methodist Church . They had a big youth group there . When we were first married , we tried to take them both in . We went to Sunday school one place , and church another until we finally settled on the Presbyterian . It was smaller , and we knew more people . MR . HUNNICUTT : Thinking back , what do you like best about Oak Ridge ? MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course the people . I love my trees and my house . I love all the activities . Both my husband and I have always loved music and enjoy the concerts a lot . The symphony concerts with Waldo Cohn conducting were held at Jefferson Junior High on the Kentucky Avenue hill . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you think back about all the people that you knew in the early days ? Do you think it was unusual for everybody to get along - the many people that were here ? MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , I guess so . I didn 't think about it because we just did . It was just fun . Everybody was away from home , and we had to be family for each other . That was particularly true in this close neighborhood . MRS . DAVIDSON : I 'm pleased for the most part . I think we 've made good progress . We 've kept up with the outside world . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't know . I 'll probably think of things after you leave . Nothing particular comes to mind . MR . HUNNICUTT : I would like to thank you for your time , and I think this interview will be very helpful for someone in the future to see how you lived in Oak Ridge in the early days . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think we came through at the very best of times . It was not the pressure of war , but we were growing community . I think things were happening at the Lab . Both of my husband and I loved the Lab because there were so many good things going on out there . It gives us hope for the future . MR . HUNNICUTT : I thank you very much for your time . [ Editor 's Note : This transcript has been edited at Mrs . Davidson 's request . The corresponding audio and video components have remained unchanged . ] Your rating was saved . you wish to report :

MR . HUNNICUTT : This interview is for the Center of Oak Ridge Oral History . The date is November 8 , 2012 . I am Don Hunnicutt in the home of Mrs . Mary Ann Davidson , 117 Orange Lane , Oak Ridge , Tennessee , to take her oral history about living in Oak Ridge , Tennessee . Please state your full name and your place of birth and your date of birth . MRS . DAVIDSON : My name is Mary Ann Davidson . My date of birth is January 12 , 1925 . I was born in Louisville , Kentucky . I lived there all my early life until I graduated from college . MRS . DAVIDSON : My father was William H . Courtenay . He was born in 1890 , on March 3 . He was in World War I and lived his entire life in Louisville and Shelbyville , Kentucky . He worked for the Mengel Company . They imported mahogany and hardwood from Africa and Central America . He delivered those to customers . He didn 't consider himself a salesman , but he sold them to the furniture factory - furniture makers around Kentucky , mostly Indiana and Cincinnati and some in Tennessee . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , he did not . The Louisville Male High School was considered a fine school at that time . They said that graduates could enter Harvard in their second year . The principal had written textbooks that were apparently used all over . But my father was interested in raising ponies . His father had a farm in Shelbyville , Kentucky . If you 'd didn 't make the grade , you are special . And Dr . Ruben Post - Halleck , the famous principal of the school , told him if he took an exam in math , he could be entered back in . He did that , and he aced the test . He was back in . Then he was a special in English , so they told him if he memorized the " Lady of the Lake " and said that he could get back in school . So he did that . I think he never did finish . He was a twin , and his twin was more of an engineering type and went to manual training high school . MRS . DAVIDSON : She grew up in several small towns in western Kentucky . Her father worked for the L & N Railroad . She had her high school in Hopkinsville , Kentucky . She had to stay home - or she went to junior college nearby . She had a scholarship to Randolph Macon Women 's College , but she couldn 't take it because her mother was ill and died at age 50 . It was about the year I was born , I think . MRS . DAVIDSON : His name was William Howard Courtenay III . My father was named for his uncle , who was also William Howard . My older brother works for Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green in the physics department . He made instruments . My younger brother was a pediatrician in Louisville , and he is still living on a farm in Shelbyville . He 's interested in Kentucky antiques . MRS . DAVIDSON : I went to an unusual kindergarten and first grade . I was at what they called the Enterprise Branch of I . N . Bloom School . It was only kindergarten and first grade . It was in the older building , where we had a Pot Belly Stove . I think we had a maid to help us take our leggings off in the cold weather - galoshes . It was really a wonderful school . It was almost like a private one . It was public . We did things like making butter and we had an orchestra . I played the triangle . I had started a little bit earlier when my younger brother was born . Louisville had half semester , half - year grades . I would 've been a half year , but I skipped the last half of kindergarten . I went to the school board and took a test and went on , so they put me in the regular school year . I went through the big school the I . N . Bloom School and Highland Junior High School in Louisville . Then I went to Atherton High School for Girls . The Louisville public schools were segregated - boys and girls . There were about 900 girls at Atherton . My graduating class was about 200 , and I was the valedictorian . MRS . DAVIDSON : They are pants to keep your legs warm . They zipped up from the inside of the ankle bone up to about knee - high , I guess it was . They were a royal pain to take on and off , so the teacher had to have help to do that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was just ordinary . I 'm sure the girls wore dresses , and the little boys wore suits - not suits , but pants and shirts . MRS . DAVIDSON : I came to Oak Ridge after I graduated from college . I had two years of getting a master 's at Emory while I worked at my alma mater , Agnes Scott College in Decatur , Georgia . I was the chemistry lab instructor . So after those two years were up , I was interested in working in chemistry or biochemistry . My master 's was in biochemistry . In Louisville , there was nothing in that field , except liquor and paint - neither of which I was interested in . In Atlanta , I would like to stay in Atlanta , I heard that Oak Ridge was an interesting new place , and a lot was going on here . One of my dear college friends had recently married a physicist from the University of Kentucky , so I visited them here . I guess that must have been 1947 . Her husband was working at NEPA . He said they were looking for people with a chemistry degree . I applied , and I was accepted . I didn 't know that until I had completed the clearance , so I took the opportunity to go to Europe at an American youth hostel bicycle tour of Western Europe in the summer of 1948 . When I got home , I found that I had indeed gotten the job at Oak Ridge . So I came down here . MRS . DAVIDSON : I was wondering that . I think I came by train . When I interviewed earlier in the spring , my interview was at the Andrew Johnson Hotel . It was one of the private rooms . I had never seen the company here . I think I must have been met by a car and driver and brought to Oak Ridge . MRS . DAVIDSON : I came in through the Vermont Gateway , which is where the gas station is now on the corner of what I call Vermont . They call it North Rutgers now . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , I think it must 've been after that . That would 've been at Christmas time . When I applied , I imagine it was early spring . MRS . DAVIDSON : We called the company NEPA , for Nuclear Energy for the Propulsion of Aircraft . It was managed by the Fairchild Corporation the way Union Carbide or one of the other contractors managed the lab . I did not know until the first day I went to work just what the company was doing . They handed me a volume of information that said , " We are looking for - we are trying to make an airplane powered by nuclear energy that could fly to Russia and back without refueling . " That was a great shock to me . MRS . DAVIDSON : I lived in Columbia Hall Dormitory . I was very surprised to find that the rent was $ 15 a month until I realized it was one very small room . That was my living quarters . I took the opportunity to stay out of it as much as possible . I did that by babysitting in some of the B and D houses in the evening . Grandmothers were not here since it was a closed community . Babysitters were in short supply , and even though I didn 't need the money , it was good to get out of the dormitory . MRS . DAVIDSON : The dormitory was like Cheyenne Hall . It was the same type of building . It had wooden stairways from the second - floor hall down on each end . I lived on the second floor . Our dormitory was mostly nurses , since it was up on the hill next to the hospital - I think where the west parking lot is now . There was a kitchen on each end where we could have our own breakfast . Of course we were at the plant at lunchtime , and then we usually went out to supper . I opened the refrigerator door one morning and somebody 's milk came spilling out down my front . Everybody just stuffed things into the refrigerator . MRS . DAVIDSON : I had a single room with a twin bed and enough room to walk to the window by the bed . There was a little table that served as a desk with a chair . There was a much coveted dormitory dresser - a tall one with a number of drawers . They were very popular . MRS . DAVIDSON : They had a wonderful bus service here . Travel wasn 't really a problem . We walked , of course , from the dormitory to Jackson Square and ate supper usually at the Mayflower , which is where I first saw my husband - to - be . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was on the corner of Tennessee , right across from the Soup Kitchen and the Texaco gas station there on the northeast corner . It was a very popular place . In fact , there were several places you could eat . It was the Central Cafeteria , and the T & C Cafeteria in Jackson Square , which is about where the Epicurean is now toward the garden . MRS . DAVIDSON : It must 've been the A & P on Jackson Square . Jackson Square was really the center of activity as far as I was concerned at that time . I still love it . I hope it keeps going . MRS . DAVIDSON : The department stores - the big department store was Taylor 's at the time . They had a wonderful book department headed by Mrs . Keyes , whose daughter I knew at work . They had really fine art books and other books that they would have a great sale on once or twice a year . We were very happy with that . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was in the middle of the block between where Big Ed 's is in the corner . I guess it 's mostly used by the engineering company now . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , not frequently , but I went and saw - there was a theater down at Big Ed 's in Jackson Square and where the Playhouse is now . That was the main one . MRS . DAVIDSON : Henebree . McCrory 's 5 & 10 was there . There was a drugstore - a Service Drugstore . I guess that was where Big Ed 's is now , on the very corner . There was Jackson Square Pharmacy , and on the other side the Hamilton Bank was there next to the movie theater . And Samuel 's Men 's Store was a very nice store . The Jackson Square Pharmacy was there , but in between , which the Pharmacy later took over was a Kay 's Ice Cream Store . We used to go there and - my husband and I would when we were dating . I liked to get coffee with ice cream in it , so we went there . MRS . DAVIDSON : I can 't say that I do . It was just a given , I suppose . It didn 't make a big dent in my memory . After six months of the dormitory , I moved to a D house on Norman Lane . That was another era . MRS . DAVIDSON : A D house was a large three bedroom house . They were very much desired . They were really nice houses - still a lot of them are . The house was - there were five other girls who lived there - two of whom had been college friends . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , it would 've been upstairs . It was the second one to the end . A radiation technologist lived on the corner , and I lived there with school teachers and nurses who made up most of the dorm . MR . HUNNICUTT : Let 's talk a little bit about the dorm again . If I had a message for you or someone left a message for you , how did you retrieve your messages ? Was there a desk when you went in ? MRS . DAVIDSON : There was a desk downstairs . I remember the Valentine 's Day - I guess it must 've been 1949 . The message was that I had some flowers , some red roses . I had just met my husband - to - be at that time . I got all excited , and when I got to the desk , it was from somebody else . I enjoyed the red roses , but not as much as I might have . The thing was that there were ladies - a lot of the women who lived in the dorm worked on the night shift . They would sit around a large kind of living room , I guess they called it . They were all staring when I got flowers . I had to walk around , and it was embarrassing . MRS . DAVIDSON : I was there in the winter of 1948 . I 'm very cold natured , but I don 't remember being cold . We had those heavy navy blanket - navy blue blankets . This brings up a story if I jump to it later on . We were moved from the D house after another six months into the brand - new Garden Apartments on Villanova Road . They needed our D house for families . The people who moved in were the Andersons of the Anderson Hilltop Grocery . Of course , the furniture all belonged to the government there . So the Garden Apartments were not furnished , so we had dwindled down from 6 to 4 people who needed furniture . I took a day off and went to an auction the government set up down at the warehouses . I got seven beds and three or four dressers - much more than I could have used . But the beds were in great demand at work because all the young men who worked there were having children and needed beds . So we took the four . Also I got two sofas , and we could use but one ; so I sold one . They were really shabby awful sofas . Since it was all going to surplus anyway , we switched and took the nice sofa from the D house and left them the bad one . It was all taken away anyhow , so I didn 't feel too bad about that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't really remember about the telephone . We didn 't use the telephone much . We never used it for long - distance except for emergencies and calls home . I don 't remember that as being a problem particularly . MRS . DAVIDSON : I suppose I went on the bus . I did not have a car . One of the housemates from Norman Lane had gotten the car , but she would 've been at work at K - 25 . I don 't know . I may have gotten a ride . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess I paid somebody to deliver it . I don 't know . Maybe some of the fellows at work picked up their beds that they wanted . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was one of those warehouses down at the [ Oak Ridge ] Turnpike on Warehouse Road . I don 't know exactly where it was . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess it was on the bulletin boards at work , or there was a newspaper at the Lab . I guess I heard about it that way . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think probably so - in the newsletters they came around , also at the recreation building - the rec hall - at Jackson Square that was the library upstairs and the rec hall downstairs . Word - of - mouth - I don 't remember . We had a need and found the answer to it . MRS . DAVIDSON : I had to punch a clock at eight in the morning when I first started . I guess we got out at 4 : 30 or 5 o ' clock . We had bus service that went from the bus terminal - the Central one - that 's now by Bus Terminal Road . Later on after we were married , we lived on Waddell Circle and went from there to the Jefferson bus terminal . I went - I rode on the K - 25 bus , and they went out past K - 25 to the road that the powerhouse was on and NEPA was beyond that out by the river . MRS . DAVIDSON : There was some kind of management services office . I 'm not sure what it was called - the Roane Anderson Corporation at that time , I guess . I think that 's where I rented the dormitory room . I probably got bus tokens - I guess I got the tokens of the bus terminal . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think I had a checking account probably at Hamilton Bank in Jackson Square . I don 't recall otherwise . I know I did later . One thing I wanted to say about the buses - if you wanted to go to Clinton to do any shopping , more than what you could have in Oak Ridge or to meet somebody or something , there was a bus that ran frequently back and forth between the bus terminal and Clinton . There was a young man on the bus who had a sing - songy sales pitch for " peanuts , popcorn , Cracker Jacks , candy , and chewing gum . " He wouldn 't drive , but he would sell his wares all the way to Clinton and back . I always wondered who that was because he obviously had some talent . MRS . DAVIDSON : I 'm sure I did . I don 't know what became of it . I guess I had to turn it back in . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think somebody just got - one of the guards got on the bus and checked everybody 's badges . It was not a big thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : Probably . I don 't remember . What I do remember about that was my mother was coming down one time for my birthday - it must 've been in January 1949 . She rode the train . I told her that I would get a ride to meet her . Of course , the train didn 't stop at Oak Ridge . It went on to Knoxville , so I bummed a ride with one of the men in our group . He was actually the technical assistant to the director . His car was a broken down old thing with no floorboards in the back seat , which was pretty bad when my mother saw it . But she didn 't see it because when we got to Knoxville , she was not there . When we were coming back from the gateway entrance , she was not there . There was a message that she was waiting for us at the Elza Gate Station . She had told the conductor she had to get off at Oak Ridge . That 's where she was going , and I was going to meet her . So she slid down the Elza bank over there . She had my birthday cake - a large chocolate cake . She slid downhill with that , and somehow they stopped her at the guard gate at Elza . She waited there for us . MRS . DAVIDSON : Just for her - let her off like a milk train . They ordinarily didn 't stop there , but she wouldn 't have it otherwise . MRS . DAVIDSON : I used the library and rec hall . On Sunday afternoons , they played music ; and you could sit and write letters home , which is what I think I did a good bit . Later on in the better weather , there were tennis courts and a swimming pool . I don 't remember going to movies much . We went to church groups . There were so many young people ; it was just like a party all the time . Nothing in particular stands out . It was just fun . MRS . DAVIDSON : In the company I was , that was not true . There were a lot of women of course - of course , the dormitory was full of school teachers and nurses . But NEPA was mostly men . There were two parts to the Fairchild - the science and engineering part , which was bigger . I happen to be in the research part . My boss was a chemist - Vince Calkins . It was my job to - this was a real shocker to me - to find a chemical that would protect the human body against radiation for the reactor that was supposed to be in the airplane to Russia . I had no background for that kind of thing . I was just fresh out of college really . I realized I was out of my depth , but they decided - he was a pharmacist , I believe , and he wanted to do experiments with rats . They brought in the rat colony . By that time we had a couple of assistants , and I was supposed to be the group leader . One of the men , Ray Waldrop - you may have talked to him . I asked him if he minded working for a woman because he was really more experienced than I , although I had the degree . It was fine with him . There was also another worker , Saul Segal , who was quite a character in his own right . I took the rats in the cages over to the reactor , the " Old Lady " at X - 10 , and put them through what they called " rabbits " and radiated them for certain amount of time . We couldn 't kill the darn things . Then we used the older ones that had already been radiated , they were just tough as anything . I think the experiment was really a failure , although they may have found that to be the case in some later work with older people - that the cells are not dividing as fast and they 're not as subject to radiation . But we didn 't get into that . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was actually not K - 25 . It was beyond there . As I said , the bus took us - the bus dumped people off at K - 25 , and they went on west to just before you get to the Gallaher Bridge . You turn right there and go right past the power station there . It was used for a long time - the power house , and then NEPA was beyond that . The native rats came in - was it domestic experimental rats ? That was not good . I had a janitor who helped me , even though he could 've lost his job for doing it . He helped me clean cages . I always appreciated that . MRS . DAVIDSON : When they got rid of the rats , which was a blessing , my group leader then became Bill Browning , who was a fine scientist . He worked on the Van de Graaff generator . We had an interesting argument . Saul Segal thought he should be the one to do it since he was a man and I was a woman who would be leaving soon ; and it turned out that he left for California before I had left to have my baby . His argument didn 't hold with me anyway , but we argued about that some . We did run the Van de Graaff , and we also did some experiments on metallic sodium . It was nasty stuff to work with . It caught on fire if it was exposed to air . You had to work with that under oil in the glove box . I think that work all had to be repeated after NEPA left for Cincinnati with G . E . . When they moved part of NEPA to X - 10 , they called it the ANP , or something about aircraft and nuclear power . I was not connected with that because my first baby was born in August 1951 . I left in July . MRS . DAVIDSON : I heard somebody say that they had to repeat it all . My boss , the Division Director of Chemistry was interested in vitamin E , and thought it had a lot of protective influence . We worked with that . That was some of the work I did in chemistry - the lab part of it in the early days . It was not good work , I think . I 'm not blaming myself , but some of the other men who were doing chemical work - I think altogether we didn 't come up with anything . MRS . DAVIDSON : It may have been ahead of it 's time for nuclear submarines . I don 't know whether the engineering people thought that or not . In our group which was the chemistry and the physics , my friend who got me the job was Jim Trice . A fellow named Art Miller and somebody named Coneybearwere in the Physics Division . And then there were some others - Fred Maienschein . I did some work for him one time . It was work on beryllium for one thing . I didn 't work with any of the active beryllium . I didn 't do any lab work then , but I did some journal research . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't think they were that far along . I 'm not sure what happened to that part of it . As I said , in July of 1951 they moved to Cincinnati , Evensville , above Cincinnati . I don 't know how many people actually went up there . Most of my friends moved elsewhere . MR . HUNNICUTT : You mentioned the location of the operation was past the steam plant that was on the Clinch River . Was that the same location where the S - 50 project was located ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I think that was the name of our plot of land . I think those - I never was quite sure how they got the designations , but that was the Fairchild domain , I think . MRS . DAVIDSON : Really , it was just when our eyes met . It was very romantic . He followed our group home to the Columbia Hall to see where I lived . But at the time I thought he was too young , and I didn 't think he was following me . I was with a group of other girls . Later on , one of the women in the dormitory , who was a gym teacher in the Oak Ridge schools , told me I really ought to meet Jack Davidson that he loved to ride bicycles ; I was just back from my bicycle trip in Europe . I didn 't know who he was , and then I went to a church group meeting at my Presbyterian Church for young people one Sunday evening . A friend of mine had brought Jack Davidson , and he was the one whose eyes I had met and he had met mine . Sure enough , he loved to ride bicycles . That was the start of a good thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : We did a little bit . On our dates , that 's really what we did mostly at first . We rode out to West Outer Drive and had those wonderful big hills , not too much traffic at that time . We went out to the water tower at the top of Louisiana and had a picnic , and then rode back . When we got really good , we rode our bicycles over to Concord Park one day . I had gotten some chicken breasts at the grocery . I guess it was the A & P at Jackson Square . I was going to fry them for a picnic to take along over to Concord Park . When I went to the refrigerator to get them , they had turned into wings . Somebody had eaten my chicken breast . Jack was a good sport about that . He didn 't care . We had a nice ride . It was before they had improved Lovell Road . It was a pretty rough ride over there , but we were able to enjoy it . MRS . DAVIDSON : He had his bicycle . It was probably a Grey Stone . For me , he rented a bicycle from his work friend . I had forgotten what his name was . We went over to one of the D Streets , I think , and rode them . I didn 't have my English 3 - speed here . I guess I brought it later , but at that time I didn 't have it . MRS . DAVIDSON : That was a problem . I complained to my friend Jim Trice 's wife , Dot , who happened to live around the corner on Outer Drive at that time . She said the boardwalk was used a lot for dating , and of course the theaters . I guess we were outdoors people . I don 't know . MRS . DAVIDSON : He was a graduate of Georgia Tech . At the time he graduated , he was very young . He came up to see about a job , and he was drafted . No , he was in danger of being drafted right away , but they didn 't hire him . He did go to work for NASA , which was at that time NACA , in Virginia ; and worked over there a short time before he was taken into the Army . He had gone through Georgia Tech on a " War Manpower " loan . He was sent to some place to be an MP , I think . He wrote a night letter , which is a 50 - word telegram that was cheaper at night . He wrote a night letter to Stimson , the Secretary of War , telling them they had paid for his college education ; and here he was sitting in a camp doing nothing down in Alabama . He was transferred to the SED , he would never say that was the reason he was transferred . It may or may not have been . He arrived with the SED - he arrived in Oak Ridge the day Roosevelt died , which was in April 1945 , he was here with his group for maybe six weeks before they went out to Los Alamos . So he spent the rest of the war out there . Then he used his G . I . Bill - he stayed on at Los Alamos . They told them they would let him out of the Army if he would agree to stay on as a civilian . So he took that . Then when he did leave , he went to Annapolis and took a liberal arts course because he felt that he had missed out on it at Georgia Tech . He had a year at St . John 's College of Annapolis ; and then all along I guess he thought he would like to come back here . He came back - he arrived on Armistice Day , now Veterans Day , of 1948 . I was here a couple of months before he came , but we met shortly after Christmas in 1949 . MRS . DAVIDSON : Too long . We were married in May 1950 . He wanted to pay off his loan before we could get married , so I helped him along with that . I fed him some . He was very welcome at the D House of girls . I was going to tell you that during the war , there were nine girls in the house , and they slept on shifts on the bunk beds . There were only six of us when I was there . There were a couple of the boyfriends around , and one of them cut the grass . I think Jack did the - empty the clinkers from the furnace , the coal furnace . They made themselves useful . They got their dinner . MRS . DAVIDSON : Most of the houses were a very good design really , and a whole lot better built than we gave them credit for . But each one that I knew of had a corner set off or closed off as a coal storage place that could be filled through a window from the outside , and then you could use the - there was an opening on the inside that you could use to put coal into the furnace . That was awful of course , but that 's what all the houses were doing in that time , too . We had a yard full of clinkers over there . MRS . DAVIDSON : We were taken care of by a Big Brother - the government . They brought the coal around , and you didn 't do a thing . That was part of the rent . When we got our house here on Orange Lane , that 's another story . Are you ready for that yet ? MRS . DAVIDSON : We went back to my home in Louisville , Kentucky , to be married . We had planned to fly to Nashville , but it turned out the Delta Queen was coming through Louisville the next morning . My mother had told us we could not get married the week before because it was too busy with Derby Day . So we delayed until May 13 . Then we spent the night in Louisville at the Brown Hotel , where she pulled some strings to get us a room because it was still very full of visitors from the Derby . We got on the Delta Queen , and our friends were all on the dock to see us off . They had us almost convinced that we were on Daylight Saving Time , and the Delta Queen was not , and we had missed it . But we rode down just as far as Paducah . We were anxious to start in life you know . We lived on Wadell Circle in a K apartment . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was a two - story thing . I guess it was a two - bedroom up above , and we had K - 1 . It was sort of underground at the front and open at the back . We had a nice back porch . There was a closet under the stairway and a very small kitchen . It had a table that folded down . It was not as compact as a flattop , but the furnishings that they had did double duty . You could fold it up and have more room . MRS . DAVIDSON : The K apartment was heated with the coal furnace , but there was a janitor who came around and took care of it for us . We were taken care of by Roane Anderson . MRS . DAVIDSON : We lived in the K from May 1950 , until we got this house in July 1952 . It was said - the word around town was that you couldn 't get a two - bedroom house unless you had three children , all of different sex . We had been on the list for this house ever since we knew our daughter was coming along . That was a long time to wait . We had been offered two houses - Florida Avenue , where the parking was across the street and the backyard just dropped off . We thought that was totally unsuitable for a new child . We turned both of those down . If we had turned this one down , we would 've gone to the bottom of the long list . But we loved this place of the trees and the dead end lane neighborhood . So we sat outside in front all weekend because we were not top on the list . The reason the other people didn 't take it was that the previous owner , Jim Cox and Charlotte , had put in an oil furnace ; and nobody wanted to pay $ 200 for the oil furnace . Since I had been working , we had saved my salary from work , and we had $ 200 to pay . Also , they didn 't want to be in the high rent district . This house rented for something like $ 45 instead of $ 43 in the lower rent districts . MRS . DAVIDSON : The Oak Ridge cemesto houses that were built - I think this house was built in the fall of 1944 or 1943 . Maybe it was ' 43 . The B house has two bedrooms and of course a bath and a kitchen with a dinette into a long narrow living room . It was about 24 feet by 40 something feet . It was small and convenient . It didn 't have much storage space , but it 's been a wonderful house for us because of the trees . We are on a greenbelt , and I enjoy that very much . It 's a nice private neighborhood just above Jackson Square . MRS . DAVIDSON : Our cemesto has a fireplace , and it had a complete brick wall . Some of the B houses had a brick wall just beyond the fireplace . MRS . DAVIDSON : There are hardwood floors in all the cemestos , I believe . Our house has maple flooring , and a lot of them had oak . Wood was hard to come by in the wartime . We love the color - the reddish color of the maple . MRS . DAVIDSON : Adele is our second daughter , and she was two years younger . Our son is Bill Davidson or William . He was born in November of 1954 . He 's just now turning 58 . MRS . DAVIDSON : All three of our children went to Cedar Hill . They had split grades there , so I think the classes were one half size . They would take the kids a half from one grade , and half from the next grade , and that worked out just fine . MRS . DAVIDSON : Cedar Hill was wonderful . It was very special . Mr . Dodd was the principal , and he saw to it - he had the best teachers or at least as good as any . Actually in those days all the teachers and Oak Ridge were special because many of them had been recruited from Columbia Teachers College , along with the superintendent . Others were specially recruited for the job . They were a group a part , I think , from a lot of teachers . MRS . DAVIDSON : The girls both went to Jefferson when it was on the hill at Jackson Square , and Bill was in the first year at the new Jefferson that was over on Fairbanks Road . His was the first class there . They all went through Oak Ridge High . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you recall some of the classes your daughters took while they were in junior high ? Was there Home Ec . or things related to girls ? MRS . DAVIDSON : No , they were on the college prep track . They took eighth grade algebra and that kind of thing . Of course English and math and social studies and science - our older girl I think took biology ; and I 'm not sure if Adele had a more general science course . It just depended on the teacher that they had . They had an excellent education , and the girls were both Merit semifinalists . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course . I was in the PTA . I 'm not sure if I was ever a room mother , but I of course helped with parties and things . MRS . DAVIDSON : The teachers recruited them from each class to help with parties mostly . They helped with any activities that they didn 't really have time to do . MRS . DAVIDSON : Parent - Teacher Association , a time honored group . It got extra things for the school . I got involved with raincoats for the school patrol . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess maybe I was a treasurer of the Cedar Hill PTA , and this goal was to get those yellow slicker raincoat so kids could be visible to the drivers . I found out how much the things cost , and then I estimated postage . At the PTA meeting , Alvin Weinberg was president . He had a son or two in school at the time . He took me to task for estimating the postage , so I had to ask for just the money for the coats themselves since I didn 't really know what the postage is going to be . I thought that was interesting that he wanted to keep it to the exact penny . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think they just wore what the other kids wore . One day we had a deep snow and Bill was in kindergarten , and the snow was up over their boots . I think he had some corduroys . The teacher was making the kids take their pants off and dry them on the radiator , and he wouldn 't do it . I had to go up to the school and take him some fresh pants , some dry clothes . He was very young - just four when he started . MR . HUNNICUTT : Let 's go back a few years . Do you remember 1945 when they dropped the bomb on Japan ? You remember where you were ? And what was your reaction ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I do remember that very clearly because it was the summer after my junior year in college , and I was a camp counselor up in Door County , Wisconsin . There was no electricity at the camp , so we counselors - after we got the kids to bed , went to the state park nearby . This was at Fish Creek , Wisconsin . We would listen to people 's car radios . We knew for about a week that something was happening , but we didn 't know just what . It was very deeply moving when the bomb was dropped , and we thought it would bring an end to the war . Of course , I had friends and a brother on Guam and a cousin was in Europe and others . So that was very deeply moving . I had a book of poetry - my favorite poems at the camp with me . One of my 12 - year - olds picked out a poem - " Once to every man and nation comes a moment to decide " - she read that , and I thought that was very astute of her , a youngster to be able to do that . MRS . DAVIDSON : My husband thought they should have dropped a sample first , but I didn 't feel that way since the first bomb didn 't phase the Japanese . I didn 't think the test one would have either . I was just so glad that the war was over . People could settle down and get into real life again . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think I was in transition from the dormitory to the house , and my husband 's brothers came up from Georgia to witness the opening . So we drove in their car around , and we watched the parade from , I believe , down on the eastern end of the Turnpike down near the warehouses to get out of the traffic . We never could figure out why they invited Marie " The Body " McDonald and [ inaudible ] to ride in the open car for the parade . We couldn 't figure out what they had to do with it , but we did see the burning of the magnesium ribbon . That was exciting . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was only toward town from Elza Gate . I know the central part of town , the Jackson Square area , was very crowded . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think they name the streets for famous cities in the country , and of course the alphabetical designations were very helpful . But Jackson Square , I assume , was named for New Orleans . That 's all I know about it . MRS . DAVIDSON : Sometimes you would pick up the telephone , and the other party was talking . I believe they had different rings . I think maybe the other party had one ring , and we had two . There were four - party lines , but if we were on a four - party line , only the other one was active . I think maybe we were . The other two lines were not being used . MR . HUNNICUTT : When you are raising your family , did you hang your clothes outside on the clothesline ? Did you have a dryer ? What did you use ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I hung them outside on the clothesline . As I said , when we moved here , Anne was a year old . Not much more than three years after that , we had three babies . I was able to talk my husband into getting a dryer that time . Before that , he had built a pulley out of my kitchen window . There was a drop off in the back , and he was able to string it to a tree in the woods . I was able to reel those cloth diapers and reel them in and out . The only problem was that the birds like the trees , too . Sometimes I had to do some re - washing . MR . HUNNICUTT : So in those days you use cloth diapers ? Today we use disposable diapers . How do you think you would 've done if you had disposable diapers ? MRS . DAVIDSON : At one point , when our children were out playing Kick the Can , there were over 40 children on the lane . There were about 20 or 21 houses . There were almost as many dogs . It was just a glorious place for them to grow up . They seem to get along remarkably well most of the time , especially in the early days . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes . We went down there on the opening , and got the radioactive dimes on that occasion . The museum at that time was down at Jefferson Circle . I don 't think any of us ever had our hair stand out on the Van De Graff generator or whatever it was , but we took the children . We went out ourselves . Of course my husband was interested in that kind of thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : Sometimes they walked to Jefferson , but by that time they were carrying pretty heavy books . One of the neighbors on Outer Drive wanted to have a carpool , so we joined that . MRS . DAVIDSON : When Anne was in the fifth grade , they had to write what they did on Friday nights . The teacher would call me and say , " Is it true that you gave your children ice water and watched TV on Friday nights ? " That was how generous we were with them . We didn 't get a TV until they were probably five or six years old . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course it was black and white . The reason we got it - I guess finally it was that the children were always going to the neighbors ' house to watch TV . We decided that we should get our own . They watched things like " Pinky Lee " and I 've forgotten what else . MRS . DAVIDSON : I remember that fondly because my first real date with my husband was going to dinner there with him . He invited me to go to a concert in Knoxville , and his excuse was that we should get to know each other better before he took me to the city with him . That was one thing . I remember there were parties there , and our company had a party at the Oak Terrace Ballroom . One of the NEPA fellows wore a Tarzan costume , which was mostly nothing . It turned out that he lived in the neighborhood . MRS . DAVIDSON : That was just below the dormitory where I lived in Columbia Hall . Jack went there looking for me , he thought I would eat breakfast there and then he could have breakfast with me ; but I ate in the dormitory . He didn 't find me there . When we came back from our bicycle ride to Concord Park , I remember we stopped by there , and he drank two or three Mountain Dew drinks . That surprised me , but we had worked off a lot of sweat . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , we took our children out there and saw " Lawrence of Arabia " and " The 10 Commandment " and those things . It was quite nice . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was about where Kroger 's - where that is now , on the southeast part of Illinois Avenue . It was a nice thing . That was a special treat for the children to go out there . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't think so . I think they were mostly in the car . They had a drawing one time , Jack won something . It was actually nothing , but he did win . MRS . DAVIDSON : I sure did . My three children were born there . It was a green structure , like so many of the buildings in Oak Ridge . I guess the present building is built on that place . It was okay . I didn 't have any problems with it , except after my second child . I had a staph infection from the hospital . Even an Army wife with a private room got an infection there . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , I think they also had been recruited ; and a lot of them were from Tulane University . The time I was sick with my infection , they were having a reunion at Tulane , and my doctor and another one were gone for the reunion . I didn 't like the one who took care of me . He didn 't do a good job . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was okay . I don 't remember having any problems with it . We knew Dr . Rogers from our church , and we went to him . He was called away to the service , I believe . Maybe it was the Korean War , but then he came back . MRS . DAVIDSON : We met at Pine Valley School . The choir sat on the bleachers , and the minister sat under the halo of the basketball net . My husband was a Methodist , and he went to the First Methodist Church . They had a big youth group there . When we were first married , we tried to take them both in . We went to Sunday school one place , and church another until we finally settled on the Presbyterian . It was smaller , and we knew more people . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course the people . I love my trees and my house . I love all the activities . Both my husband and I have always loved music and enjoy the concerts a lot . The symphony concerts with Waldo Cohn conducting were held at Jefferson Junior High on the Kentucky Avenue hill . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you think back about all the people that you knew in the early days ? Do you think it was unusual for everybody to get along - the many people that were here ? MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , I guess so . I didn 't think about it because we just did . It was just fun . Everybody was away from home , and we had to be family for each other . That was particularly true in this close neighborhood . MRS . DAVIDSON : I 'm pleased for the most part . I think we 've made good progress . We 've kept up with the outside world . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think we came through at the very best of times . It was not the pressure of war , but we were growing community . I think things were happening at the Lab . Both of my husband and I loved the Lab because there were so many good things going on out there . It gives us hope for the future . [ Editor 's Note : This transcript has been edited at Mrs . Davidson 's request . The corresponding audio and video components have remained unchanged . ] Click tabs to swap between content that is broken into logical sections . MR . HUNNICUTT : This interview is for the Center of Oak Ridge Oral History . The date is November 8 , 2012 . I am Don Hunnicutt in the home of Mrs . Mary Ann Davidson , 117 Orange Lane , Oak Ridge , Tennessee , to take her oral history about living in Oak Ridge , Tennessee . Please state your full name and your place of birth and your date of birth . MRS . DAVIDSON : My name is Mary Ann Davidson . My date of birth is January 12 , 1925 . I was born in Louisville , Kentucky . I lived there all my early life until I graduated from college . MRS . DAVIDSON : My father was William H . Courtenay . He was born in 1890 , on March 3 . He was in World War I and lived his entire life in Louisville and Shelbyville , Kentucky . He worked for the Mengel Company . They imported mahogany and hardwood from Africa and Central America . He delivered those to customers . He didn 't consider himself a salesman , but he sold them to the furniture factory - furniture makers around Kentucky , mostly Indiana and Cincinnati and some in Tennessee . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , he did not . The Louisville Male High School was considered a fine school at that time . They said that graduates could enter Harvard in their second year . The principal had written textbooks that were apparently used all over . But my father was interested in raising ponies . His father had a farm in Shelbyville , Kentucky . If you 'd didn 't make the grade , you are special . And Dr . Ruben Post - Halleck , the famous principal of the school , told him if he took an exam in math , he could be entered back in . He did that , and he aced the test . He was back in . Then he was a special in English , so they told him if he memorized the " Lady of the Lake " and said that he could get back in school . So he did that . I think he never did finish . He was a twin , and his twin was more of an engineering type and went to manual training high school . MR . HUNNICUTT : What about your mother 's school history ? MRS . DAVIDSON : She grew up in several small towns in western Kentucky . Her father worked for the L & N Railroad . She had her high school in Hopkinsville , Kentucky . She had to stay home - or she went to junior college nearby . She had a scholarship to Randolph Macon Women 's College , but she couldn 't take it because her mother was ill and died at age 50 . It was about the year I was born , I think . MRS . DAVIDSON : His name was William Howard Courtenay III . My father was named for his uncle , who was also William Howard . My older brother works for Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green in the physics department . He made instruments . My younger brother was a pediatrician in Louisville , and he is still living on a farm in Shelbyville . He 's interested in Kentucky antiques . MR . HUNNICUTT : Yes . MRS . DAVIDSON : I went to an unusual kindergarten and first grade . I was at what they called the Enterprise Branch of I . N . Bloom School . It was only kindergarten and first grade . It was in the older building , where we had a Pot Belly Stove . I think we had a maid to help us take our leggings off in the cold weather - galoshes . It was really a wonderful school . It was almost like a private one . It was public . We did things like making butter and we had an orchestra . I played the triangle . I had started a little bit earlier when my younger brother was born . Louisville had half semester , half - year grades . I would 've been a half year , but I skipped the last half of kindergarten . I went to the school board and took a test and went on , so they put me in the regular school year . I went through the big school the I . N . Bloom School and Highland Junior High School in Louisville . Then I went to Atherton High School for Girls . The Louisville public schools were segregated - boys and girls . There were about 900 girls at Atherton . My graduating class was about 200 , and I was the valedictorian . MRS . DAVIDSON : They are pants to keep your legs warm . They zipped up from the inside of the ankle bone up to about knee - high , I guess it was . They were a royal pain to take on and off , so the teacher had to have help to do that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was just ordinary . I 'm sure the girls wore dresses , and the little boys wore suits - not suits , but pants and shirts . MRS . DAVIDSON : I came to Oak Ridge after I graduated from college . I had two years of getting a master 's at Emory while I worked at my alma mater , Agnes Scott College in Decatur , Georgia . I was the chemistry lab instructor . So after those two years were up , I was interested in working in chemistry or biochemistry . My master 's was in biochemistry . In Louisville , there was nothing in that field , except liquor and paint - neither of which I was interested in . In Atlanta , I would like to stay in Atlanta , I heard that Oak Ridge was an interesting new place , and a lot was going on here . One of my dear college friends had recently married a physicist from the University of Kentucky , so I visited them here . I guess that must have been 1947 . Her husband was working at NEPA . He said they were looking for people with a chemistry degree . I applied , and I was accepted . I didn 't know that until I had completed the clearance , so I took the opportunity to go to Europe at an American youth hostel bicycle tour of Western Europe in the summer of 1948 . When I got home , I found that I had indeed gotten the job at Oak Ridge . So I came down here . MRS . DAVIDSON : I was wondering that . I think I came by train . When I interviewed earlier in the spring , my interview was at the Andrew Johnson Hotel . It was one of the private rooms . I had never seen the company here . I think I must have been met by a car and driver and brought to Oak Ridge . MRS . DAVIDSON : I came in through the Vermont Gateway , which is where the gas station is now on the corner of what I call Vermont . They call it North Rutgers now . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , I think it must 've been after that . That would 've been at Christmas time . When I applied , I imagine it was early spring . MRS . DAVIDSON : We called the company NEPA , for Nuclear Energy for the Propulsion of Aircraft . It was managed by the Fairchild Corporation the way Union Carbide or one of the other contractors managed the lab . I did not know until the first day I went to work just what the company was doing . They handed me a volume of information that said , " We are looking for - we are trying to make an airplane powered by nuclear energy that could fly to Russia and back without refueling . " That was a great shock to me . MRS . DAVIDSON : I lived in Columbia Hall Dormitory . I was very surprised to find that the rent was $ 15 a month until I realized it was one very small room . That was my living quarters . I took the opportunity to stay out of it as much as possible . I did that by babysitting in some of the B and D houses in the evening . Grandmothers were not here since it was a closed community . Babysitters were in short supply , and even though I didn 't need the money , it was good to get out of the dormitory . MRS . DAVIDSON : The dormitory was like Cheyenne Hall . It was the same type of building . It had wooden stairways from the second - floor hall down on each end . I lived on the second floor . Our dormitory was mostly nurses , since it was up on the hill next to the hospital - I think where the west parking lot is now . There was a kitchen on each end where we could have our own breakfast . Of course we were at the plant at lunchtime , and then we usually went out to supper . I opened the refrigerator door one morning and somebody 's milk came spilling out down my front . Everybody just stuffed things into the refrigerator . MRS . DAVIDSON : I had a single room with a twin bed and enough room to walk to the window by the bed . There was a little table that served as a desk with a chair . There was a much coveted dormitory dresser - a tall one with a number of drawers . They were very popular . MRS . DAVIDSON : They had a wonderful bus service here . Travel wasn 't really a problem . We walked , of course , from the dormitory to Jackson Square and ate supper usually at the Mayflower , which is where I first saw my husband - to - be . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was on the corner of Tennessee , right across from the Soup Kitchen and the Texaco gas station there on the northeast corner . It was a very popular place . In fact , there were several places you could eat . It was the Central Cafeteria , and the T & C Cafeteria in Jackson Square , which is about where the Epicurean is now toward the garden . MRS . DAVIDSON : It must 've been the A & P on Jackson Square . Jackson Square was really the center of activity as far as I was concerned at that time . I still love it . I hope it keeps going . MRS . DAVIDSON : The department stores - the big department store was Taylor 's at the time . They had a wonderful book department headed by Mrs . Keyes , whose daughter I knew at work . They had really fine art books and other books that they would have a great sale on once or twice a year . We were very happy with that . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was in the middle of the block between where Big Ed 's is in the corner . I guess it 's mostly used by the engineering company now . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , not frequently , but I went and saw - there was a theater down at Big Ed 's in Jackson Square and where the Playhouse is now . That was the main one . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , the jewelry store was on the corner that was Henebree 's , I think . No , that was Heneger 's . MR . HUNNICUTT : Henebree ? MRS . DAVIDSON : Henebree . McCrory 's 5 & 10 was there . There was a drugstore - a Service Drugstore . I guess that was where Big Ed 's is now , on the very corner . There was Jackson Square Pharmacy , and on the other side the Hamilton Bank was there next to the movie theater . And Samuel 's Men 's Store was a very nice store . The Jackson Square Pharmacy was there , but in between , which the Pharmacy later took over was a Kay 's Ice Cream Store . We used to go there and - my husband and I would when we were dating . I liked to get coffee with ice cream in it , so we went there . MR . HUNNICUTT : I believe that was Taff Moody Ice Cream - they served Kay 's Ice Cream . MRS . DAVIDSON : Was it ? I didn 't remember that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I can 't say that I do . It was just a given , I suppose . It didn 't make a big dent in my memory . After six months of the dormitory , I moved to a D house on Norman Lane . That was another era . MR . HUNNICUTT : What is a D house ? MRS . DAVIDSON : A D house was a large three bedroom house . They were very much desired . They were really nice houses - still a lot of them are . The house was - there were five other girls who lived there - two of whom had been college friends . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , it would 've been upstairs . It was the second one to the end . A radiation technologist lived on the corner , and I lived there with school teachers and nurses who made up most of the dorm . MR . HUNNICUTT : Let 's talk a little bit about the dorm again . If I had a message for you or someone left a message for you , how did you retrieve your messages ? Was there a desk when you went in ? MRS . DAVIDSON : There was a desk downstairs . I remember the Valentine 's Day - I guess it must 've been 1949 . The message was that I had some flowers , some red roses . I had just met my husband - to - be at that time . I got all excited , and when I got to the desk , it was from somebody else . I enjoyed the red roses , but not as much as I might have . The thing was that there were ladies - a lot of the women who lived in the dorm worked on the night shift . They would sit around a large kind of living room , I guess they called it . They were all staring when I got flowers . I had to walk around , and it was embarrassing . MRS . DAVIDSON : I was there in the winter of 1948 . I 'm very cold natured , but I don 't remember being cold . We had those heavy navy blanket - navy blue blankets . This brings up a story if I jump to it later on . We were moved from the D house after another six months into the brand - new Garden Apartments on Villanova Road . They needed our D house for families . The people who moved in were the Andersons of the Anderson Hilltop Grocery . Of course , the furniture all belonged to the government there . So the Garden Apartments were not furnished , so we had dwindled down from 6 to 4 people who needed furniture . I took a day off and went to an auction the government set up down at the warehouses . I got seven beds and three or four dressers - much more than I could have used . But the beds were in great demand at work because all the young men who worked there were having children and needed beds . So we took the four . Also I got two sofas , and we could use but one ; so I sold one . They were really shabby awful sofas . Since it was all going to surplus anyway , we switched and took the nice sofa from the D house and left them the bad one . It was all taken away anyhow , so I didn 't feel too bad about that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't really remember about the telephone . We didn 't use the telephone much . We never used it for long - distance except for emergencies and calls home . I don 't remember that as being a problem particularly . MRS . DAVIDSON : I suppose I went on the bus . I did not have a car . One of the housemates from Norman Lane had gotten the car , but she would 've been at work at K - 25 . I don 't know . I may have gotten a ride . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess I paid somebody to deliver it . I don 't know . Maybe some of the fellows at work picked up their beds that they wanted . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was one of those warehouses down at the [ Oak Ridge ] Turnpike on Warehouse Road . I don 't know exactly where it was . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess it was on the bulletin boards at work , or there was a newspaper at the Lab . I guess I heard about it that way . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think probably so - in the newsletters they came around , also at the recreation building - the rec hall - at Jackson Square that was the library upstairs and the rec hall downstairs . Word - of - mouth - I don 't remember . We had a need and found the answer to it . MRS . DAVIDSON : I had to punch a clock at eight in the morning when I first started . I guess we got out at 4 : 30 or 5 o ' clock . We had bus service that went from the bus terminal - the Central one - that 's now by Bus Terminal Road . Later on after we were married , we lived on Waddell Circle and went from there to the Jefferson bus terminal . I went - I rode on the K - 25 bus , and they went out past K - 25 to the road that the powerhouse was on and NEPA was beyond that out by the river . MRS . DAVIDSON : There was some kind of management services office . I 'm not sure what it was called - the Roane Anderson Corporation at that time , I guess . I think that 's where I rented the dormitory room . I probably got bus tokens - I guess I got the tokens of the bus terminal . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think I had a checking account probably at Hamilton Bank in Jackson Square . I don 't recall otherwise . I know I did later . One thing I wanted to say about the buses - if you wanted to go to Clinton to do any shopping , more than what you could have in Oak Ridge or to meet somebody or something , there was a bus that ran frequently back and forth between the bus terminal and Clinton . There was a young man on the bus who had a sing - songy sales pitch for " peanuts , popcorn , Cracker Jacks , candy , and chewing gum . " He wouldn 't drive , but he would sell his wares all the way to Clinton and back . I always wondered who that was because he obviously had some talent . MRS . DAVIDSON : I 'm sure I did . I don 't know what became of it . I guess I had to turn it back in . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think somebody just got - one of the guards got on the bus and checked everybody 's badges . It was not a big thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : Probably . I don 't remember . What I do remember about that was my mother was coming down one time for my birthday - it must 've been in January 1949 . She rode the train . I told her that I would get a ride to meet her . Of course , the train didn 't stop at Oak Ridge . It went on to Knoxville , so I bummed a ride with one of the men in our group . He was actually the technical assistant to the director . His car was a broken down old thing with no floorboards in the back seat , which was pretty bad when my mother saw it . But she didn 't see it because when we got to Knoxville , she was not there . When we were coming back from the gateway entrance , she was not there . There was a message that she was waiting for us at the Elza Gate Station . She had told the conductor she had to get off at Oak Ridge . That 's where she was going , and I was going to meet her . So she slid down the Elza bank over there . She had my birthday cake - a large chocolate cake . She slid downhill with that , and somehow they stopped her at the guard gate at Elza . She waited there for us . MRS . DAVIDSON : Just for her - let her off like a milk train . They ordinarily didn 't stop there , but she wouldn 't have it otherwise . MRS . DAVIDSON : I used the library and rec hall . On Sunday afternoons , they played music ; and you could sit and write letters home , which is what I think I did a good bit . Later on in the better weather , there were tennis courts and a swimming pool . I don 't remember going to movies much . We went to church groups . There were so many young people ; it was just like a party all the time . Nothing in particular stands out . It was just fun . MRS . DAVIDSON : In the company I was , that was not true . There were a lot of women of course - of course , the dormitory was full of school teachers and nurses . But NEPA was mostly men . There were two parts to the Fairchild - the science and engineering part , which was bigger . I happen to be in the research part . My boss was a chemist - Vince Calkins . It was my job to - this was a real shocker to me - to find a chemical that would protect the human body against radiation for the reactor that was supposed to be in the airplane to Russia . I had no background for that kind of thing . I was just fresh out of college really . I realized I was out of my depth , but they decided - he was a pharmacist , I believe , and he wanted to do experiments with rats . They brought in the rat colony . By that time we had a couple of assistants , and I was supposed to be the group leader . One of the men , Ray Waldrop - you may have talked to him . I asked him if he minded working for a woman because he was really more experienced than I , although I had the degree . It was fine with him . There was also another worker , Saul Segal , who was quite a character in his own right . I took the rats in the cages over to the reactor , the " Old Lady " at X - 10 , and put them through what they called " rabbits " and radiated them for certain amount of time . We couldn 't kill the darn things . Then we used the older ones that had already been radiated , they were just tough as anything . I think the experiment was really a failure , although they may have found that to be the case in some later work with older people - that the cells are not dividing as fast and they 're not as subject to radiation . But we didn 't get into that . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was actually not K - 25 . It was beyond there . As I said , the bus took us - the bus dumped people off at K - 25 , and they went on west to just before you get to the Gallaher Bridge . You turn right there and go right past the power station there . It was used for a long time - the power house , and then NEPA was beyond that . The native rats came in - was it domestic experimental rats ? That was not good . I had a janitor who helped me , even though he could 've lost his job for doing it . He helped me clean cages . I always appreciated that . MRS . DAVIDSON : When they got rid of the rats , which was a blessing , my group leader then became Bill Browning , who was a fine scientist . He worked on the Van de Graaff generator . We had an interesting argument . Saul Segal thought he should be the one to do it since he was a man and I was a woman who would be leaving soon ; and it turned out that he left for California before I had left to have my baby . His argument didn 't hold with me anyway , but we argued about that some . We did run the Van de Graaff , and we also did some experiments on metallic sodium . It was nasty stuff to work with . It caught on fire if it was exposed to air . You had to work with that under oil in the glove box . I think that work all had to be repeated after NEPA left for Cincinnati with G . E . . When they moved part of NEPA to X - 10 , they called it the ANP , or something about aircraft and nuclear power . I was not connected with that because my first baby was born in August 1951 . I left in July . MRS . DAVIDSON : I heard somebody say that they had to repeat it all . My boss , the Division Director of Chemistry was interested in vitamin E , and thought it had a lot of protective influence . We worked with that . That was some of the work I did in chemistry - the lab part of it in the early days . It was not good work , I think . I 'm not blaming myself , but some of the other men who were doing chemical work - I think altogether we didn 't come up with anything . MRS . DAVIDSON : It may have been ahead of it 's time for nuclear submarines . I don 't know whether the engineering people thought that or not . In our group which was the chemistry and the physics , my friend who got me the job was Jim Trice . A fellow named Art Miller and somebody named Coneybearwere in the Physics Division . And then there were some others - Fred Maienschein . I did some work for him one time . It was work on beryllium for one thing . I didn 't work with any of the active beryllium . I didn 't do any lab work then , but I did some journal research . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't think they were that far along . I 'm not sure what happened to that part of it . As I said , in July of 1951 they moved to Cincinnati , Evensville , above Cincinnati . I don 't know how many people actually went up there . Most of my friends moved elsewhere . MR . HUNNICUTT : You mentioned the location of the operation was past the steam plant that was on the Clinch River . Was that the same location where the S - 50 project was located ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I think that was the name of our plot of land . I think those - I never was quite sure how they got the designations , but that was the Fairchild domain , I think . MRS . DAVIDSON : Really , it was just when our eyes met . It was very romantic . He followed our group home to the Columbia Hall to see where I lived . But at the time I thought he was too young , and I didn 't think he was following me . I was with a group of other girls . Later on , one of the women in the dormitory , who was a gym teacher in the Oak Ridge schools , told me I really ought to meet Jack Davidson that he loved to ride bicycles ; I was just back from my bicycle trip in Europe . I didn 't know who he was , and then I went to a church group meeting at my Presbyterian Church for young people one Sunday evening . A friend of mine had brought Jack Davidson , and he was the one whose eyes I had met and he had met mine . Sure enough , he loved to ride bicycles . That was the start of a good thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : We did a little bit . On our dates , that 's really what we did mostly at first . We rode out to West Outer Drive and had those wonderful big hills , not too much traffic at that time . We went out to the water tower at the top of Louisiana and had a picnic , and then rode back . When we got really good , we rode our bicycles over to Concord Park one day . I had gotten some chicken breasts at the grocery . I guess it was the A & P at Jackson Square . I was going to fry them for a picnic to take along over to Concord Park . When I went to the refrigerator to get them , they had turned into wings . Somebody had eaten my chicken breast . Jack was a good sport about that . He didn 't care . We had a nice ride . It was before they had improved Lovell Road . It was a pretty rough ride over there , but we were able to enjoy it . MRS . DAVIDSON : He had his bicycle . It was probably a Grey Stone . For me , he rented a bicycle from his work friend . I had forgotten what his name was . We went over to one of the D Streets , I think , and rode them . I didn 't have my English 3 - speed here . I guess I brought it later , but at that time I didn 't have it . MRS . DAVIDSON : That was a problem . I complained to my friend Jim Trice 's wife , Dot , who happened to live around the corner on Outer Drive at that time . She said the boardwalk was used a lot for dating , and of course the theaters . I guess we were outdoors people . I don 't know . MRS . DAVIDSON : He was a graduate of Georgia Tech . At the time he graduated , he was very young . He came up to see about a job , and he was drafted . No , he was in danger of being drafted right away , but they didn 't hire him . He did go to work for NASA , which was at that time NACA , in Virginia ; and worked over there a short time before he was taken into the Army . He had gone through Georgia Tech on a " War Manpower " loan . He was sent to some place to be an MP , I think . He wrote a night letter , which is a 50 - word telegram that was cheaper at night . He wrote a night letter to Stimson , the Secretary of War , telling them they had paid for his college education ; and here he was sitting in a camp doing nothing down in Alabama . He was transferred to the SED , he would never say that was the reason he was transferred . It may or may not have been . He arrived with the SED - he arrived in Oak Ridge the day Roosevelt died , which was in April 1945 , he was here with his group for maybe six weeks before they went out to Los Alamos . So he spent the rest of the war out there . Then he used his G . I . Bill - he stayed on at Los Alamos . They told them they would let him out of the Army if he would agree to stay on as a civilian . So he took that . Then when he did leave , he went to Annapolis and took a liberal arts course because he felt that he had missed out on it at Georgia Tech . He had a year at St . John 's College of Annapolis ; and then all along I guess he thought he would like to come back here . He came back - he arrived on Armistice Day , now Veterans Day , of 1948 . I was here a couple of months before he came , but we met shortly after Christmas in 1949 . MRS . DAVIDSON : Too long . We were married in May 1950 . He wanted to pay off his loan before we could get married , so I helped him along with that . I fed him some . He was very welcome at the D House of girls . I was going to tell you that during the war , there were nine girls in the house , and they slept on shifts on the bunk beds . There were only six of us when I was there . There were a couple of the boyfriends around , and one of them cut the grass . I think Jack did the - empty the clinkers from the furnace , the coal furnace . They made themselves useful . They got their dinner . MR . HUNNICUTT : Tell me about the coal furnace briefly . MRS . DAVIDSON : Most of the houses were a very good design really , and a whole lot better built than we gave them credit for . But each one that I knew of had a corner set off or closed off as a coal storage place that could be filled through a window from the outside , and then you could use the - there was an opening on the inside that you could use to put coal into the furnace . That was awful of course , but that 's what all the houses were doing in that time , too . We had a yard full of clinkers over there . MRS . DAVIDSON : We were taken care of by a Big Brother - the government . They brought the coal around , and you didn 't do a thing . That was part of the rent . When we got our house here on Orange Lane , that 's another story . Are you ready for that yet ? MRS . DAVIDSON : We went back to my home in Louisville , Kentucky , to be married . We had planned to fly to Nashville , but it turned out the Delta Queen was coming through Louisville the next morning . My mother had told us we could not get married the week before because it was too busy with Derby Day . So we delayed until May 13 . Then we spent the night in Louisville at the Brown Hotel , where she pulled some strings to get us a room because it was still very full of visitors from the Derby . We got on the Delta Queen , and our friends were all on the dock to see us off . They had us almost convinced that we were on Daylight Saving Time , and the Delta Queen was not , and we had missed it . But we rode down just as far as Paducah . We were anxious to start in life you know . We lived on Wadell Circle in a K apartment . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you recall the number ? MRS . DAVIDSON : It was a two - story thing . I guess it was a two - bedroom up above , and we had K - 1 . It was sort of underground at the front and open at the back . We had a nice back porch . There was a closet under the stairway and a very small kitchen . It had a table that folded down . It was not as compact as a flattop , but the furnishings that they had did double duty . You could fold it up and have more room . MRS . DAVIDSON : The K apartment was heated with the coal furnace , but there was a janitor who came around and took care of it for us . We were taken care of by Roane Anderson . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you remember what the rent was ? MRS . DAVIDSON : We lived in the K from May 1950 , until we got this house in July 1952 . It was said - the word around town was that you couldn 't get a two - bedroom house unless you had three children , all of different sex . We had been on the list for this house ever since we knew our daughter was coming along . That was a long time to wait . We had been offered two houses - Florida Avenue , where the parking was across the street and the backyard just dropped off . We thought that was totally unsuitable for a new child . We turned both of those down . If we had turned this one down , we would 've gone to the bottom of the long list . But we loved this place of the trees and the dead end lane neighborhood . So we sat outside in front all weekend because we were not top on the list . The reason the other people didn 't take it was that the previous owner , Jim Cox and Charlotte , had put in an oil furnace ; and nobody wanted to pay $ 200 for the oil furnace . Since I had been working , we had saved my salary from work , and we had $ 200 to pay . Also , they didn 't want to be in the high rent district . This house rented for something like $ 45 instead of $ 43 in the lower rent districts . MRS . DAVIDSON : The Oak Ridge cemesto houses that were built - I think this house was built in the fall of 1944 or 1943 . Maybe it was ' 43 . The B house has two bedrooms and of course a bath and a kitchen with a dinette into a long narrow living room . It was about 24 feet by 40 something feet . It was small and convenient . It didn 't have much storage space , but it 's been a wonderful house for us because of the trees . We are on a greenbelt , and I enjoy that very much . It 's a nice private neighborhood just above Jackson Square . MRS . DAVIDSON : Our cemesto has a fireplace , and it had a complete brick wall . Some of the B houses had a brick wall just beyond the fireplace . MRS . DAVIDSON : There are hardwood floors in all the cemestos , I believe . Our house has maple flooring , and a lot of them had oak . Wood was hard to come by in the wartime . We love the color - the reddish color of the maple . MRS . DAVIDSON : Adele is our second daughter , and she was two years younger . Our son is Bill Davidson or William . He was born in November of 1954 . He 's just now turning 58 . MR . HUNNICUTT : So your first daughter went to Cedar Hill ? MRS . DAVIDSON : All three of our children went to Cedar Hill . They had split grades there , so I think the classes were one half size . They would take the kids a half from one grade , and half from the next grade , and that worked out just fine . MRS . DAVIDSON : Cedar Hill was wonderful . It was very special . Mr . Dodd was the principal , and he saw to it - he had the best teachers or at least as good as any . Actually in those days all the teachers and Oak Ridge were special because many of them had been recruited from Columbia Teachers College , along with the superintendent . Others were specially recruited for the job . They were a group a part , I think , from a lot of teachers . MRS . DAVIDSON : The girls both went to Jefferson when it was on the hill at Jackson Square , and Bill was in the first year at the new Jefferson that was over on Fairbanks Road . His was the first class there . They all went through Oak Ridge High . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you recall some of the classes your daughters took while they were in junior high ? Was there Home Ec . or things related to girls ? MRS . DAVIDSON : No , they were on the college prep track . They took eighth grade algebra and that kind of thing . Of course English and math and social studies and science - our older girl I think took biology ; and I 'm not sure if Adele had a more general science course . It just depended on the teacher that they had . They had an excellent education , and the girls were both Merit semifinalists . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course . I was in the PTA . I 'm not sure if I was ever a room mother , but I of course helped with parties and things . MRS . DAVIDSON : The teachers recruited them from each class to help with parties mostly . They helped with any activities that they didn 't really have time to do . MRS . DAVIDSON : Parent - Teacher Association , a time honored group . It got extra things for the school . I got involved with raincoats for the school patrol . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess maybe I was a treasurer of the Cedar Hill PTA , and this goal was to get those yellow slicker raincoat so kids could be visible to the drivers . I found out how much the things cost , and then I estimated postage . At the PTA meeting , Alvin Weinberg was president . He had a son or two in school at the time . He took me to task for estimating the postage , so I had to ask for just the money for the coats themselves since I didn 't really know what the postage is going to be . I thought that was interesting that he wanted to keep it to the exact penny . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think they just wore what the other kids wore . One day we had a deep snow and Bill was in kindergarten , and the snow was up over their boots . I think he had some corduroys . The teacher was making the kids take their pants off and dry them on the radiator , and he wouldn 't do it . I had to go up to the school and take him some fresh pants , some dry clothes . He was very young - just four when he started . MR . HUNNICUTT : Let 's go back a few years . Do you remember 1945 when they dropped the bomb on Japan ? You remember where you were ? And what was your reaction ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I do remember that very clearly because it was the summer after my junior year in college , and I was a camp counselor up in Door County , Wisconsin . There was no electricity at the camp , so we counselors - after we got the kids to bed , went to the state park nearby . This was at Fish Creek , Wisconsin . We would listen to people 's car radios . We knew for about a week that something was happening , but we didn 't know just what . It was very deeply moving when the bomb was dropped , and we thought it would bring an end to the war . Of course , I had friends and a brother on Guam and a cousin was in Europe and others . So that was very deeply moving . I had a book of poetry - my favorite poems at the camp with me . One of my 12 - year - olds picked out a poem - " Once to every man and nation comes a moment to decide " - she read that , and I thought that was very astute of her , a youngster to be able to do that . MRS . DAVIDSON : My husband thought they should have dropped a sample first , but I didn 't feel that way since the first bomb didn 't phase the Japanese . I didn 't think the test one would have either . I was just so glad that the war was over . People could settle down and get into real life again . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think I was in transition from the dormitory to the house , and my husband 's brothers came up from Georgia to witness the opening . So we drove in their car around , and we watched the parade from , I believe , down on the eastern end of the Turnpike down near the warehouses to get out of the traffic . We never could figure out why they invited Marie " The Body " McDonald and [ inaudible ] to ride in the open car for the parade . We couldn 't figure out what they had to do with it , but we did see the burning of the magnesium ribbon . That was exciting . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was only toward town from Elza Gate . I know the central part of town , the Jackson Square area , was very crowded . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think they name the streets for famous cities in the country , and of course the alphabetical designations were very helpful . But Jackson Square , I assume , was named for New Orleans . That 's all I know about it . MRS . DAVIDSON : Sometimes you would pick up the telephone , and the other party was talking . I believe they had different rings . I think maybe the other party had one ring , and we had two . There were four - party lines , but if we were on a four - party line , only the other one was active . I think maybe we were . The other two lines were not being used . MR . HUNNICUTT : When you are raising your family , did you hang your clothes outside on the clothesline ? Did you have a dryer ? What did you use ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I hung them outside on the clothesline . As I said , when we moved here , Anne was a year old . Not much more than three years after that , we had three babies . I was able to talk my husband into getting a dryer that time . Before that , he had built a pulley out of my kitchen window . There was a drop off in the back , and he was able to string it to a tree in the woods . I was able to reel those cloth diapers and reel them in and out . The only problem was that the birds like the trees , too . Sometimes I had to do some re - washing . MR . HUNNICUTT : So in those days you use cloth diapers ? Today we use disposable diapers . How do you think you would 've done if you had disposable diapers ? MRS . DAVIDSON : At one point , when our children were out playing Kick the Can , there were over 40 children on the lane . There were about 20 or 21 houses . There were almost as many dogs . It was just a glorious place for them to grow up . They seem to get along remarkably well most of the time , especially in the early days . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes . We went down there on the opening , and got the radioactive dimes on that occasion . The museum at that time was down at Jefferson Circle . I don 't think any of us ever had our hair stand out on the Van De Graff generator or whatever it was , but we took the children . We went out ourselves . Of course my husband was interested in that kind of thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : Sometimes they walked to Jefferson , but by that time they were carrying pretty heavy books . One of the neighbors on Outer Drive wanted to have a carpool , so we joined that . MRS . DAVIDSON : When Anne was in the fifth grade , they had to write what they did on Friday nights . The teacher would call me and say , " Is it true that you gave your children ice water and watched TV on Friday nights ? " That was how generous we were with them . We didn 't get a TV until they were probably five or six years old . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course it was black and white . The reason we got it - I guess finally it was that the children were always going to the neighbors ' house to watch TV . We decided that we should get our own . They watched things like " Pinky Lee " and I 've forgotten what else . MRS . DAVIDSON : I remember that fondly because my first real date with my husband was going to dinner there with him . He invited me to go to a concert in Knoxville , and his excuse was that we should get to know each other better before he took me to the city with him . That was one thing . I remember there were parties there , and our company had a party at the Oak Terrace Ballroom . One of the NEPA fellows wore a Tarzan costume , which was mostly nothing . It turned out that he lived in the neighborhood . MR . HUNNICUTT : What was the Oak Terrace ballroom - where was it located ? MRS . DAVIDSON : That was just below the dormitory where I lived in Columbia Hall . Jack went there looking for me , he thought I would eat breakfast there and then he could have breakfast with me ; but I ate in the dormitory . He didn 't find me there . When we came back from our bicycle ride to Concord Park , I remember we stopped by there , and he drank two or three Mountain Dew drinks . That surprised me , but we had worked off a lot of sweat . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , we took our children out there and saw " Lawrence of Arabia " and " The 10 Commandment " and those things . It was quite nice . MR . HUNNICUTT : Where was it located ? MRS . DAVIDSON : It was about where Kroger 's - where that is now , on the southeast part of Illinois Avenue . It was a nice thing . That was a special treat for the children to go out there . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't think so . I think they were mostly in the car . They had a drawing one time , Jack won something . It was actually nothing , but he did win . MRS . DAVIDSON : I sure did . My three children were born there . It was a green structure , like so many of the buildings in Oak Ridge . I guess the present building is built on that place . It was okay . I didn 't have any problems with it , except after my second child . I had a staph infection from the hospital . Even an Army wife with a private room got an infection there . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , I think they also had been recruited ; and a lot of them were from Tulane University . The time I was sick with my infection , they were having a reunion at Tulane , and my doctor and another one were gone for the reunion . I didn 't like the one who took care of me . He didn 't do a good job . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was okay . I don 't remember having any problems with it . We knew Dr . Rogers from our church , and we went to him . He was called away to the service , I believe . Maybe it was the Korean War , but then he came back . MRS . DAVIDSON : We met at Pine Valley School . The choir sat on the bleachers , and the minister sat under the halo of the basketball net . My husband was a Methodist , and he went to the First Methodist Church . They had a big youth group there . When we were first married , we tried to take them both in . We went to Sunday school one place , and church another until we finally settled on the Presbyterian . It was smaller , and we knew more people . MR . HUNNICUTT : Thinking back , what do you like best about Oak Ridge ? MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course the people . I love my trees and my house . I love all the activities . Both my husband and I have always loved music and enjoy the concerts a lot . The symphony concerts with Waldo Cohn conducting were held at Jefferson Junior High on the Kentucky Avenue hill . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you think back about all the people that you knew in the early days ? Do you think it was unusual for everybody to get along - the many people that were here ? MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , I guess so . I didn 't think about it because we just did . It was just fun . Everybody was away from home , and we had to be family for each other . That was particularly true in this close neighborhood . MRS . DAVIDSON : I 'm pleased for the most part . I think we 've made good progress . We 've kept up with the outside world . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't know . I 'll probably think of things after you leave . Nothing particular comes to mind . MR . HUNNICUTT : I would like to thank you for your time , and I think this interview will be very helpful for someone in the future to see how you lived in Oak Ridge in the early days . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think we came through at the very best of times . It was not the pressure of war , but we were growing community . I think things were happening at the Lab . Both of my husband and I loved the Lab because there were so many good things going on out there . It gives us hope for the future . MR . HUNNICUTT : I thank you very much for your time . [ Editor 's Note : This transcript has been edited at Mrs . Davidson 's request . The corresponding audio and video components have remained unchanged . ] Your rating was saved . you wish to report :

MR . HUNNICUTT : This interview is for the Center of Oak Ridge Oral History . The date is November 8 , 2012 . I am Don Hunnicutt in the home of Mrs . Mary Ann Davidson , 117 Orange Lane , Oak Ridge , Tennessee , to take her oral history about living in Oak Ridge , Tennessee . Please state your full name and your place of birth and your date of birth . MRS . DAVIDSON : My name is Mary Ann Davidson . My date of birth is January 12 , 1925 . I was born in Louisville , Kentucky . I lived there all my early life until I graduated from college . MRS . DAVIDSON : My father was William H . Courtenay . He was born in 1890 , on March 3 . He was in World War I and lived his entire life in Louisville and Shelbyville , Kentucky . He worked for the Mengel Company . They imported mahogany and hardwood from Africa and Central America . He delivered those to customers . He didn 't consider himself a salesman , but he sold them to the furniture factory - furniture makers around Kentucky , mostly Indiana and Cincinnati and some in Tennessee . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , he did not . The Louisville Male High School was considered a fine school at that time . They said that graduates could enter Harvard in their second year . The principal had written textbooks that were apparently used all over . But my father was interested in raising ponies . His father had a farm in Shelbyville , Kentucky . If you 'd didn 't make the grade , you are special . And Dr . Ruben Post - Halleck , the famous principal of the school , told him if he took an exam in math , he could be entered back in . He did that , and he aced the test . He was back in . Then he was a special in English , so they told him if he memorized the " Lady of the Lake " and said that he could get back in school . So he did that . I think he never did finish . He was a twin , and his twin was more of an engineering type and went to manual training high school . MRS . DAVIDSON : She grew up in several small towns in western Kentucky . Her father worked for the L & N Railroad . She had her high school in Hopkinsville , Kentucky . She had to stay home - or she went to junior college nearby . She had a scholarship to Randolph Macon Women 's College , but she couldn 't take it because her mother was ill and died at age 50 . It was about the year I was born , I think . MRS . DAVIDSON : His name was William Howard Courtenay III . My father was named for his uncle , who was also William Howard . My older brother works for Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green in the physics department . He made instruments . My younger brother was a pediatrician in Louisville , and he is still living on a farm in Shelbyville . He 's interested in Kentucky antiques . MRS . DAVIDSON : I went to an unusual kindergarten and first grade . I was at what they called the Enterprise Branch of I . N . Bloom School . It was only kindergarten and first grade . It was in the older building , where we had a Pot Belly Stove . I think we had a maid to help us take our leggings off in the cold weather - galoshes . It was really a wonderful school . It was almost like a private one . It was public . We did things like making butter and we had an orchestra . I played the triangle . I had started a little bit earlier when my younger brother was born . Louisville had half semester , half - year grades . I would 've been a half year , but I skipped the last half of kindergarten . I went to the school board and took a test and went on , so they put me in the regular school year . I went through the big school the I . N . Bloom School and Highland Junior High School in Louisville . Then I went to Atherton High School for Girls . The Louisville public schools were segregated - boys and girls . There were about 900 girls at Atherton . My graduating class was about 200 , and I was the valedictorian . MRS . DAVIDSON : They are pants to keep your legs warm . They zipped up from the inside of the ankle bone up to about knee - high , I guess it was . They were a royal pain to take on and off , so the teacher had to have help to do that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was just ordinary . I 'm sure the girls wore dresses , and the little boys wore suits - not suits , but pants and shirts . MRS . DAVIDSON : I came to Oak Ridge after I graduated from college . I had two years of getting a master 's at Emory while I worked at my alma mater , Agnes Scott College in Decatur , Georgia . I was the chemistry lab instructor . So after those two years were up , I was interested in working in chemistry or biochemistry . My master 's was in biochemistry . In Louisville , there was nothing in that field , except liquor and paint - neither of which I was interested in . In Atlanta , I would like to stay in Atlanta , I heard that Oak Ridge was an interesting new place , and a lot was going on here . One of my dear college friends had recently married a physicist from the University of Kentucky , so I visited them here . I guess that must have been 1947 . Her husband was working at NEPA . He said they were looking for people with a chemistry degree . I applied , and I was accepted . I didn 't know that until I had completed the clearance , so I took the opportunity to go to Europe at an American youth hostel bicycle tour of Western Europe in the summer of 1948 . When I got home , I found that I had indeed gotten the job at Oak Ridge . So I came down here . MRS . DAVIDSON : I was wondering that . I think I came by train . When I interviewed earlier in the spring , my interview was at the Andrew Johnson Hotel . It was one of the private rooms . I had never seen the company here . I think I must have been met by a car and driver and brought to Oak Ridge . MRS . DAVIDSON : I came in through the Vermont Gateway , which is where the gas station is now on the corner of what I call Vermont . They call it North Rutgers now . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , I think it must 've been after that . That would 've been at Christmas time . When I applied , I imagine it was early spring . MRS . DAVIDSON : We called the company NEPA , for Nuclear Energy for the Propulsion of Aircraft . It was managed by the Fairchild Corporation the way Union Carbide or one of the other contractors managed the lab . I did not know until the first day I went to work just what the company was doing . They handed me a volume of information that said , " We are looking for - we are trying to make an airplane powered by nuclear energy that could fly to Russia and back without refueling . " That was a great shock to me . MRS . DAVIDSON : I lived in Columbia Hall Dormitory . I was very surprised to find that the rent was $ 15 a month until I realized it was one very small room . That was my living quarters . I took the opportunity to stay out of it as much as possible . I did that by babysitting in some of the B and D houses in the evening . Grandmothers were not here since it was a closed community . Babysitters were in short supply , and even though I didn 't need the money , it was good to get out of the dormitory . MRS . DAVIDSON : The dormitory was like Cheyenne Hall . It was the same type of building . It had wooden stairways from the second - floor hall down on each end . I lived on the second floor . Our dormitory was mostly nurses , since it was up on the hill next to the hospital - I think where the west parking lot is now . There was a kitchen on each end where we could have our own breakfast . Of course we were at the plant at lunchtime , and then we usually went out to supper . I opened the refrigerator door one morning and somebody 's milk came spilling out down my front . Everybody just stuffed things into the refrigerator . MRS . DAVIDSON : I had a single room with a twin bed and enough room to walk to the window by the bed . There was a little table that served as a desk with a chair . There was a much coveted dormitory dresser - a tall one with a number of drawers . They were very popular . MRS . DAVIDSON : They had a wonderful bus service here . Travel wasn 't really a problem . We walked , of course , from the dormitory to Jackson Square and ate supper usually at the Mayflower , which is where I first saw my husband - to - be . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was on the corner of Tennessee , right across from the Soup Kitchen and the Texaco gas station there on the northeast corner . It was a very popular place . In fact , there were several places you could eat . It was the Central Cafeteria , and the T & C Cafeteria in Jackson Square , which is about where the Epicurean is now toward the garden . MRS . DAVIDSON : It must 've been the A & P on Jackson Square . Jackson Square was really the center of activity as far as I was concerned at that time . I still love it . I hope it keeps going . MRS . DAVIDSON : The department stores - the big department store was Taylor 's at the time . They had a wonderful book department headed by Mrs . Keyes , whose daughter I knew at work . They had really fine art books and other books that they would have a great sale on once or twice a year . We were very happy with that . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was in the middle of the block between where Big Ed 's is in the corner . I guess it 's mostly used by the engineering company now . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , not frequently , but I went and saw - there was a theater down at Big Ed 's in Jackson Square and where the Playhouse is now . That was the main one . MRS . DAVIDSON : Henebree . McCrory 's 5 & 10 was there . There was a drugstore - a Service Drugstore . I guess that was where Big Ed 's is now , on the very corner . There was Jackson Square Pharmacy , and on the other side the Hamilton Bank was there next to the movie theater . And Samuel 's Men 's Store was a very nice store . The Jackson Square Pharmacy was there , but in between , which the Pharmacy later took over was a Kay 's Ice Cream Store . We used to go there and - my husband and I would when we were dating . I liked to get coffee with ice cream in it , so we went there . MRS . DAVIDSON : I can 't say that I do . It was just a given , I suppose . It didn 't make a big dent in my memory . After six months of the dormitory , I moved to a D house on Norman Lane . That was another era . MRS . DAVIDSON : A D house was a large three bedroom house . They were very much desired . They were really nice houses - still a lot of them are . The house was - there were five other girls who lived there - two of whom had been college friends . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , it would 've been upstairs . It was the second one to the end . A radiation technologist lived on the corner , and I lived there with school teachers and nurses who made up most of the dorm . MR . HUNNICUTT : Let 's talk a little bit about the dorm again . If I had a message for you or someone left a message for you , how did you retrieve your messages ? Was there a desk when you went in ? MRS . DAVIDSON : There was a desk downstairs . I remember the Valentine 's Day - I guess it must 've been 1949 . The message was that I had some flowers , some red roses . I had just met my husband - to - be at that time . I got all excited , and when I got to the desk , it was from somebody else . I enjoyed the red roses , but not as much as I might have . The thing was that there were ladies - a lot of the women who lived in the dorm worked on the night shift . They would sit around a large kind of living room , I guess they called it . They were all staring when I got flowers . I had to walk around , and it was embarrassing . MRS . DAVIDSON : I was there in the winter of 1948 . I 'm very cold natured , but I don 't remember being cold . We had those heavy navy blanket - navy blue blankets . This brings up a story if I jump to it later on . We were moved from the D house after another six months into the brand - new Garden Apartments on Villanova Road . They needed our D house for families . The people who moved in were the Andersons of the Anderson Hilltop Grocery . Of course , the furniture all belonged to the government there . So the Garden Apartments were not furnished , so we had dwindled down from 6 to 4 people who needed furniture . I took a day off and went to an auction the government set up down at the warehouses . I got seven beds and three or four dressers - much more than I could have used . But the beds were in great demand at work because all the young men who worked there were having children and needed beds . So we took the four . Also I got two sofas , and we could use but one ; so I sold one . They were really shabby awful sofas . Since it was all going to surplus anyway , we switched and took the nice sofa from the D house and left them the bad one . It was all taken away anyhow , so I didn 't feel too bad about that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't really remember about the telephone . We didn 't use the telephone much . We never used it for long - distance except for emergencies and calls home . I don 't remember that as being a problem particularly . MRS . DAVIDSON : I suppose I went on the bus . I did not have a car . One of the housemates from Norman Lane had gotten the car , but she would 've been at work at K - 25 . I don 't know . I may have gotten a ride . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess I paid somebody to deliver it . I don 't know . Maybe some of the fellows at work picked up their beds that they wanted . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was one of those warehouses down at the [ Oak Ridge ] Turnpike on Warehouse Road . I don 't know exactly where it was . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess it was on the bulletin boards at work , or there was a newspaper at the Lab . I guess I heard about it that way . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think probably so - in the newsletters they came around , also at the recreation building - the rec hall - at Jackson Square that was the library upstairs and the rec hall downstairs . Word - of - mouth - I don 't remember . We had a need and found the answer to it . MRS . DAVIDSON : I had to punch a clock at eight in the morning when I first started . I guess we got out at 4 : 30 or 5 o ' clock . We had bus service that went from the bus terminal - the Central one - that 's now by Bus Terminal Road . Later on after we were married , we lived on Waddell Circle and went from there to the Jefferson bus terminal . I went - I rode on the K - 25 bus , and they went out past K - 25 to the road that the powerhouse was on and NEPA was beyond that out by the river . MRS . DAVIDSON : There was some kind of management services office . I 'm not sure what it was called - the Roane Anderson Corporation at that time , I guess . I think that 's where I rented the dormitory room . I probably got bus tokens - I guess I got the tokens of the bus terminal . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think I had a checking account probably at Hamilton Bank in Jackson Square . I don 't recall otherwise . I know I did later . One thing I wanted to say about the buses - if you wanted to go to Clinton to do any shopping , more than what you could have in Oak Ridge or to meet somebody or something , there was a bus that ran frequently back and forth between the bus terminal and Clinton . There was a young man on the bus who had a sing - songy sales pitch for " peanuts , popcorn , Cracker Jacks , candy , and chewing gum . " He wouldn 't drive , but he would sell his wares all the way to Clinton and back . I always wondered who that was because he obviously had some talent . MRS . DAVIDSON : I 'm sure I did . I don 't know what became of it . I guess I had to turn it back in . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think somebody just got - one of the guards got on the bus and checked everybody 's badges . It was not a big thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : Probably . I don 't remember . What I do remember about that was my mother was coming down one time for my birthday - it must 've been in January 1949 . She rode the train . I told her that I would get a ride to meet her . Of course , the train didn 't stop at Oak Ridge . It went on to Knoxville , so I bummed a ride with one of the men in our group . He was actually the technical assistant to the director . His car was a broken down old thing with no floorboards in the back seat , which was pretty bad when my mother saw it . But she didn 't see it because when we got to Knoxville , she was not there . When we were coming back from the gateway entrance , she was not there . There was a message that she was waiting for us at the Elza Gate Station . She had told the conductor she had to get off at Oak Ridge . That 's where she was going , and I was going to meet her . So she slid down the Elza bank over there . She had my birthday cake - a large chocolate cake . She slid downhill with that , and somehow they stopped her at the guard gate at Elza . She waited there for us . MRS . DAVIDSON : Just for her - let her off like a milk train . They ordinarily didn 't stop there , but she wouldn 't have it otherwise . MRS . DAVIDSON : I used the library and rec hall . On Sunday afternoons , they played music ; and you could sit and write letters home , which is what I think I did a good bit . Later on in the better weather , there were tennis courts and a swimming pool . I don 't remember going to movies much . We went to church groups . There were so many young people ; it was just like a party all the time . Nothing in particular stands out . It was just fun . MRS . DAVIDSON : In the company I was , that was not true . There were a lot of women of course - of course , the dormitory was full of school teachers and nurses . But NEPA was mostly men . There were two parts to the Fairchild - the science and engineering part , which was bigger . I happen to be in the research part . My boss was a chemist - Vince Calkins . It was my job to - this was a real shocker to me - to find a chemical that would protect the human body against radiation for the reactor that was supposed to be in the airplane to Russia . I had no background for that kind of thing . I was just fresh out of college really . I realized I was out of my depth , but they decided - he was a pharmacist , I believe , and he wanted to do experiments with rats . They brought in the rat colony . By that time we had a couple of assistants , and I was supposed to be the group leader . One of the men , Ray Waldrop - you may have talked to him . I asked him if he minded working for a woman because he was really more experienced than I , although I had the degree . It was fine with him . There was also another worker , Saul Segal , who was quite a character in his own right . I took the rats in the cages over to the reactor , the " Old Lady " at X - 10 , and put them through what they called " rabbits " and radiated them for certain amount of time . We couldn 't kill the darn things . Then we used the older ones that had already been radiated , they were just tough as anything . I think the experiment was really a failure , although they may have found that to be the case in some later work with older people - that the cells are not dividing as fast and they 're not as subject to radiation . But we didn 't get into that . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was actually not K - 25 . It was beyond there . As I said , the bus took us - the bus dumped people off at K - 25 , and they went on west to just before you get to the Gallaher Bridge . You turn right there and go right past the power station there . It was used for a long time - the power house , and then NEPA was beyond that . The native rats came in - was it domestic experimental rats ? That was not good . I had a janitor who helped me , even though he could 've lost his job for doing it . He helped me clean cages . I always appreciated that . MRS . DAVIDSON : When they got rid of the rats , which was a blessing , my group leader then became Bill Browning , who was a fine scientist . He worked on the Van de Graaff generator . We had an interesting argument . Saul Segal thought he should be the one to do it since he was a man and I was a woman who would be leaving soon ; and it turned out that he left for California before I had left to have my baby . His argument didn 't hold with me anyway , but we argued about that some . We did run the Van de Graaff , and we also did some experiments on metallic sodium . It was nasty stuff to work with . It caught on fire if it was exposed to air . You had to work with that under oil in the glove box . I think that work all had to be repeated after NEPA left for Cincinnati with G . E . . When they moved part of NEPA to X - 10 , they called it the ANP , or something about aircraft and nuclear power . I was not connected with that because my first baby was born in August 1951 . I left in July . MRS . DAVIDSON : I heard somebody say that they had to repeat it all . My boss , the Division Director of Chemistry was interested in vitamin E , and thought it had a lot of protective influence . We worked with that . That was some of the work I did in chemistry - the lab part of it in the early days . It was not good work , I think . I 'm not blaming myself , but some of the other men who were doing chemical work - I think altogether we didn 't come up with anything . MRS . DAVIDSON : It may have been ahead of it 's time for nuclear submarines . I don 't know whether the engineering people thought that or not . In our group which was the chemistry and the physics , my friend who got me the job was Jim Trice . A fellow named Art Miller and somebody named Coneybearwere in the Physics Division . And then there were some others - Fred Maienschein . I did some work for him one time . It was work on beryllium for one thing . I didn 't work with any of the active beryllium . I didn 't do any lab work then , but I did some journal research . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't think they were that far along . I 'm not sure what happened to that part of it . As I said , in July of 1951 they moved to Cincinnati , Evensville , above Cincinnati . I don 't know how many people actually went up there . Most of my friends moved elsewhere . MR . HUNNICUTT : You mentioned the location of the operation was past the steam plant that was on the Clinch River . Was that the same location where the S - 50 project was located ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I think that was the name of our plot of land . I think those - I never was quite sure how they got the designations , but that was the Fairchild domain , I think . MRS . DAVIDSON : Really , it was just when our eyes met . It was very romantic . He followed our group home to the Columbia Hall to see where I lived . But at the time I thought he was too young , and I didn 't think he was following me . I was with a group of other girls . Later on , one of the women in the dormitory , who was a gym teacher in the Oak Ridge schools , told me I really ought to meet Jack Davidson that he loved to ride bicycles ; I was just back from my bicycle trip in Europe . I didn 't know who he was , and then I went to a church group meeting at my Presbyterian Church for young people one Sunday evening . A friend of mine had brought Jack Davidson , and he was the one whose eyes I had met and he had met mine . Sure enough , he loved to ride bicycles . That was the start of a good thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : We did a little bit . On our dates , that 's really what we did mostly at first . We rode out to West Outer Drive and had those wonderful big hills , not too much traffic at that time . We went out to the water tower at the top of Louisiana and had a picnic , and then rode back . When we got really good , we rode our bicycles over to Concord Park one day . I had gotten some chicken breasts at the grocery . I guess it was the A & P at Jackson Square . I was going to fry them for a picnic to take along over to Concord Park . When I went to the refrigerator to get them , they had turned into wings . Somebody had eaten my chicken breast . Jack was a good sport about that . He didn 't care . We had a nice ride . It was before they had improved Lovell Road . It was a pretty rough ride over there , but we were able to enjoy it . MRS . DAVIDSON : He had his bicycle . It was probably a Grey Stone . For me , he rented a bicycle from his work friend . I had forgotten what his name was . We went over to one of the D Streets , I think , and rode them . I didn 't have my English 3 - speed here . I guess I brought it later , but at that time I didn 't have it . MRS . DAVIDSON : That was a problem . I complained to my friend Jim Trice 's wife , Dot , who happened to live around the corner on Outer Drive at that time . She said the boardwalk was used a lot for dating , and of course the theaters . I guess we were outdoors people . I don 't know . MRS . DAVIDSON : He was a graduate of Georgia Tech . At the time he graduated , he was very young . He came up to see about a job , and he was drafted . No , he was in danger of being drafted right away , but they didn 't hire him . He did go to work for NASA , which was at that time NACA , in Virginia ; and worked over there a short time before he was taken into the Army . He had gone through Georgia Tech on a " War Manpower " loan . He was sent to some place to be an MP , I think . He wrote a night letter , which is a 50 - word telegram that was cheaper at night . He wrote a night letter to Stimson , the Secretary of War , telling them they had paid for his college education ; and here he was sitting in a camp doing nothing down in Alabama . He was transferred to the SED , he would never say that was the reason he was transferred . It may or may not have been . He arrived with the SED - he arrived in Oak Ridge the day Roosevelt died , which was in April 1945 , he was here with his group for maybe six weeks before they went out to Los Alamos . So he spent the rest of the war out there . Then he used his G . I . Bill - he stayed on at Los Alamos . They told them they would let him out of the Army if he would agree to stay on as a civilian . So he took that . Then when he did leave , he went to Annapolis and took a liberal arts course because he felt that he had missed out on it at Georgia Tech . He had a year at St . John 's College of Annapolis ; and then all along I guess he thought he would like to come back here . He came back - he arrived on Armistice Day , now Veterans Day , of 1948 . I was here a couple of months before he came , but we met shortly after Christmas in 1949 . MRS . DAVIDSON : Too long . We were married in May 1950 . He wanted to pay off his loan before we could get married , so I helped him along with that . I fed him some . He was very welcome at the D House of girls . I was going to tell you that during the war , there were nine girls in the house , and they slept on shifts on the bunk beds . There were only six of us when I was there . There were a couple of the boyfriends around , and one of them cut the grass . I think Jack did the - empty the clinkers from the furnace , the coal furnace . They made themselves useful . They got their dinner . MRS . DAVIDSON : Most of the houses were a very good design really , and a whole lot better built than we gave them credit for . But each one that I knew of had a corner set off or closed off as a coal storage place that could be filled through a window from the outside , and then you could use the - there was an opening on the inside that you could use to put coal into the furnace . That was awful of course , but that 's what all the houses were doing in that time , too . We had a yard full of clinkers over there . MRS . DAVIDSON : We were taken care of by a Big Brother - the government . They brought the coal around , and you didn 't do a thing . That was part of the rent . When we got our house here on Orange Lane , that 's another story . Are you ready for that yet ? MRS . DAVIDSON : We went back to my home in Louisville , Kentucky , to be married . We had planned to fly to Nashville , but it turned out the Delta Queen was coming through Louisville the next morning . My mother had told us we could not get married the week before because it was too busy with Derby Day . So we delayed until May 13 . Then we spent the night in Louisville at the Brown Hotel , where she pulled some strings to get us a room because it was still very full of visitors from the Derby . We got on the Delta Queen , and our friends were all on the dock to see us off . They had us almost convinced that we were on Daylight Saving Time , and the Delta Queen was not , and we had missed it . But we rode down just as far as Paducah . We were anxious to start in life you know . We lived on Wadell Circle in a K apartment . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was a two - story thing . I guess it was a two - bedroom up above , and we had K - 1 . It was sort of underground at the front and open at the back . We had a nice back porch . There was a closet under the stairway and a very small kitchen . It had a table that folded down . It was not as compact as a flattop , but the furnishings that they had did double duty . You could fold it up and have more room . MRS . DAVIDSON : The K apartment was heated with the coal furnace , but there was a janitor who came around and took care of it for us . We were taken care of by Roane Anderson . MRS . DAVIDSON : We lived in the K from May 1950 , until we got this house in July 1952 . It was said - the word around town was that you couldn 't get a two - bedroom house unless you had three children , all of different sex . We had been on the list for this house ever since we knew our daughter was coming along . That was a long time to wait . We had been offered two houses - Florida Avenue , where the parking was across the street and the backyard just dropped off . We thought that was totally unsuitable for a new child . We turned both of those down . If we had turned this one down , we would 've gone to the bottom of the long list . But we loved this place of the trees and the dead end lane neighborhood . So we sat outside in front all weekend because we were not top on the list . The reason the other people didn 't take it was that the previous owner , Jim Cox and Charlotte , had put in an oil furnace ; and nobody wanted to pay $ 200 for the oil furnace . Since I had been working , we had saved my salary from work , and we had $ 200 to pay . Also , they didn 't want to be in the high rent district . This house rented for something like $ 45 instead of $ 43 in the lower rent districts . MRS . DAVIDSON : The Oak Ridge cemesto houses that were built - I think this house was built in the fall of 1944 or 1943 . Maybe it was ' 43 . The B house has two bedrooms and of course a bath and a kitchen with a dinette into a long narrow living room . It was about 24 feet by 40 something feet . It was small and convenient . It didn 't have much storage space , but it 's been a wonderful house for us because of the trees . We are on a greenbelt , and I enjoy that very much . It 's a nice private neighborhood just above Jackson Square . MRS . DAVIDSON : Our cemesto has a fireplace , and it had a complete brick wall . Some of the B houses had a brick wall just beyond the fireplace . MRS . DAVIDSON : There are hardwood floors in all the cemestos , I believe . Our house has maple flooring , and a lot of them had oak . Wood was hard to come by in the wartime . We love the color - the reddish color of the maple . MRS . DAVIDSON : Adele is our second daughter , and she was two years younger . Our son is Bill Davidson or William . He was born in November of 1954 . He 's just now turning 58 . MRS . DAVIDSON : All three of our children went to Cedar Hill . They had split grades there , so I think the classes were one half size . They would take the kids a half from one grade , and half from the next grade , and that worked out just fine . MRS . DAVIDSON : Cedar Hill was wonderful . It was very special . Mr . Dodd was the principal , and he saw to it - he had the best teachers or at least as good as any . Actually in those days all the teachers and Oak Ridge were special because many of them had been recruited from Columbia Teachers College , along with the superintendent . Others were specially recruited for the job . They were a group a part , I think , from a lot of teachers . MRS . DAVIDSON : The girls both went to Jefferson when it was on the hill at Jackson Square , and Bill was in the first year at the new Jefferson that was over on Fairbanks Road . His was the first class there . They all went through Oak Ridge High . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you recall some of the classes your daughters took while they were in junior high ? Was there Home Ec . or things related to girls ? MRS . DAVIDSON : No , they were on the college prep track . They took eighth grade algebra and that kind of thing . Of course English and math and social studies and science - our older girl I think took biology ; and I 'm not sure if Adele had a more general science course . It just depended on the teacher that they had . They had an excellent education , and the girls were both Merit semifinalists . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course . I was in the PTA . I 'm not sure if I was ever a room mother , but I of course helped with parties and things . MRS . DAVIDSON : The teachers recruited them from each class to help with parties mostly . They helped with any activities that they didn 't really have time to do . MRS . DAVIDSON : Parent - Teacher Association , a time honored group . It got extra things for the school . I got involved with raincoats for the school patrol . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess maybe I was a treasurer of the Cedar Hill PTA , and this goal was to get those yellow slicker raincoat so kids could be visible to the drivers . I found out how much the things cost , and then I estimated postage . At the PTA meeting , Alvin Weinberg was president . He had a son or two in school at the time . He took me to task for estimating the postage , so I had to ask for just the money for the coats themselves since I didn 't really know what the postage is going to be . I thought that was interesting that he wanted to keep it to the exact penny . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think they just wore what the other kids wore . One day we had a deep snow and Bill was in kindergarten , and the snow was up over their boots . I think he had some corduroys . The teacher was making the kids take their pants off and dry them on the radiator , and he wouldn 't do it . I had to go up to the school and take him some fresh pants , some dry clothes . He was very young - just four when he started . MR . HUNNICUTT : Let 's go back a few years . Do you remember 1945 when they dropped the bomb on Japan ? You remember where you were ? And what was your reaction ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I do remember that very clearly because it was the summer after my junior year in college , and I was a camp counselor up in Door County , Wisconsin . There was no electricity at the camp , so we counselors - after we got the kids to bed , went to the state park nearby . This was at Fish Creek , Wisconsin . We would listen to people 's car radios . We knew for about a week that something was happening , but we didn 't know just what . It was very deeply moving when the bomb was dropped , and we thought it would bring an end to the war . Of course , I had friends and a brother on Guam and a cousin was in Europe and others . So that was very deeply moving . I had a book of poetry - my favorite poems at the camp with me . One of my 12 - year - olds picked out a poem - " Once to every man and nation comes a moment to decide " - she read that , and I thought that was very astute of her , a youngster to be able to do that . MRS . DAVIDSON : My husband thought they should have dropped a sample first , but I didn 't feel that way since the first bomb didn 't phase the Japanese . I didn 't think the test one would have either . I was just so glad that the war was over . People could settle down and get into real life again . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think I was in transition from the dormitory to the house , and my husband 's brothers came up from Georgia to witness the opening . So we drove in their car around , and we watched the parade from , I believe , down on the eastern end of the Turnpike down near the warehouses to get out of the traffic . We never could figure out why they invited Marie " The Body " McDonald and [ inaudible ] to ride in the open car for the parade . We couldn 't figure out what they had to do with it , but we did see the burning of the magnesium ribbon . That was exciting . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was only toward town from Elza Gate . I know the central part of town , the Jackson Square area , was very crowded . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think they name the streets for famous cities in the country , and of course the alphabetical designations were very helpful . But Jackson Square , I assume , was named for New Orleans . That 's all I know about it . MRS . DAVIDSON : Sometimes you would pick up the telephone , and the other party was talking . I believe they had different rings . I think maybe the other party had one ring , and we had two . There were four - party lines , but if we were on a four - party line , only the other one was active . I think maybe we were . The other two lines were not being used . MR . HUNNICUTT : When you are raising your family , did you hang your clothes outside on the clothesline ? Did you have a dryer ? What did you use ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I hung them outside on the clothesline . As I said , when we moved here , Anne was a year old . Not much more than three years after that , we had three babies . I was able to talk my husband into getting a dryer that time . Before that , he had built a pulley out of my kitchen window . There was a drop off in the back , and he was able to string it to a tree in the woods . I was able to reel those cloth diapers and reel them in and out . The only problem was that the birds like the trees , too . Sometimes I had to do some re - washing . MR . HUNNICUTT : So in those days you use cloth diapers ? Today we use disposable diapers . How do you think you would 've done if you had disposable diapers ? MRS . DAVIDSON : At one point , when our children were out playing Kick the Can , there were over 40 children on the lane . There were about 20 or 21 houses . There were almost as many dogs . It was just a glorious place for them to grow up . They seem to get along remarkably well most of the time , especially in the early days . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes . We went down there on the opening , and got the radioactive dimes on that occasion . The museum at that time was down at Jefferson Circle . I don 't think any of us ever had our hair stand out on the Van De Graff generator or whatever it was , but we took the children . We went out ourselves . Of course my husband was interested in that kind of thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : Sometimes they walked to Jefferson , but by that time they were carrying pretty heavy books . One of the neighbors on Outer Drive wanted to have a carpool , so we joined that . MRS . DAVIDSON : When Anne was in the fifth grade , they had to write what they did on Friday nights . The teacher would call me and say , " Is it true that you gave your children ice water and watched TV on Friday nights ? " That was how generous we were with them . We didn 't get a TV until they were probably five or six years old . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course it was black and white . The reason we got it - I guess finally it was that the children were always going to the neighbors ' house to watch TV . We decided that we should get our own . They watched things like " Pinky Lee " and I 've forgotten what else . MRS . DAVIDSON : I remember that fondly because my first real date with my husband was going to dinner there with him . He invited me to go to a concert in Knoxville , and his excuse was that we should get to know each other better before he took me to the city with him . That was one thing . I remember there were parties there , and our company had a party at the Oak Terrace Ballroom . One of the NEPA fellows wore a Tarzan costume , which was mostly nothing . It turned out that he lived in the neighborhood . MRS . DAVIDSON : That was just below the dormitory where I lived in Columbia Hall . Jack went there looking for me , he thought I would eat breakfast there and then he could have breakfast with me ; but I ate in the dormitory . He didn 't find me there . When we came back from our bicycle ride to Concord Park , I remember we stopped by there , and he drank two or three Mountain Dew drinks . That surprised me , but we had worked off a lot of sweat . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , we took our children out there and saw " Lawrence of Arabia " and " The 10 Commandment " and those things . It was quite nice . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was about where Kroger 's - where that is now , on the southeast part of Illinois Avenue . It was a nice thing . That was a special treat for the children to go out there . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't think so . I think they were mostly in the car . They had a drawing one time , Jack won something . It was actually nothing , but he did win . MRS . DAVIDSON : I sure did . My three children were born there . It was a green structure , like so many of the buildings in Oak Ridge . I guess the present building is built on that place . It was okay . I didn 't have any problems with it , except after my second child . I had a staph infection from the hospital . Even an Army wife with a private room got an infection there . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , I think they also had been recruited ; and a lot of them were from Tulane University . The time I was sick with my infection , they were having a reunion at Tulane , and my doctor and another one were gone for the reunion . I didn 't like the one who took care of me . He didn 't do a good job . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was okay . I don 't remember having any problems with it . We knew Dr . Rogers from our church , and we went to him . He was called away to the service , I believe . Maybe it was the Korean War , but then he came back . MRS . DAVIDSON : We met at Pine Valley School . The choir sat on the bleachers , and the minister sat under the halo of the basketball net . My husband was a Methodist , and he went to the First Methodist Church . They had a big youth group there . When we were first married , we tried to take them both in . We went to Sunday school one place , and church another until we finally settled on the Presbyterian . It was smaller , and we knew more people . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course the people . I love my trees and my house . I love all the activities . Both my husband and I have always loved music and enjoy the concerts a lot . The symphony concerts with Waldo Cohn conducting were held at Jefferson Junior High on the Kentucky Avenue hill . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you think back about all the people that you knew in the early days ? Do you think it was unusual for everybody to get along - the many people that were here ? MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , I guess so . I didn 't think about it because we just did . It was just fun . Everybody was away from home , and we had to be family for each other . That was particularly true in this close neighborhood . MRS . DAVIDSON : I 'm pleased for the most part . I think we 've made good progress . We 've kept up with the outside world . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think we came through at the very best of times . It was not the pressure of war , but we were growing community . I think things were happening at the Lab . Both of my husband and I loved the Lab because there were so many good things going on out there . It gives us hope for the future . [ Editor 's Note : This transcript has been edited at Mrs . Davidson 's request . The corresponding audio and video components have remained unchanged . ] Click tabs to swap between content that is broken into logical sections . MR . HUNNICUTT : This interview is for the Center of Oak Ridge Oral History . The date is November 8 , 2012 . I am Don Hunnicutt in the home of Mrs . Mary Ann Davidson , 117 Orange Lane , Oak Ridge , Tennessee , to take her oral history about living in Oak Ridge , Tennessee . Please state your full name and your place of birth and your date of birth . MRS . DAVIDSON : My name is Mary Ann Davidson . My date of birth is January 12 , 1925 . I was born in Louisville , Kentucky . I lived there all my early life until I graduated from college . MRS . DAVIDSON : My father was William H . Courtenay . He was born in 1890 , on March 3 . He was in World War I and lived his entire life in Louisville and Shelbyville , Kentucky . He worked for the Mengel Company . They imported mahogany and hardwood from Africa and Central America . He delivered those to customers . He didn 't consider himself a salesman , but he sold them to the furniture factory - furniture makers around Kentucky , mostly Indiana and Cincinnati and some in Tennessee . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , he did not . The Louisville Male High School was considered a fine school at that time . They said that graduates could enter Harvard in their second year . The principal had written textbooks that were apparently used all over . But my father was interested in raising ponies . His father had a farm in Shelbyville , Kentucky . If you 'd didn 't make the grade , you are special . And Dr . Ruben Post - Halleck , the famous principal of the school , told him if he took an exam in math , he could be entered back in . He did that , and he aced the test . He was back in . Then he was a special in English , so they told him if he memorized the " Lady of the Lake " and said that he could get back in school . So he did that . I think he never did finish . He was a twin , and his twin was more of an engineering type and went to manual training high school . MR . HUNNICUTT : What about your mother 's school history ? MRS . DAVIDSON : She grew up in several small towns in western Kentucky . Her father worked for the L & N Railroad . She had her high school in Hopkinsville , Kentucky . She had to stay home - or she went to junior college nearby . She had a scholarship to Randolph Macon Women 's College , but she couldn 't take it because her mother was ill and died at age 50 . It was about the year I was born , I think . MRS . DAVIDSON : His name was William Howard Courtenay III . My father was named for his uncle , who was also William Howard . My older brother works for Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green in the physics department . He made instruments . My younger brother was a pediatrician in Louisville , and he is still living on a farm in Shelbyville . He 's interested in Kentucky antiques . MR . HUNNICUTT : Yes . MRS . DAVIDSON : I went to an unusual kindergarten and first grade . I was at what they called the Enterprise Branch of I . N . Bloom School . It was only kindergarten and first grade . It was in the older building , where we had a Pot Belly Stove . I think we had a maid to help us take our leggings off in the cold weather - galoshes . It was really a wonderful school . It was almost like a private one . It was public . We did things like making butter and we had an orchestra . I played the triangle . I had started a little bit earlier when my younger brother was born . Louisville had half semester , half - year grades . I would 've been a half year , but I skipped the last half of kindergarten . I went to the school board and took a test and went on , so they put me in the regular school year . I went through the big school the I . N . Bloom School and Highland Junior High School in Louisville . Then I went to Atherton High School for Girls . The Louisville public schools were segregated - boys and girls . There were about 900 girls at Atherton . My graduating class was about 200 , and I was the valedictorian . MRS . DAVIDSON : They are pants to keep your legs warm . They zipped up from the inside of the ankle bone up to about knee - high , I guess it was . They were a royal pain to take on and off , so the teacher had to have help to do that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was just ordinary . I 'm sure the girls wore dresses , and the little boys wore suits - not suits , but pants and shirts . MRS . DAVIDSON : I came to Oak Ridge after I graduated from college . I had two years of getting a master 's at Emory while I worked at my alma mater , Agnes Scott College in Decatur , Georgia . I was the chemistry lab instructor . So after those two years were up , I was interested in working in chemistry or biochemistry . My master 's was in biochemistry . In Louisville , there was nothing in that field , except liquor and paint - neither of which I was interested in . In Atlanta , I would like to stay in Atlanta , I heard that Oak Ridge was an interesting new place , and a lot was going on here . One of my dear college friends had recently married a physicist from the University of Kentucky , so I visited them here . I guess that must have been 1947 . Her husband was working at NEPA . He said they were looking for people with a chemistry degree . I applied , and I was accepted . I didn 't know that until I had completed the clearance , so I took the opportunity to go to Europe at an American youth hostel bicycle tour of Western Europe in the summer of 1948 . When I got home , I found that I had indeed gotten the job at Oak Ridge . So I came down here . MRS . DAVIDSON : I was wondering that . I think I came by train . When I interviewed earlier in the spring , my interview was at the Andrew Johnson Hotel . It was one of the private rooms . I had never seen the company here . I think I must have been met by a car and driver and brought to Oak Ridge . MRS . DAVIDSON : I came in through the Vermont Gateway , which is where the gas station is now on the corner of what I call Vermont . They call it North Rutgers now . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , I think it must 've been after that . That would 've been at Christmas time . When I applied , I imagine it was early spring . MRS . DAVIDSON : We called the company NEPA , for Nuclear Energy for the Propulsion of Aircraft . It was managed by the Fairchild Corporation the way Union Carbide or one of the other contractors managed the lab . I did not know until the first day I went to work just what the company was doing . They handed me a volume of information that said , " We are looking for - we are trying to make an airplane powered by nuclear energy that could fly to Russia and back without refueling . " That was a great shock to me . MRS . DAVIDSON : I lived in Columbia Hall Dormitory . I was very surprised to find that the rent was $ 15 a month until I realized it was one very small room . That was my living quarters . I took the opportunity to stay out of it as much as possible . I did that by babysitting in some of the B and D houses in the evening . Grandmothers were not here since it was a closed community . Babysitters were in short supply , and even though I didn 't need the money , it was good to get out of the dormitory . MRS . DAVIDSON : The dormitory was like Cheyenne Hall . It was the same type of building . It had wooden stairways from the second - floor hall down on each end . I lived on the second floor . Our dormitory was mostly nurses , since it was up on the hill next to the hospital - I think where the west parking lot is now . There was a kitchen on each end where we could have our own breakfast . Of course we were at the plant at lunchtime , and then we usually went out to supper . I opened the refrigerator door one morning and somebody 's milk came spilling out down my front . Everybody just stuffed things into the refrigerator . MRS . DAVIDSON : I had a single room with a twin bed and enough room to walk to the window by the bed . There was a little table that served as a desk with a chair . There was a much coveted dormitory dresser - a tall one with a number of drawers . They were very popular . MRS . DAVIDSON : They had a wonderful bus service here . Travel wasn 't really a problem . We walked , of course , from the dormitory to Jackson Square and ate supper usually at the Mayflower , which is where I first saw my husband - to - be . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was on the corner of Tennessee , right across from the Soup Kitchen and the Texaco gas station there on the northeast corner . It was a very popular place . In fact , there were several places you could eat . It was the Central Cafeteria , and the T & C Cafeteria in Jackson Square , which is about where the Epicurean is now toward the garden . MRS . DAVIDSON : It must 've been the A & P on Jackson Square . Jackson Square was really the center of activity as far as I was concerned at that time . I still love it . I hope it keeps going . MRS . DAVIDSON : The department stores - the big department store was Taylor 's at the time . They had a wonderful book department headed by Mrs . Keyes , whose daughter I knew at work . They had really fine art books and other books that they would have a great sale on once or twice a year . We were very happy with that . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was in the middle of the block between where Big Ed 's is in the corner . I guess it 's mostly used by the engineering company now . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , not frequently , but I went and saw - there was a theater down at Big Ed 's in Jackson Square and where the Playhouse is now . That was the main one . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , the jewelry store was on the corner that was Henebree 's , I think . No , that was Heneger 's . MR . HUNNICUTT : Henebree ? MRS . DAVIDSON : Henebree . McCrory 's 5 & 10 was there . There was a drugstore - a Service Drugstore . I guess that was where Big Ed 's is now , on the very corner . There was Jackson Square Pharmacy , and on the other side the Hamilton Bank was there next to the movie theater . And Samuel 's Men 's Store was a very nice store . The Jackson Square Pharmacy was there , but in between , which the Pharmacy later took over was a Kay 's Ice Cream Store . We used to go there and - my husband and I would when we were dating . I liked to get coffee with ice cream in it , so we went there . MR . HUNNICUTT : I believe that was Taff Moody Ice Cream - they served Kay 's Ice Cream . MRS . DAVIDSON : Was it ? I didn 't remember that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I can 't say that I do . It was just a given , I suppose . It didn 't make a big dent in my memory . After six months of the dormitory , I moved to a D house on Norman Lane . That was another era . MR . HUNNICUTT : What is a D house ? MRS . DAVIDSON : A D house was a large three bedroom house . They were very much desired . They were really nice houses - still a lot of them are . The house was - there were five other girls who lived there - two of whom had been college friends . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , it would 've been upstairs . It was the second one to the end . A radiation technologist lived on the corner , and I lived there with school teachers and nurses who made up most of the dorm . MR . HUNNICUTT : Let 's talk a little bit about the dorm again . If I had a message for you or someone left a message for you , how did you retrieve your messages ? Was there a desk when you went in ? MRS . DAVIDSON : There was a desk downstairs . I remember the Valentine 's Day - I guess it must 've been 1949 . The message was that I had some flowers , some red roses . I had just met my husband - to - be at that time . I got all excited , and when I got to the desk , it was from somebody else . I enjoyed the red roses , but not as much as I might have . The thing was that there were ladies - a lot of the women who lived in the dorm worked on the night shift . They would sit around a large kind of living room , I guess they called it . They were all staring when I got flowers . I had to walk around , and it was embarrassing . MRS . DAVIDSON : I was there in the winter of 1948 . I 'm very cold natured , but I don 't remember being cold . We had those heavy navy blanket - navy blue blankets . This brings up a story if I jump to it later on . We were moved from the D house after another six months into the brand - new Garden Apartments on Villanova Road . They needed our D house for families . The people who moved in were the Andersons of the Anderson Hilltop Grocery . Of course , the furniture all belonged to the government there . So the Garden Apartments were not furnished , so we had dwindled down from 6 to 4 people who needed furniture . I took a day off and went to an auction the government set up down at the warehouses . I got seven beds and three or four dressers - much more than I could have used . But the beds were in great demand at work because all the young men who worked there were having children and needed beds . So we took the four . Also I got two sofas , and we could use but one ; so I sold one . They were really shabby awful sofas . Since it was all going to surplus anyway , we switched and took the nice sofa from the D house and left them the bad one . It was all taken away anyhow , so I didn 't feel too bad about that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't really remember about the telephone . We didn 't use the telephone much . We never used it for long - distance except for emergencies and calls home . I don 't remember that as being a problem particularly . MRS . DAVIDSON : I suppose I went on the bus . I did not have a car . One of the housemates from Norman Lane had gotten the car , but she would 've been at work at K - 25 . I don 't know . I may have gotten a ride . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess I paid somebody to deliver it . I don 't know . Maybe some of the fellows at work picked up their beds that they wanted . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was one of those warehouses down at the [ Oak Ridge ] Turnpike on Warehouse Road . I don 't know exactly where it was . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess it was on the bulletin boards at work , or there was a newspaper at the Lab . I guess I heard about it that way . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think probably so - in the newsletters they came around , also at the recreation building - the rec hall - at Jackson Square that was the library upstairs and the rec hall downstairs . Word - of - mouth - I don 't remember . We had a need and found the answer to it . MRS . DAVIDSON : I had to punch a clock at eight in the morning when I first started . I guess we got out at 4 : 30 or 5 o ' clock . We had bus service that went from the bus terminal - the Central one - that 's now by Bus Terminal Road . Later on after we were married , we lived on Waddell Circle and went from there to the Jefferson bus terminal . I went - I rode on the K - 25 bus , and they went out past K - 25 to the road that the powerhouse was on and NEPA was beyond that out by the river . MRS . DAVIDSON : There was some kind of management services office . I 'm not sure what it was called - the Roane Anderson Corporation at that time , I guess . I think that 's where I rented the dormitory room . I probably got bus tokens - I guess I got the tokens of the bus terminal . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think I had a checking account probably at Hamilton Bank in Jackson Square . I don 't recall otherwise . I know I did later . One thing I wanted to say about the buses - if you wanted to go to Clinton to do any shopping , more than what you could have in Oak Ridge or to meet somebody or something , there was a bus that ran frequently back and forth between the bus terminal and Clinton . There was a young man on the bus who had a sing - songy sales pitch for " peanuts , popcorn , Cracker Jacks , candy , and chewing gum . " He wouldn 't drive , but he would sell his wares all the way to Clinton and back . I always wondered who that was because he obviously had some talent . MRS . DAVIDSON : I 'm sure I did . I don 't know what became of it . I guess I had to turn it back in . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think somebody just got - one of the guards got on the bus and checked everybody 's badges . It was not a big thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : Probably . I don 't remember . What I do remember about that was my mother was coming down one time for my birthday - it must 've been in January 1949 . She rode the train . I told her that I would get a ride to meet her . Of course , the train didn 't stop at Oak Ridge . It went on to Knoxville , so I bummed a ride with one of the men in our group . He was actually the technical assistant to the director . His car was a broken down old thing with no floorboards in the back seat , which was pretty bad when my mother saw it . But she didn 't see it because when we got to Knoxville , she was not there . When we were coming back from the gateway entrance , she was not there . There was a message that she was waiting for us at the Elza Gate Station . She had told the conductor she had to get off at Oak Ridge . That 's where she was going , and I was going to meet her . So she slid down the Elza bank over there . She had my birthday cake - a large chocolate cake . She slid downhill with that , and somehow they stopped her at the guard gate at Elza . She waited there for us . MRS . DAVIDSON : Just for her - let her off like a milk train . They ordinarily didn 't stop there , but she wouldn 't have it otherwise . MRS . DAVIDSON : I used the library and rec hall . On Sunday afternoons , they played music ; and you could sit and write letters home , which is what I think I did a good bit . Later on in the better weather , there were tennis courts and a swimming pool . I don 't remember going to movies much . We went to church groups . There were so many young people ; it was just like a party all the time . Nothing in particular stands out . It was just fun . MRS . DAVIDSON : In the company I was , that was not true . There were a lot of women of course - of course , the dormitory was full of school teachers and nurses . But NEPA was mostly men . There were two parts to the Fairchild - the science and engineering part , which was bigger . I happen to be in the research part . My boss was a chemist - Vince Calkins . It was my job to - this was a real shocker to me - to find a chemical that would protect the human body against radiation for the reactor that was supposed to be in the airplane to Russia . I had no background for that kind of thing . I was just fresh out of college really . I realized I was out of my depth , but they decided - he was a pharmacist , I believe , and he wanted to do experiments with rats . They brought in the rat colony . By that time we had a couple of assistants , and I was supposed to be the group leader . One of the men , Ray Waldrop - you may have talked to him . I asked him if he minded working for a woman because he was really more experienced than I , although I had the degree . It was fine with him . There was also another worker , Saul Segal , who was quite a character in his own right . I took the rats in the cages over to the reactor , the " Old Lady " at X - 10 , and put them through what they called " rabbits " and radiated them for certain amount of time . We couldn 't kill the darn things . Then we used the older ones that had already been radiated , they were just tough as anything . I think the experiment was really a failure , although they may have found that to be the case in some later work with older people - that the cells are not dividing as fast and they 're not as subject to radiation . But we didn 't get into that . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was actually not K - 25 . It was beyond there . As I said , the bus took us - the bus dumped people off at K - 25 , and they went on west to just before you get to the Gallaher Bridge . You turn right there and go right past the power station there . It was used for a long time - the power house , and then NEPA was beyond that . The native rats came in - was it domestic experimental rats ? That was not good . I had a janitor who helped me , even though he could 've lost his job for doing it . He helped me clean cages . I always appreciated that . MRS . DAVIDSON : When they got rid of the rats , which was a blessing , my group leader then became Bill Browning , who was a fine scientist . He worked on the Van de Graaff generator . We had an interesting argument . Saul Segal thought he should be the one to do it since he was a man and I was a woman who would be leaving soon ; and it turned out that he left for California before I had left to have my baby . His argument didn 't hold with me anyway , but we argued about that some . We did run the Van de Graaff , and we also did some experiments on metallic sodium . It was nasty stuff to work with . It caught on fire if it was exposed to air . You had to work with that under oil in the glove box . I think that work all had to be repeated after NEPA left for Cincinnati with G . E . . When they moved part of NEPA to X - 10 , they called it the ANP , or something about aircraft and nuclear power . I was not connected with that because my first baby was born in August 1951 . I left in July . MRS . DAVIDSON : I heard somebody say that they had to repeat it all . My boss , the Division Director of Chemistry was interested in vitamin E , and thought it had a lot of protective influence . We worked with that . That was some of the work I did in chemistry - the lab part of it in the early days . It was not good work , I think . I 'm not blaming myself , but some of the other men who were doing chemical work - I think altogether we didn 't come up with anything . MRS . DAVIDSON : It may have been ahead of it 's time for nuclear submarines . I don 't know whether the engineering people thought that or not . In our group which was the chemistry and the physics , my friend who got me the job was Jim Trice . A fellow named Art Miller and somebody named Coneybearwere in the Physics Division . And then there were some others - Fred Maienschein . I did some work for him one time . It was work on beryllium for one thing . I didn 't work with any of the active beryllium . I didn 't do any lab work then , but I did some journal research . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't think they were that far along . I 'm not sure what happened to that part of it . As I said , in July of 1951 they moved to Cincinnati , Evensville , above Cincinnati . I don 't know how many people actually went up there . Most of my friends moved elsewhere . MR . HUNNICUTT : You mentioned the location of the operation was past the steam plant that was on the Clinch River . Was that the same location where the S - 50 project was located ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I think that was the name of our plot of land . I think those - I never was quite sure how they got the designations , but that was the Fairchild domain , I think . MRS . DAVIDSON : Really , it was just when our eyes met . It was very romantic . He followed our group home to the Columbia Hall to see where I lived . But at the time I thought he was too young , and I didn 't think he was following me . I was with a group of other girls . Later on , one of the women in the dormitory , who was a gym teacher in the Oak Ridge schools , told me I really ought to meet Jack Davidson that he loved to ride bicycles ; I was just back from my bicycle trip in Europe . I didn 't know who he was , and then I went to a church group meeting at my Presbyterian Church for young people one Sunday evening . A friend of mine had brought Jack Davidson , and he was the one whose eyes I had met and he had met mine . Sure enough , he loved to ride bicycles . That was the start of a good thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : We did a little bit . On our dates , that 's really what we did mostly at first . We rode out to West Outer Drive and had those wonderful big hills , not too much traffic at that time . We went out to the water tower at the top of Louisiana and had a picnic , and then rode back . When we got really good , we rode our bicycles over to Concord Park one day . I had gotten some chicken breasts at the grocery . I guess it was the A & P at Jackson Square . I was going to fry them for a picnic to take along over to Concord Park . When I went to the refrigerator to get them , they had turned into wings . Somebody had eaten my chicken breast . Jack was a good sport about that . He didn 't care . We had a nice ride . It was before they had improved Lovell Road . It was a pretty rough ride over there , but we were able to enjoy it . MRS . DAVIDSON : He had his bicycle . It was probably a Grey Stone . For me , he rented a bicycle from his work friend . I had forgotten what his name was . We went over to one of the D Streets , I think , and rode them . I didn 't have my English 3 - speed here . I guess I brought it later , but at that time I didn 't have it . MRS . DAVIDSON : That was a problem . I complained to my friend Jim Trice 's wife , Dot , who happened to live around the corner on Outer Drive at that time . She said the boardwalk was used a lot for dating , and of course the theaters . I guess we were outdoors people . I don 't know . MRS . DAVIDSON : He was a graduate of Georgia Tech . At the time he graduated , he was very young . He came up to see about a job , and he was drafted . No , he was in danger of being drafted right away , but they didn 't hire him . He did go to work for NASA , which was at that time NACA , in Virginia ; and worked over there a short time before he was taken into the Army . He had gone through Georgia Tech on a " War Manpower " loan . He was sent to some place to be an MP , I think . He wrote a night letter , which is a 50 - word telegram that was cheaper at night . He wrote a night letter to Stimson , the Secretary of War , telling them they had paid for his college education ; and here he was sitting in a camp doing nothing down in Alabama . He was transferred to the SED , he would never say that was the reason he was transferred . It may or may not have been . He arrived with the SED - he arrived in Oak Ridge the day Roosevelt died , which was in April 1945 , he was here with his group for maybe six weeks before they went out to Los Alamos . So he spent the rest of the war out there . Then he used his G . I . Bill - he stayed on at Los Alamos . They told them they would let him out of the Army if he would agree to stay on as a civilian . So he took that . Then when he did leave , he went to Annapolis and took a liberal arts course because he felt that he had missed out on it at Georgia Tech . He had a year at St . John 's College of Annapolis ; and then all along I guess he thought he would like to come back here . He came back - he arrived on Armistice Day , now Veterans Day , of 1948 . I was here a couple of months before he came , but we met shortly after Christmas in 1949 . MRS . DAVIDSON : Too long . We were married in May 1950 . He wanted to pay off his loan before we could get married , so I helped him along with that . I fed him some . He was very welcome at the D House of girls . I was going to tell you that during the war , there were nine girls in the house , and they slept on shifts on the bunk beds . There were only six of us when I was there . There were a couple of the boyfriends around , and one of them cut the grass . I think Jack did the - empty the clinkers from the furnace , the coal furnace . They made themselves useful . They got their dinner . MR . HUNNICUTT : Tell me about the coal furnace briefly . MRS . DAVIDSON : Most of the houses were a very good design really , and a whole lot better built than we gave them credit for . But each one that I knew of had a corner set off or closed off as a coal storage place that could be filled through a window from the outside , and then you could use the - there was an opening on the inside that you could use to put coal into the furnace . That was awful of course , but that 's what all the houses were doing in that time , too . We had a yard full of clinkers over there . MRS . DAVIDSON : We were taken care of by a Big Brother - the government . They brought the coal around , and you didn 't do a thing . That was part of the rent . When we got our house here on Orange Lane , that 's another story . Are you ready for that yet ? MRS . DAVIDSON : We went back to my home in Louisville , Kentucky , to be married . We had planned to fly to Nashville , but it turned out the Delta Queen was coming through Louisville the next morning . My mother had told us we could not get married the week before because it was too busy with Derby Day . So we delayed until May 13 . Then we spent the night in Louisville at the Brown Hotel , where she pulled some strings to get us a room because it was still very full of visitors from the Derby . We got on the Delta Queen , and our friends were all on the dock to see us off . They had us almost convinced that we were on Daylight Saving Time , and the Delta Queen was not , and we had missed it . But we rode down just as far as Paducah . We were anxious to start in life you know . We lived on Wadell Circle in a K apartment . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you recall the number ? MRS . DAVIDSON : It was a two - story thing . I guess it was a two - bedroom up above , and we had K - 1 . It was sort of underground at the front and open at the back . We had a nice back porch . There was a closet under the stairway and a very small kitchen . It had a table that folded down . It was not as compact as a flattop , but the furnishings that they had did double duty . You could fold it up and have more room . MRS . DAVIDSON : The K apartment was heated with the coal furnace , but there was a janitor who came around and took care of it for us . We were taken care of by Roane Anderson . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you remember what the rent was ? MRS . DAVIDSON : We lived in the K from May 1950 , until we got this house in July 1952 . It was said - the word around town was that you couldn 't get a two - bedroom house unless you had three children , all of different sex . We had been on the list for this house ever since we knew our daughter was coming along . That was a long time to wait . We had been offered two houses - Florida Avenue , where the parking was across the street and the backyard just dropped off . We thought that was totally unsuitable for a new child . We turned both of those down . If we had turned this one down , we would 've gone to the bottom of the long list . But we loved this place of the trees and the dead end lane neighborhood . So we sat outside in front all weekend because we were not top on the list . The reason the other people didn 't take it was that the previous owner , Jim Cox and Charlotte , had put in an oil furnace ; and nobody wanted to pay $ 200 for the oil furnace . Since I had been working , we had saved my salary from work , and we had $ 200 to pay . Also , they didn 't want to be in the high rent district . This house rented for something like $ 45 instead of $ 43 in the lower rent districts . MRS . DAVIDSON : The Oak Ridge cemesto houses that were built - I think this house was built in the fall of 1944 or 1943 . Maybe it was ' 43 . The B house has two bedrooms and of course a bath and a kitchen with a dinette into a long narrow living room . It was about 24 feet by 40 something feet . It was small and convenient . It didn 't have much storage space , but it 's been a wonderful house for us because of the trees . We are on a greenbelt , and I enjoy that very much . It 's a nice private neighborhood just above Jackson Square . MRS . DAVIDSON : Our cemesto has a fireplace , and it had a complete brick wall . Some of the B houses had a brick wall just beyond the fireplace . MRS . DAVIDSON : There are hardwood floors in all the cemestos , I believe . Our house has maple flooring , and a lot of them had oak . Wood was hard to come by in the wartime . We love the color - the reddish color of the maple . MRS . DAVIDSON : Adele is our second daughter , and she was two years younger . Our son is Bill Davidson or William . He was born in November of 1954 . He 's just now turning 58 . MR . HUNNICUTT : So your first daughter went to Cedar Hill ? MRS . DAVIDSON : All three of our children went to Cedar Hill . They had split grades there , so I think the classes were one half size . They would take the kids a half from one grade , and half from the next grade , and that worked out just fine . MRS . DAVIDSON : Cedar Hill was wonderful . It was very special . Mr . Dodd was the principal , and he saw to it - he had the best teachers or at least as good as any . Actually in those days all the teachers and Oak Ridge were special because many of them had been recruited from Columbia Teachers College , along with the superintendent . Others were specially recruited for the job . They were a group a part , I think , from a lot of teachers . MRS . DAVIDSON : The girls both went to Jefferson when it was on the hill at Jackson Square , and Bill was in the first year at the new Jefferson that was over on Fairbanks Road . His was the first class there . They all went through Oak Ridge High . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you recall some of the classes your daughters took while they were in junior high ? Was there Home Ec . or things related to girls ? MRS . DAVIDSON : No , they were on the college prep track . They took eighth grade algebra and that kind of thing . Of course English and math and social studies and science - our older girl I think took biology ; and I 'm not sure if Adele had a more general science course . It just depended on the teacher that they had . They had an excellent education , and the girls were both Merit semifinalists . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course . I was in the PTA . I 'm not sure if I was ever a room mother , but I of course helped with parties and things . MRS . DAVIDSON : The teachers recruited them from each class to help with parties mostly . They helped with any activities that they didn 't really have time to do . MRS . DAVIDSON : Parent - Teacher Association , a time honored group . It got extra things for the school . I got involved with raincoats for the school patrol . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess maybe I was a treasurer of the Cedar Hill PTA , and this goal was to get those yellow slicker raincoat so kids could be visible to the drivers . I found out how much the things cost , and then I estimated postage . At the PTA meeting , Alvin Weinberg was president . He had a son or two in school at the time . He took me to task for estimating the postage , so I had to ask for just the money for the coats themselves since I didn 't really know what the postage is going to be . I thought that was interesting that he wanted to keep it to the exact penny . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think they just wore what the other kids wore . One day we had a deep snow and Bill was in kindergarten , and the snow was up over their boots . I think he had some corduroys . The teacher was making the kids take their pants off and dry them on the radiator , and he wouldn 't do it . I had to go up to the school and take him some fresh pants , some dry clothes . He was very young - just four when he started . MR . HUNNICUTT : Let 's go back a few years . Do you remember 1945 when they dropped the bomb on Japan ? You remember where you were ? And what was your reaction ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I do remember that very clearly because it was the summer after my junior year in college , and I was a camp counselor up in Door County , Wisconsin . There was no electricity at the camp , so we counselors - after we got the kids to bed , went to the state park nearby . This was at Fish Creek , Wisconsin . We would listen to people 's car radios . We knew for about a week that something was happening , but we didn 't know just what . It was very deeply moving when the bomb was dropped , and we thought it would bring an end to the war . Of course , I had friends and a brother on Guam and a cousin was in Europe and others . So that was very deeply moving . I had a book of poetry - my favorite poems at the camp with me . One of my 12 - year - olds picked out a poem - " Once to every man and nation comes a moment to decide " - she read that , and I thought that was very astute of her , a youngster to be able to do that . MRS . DAVIDSON : My husband thought they should have dropped a sample first , but I didn 't feel that way since the first bomb didn 't phase the Japanese . I didn 't think the test one would have either . I was just so glad that the war was over . People could settle down and get into real life again . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think I was in transition from the dormitory to the house , and my husband 's brothers came up from Georgia to witness the opening . So we drove in their car around , and we watched the parade from , I believe , down on the eastern end of the Turnpike down near the warehouses to get out of the traffic . We never could figure out why they invited Marie " The Body " McDonald and [ inaudible ] to ride in the open car for the parade . We couldn 't figure out what they had to do with it , but we did see the burning of the magnesium ribbon . That was exciting . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was only toward town from Elza Gate . I know the central part of town , the Jackson Square area , was very crowded . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think they name the streets for famous cities in the country , and of course the alphabetical designations were very helpful . But Jackson Square , I assume , was named for New Orleans . That 's all I know about it . MRS . DAVIDSON : Sometimes you would pick up the telephone , and the other party was talking . I believe they had different rings . I think maybe the other party had one ring , and we had two . There were four - party lines , but if we were on a four - party line , only the other one was active . I think maybe we were . The other two lines were not being used . MR . HUNNICUTT : When you are raising your family , did you hang your clothes outside on the clothesline ? Did you have a dryer ? What did you use ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I hung them outside on the clothesline . As I said , when we moved here , Anne was a year old . Not much more than three years after that , we had three babies . I was able to talk my husband into getting a dryer that time . Before that , he had built a pulley out of my kitchen window . There was a drop off in the back , and he was able to string it to a tree in the woods . I was able to reel those cloth diapers and reel them in and out . The only problem was that the birds like the trees , too . Sometimes I had to do some re - washing . MR . HUNNICUTT : So in those days you use cloth diapers ? Today we use disposable diapers . How do you think you would 've done if you had disposable diapers ? MRS . DAVIDSON : At one point , when our children were out playing Kick the Can , there were over 40 children on the lane . There were about 20 or 21 houses . There were almost as many dogs . It was just a glorious place for them to grow up . They seem to get along remarkably well most of the time , especially in the early days . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes . We went down there on the opening , and got the radioactive dimes on that occasion . The museum at that time was down at Jefferson Circle . I don 't think any of us ever had our hair stand out on the Van De Graff generator or whatever it was , but we took the children . We went out ourselves . Of course my husband was interested in that kind of thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : Sometimes they walked to Jefferson , but by that time they were carrying pretty heavy books . One of the neighbors on Outer Drive wanted to have a carpool , so we joined that . MRS . DAVIDSON : When Anne was in the fifth grade , they had to write what they did on Friday nights . The teacher would call me and say , " Is it true that you gave your children ice water and watched TV on Friday nights ? " That was how generous we were with them . We didn 't get a TV until they were probably five or six years old . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course it was black and white . The reason we got it - I guess finally it was that the children were always going to the neighbors ' house to watch TV . We decided that we should get our own . They watched things like " Pinky Lee " and I 've forgotten what else . MRS . DAVIDSON : I remember that fondly because my first real date with my husband was going to dinner there with him . He invited me to go to a concert in Knoxville , and his excuse was that we should get to know each other better before he took me to the city with him . That was one thing . I remember there were parties there , and our company had a party at the Oak Terrace Ballroom . One of the NEPA fellows wore a Tarzan costume , which was mostly nothing . It turned out that he lived in the neighborhood . MR . HUNNICUTT : What was the Oak Terrace ballroom - where was it located ? MRS . DAVIDSON : That was just below the dormitory where I lived in Columbia Hall . Jack went there looking for me , he thought I would eat breakfast there and then he could have breakfast with me ; but I ate in the dormitory . He didn 't find me there . When we came back from our bicycle ride to Concord Park , I remember we stopped by there , and he drank two or three Mountain Dew drinks . That surprised me , but we had worked off a lot of sweat . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , we took our children out there and saw " Lawrence of Arabia " and " The 10 Commandment " and those things . It was quite nice . MR . HUNNICUTT : Where was it located ? MRS . DAVIDSON : It was about where Kroger 's - where that is now , on the southeast part of Illinois Avenue . It was a nice thing . That was a special treat for the children to go out there . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't think so . I think they were mostly in the car . They had a drawing one time , Jack won something . It was actually nothing , but he did win . MRS . DAVIDSON : I sure did . My three children were born there . It was a green structure , like so many of the buildings in Oak Ridge . I guess the present building is built on that place . It was okay . I didn 't have any problems with it , except after my second child . I had a staph infection from the hospital . Even an Army wife with a private room got an infection there . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , I think they also had been recruited ; and a lot of them were from Tulane University . The time I was sick with my infection , they were having a reunion at Tulane , and my doctor and another one were gone for the reunion . I didn 't like the one who took care of me . He didn 't do a good job . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was okay . I don 't remember having any problems with it . We knew Dr . Rogers from our church , and we went to him . He was called away to the service , I believe . Maybe it was the Korean War , but then he came back . MRS . DAVIDSON : We met at Pine Valley School . The choir sat on the bleachers , and the minister sat under the halo of the basketball net . My husband was a Methodist , and he went to the First Methodist Church . They had a big youth group there . When we were first married , we tried to take them both in . We went to Sunday school one place , and church another until we finally settled on the Presbyterian . It was smaller , and we knew more people . MR . HUNNICUTT : Thinking back , what do you like best about Oak Ridge ? MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course the people . I love my trees and my house . I love all the activities . Both my husband and I have always loved music and enjoy the concerts a lot . The symphony concerts with Waldo Cohn conducting were held at Jefferson Junior High on the Kentucky Avenue hill . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you think back about all the people that you knew in the early days ? Do you think it was unusual for everybody to get along - the many people that were here ? MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , I guess so . I didn 't think about it because we just did . It was just fun . Everybody was away from home , and we had to be family for each other . That was particularly true in this close neighborhood . MRS . DAVIDSON : I 'm pleased for the most part . I think we 've made good progress . We 've kept up with the outside world . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't know . I 'll probably think of things after you leave . Nothing particular comes to mind . MR . HUNNICUTT : I would like to thank you for your time , and I think this interview will be very helpful for someone in the future to see how you lived in Oak Ridge in the early days . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think we came through at the very best of times . It was not the pressure of war , but we were growing community . I think things were happening at the Lab . Both of my husband and I loved the Lab because there were so many good things going on out there . It gives us hope for the future . MR . HUNNICUTT : I thank you very much for your time . [ Editor 's Note : This transcript has been edited at Mrs . Davidson 's request . The corresponding audio and video components have remained unchanged . ] Your rating was saved . you wish to report :

MR . HUNNICUTT : This interview is for the Center of Oak Ridge Oral History . The date is November 8 , 2012 . I am Don Hunnicutt in the home of Mrs . Mary Ann Davidson , 117 Orange Lane , Oak Ridge , Tennessee , to take her oral history about living in Oak Ridge , Tennessee . Please state your full name and your place of birth and your date of birth . MRS . DAVIDSON : My name is Mary Ann Davidson . My date of birth is January 12 , 1925 . I was born in Louisville , Kentucky . I lived there all my early life until I graduated from college . MRS . DAVIDSON : My father was William H . Courtenay . He was born in 1890 , on March 3 . He was in World War I and lived his entire life in Louisville and Shelbyville , Kentucky . He worked for the Mengel Company . They imported mahogany and hardwood from Africa and Central America . He delivered those to customers . He didn 't consider himself a salesman , but he sold them to the furniture factory - furniture makers around Kentucky , mostly Indiana and Cincinnati and some in Tennessee . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , he did not . The Louisville Male High School was considered a fine school at that time . They said that graduates could enter Harvard in their second year . The principal had written textbooks that were apparently used all over . But my father was interested in raising ponies . His father had a farm in Shelbyville , Kentucky . If you 'd didn 't make the grade , you are special . And Dr . Ruben Post - Halleck , the famous principal of the school , told him if he took an exam in math , he could be entered back in . He did that , and he aced the test . He was back in . Then he was a special in English , so they told him if he memorized the " Lady of the Lake " and said that he could get back in school . So he did that . I think he never did finish . He was a twin , and his twin was more of an engineering type and went to manual training high school . MRS . DAVIDSON : She grew up in several small towns in western Kentucky . Her father worked for the L & N Railroad . She had her high school in Hopkinsville , Kentucky . She had to stay home - or she went to junior college nearby . She had a scholarship to Randolph Macon Women 's College , but she couldn 't take it because her mother was ill and died at age 50 . It was about the year I was born , I think . MRS . DAVIDSON : His name was William Howard Courtenay III . My father was named for his uncle , who was also William Howard . My older brother works for Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green in the physics department . He made instruments . My younger brother was a pediatrician in Louisville , and he is still living on a farm in Shelbyville . He 's interested in Kentucky antiques . MRS . DAVIDSON : I went to an unusual kindergarten and first grade . I was at what they called the Enterprise Branch of I . N . Bloom School . It was only kindergarten and first grade . It was in the older building , where we had a Pot Belly Stove . I think we had a maid to help us take our leggings off in the cold weather - galoshes . It was really a wonderful school . It was almost like a private one . It was public . We did things like making butter and we had an orchestra . I played the triangle . I had started a little bit earlier when my younger brother was born . Louisville had half semester , half - year grades . I would 've been a half year , but I skipped the last half of kindergarten . I went to the school board and took a test and went on , so they put me in the regular school year . I went through the big school the I . N . Bloom School and Highland Junior High School in Louisville . Then I went to Atherton High School for Girls . The Louisville public schools were segregated - boys and girls . There were about 900 girls at Atherton . My graduating class was about 200 , and I was the valedictorian . MRS . DAVIDSON : They are pants to keep your legs warm . They zipped up from the inside of the ankle bone up to about knee - high , I guess it was . They were a royal pain to take on and off , so the teacher had to have help to do that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was just ordinary . I 'm sure the girls wore dresses , and the little boys wore suits - not suits , but pants and shirts . MRS . DAVIDSON : I came to Oak Ridge after I graduated from college . I had two years of getting a master 's at Emory while I worked at my alma mater , Agnes Scott College in Decatur , Georgia . I was the chemistry lab instructor . So after those two years were up , I was interested in working in chemistry or biochemistry . My master 's was in biochemistry . In Louisville , there was nothing in that field , except liquor and paint - neither of which I was interested in . In Atlanta , I would like to stay in Atlanta , I heard that Oak Ridge was an interesting new place , and a lot was going on here . One of my dear college friends had recently married a physicist from the University of Kentucky , so I visited them here . I guess that must have been 1947 . Her husband was working at NEPA . He said they were looking for people with a chemistry degree . I applied , and I was accepted . I didn 't know that until I had completed the clearance , so I took the opportunity to go to Europe at an American youth hostel bicycle tour of Western Europe in the summer of 1948 . When I got home , I found that I had indeed gotten the job at Oak Ridge . So I came down here . MRS . DAVIDSON : I was wondering that . I think I came by train . When I interviewed earlier in the spring , my interview was at the Andrew Johnson Hotel . It was one of the private rooms . I had never seen the company here . I think I must have been met by a car and driver and brought to Oak Ridge . MRS . DAVIDSON : I came in through the Vermont Gateway , which is where the gas station is now on the corner of what I call Vermont . They call it North Rutgers now . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , I think it must 've been after that . That would 've been at Christmas time . When I applied , I imagine it was early spring . MRS . DAVIDSON : We called the company NEPA , for Nuclear Energy for the Propulsion of Aircraft . It was managed by the Fairchild Corporation the way Union Carbide or one of the other contractors managed the lab . I did not know until the first day I went to work just what the company was doing . They handed me a volume of information that said , " We are looking for - we are trying to make an airplane powered by nuclear energy that could fly to Russia and back without refueling . " That was a great shock to me . MRS . DAVIDSON : I lived in Columbia Hall Dormitory . I was very surprised to find that the rent was $ 15 a month until I realized it was one very small room . That was my living quarters . I took the opportunity to stay out of it as much as possible . I did that by babysitting in some of the B and D houses in the evening . Grandmothers were not here since it was a closed community . Babysitters were in short supply , and even though I didn 't need the money , it was good to get out of the dormitory . MRS . DAVIDSON : The dormitory was like Cheyenne Hall . It was the same type of building . It had wooden stairways from the second - floor hall down on each end . I lived on the second floor . Our dormitory was mostly nurses , since it was up on the hill next to the hospital - I think where the west parking lot is now . There was a kitchen on each end where we could have our own breakfast . Of course we were at the plant at lunchtime , and then we usually went out to supper . I opened the refrigerator door one morning and somebody 's milk came spilling out down my front . Everybody just stuffed things into the refrigerator . MRS . DAVIDSON : I had a single room with a twin bed and enough room to walk to the window by the bed . There was a little table that served as a desk with a chair . There was a much coveted dormitory dresser - a tall one with a number of drawers . They were very popular . MRS . DAVIDSON : They had a wonderful bus service here . Travel wasn 't really a problem . We walked , of course , from the dormitory to Jackson Square and ate supper usually at the Mayflower , which is where I first saw my husband - to - be . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was on the corner of Tennessee , right across from the Soup Kitchen and the Texaco gas station there on the northeast corner . It was a very popular place . In fact , there were several places you could eat . It was the Central Cafeteria , and the T & C Cafeteria in Jackson Square , which is about where the Epicurean is now toward the garden . MRS . DAVIDSON : It must 've been the A & P on Jackson Square . Jackson Square was really the center of activity as far as I was concerned at that time . I still love it . I hope it keeps going . MRS . DAVIDSON : The department stores - the big department store was Taylor 's at the time . They had a wonderful book department headed by Mrs . Keyes , whose daughter I knew at work . They had really fine art books and other books that they would have a great sale on once or twice a year . We were very happy with that . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was in the middle of the block between where Big Ed 's is in the corner . I guess it 's mostly used by the engineering company now . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , not frequently , but I went and saw - there was a theater down at Big Ed 's in Jackson Square and where the Playhouse is now . That was the main one . MRS . DAVIDSON : Henebree . McCrory 's 5 & 10 was there . There was a drugstore - a Service Drugstore . I guess that was where Big Ed 's is now , on the very corner . There was Jackson Square Pharmacy , and on the other side the Hamilton Bank was there next to the movie theater . And Samuel 's Men 's Store was a very nice store . The Jackson Square Pharmacy was there , but in between , which the Pharmacy later took over was a Kay 's Ice Cream Store . We used to go there and - my husband and I would when we were dating . I liked to get coffee with ice cream in it , so we went there . MRS . DAVIDSON : I can 't say that I do . It was just a given , I suppose . It didn 't make a big dent in my memory . After six months of the dormitory , I moved to a D house on Norman Lane . That was another era . MRS . DAVIDSON : A D house was a large three bedroom house . They were very much desired . They were really nice houses - still a lot of them are . The house was - there were five other girls who lived there - two of whom had been college friends . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , it would 've been upstairs . It was the second one to the end . A radiation technologist lived on the corner , and I lived there with school teachers and nurses who made up most of the dorm . MR . HUNNICUTT : Let 's talk a little bit about the dorm again . If I had a message for you or someone left a message for you , how did you retrieve your messages ? Was there a desk when you went in ? MRS . DAVIDSON : There was a desk downstairs . I remember the Valentine 's Day - I guess it must 've been 1949 . The message was that I had some flowers , some red roses . I had just met my husband - to - be at that time . I got all excited , and when I got to the desk , it was from somebody else . I enjoyed the red roses , but not as much as I might have . The thing was that there were ladies - a lot of the women who lived in the dorm worked on the night shift . They would sit around a large kind of living room , I guess they called it . They were all staring when I got flowers . I had to walk around , and it was embarrassing . MRS . DAVIDSON : I was there in the winter of 1948 . I 'm very cold natured , but I don 't remember being cold . We had those heavy navy blanket - navy blue blankets . This brings up a story if I jump to it later on . We were moved from the D house after another six months into the brand - new Garden Apartments on Villanova Road . They needed our D house for families . The people who moved in were the Andersons of the Anderson Hilltop Grocery . Of course , the furniture all belonged to the government there . So the Garden Apartments were not furnished , so we had dwindled down from 6 to 4 people who needed furniture . I took a day off and went to an auction the government set up down at the warehouses . I got seven beds and three or four dressers - much more than I could have used . But the beds were in great demand at work because all the young men who worked there were having children and needed beds . So we took the four . Also I got two sofas , and we could use but one ; so I sold one . They were really shabby awful sofas . Since it was all going to surplus anyway , we switched and took the nice sofa from the D house and left them the bad one . It was all taken away anyhow , so I didn 't feel too bad about that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't really remember about the telephone . We didn 't use the telephone much . We never used it for long - distance except for emergencies and calls home . I don 't remember that as being a problem particularly . MRS . DAVIDSON : I suppose I went on the bus . I did not have a car . One of the housemates from Norman Lane had gotten the car , but she would 've been at work at K - 25 . I don 't know . I may have gotten a ride . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess I paid somebody to deliver it . I don 't know . Maybe some of the fellows at work picked up their beds that they wanted . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was one of those warehouses down at the [ Oak Ridge ] Turnpike on Warehouse Road . I don 't know exactly where it was . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess it was on the bulletin boards at work , or there was a newspaper at the Lab . I guess I heard about it that way . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think probably so - in the newsletters they came around , also at the recreation building - the rec hall - at Jackson Square that was the library upstairs and the rec hall downstairs . Word - of - mouth - I don 't remember . We had a need and found the answer to it . MRS . DAVIDSON : I had to punch a clock at eight in the morning when I first started . I guess we got out at 4 : 30 or 5 o ' clock . We had bus service that went from the bus terminal - the Central one - that 's now by Bus Terminal Road . Later on after we were married , we lived on Waddell Circle and went from there to the Jefferson bus terminal . I went - I rode on the K - 25 bus , and they went out past K - 25 to the road that the powerhouse was on and NEPA was beyond that out by the river . MRS . DAVIDSON : There was some kind of management services office . I 'm not sure what it was called - the Roane Anderson Corporation at that time , I guess . I think that 's where I rented the dormitory room . I probably got bus tokens - I guess I got the tokens of the bus terminal . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think I had a checking account probably at Hamilton Bank in Jackson Square . I don 't recall otherwise . I know I did later . One thing I wanted to say about the buses - if you wanted to go to Clinton to do any shopping , more than what you could have in Oak Ridge or to meet somebody or something , there was a bus that ran frequently back and forth between the bus terminal and Clinton . There was a young man on the bus who had a sing - songy sales pitch for " peanuts , popcorn , Cracker Jacks , candy , and chewing gum . " He wouldn 't drive , but he would sell his wares all the way to Clinton and back . I always wondered who that was because he obviously had some talent . MRS . DAVIDSON : I 'm sure I did . I don 't know what became of it . I guess I had to turn it back in . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think somebody just got - one of the guards got on the bus and checked everybody 's badges . It was not a big thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : Probably . I don 't remember . What I do remember about that was my mother was coming down one time for my birthday - it must 've been in January 1949 . She rode the train . I told her that I would get a ride to meet her . Of course , the train didn 't stop at Oak Ridge . It went on to Knoxville , so I bummed a ride with one of the men in our group . He was actually the technical assistant to the director . His car was a broken down old thing with no floorboards in the back seat , which was pretty bad when my mother saw it . But she didn 't see it because when we got to Knoxville , she was not there . When we were coming back from the gateway entrance , she was not there . There was a message that she was waiting for us at the Elza Gate Station . She had told the conductor she had to get off at Oak Ridge . That 's where she was going , and I was going to meet her . So she slid down the Elza bank over there . She had my birthday cake - a large chocolate cake . She slid downhill with that , and somehow they stopped her at the guard gate at Elza . She waited there for us . MRS . DAVIDSON : Just for her - let her off like a milk train . They ordinarily didn 't stop there , but she wouldn 't have it otherwise . MRS . DAVIDSON : I used the library and rec hall . On Sunday afternoons , they played music ; and you could sit and write letters home , which is what I think I did a good bit . Later on in the better weather , there were tennis courts and a swimming pool . I don 't remember going to movies much . We went to church groups . There were so many young people ; it was just like a party all the time . Nothing in particular stands out . It was just fun . MRS . DAVIDSON : In the company I was , that was not true . There were a lot of women of course - of course , the dormitory was full of school teachers and nurses . But NEPA was mostly men . There were two parts to the Fairchild - the science and engineering part , which was bigger . I happen to be in the research part . My boss was a chemist - Vince Calkins . It was my job to - this was a real shocker to me - to find a chemical that would protect the human body against radiation for the reactor that was supposed to be in the airplane to Russia . I had no background for that kind of thing . I was just fresh out of college really . I realized I was out of my depth , but they decided - he was a pharmacist , I believe , and he wanted to do experiments with rats . They brought in the rat colony . By that time we had a couple of assistants , and I was supposed to be the group leader . One of the men , Ray Waldrop - you may have talked to him . I asked him if he minded working for a woman because he was really more experienced than I , although I had the degree . It was fine with him . There was also another worker , Saul Segal , who was quite a character in his own right . I took the rats in the cages over to the reactor , the " Old Lady " at X - 10 , and put them through what they called " rabbits " and radiated them for certain amount of time . We couldn 't kill the darn things . Then we used the older ones that had already been radiated , they were just tough as anything . I think the experiment was really a failure , although they may have found that to be the case in some later work with older people - that the cells are not dividing as fast and they 're not as subject to radiation . But we didn 't get into that . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was actually not K - 25 . It was beyond there . As I said , the bus took us - the bus dumped people off at K - 25 , and they went on west to just before you get to the Gallaher Bridge . You turn right there and go right past the power station there . It was used for a long time - the power house , and then NEPA was beyond that . The native rats came in - was it domestic experimental rats ? That was not good . I had a janitor who helped me , even though he could 've lost his job for doing it . He helped me clean cages . I always appreciated that . MRS . DAVIDSON : When they got rid of the rats , which was a blessing , my group leader then became Bill Browning , who was a fine scientist . He worked on the Van de Graaff generator . We had an interesting argument . Saul Segal thought he should be the one to do it since he was a man and I was a woman who would be leaving soon ; and it turned out that he left for California before I had left to have my baby . His argument didn 't hold with me anyway , but we argued about that some . We did run the Van de Graaff , and we also did some experiments on metallic sodium . It was nasty stuff to work with . It caught on fire if it was exposed to air . You had to work with that under oil in the glove box . I think that work all had to be repeated after NEPA left for Cincinnati with G . E . . When they moved part of NEPA to X - 10 , they called it the ANP , or something about aircraft and nuclear power . I was not connected with that because my first baby was born in August 1951 . I left in July . MRS . DAVIDSON : I heard somebody say that they had to repeat it all . My boss , the Division Director of Chemistry was interested in vitamin E , and thought it had a lot of protective influence . We worked with that . That was some of the work I did in chemistry - the lab part of it in the early days . It was not good work , I think . I 'm not blaming myself , but some of the other men who were doing chemical work - I think altogether we didn 't come up with anything . MRS . DAVIDSON : It may have been ahead of it 's time for nuclear submarines . I don 't know whether the engineering people thought that or not . In our group which was the chemistry and the physics , my friend who got me the job was Jim Trice . A fellow named Art Miller and somebody named Coneybearwere in the Physics Division . And then there were some others - Fred Maienschein . I did some work for him one time . It was work on beryllium for one thing . I didn 't work with any of the active beryllium . I didn 't do any lab work then , but I did some journal research . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't think they were that far along . I 'm not sure what happened to that part of it . As I said , in July of 1951 they moved to Cincinnati , Evensville , above Cincinnati . I don 't know how many people actually went up there . Most of my friends moved elsewhere . MR . HUNNICUTT : You mentioned the location of the operation was past the steam plant that was on the Clinch River . Was that the same location where the S - 50 project was located ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I think that was the name of our plot of land . I think those - I never was quite sure how they got the designations , but that was the Fairchild domain , I think . MRS . DAVIDSON : Really , it was just when our eyes met . It was very romantic . He followed our group home to the Columbia Hall to see where I lived . But at the time I thought he was too young , and I didn 't think he was following me . I was with a group of other girls . Later on , one of the women in the dormitory , who was a gym teacher in the Oak Ridge schools , told me I really ought to meet Jack Davidson that he loved to ride bicycles ; I was just back from my bicycle trip in Europe . I didn 't know who he was , and then I went to a church group meeting at my Presbyterian Church for young people one Sunday evening . A friend of mine had brought Jack Davidson , and he was the one whose eyes I had met and he had met mine . Sure enough , he loved to ride bicycles . That was the start of a good thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : We did a little bit . On our dates , that 's really what we did mostly at first . We rode out to West Outer Drive and had those wonderful big hills , not too much traffic at that time . We went out to the water tower at the top of Louisiana and had a picnic , and then rode back . When we got really good , we rode our bicycles over to Concord Park one day . I had gotten some chicken breasts at the grocery . I guess it was the A & P at Jackson Square . I was going to fry them for a picnic to take along over to Concord Park . When I went to the refrigerator to get them , they had turned into wings . Somebody had eaten my chicken breast . Jack was a good sport about that . He didn 't care . We had a nice ride . It was before they had improved Lovell Road . It was a pretty rough ride over there , but we were able to enjoy it . MRS . DAVIDSON : He had his bicycle . It was probably a Grey Stone . For me , he rented a bicycle from his work friend . I had forgotten what his name was . We went over to one of the D Streets , I think , and rode them . I didn 't have my English 3 - speed here . I guess I brought it later , but at that time I didn 't have it . MRS . DAVIDSON : That was a problem . I complained to my friend Jim Trice 's wife , Dot , who happened to live around the corner on Outer Drive at that time . She said the boardwalk was used a lot for dating , and of course the theaters . I guess we were outdoors people . I don 't know . MRS . DAVIDSON : He was a graduate of Georgia Tech . At the time he graduated , he was very young . He came up to see about a job , and he was drafted . No , he was in danger of being drafted right away , but they didn 't hire him . He did go to work for NASA , which was at that time NACA , in Virginia ; and worked over there a short time before he was taken into the Army . He had gone through Georgia Tech on a " War Manpower " loan . He was sent to some place to be an MP , I think . He wrote a night letter , which is a 50 - word telegram that was cheaper at night . He wrote a night letter to Stimson , the Secretary of War , telling them they had paid for his college education ; and here he was sitting in a camp doing nothing down in Alabama . He was transferred to the SED , he would never say that was the reason he was transferred . It may or may not have been . He arrived with the SED - he arrived in Oak Ridge the day Roosevelt died , which was in April 1945 , he was here with his group for maybe six weeks before they went out to Los Alamos . So he spent the rest of the war out there . Then he used his G . I . Bill - he stayed on at Los Alamos . They told them they would let him out of the Army if he would agree to stay on as a civilian . So he took that . Then when he did leave , he went to Annapolis and took a liberal arts course because he felt that he had missed out on it at Georgia Tech . He had a year at St . John 's College of Annapolis ; and then all along I guess he thought he would like to come back here . He came back - he arrived on Armistice Day , now Veterans Day , of 1948 . I was here a couple of months before he came , but we met shortly after Christmas in 1949 . MRS . DAVIDSON : Too long . We were married in May 1950 . He wanted to pay off his loan before we could get married , so I helped him along with that . I fed him some . He was very welcome at the D House of girls . I was going to tell you that during the war , there were nine girls in the house , and they slept on shifts on the bunk beds . There were only six of us when I was there . There were a couple of the boyfriends around , and one of them cut the grass . I think Jack did the - empty the clinkers from the furnace , the coal furnace . They made themselves useful . They got their dinner . MRS . DAVIDSON : Most of the houses were a very good design really , and a whole lot better built than we gave them credit for . But each one that I knew of had a corner set off or closed off as a coal storage place that could be filled through a window from the outside , and then you could use the - there was an opening on the inside that you could use to put coal into the furnace . That was awful of course , but that 's what all the houses were doing in that time , too . We had a yard full of clinkers over there . MRS . DAVIDSON : We were taken care of by a Big Brother - the government . They brought the coal around , and you didn 't do a thing . That was part of the rent . When we got our house here on Orange Lane , that 's another story . Are you ready for that yet ? MRS . DAVIDSON : We went back to my home in Louisville , Kentucky , to be married . We had planned to fly to Nashville , but it turned out the Delta Queen was coming through Louisville the next morning . My mother had told us we could not get married the week before because it was too busy with Derby Day . So we delayed until May 13 . Then we spent the night in Louisville at the Brown Hotel , where she pulled some strings to get us a room because it was still very full of visitors from the Derby . We got on the Delta Queen , and our friends were all on the dock to see us off . They had us almost convinced that we were on Daylight Saving Time , and the Delta Queen was not , and we had missed it . But we rode down just as far as Paducah . We were anxious to start in life you know . We lived on Wadell Circle in a K apartment . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was a two - story thing . I guess it was a two - bedroom up above , and we had K - 1 . It was sort of underground at the front and open at the back . We had a nice back porch . There was a closet under the stairway and a very small kitchen . It had a table that folded down . It was not as compact as a flattop , but the furnishings that they had did double duty . You could fold it up and have more room . MRS . DAVIDSON : The K apartment was heated with the coal furnace , but there was a janitor who came around and took care of it for us . We were taken care of by Roane Anderson . MRS . DAVIDSON : We lived in the K from May 1950 , until we got this house in July 1952 . It was said - the word around town was that you couldn 't get a two - bedroom house unless you had three children , all of different sex . We had been on the list for this house ever since we knew our daughter was coming along . That was a long time to wait . We had been offered two houses - Florida Avenue , where the parking was across the street and the backyard just dropped off . We thought that was totally unsuitable for a new child . We turned both of those down . If we had turned this one down , we would 've gone to the bottom of the long list . But we loved this place of the trees and the dead end lane neighborhood . So we sat outside in front all weekend because we were not top on the list . The reason the other people didn 't take it was that the previous owner , Jim Cox and Charlotte , had put in an oil furnace ; and nobody wanted to pay $ 200 for the oil furnace . Since I had been working , we had saved my salary from work , and we had $ 200 to pay . Also , they didn 't want to be in the high rent district . This house rented for something like $ 45 instead of $ 43 in the lower rent districts . MRS . DAVIDSON : The Oak Ridge cemesto houses that were built - I think this house was built in the fall of 1944 or 1943 . Maybe it was ' 43 . The B house has two bedrooms and of course a bath and a kitchen with a dinette into a long narrow living room . It was about 24 feet by 40 something feet . It was small and convenient . It didn 't have much storage space , but it 's been a wonderful house for us because of the trees . We are on a greenbelt , and I enjoy that very much . It 's a nice private neighborhood just above Jackson Square . MRS . DAVIDSON : Our cemesto has a fireplace , and it had a complete brick wall . Some of the B houses had a brick wall just beyond the fireplace . MRS . DAVIDSON : There are hardwood floors in all the cemestos , I believe . Our house has maple flooring , and a lot of them had oak . Wood was hard to come by in the wartime . We love the color - the reddish color of the maple . MRS . DAVIDSON : Adele is our second daughter , and she was two years younger . Our son is Bill Davidson or William . He was born in November of 1954 . He 's just now turning 58 . MRS . DAVIDSON : All three of our children went to Cedar Hill . They had split grades there , so I think the classes were one half size . They would take the kids a half from one grade , and half from the next grade , and that worked out just fine . MRS . DAVIDSON : Cedar Hill was wonderful . It was very special . Mr . Dodd was the principal , and he saw to it - he had the best teachers or at least as good as any . Actually in those days all the teachers and Oak Ridge were special because many of them had been recruited from Columbia Teachers College , along with the superintendent . Others were specially recruited for the job . They were a group a part , I think , from a lot of teachers . MRS . DAVIDSON : The girls both went to Jefferson when it was on the hill at Jackson Square , and Bill was in the first year at the new Jefferson that was over on Fairbanks Road . His was the first class there . They all went through Oak Ridge High . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you recall some of the classes your daughters took while they were in junior high ? Was there Home Ec . or things related to girls ? MRS . DAVIDSON : No , they were on the college prep track . They took eighth grade algebra and that kind of thing . Of course English and math and social studies and science - our older girl I think took biology ; and I 'm not sure if Adele had a more general science course . It just depended on the teacher that they had . They had an excellent education , and the girls were both Merit semifinalists . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course . I was in the PTA . I 'm not sure if I was ever a room mother , but I of course helped with parties and things . MRS . DAVIDSON : The teachers recruited them from each class to help with parties mostly . They helped with any activities that they didn 't really have time to do . MRS . DAVIDSON : Parent - Teacher Association , a time honored group . It got extra things for the school . I got involved with raincoats for the school patrol . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess maybe I was a treasurer of the Cedar Hill PTA , and this goal was to get those yellow slicker raincoat so kids could be visible to the drivers . I found out how much the things cost , and then I estimated postage . At the PTA meeting , Alvin Weinberg was president . He had a son or two in school at the time . He took me to task for estimating the postage , so I had to ask for just the money for the coats themselves since I didn 't really know what the postage is going to be . I thought that was interesting that he wanted to keep it to the exact penny . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think they just wore what the other kids wore . One day we had a deep snow and Bill was in kindergarten , and the snow was up over their boots . I think he had some corduroys . The teacher was making the kids take their pants off and dry them on the radiator , and he wouldn 't do it . I had to go up to the school and take him some fresh pants , some dry clothes . He was very young - just four when he started . MR . HUNNICUTT : Let 's go back a few years . Do you remember 1945 when they dropped the bomb on Japan ? You remember where you were ? And what was your reaction ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I do remember that very clearly because it was the summer after my junior year in college , and I was a camp counselor up in Door County , Wisconsin . There was no electricity at the camp , so we counselors - after we got the kids to bed , went to the state park nearby . This was at Fish Creek , Wisconsin . We would listen to people 's car radios . We knew for about a week that something was happening , but we didn 't know just what . It was very deeply moving when the bomb was dropped , and we thought it would bring an end to the war . Of course , I had friends and a brother on Guam and a cousin was in Europe and others . So that was very deeply moving . I had a book of poetry - my favorite poems at the camp with me . One of my 12 - year - olds picked out a poem - " Once to every man and nation comes a moment to decide " - she read that , and I thought that was very astute of her , a youngster to be able to do that . MRS . DAVIDSON : My husband thought they should have dropped a sample first , but I didn 't feel that way since the first bomb didn 't phase the Japanese . I didn 't think the test one would have either . I was just so glad that the war was over . People could settle down and get into real life again . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think I was in transition from the dormitory to the house , and my husband 's brothers came up from Georgia to witness the opening . So we drove in their car around , and we watched the parade from , I believe , down on the eastern end of the Turnpike down near the warehouses to get out of the traffic . We never could figure out why they invited Marie " The Body " McDonald and [ inaudible ] to ride in the open car for the parade . We couldn 't figure out what they had to do with it , but we did see the burning of the magnesium ribbon . That was exciting . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was only toward town from Elza Gate . I know the central part of town , the Jackson Square area , was very crowded . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think they name the streets for famous cities in the country , and of course the alphabetical designations were very helpful . But Jackson Square , I assume , was named for New Orleans . That 's all I know about it . MRS . DAVIDSON : Sometimes you would pick up the telephone , and the other party was talking . I believe they had different rings . I think maybe the other party had one ring , and we had two . There were four - party lines , but if we were on a four - party line , only the other one was active . I think maybe we were . The other two lines were not being used . MR . HUNNICUTT : When you are raising your family , did you hang your clothes outside on the clothesline ? Did you have a dryer ? What did you use ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I hung them outside on the clothesline . As I said , when we moved here , Anne was a year old . Not much more than three years after that , we had three babies . I was able to talk my husband into getting a dryer that time . Before that , he had built a pulley out of my kitchen window . There was a drop off in the back , and he was able to string it to a tree in the woods . I was able to reel those cloth diapers and reel them in and out . The only problem was that the birds like the trees , too . Sometimes I had to do some re - washing . MR . HUNNICUTT : So in those days you use cloth diapers ? Today we use disposable diapers . How do you think you would 've done if you had disposable diapers ? MRS . DAVIDSON : At one point , when our children were out playing Kick the Can , there were over 40 children on the lane . There were about 20 or 21 houses . There were almost as many dogs . It was just a glorious place for them to grow up . They seem to get along remarkably well most of the time , especially in the early days . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes . We went down there on the opening , and got the radioactive dimes on that occasion . The museum at that time was down at Jefferson Circle . I don 't think any of us ever had our hair stand out on the Van De Graff generator or whatever it was , but we took the children . We went out ourselves . Of course my husband was interested in that kind of thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : Sometimes they walked to Jefferson , but by that time they were carrying pretty heavy books . One of the neighbors on Outer Drive wanted to have a carpool , so we joined that . MRS . DAVIDSON : When Anne was in the fifth grade , they had to write what they did on Friday nights . The teacher would call me and say , " Is it true that you gave your children ice water and watched TV on Friday nights ? " That was how generous we were with them . We didn 't get a TV until they were probably five or six years old . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course it was black and white . The reason we got it - I guess finally it was that the children were always going to the neighbors ' house to watch TV . We decided that we should get our own . They watched things like " Pinky Lee " and I 've forgotten what else . MRS . DAVIDSON : I remember that fondly because my first real date with my husband was going to dinner there with him . He invited me to go to a concert in Knoxville , and his excuse was that we should get to know each other better before he took me to the city with him . That was one thing . I remember there were parties there , and our company had a party at the Oak Terrace Ballroom . One of the NEPA fellows wore a Tarzan costume , which was mostly nothing . It turned out that he lived in the neighborhood . MRS . DAVIDSON : That was just below the dormitory where I lived in Columbia Hall . Jack went there looking for me , he thought I would eat breakfast there and then he could have breakfast with me ; but I ate in the dormitory . He didn 't find me there . When we came back from our bicycle ride to Concord Park , I remember we stopped by there , and he drank two or three Mountain Dew drinks . That surprised me , but we had worked off a lot of sweat . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , we took our children out there and saw " Lawrence of Arabia " and " The 10 Commandment " and those things . It was quite nice . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was about where Kroger 's - where that is now , on the southeast part of Illinois Avenue . It was a nice thing . That was a special treat for the children to go out there . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't think so . I think they were mostly in the car . They had a drawing one time , Jack won something . It was actually nothing , but he did win . MRS . DAVIDSON : I sure did . My three children were born there . It was a green structure , like so many of the buildings in Oak Ridge . I guess the present building is built on that place . It was okay . I didn 't have any problems with it , except after my second child . I had a staph infection from the hospital . Even an Army wife with a private room got an infection there . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , I think they also had been recruited ; and a lot of them were from Tulane University . The time I was sick with my infection , they were having a reunion at Tulane , and my doctor and another one were gone for the reunion . I didn 't like the one who took care of me . He didn 't do a good job . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was okay . I don 't remember having any problems with it . We knew Dr . Rogers from our church , and we went to him . He was called away to the service , I believe . Maybe it was the Korean War , but then he came back . MRS . DAVIDSON : We met at Pine Valley School . The choir sat on the bleachers , and the minister sat under the halo of the basketball net . My husband was a Methodist , and he went to the First Methodist Church . They had a big youth group there . When we were first married , we tried to take them both in . We went to Sunday school one place , and church another until we finally settled on the Presbyterian . It was smaller , and we knew more people . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course the people . I love my trees and my house . I love all the activities . Both my husband and I have always loved music and enjoy the concerts a lot . The symphony concerts with Waldo Cohn conducting were held at Jefferson Junior High on the Kentucky Avenue hill . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you think back about all the people that you knew in the early days ? Do you think it was unusual for everybody to get along - the many people that were here ? MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , I guess so . I didn 't think about it because we just did . It was just fun . Everybody was away from home , and we had to be family for each other . That was particularly true in this close neighborhood . MRS . DAVIDSON : I 'm pleased for the most part . I think we 've made good progress . We 've kept up with the outside world . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think we came through at the very best of times . It was not the pressure of war , but we were growing community . I think things were happening at the Lab . Both of my husband and I loved the Lab because there were so many good things going on out there . It gives us hope for the future . [ Editor 's Note : This transcript has been edited at Mrs . Davidson 's request . The corresponding audio and video components have remained unchanged . ] Click tabs to swap between content that is broken into logical sections . MR . HUNNICUTT : This interview is for the Center of Oak Ridge Oral History . The date is November 8 , 2012 . I am Don Hunnicutt in the home of Mrs . Mary Ann Davidson , 117 Orange Lane , Oak Ridge , Tennessee , to take her oral history about living in Oak Ridge , Tennessee . Please state your full name and your place of birth and your date of birth . MRS . DAVIDSON : My name is Mary Ann Davidson . My date of birth is January 12 , 1925 . I was born in Louisville , Kentucky . I lived there all my early life until I graduated from college . MRS . DAVIDSON : My father was William H . Courtenay . He was born in 1890 , on March 3 . He was in World War I and lived his entire life in Louisville and Shelbyville , Kentucky . He worked for the Mengel Company . They imported mahogany and hardwood from Africa and Central America . He delivered those to customers . He didn 't consider himself a salesman , but he sold them to the furniture factory - furniture makers around Kentucky , mostly Indiana and Cincinnati and some in Tennessee . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , he did not . The Louisville Male High School was considered a fine school at that time . They said that graduates could enter Harvard in their second year . The principal had written textbooks that were apparently used all over . But my father was interested in raising ponies . His father had a farm in Shelbyville , Kentucky . If you 'd didn 't make the grade , you are special . And Dr . Ruben Post - Halleck , the famous principal of the school , told him if he took an exam in math , he could be entered back in . He did that , and he aced the test . He was back in . Then he was a special in English , so they told him if he memorized the " Lady of the Lake " and said that he could get back in school . So he did that . I think he never did finish . He was a twin , and his twin was more of an engineering type and went to manual training high school . MR . HUNNICUTT : What about your mother 's school history ? MRS . DAVIDSON : She grew up in several small towns in western Kentucky . Her father worked for the L & N Railroad . She had her high school in Hopkinsville , Kentucky . She had to stay home - or she went to junior college nearby . She had a scholarship to Randolph Macon Women 's College , but she couldn 't take it because her mother was ill and died at age 50 . It was about the year I was born , I think . MRS . DAVIDSON : His name was William Howard Courtenay III . My father was named for his uncle , who was also William Howard . My older brother works for Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green in the physics department . He made instruments . My younger brother was a pediatrician in Louisville , and he is still living on a farm in Shelbyville . He 's interested in Kentucky antiques . MR . HUNNICUTT : Yes . MRS . DAVIDSON : I went to an unusual kindergarten and first grade . I was at what they called the Enterprise Branch of I . N . Bloom School . It was only kindergarten and first grade . It was in the older building , where we had a Pot Belly Stove . I think we had a maid to help us take our leggings off in the cold weather - galoshes . It was really a wonderful school . It was almost like a private one . It was public . We did things like making butter and we had an orchestra . I played the triangle . I had started a little bit earlier when my younger brother was born . Louisville had half semester , half - year grades . I would 've been a half year , but I skipped the last half of kindergarten . I went to the school board and took a test and went on , so they put me in the regular school year . I went through the big school the I . N . Bloom School and Highland Junior High School in Louisville . Then I went to Atherton High School for Girls . The Louisville public schools were segregated - boys and girls . There were about 900 girls at Atherton . My graduating class was about 200 , and I was the valedictorian . MRS . DAVIDSON : They are pants to keep your legs warm . They zipped up from the inside of the ankle bone up to about knee - high , I guess it was . They were a royal pain to take on and off , so the teacher had to have help to do that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was just ordinary . I 'm sure the girls wore dresses , and the little boys wore suits - not suits , but pants and shirts . MRS . DAVIDSON : I came to Oak Ridge after I graduated from college . I had two years of getting a master 's at Emory while I worked at my alma mater , Agnes Scott College in Decatur , Georgia . I was the chemistry lab instructor . So after those two years were up , I was interested in working in chemistry or biochemistry . My master 's was in biochemistry . In Louisville , there was nothing in that field , except liquor and paint - neither of which I was interested in . In Atlanta , I would like to stay in Atlanta , I heard that Oak Ridge was an interesting new place , and a lot was going on here . One of my dear college friends had recently married a physicist from the University of Kentucky , so I visited them here . I guess that must have been 1947 . Her husband was working at NEPA . He said they were looking for people with a chemistry degree . I applied , and I was accepted . I didn 't know that until I had completed the clearance , so I took the opportunity to go to Europe at an American youth hostel bicycle tour of Western Europe in the summer of 1948 . When I got home , I found that I had indeed gotten the job at Oak Ridge . So I came down here . MRS . DAVIDSON : I was wondering that . I think I came by train . When I interviewed earlier in the spring , my interview was at the Andrew Johnson Hotel . It was one of the private rooms . I had never seen the company here . I think I must have been met by a car and driver and brought to Oak Ridge . MRS . DAVIDSON : I came in through the Vermont Gateway , which is where the gas station is now on the corner of what I call Vermont . They call it North Rutgers now . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , I think it must 've been after that . That would 've been at Christmas time . When I applied , I imagine it was early spring . MRS . DAVIDSON : We called the company NEPA , for Nuclear Energy for the Propulsion of Aircraft . It was managed by the Fairchild Corporation the way Union Carbide or one of the other contractors managed the lab . I did not know until the first day I went to work just what the company was doing . They handed me a volume of information that said , " We are looking for - we are trying to make an airplane powered by nuclear energy that could fly to Russia and back without refueling . " That was a great shock to me . MRS . DAVIDSON : I lived in Columbia Hall Dormitory . I was very surprised to find that the rent was $ 15 a month until I realized it was one very small room . That was my living quarters . I took the opportunity to stay out of it as much as possible . I did that by babysitting in some of the B and D houses in the evening . Grandmothers were not here since it was a closed community . Babysitters were in short supply , and even though I didn 't need the money , it was good to get out of the dormitory . MRS . DAVIDSON : The dormitory was like Cheyenne Hall . It was the same type of building . It had wooden stairways from the second - floor hall down on each end . I lived on the second floor . Our dormitory was mostly nurses , since it was up on the hill next to the hospital - I think where the west parking lot is now . There was a kitchen on each end where we could have our own breakfast . Of course we were at the plant at lunchtime , and then we usually went out to supper . I opened the refrigerator door one morning and somebody 's milk came spilling out down my front . Everybody just stuffed things into the refrigerator . MRS . DAVIDSON : I had a single room with a twin bed and enough room to walk to the window by the bed . There was a little table that served as a desk with a chair . There was a much coveted dormitory dresser - a tall one with a number of drawers . They were very popular . MRS . DAVIDSON : They had a wonderful bus service here . Travel wasn 't really a problem . We walked , of course , from the dormitory to Jackson Square and ate supper usually at the Mayflower , which is where I first saw my husband - to - be . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was on the corner of Tennessee , right across from the Soup Kitchen and the Texaco gas station there on the northeast corner . It was a very popular place . In fact , there were several places you could eat . It was the Central Cafeteria , and the T & C Cafeteria in Jackson Square , which is about where the Epicurean is now toward the garden . MRS . DAVIDSON : It must 've been the A & P on Jackson Square . Jackson Square was really the center of activity as far as I was concerned at that time . I still love it . I hope it keeps going . MRS . DAVIDSON : The department stores - the big department store was Taylor 's at the time . They had a wonderful book department headed by Mrs . Keyes , whose daughter I knew at work . They had really fine art books and other books that they would have a great sale on once or twice a year . We were very happy with that . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was in the middle of the block between where Big Ed 's is in the corner . I guess it 's mostly used by the engineering company now . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , not frequently , but I went and saw - there was a theater down at Big Ed 's in Jackson Square and where the Playhouse is now . That was the main one . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , the jewelry store was on the corner that was Henebree 's , I think . No , that was Heneger 's . MR . HUNNICUTT : Henebree ? MRS . DAVIDSON : Henebree . McCrory 's 5 & 10 was there . There was a drugstore - a Service Drugstore . I guess that was where Big Ed 's is now , on the very corner . There was Jackson Square Pharmacy , and on the other side the Hamilton Bank was there next to the movie theater . And Samuel 's Men 's Store was a very nice store . The Jackson Square Pharmacy was there , but in between , which the Pharmacy later took over was a Kay 's Ice Cream Store . We used to go there and - my husband and I would when we were dating . I liked to get coffee with ice cream in it , so we went there . MR . HUNNICUTT : I believe that was Taff Moody Ice Cream - they served Kay 's Ice Cream . MRS . DAVIDSON : Was it ? I didn 't remember that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I can 't say that I do . It was just a given , I suppose . It didn 't make a big dent in my memory . After six months of the dormitory , I moved to a D house on Norman Lane . That was another era . MR . HUNNICUTT : What is a D house ? MRS . DAVIDSON : A D house was a large three bedroom house . They were very much desired . They were really nice houses - still a lot of them are . The house was - there were five other girls who lived there - two of whom had been college friends . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , it would 've been upstairs . It was the second one to the end . A radiation technologist lived on the corner , and I lived there with school teachers and nurses who made up most of the dorm . MR . HUNNICUTT : Let 's talk a little bit about the dorm again . If I had a message for you or someone left a message for you , how did you retrieve your messages ? Was there a desk when you went in ? MRS . DAVIDSON : There was a desk downstairs . I remember the Valentine 's Day - I guess it must 've been 1949 . The message was that I had some flowers , some red roses . I had just met my husband - to - be at that time . I got all excited , and when I got to the desk , it was from somebody else . I enjoyed the red roses , but not as much as I might have . The thing was that there were ladies - a lot of the women who lived in the dorm worked on the night shift . They would sit around a large kind of living room , I guess they called it . They were all staring when I got flowers . I had to walk around , and it was embarrassing . MRS . DAVIDSON : I was there in the winter of 1948 . I 'm very cold natured , but I don 't remember being cold . We had those heavy navy blanket - navy blue blankets . This brings up a story if I jump to it later on . We were moved from the D house after another six months into the brand - new Garden Apartments on Villanova Road . They needed our D house for families . The people who moved in were the Andersons of the Anderson Hilltop Grocery . Of course , the furniture all belonged to the government there . So the Garden Apartments were not furnished , so we had dwindled down from 6 to 4 people who needed furniture . I took a day off and went to an auction the government set up down at the warehouses . I got seven beds and three or four dressers - much more than I could have used . But the beds were in great demand at work because all the young men who worked there were having children and needed beds . So we took the four . Also I got two sofas , and we could use but one ; so I sold one . They were really shabby awful sofas . Since it was all going to surplus anyway , we switched and took the nice sofa from the D house and left them the bad one . It was all taken away anyhow , so I didn 't feel too bad about that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't really remember about the telephone . We didn 't use the telephone much . We never used it for long - distance except for emergencies and calls home . I don 't remember that as being a problem particularly . MRS . DAVIDSON : I suppose I went on the bus . I did not have a car . One of the housemates from Norman Lane had gotten the car , but she would 've been at work at K - 25 . I don 't know . I may have gotten a ride . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess I paid somebody to deliver it . I don 't know . Maybe some of the fellows at work picked up their beds that they wanted . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was one of those warehouses down at the [ Oak Ridge ] Turnpike on Warehouse Road . I don 't know exactly where it was . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess it was on the bulletin boards at work , or there was a newspaper at the Lab . I guess I heard about it that way . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think probably so - in the newsletters they came around , also at the recreation building - the rec hall - at Jackson Square that was the library upstairs and the rec hall downstairs . Word - of - mouth - I don 't remember . We had a need and found the answer to it . MRS . DAVIDSON : I had to punch a clock at eight in the morning when I first started . I guess we got out at 4 : 30 or 5 o ' clock . We had bus service that went from the bus terminal - the Central one - that 's now by Bus Terminal Road . Later on after we were married , we lived on Waddell Circle and went from there to the Jefferson bus terminal . I went - I rode on the K - 25 bus , and they went out past K - 25 to the road that the powerhouse was on and NEPA was beyond that out by the river . MRS . DAVIDSON : There was some kind of management services office . I 'm not sure what it was called - the Roane Anderson Corporation at that time , I guess . I think that 's where I rented the dormitory room . I probably got bus tokens - I guess I got the tokens of the bus terminal . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think I had a checking account probably at Hamilton Bank in Jackson Square . I don 't recall otherwise . I know I did later . One thing I wanted to say about the buses - if you wanted to go to Clinton to do any shopping , more than what you could have in Oak Ridge or to meet somebody or something , there was a bus that ran frequently back and forth between the bus terminal and Clinton . There was a young man on the bus who had a sing - songy sales pitch for " peanuts , popcorn , Cracker Jacks , candy , and chewing gum . " He wouldn 't drive , but he would sell his wares all the way to Clinton and back . I always wondered who that was because he obviously had some talent . MRS . DAVIDSON : I 'm sure I did . I don 't know what became of it . I guess I had to turn it back in . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think somebody just got - one of the guards got on the bus and checked everybody 's badges . It was not a big thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : Probably . I don 't remember . What I do remember about that was my mother was coming down one time for my birthday - it must 've been in January 1949 . She rode the train . I told her that I would get a ride to meet her . Of course , the train didn 't stop at Oak Ridge . It went on to Knoxville , so I bummed a ride with one of the men in our group . He was actually the technical assistant to the director . His car was a broken down old thing with no floorboards in the back seat , which was pretty bad when my mother saw it . But she didn 't see it because when we got to Knoxville , she was not there . When we were coming back from the gateway entrance , she was not there . There was a message that she was waiting for us at the Elza Gate Station . She had told the conductor she had to get off at Oak Ridge . That 's where she was going , and I was going to meet her . So she slid down the Elza bank over there . She had my birthday cake - a large chocolate cake . She slid downhill with that , and somehow they stopped her at the guard gate at Elza . She waited there for us . MRS . DAVIDSON : Just for her - let her off like a milk train . They ordinarily didn 't stop there , but she wouldn 't have it otherwise . MRS . DAVIDSON : I used the library and rec hall . On Sunday afternoons , they played music ; and you could sit and write letters home , which is what I think I did a good bit . Later on in the better weather , there were tennis courts and a swimming pool . I don 't remember going to movies much . We went to church groups . There were so many young people ; it was just like a party all the time . Nothing in particular stands out . It was just fun . MRS . DAVIDSON : In the company I was , that was not true . There were a lot of women of course - of course , the dormitory was full of school teachers and nurses . But NEPA was mostly men . There were two parts to the Fairchild - the science and engineering part , which was bigger . I happen to be in the research part . My boss was a chemist - Vince Calkins . It was my job to - this was a real shocker to me - to find a chemical that would protect the human body against radiation for the reactor that was supposed to be in the airplane to Russia . I had no background for that kind of thing . I was just fresh out of college really . I realized I was out of my depth , but they decided - he was a pharmacist , I believe , and he wanted to do experiments with rats . They brought in the rat colony . By that time we had a couple of assistants , and I was supposed to be the group leader . One of the men , Ray Waldrop - you may have talked to him . I asked him if he minded working for a woman because he was really more experienced than I , although I had the degree . It was fine with him . There was also another worker , Saul Segal , who was quite a character in his own right . I took the rats in the cages over to the reactor , the " Old Lady " at X - 10 , and put them through what they called " rabbits " and radiated them for certain amount of time . We couldn 't kill the darn things . Then we used the older ones that had already been radiated , they were just tough as anything . I think the experiment was really a failure , although they may have found that to be the case in some later work with older people - that the cells are not dividing as fast and they 're not as subject to radiation . But we didn 't get into that . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was actually not K - 25 . It was beyond there . As I said , the bus took us - the bus dumped people off at K - 25 , and they went on west to just before you get to the Gallaher Bridge . You turn right there and go right past the power station there . It was used for a long time - the power house , and then NEPA was beyond that . The native rats came in - was it domestic experimental rats ? That was not good . I had a janitor who helped me , even though he could 've lost his job for doing it . He helped me clean cages . I always appreciated that . MRS . DAVIDSON : When they got rid of the rats , which was a blessing , my group leader then became Bill Browning , who was a fine scientist . He worked on the Van de Graaff generator . We had an interesting argument . Saul Segal thought he should be the one to do it since he was a man and I was a woman who would be leaving soon ; and it turned out that he left for California before I had left to have my baby . His argument didn 't hold with me anyway , but we argued about that some . We did run the Van de Graaff , and we also did some experiments on metallic sodium . It was nasty stuff to work with . It caught on fire if it was exposed to air . You had to work with that under oil in the glove box . I think that work all had to be repeated after NEPA left for Cincinnati with G . E . . When they moved part of NEPA to X - 10 , they called it the ANP , or something about aircraft and nuclear power . I was not connected with that because my first baby was born in August 1951 . I left in July . MRS . DAVIDSON : I heard somebody say that they had to repeat it all . My boss , the Division Director of Chemistry was interested in vitamin E , and thought it had a lot of protective influence . We worked with that . That was some of the work I did in chemistry - the lab part of it in the early days . It was not good work , I think . I 'm not blaming myself , but some of the other men who were doing chemical work - I think altogether we didn 't come up with anything . MRS . DAVIDSON : It may have been ahead of it 's time for nuclear submarines . I don 't know whether the engineering people thought that or not . In our group which was the chemistry and the physics , my friend who got me the job was Jim Trice . A fellow named Art Miller and somebody named Coneybearwere in the Physics Division . And then there were some others - Fred Maienschein . I did some work for him one time . It was work on beryllium for one thing . I didn 't work with any of the active beryllium . I didn 't do any lab work then , but I did some journal research . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't think they were that far along . I 'm not sure what happened to that part of it . As I said , in July of 1951 they moved to Cincinnati , Evensville , above Cincinnati . I don 't know how many people actually went up there . Most of my friends moved elsewhere . MR . HUNNICUTT : You mentioned the location of the operation was past the steam plant that was on the Clinch River . Was that the same location where the S - 50 project was located ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I think that was the name of our plot of land . I think those - I never was quite sure how they got the designations , but that was the Fairchild domain , I think . MRS . DAVIDSON : Really , it was just when our eyes met . It was very romantic . He followed our group home to the Columbia Hall to see where I lived . But at the time I thought he was too young , and I didn 't think he was following me . I was with a group of other girls . Later on , one of the women in the dormitory , who was a gym teacher in the Oak Ridge schools , told me I really ought to meet Jack Davidson that he loved to ride bicycles ; I was just back from my bicycle trip in Europe . I didn 't know who he was , and then I went to a church group meeting at my Presbyterian Church for young people one Sunday evening . A friend of mine had brought Jack Davidson , and he was the one whose eyes I had met and he had met mine . Sure enough , he loved to ride bicycles . That was the start of a good thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : We did a little bit . On our dates , that 's really what we did mostly at first . We rode out to West Outer Drive and had those wonderful big hills , not too much traffic at that time . We went out to the water tower at the top of Louisiana and had a picnic , and then rode back . When we got really good , we rode our bicycles over to Concord Park one day . I had gotten some chicken breasts at the grocery . I guess it was the A & P at Jackson Square . I was going to fry them for a picnic to take along over to Concord Park . When I went to the refrigerator to get them , they had turned into wings . Somebody had eaten my chicken breast . Jack was a good sport about that . He didn 't care . We had a nice ride . It was before they had improved Lovell Road . It was a pretty rough ride over there , but we were able to enjoy it . MRS . DAVIDSON : He had his bicycle . It was probably a Grey Stone . For me , he rented a bicycle from his work friend . I had forgotten what his name was . We went over to one of the D Streets , I think , and rode them . I didn 't have my English 3 - speed here . I guess I brought it later , but at that time I didn 't have it . MRS . DAVIDSON : That was a problem . I complained to my friend Jim Trice 's wife , Dot , who happened to live around the corner on Outer Drive at that time . She said the boardwalk was used a lot for dating , and of course the theaters . I guess we were outdoors people . I don 't know . MRS . DAVIDSON : He was a graduate of Georgia Tech . At the time he graduated , he was very young . He came up to see about a job , and he was drafted . No , he was in danger of being drafted right away , but they didn 't hire him . He did go to work for NASA , which was at that time NACA , in Virginia ; and worked over there a short time before he was taken into the Army . He had gone through Georgia Tech on a " War Manpower " loan . He was sent to some place to be an MP , I think . He wrote a night letter , which is a 50 - word telegram that was cheaper at night . He wrote a night letter to Stimson , the Secretary of War , telling them they had paid for his college education ; and here he was sitting in a camp doing nothing down in Alabama . He was transferred to the SED , he would never say that was the reason he was transferred . It may or may not have been . He arrived with the SED - he arrived in Oak Ridge the day Roosevelt died , which was in April 1945 , he was here with his group for maybe six weeks before they went out to Los Alamos . So he spent the rest of the war out there . Then he used his G . I . Bill - he stayed on at Los Alamos . They told them they would let him out of the Army if he would agree to stay on as a civilian . So he took that . Then when he did leave , he went to Annapolis and took a liberal arts course because he felt that he had missed out on it at Georgia Tech . He had a year at St . John 's College of Annapolis ; and then all along I guess he thought he would like to come back here . He came back - he arrived on Armistice Day , now Veterans Day , of 1948 . I was here a couple of months before he came , but we met shortly after Christmas in 1949 . MRS . DAVIDSON : Too long . We were married in May 1950 . He wanted to pay off his loan before we could get married , so I helped him along with that . I fed him some . He was very welcome at the D House of girls . I was going to tell you that during the war , there were nine girls in the house , and they slept on shifts on the bunk beds . There were only six of us when I was there . There were a couple of the boyfriends around , and one of them cut the grass . I think Jack did the - empty the clinkers from the furnace , the coal furnace . They made themselves useful . They got their dinner . MR . HUNNICUTT : Tell me about the coal furnace briefly . MRS . DAVIDSON : Most of the houses were a very good design really , and a whole lot better built than we gave them credit for . But each one that I knew of had a corner set off or closed off as a coal storage place that could be filled through a window from the outside , and then you could use the - there was an opening on the inside that you could use to put coal into the furnace . That was awful of course , but that 's what all the houses were doing in that time , too . We had a yard full of clinkers over there . MRS . DAVIDSON : We were taken care of by a Big Brother - the government . They brought the coal around , and you didn 't do a thing . That was part of the rent . When we got our house here on Orange Lane , that 's another story . Are you ready for that yet ? MRS . DAVIDSON : We went back to my home in Louisville , Kentucky , to be married . We had planned to fly to Nashville , but it turned out the Delta Queen was coming through Louisville the next morning . My mother had told us we could not get married the week before because it was too busy with Derby Day . So we delayed until May 13 . Then we spent the night in Louisville at the Brown Hotel , where she pulled some strings to get us a room because it was still very full of visitors from the Derby . We got on the Delta Queen , and our friends were all on the dock to see us off . They had us almost convinced that we were on Daylight Saving Time , and the Delta Queen was not , and we had missed it . But we rode down just as far as Paducah . We were anxious to start in life you know . We lived on Wadell Circle in a K apartment . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you recall the number ? MRS . DAVIDSON : It was a two - story thing . I guess it was a two - bedroom up above , and we had K - 1 . It was sort of underground at the front and open at the back . We had a nice back porch . There was a closet under the stairway and a very small kitchen . It had a table that folded down . It was not as compact as a flattop , but the furnishings that they had did double duty . You could fold it up and have more room . MRS . DAVIDSON : The K apartment was heated with the coal furnace , but there was a janitor who came around and took care of it for us . We were taken care of by Roane Anderson . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you remember what the rent was ? MRS . DAVIDSON : We lived in the K from May 1950 , until we got this house in July 1952 . It was said - the word around town was that you couldn 't get a two - bedroom house unless you had three children , all of different sex . We had been on the list for this house ever since we knew our daughter was coming along . That was a long time to wait . We had been offered two houses - Florida Avenue , where the parking was across the street and the backyard just dropped off . We thought that was totally unsuitable for a new child . We turned both of those down . If we had turned this one down , we would 've gone to the bottom of the long list . But we loved this place of the trees and the dead end lane neighborhood . So we sat outside in front all weekend because we were not top on the list . The reason the other people didn 't take it was that the previous owner , Jim Cox and Charlotte , had put in an oil furnace ; and nobody wanted to pay $ 200 for the oil furnace . Since I had been working , we had saved my salary from work , and we had $ 200 to pay . Also , they didn 't want to be in the high rent district . This house rented for something like $ 45 instead of $ 43 in the lower rent districts . MRS . DAVIDSON : The Oak Ridge cemesto houses that were built - I think this house was built in the fall of 1944 or 1943 . Maybe it was ' 43 . The B house has two bedrooms and of course a bath and a kitchen with a dinette into a long narrow living room . It was about 24 feet by 40 something feet . It was small and convenient . It didn 't have much storage space , but it 's been a wonderful house for us because of the trees . We are on a greenbelt , and I enjoy that very much . It 's a nice private neighborhood just above Jackson Square . MRS . DAVIDSON : Our cemesto has a fireplace , and it had a complete brick wall . Some of the B houses had a brick wall just beyond the fireplace . MRS . DAVIDSON : There are hardwood floors in all the cemestos , I believe . Our house has maple flooring , and a lot of them had oak . Wood was hard to come by in the wartime . We love the color - the reddish color of the maple . MRS . DAVIDSON : Adele is our second daughter , and she was two years younger . Our son is Bill Davidson or William . He was born in November of 1954 . He 's just now turning 58 . MR . HUNNICUTT : So your first daughter went to Cedar Hill ? MRS . DAVIDSON : All three of our children went to Cedar Hill . They had split grades there , so I think the classes were one half size . They would take the kids a half from one grade , and half from the next grade , and that worked out just fine . MRS . DAVIDSON : Cedar Hill was wonderful . It was very special . Mr . Dodd was the principal , and he saw to it - he had the best teachers or at least as good as any . Actually in those days all the teachers and Oak Ridge were special because many of them had been recruited from Columbia Teachers College , along with the superintendent . Others were specially recruited for the job . They were a group a part , I think , from a lot of teachers . MRS . DAVIDSON : The girls both went to Jefferson when it was on the hill at Jackson Square , and Bill was in the first year at the new Jefferson that was over on Fairbanks Road . His was the first class there . They all went through Oak Ridge High . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you recall some of the classes your daughters took while they were in junior high ? Was there Home Ec . or things related to girls ? MRS . DAVIDSON : No , they were on the college prep track . They took eighth grade algebra and that kind of thing . Of course English and math and social studies and science - our older girl I think took biology ; and I 'm not sure if Adele had a more general science course . It just depended on the teacher that they had . They had an excellent education , and the girls were both Merit semifinalists . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course . I was in the PTA . I 'm not sure if I was ever a room mother , but I of course helped with parties and things . MRS . DAVIDSON : The teachers recruited them from each class to help with parties mostly . They helped with any activities that they didn 't really have time to do . MRS . DAVIDSON : Parent - Teacher Association , a time honored group . It got extra things for the school . I got involved with raincoats for the school patrol . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess maybe I was a treasurer of the Cedar Hill PTA , and this goal was to get those yellow slicker raincoat so kids could be visible to the drivers . I found out how much the things cost , and then I estimated postage . At the PTA meeting , Alvin Weinberg was president . He had a son or two in school at the time . He took me to task for estimating the postage , so I had to ask for just the money for the coats themselves since I didn 't really know what the postage is going to be . I thought that was interesting that he wanted to keep it to the exact penny . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think they just wore what the other kids wore . One day we had a deep snow and Bill was in kindergarten , and the snow was up over their boots . I think he had some corduroys . The teacher was making the kids take their pants off and dry them on the radiator , and he wouldn 't do it . I had to go up to the school and take him some fresh pants , some dry clothes . He was very young - just four when he started . MR . HUNNICUTT : Let 's go back a few years . Do you remember 1945 when they dropped the bomb on Japan ? You remember where you were ? And what was your reaction ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I do remember that very clearly because it was the summer after my junior year in college , and I was a camp counselor up in Door County , Wisconsin . There was no electricity at the camp , so we counselors - after we got the kids to bed , went to the state park nearby . This was at Fish Creek , Wisconsin . We would listen to people 's car radios . We knew for about a week that something was happening , but we didn 't know just what . It was very deeply moving when the bomb was dropped , and we thought it would bring an end to the war . Of course , I had friends and a brother on Guam and a cousin was in Europe and others . So that was very deeply moving . I had a book of poetry - my favorite poems at the camp with me . One of my 12 - year - olds picked out a poem - " Once to every man and nation comes a moment to decide " - she read that , and I thought that was very astute of her , a youngster to be able to do that . MRS . DAVIDSON : My husband thought they should have dropped a sample first , but I didn 't feel that way since the first bomb didn 't phase the Japanese . I didn 't think the test one would have either . I was just so glad that the war was over . People could settle down and get into real life again . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think I was in transition from the dormitory to the house , and my husband 's brothers came up from Georgia to witness the opening . So we drove in their car around , and we watched the parade from , I believe , down on the eastern end of the Turnpike down near the warehouses to get out of the traffic . We never could figure out why they invited Marie " The Body " McDonald and [ inaudible ] to ride in the open car for the parade . We couldn 't figure out what they had to do with it , but we did see the burning of the magnesium ribbon . That was exciting . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was only toward town from Elza Gate . I know the central part of town , the Jackson Square area , was very crowded . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think they name the streets for famous cities in the country , and of course the alphabetical designations were very helpful . But Jackson Square , I assume , was named for New Orleans . That 's all I know about it . MRS . DAVIDSON : Sometimes you would pick up the telephone , and the other party was talking . I believe they had different rings . I think maybe the other party had one ring , and we had two . There were four - party lines , but if we were on a four - party line , only the other one was active . I think maybe we were . The other two lines were not being used . MR . HUNNICUTT : When you are raising your family , did you hang your clothes outside on the clothesline ? Did you have a dryer ? What did you use ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I hung them outside on the clothesline . As I said , when we moved here , Anne was a year old . Not much more than three years after that , we had three babies . I was able to talk my husband into getting a dryer that time . Before that , he had built a pulley out of my kitchen window . There was a drop off in the back , and he was able to string it to a tree in the woods . I was able to reel those cloth diapers and reel them in and out . The only problem was that the birds like the trees , too . Sometimes I had to do some re - washing . MR . HUNNICUTT : So in those days you use cloth diapers ? Today we use disposable diapers . How do you think you would 've done if you had disposable diapers ? MRS . DAVIDSON : At one point , when our children were out playing Kick the Can , there were over 40 children on the lane . There were about 20 or 21 houses . There were almost as many dogs . It was just a glorious place for them to grow up . They seem to get along remarkably well most of the time , especially in the early days . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes . We went down there on the opening , and got the radioactive dimes on that occasion . The museum at that time was down at Jefferson Circle . I don 't think any of us ever had our hair stand out on the Van De Graff generator or whatever it was , but we took the children . We went out ourselves . Of course my husband was interested in that kind of thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : Sometimes they walked to Jefferson , but by that time they were carrying pretty heavy books . One of the neighbors on Outer Drive wanted to have a carpool , so we joined that . MRS . DAVIDSON : When Anne was in the fifth grade , they had to write what they did on Friday nights . The teacher would call me and say , " Is it true that you gave your children ice water and watched TV on Friday nights ? " That was how generous we were with them . We didn 't get a TV until they were probably five or six years old . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course it was black and white . The reason we got it - I guess finally it was that the children were always going to the neighbors ' house to watch TV . We decided that we should get our own . They watched things like " Pinky Lee " and I 've forgotten what else . MRS . DAVIDSON : I remember that fondly because my first real date with my husband was going to dinner there with him . He invited me to go to a concert in Knoxville , and his excuse was that we should get to know each other better before he took me to the city with him . That was one thing . I remember there were parties there , and our company had a party at the Oak Terrace Ballroom . One of the NEPA fellows wore a Tarzan costume , which was mostly nothing . It turned out that he lived in the neighborhood . MR . HUNNICUTT : What was the Oak Terrace ballroom - where was it located ? MRS . DAVIDSON : That was just below the dormitory where I lived in Columbia Hall . Jack went there looking for me , he thought I would eat breakfast there and then he could have breakfast with me ; but I ate in the dormitory . He didn 't find me there . When we came back from our bicycle ride to Concord Park , I remember we stopped by there , and he drank two or three Mountain Dew drinks . That surprised me , but we had worked off a lot of sweat . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , we took our children out there and saw " Lawrence of Arabia " and " The 10 Commandment " and those things . It was quite nice . MR . HUNNICUTT : Where was it located ? MRS . DAVIDSON : It was about where Kroger 's - where that is now , on the southeast part of Illinois Avenue . It was a nice thing . That was a special treat for the children to go out there . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't think so . I think they were mostly in the car . They had a drawing one time , Jack won something . It was actually nothing , but he did win . MRS . DAVIDSON : I sure did . My three children were born there . It was a green structure , like so many of the buildings in Oak Ridge . I guess the present building is built on that place . It was okay . I didn 't have any problems with it , except after my second child . I had a staph infection from the hospital . Even an Army wife with a private room got an infection there . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , I think they also had been recruited ; and a lot of them were from Tulane University . The time I was sick with my infection , they were having a reunion at Tulane , and my doctor and another one were gone for the reunion . I didn 't like the one who took care of me . He didn 't do a good job . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was okay . I don 't remember having any problems with it . We knew Dr . Rogers from our church , and we went to him . He was called away to the service , I believe . Maybe it was the Korean War , but then he came back . MRS . DAVIDSON : We met at Pine Valley School . The choir sat on the bleachers , and the minister sat under the halo of the basketball net . My husband was a Methodist , and he went to the First Methodist Church . They had a big youth group there . When we were first married , we tried to take them both in . We went to Sunday school one place , and church another until we finally settled on the Presbyterian . It was smaller , and we knew more people . MR . HUNNICUTT : Thinking back , what do you like best about Oak Ridge ? MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course the people . I love my trees and my house . I love all the activities . Both my husband and I have always loved music and enjoy the concerts a lot . The symphony concerts with Waldo Cohn conducting were held at Jefferson Junior High on the Kentucky Avenue hill . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you think back about all the people that you knew in the early days ? Do you think it was unusual for everybody to get along - the many people that were here ? MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , I guess so . I didn 't think about it because we just did . It was just fun . Everybody was away from home , and we had to be family for each other . That was particularly true in this close neighborhood . MRS . DAVIDSON : I 'm pleased for the most part . I think we 've made good progress . We 've kept up with the outside world . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't know . I 'll probably think of things after you leave . Nothing particular comes to mind . MR . HUNNICUTT : I would like to thank you for your time , and I think this interview will be very helpful for someone in the future to see how you lived in Oak Ridge in the early days . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think we came through at the very best of times . It was not the pressure of war , but we were growing community . I think things were happening at the Lab . Both of my husband and I loved the Lab because there were so many good things going on out there . It gives us hope for the future . MR . HUNNICUTT : I thank you very much for your time . [ Editor 's Note : This transcript has been edited at Mrs . Davidson 's request . The corresponding audio and video components have remained unchanged . ] Your rating was saved . you wish to report :

MR . HUNNICUTT : This interview is for the Center of Oak Ridge Oral History . The date is November 8 , 2012 . I am Don Hunnicutt in the home of Mrs . Mary Ann Davidson , 117 Orange Lane , Oak Ridge , Tennessee , to take her oral history about living in Oak Ridge , Tennessee . Please state your full name and your place of birth and your date of birth . MRS . DAVIDSON : My name is Mary Ann Davidson . My date of birth is January 12 , 1925 . I was born in Louisville , Kentucky . I lived there all my early life until I graduated from college . MRS . DAVIDSON : My father was William H . Courtenay . He was born in 1890 , on March 3 . He was in World War I and lived his entire life in Louisville and Shelbyville , Kentucky . He worked for the Mengel Company . They imported mahogany and hardwood from Africa and Central America . He delivered those to customers . He didn 't consider himself a salesman , but he sold them to the furniture factory - furniture makers around Kentucky , mostly Indiana and Cincinnati and some in Tennessee . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , he did not . The Louisville Male High School was considered a fine school at that time . They said that graduates could enter Harvard in their second year . The principal had written textbooks that were apparently used all over . But my father was interested in raising ponies . His father had a farm in Shelbyville , Kentucky . If you 'd didn 't make the grade , you are special . And Dr . Ruben Post - Halleck , the famous principal of the school , told him if he took an exam in math , he could be entered back in . He did that , and he aced the test . He was back in . Then he was a special in English , so they told him if he memorized the " Lady of the Lake " and said that he could get back in school . So he did that . I think he never did finish . He was a twin , and his twin was more of an engineering type and went to manual training high school . MRS . DAVIDSON : She grew up in several small towns in western Kentucky . Her father worked for the L & N Railroad . She had her high school in Hopkinsville , Kentucky . She had to stay home - or she went to junior college nearby . She had a scholarship to Randolph Macon Women 's College , but she couldn 't take it because her mother was ill and died at age 50 . It was about the year I was born , I think . MRS . DAVIDSON : His name was William Howard Courtenay III . My father was named for his uncle , who was also William Howard . My older brother works for Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green in the physics department . He made instruments . My younger brother was a pediatrician in Louisville , and he is still living on a farm in Shelbyville . He 's interested in Kentucky antiques . MRS . DAVIDSON : I went to an unusual kindergarten and first grade . I was at what they called the Enterprise Branch of I . N . Bloom School . It was only kindergarten and first grade . It was in the older building , where we had a Pot Belly Stove . I think we had a maid to help us take our leggings off in the cold weather - galoshes . It was really a wonderful school . It was almost like a private one . It was public . We did things like making butter and we had an orchestra . I played the triangle . I had started a little bit earlier when my younger brother was born . Louisville had half semester , half - year grades . I would 've been a half year , but I skipped the last half of kindergarten . I went to the school board and took a test and went on , so they put me in the regular school year . I went through the big school the I . N . Bloom School and Highland Junior High School in Louisville . Then I went to Atherton High School for Girls . The Louisville public schools were segregated - boys and girls . There were about 900 girls at Atherton . My graduating class was about 200 , and I was the valedictorian . MRS . DAVIDSON : They are pants to keep your legs warm . They zipped up from the inside of the ankle bone up to about knee - high , I guess it was . They were a royal pain to take on and off , so the teacher had to have help to do that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was just ordinary . I 'm sure the girls wore dresses , and the little boys wore suits - not suits , but pants and shirts . MRS . DAVIDSON : I came to Oak Ridge after I graduated from college . I had two years of getting a master 's at Emory while I worked at my alma mater , Agnes Scott College in Decatur , Georgia . I was the chemistry lab instructor . So after those two years were up , I was interested in working in chemistry or biochemistry . My master 's was in biochemistry . In Louisville , there was nothing in that field , except liquor and paint - neither of which I was interested in . In Atlanta , I would like to stay in Atlanta , I heard that Oak Ridge was an interesting new place , and a lot was going on here . One of my dear college friends had recently married a physicist from the University of Kentucky , so I visited them here . I guess that must have been 1947 . Her husband was working at NEPA . He said they were looking for people with a chemistry degree . I applied , and I was accepted . I didn 't know that until I had completed the clearance , so I took the opportunity to go to Europe at an American youth hostel bicycle tour of Western Europe in the summer of 1948 . When I got home , I found that I had indeed gotten the job at Oak Ridge . So I came down here . MRS . DAVIDSON : I was wondering that . I think I came by train . When I interviewed earlier in the spring , my interview was at the Andrew Johnson Hotel . It was one of the private rooms . I had never seen the company here . I think I must have been met by a car and driver and brought to Oak Ridge . MRS . DAVIDSON : I came in through the Vermont Gateway , which is where the gas station is now on the corner of what I call Vermont . They call it North Rutgers now . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , I think it must 've been after that . That would 've been at Christmas time . When I applied , I imagine it was early spring . MRS . DAVIDSON : We called the company NEPA , for Nuclear Energy for the Propulsion of Aircraft . It was managed by the Fairchild Corporation the way Union Carbide or one of the other contractors managed the lab . I did not know until the first day I went to work just what the company was doing . They handed me a volume of information that said , " We are looking for - we are trying to make an airplane powered by nuclear energy that could fly to Russia and back without refueling . " That was a great shock to me . MRS . DAVIDSON : I lived in Columbia Hall Dormitory . I was very surprised to find that the rent was $ 15 a month until I realized it was one very small room . That was my living quarters . I took the opportunity to stay out of it as much as possible . I did that by babysitting in some of the B and D houses in the evening . Grandmothers were not here since it was a closed community . Babysitters were in short supply , and even though I didn 't need the money , it was good to get out of the dormitory . MRS . DAVIDSON : The dormitory was like Cheyenne Hall . It was the same type of building . It had wooden stairways from the second - floor hall down on each end . I lived on the second floor . Our dormitory was mostly nurses , since it was up on the hill next to the hospital - I think where the west parking lot is now . There was a kitchen on each end where we could have our own breakfast . Of course we were at the plant at lunchtime , and then we usually went out to supper . I opened the refrigerator door one morning and somebody 's milk came spilling out down my front . Everybody just stuffed things into the refrigerator . MRS . DAVIDSON : I had a single room with a twin bed and enough room to walk to the window by the bed . There was a little table that served as a desk with a chair . There was a much coveted dormitory dresser - a tall one with a number of drawers . They were very popular . MRS . DAVIDSON : They had a wonderful bus service here . Travel wasn 't really a problem . We walked , of course , from the dormitory to Jackson Square and ate supper usually at the Mayflower , which is where I first saw my husband - to - be . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was on the corner of Tennessee , right across from the Soup Kitchen and the Texaco gas station there on the northeast corner . It was a very popular place . In fact , there were several places you could eat . It was the Central Cafeteria , and the T & C Cafeteria in Jackson Square , which is about where the Epicurean is now toward the garden . MRS . DAVIDSON : It must 've been the A & P on Jackson Square . Jackson Square was really the center of activity as far as I was concerned at that time . I still love it . I hope it keeps going . MRS . DAVIDSON : The department stores - the big department store was Taylor 's at the time . They had a wonderful book department headed by Mrs . Keyes , whose daughter I knew at work . They had really fine art books and other books that they would have a great sale on once or twice a year . We were very happy with that . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was in the middle of the block between where Big Ed 's is in the corner . I guess it 's mostly used by the engineering company now . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , not frequently , but I went and saw - there was a theater down at Big Ed 's in Jackson Square and where the Playhouse is now . That was the main one . MRS . DAVIDSON : Henebree . McCrory 's 5 & 10 was there . There was a drugstore - a Service Drugstore . I guess that was where Big Ed 's is now , on the very corner . There was Jackson Square Pharmacy , and on the other side the Hamilton Bank was there next to the movie theater . And Samuel 's Men 's Store was a very nice store . The Jackson Square Pharmacy was there , but in between , which the Pharmacy later took over was a Kay 's Ice Cream Store . We used to go there and - my husband and I would when we were dating . I liked to get coffee with ice cream in it , so we went there . MRS . DAVIDSON : I can 't say that I do . It was just a given , I suppose . It didn 't make a big dent in my memory . After six months of the dormitory , I moved to a D house on Norman Lane . That was another era . MRS . DAVIDSON : A D house was a large three bedroom house . They were very much desired . They were really nice houses - still a lot of them are . The house was - there were five other girls who lived there - two of whom had been college friends . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , it would 've been upstairs . It was the second one to the end . A radiation technologist lived on the corner , and I lived there with school teachers and nurses who made up most of the dorm . MR . HUNNICUTT : Let 's talk a little bit about the dorm again . If I had a message for you or someone left a message for you , how did you retrieve your messages ? Was there a desk when you went in ? MRS . DAVIDSON : There was a desk downstairs . I remember the Valentine 's Day - I guess it must 've been 1949 . The message was that I had some flowers , some red roses . I had just met my husband - to - be at that time . I got all excited , and when I got to the desk , it was from somebody else . I enjoyed the red roses , but not as much as I might have . The thing was that there were ladies - a lot of the women who lived in the dorm worked on the night shift . They would sit around a large kind of living room , I guess they called it . They were all staring when I got flowers . I had to walk around , and it was embarrassing . MRS . DAVIDSON : I was there in the winter of 1948 . I 'm very cold natured , but I don 't remember being cold . We had those heavy navy blanket - navy blue blankets . This brings up a story if I jump to it later on . We were moved from the D house after another six months into the brand - new Garden Apartments on Villanova Road . They needed our D house for families . The people who moved in were the Andersons of the Anderson Hilltop Grocery . Of course , the furniture all belonged to the government there . So the Garden Apartments were not furnished , so we had dwindled down from 6 to 4 people who needed furniture . I took a day off and went to an auction the government set up down at the warehouses . I got seven beds and three or four dressers - much more than I could have used . But the beds were in great demand at work because all the young men who worked there were having children and needed beds . So we took the four . Also I got two sofas , and we could use but one ; so I sold one . They were really shabby awful sofas . Since it was all going to surplus anyway , we switched and took the nice sofa from the D house and left them the bad one . It was all taken away anyhow , so I didn 't feel too bad about that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't really remember about the telephone . We didn 't use the telephone much . We never used it for long - distance except for emergencies and calls home . I don 't remember that as being a problem particularly . MRS . DAVIDSON : I suppose I went on the bus . I did not have a car . One of the housemates from Norman Lane had gotten the car , but she would 've been at work at K - 25 . I don 't know . I may have gotten a ride . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess I paid somebody to deliver it . I don 't know . Maybe some of the fellows at work picked up their beds that they wanted . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was one of those warehouses down at the [ Oak Ridge ] Turnpike on Warehouse Road . I don 't know exactly where it was . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess it was on the bulletin boards at work , or there was a newspaper at the Lab . I guess I heard about it that way . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think probably so - in the newsletters they came around , also at the recreation building - the rec hall - at Jackson Square that was the library upstairs and the rec hall downstairs . Word - of - mouth - I don 't remember . We had a need and found the answer to it . MRS . DAVIDSON : I had to punch a clock at eight in the morning when I first started . I guess we got out at 4 : 30 or 5 o ' clock . We had bus service that went from the bus terminal - the Central one - that 's now by Bus Terminal Road . Later on after we were married , we lived on Waddell Circle and went from there to the Jefferson bus terminal . I went - I rode on the K - 25 bus , and they went out past K - 25 to the road that the powerhouse was on and NEPA was beyond that out by the river . MRS . DAVIDSON : There was some kind of management services office . I 'm not sure what it was called - the Roane Anderson Corporation at that time , I guess . I think that 's where I rented the dormitory room . I probably got bus tokens - I guess I got the tokens of the bus terminal . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think I had a checking account probably at Hamilton Bank in Jackson Square . I don 't recall otherwise . I know I did later . One thing I wanted to say about the buses - if you wanted to go to Clinton to do any shopping , more than what you could have in Oak Ridge or to meet somebody or something , there was a bus that ran frequently back and forth between the bus terminal and Clinton . There was a young man on the bus who had a sing - songy sales pitch for " peanuts , popcorn , Cracker Jacks , candy , and chewing gum . " He wouldn 't drive , but he would sell his wares all the way to Clinton and back . I always wondered who that was because he obviously had some talent . MRS . DAVIDSON : I 'm sure I did . I don 't know what became of it . I guess I had to turn it back in . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think somebody just got - one of the guards got on the bus and checked everybody 's badges . It was not a big thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : Probably . I don 't remember . What I do remember about that was my mother was coming down one time for my birthday - it must 've been in January 1949 . She rode the train . I told her that I would get a ride to meet her . Of course , the train didn 't stop at Oak Ridge . It went on to Knoxville , so I bummed a ride with one of the men in our group . He was actually the technical assistant to the director . His car was a broken down old thing with no floorboards in the back seat , which was pretty bad when my mother saw it . But she didn 't see it because when we got to Knoxville , she was not there . When we were coming back from the gateway entrance , she was not there . There was a message that she was waiting for us at the Elza Gate Station . She had told the conductor she had to get off at Oak Ridge . That 's where she was going , and I was going to meet her . So she slid down the Elza bank over there . She had my birthday cake - a large chocolate cake . She slid downhill with that , and somehow they stopped her at the guard gate at Elza . She waited there for us . MRS . DAVIDSON : Just for her - let her off like a milk train . They ordinarily didn 't stop there , but she wouldn 't have it otherwise . MRS . DAVIDSON : I used the library and rec hall . On Sunday afternoons , they played music ; and you could sit and write letters home , which is what I think I did a good bit . Later on in the better weather , there were tennis courts and a swimming pool . I don 't remember going to movies much . We went to church groups . There were so many young people ; it was just like a party all the time . Nothing in particular stands out . It was just fun . MRS . DAVIDSON : In the company I was , that was not true . There were a lot of women of course - of course , the dormitory was full of school teachers and nurses . But NEPA was mostly men . There were two parts to the Fairchild - the science and engineering part , which was bigger . I happen to be in the research part . My boss was a chemist - Vince Calkins . It was my job to - this was a real shocker to me - to find a chemical that would protect the human body against radiation for the reactor that was supposed to be in the airplane to Russia . I had no background for that kind of thing . I was just fresh out of college really . I realized I was out of my depth , but they decided - he was a pharmacist , I believe , and he wanted to do experiments with rats . They brought in the rat colony . By that time we had a couple of assistants , and I was supposed to be the group leader . One of the men , Ray Waldrop - you may have talked to him . I asked him if he minded working for a woman because he was really more experienced than I , although I had the degree . It was fine with him . There was also another worker , Saul Segal , who was quite a character in his own right . I took the rats in the cages over to the reactor , the " Old Lady " at X - 10 , and put them through what they called " rabbits " and radiated them for certain amount of time . We couldn 't kill the darn things . Then we used the older ones that had already been radiated , they were just tough as anything . I think the experiment was really a failure , although they may have found that to be the case in some later work with older people - that the cells are not dividing as fast and they 're not as subject to radiation . But we didn 't get into that . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was actually not K - 25 . It was beyond there . As I said , the bus took us - the bus dumped people off at K - 25 , and they went on west to just before you get to the Gallaher Bridge . You turn right there and go right past the power station there . It was used for a long time - the power house , and then NEPA was beyond that . The native rats came in - was it domestic experimental rats ? That was not good . I had a janitor who helped me , even though he could 've lost his job for doing it . He helped me clean cages . I always appreciated that . MRS . DAVIDSON : When they got rid of the rats , which was a blessing , my group leader then became Bill Browning , who was a fine scientist . He worked on the Van de Graaff generator . We had an interesting argument . Saul Segal thought he should be the one to do it since he was a man and I was a woman who would be leaving soon ; and it turned out that he left for California before I had left to have my baby . His argument didn 't hold with me anyway , but we argued about that some . We did run the Van de Graaff , and we also did some experiments on metallic sodium . It was nasty stuff to work with . It caught on fire if it was exposed to air . You had to work with that under oil in the glove box . I think that work all had to be repeated after NEPA left for Cincinnati with G . E . . When they moved part of NEPA to X - 10 , they called it the ANP , or something about aircraft and nuclear power . I was not connected with that because my first baby was born in August 1951 . I left in July . MRS . DAVIDSON : I heard somebody say that they had to repeat it all . My boss , the Division Director of Chemistry was interested in vitamin E , and thought it had a lot of protective influence . We worked with that . That was some of the work I did in chemistry - the lab part of it in the early days . It was not good work , I think . I 'm not blaming myself , but some of the other men who were doing chemical work - I think altogether we didn 't come up with anything . MRS . DAVIDSON : It may have been ahead of it 's time for nuclear submarines . I don 't know whether the engineering people thought that or not . In our group which was the chemistry and the physics , my friend who got me the job was Jim Trice . A fellow named Art Miller and somebody named Coneybearwere in the Physics Division . And then there were some others - Fred Maienschein . I did some work for him one time . It was work on beryllium for one thing . I didn 't work with any of the active beryllium . I didn 't do any lab work then , but I did some journal research . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't think they were that far along . I 'm not sure what happened to that part of it . As I said , in July of 1951 they moved to Cincinnati , Evensville , above Cincinnati . I don 't know how many people actually went up there . Most of my friends moved elsewhere . MR . HUNNICUTT : You mentioned the location of the operation was past the steam plant that was on the Clinch River . Was that the same location where the S - 50 project was located ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I think that was the name of our plot of land . I think those - I never was quite sure how they got the designations , but that was the Fairchild domain , I think . MRS . DAVIDSON : Really , it was just when our eyes met . It was very romantic . He followed our group home to the Columbia Hall to see where I lived . But at the time I thought he was too young , and I didn 't think he was following me . I was with a group of other girls . Later on , one of the women in the dormitory , who was a gym teacher in the Oak Ridge schools , told me I really ought to meet Jack Davidson that he loved to ride bicycles ; I was just back from my bicycle trip in Europe . I didn 't know who he was , and then I went to a church group meeting at my Presbyterian Church for young people one Sunday evening . A friend of mine had brought Jack Davidson , and he was the one whose eyes I had met and he had met mine . Sure enough , he loved to ride bicycles . That was the start of a good thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : We did a little bit . On our dates , that 's really what we did mostly at first . We rode out to West Outer Drive and had those wonderful big hills , not too much traffic at that time . We went out to the water tower at the top of Louisiana and had a picnic , and then rode back . When we got really good , we rode our bicycles over to Concord Park one day . I had gotten some chicken breasts at the grocery . I guess it was the A & P at Jackson Square . I was going to fry them for a picnic to take along over to Concord Park . When I went to the refrigerator to get them , they had turned into wings . Somebody had eaten my chicken breast . Jack was a good sport about that . He didn 't care . We had a nice ride . It was before they had improved Lovell Road . It was a pretty rough ride over there , but we were able to enjoy it . MRS . DAVIDSON : He had his bicycle . It was probably a Grey Stone . For me , he rented a bicycle from his work friend . I had forgotten what his name was . We went over to one of the D Streets , I think , and rode them . I didn 't have my English 3 - speed here . I guess I brought it later , but at that time I didn 't have it . MRS . DAVIDSON : That was a problem . I complained to my friend Jim Trice 's wife , Dot , who happened to live around the corner on Outer Drive at that time . She said the boardwalk was used a lot for dating , and of course the theaters . I guess we were outdoors people . I don 't know . MRS . DAVIDSON : He was a graduate of Georgia Tech . At the time he graduated , he was very young . He came up to see about a job , and he was drafted . No , he was in danger of being drafted right away , but they didn 't hire him . He did go to work for NASA , which was at that time NACA , in Virginia ; and worked over there a short time before he was taken into the Army . He had gone through Georgia Tech on a " War Manpower " loan . He was sent to some place to be an MP , I think . He wrote a night letter , which is a 50 - word telegram that was cheaper at night . He wrote a night letter to Stimson , the Secretary of War , telling them they had paid for his college education ; and here he was sitting in a camp doing nothing down in Alabama . He was transferred to the SED , he would never say that was the reason he was transferred . It may or may not have been . He arrived with the SED - he arrived in Oak Ridge the day Roosevelt died , which was in April 1945 , he was here with his group for maybe six weeks before they went out to Los Alamos . So he spent the rest of the war out there . Then he used his G . I . Bill - he stayed on at Los Alamos . They told them they would let him out of the Army if he would agree to stay on as a civilian . So he took that . Then when he did leave , he went to Annapolis and took a liberal arts course because he felt that he had missed out on it at Georgia Tech . He had a year at St . John 's College of Annapolis ; and then all along I guess he thought he would like to come back here . He came back - he arrived on Armistice Day , now Veterans Day , of 1948 . I was here a couple of months before he came , but we met shortly after Christmas in 1949 . MRS . DAVIDSON : Too long . We were married in May 1950 . He wanted to pay off his loan before we could get married , so I helped him along with that . I fed him some . He was very welcome at the D House of girls . I was going to tell you that during the war , there were nine girls in the house , and they slept on shifts on the bunk beds . There were only six of us when I was there . There were a couple of the boyfriends around , and one of them cut the grass . I think Jack did the - empty the clinkers from the furnace , the coal furnace . They made themselves useful . They got their dinner . MRS . DAVIDSON : Most of the houses were a very good design really , and a whole lot better built than we gave them credit for . But each one that I knew of had a corner set off or closed off as a coal storage place that could be filled through a window from the outside , and then you could use the - there was an opening on the inside that you could use to put coal into the furnace . That was awful of course , but that 's what all the houses were doing in that time , too . We had a yard full of clinkers over there . MRS . DAVIDSON : We were taken care of by a Big Brother - the government . They brought the coal around , and you didn 't do a thing . That was part of the rent . When we got our house here on Orange Lane , that 's another story . Are you ready for that yet ? MRS . DAVIDSON : We went back to my home in Louisville , Kentucky , to be married . We had planned to fly to Nashville , but it turned out the Delta Queen was coming through Louisville the next morning . My mother had told us we could not get married the week before because it was too busy with Derby Day . So we delayed until May 13 . Then we spent the night in Louisville at the Brown Hotel , where she pulled some strings to get us a room because it was still very full of visitors from the Derby . We got on the Delta Queen , and our friends were all on the dock to see us off . They had us almost convinced that we were on Daylight Saving Time , and the Delta Queen was not , and we had missed it . But we rode down just as far as Paducah . We were anxious to start in life you know . We lived on Wadell Circle in a K apartment . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was a two - story thing . I guess it was a two - bedroom up above , and we had K - 1 . It was sort of underground at the front and open at the back . We had a nice back porch . There was a closet under the stairway and a very small kitchen . It had a table that folded down . It was not as compact as a flattop , but the furnishings that they had did double duty . You could fold it up and have more room . MRS . DAVIDSON : The K apartment was heated with the coal furnace , but there was a janitor who came around and took care of it for us . We were taken care of by Roane Anderson . MRS . DAVIDSON : We lived in the K from May 1950 , until we got this house in July 1952 . It was said - the word around town was that you couldn 't get a two - bedroom house unless you had three children , all of different sex . We had been on the list for this house ever since we knew our daughter was coming along . That was a long time to wait . We had been offered two houses - Florida Avenue , where the parking was across the street and the backyard just dropped off . We thought that was totally unsuitable for a new child . We turned both of those down . If we had turned this one down , we would 've gone to the bottom of the long list . But we loved this place of the trees and the dead end lane neighborhood . So we sat outside in front all weekend because we were not top on the list . The reason the other people didn 't take it was that the previous owner , Jim Cox and Charlotte , had put in an oil furnace ; and nobody wanted to pay $ 200 for the oil furnace . Since I had been working , we had saved my salary from work , and we had $ 200 to pay . Also , they didn 't want to be in the high rent district . This house rented for something like $ 45 instead of $ 43 in the lower rent districts . MRS . DAVIDSON : The Oak Ridge cemesto houses that were built - I think this house was built in the fall of 1944 or 1943 . Maybe it was ' 43 . The B house has two bedrooms and of course a bath and a kitchen with a dinette into a long narrow living room . It was about 24 feet by 40 something feet . It was small and convenient . It didn 't have much storage space , but it 's been a wonderful house for us because of the trees . We are on a greenbelt , and I enjoy that very much . It 's a nice private neighborhood just above Jackson Square . MRS . DAVIDSON : Our cemesto has a fireplace , and it had a complete brick wall . Some of the B houses had a brick wall just beyond the fireplace . MRS . DAVIDSON : There are hardwood floors in all the cemestos , I believe . Our house has maple flooring , and a lot of them had oak . Wood was hard to come by in the wartime . We love the color - the reddish color of the maple . MRS . DAVIDSON : Adele is our second daughter , and she was two years younger . Our son is Bill Davidson or William . He was born in November of 1954 . He 's just now turning 58 . MRS . DAVIDSON : All three of our children went to Cedar Hill . They had split grades there , so I think the classes were one half size . They would take the kids a half from one grade , and half from the next grade , and that worked out just fine . MRS . DAVIDSON : Cedar Hill was wonderful . It was very special . Mr . Dodd was the principal , and he saw to it - he had the best teachers or at least as good as any . Actually in those days all the teachers and Oak Ridge were special because many of them had been recruited from Columbia Teachers College , along with the superintendent . Others were specially recruited for the job . They were a group a part , I think , from a lot of teachers . MRS . DAVIDSON : The girls both went to Jefferson when it was on the hill at Jackson Square , and Bill was in the first year at the new Jefferson that was over on Fairbanks Road . His was the first class there . They all went through Oak Ridge High . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you recall some of the classes your daughters took while they were in junior high ? Was there Home Ec . or things related to girls ? MRS . DAVIDSON : No , they were on the college prep track . They took eighth grade algebra and that kind of thing . Of course English and math and social studies and science - our older girl I think took biology ; and I 'm not sure if Adele had a more general science course . It just depended on the teacher that they had . They had an excellent education , and the girls were both Merit semifinalists . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course . I was in the PTA . I 'm not sure if I was ever a room mother , but I of course helped with parties and things . MRS . DAVIDSON : The teachers recruited them from each class to help with parties mostly . They helped with any activities that they didn 't really have time to do . MRS . DAVIDSON : Parent - Teacher Association , a time honored group . It got extra things for the school . I got involved with raincoats for the school patrol . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess maybe I was a treasurer of the Cedar Hill PTA , and this goal was to get those yellow slicker raincoat so kids could be visible to the drivers . I found out how much the things cost , and then I estimated postage . At the PTA meeting , Alvin Weinberg was president . He had a son or two in school at the time . He took me to task for estimating the postage , so I had to ask for just the money for the coats themselves since I didn 't really know what the postage is going to be . I thought that was interesting that he wanted to keep it to the exact penny . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think they just wore what the other kids wore . One day we had a deep snow and Bill was in kindergarten , and the snow was up over their boots . I think he had some corduroys . The teacher was making the kids take their pants off and dry them on the radiator , and he wouldn 't do it . I had to go up to the school and take him some fresh pants , some dry clothes . He was very young - just four when he started . MR . HUNNICUTT : Let 's go back a few years . Do you remember 1945 when they dropped the bomb on Japan ? You remember where you were ? And what was your reaction ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I do remember that very clearly because it was the summer after my junior year in college , and I was a camp counselor up in Door County , Wisconsin . There was no electricity at the camp , so we counselors - after we got the kids to bed , went to the state park nearby . This was at Fish Creek , Wisconsin . We would listen to people 's car radios . We knew for about a week that something was happening , but we didn 't know just what . It was very deeply moving when the bomb was dropped , and we thought it would bring an end to the war . Of course , I had friends and a brother on Guam and a cousin was in Europe and others . So that was very deeply moving . I had a book of poetry - my favorite poems at the camp with me . One of my 12 - year - olds picked out a poem - " Once to every man and nation comes a moment to decide " - she read that , and I thought that was very astute of her , a youngster to be able to do that . MRS . DAVIDSON : My husband thought they should have dropped a sample first , but I didn 't feel that way since the first bomb didn 't phase the Japanese . I didn 't think the test one would have either . I was just so glad that the war was over . People could settle down and get into real life again . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think I was in transition from the dormitory to the house , and my husband 's brothers came up from Georgia to witness the opening . So we drove in their car around , and we watched the parade from , I believe , down on the eastern end of the Turnpike down near the warehouses to get out of the traffic . We never could figure out why they invited Marie " The Body " McDonald and [ inaudible ] to ride in the open car for the parade . We couldn 't figure out what they had to do with it , but we did see the burning of the magnesium ribbon . That was exciting . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was only toward town from Elza Gate . I know the central part of town , the Jackson Square area , was very crowded . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think they name the streets for famous cities in the country , and of course the alphabetical designations were very helpful . But Jackson Square , I assume , was named for New Orleans . That 's all I know about it . MRS . DAVIDSON : Sometimes you would pick up the telephone , and the other party was talking . I believe they had different rings . I think maybe the other party had one ring , and we had two . There were four - party lines , but if we were on a four - party line , only the other one was active . I think maybe we were . The other two lines were not being used . MR . HUNNICUTT : When you are raising your family , did you hang your clothes outside on the clothesline ? Did you have a dryer ? What did you use ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I hung them outside on the clothesline . As I said , when we moved here , Anne was a year old . Not much more than three years after that , we had three babies . I was able to talk my husband into getting a dryer that time . Before that , he had built a pulley out of my kitchen window . There was a drop off in the back , and he was able to string it to a tree in the woods . I was able to reel those cloth diapers and reel them in and out . The only problem was that the birds like the trees , too . Sometimes I had to do some re - washing . MR . HUNNICUTT : So in those days you use cloth diapers ? Today we use disposable diapers . How do you think you would 've done if you had disposable diapers ? MRS . DAVIDSON : At one point , when our children were out playing Kick the Can , there were over 40 children on the lane . There were about 20 or 21 houses . There were almost as many dogs . It was just a glorious place for them to grow up . They seem to get along remarkably well most of the time , especially in the early days . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes . We went down there on the opening , and got the radioactive dimes on that occasion . The museum at that time was down at Jefferson Circle . I don 't think any of us ever had our hair stand out on the Van De Graff generator or whatever it was , but we took the children . We went out ourselves . Of course my husband was interested in that kind of thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : Sometimes they walked to Jefferson , but by that time they were carrying pretty heavy books . One of the neighbors on Outer Drive wanted to have a carpool , so we joined that . MRS . DAVIDSON : When Anne was in the fifth grade , they had to write what they did on Friday nights . The teacher would call me and say , " Is it true that you gave your children ice water and watched TV on Friday nights ? " That was how generous we were with them . We didn 't get a TV until they were probably five or six years old . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course it was black and white . The reason we got it - I guess finally it was that the children were always going to the neighbors ' house to watch TV . We decided that we should get our own . They watched things like " Pinky Lee " and I 've forgotten what else . MRS . DAVIDSON : I remember that fondly because my first real date with my husband was going to dinner there with him . He invited me to go to a concert in Knoxville , and his excuse was that we should get to know each other better before he took me to the city with him . That was one thing . I remember there were parties there , and our company had a party at the Oak Terrace Ballroom . One of the NEPA fellows wore a Tarzan costume , which was mostly nothing . It turned out that he lived in the neighborhood . MRS . DAVIDSON : That was just below the dormitory where I lived in Columbia Hall . Jack went there looking for me , he thought I would eat breakfast there and then he could have breakfast with me ; but I ate in the dormitory . He didn 't find me there . When we came back from our bicycle ride to Concord Park , I remember we stopped by there , and he drank two or three Mountain Dew drinks . That surprised me , but we had worked off a lot of sweat . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , we took our children out there and saw " Lawrence of Arabia " and " The 10 Commandment " and those things . It was quite nice . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was about where Kroger 's - where that is now , on the southeast part of Illinois Avenue . It was a nice thing . That was a special treat for the children to go out there . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't think so . I think they were mostly in the car . They had a drawing one time , Jack won something . It was actually nothing , but he did win . MRS . DAVIDSON : I sure did . My three children were born there . It was a green structure , like so many of the buildings in Oak Ridge . I guess the present building is built on that place . It was okay . I didn 't have any problems with it , except after my second child . I had a staph infection from the hospital . Even an Army wife with a private room got an infection there . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , I think they also had been recruited ; and a lot of them were from Tulane University . The time I was sick with my infection , they were having a reunion at Tulane , and my doctor and another one were gone for the reunion . I didn 't like the one who took care of me . He didn 't do a good job . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was okay . I don 't remember having any problems with it . We knew Dr . Rogers from our church , and we went to him . He was called away to the service , I believe . Maybe it was the Korean War , but then he came back . MRS . DAVIDSON : We met at Pine Valley School . The choir sat on the bleachers , and the minister sat under the halo of the basketball net . My husband was a Methodist , and he went to the First Methodist Church . They had a big youth group there . When we were first married , we tried to take them both in . We went to Sunday school one place , and church another until we finally settled on the Presbyterian . It was smaller , and we knew more people . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course the people . I love my trees and my house . I love all the activities . Both my husband and I have always loved music and enjoy the concerts a lot . The symphony concerts with Waldo Cohn conducting were held at Jefferson Junior High on the Kentucky Avenue hill . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you think back about all the people that you knew in the early days ? Do you think it was unusual for everybody to get along - the many people that were here ? MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , I guess so . I didn 't think about it because we just did . It was just fun . Everybody was away from home , and we had to be family for each other . That was particularly true in this close neighborhood . MRS . DAVIDSON : I 'm pleased for the most part . I think we 've made good progress . We 've kept up with the outside world . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think we came through at the very best of times . It was not the pressure of war , but we were growing community . I think things were happening at the Lab . Both of my husband and I loved the Lab because there were so many good things going on out there . It gives us hope for the future . [ Editor 's Note : This transcript has been edited at Mrs . Davidson 's request . The corresponding audio and video components have remained unchanged . ] Click tabs to swap between content that is broken into logical sections . MR . HUNNICUTT : This interview is for the Center of Oak Ridge Oral History . The date is November 8 , 2012 . I am Don Hunnicutt in the home of Mrs . Mary Ann Davidson , 117 Orange Lane , Oak Ridge , Tennessee , to take her oral history about living in Oak Ridge , Tennessee . Please state your full name and your place of birth and your date of birth . MRS . DAVIDSON : My name is Mary Ann Davidson . My date of birth is January 12 , 1925 . I was born in Louisville , Kentucky . I lived there all my early life until I graduated from college . MRS . DAVIDSON : My father was William H . Courtenay . He was born in 1890 , on March 3 . He was in World War I and lived his entire life in Louisville and Shelbyville , Kentucky . He worked for the Mengel Company . They imported mahogany and hardwood from Africa and Central America . He delivered those to customers . He didn 't consider himself a salesman , but he sold them to the furniture factory - furniture makers around Kentucky , mostly Indiana and Cincinnati and some in Tennessee . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , he did not . The Louisville Male High School was considered a fine school at that time . They said that graduates could enter Harvard in their second year . The principal had written textbooks that were apparently used all over . But my father was interested in raising ponies . His father had a farm in Shelbyville , Kentucky . If you 'd didn 't make the grade , you are special . And Dr . Ruben Post - Halleck , the famous principal of the school , told him if he took an exam in math , he could be entered back in . He did that , and he aced the test . He was back in . Then he was a special in English , so they told him if he memorized the " Lady of the Lake " and said that he could get back in school . So he did that . I think he never did finish . He was a twin , and his twin was more of an engineering type and went to manual training high school . MR . HUNNICUTT : What about your mother 's school history ? MRS . DAVIDSON : She grew up in several small towns in western Kentucky . Her father worked for the L & N Railroad . She had her high school in Hopkinsville , Kentucky . She had to stay home - or she went to junior college nearby . She had a scholarship to Randolph Macon Women 's College , but she couldn 't take it because her mother was ill and died at age 50 . It was about the year I was born , I think . MRS . DAVIDSON : His name was William Howard Courtenay III . My father was named for his uncle , who was also William Howard . My older brother works for Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green in the physics department . He made instruments . My younger brother was a pediatrician in Louisville , and he is still living on a farm in Shelbyville . He 's interested in Kentucky antiques . MR . HUNNICUTT : Yes . MRS . DAVIDSON : I went to an unusual kindergarten and first grade . I was at what they called the Enterprise Branch of I . N . Bloom School . It was only kindergarten and first grade . It was in the older building , where we had a Pot Belly Stove . I think we had a maid to help us take our leggings off in the cold weather - galoshes . It was really a wonderful school . It was almost like a private one . It was public . We did things like making butter and we had an orchestra . I played the triangle . I had started a little bit earlier when my younger brother was born . Louisville had half semester , half - year grades . I would 've been a half year , but I skipped the last half of kindergarten . I went to the school board and took a test and went on , so they put me in the regular school year . I went through the big school the I . N . Bloom School and Highland Junior High School in Louisville . Then I went to Atherton High School for Girls . The Louisville public schools were segregated - boys and girls . There were about 900 girls at Atherton . My graduating class was about 200 , and I was the valedictorian . MRS . DAVIDSON : They are pants to keep your legs warm . They zipped up from the inside of the ankle bone up to about knee - high , I guess it was . They were a royal pain to take on and off , so the teacher had to have help to do that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was just ordinary . I 'm sure the girls wore dresses , and the little boys wore suits - not suits , but pants and shirts . MRS . DAVIDSON : I came to Oak Ridge after I graduated from college . I had two years of getting a master 's at Emory while I worked at my alma mater , Agnes Scott College in Decatur , Georgia . I was the chemistry lab instructor . So after those two years were up , I was interested in working in chemistry or biochemistry . My master 's was in biochemistry . In Louisville , there was nothing in that field , except liquor and paint - neither of which I was interested in . In Atlanta , I would like to stay in Atlanta , I heard that Oak Ridge was an interesting new place , and a lot was going on here . One of my dear college friends had recently married a physicist from the University of Kentucky , so I visited them here . I guess that must have been 1947 . Her husband was working at NEPA . He said they were looking for people with a chemistry degree . I applied , and I was accepted . I didn 't know that until I had completed the clearance , so I took the opportunity to go to Europe at an American youth hostel bicycle tour of Western Europe in the summer of 1948 . When I got home , I found that I had indeed gotten the job at Oak Ridge . So I came down here . MRS . DAVIDSON : I was wondering that . I think I came by train . When I interviewed earlier in the spring , my interview was at the Andrew Johnson Hotel . It was one of the private rooms . I had never seen the company here . I think I must have been met by a car and driver and brought to Oak Ridge . MRS . DAVIDSON : I came in through the Vermont Gateway , which is where the gas station is now on the corner of what I call Vermont . They call it North Rutgers now . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , I think it must 've been after that . That would 've been at Christmas time . When I applied , I imagine it was early spring . MRS . DAVIDSON : We called the company NEPA , for Nuclear Energy for the Propulsion of Aircraft . It was managed by the Fairchild Corporation the way Union Carbide or one of the other contractors managed the lab . I did not know until the first day I went to work just what the company was doing . They handed me a volume of information that said , " We are looking for - we are trying to make an airplane powered by nuclear energy that could fly to Russia and back without refueling . " That was a great shock to me . MRS . DAVIDSON : I lived in Columbia Hall Dormitory . I was very surprised to find that the rent was $ 15 a month until I realized it was one very small room . That was my living quarters . I took the opportunity to stay out of it as much as possible . I did that by babysitting in some of the B and D houses in the evening . Grandmothers were not here since it was a closed community . Babysitters were in short supply , and even though I didn 't need the money , it was good to get out of the dormitory . MRS . DAVIDSON : The dormitory was like Cheyenne Hall . It was the same type of building . It had wooden stairways from the second - floor hall down on each end . I lived on the second floor . Our dormitory was mostly nurses , since it was up on the hill next to the hospital - I think where the west parking lot is now . There was a kitchen on each end where we could have our own breakfast . Of course we were at the plant at lunchtime , and then we usually went out to supper . I opened the refrigerator door one morning and somebody 's milk came spilling out down my front . Everybody just stuffed things into the refrigerator . MRS . DAVIDSON : I had a single room with a twin bed and enough room to walk to the window by the bed . There was a little table that served as a desk with a chair . There was a much coveted dormitory dresser - a tall one with a number of drawers . They were very popular . MRS . DAVIDSON : They had a wonderful bus service here . Travel wasn 't really a problem . We walked , of course , from the dormitory to Jackson Square and ate supper usually at the Mayflower , which is where I first saw my husband - to - be . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was on the corner of Tennessee , right across from the Soup Kitchen and the Texaco gas station there on the northeast corner . It was a very popular place . In fact , there were several places you could eat . It was the Central Cafeteria , and the T & C Cafeteria in Jackson Square , which is about where the Epicurean is now toward the garden . MRS . DAVIDSON : It must 've been the A & P on Jackson Square . Jackson Square was really the center of activity as far as I was concerned at that time . I still love it . I hope it keeps going . MRS . DAVIDSON : The department stores - the big department store was Taylor 's at the time . They had a wonderful book department headed by Mrs . Keyes , whose daughter I knew at work . They had really fine art books and other books that they would have a great sale on once or twice a year . We were very happy with that . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was in the middle of the block between where Big Ed 's is in the corner . I guess it 's mostly used by the engineering company now . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , not frequently , but I went and saw - there was a theater down at Big Ed 's in Jackson Square and where the Playhouse is now . That was the main one . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , the jewelry store was on the corner that was Henebree 's , I think . No , that was Heneger 's . MR . HUNNICUTT : Henebree ? MRS . DAVIDSON : Henebree . McCrory 's 5 & 10 was there . There was a drugstore - a Service Drugstore . I guess that was where Big Ed 's is now , on the very corner . There was Jackson Square Pharmacy , and on the other side the Hamilton Bank was there next to the movie theater . And Samuel 's Men 's Store was a very nice store . The Jackson Square Pharmacy was there , but in between , which the Pharmacy later took over was a Kay 's Ice Cream Store . We used to go there and - my husband and I would when we were dating . I liked to get coffee with ice cream in it , so we went there . MR . HUNNICUTT : I believe that was Taff Moody Ice Cream - they served Kay 's Ice Cream . MRS . DAVIDSON : Was it ? I didn 't remember that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I can 't say that I do . It was just a given , I suppose . It didn 't make a big dent in my memory . After six months of the dormitory , I moved to a D house on Norman Lane . That was another era . MR . HUNNICUTT : What is a D house ? MRS . DAVIDSON : A D house was a large three bedroom house . They were very much desired . They were really nice houses - still a lot of them are . The house was - there were five other girls who lived there - two of whom had been college friends . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , it would 've been upstairs . It was the second one to the end . A radiation technologist lived on the corner , and I lived there with school teachers and nurses who made up most of the dorm . MR . HUNNICUTT : Let 's talk a little bit about the dorm again . If I had a message for you or someone left a message for you , how did you retrieve your messages ? Was there a desk when you went in ? MRS . DAVIDSON : There was a desk downstairs . I remember the Valentine 's Day - I guess it must 've been 1949 . The message was that I had some flowers , some red roses . I had just met my husband - to - be at that time . I got all excited , and when I got to the desk , it was from somebody else . I enjoyed the red roses , but not as much as I might have . The thing was that there were ladies - a lot of the women who lived in the dorm worked on the night shift . They would sit around a large kind of living room , I guess they called it . They were all staring when I got flowers . I had to walk around , and it was embarrassing . MRS . DAVIDSON : I was there in the winter of 1948 . I 'm very cold natured , but I don 't remember being cold . We had those heavy navy blanket - navy blue blankets . This brings up a story if I jump to it later on . We were moved from the D house after another six months into the brand - new Garden Apartments on Villanova Road . They needed our D house for families . The people who moved in were the Andersons of the Anderson Hilltop Grocery . Of course , the furniture all belonged to the government there . So the Garden Apartments were not furnished , so we had dwindled down from 6 to 4 people who needed furniture . I took a day off and went to an auction the government set up down at the warehouses . I got seven beds and three or four dressers - much more than I could have used . But the beds were in great demand at work because all the young men who worked there were having children and needed beds . So we took the four . Also I got two sofas , and we could use but one ; so I sold one . They were really shabby awful sofas . Since it was all going to surplus anyway , we switched and took the nice sofa from the D house and left them the bad one . It was all taken away anyhow , so I didn 't feel too bad about that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't really remember about the telephone . We didn 't use the telephone much . We never used it for long - distance except for emergencies and calls home . I don 't remember that as being a problem particularly . MRS . DAVIDSON : I suppose I went on the bus . I did not have a car . One of the housemates from Norman Lane had gotten the car , but she would 've been at work at K - 25 . I don 't know . I may have gotten a ride . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess I paid somebody to deliver it . I don 't know . Maybe some of the fellows at work picked up their beds that they wanted . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was one of those warehouses down at the [ Oak Ridge ] Turnpike on Warehouse Road . I don 't know exactly where it was . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess it was on the bulletin boards at work , or there was a newspaper at the Lab . I guess I heard about it that way . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think probably so - in the newsletters they came around , also at the recreation building - the rec hall - at Jackson Square that was the library upstairs and the rec hall downstairs . Word - of - mouth - I don 't remember . We had a need and found the answer to it . MRS . DAVIDSON : I had to punch a clock at eight in the morning when I first started . I guess we got out at 4 : 30 or 5 o ' clock . We had bus service that went from the bus terminal - the Central one - that 's now by Bus Terminal Road . Later on after we were married , we lived on Waddell Circle and went from there to the Jefferson bus terminal . I went - I rode on the K - 25 bus , and they went out past K - 25 to the road that the powerhouse was on and NEPA was beyond that out by the river . MRS . DAVIDSON : There was some kind of management services office . I 'm not sure what it was called - the Roane Anderson Corporation at that time , I guess . I think that 's where I rented the dormitory room . I probably got bus tokens - I guess I got the tokens of the bus terminal . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think I had a checking account probably at Hamilton Bank in Jackson Square . I don 't recall otherwise . I know I did later . One thing I wanted to say about the buses - if you wanted to go to Clinton to do any shopping , more than what you could have in Oak Ridge or to meet somebody or something , there was a bus that ran frequently back and forth between the bus terminal and Clinton . There was a young man on the bus who had a sing - songy sales pitch for " peanuts , popcorn , Cracker Jacks , candy , and chewing gum . " He wouldn 't drive , but he would sell his wares all the way to Clinton and back . I always wondered who that was because he obviously had some talent . MRS . DAVIDSON : I 'm sure I did . I don 't know what became of it . I guess I had to turn it back in . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think somebody just got - one of the guards got on the bus and checked everybody 's badges . It was not a big thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : Probably . I don 't remember . What I do remember about that was my mother was coming down one time for my birthday - it must 've been in January 1949 . She rode the train . I told her that I would get a ride to meet her . Of course , the train didn 't stop at Oak Ridge . It went on to Knoxville , so I bummed a ride with one of the men in our group . He was actually the technical assistant to the director . His car was a broken down old thing with no floorboards in the back seat , which was pretty bad when my mother saw it . But she didn 't see it because when we got to Knoxville , she was not there . When we were coming back from the gateway entrance , she was not there . There was a message that she was waiting for us at the Elza Gate Station . She had told the conductor she had to get off at Oak Ridge . That 's where she was going , and I was going to meet her . So she slid down the Elza bank over there . She had my birthday cake - a large chocolate cake . She slid downhill with that , and somehow they stopped her at the guard gate at Elza . She waited there for us . MRS . DAVIDSON : Just for her - let her off like a milk train . They ordinarily didn 't stop there , but she wouldn 't have it otherwise . MRS . DAVIDSON : I used the library and rec hall . On Sunday afternoons , they played music ; and you could sit and write letters home , which is what I think I did a good bit . Later on in the better weather , there were tennis courts and a swimming pool . I don 't remember going to movies much . We went to church groups . There were so many young people ; it was just like a party all the time . Nothing in particular stands out . It was just fun . MRS . DAVIDSON : In the company I was , that was not true . There were a lot of women of course - of course , the dormitory was full of school teachers and nurses . But NEPA was mostly men . There were two parts to the Fairchild - the science and engineering part , which was bigger . I happen to be in the research part . My boss was a chemist - Vince Calkins . It was my job to - this was a real shocker to me - to find a chemical that would protect the human body against radiation for the reactor that was supposed to be in the airplane to Russia . I had no background for that kind of thing . I was just fresh out of college really . I realized I was out of my depth , but they decided - he was a pharmacist , I believe , and he wanted to do experiments with rats . They brought in the rat colony . By that time we had a couple of assistants , and I was supposed to be the group leader . One of the men , Ray Waldrop - you may have talked to him . I asked him if he minded working for a woman because he was really more experienced than I , although I had the degree . It was fine with him . There was also another worker , Saul Segal , who was quite a character in his own right . I took the rats in the cages over to the reactor , the " Old Lady " at X - 10 , and put them through what they called " rabbits " and radiated them for certain amount of time . We couldn 't kill the darn things . Then we used the older ones that had already been radiated , they were just tough as anything . I think the experiment was really a failure , although they may have found that to be the case in some later work with older people - that the cells are not dividing as fast and they 're not as subject to radiation . But we didn 't get into that . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was actually not K - 25 . It was beyond there . As I said , the bus took us - the bus dumped people off at K - 25 , and they went on west to just before you get to the Gallaher Bridge . You turn right there and go right past the power station there . It was used for a long time - the power house , and then NEPA was beyond that . The native rats came in - was it domestic experimental rats ? That was not good . I had a janitor who helped me , even though he could 've lost his job for doing it . He helped me clean cages . I always appreciated that . MRS . DAVIDSON : When they got rid of the rats , which was a blessing , my group leader then became Bill Browning , who was a fine scientist . He worked on the Van de Graaff generator . We had an interesting argument . Saul Segal thought he should be the one to do it since he was a man and I was a woman who would be leaving soon ; and it turned out that he left for California before I had left to have my baby . His argument didn 't hold with me anyway , but we argued about that some . We did run the Van de Graaff , and we also did some experiments on metallic sodium . It was nasty stuff to work with . It caught on fire if it was exposed to air . You had to work with that under oil in the glove box . I think that work all had to be repeated after NEPA left for Cincinnati with G . E . . When they moved part of NEPA to X - 10 , they called it the ANP , or something about aircraft and nuclear power . I was not connected with that because my first baby was born in August 1951 . I left in July . MRS . DAVIDSON : I heard somebody say that they had to repeat it all . My boss , the Division Director of Chemistry was interested in vitamin E , and thought it had a lot of protective influence . We worked with that . That was some of the work I did in chemistry - the lab part of it in the early days . It was not good work , I think . I 'm not blaming myself , but some of the other men who were doing chemical work - I think altogether we didn 't come up with anything . MRS . DAVIDSON : It may have been ahead of it 's time for nuclear submarines . I don 't know whether the engineering people thought that or not . In our group which was the chemistry and the physics , my friend who got me the job was Jim Trice . A fellow named Art Miller and somebody named Coneybearwere in the Physics Division . And then there were some others - Fred Maienschein . I did some work for him one time . It was work on beryllium for one thing . I didn 't work with any of the active beryllium . I didn 't do any lab work then , but I did some journal research . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't think they were that far along . I 'm not sure what happened to that part of it . As I said , in July of 1951 they moved to Cincinnati , Evensville , above Cincinnati . I don 't know how many people actually went up there . Most of my friends moved elsewhere . MR . HUNNICUTT : You mentioned the location of the operation was past the steam plant that was on the Clinch River . Was that the same location where the S - 50 project was located ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I think that was the name of our plot of land . I think those - I never was quite sure how they got the designations , but that was the Fairchild domain , I think . MRS . DAVIDSON : Really , it was just when our eyes met . It was very romantic . He followed our group home to the Columbia Hall to see where I lived . But at the time I thought he was too young , and I didn 't think he was following me . I was with a group of other girls . Later on , one of the women in the dormitory , who was a gym teacher in the Oak Ridge schools , told me I really ought to meet Jack Davidson that he loved to ride bicycles ; I was just back from my bicycle trip in Europe . I didn 't know who he was , and then I went to a church group meeting at my Presbyterian Church for young people one Sunday evening . A friend of mine had brought Jack Davidson , and he was the one whose eyes I had met and he had met mine . Sure enough , he loved to ride bicycles . That was the start of a good thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : We did a little bit . On our dates , that 's really what we did mostly at first . We rode out to West Outer Drive and had those wonderful big hills , not too much traffic at that time . We went out to the water tower at the top of Louisiana and had a picnic , and then rode back . When we got really good , we rode our bicycles over to Concord Park one day . I had gotten some chicken breasts at the grocery . I guess it was the A & P at Jackson Square . I was going to fry them for a picnic to take along over to Concord Park . When I went to the refrigerator to get them , they had turned into wings . Somebody had eaten my chicken breast . Jack was a good sport about that . He didn 't care . We had a nice ride . It was before they had improved Lovell Road . It was a pretty rough ride over there , but we were able to enjoy it . MRS . DAVIDSON : He had his bicycle . It was probably a Grey Stone . For me , he rented a bicycle from his work friend . I had forgotten what his name was . We went over to one of the D Streets , I think , and rode them . I didn 't have my English 3 - speed here . I guess I brought it later , but at that time I didn 't have it . MRS . DAVIDSON : That was a problem . I complained to my friend Jim Trice 's wife , Dot , who happened to live around the corner on Outer Drive at that time . She said the boardwalk was used a lot for dating , and of course the theaters . I guess we were outdoors people . I don 't know . MRS . DAVIDSON : He was a graduate of Georgia Tech . At the time he graduated , he was very young . He came up to see about a job , and he was drafted . No , he was in danger of being drafted right away , but they didn 't hire him . He did go to work for NASA , which was at that time NACA , in Virginia ; and worked over there a short time before he was taken into the Army . He had gone through Georgia Tech on a " War Manpower " loan . He was sent to some place to be an MP , I think . He wrote a night letter , which is a 50 - word telegram that was cheaper at night . He wrote a night letter to Stimson , the Secretary of War , telling them they had paid for his college education ; and here he was sitting in a camp doing nothing down in Alabama . He was transferred to the SED , he would never say that was the reason he was transferred . It may or may not have been . He arrived with the SED - he arrived in Oak Ridge the day Roosevelt died , which was in April 1945 , he was here with his group for maybe six weeks before they went out to Los Alamos . So he spent the rest of the war out there . Then he used his G . I . Bill - he stayed on at Los Alamos . They told them they would let him out of the Army if he would agree to stay on as a civilian . So he took that . Then when he did leave , he went to Annapolis and took a liberal arts course because he felt that he had missed out on it at Georgia Tech . He had a year at St . John 's College of Annapolis ; and then all along I guess he thought he would like to come back here . He came back - he arrived on Armistice Day , now Veterans Day , of 1948 . I was here a couple of months before he came , but we met shortly after Christmas in 1949 . MRS . DAVIDSON : Too long . We were married in May 1950 . He wanted to pay off his loan before we could get married , so I helped him along with that . I fed him some . He was very welcome at the D House of girls . I was going to tell you that during the war , there were nine girls in the house , and they slept on shifts on the bunk beds . There were only six of us when I was there . There were a couple of the boyfriends around , and one of them cut the grass . I think Jack did the - empty the clinkers from the furnace , the coal furnace . They made themselves useful . They got their dinner . MR . HUNNICUTT : Tell me about the coal furnace briefly . MRS . DAVIDSON : Most of the houses were a very good design really , and a whole lot better built than we gave them credit for . But each one that I knew of had a corner set off or closed off as a coal storage place that could be filled through a window from the outside , and then you could use the - there was an opening on the inside that you could use to put coal into the furnace . That was awful of course , but that 's what all the houses were doing in that time , too . We had a yard full of clinkers over there . MRS . DAVIDSON : We were taken care of by a Big Brother - the government . They brought the coal around , and you didn 't do a thing . That was part of the rent . When we got our house here on Orange Lane , that 's another story . Are you ready for that yet ? MRS . DAVIDSON : We went back to my home in Louisville , Kentucky , to be married . We had planned to fly to Nashville , but it turned out the Delta Queen was coming through Louisville the next morning . My mother had told us we could not get married the week before because it was too busy with Derby Day . So we delayed until May 13 . Then we spent the night in Louisville at the Brown Hotel , where she pulled some strings to get us a room because it was still very full of visitors from the Derby . We got on the Delta Queen , and our friends were all on the dock to see us off . They had us almost convinced that we were on Daylight Saving Time , and the Delta Queen was not , and we had missed it . But we rode down just as far as Paducah . We were anxious to start in life you know . We lived on Wadell Circle in a K apartment . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you recall the number ? MRS . DAVIDSON : It was a two - story thing . I guess it was a two - bedroom up above , and we had K - 1 . It was sort of underground at the front and open at the back . We had a nice back porch . There was a closet under the stairway and a very small kitchen . It had a table that folded down . It was not as compact as a flattop , but the furnishings that they had did double duty . You could fold it up and have more room . MRS . DAVIDSON : The K apartment was heated with the coal furnace , but there was a janitor who came around and took care of it for us . We were taken care of by Roane Anderson . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you remember what the rent was ? MRS . DAVIDSON : We lived in the K from May 1950 , until we got this house in July 1952 . It was said - the word around town was that you couldn 't get a two - bedroom house unless you had three children , all of different sex . We had been on the list for this house ever since we knew our daughter was coming along . That was a long time to wait . We had been offered two houses - Florida Avenue , where the parking was across the street and the backyard just dropped off . We thought that was totally unsuitable for a new child . We turned both of those down . If we had turned this one down , we would 've gone to the bottom of the long list . But we loved this place of the trees and the dead end lane neighborhood . So we sat outside in front all weekend because we were not top on the list . The reason the other people didn 't take it was that the previous owner , Jim Cox and Charlotte , had put in an oil furnace ; and nobody wanted to pay $ 200 for the oil furnace . Since I had been working , we had saved my salary from work , and we had $ 200 to pay . Also , they didn 't want to be in the high rent district . This house rented for something like $ 45 instead of $ 43 in the lower rent districts . MRS . DAVIDSON : The Oak Ridge cemesto houses that were built - I think this house was built in the fall of 1944 or 1943 . Maybe it was ' 43 . The B house has two bedrooms and of course a bath and a kitchen with a dinette into a long narrow living room . It was about 24 feet by 40 something feet . It was small and convenient . It didn 't have much storage space , but it 's been a wonderful house for us because of the trees . We are on a greenbelt , and I enjoy that very much . It 's a nice private neighborhood just above Jackson Square . MRS . DAVIDSON : Our cemesto has a fireplace , and it had a complete brick wall . Some of the B houses had a brick wall just beyond the fireplace . MRS . DAVIDSON : There are hardwood floors in all the cemestos , I believe . Our house has maple flooring , and a lot of them had oak . Wood was hard to come by in the wartime . We love the color - the reddish color of the maple . MRS . DAVIDSON : Adele is our second daughter , and she was two years younger . Our son is Bill Davidson or William . He was born in November of 1954 . He 's just now turning 58 . MR . HUNNICUTT : So your first daughter went to Cedar Hill ? MRS . DAVIDSON : All three of our children went to Cedar Hill . They had split grades there , so I think the classes were one half size . They would take the kids a half from one grade , and half from the next grade , and that worked out just fine . MRS . DAVIDSON : Cedar Hill was wonderful . It was very special . Mr . Dodd was the principal , and he saw to it - he had the best teachers or at least as good as any . Actually in those days all the teachers and Oak Ridge were special because many of them had been recruited from Columbia Teachers College , along with the superintendent . Others were specially recruited for the job . They were a group a part , I think , from a lot of teachers . MRS . DAVIDSON : The girls both went to Jefferson when it was on the hill at Jackson Square , and Bill was in the first year at the new Jefferson that was over on Fairbanks Road . His was the first class there . They all went through Oak Ridge High . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you recall some of the classes your daughters took while they were in junior high ? Was there Home Ec . or things related to girls ? MRS . DAVIDSON : No , they were on the college prep track . They took eighth grade algebra and that kind of thing . Of course English and math and social studies and science - our older girl I think took biology ; and I 'm not sure if Adele had a more general science course . It just depended on the teacher that they had . They had an excellent education , and the girls were both Merit semifinalists . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course . I was in the PTA . I 'm not sure if I was ever a room mother , but I of course helped with parties and things . MRS . DAVIDSON : The teachers recruited them from each class to help with parties mostly . They helped with any activities that they didn 't really have time to do . MRS . DAVIDSON : Parent - Teacher Association , a time honored group . It got extra things for the school . I got involved with raincoats for the school patrol . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess maybe I was a treasurer of the Cedar Hill PTA , and this goal was to get those yellow slicker raincoat so kids could be visible to the drivers . I found out how much the things cost , and then I estimated postage . At the PTA meeting , Alvin Weinberg was president . He had a son or two in school at the time . He took me to task for estimating the postage , so I had to ask for just the money for the coats themselves since I didn 't really know what the postage is going to be . I thought that was interesting that he wanted to keep it to the exact penny . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think they just wore what the other kids wore . One day we had a deep snow and Bill was in kindergarten , and the snow was up over their boots . I think he had some corduroys . The teacher was making the kids take their pants off and dry them on the radiator , and he wouldn 't do it . I had to go up to the school and take him some fresh pants , some dry clothes . He was very young - just four when he started . MR . HUNNICUTT : Let 's go back a few years . Do you remember 1945 when they dropped the bomb on Japan ? You remember where you were ? And what was your reaction ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I do remember that very clearly because it was the summer after my junior year in college , and I was a camp counselor up in Door County , Wisconsin . There was no electricity at the camp , so we counselors - after we got the kids to bed , went to the state park nearby . This was at Fish Creek , Wisconsin . We would listen to people 's car radios . We knew for about a week that something was happening , but we didn 't know just what . It was very deeply moving when the bomb was dropped , and we thought it would bring an end to the war . Of course , I had friends and a brother on Guam and a cousin was in Europe and others . So that was very deeply moving . I had a book of poetry - my favorite poems at the camp with me . One of my 12 - year - olds picked out a poem - " Once to every man and nation comes a moment to decide " - she read that , and I thought that was very astute of her , a youngster to be able to do that . MRS . DAVIDSON : My husband thought they should have dropped a sample first , but I didn 't feel that way since the first bomb didn 't phase the Japanese . I didn 't think the test one would have either . I was just so glad that the war was over . People could settle down and get into real life again . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think I was in transition from the dormitory to the house , and my husband 's brothers came up from Georgia to witness the opening . So we drove in their car around , and we watched the parade from , I believe , down on the eastern end of the Turnpike down near the warehouses to get out of the traffic . We never could figure out why they invited Marie " The Body " McDonald and [ inaudible ] to ride in the open car for the parade . We couldn 't figure out what they had to do with it , but we did see the burning of the magnesium ribbon . That was exciting . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was only toward town from Elza Gate . I know the central part of town , the Jackson Square area , was very crowded . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think they name the streets for famous cities in the country , and of course the alphabetical designations were very helpful . But Jackson Square , I assume , was named for New Orleans . That 's all I know about it . MRS . DAVIDSON : Sometimes you would pick up the telephone , and the other party was talking . I believe they had different rings . I think maybe the other party had one ring , and we had two . There were four - party lines , but if we were on a four - party line , only the other one was active . I think maybe we were . The other two lines were not being used . MR . HUNNICUTT : When you are raising your family , did you hang your clothes outside on the clothesline ? Did you have a dryer ? What did you use ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I hung them outside on the clothesline . As I said , when we moved here , Anne was a year old . Not much more than three years after that , we had three babies . I was able to talk my husband into getting a dryer that time . Before that , he had built a pulley out of my kitchen window . There was a drop off in the back , and he was able to string it to a tree in the woods . I was able to reel those cloth diapers and reel them in and out . The only problem was that the birds like the trees , too . Sometimes I had to do some re - washing . MR . HUNNICUTT : So in those days you use cloth diapers ? Today we use disposable diapers . How do you think you would 've done if you had disposable diapers ? MRS . DAVIDSON : At one point , when our children were out playing Kick the Can , there were over 40 children on the lane . There were about 20 or 21 houses . There were almost as many dogs . It was just a glorious place for them to grow up . They seem to get along remarkably well most of the time , especially in the early days . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes . We went down there on the opening , and got the radioactive dimes on that occasion . The museum at that time was down at Jefferson Circle . I don 't think any of us ever had our hair stand out on the Van De Graff generator or whatever it was , but we took the children . We went out ourselves . Of course my husband was interested in that kind of thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : Sometimes they walked to Jefferson , but by that time they were carrying pretty heavy books . One of the neighbors on Outer Drive wanted to have a carpool , so we joined that . MRS . DAVIDSON : When Anne was in the fifth grade , they had to write what they did on Friday nights . The teacher would call me and say , " Is it true that you gave your children ice water and watched TV on Friday nights ? " That was how generous we were with them . We didn 't get a TV until they were probably five or six years old . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course it was black and white . The reason we got it - I guess finally it was that the children were always going to the neighbors ' house to watch TV . We decided that we should get our own . They watched things like " Pinky Lee " and I 've forgotten what else . MRS . DAVIDSON : I remember that fondly because my first real date with my husband was going to dinner there with him . He invited me to go to a concert in Knoxville , and his excuse was that we should get to know each other better before he took me to the city with him . That was one thing . I remember there were parties there , and our company had a party at the Oak Terrace Ballroom . One of the NEPA fellows wore a Tarzan costume , which was mostly nothing . It turned out that he lived in the neighborhood . MR . HUNNICUTT : What was the Oak Terrace ballroom - where was it located ? MRS . DAVIDSON : That was just below the dormitory where I lived in Columbia Hall . Jack went there looking for me , he thought I would eat breakfast there and then he could have breakfast with me ; but I ate in the dormitory . He didn 't find me there . When we came back from our bicycle ride to Concord Park , I remember we stopped by there , and he drank two or three Mountain Dew drinks . That surprised me , but we had worked off a lot of sweat . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , we took our children out there and saw " Lawrence of Arabia " and " The 10 Commandment " and those things . It was quite nice . MR . HUNNICUTT : Where was it located ? MRS . DAVIDSON : It was about where Kroger 's - where that is now , on the southeast part of Illinois Avenue . It was a nice thing . That was a special treat for the children to go out there . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't think so . I think they were mostly in the car . They had a drawing one time , Jack won something . It was actually nothing , but he did win . MRS . DAVIDSON : I sure did . My three children were born there . It was a green structure , like so many of the buildings in Oak Ridge . I guess the present building is built on that place . It was okay . I didn 't have any problems with it , except after my second child . I had a staph infection from the hospital . Even an Army wife with a private room got an infection there . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , I think they also had been recruited ; and a lot of them were from Tulane University . The time I was sick with my infection , they were having a reunion at Tulane , and my doctor and another one were gone for the reunion . I didn 't like the one who took care of me . He didn 't do a good job . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was okay . I don 't remember having any problems with it . We knew Dr . Rogers from our church , and we went to him . He was called away to the service , I believe . Maybe it was the Korean War , but then he came back . MRS . DAVIDSON : We met at Pine Valley School . The choir sat on the bleachers , and the minister sat under the halo of the basketball net . My husband was a Methodist , and he went to the First Methodist Church . They had a big youth group there . When we were first married , we tried to take them both in . We went to Sunday school one place , and church another until we finally settled on the Presbyterian . It was smaller , and we knew more people . MR . HUNNICUTT : Thinking back , what do you like best about Oak Ridge ? MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course the people . I love my trees and my house . I love all the activities . Both my husband and I have always loved music and enjoy the concerts a lot . The symphony concerts with Waldo Cohn conducting were held at Jefferson Junior High on the Kentucky Avenue hill . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you think back about all the people that you knew in the early days ? Do you think it was unusual for everybody to get along - the many people that were here ? MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , I guess so . I didn 't think about it because we just did . It was just fun . Everybody was away from home , and we had to be family for each other . That was particularly true in this close neighborhood . MRS . DAVIDSON : I 'm pleased for the most part . I think we 've made good progress . We 've kept up with the outside world . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't know . I 'll probably think of things after you leave . Nothing particular comes to mind . MR . HUNNICUTT : I would like to thank you for your time , and I think this interview will be very helpful for someone in the future to see how you lived in Oak Ridge in the early days . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think we came through at the very best of times . It was not the pressure of war , but we were growing community . I think things were happening at the Lab . Both of my husband and I loved the Lab because there were so many good things going on out there . It gives us hope for the future . MR . HUNNICUTT : I thank you very much for your time . [ Editor 's Note : This transcript has been edited at Mrs . Davidson 's request . The corresponding audio and video components have remained unchanged . ] Your rating was saved . you wish to report :

MR . HUNNICUTT : This interview is for the Center of Oak Ridge Oral History . The date is November 8 , 2012 . I am Don Hunnicutt in the home of Mrs . Mary Ann Davidson , 117 Orange Lane , Oak Ridge , Tennessee , to take her oral history about living in Oak Ridge , Tennessee . Please state your full name and your place of birth and your date of birth . MRS . DAVIDSON : My name is Mary Ann Davidson . My date of birth is January 12 , 1925 . I was born in Louisville , Kentucky . I lived there all my early life until I graduated from college . MRS . DAVIDSON : My father was William H . Courtenay . He was born in 1890 , on March 3 . He was in World War I and lived his entire life in Louisville and Shelbyville , Kentucky . He worked for the Mengel Company . They imported mahogany and hardwood from Africa and Central America . He delivered those to customers . He didn 't consider himself a salesman , but he sold them to the furniture factory - furniture makers around Kentucky , mostly Indiana and Cincinnati and some in Tennessee . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , he did not . The Louisville Male High School was considered a fine school at that time . They said that graduates could enter Harvard in their second year . The principal had written textbooks that were apparently used all over . But my father was interested in raising ponies . His father had a farm in Shelbyville , Kentucky . If you 'd didn 't make the grade , you are special . And Dr . Ruben Post - Halleck , the famous principal of the school , told him if he took an exam in math , he could be entered back in . He did that , and he aced the test . He was back in . Then he was a special in English , so they told him if he memorized the " Lady of the Lake " and said that he could get back in school . So he did that . I think he never did finish . He was a twin , and his twin was more of an engineering type and went to manual training high school . MRS . DAVIDSON : She grew up in several small towns in western Kentucky . Her father worked for the L & N Railroad . She had her high school in Hopkinsville , Kentucky . She had to stay home - or she went to junior college nearby . She had a scholarship to Randolph Macon Women 's College , but she couldn 't take it because her mother was ill and died at age 50 . It was about the year I was born , I think . MRS . DAVIDSON : His name was William Howard Courtenay III . My father was named for his uncle , who was also William Howard . My older brother works for Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green in the physics department . He made instruments . My younger brother was a pediatrician in Louisville , and he is still living on a farm in Shelbyville . He 's interested in Kentucky antiques . MRS . DAVIDSON : I went to an unusual kindergarten and first grade . I was at what they called the Enterprise Branch of I . N . Bloom School . It was only kindergarten and first grade . It was in the older building , where we had a Pot Belly Stove . I think we had a maid to help us take our leggings off in the cold weather - galoshes . It was really a wonderful school . It was almost like a private one . It was public . We did things like making butter and we had an orchestra . I played the triangle . I had started a little bit earlier when my younger brother was born . Louisville had half semester , half - year grades . I would 've been a half year , but I skipped the last half of kindergarten . I went to the school board and took a test and went on , so they put me in the regular school year . I went through the big school the I . N . Bloom School and Highland Junior High School in Louisville . Then I went to Atherton High School for Girls . The Louisville public schools were segregated - boys and girls . There were about 900 girls at Atherton . My graduating class was about 200 , and I was the valedictorian . MRS . DAVIDSON : They are pants to keep your legs warm . They zipped up from the inside of the ankle bone up to about knee - high , I guess it was . They were a royal pain to take on and off , so the teacher had to have help to do that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was just ordinary . I 'm sure the girls wore dresses , and the little boys wore suits - not suits , but pants and shirts . MRS . DAVIDSON : I came to Oak Ridge after I graduated from college . I had two years of getting a master 's at Emory while I worked at my alma mater , Agnes Scott College in Decatur , Georgia . I was the chemistry lab instructor . So after those two years were up , I was interested in working in chemistry or biochemistry . My master 's was in biochemistry . In Louisville , there was nothing in that field , except liquor and paint - neither of which I was interested in . In Atlanta , I would like to stay in Atlanta , I heard that Oak Ridge was an interesting new place , and a lot was going on here . One of my dear college friends had recently married a physicist from the University of Kentucky , so I visited them here . I guess that must have been 1947 . Her husband was working at NEPA . He said they were looking for people with a chemistry degree . I applied , and I was accepted . I didn 't know that until I had completed the clearance , so I took the opportunity to go to Europe at an American youth hostel bicycle tour of Western Europe in the summer of 1948 . When I got home , I found that I had indeed gotten the job at Oak Ridge . So I came down here . MRS . DAVIDSON : I was wondering that . I think I came by train . When I interviewed earlier in the spring , my interview was at the Andrew Johnson Hotel . It was one of the private rooms . I had never seen the company here . I think I must have been met by a car and driver and brought to Oak Ridge . MRS . DAVIDSON : I came in through the Vermont Gateway , which is where the gas station is now on the corner of what I call Vermont . They call it North Rutgers now . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , I think it must 've been after that . That would 've been at Christmas time . When I applied , I imagine it was early spring . MRS . DAVIDSON : We called the company NEPA , for Nuclear Energy for the Propulsion of Aircraft . It was managed by the Fairchild Corporation the way Union Carbide or one of the other contractors managed the lab . I did not know until the first day I went to work just what the company was doing . They handed me a volume of information that said , " We are looking for - we are trying to make an airplane powered by nuclear energy that could fly to Russia and back without refueling . " That was a great shock to me . MRS . DAVIDSON : I lived in Columbia Hall Dormitory . I was very surprised to find that the rent was $ 15 a month until I realized it was one very small room . That was my living quarters . I took the opportunity to stay out of it as much as possible . I did that by babysitting in some of the B and D houses in the evening . Grandmothers were not here since it was a closed community . Babysitters were in short supply , and even though I didn 't need the money , it was good to get out of the dormitory . MRS . DAVIDSON : The dormitory was like Cheyenne Hall . It was the same type of building . It had wooden stairways from the second - floor hall down on each end . I lived on the second floor . Our dormitory was mostly nurses , since it was up on the hill next to the hospital - I think where the west parking lot is now . There was a kitchen on each end where we could have our own breakfast . Of course we were at the plant at lunchtime , and then we usually went out to supper . I opened the refrigerator door one morning and somebody 's milk came spilling out down my front . Everybody just stuffed things into the refrigerator . MRS . DAVIDSON : I had a single room with a twin bed and enough room to walk to the window by the bed . There was a little table that served as a desk with a chair . There was a much coveted dormitory dresser - a tall one with a number of drawers . They were very popular . MRS . DAVIDSON : They had a wonderful bus service here . Travel wasn 't really a problem . We walked , of course , from the dormitory to Jackson Square and ate supper usually at the Mayflower , which is where I first saw my husband - to - be . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was on the corner of Tennessee , right across from the Soup Kitchen and the Texaco gas station there on the northeast corner . It was a very popular place . In fact , there were several places you could eat . It was the Central Cafeteria , and the T & C Cafeteria in Jackson Square , which is about where the Epicurean is now toward the garden . MRS . DAVIDSON : It must 've been the A & P on Jackson Square . Jackson Square was really the center of activity as far as I was concerned at that time . I still love it . I hope it keeps going . MRS . DAVIDSON : The department stores - the big department store was Taylor 's at the time . They had a wonderful book department headed by Mrs . Keyes , whose daughter I knew at work . They had really fine art books and other books that they would have a great sale on once or twice a year . We were very happy with that . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was in the middle of the block between where Big Ed 's is in the corner . I guess it 's mostly used by the engineering company now . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , not frequently , but I went and saw - there was a theater down at Big Ed 's in Jackson Square and where the Playhouse is now . That was the main one . MRS . DAVIDSON : Henebree . McCrory 's 5 & 10 was there . There was a drugstore - a Service Drugstore . I guess that was where Big Ed 's is now , on the very corner . There was Jackson Square Pharmacy , and on the other side the Hamilton Bank was there next to the movie theater . And Samuel 's Men 's Store was a very nice store . The Jackson Square Pharmacy was there , but in between , which the Pharmacy later took over was a Kay 's Ice Cream Store . We used to go there and - my husband and I would when we were dating . I liked to get coffee with ice cream in it , so we went there . MRS . DAVIDSON : I can 't say that I do . It was just a given , I suppose . It didn 't make a big dent in my memory . After six months of the dormitory , I moved to a D house on Norman Lane . That was another era . MRS . DAVIDSON : A D house was a large three bedroom house . They were very much desired . They were really nice houses - still a lot of them are . The house was - there were five other girls who lived there - two of whom had been college friends . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , it would 've been upstairs . It was the second one to the end . A radiation technologist lived on the corner , and I lived there with school teachers and nurses who made up most of the dorm . MR . HUNNICUTT : Let 's talk a little bit about the dorm again . If I had a message for you or someone left a message for you , how did you retrieve your messages ? Was there a desk when you went in ? MRS . DAVIDSON : There was a desk downstairs . I remember the Valentine 's Day - I guess it must 've been 1949 . The message was that I had some flowers , some red roses . I had just met my husband - to - be at that time . I got all excited , and when I got to the desk , it was from somebody else . I enjoyed the red roses , but not as much as I might have . The thing was that there were ladies - a lot of the women who lived in the dorm worked on the night shift . They would sit around a large kind of living room , I guess they called it . They were all staring when I got flowers . I had to walk around , and it was embarrassing . MRS . DAVIDSON : I was there in the winter of 1948 . I 'm very cold natured , but I don 't remember being cold . We had those heavy navy blanket - navy blue blankets . This brings up a story if I jump to it later on . We were moved from the D house after another six months into the brand - new Garden Apartments on Villanova Road . They needed our D house for families . The people who moved in were the Andersons of the Anderson Hilltop Grocery . Of course , the furniture all belonged to the government there . So the Garden Apartments were not furnished , so we had dwindled down from 6 to 4 people who needed furniture . I took a day off and went to an auction the government set up down at the warehouses . I got seven beds and three or four dressers - much more than I could have used . But the beds were in great demand at work because all the young men who worked there were having children and needed beds . So we took the four . Also I got two sofas , and we could use but one ; so I sold one . They were really shabby awful sofas . Since it was all going to surplus anyway , we switched and took the nice sofa from the D house and left them the bad one . It was all taken away anyhow , so I didn 't feel too bad about that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't really remember about the telephone . We didn 't use the telephone much . We never used it for long - distance except for emergencies and calls home . I don 't remember that as being a problem particularly . MRS . DAVIDSON : I suppose I went on the bus . I did not have a car . One of the housemates from Norman Lane had gotten the car , but she would 've been at work at K - 25 . I don 't know . I may have gotten a ride . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess I paid somebody to deliver it . I don 't know . Maybe some of the fellows at work picked up their beds that they wanted . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was one of those warehouses down at the [ Oak Ridge ] Turnpike on Warehouse Road . I don 't know exactly where it was . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess it was on the bulletin boards at work , or there was a newspaper at the Lab . I guess I heard about it that way . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think probably so - in the newsletters they came around , also at the recreation building - the rec hall - at Jackson Square that was the library upstairs and the rec hall downstairs . Word - of - mouth - I don 't remember . We had a need and found the answer to it . MRS . DAVIDSON : I had to punch a clock at eight in the morning when I first started . I guess we got out at 4 : 30 or 5 o ' clock . We had bus service that went from the bus terminal - the Central one - that 's now by Bus Terminal Road . Later on after we were married , we lived on Waddell Circle and went from there to the Jefferson bus terminal . I went - I rode on the K - 25 bus , and they went out past K - 25 to the road that the powerhouse was on and NEPA was beyond that out by the river . MRS . DAVIDSON : There was some kind of management services office . I 'm not sure what it was called - the Roane Anderson Corporation at that time , I guess . I think that 's where I rented the dormitory room . I probably got bus tokens - I guess I got the tokens of the bus terminal . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think I had a checking account probably at Hamilton Bank in Jackson Square . I don 't recall otherwise . I know I did later . One thing I wanted to say about the buses - if you wanted to go to Clinton to do any shopping , more than what you could have in Oak Ridge or to meet somebody or something , there was a bus that ran frequently back and forth between the bus terminal and Clinton . There was a young man on the bus who had a sing - songy sales pitch for " peanuts , popcorn , Cracker Jacks , candy , and chewing gum . " He wouldn 't drive , but he would sell his wares all the way to Clinton and back . I always wondered who that was because he obviously had some talent . MRS . DAVIDSON : I 'm sure I did . I don 't know what became of it . I guess I had to turn it back in . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think somebody just got - one of the guards got on the bus and checked everybody 's badges . It was not a big thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : Probably . I don 't remember . What I do remember about that was my mother was coming down one time for my birthday - it must 've been in January 1949 . She rode the train . I told her that I would get a ride to meet her . Of course , the train didn 't stop at Oak Ridge . It went on to Knoxville , so I bummed a ride with one of the men in our group . He was actually the technical assistant to the director . His car was a broken down old thing with no floorboards in the back seat , which was pretty bad when my mother saw it . But she didn 't see it because when we got to Knoxville , she was not there . When we were coming back from the gateway entrance , she was not there . There was a message that she was waiting for us at the Elza Gate Station . She had told the conductor she had to get off at Oak Ridge . That 's where she was going , and I was going to meet her . So she slid down the Elza bank over there . She had my birthday cake - a large chocolate cake . She slid downhill with that , and somehow they stopped her at the guard gate at Elza . She waited there for us . MRS . DAVIDSON : Just for her - let her off like a milk train . They ordinarily didn 't stop there , but she wouldn 't have it otherwise . MRS . DAVIDSON : I used the library and rec hall . On Sunday afternoons , they played music ; and you could sit and write letters home , which is what I think I did a good bit . Later on in the better weather , there were tennis courts and a swimming pool . I don 't remember going to movies much . We went to church groups . There were so many young people ; it was just like a party all the time . Nothing in particular stands out . It was just fun . MRS . DAVIDSON : In the company I was , that was not true . There were a lot of women of course - of course , the dormitory was full of school teachers and nurses . But NEPA was mostly men . There were two parts to the Fairchild - the science and engineering part , which was bigger . I happen to be in the research part . My boss was a chemist - Vince Calkins . It was my job to - this was a real shocker to me - to find a chemical that would protect the human body against radiation for the reactor that was supposed to be in the airplane to Russia . I had no background for that kind of thing . I was just fresh out of college really . I realized I was out of my depth , but they decided - he was a pharmacist , I believe , and he wanted to do experiments with rats . They brought in the rat colony . By that time we had a couple of assistants , and I was supposed to be the group leader . One of the men , Ray Waldrop - you may have talked to him . I asked him if he minded working for a woman because he was really more experienced than I , although I had the degree . It was fine with him . There was also another worker , Saul Segal , who was quite a character in his own right . I took the rats in the cages over to the reactor , the " Old Lady " at X - 10 , and put them through what they called " rabbits " and radiated them for certain amount of time . We couldn 't kill the darn things . Then we used the older ones that had already been radiated , they were just tough as anything . I think the experiment was really a failure , although they may have found that to be the case in some later work with older people - that the cells are not dividing as fast and they 're not as subject to radiation . But we didn 't get into that . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was actually not K - 25 . It was beyond there . As I said , the bus took us - the bus dumped people off at K - 25 , and they went on west to just before you get to the Gallaher Bridge . You turn right there and go right past the power station there . It was used for a long time - the power house , and then NEPA was beyond that . The native rats came in - was it domestic experimental rats ? That was not good . I had a janitor who helped me , even though he could 've lost his job for doing it . He helped me clean cages . I always appreciated that . MRS . DAVIDSON : When they got rid of the rats , which was a blessing , my group leader then became Bill Browning , who was a fine scientist . He worked on the Van de Graaff generator . We had an interesting argument . Saul Segal thought he should be the one to do it since he was a man and I was a woman who would be leaving soon ; and it turned out that he left for California before I had left to have my baby . His argument didn 't hold with me anyway , but we argued about that some . We did run the Van de Graaff , and we also did some experiments on metallic sodium . It was nasty stuff to work with . It caught on fire if it was exposed to air . You had to work with that under oil in the glove box . I think that work all had to be repeated after NEPA left for Cincinnati with G . E . . When they moved part of NEPA to X - 10 , they called it the ANP , or something about aircraft and nuclear power . I was not connected with that because my first baby was born in August 1951 . I left in July . MRS . DAVIDSON : I heard somebody say that they had to repeat it all . My boss , the Division Director of Chemistry was interested in vitamin E , and thought it had a lot of protective influence . We worked with that . That was some of the work I did in chemistry - the lab part of it in the early days . It was not good work , I think . I 'm not blaming myself , but some of the other men who were doing chemical work - I think altogether we didn 't come up with anything . MRS . DAVIDSON : It may have been ahead of it 's time for nuclear submarines . I don 't know whether the engineering people thought that or not . In our group which was the chemistry and the physics , my friend who got me the job was Jim Trice . A fellow named Art Miller and somebody named Coneybearwere in the Physics Division . And then there were some others - Fred Maienschein . I did some work for him one time . It was work on beryllium for one thing . I didn 't work with any of the active beryllium . I didn 't do any lab work then , but I did some journal research . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't think they were that far along . I 'm not sure what happened to that part of it . As I said , in July of 1951 they moved to Cincinnati , Evensville , above Cincinnati . I don 't know how many people actually went up there . Most of my friends moved elsewhere . MR . HUNNICUTT : You mentioned the location of the operation was past the steam plant that was on the Clinch River . Was that the same location where the S - 50 project was located ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I think that was the name of our plot of land . I think those - I never was quite sure how they got the designations , but that was the Fairchild domain , I think . MRS . DAVIDSON : Really , it was just when our eyes met . It was very romantic . He followed our group home to the Columbia Hall to see where I lived . But at the time I thought he was too young , and I didn 't think he was following me . I was with a group of other girls . Later on , one of the women in the dormitory , who was a gym teacher in the Oak Ridge schools , told me I really ought to meet Jack Davidson that he loved to ride bicycles ; I was just back from my bicycle trip in Europe . I didn 't know who he was , and then I went to a church group meeting at my Presbyterian Church for young people one Sunday evening . A friend of mine had brought Jack Davidson , and he was the one whose eyes I had met and he had met mine . Sure enough , he loved to ride bicycles . That was the start of a good thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : We did a little bit . On our dates , that 's really what we did mostly at first . We rode out to West Outer Drive and had those wonderful big hills , not too much traffic at that time . We went out to the water tower at the top of Louisiana and had a picnic , and then rode back . When we got really good , we rode our bicycles over to Concord Park one day . I had gotten some chicken breasts at the grocery . I guess it was the A & P at Jackson Square . I was going to fry them for a picnic to take along over to Concord Park . When I went to the refrigerator to get them , they had turned into wings . Somebody had eaten my chicken breast . Jack was a good sport about that . He didn 't care . We had a nice ride . It was before they had improved Lovell Road . It was a pretty rough ride over there , but we were able to enjoy it . MRS . DAVIDSON : He had his bicycle . It was probably a Grey Stone . For me , he rented a bicycle from his work friend . I had forgotten what his name was . We went over to one of the D Streets , I think , and rode them . I didn 't have my English 3 - speed here . I guess I brought it later , but at that time I didn 't have it . MRS . DAVIDSON : That was a problem . I complained to my friend Jim Trice 's wife , Dot , who happened to live around the corner on Outer Drive at that time . She said the boardwalk was used a lot for dating , and of course the theaters . I guess we were outdoors people . I don 't know . MRS . DAVIDSON : He was a graduate of Georgia Tech . At the time he graduated , he was very young . He came up to see about a job , and he was drafted . No , he was in danger of being drafted right away , but they didn 't hire him . He did go to work for NASA , which was at that time NACA , in Virginia ; and worked over there a short time before he was taken into the Army . He had gone through Georgia Tech on a " War Manpower " loan . He was sent to some place to be an MP , I think . He wrote a night letter , which is a 50 - word telegram that was cheaper at night . He wrote a night letter to Stimson , the Secretary of War , telling them they had paid for his college education ; and here he was sitting in a camp doing nothing down in Alabama . He was transferred to the SED , he would never say that was the reason he was transferred . It may or may not have been . He arrived with the SED - he arrived in Oak Ridge the day Roosevelt died , which was in April 1945 , he was here with his group for maybe six weeks before they went out to Los Alamos . So he spent the rest of the war out there . Then he used his G . I . Bill - he stayed on at Los Alamos . They told them they would let him out of the Army if he would agree to stay on as a civilian . So he took that . Then when he did leave , he went to Annapolis and took a liberal arts course because he felt that he had missed out on it at Georgia Tech . He had a year at St . John 's College of Annapolis ; and then all along I guess he thought he would like to come back here . He came back - he arrived on Armistice Day , now Veterans Day , of 1948 . I was here a couple of months before he came , but we met shortly after Christmas in 1949 . MRS . DAVIDSON : Too long . We were married in May 1950 . He wanted to pay off his loan before we could get married , so I helped him along with that . I fed him some . He was very welcome at the D House of girls . I was going to tell you that during the war , there were nine girls in the house , and they slept on shifts on the bunk beds . There were only six of us when I was there . There were a couple of the boyfriends around , and one of them cut the grass . I think Jack did the - empty the clinkers from the furnace , the coal furnace . They made themselves useful . They got their dinner . MRS . DAVIDSON : Most of the houses were a very good design really , and a whole lot better built than we gave them credit for . But each one that I knew of had a corner set off or closed off as a coal storage place that could be filled through a window from the outside , and then you could use the - there was an opening on the inside that you could use to put coal into the furnace . That was awful of course , but that 's what all the houses were doing in that time , too . We had a yard full of clinkers over there . MRS . DAVIDSON : We were taken care of by a Big Brother - the government . They brought the coal around , and you didn 't do a thing . That was part of the rent . When we got our house here on Orange Lane , that 's another story . Are you ready for that yet ? MRS . DAVIDSON : We went back to my home in Louisville , Kentucky , to be married . We had planned to fly to Nashville , but it turned out the Delta Queen was coming through Louisville the next morning . My mother had told us we could not get married the week before because it was too busy with Derby Day . So we delayed until May 13 . Then we spent the night in Louisville at the Brown Hotel , where she pulled some strings to get us a room because it was still very full of visitors from the Derby . We got on the Delta Queen , and our friends were all on the dock to see us off . They had us almost convinced that we were on Daylight Saving Time , and the Delta Queen was not , and we had missed it . But we rode down just as far as Paducah . We were anxious to start in life you know . We lived on Wadell Circle in a K apartment . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was a two - story thing . I guess it was a two - bedroom up above , and we had K - 1 . It was sort of underground at the front and open at the back . We had a nice back porch . There was a closet under the stairway and a very small kitchen . It had a table that folded down . It was not as compact as a flattop , but the furnishings that they had did double duty . You could fold it up and have more room . MRS . DAVIDSON : The K apartment was heated with the coal furnace , but there was a janitor who came around and took care of it for us . We were taken care of by Roane Anderson . MRS . DAVIDSON : We lived in the K from May 1950 , until we got this house in July 1952 . It was said - the word around town was that you couldn 't get a two - bedroom house unless you had three children , all of different sex . We had been on the list for this house ever since we knew our daughter was coming along . That was a long time to wait . We had been offered two houses - Florida Avenue , where the parking was across the street and the backyard just dropped off . We thought that was totally unsuitable for a new child . We turned both of those down . If we had turned this one down , we would 've gone to the bottom of the long list . But we loved this place of the trees and the dead end lane neighborhood . So we sat outside in front all weekend because we were not top on the list . The reason the other people didn 't take it was that the previous owner , Jim Cox and Charlotte , had put in an oil furnace ; and nobody wanted to pay $ 200 for the oil furnace . Since I had been working , we had saved my salary from work , and we had $ 200 to pay . Also , they didn 't want to be in the high rent district . This house rented for something like $ 45 instead of $ 43 in the lower rent districts . MRS . DAVIDSON : The Oak Ridge cemesto houses that were built - I think this house was built in the fall of 1944 or 1943 . Maybe it was ' 43 . The B house has two bedrooms and of course a bath and a kitchen with a dinette into a long narrow living room . It was about 24 feet by 40 something feet . It was small and convenient . It didn 't have much storage space , but it 's been a wonderful house for us because of the trees . We are on a greenbelt , and I enjoy that very much . It 's a nice private neighborhood just above Jackson Square . MRS . DAVIDSON : Our cemesto has a fireplace , and it had a complete brick wall . Some of the B houses had a brick wall just beyond the fireplace . MRS . DAVIDSON : There are hardwood floors in all the cemestos , I believe . Our house has maple flooring , and a lot of them had oak . Wood was hard to come by in the wartime . We love the color - the reddish color of the maple . MRS . DAVIDSON : Adele is our second daughter , and she was two years younger . Our son is Bill Davidson or William . He was born in November of 1954 . He 's just now turning 58 . MRS . DAVIDSON : All three of our children went to Cedar Hill . They had split grades there , so I think the classes were one half size . They would take the kids a half from one grade , and half from the next grade , and that worked out just fine . MRS . DAVIDSON : Cedar Hill was wonderful . It was very special . Mr . Dodd was the principal , and he saw to it - he had the best teachers or at least as good as any . Actually in those days all the teachers and Oak Ridge were special because many of them had been recruited from Columbia Teachers College , along with the superintendent . Others were specially recruited for the job . They were a group a part , I think , from a lot of teachers . MRS . DAVIDSON : The girls both went to Jefferson when it was on the hill at Jackson Square , and Bill was in the first year at the new Jefferson that was over on Fairbanks Road . His was the first class there . They all went through Oak Ridge High . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you recall some of the classes your daughters took while they were in junior high ? Was there Home Ec . or things related to girls ? MRS . DAVIDSON : No , they were on the college prep track . They took eighth grade algebra and that kind of thing . Of course English and math and social studies and science - our older girl I think took biology ; and I 'm not sure if Adele had a more general science course . It just depended on the teacher that they had . They had an excellent education , and the girls were both Merit semifinalists . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course . I was in the PTA . I 'm not sure if I was ever a room mother , but I of course helped with parties and things . MRS . DAVIDSON : The teachers recruited them from each class to help with parties mostly . They helped with any activities that they didn 't really have time to do . MRS . DAVIDSON : Parent - Teacher Association , a time honored group . It got extra things for the school . I got involved with raincoats for the school patrol . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess maybe I was a treasurer of the Cedar Hill PTA , and this goal was to get those yellow slicker raincoat so kids could be visible to the drivers . I found out how much the things cost , and then I estimated postage . At the PTA meeting , Alvin Weinberg was president . He had a son or two in school at the time . He took me to task for estimating the postage , so I had to ask for just the money for the coats themselves since I didn 't really know what the postage is going to be . I thought that was interesting that he wanted to keep it to the exact penny . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think they just wore what the other kids wore . One day we had a deep snow and Bill was in kindergarten , and the snow was up over their boots . I think he had some corduroys . The teacher was making the kids take their pants off and dry them on the radiator , and he wouldn 't do it . I had to go up to the school and take him some fresh pants , some dry clothes . He was very young - just four when he started . MR . HUNNICUTT : Let 's go back a few years . Do you remember 1945 when they dropped the bomb on Japan ? You remember where you were ? And what was your reaction ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I do remember that very clearly because it was the summer after my junior year in college , and I was a camp counselor up in Door County , Wisconsin . There was no electricity at the camp , so we counselors - after we got the kids to bed , went to the state park nearby . This was at Fish Creek , Wisconsin . We would listen to people 's car radios . We knew for about a week that something was happening , but we didn 't know just what . It was very deeply moving when the bomb was dropped , and we thought it would bring an end to the war . Of course , I had friends and a brother on Guam and a cousin was in Europe and others . So that was very deeply moving . I had a book of poetry - my favorite poems at the camp with me . One of my 12 - year - olds picked out a poem - " Once to every man and nation comes a moment to decide " - she read that , and I thought that was very astute of her , a youngster to be able to do that . MRS . DAVIDSON : My husband thought they should have dropped a sample first , but I didn 't feel that way since the first bomb didn 't phase the Japanese . I didn 't think the test one would have either . I was just so glad that the war was over . People could settle down and get into real life again . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think I was in transition from the dormitory to the house , and my husband 's brothers came up from Georgia to witness the opening . So we drove in their car around , and we watched the parade from , I believe , down on the eastern end of the Turnpike down near the warehouses to get out of the traffic . We never could figure out why they invited Marie " The Body " McDonald and [ inaudible ] to ride in the open car for the parade . We couldn 't figure out what they had to do with it , but we did see the burning of the magnesium ribbon . That was exciting . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was only toward town from Elza Gate . I know the central part of town , the Jackson Square area , was very crowded . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think they name the streets for famous cities in the country , and of course the alphabetical designations were very helpful . But Jackson Square , I assume , was named for New Orleans . That 's all I know about it . MRS . DAVIDSON : Sometimes you would pick up the telephone , and the other party was talking . I believe they had different rings . I think maybe the other party had one ring , and we had two . There were four - party lines , but if we were on a four - party line , only the other one was active . I think maybe we were . The other two lines were not being used . MR . HUNNICUTT : When you are raising your family , did you hang your clothes outside on the clothesline ? Did you have a dryer ? What did you use ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I hung them outside on the clothesline . As I said , when we moved here , Anne was a year old . Not much more than three years after that , we had three babies . I was able to talk my husband into getting a dryer that time . Before that , he had built a pulley out of my kitchen window . There was a drop off in the back , and he was able to string it to a tree in the woods . I was able to reel those cloth diapers and reel them in and out . The only problem was that the birds like the trees , too . Sometimes I had to do some re - washing . MR . HUNNICUTT : So in those days you use cloth diapers ? Today we use disposable diapers . How do you think you would 've done if you had disposable diapers ? MRS . DAVIDSON : At one point , when our children were out playing Kick the Can , there were over 40 children on the lane . There were about 20 or 21 houses . There were almost as many dogs . It was just a glorious place for them to grow up . They seem to get along remarkably well most of the time , especially in the early days . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes . We went down there on the opening , and got the radioactive dimes on that occasion . The museum at that time was down at Jefferson Circle . I don 't think any of us ever had our hair stand out on the Van De Graff generator or whatever it was , but we took the children . We went out ourselves . Of course my husband was interested in that kind of thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : Sometimes they walked to Jefferson , but by that time they were carrying pretty heavy books . One of the neighbors on Outer Drive wanted to have a carpool , so we joined that . MRS . DAVIDSON : When Anne was in the fifth grade , they had to write what they did on Friday nights . The teacher would call me and say , " Is it true that you gave your children ice water and watched TV on Friday nights ? " That was how generous we were with them . We didn 't get a TV until they were probably five or six years old . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course it was black and white . The reason we got it - I guess finally it was that the children were always going to the neighbors ' house to watch TV . We decided that we should get our own . They watched things like " Pinky Lee " and I 've forgotten what else . MRS . DAVIDSON : I remember that fondly because my first real date with my husband was going to dinner there with him . He invited me to go to a concert in Knoxville , and his excuse was that we should get to know each other better before he took me to the city with him . That was one thing . I remember there were parties there , and our company had a party at the Oak Terrace Ballroom . One of the NEPA fellows wore a Tarzan costume , which was mostly nothing . It turned out that he lived in the neighborhood . MRS . DAVIDSON : That was just below the dormitory where I lived in Columbia Hall . Jack went there looking for me , he thought I would eat breakfast there and then he could have breakfast with me ; but I ate in the dormitory . He didn 't find me there . When we came back from our bicycle ride to Concord Park , I remember we stopped by there , and he drank two or three Mountain Dew drinks . That surprised me , but we had worked off a lot of sweat . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , we took our children out there and saw " Lawrence of Arabia " and " The 10 Commandment " and those things . It was quite nice . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was about where Kroger 's - where that is now , on the southeast part of Illinois Avenue . It was a nice thing . That was a special treat for the children to go out there . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't think so . I think they were mostly in the car . They had a drawing one time , Jack won something . It was actually nothing , but he did win . MRS . DAVIDSON : I sure did . My three children were born there . It was a green structure , like so many of the buildings in Oak Ridge . I guess the present building is built on that place . It was okay . I didn 't have any problems with it , except after my second child . I had a staph infection from the hospital . Even an Army wife with a private room got an infection there . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , I think they also had been recruited ; and a lot of them were from Tulane University . The time I was sick with my infection , they were having a reunion at Tulane , and my doctor and another one were gone for the reunion . I didn 't like the one who took care of me . He didn 't do a good job . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was okay . I don 't remember having any problems with it . We knew Dr . Rogers from our church , and we went to him . He was called away to the service , I believe . Maybe it was the Korean War , but then he came back . MRS . DAVIDSON : We met at Pine Valley School . The choir sat on the bleachers , and the minister sat under the halo of the basketball net . My husband was a Methodist , and he went to the First Methodist Church . They had a big youth group there . When we were first married , we tried to take them both in . We went to Sunday school one place , and church another until we finally settled on the Presbyterian . It was smaller , and we knew more people . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course the people . I love my trees and my house . I love all the activities . Both my husband and I have always loved music and enjoy the concerts a lot . The symphony concerts with Waldo Cohn conducting were held at Jefferson Junior High on the Kentucky Avenue hill . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you think back about all the people that you knew in the early days ? Do you think it was unusual for everybody to get along - the many people that were here ? MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , I guess so . I didn 't think about it because we just did . It was just fun . Everybody was away from home , and we had to be family for each other . That was particularly true in this close neighborhood . MRS . DAVIDSON : I 'm pleased for the most part . I think we 've made good progress . We 've kept up with the outside world . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think we came through at the very best of times . It was not the pressure of war , but we were growing community . I think things were happening at the Lab . Both of my husband and I loved the Lab because there were so many good things going on out there . It gives us hope for the future . [ Editor 's Note : This transcript has been edited at Mrs . Davidson 's request . The corresponding audio and video components have remained unchanged . ] Click tabs to swap between content that is broken into logical sections . MR . HUNNICUTT : This interview is for the Center of Oak Ridge Oral History . The date is November 8 , 2012 . I am Don Hunnicutt in the home of Mrs . Mary Ann Davidson , 117 Orange Lane , Oak Ridge , Tennessee , to take her oral history about living in Oak Ridge , Tennessee . Please state your full name and your place of birth and your date of birth . MRS . DAVIDSON : My name is Mary Ann Davidson . My date of birth is January 12 , 1925 . I was born in Louisville , Kentucky . I lived there all my early life until I graduated from college . MRS . DAVIDSON : My father was William H . Courtenay . He was born in 1890 , on March 3 . He was in World War I and lived his entire life in Louisville and Shelbyville , Kentucky . He worked for the Mengel Company . They imported mahogany and hardwood from Africa and Central America . He delivered those to customers . He didn 't consider himself a salesman , but he sold them to the furniture factory - furniture makers around Kentucky , mostly Indiana and Cincinnati and some in Tennessee . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , he did not . The Louisville Male High School was considered a fine school at that time . They said that graduates could enter Harvard in their second year . The principal had written textbooks that were apparently used all over . But my father was interested in raising ponies . His father had a farm in Shelbyville , Kentucky . If you 'd didn 't make the grade , you are special . And Dr . Ruben Post - Halleck , the famous principal of the school , told him if he took an exam in math , he could be entered back in . He did that , and he aced the test . He was back in . Then he was a special in English , so they told him if he memorized the " Lady of the Lake " and said that he could get back in school . So he did that . I think he never did finish . He was a twin , and his twin was more of an engineering type and went to manual training high school . MR . HUNNICUTT : What about your mother 's school history ? MRS . DAVIDSON : She grew up in several small towns in western Kentucky . Her father worked for the L & N Railroad . She had her high school in Hopkinsville , Kentucky . She had to stay home - or she went to junior college nearby . She had a scholarship to Randolph Macon Women 's College , but she couldn 't take it because her mother was ill and died at age 50 . It was about the year I was born , I think . MRS . DAVIDSON : His name was William Howard Courtenay III . My father was named for his uncle , who was also William Howard . My older brother works for Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green in the physics department . He made instruments . My younger brother was a pediatrician in Louisville , and he is still living on a farm in Shelbyville . He 's interested in Kentucky antiques . MR . HUNNICUTT : Yes . MRS . DAVIDSON : I went to an unusual kindergarten and first grade . I was at what they called the Enterprise Branch of I . N . Bloom School . It was only kindergarten and first grade . It was in the older building , where we had a Pot Belly Stove . I think we had a maid to help us take our leggings off in the cold weather - galoshes . It was really a wonderful school . It was almost like a private one . It was public . We did things like making butter and we had an orchestra . I played the triangle . I had started a little bit earlier when my younger brother was born . Louisville had half semester , half - year grades . I would 've been a half year , but I skipped the last half of kindergarten . I went to the school board and took a test and went on , so they put me in the regular school year . I went through the big school the I . N . Bloom School and Highland Junior High School in Louisville . Then I went to Atherton High School for Girls . The Louisville public schools were segregated - boys and girls . There were about 900 girls at Atherton . My graduating class was about 200 , and I was the valedictorian . MRS . DAVIDSON : They are pants to keep your legs warm . They zipped up from the inside of the ankle bone up to about knee - high , I guess it was . They were a royal pain to take on and off , so the teacher had to have help to do that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was just ordinary . I 'm sure the girls wore dresses , and the little boys wore suits - not suits , but pants and shirts . MRS . DAVIDSON : I came to Oak Ridge after I graduated from college . I had two years of getting a master 's at Emory while I worked at my alma mater , Agnes Scott College in Decatur , Georgia . I was the chemistry lab instructor . So after those two years were up , I was interested in working in chemistry or biochemistry . My master 's was in biochemistry . In Louisville , there was nothing in that field , except liquor and paint - neither of which I was interested in . In Atlanta , I would like to stay in Atlanta , I heard that Oak Ridge was an interesting new place , and a lot was going on here . One of my dear college friends had recently married a physicist from the University of Kentucky , so I visited them here . I guess that must have been 1947 . Her husband was working at NEPA . He said they were looking for people with a chemistry degree . I applied , and I was accepted . I didn 't know that until I had completed the clearance , so I took the opportunity to go to Europe at an American youth hostel bicycle tour of Western Europe in the summer of 1948 . When I got home , I found that I had indeed gotten the job at Oak Ridge . So I came down here . MRS . DAVIDSON : I was wondering that . I think I came by train . When I interviewed earlier in the spring , my interview was at the Andrew Johnson Hotel . It was one of the private rooms . I had never seen the company here . I think I must have been met by a car and driver and brought to Oak Ridge . MRS . DAVIDSON : I came in through the Vermont Gateway , which is where the gas station is now on the corner of what I call Vermont . They call it North Rutgers now . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , I think it must 've been after that . That would 've been at Christmas time . When I applied , I imagine it was early spring . MRS . DAVIDSON : We called the company NEPA , for Nuclear Energy for the Propulsion of Aircraft . It was managed by the Fairchild Corporation the way Union Carbide or one of the other contractors managed the lab . I did not know until the first day I went to work just what the company was doing . They handed me a volume of information that said , " We are looking for - we are trying to make an airplane powered by nuclear energy that could fly to Russia and back without refueling . " That was a great shock to me . MRS . DAVIDSON : I lived in Columbia Hall Dormitory . I was very surprised to find that the rent was $ 15 a month until I realized it was one very small room . That was my living quarters . I took the opportunity to stay out of it as much as possible . I did that by babysitting in some of the B and D houses in the evening . Grandmothers were not here since it was a closed community . Babysitters were in short supply , and even though I didn 't need the money , it was good to get out of the dormitory . MRS . DAVIDSON : The dormitory was like Cheyenne Hall . It was the same type of building . It had wooden stairways from the second - floor hall down on each end . I lived on the second floor . Our dormitory was mostly nurses , since it was up on the hill next to the hospital - I think where the west parking lot is now . There was a kitchen on each end where we could have our own breakfast . Of course we were at the plant at lunchtime , and then we usually went out to supper . I opened the refrigerator door one morning and somebody 's milk came spilling out down my front . Everybody just stuffed things into the refrigerator . MRS . DAVIDSON : I had a single room with a twin bed and enough room to walk to the window by the bed . There was a little table that served as a desk with a chair . There was a much coveted dormitory dresser - a tall one with a number of drawers . They were very popular . MRS . DAVIDSON : They had a wonderful bus service here . Travel wasn 't really a problem . We walked , of course , from the dormitory to Jackson Square and ate supper usually at the Mayflower , which is where I first saw my husband - to - be . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was on the corner of Tennessee , right across from the Soup Kitchen and the Texaco gas station there on the northeast corner . It was a very popular place . In fact , there were several places you could eat . It was the Central Cafeteria , and the T & C Cafeteria in Jackson Square , which is about where the Epicurean is now toward the garden . MRS . DAVIDSON : It must 've been the A & P on Jackson Square . Jackson Square was really the center of activity as far as I was concerned at that time . I still love it . I hope it keeps going . MRS . DAVIDSON : The department stores - the big department store was Taylor 's at the time . They had a wonderful book department headed by Mrs . Keyes , whose daughter I knew at work . They had really fine art books and other books that they would have a great sale on once or twice a year . We were very happy with that . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was in the middle of the block between where Big Ed 's is in the corner . I guess it 's mostly used by the engineering company now . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , not frequently , but I went and saw - there was a theater down at Big Ed 's in Jackson Square and where the Playhouse is now . That was the main one . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , the jewelry store was on the corner that was Henebree 's , I think . No , that was Heneger 's . MR . HUNNICUTT : Henebree ? MRS . DAVIDSON : Henebree . McCrory 's 5 & 10 was there . There was a drugstore - a Service Drugstore . I guess that was where Big Ed 's is now , on the very corner . There was Jackson Square Pharmacy , and on the other side the Hamilton Bank was there next to the movie theater . And Samuel 's Men 's Store was a very nice store . The Jackson Square Pharmacy was there , but in between , which the Pharmacy later took over was a Kay 's Ice Cream Store . We used to go there and - my husband and I would when we were dating . I liked to get coffee with ice cream in it , so we went there . MR . HUNNICUTT : I believe that was Taff Moody Ice Cream - they served Kay 's Ice Cream . MRS . DAVIDSON : Was it ? I didn 't remember that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I can 't say that I do . It was just a given , I suppose . It didn 't make a big dent in my memory . After six months of the dormitory , I moved to a D house on Norman Lane . That was another era . MR . HUNNICUTT : What is a D house ? MRS . DAVIDSON : A D house was a large three bedroom house . They were very much desired . They were really nice houses - still a lot of them are . The house was - there were five other girls who lived there - two of whom had been college friends . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , it would 've been upstairs . It was the second one to the end . A radiation technologist lived on the corner , and I lived there with school teachers and nurses who made up most of the dorm . MR . HUNNICUTT : Let 's talk a little bit about the dorm again . If I had a message for you or someone left a message for you , how did you retrieve your messages ? Was there a desk when you went in ? MRS . DAVIDSON : There was a desk downstairs . I remember the Valentine 's Day - I guess it must 've been 1949 . The message was that I had some flowers , some red roses . I had just met my husband - to - be at that time . I got all excited , and when I got to the desk , it was from somebody else . I enjoyed the red roses , but not as much as I might have . The thing was that there were ladies - a lot of the women who lived in the dorm worked on the night shift . They would sit around a large kind of living room , I guess they called it . They were all staring when I got flowers . I had to walk around , and it was embarrassing . MRS . DAVIDSON : I was there in the winter of 1948 . I 'm very cold natured , but I don 't remember being cold . We had those heavy navy blanket - navy blue blankets . This brings up a story if I jump to it later on . We were moved from the D house after another six months into the brand - new Garden Apartments on Villanova Road . They needed our D house for families . The people who moved in were the Andersons of the Anderson Hilltop Grocery . Of course , the furniture all belonged to the government there . So the Garden Apartments were not furnished , so we had dwindled down from 6 to 4 people who needed furniture . I took a day off and went to an auction the government set up down at the warehouses . I got seven beds and three or four dressers - much more than I could have used . But the beds were in great demand at work because all the young men who worked there were having children and needed beds . So we took the four . Also I got two sofas , and we could use but one ; so I sold one . They were really shabby awful sofas . Since it was all going to surplus anyway , we switched and took the nice sofa from the D house and left them the bad one . It was all taken away anyhow , so I didn 't feel too bad about that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't really remember about the telephone . We didn 't use the telephone much . We never used it for long - distance except for emergencies and calls home . I don 't remember that as being a problem particularly . MRS . DAVIDSON : I suppose I went on the bus . I did not have a car . One of the housemates from Norman Lane had gotten the car , but she would 've been at work at K - 25 . I don 't know . I may have gotten a ride . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess I paid somebody to deliver it . I don 't know . Maybe some of the fellows at work picked up their beds that they wanted . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was one of those warehouses down at the [ Oak Ridge ] Turnpike on Warehouse Road . I don 't know exactly where it was . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess it was on the bulletin boards at work , or there was a newspaper at the Lab . I guess I heard about it that way . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think probably so - in the newsletters they came around , also at the recreation building - the rec hall - at Jackson Square that was the library upstairs and the rec hall downstairs . Word - of - mouth - I don 't remember . We had a need and found the answer to it . MRS . DAVIDSON : I had to punch a clock at eight in the morning when I first started . I guess we got out at 4 : 30 or 5 o ' clock . We had bus service that went from the bus terminal - the Central one - that 's now by Bus Terminal Road . Later on after we were married , we lived on Waddell Circle and went from there to the Jefferson bus terminal . I went - I rode on the K - 25 bus , and they went out past K - 25 to the road that the powerhouse was on and NEPA was beyond that out by the river . MRS . DAVIDSON : There was some kind of management services office . I 'm not sure what it was called - the Roane Anderson Corporation at that time , I guess . I think that 's where I rented the dormitory room . I probably got bus tokens - I guess I got the tokens of the bus terminal . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think I had a checking account probably at Hamilton Bank in Jackson Square . I don 't recall otherwise . I know I did later . One thing I wanted to say about the buses - if you wanted to go to Clinton to do any shopping , more than what you could have in Oak Ridge or to meet somebody or something , there was a bus that ran frequently back and forth between the bus terminal and Clinton . There was a young man on the bus who had a sing - songy sales pitch for " peanuts , popcorn , Cracker Jacks , candy , and chewing gum . " He wouldn 't drive , but he would sell his wares all the way to Clinton and back . I always wondered who that was because he obviously had some talent . MRS . DAVIDSON : I 'm sure I did . I don 't know what became of it . I guess I had to turn it back in . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think somebody just got - one of the guards got on the bus and checked everybody 's badges . It was not a big thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : Probably . I don 't remember . What I do remember about that was my mother was coming down one time for my birthday - it must 've been in January 1949 . She rode the train . I told her that I would get a ride to meet her . Of course , the train didn 't stop at Oak Ridge . It went on to Knoxville , so I bummed a ride with one of the men in our group . He was actually the technical assistant to the director . His car was a broken down old thing with no floorboards in the back seat , which was pretty bad when my mother saw it . But she didn 't see it because when we got to Knoxville , she was not there . When we were coming back from the gateway entrance , she was not there . There was a message that she was waiting for us at the Elza Gate Station . She had told the conductor she had to get off at Oak Ridge . That 's where she was going , and I was going to meet her . So she slid down the Elza bank over there . She had my birthday cake - a large chocolate cake . She slid downhill with that , and somehow they stopped her at the guard gate at Elza . She waited there for us . MRS . DAVIDSON : Just for her - let her off like a milk train . They ordinarily didn 't stop there , but she wouldn 't have it otherwise . MRS . DAVIDSON : I used the library and rec hall . On Sunday afternoons , they played music ; and you could sit and write letters home , which is what I think I did a good bit . Later on in the better weather , there were tennis courts and a swimming pool . I don 't remember going to movies much . We went to church groups . There were so many young people ; it was just like a party all the time . Nothing in particular stands out . It was just fun . MRS . DAVIDSON : In the company I was , that was not true . There were a lot of women of course - of course , the dormitory was full of school teachers and nurses . But NEPA was mostly men . There were two parts to the Fairchild - the science and engineering part , which was bigger . I happen to be in the research part . My boss was a chemist - Vince Calkins . It was my job to - this was a real shocker to me - to find a chemical that would protect the human body against radiation for the reactor that was supposed to be in the airplane to Russia . I had no background for that kind of thing . I was just fresh out of college really . I realized I was out of my depth , but they decided - he was a pharmacist , I believe , and he wanted to do experiments with rats . They brought in the rat colony . By that time we had a couple of assistants , and I was supposed to be the group leader . One of the men , Ray Waldrop - you may have talked to him . I asked him if he minded working for a woman because he was really more experienced than I , although I had the degree . It was fine with him . There was also another worker , Saul Segal , who was quite a character in his own right . I took the rats in the cages over to the reactor , the " Old Lady " at X - 10 , and put them through what they called " rabbits " and radiated them for certain amount of time . We couldn 't kill the darn things . Then we used the older ones that had already been radiated , they were just tough as anything . I think the experiment was really a failure , although they may have found that to be the case in some later work with older people - that the cells are not dividing as fast and they 're not as subject to radiation . But we didn 't get into that . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was actually not K - 25 . It was beyond there . As I said , the bus took us - the bus dumped people off at K - 25 , and they went on west to just before you get to the Gallaher Bridge . You turn right there and go right past the power station there . It was used for a long time - the power house , and then NEPA was beyond that . The native rats came in - was it domestic experimental rats ? That was not good . I had a janitor who helped me , even though he could 've lost his job for doing it . He helped me clean cages . I always appreciated that . MRS . DAVIDSON : When they got rid of the rats , which was a blessing , my group leader then became Bill Browning , who was a fine scientist . He worked on the Van de Graaff generator . We had an interesting argument . Saul Segal thought he should be the one to do it since he was a man and I was a woman who would be leaving soon ; and it turned out that he left for California before I had left to have my baby . His argument didn 't hold with me anyway , but we argued about that some . We did run the Van de Graaff , and we also did some experiments on metallic sodium . It was nasty stuff to work with . It caught on fire if it was exposed to air . You had to work with that under oil in the glove box . I think that work all had to be repeated after NEPA left for Cincinnati with G . E . . When they moved part of NEPA to X - 10 , they called it the ANP , or something about aircraft and nuclear power . I was not connected with that because my first baby was born in August 1951 . I left in July . MRS . DAVIDSON : I heard somebody say that they had to repeat it all . My boss , the Division Director of Chemistry was interested in vitamin E , and thought it had a lot of protective influence . We worked with that . That was some of the work I did in chemistry - the lab part of it in the early days . It was not good work , I think . I 'm not blaming myself , but some of the other men who were doing chemical work - I think altogether we didn 't come up with anything . MRS . DAVIDSON : It may have been ahead of it 's time for nuclear submarines . I don 't know whether the engineering people thought that or not . In our group which was the chemistry and the physics , my friend who got me the job was Jim Trice . A fellow named Art Miller and somebody named Coneybearwere in the Physics Division . And then there were some others - Fred Maienschein . I did some work for him one time . It was work on beryllium for one thing . I didn 't work with any of the active beryllium . I didn 't do any lab work then , but I did some journal research . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't think they were that far along . I 'm not sure what happened to that part of it . As I said , in July of 1951 they moved to Cincinnati , Evensville , above Cincinnati . I don 't know how many people actually went up there . Most of my friends moved elsewhere . MR . HUNNICUTT : You mentioned the location of the operation was past the steam plant that was on the Clinch River . Was that the same location where the S - 50 project was located ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I think that was the name of our plot of land . I think those - I never was quite sure how they got the designations , but that was the Fairchild domain , I think . MRS . DAVIDSON : Really , it was just when our eyes met . It was very romantic . He followed our group home to the Columbia Hall to see where I lived . But at the time I thought he was too young , and I didn 't think he was following me . I was with a group of other girls . Later on , one of the women in the dormitory , who was a gym teacher in the Oak Ridge schools , told me I really ought to meet Jack Davidson that he loved to ride bicycles ; I was just back from my bicycle trip in Europe . I didn 't know who he was , and then I went to a church group meeting at my Presbyterian Church for young people one Sunday evening . A friend of mine had brought Jack Davidson , and he was the one whose eyes I had met and he had met mine . Sure enough , he loved to ride bicycles . That was the start of a good thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : We did a little bit . On our dates , that 's really what we did mostly at first . We rode out to West Outer Drive and had those wonderful big hills , not too much traffic at that time . We went out to the water tower at the top of Louisiana and had a picnic , and then rode back . When we got really good , we rode our bicycles over to Concord Park one day . I had gotten some chicken breasts at the grocery . I guess it was the A & P at Jackson Square . I was going to fry them for a picnic to take along over to Concord Park . When I went to the refrigerator to get them , they had turned into wings . Somebody had eaten my chicken breast . Jack was a good sport about that . He didn 't care . We had a nice ride . It was before they had improved Lovell Road . It was a pretty rough ride over there , but we were able to enjoy it . MRS . DAVIDSON : He had his bicycle . It was probably a Grey Stone . For me , he rented a bicycle from his work friend . I had forgotten what his name was . We went over to one of the D Streets , I think , and rode them . I didn 't have my English 3 - speed here . I guess I brought it later , but at that time I didn 't have it . MRS . DAVIDSON : That was a problem . I complained to my friend Jim Trice 's wife , Dot , who happened to live around the corner on Outer Drive at that time . She said the boardwalk was used a lot for dating , and of course the theaters . I guess we were outdoors people . I don 't know . MRS . DAVIDSON : He was a graduate of Georgia Tech . At the time he graduated , he was very young . He came up to see about a job , and he was drafted . No , he was in danger of being drafted right away , but they didn 't hire him . He did go to work for NASA , which was at that time NACA , in Virginia ; and worked over there a short time before he was taken into the Army . He had gone through Georgia Tech on a " War Manpower " loan . He was sent to some place to be an MP , I think . He wrote a night letter , which is a 50 - word telegram that was cheaper at night . He wrote a night letter to Stimson , the Secretary of War , telling them they had paid for his college education ; and here he was sitting in a camp doing nothing down in Alabama . He was transferred to the SED , he would never say that was the reason he was transferred . It may or may not have been . He arrived with the SED - he arrived in Oak Ridge the day Roosevelt died , which was in April 1945 , he was here with his group for maybe six weeks before they went out to Los Alamos . So he spent the rest of the war out there . Then he used his G . I . Bill - he stayed on at Los Alamos . They told them they would let him out of the Army if he would agree to stay on as a civilian . So he took that . Then when he did leave , he went to Annapolis and took a liberal arts course because he felt that he had missed out on it at Georgia Tech . He had a year at St . John 's College of Annapolis ; and then all along I guess he thought he would like to come back here . He came back - he arrived on Armistice Day , now Veterans Day , of 1948 . I was here a couple of months before he came , but we met shortly after Christmas in 1949 . MRS . DAVIDSON : Too long . We were married in May 1950 . He wanted to pay off his loan before we could get married , so I helped him along with that . I fed him some . He was very welcome at the D House of girls . I was going to tell you that during the war , there were nine girls in the house , and they slept on shifts on the bunk beds . There were only six of us when I was there . There were a couple of the boyfriends around , and one of them cut the grass . I think Jack did the - empty the clinkers from the furnace , the coal furnace . They made themselves useful . They got their dinner . MR . HUNNICUTT : Tell me about the coal furnace briefly . MRS . DAVIDSON : Most of the houses were a very good design really , and a whole lot better built than we gave them credit for . But each one that I knew of had a corner set off or closed off as a coal storage place that could be filled through a window from the outside , and then you could use the - there was an opening on the inside that you could use to put coal into the furnace . That was awful of course , but that 's what all the houses were doing in that time , too . We had a yard full of clinkers over there . MRS . DAVIDSON : We were taken care of by a Big Brother - the government . They brought the coal around , and you didn 't do a thing . That was part of the rent . When we got our house here on Orange Lane , that 's another story . Are you ready for that yet ? MRS . DAVIDSON : We went back to my home in Louisville , Kentucky , to be married . We had planned to fly to Nashville , but it turned out the Delta Queen was coming through Louisville the next morning . My mother had told us we could not get married the week before because it was too busy with Derby Day . So we delayed until May 13 . Then we spent the night in Louisville at the Brown Hotel , where she pulled some strings to get us a room because it was still very full of visitors from the Derby . We got on the Delta Queen , and our friends were all on the dock to see us off . They had us almost convinced that we were on Daylight Saving Time , and the Delta Queen was not , and we had missed it . But we rode down just as far as Paducah . We were anxious to start in life you know . We lived on Wadell Circle in a K apartment . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you recall the number ? MRS . DAVIDSON : It was a two - story thing . I guess it was a two - bedroom up above , and we had K - 1 . It was sort of underground at the front and open at the back . We had a nice back porch . There was a closet under the stairway and a very small kitchen . It had a table that folded down . It was not as compact as a flattop , but the furnishings that they had did double duty . You could fold it up and have more room . MRS . DAVIDSON : The K apartment was heated with the coal furnace , but there was a janitor who came around and took care of it for us . We were taken care of by Roane Anderson . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you remember what the rent was ? MRS . DAVIDSON : We lived in the K from May 1950 , until we got this house in July 1952 . It was said - the word around town was that you couldn 't get a two - bedroom house unless you had three children , all of different sex . We had been on the list for this house ever since we knew our daughter was coming along . That was a long time to wait . We had been offered two houses - Florida Avenue , where the parking was across the street and the backyard just dropped off . We thought that was totally unsuitable for a new child . We turned both of those down . If we had turned this one down , we would 've gone to the bottom of the long list . But we loved this place of the trees and the dead end lane neighborhood . So we sat outside in front all weekend because we were not top on the list . The reason the other people didn 't take it was that the previous owner , Jim Cox and Charlotte , had put in an oil furnace ; and nobody wanted to pay $ 200 for the oil furnace . Since I had been working , we had saved my salary from work , and we had $ 200 to pay . Also , they didn 't want to be in the high rent district . This house rented for something like $ 45 instead of $ 43 in the lower rent districts . MRS . DAVIDSON : The Oak Ridge cemesto houses that were built - I think this house was built in the fall of 1944 or 1943 . Maybe it was ' 43 . The B house has two bedrooms and of course a bath and a kitchen with a dinette into a long narrow living room . It was about 24 feet by 40 something feet . It was small and convenient . It didn 't have much storage space , but it 's been a wonderful house for us because of the trees . We are on a greenbelt , and I enjoy that very much . It 's a nice private neighborhood just above Jackson Square . MRS . DAVIDSON : Our cemesto has a fireplace , and it had a complete brick wall . Some of the B houses had a brick wall just beyond the fireplace . MRS . DAVIDSON : There are hardwood floors in all the cemestos , I believe . Our house has maple flooring , and a lot of them had oak . Wood was hard to come by in the wartime . We love the color - the reddish color of the maple . MRS . DAVIDSON : Adele is our second daughter , and she was two years younger . Our son is Bill Davidson or William . He was born in November of 1954 . He 's just now turning 58 . MR . HUNNICUTT : So your first daughter went to Cedar Hill ? MRS . DAVIDSON : All three of our children went to Cedar Hill . They had split grades there , so I think the classes were one half size . They would take the kids a half from one grade , and half from the next grade , and that worked out just fine . MRS . DAVIDSON : Cedar Hill was wonderful . It was very special . Mr . Dodd was the principal , and he saw to it - he had the best teachers or at least as good as any . Actually in those days all the teachers and Oak Ridge were special because many of them had been recruited from Columbia Teachers College , along with the superintendent . Others were specially recruited for the job . They were a group a part , I think , from a lot of teachers . MRS . DAVIDSON : The girls both went to Jefferson when it was on the hill at Jackson Square , and Bill was in the first year at the new Jefferson that was over on Fairbanks Road . His was the first class there . They all went through Oak Ridge High . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you recall some of the classes your daughters took while they were in junior high ? Was there Home Ec . or things related to girls ? MRS . DAVIDSON : No , they were on the college prep track . They took eighth grade algebra and that kind of thing . Of course English and math and social studies and science - our older girl I think took biology ; and I 'm not sure if Adele had a more general science course . It just depended on the teacher that they had . They had an excellent education , and the girls were both Merit semifinalists . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course . I was in the PTA . I 'm not sure if I was ever a room mother , but I of course helped with parties and things . MRS . DAVIDSON : The teachers recruited them from each class to help with parties mostly . They helped with any activities that they didn 't really have time to do . MRS . DAVIDSON : Parent - Teacher Association , a time honored group . It got extra things for the school . I got involved with raincoats for the school patrol . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess maybe I was a treasurer of the Cedar Hill PTA , and this goal was to get those yellow slicker raincoat so kids could be visible to the drivers . I found out how much the things cost , and then I estimated postage . At the PTA meeting , Alvin Weinberg was president . He had a son or two in school at the time . He took me to task for estimating the postage , so I had to ask for just the money for the coats themselves since I didn 't really know what the postage is going to be . I thought that was interesting that he wanted to keep it to the exact penny . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think they just wore what the other kids wore . One day we had a deep snow and Bill was in kindergarten , and the snow was up over their boots . I think he had some corduroys . The teacher was making the kids take their pants off and dry them on the radiator , and he wouldn 't do it . I had to go up to the school and take him some fresh pants , some dry clothes . He was very young - just four when he started . MR . HUNNICUTT : Let 's go back a few years . Do you remember 1945 when they dropped the bomb on Japan ? You remember where you were ? And what was your reaction ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I do remember that very clearly because it was the summer after my junior year in college , and I was a camp counselor up in Door County , Wisconsin . There was no electricity at the camp , so we counselors - after we got the kids to bed , went to the state park nearby . This was at Fish Creek , Wisconsin . We would listen to people 's car radios . We knew for about a week that something was happening , but we didn 't know just what . It was very deeply moving when the bomb was dropped , and we thought it would bring an end to the war . Of course , I had friends and a brother on Guam and a cousin was in Europe and others . So that was very deeply moving . I had a book of poetry - my favorite poems at the camp with me . One of my 12 - year - olds picked out a poem - " Once to every man and nation comes a moment to decide " - she read that , and I thought that was very astute of her , a youngster to be able to do that . MRS . DAVIDSON : My husband thought they should have dropped a sample first , but I didn 't feel that way since the first bomb didn 't phase the Japanese . I didn 't think the test one would have either . I was just so glad that the war was over . People could settle down and get into real life again . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think I was in transition from the dormitory to the house , and my husband 's brothers came up from Georgia to witness the opening . So we drove in their car around , and we watched the parade from , I believe , down on the eastern end of the Turnpike down near the warehouses to get out of the traffic . We never could figure out why they invited Marie " The Body " McDonald and [ inaudible ] to ride in the open car for the parade . We couldn 't figure out what they had to do with it , but we did see the burning of the magnesium ribbon . That was exciting . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was only toward town from Elza Gate . I know the central part of town , the Jackson Square area , was very crowded . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think they name the streets for famous cities in the country , and of course the alphabetical designations were very helpful . But Jackson Square , I assume , was named for New Orleans . That 's all I know about it . MRS . DAVIDSON : Sometimes you would pick up the telephone , and the other party was talking . I believe they had different rings . I think maybe the other party had one ring , and we had two . There were four - party lines , but if we were on a four - party line , only the other one was active . I think maybe we were . The other two lines were not being used . MR . HUNNICUTT : When you are raising your family , did you hang your clothes outside on the clothesline ? Did you have a dryer ? What did you use ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I hung them outside on the clothesline . As I said , when we moved here , Anne was a year old . Not much more than three years after that , we had three babies . I was able to talk my husband into getting a dryer that time . Before that , he had built a pulley out of my kitchen window . There was a drop off in the back , and he was able to string it to a tree in the woods . I was able to reel those cloth diapers and reel them in and out . The only problem was that the birds like the trees , too . Sometimes I had to do some re - washing . MR . HUNNICUTT : So in those days you use cloth diapers ? Today we use disposable diapers . How do you think you would 've done if you had disposable diapers ? MRS . DAVIDSON : At one point , when our children were out playing Kick the Can , there were over 40 children on the lane . There were about 20 or 21 houses . There were almost as many dogs . It was just a glorious place for them to grow up . They seem to get along remarkably well most of the time , especially in the early days . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes . We went down there on the opening , and got the radioactive dimes on that occasion . The museum at that time was down at Jefferson Circle . I don 't think any of us ever had our hair stand out on the Van De Graff generator or whatever it was , but we took the children . We went out ourselves . Of course my husband was interested in that kind of thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : Sometimes they walked to Jefferson , but by that time they were carrying pretty heavy books . One of the neighbors on Outer Drive wanted to have a carpool , so we joined that . MRS . DAVIDSON : When Anne was in the fifth grade , they had to write what they did on Friday nights . The teacher would call me and say , " Is it true that you gave your children ice water and watched TV on Friday nights ? " That was how generous we were with them . We didn 't get a TV until they were probably five or six years old . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course it was black and white . The reason we got it - I guess finally it was that the children were always going to the neighbors ' house to watch TV . We decided that we should get our own . They watched things like " Pinky Lee " and I 've forgotten what else . MRS . DAVIDSON : I remember that fondly because my first real date with my husband was going to dinner there with him . He invited me to go to a concert in Knoxville , and his excuse was that we should get to know each other better before he took me to the city with him . That was one thing . I remember there were parties there , and our company had a party at the Oak Terrace Ballroom . One of the NEPA fellows wore a Tarzan costume , which was mostly nothing . It turned out that he lived in the neighborhood . MR . HUNNICUTT : What was the Oak Terrace ballroom - where was it located ? MRS . DAVIDSON : That was just below the dormitory where I lived in Columbia Hall . Jack went there looking for me , he thought I would eat breakfast there and then he could have breakfast with me ; but I ate in the dormitory . He didn 't find me there . When we came back from our bicycle ride to Concord Park , I remember we stopped by there , and he drank two or three Mountain Dew drinks . That surprised me , but we had worked off a lot of sweat . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , we took our children out there and saw " Lawrence of Arabia " and " The 10 Commandment " and those things . It was quite nice . MR . HUNNICUTT : Where was it located ? MRS . DAVIDSON : It was about where Kroger 's - where that is now , on the southeast part of Illinois Avenue . It was a nice thing . That was a special treat for the children to go out there . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't think so . I think they were mostly in the car . They had a drawing one time , Jack won something . It was actually nothing , but he did win . MRS . DAVIDSON : I sure did . My three children were born there . It was a green structure , like so many of the buildings in Oak Ridge . I guess the present building is built on that place . It was okay . I didn 't have any problems with it , except after my second child . I had a staph infection from the hospital . Even an Army wife with a private room got an infection there . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , I think they also had been recruited ; and a lot of them were from Tulane University . The time I was sick with my infection , they were having a reunion at Tulane , and my doctor and another one were gone for the reunion . I didn 't like the one who took care of me . He didn 't do a good job . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was okay . I don 't remember having any problems with it . We knew Dr . Rogers from our church , and we went to him . He was called away to the service , I believe . Maybe it was the Korean War , but then he came back . MRS . DAVIDSON : We met at Pine Valley School . The choir sat on the bleachers , and the minister sat under the halo of the basketball net . My husband was a Methodist , and he went to the First Methodist Church . They had a big youth group there . When we were first married , we tried to take them both in . We went to Sunday school one place , and church another until we finally settled on the Presbyterian . It was smaller , and we knew more people . MR . HUNNICUTT : Thinking back , what do you like best about Oak Ridge ? MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course the people . I love my trees and my house . I love all the activities . Both my husband and I have always loved music and enjoy the concerts a lot . The symphony concerts with Waldo Cohn conducting were held at Jefferson Junior High on the Kentucky Avenue hill . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you think back about all the people that you knew in the early days ? Do you think it was unusual for everybody to get along - the many people that were here ? MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , I guess so . I didn 't think about it because we just did . It was just fun . Everybody was away from home , and we had to be family for each other . That was particularly true in this close neighborhood . MRS . DAVIDSON : I 'm pleased for the most part . I think we 've made good progress . We 've kept up with the outside world . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't know . I 'll probably think of things after you leave . Nothing particular comes to mind . MR . HUNNICUTT : I would like to thank you for your time , and I think this interview will be very helpful for someone in the future to see how you lived in Oak Ridge in the early days . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think we came through at the very best of times . It was not the pressure of war , but we were growing community . I think things were happening at the Lab . Both of my husband and I loved the Lab because there were so many good things going on out there . It gives us hope for the future . MR . HUNNICUTT : I thank you very much for your time . [ Editor 's Note : This transcript has been edited at Mrs . Davidson 's request . The corresponding audio and video components have remained unchanged . ] Your rating was saved . you wish to report :

MR . HUNNICUTT : This interview is for the Center of Oak Ridge Oral History . The date is November 8 , 2012 . I am Don Hunnicutt in the home of Mrs . Mary Ann Davidson , 117 Orange Lane , Oak Ridge , Tennessee , to take her oral history about living in Oak Ridge , Tennessee . Please state your full name and your place of birth and your date of birth . MRS . DAVIDSON : My name is Mary Ann Davidson . My date of birth is January 12 , 1925 . I was born in Louisville , Kentucky . I lived there all my early life until I graduated from college . MRS . DAVIDSON : My father was William H . Courtenay . He was born in 1890 , on March 3 . He was in World War I and lived his entire life in Louisville and Shelbyville , Kentucky . He worked for the Mengel Company . They imported mahogany and hardwood from Africa and Central America . He delivered those to customers . He didn 't consider himself a salesman , but he sold them to the furniture factory - furniture makers around Kentucky , mostly Indiana and Cincinnati and some in Tennessee . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , he did not . The Louisville Male High School was considered a fine school at that time . They said that graduates could enter Harvard in their second year . The principal had written textbooks that were apparently used all over . But my father was interested in raising ponies . His father had a farm in Shelbyville , Kentucky . If you 'd didn 't make the grade , you are special . And Dr . Ruben Post - Halleck , the famous principal of the school , told him if he took an exam in math , he could be entered back in . He did that , and he aced the test . He was back in . Then he was a special in English , so they told him if he memorized the " Lady of the Lake " and said that he could get back in school . So he did that . I think he never did finish . He was a twin , and his twin was more of an engineering type and went to manual training high school . MRS . DAVIDSON : She grew up in several small towns in western Kentucky . Her father worked for the L & N Railroad . She had her high school in Hopkinsville , Kentucky . She had to stay home - or she went to junior college nearby . She had a scholarship to Randolph Macon Women 's College , but she couldn 't take it because her mother was ill and died at age 50 . It was about the year I was born , I think . MRS . DAVIDSON : His name was William Howard Courtenay III . My father was named for his uncle , who was also William Howard . My older brother works for Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green in the physics department . He made instruments . My younger brother was a pediatrician in Louisville , and he is still living on a farm in Shelbyville . He 's interested in Kentucky antiques . MRS . DAVIDSON : I went to an unusual kindergarten and first grade . I was at what they called the Enterprise Branch of I . N . Bloom School . It was only kindergarten and first grade . It was in the older building , where we had a Pot Belly Stove . I think we had a maid to help us take our leggings off in the cold weather - galoshes . It was really a wonderful school . It was almost like a private one . It was public . We did things like making butter and we had an orchestra . I played the triangle . I had started a little bit earlier when my younger brother was born . Louisville had half semester , half - year grades . I would 've been a half year , but I skipped the last half of kindergarten . I went to the school board and took a test and went on , so they put me in the regular school year . I went through the big school the I . N . Bloom School and Highland Junior High School in Louisville . Then I went to Atherton High School for Girls . The Louisville public schools were segregated - boys and girls . There were about 900 girls at Atherton . My graduating class was about 200 , and I was the valedictorian . MRS . DAVIDSON : They are pants to keep your legs warm . They zipped up from the inside of the ankle bone up to about knee - high , I guess it was . They were a royal pain to take on and off , so the teacher had to have help to do that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was just ordinary . I 'm sure the girls wore dresses , and the little boys wore suits - not suits , but pants and shirts . MRS . DAVIDSON : I came to Oak Ridge after I graduated from college . I had two years of getting a master 's at Emory while I worked at my alma mater , Agnes Scott College in Decatur , Georgia . I was the chemistry lab instructor . So after those two years were up , I was interested in working in chemistry or biochemistry . My master 's was in biochemistry . In Louisville , there was nothing in that field , except liquor and paint - neither of which I was interested in . In Atlanta , I would like to stay in Atlanta , I heard that Oak Ridge was an interesting new place , and a lot was going on here . One of my dear college friends had recently married a physicist from the University of Kentucky , so I visited them here . I guess that must have been 1947 . Her husband was working at NEPA . He said they were looking for people with a chemistry degree . I applied , and I was accepted . I didn 't know that until I had completed the clearance , so I took the opportunity to go to Europe at an American youth hostel bicycle tour of Western Europe in the summer of 1948 . When I got home , I found that I had indeed gotten the job at Oak Ridge . So I came down here . MRS . DAVIDSON : I was wondering that . I think I came by train . When I interviewed earlier in the spring , my interview was at the Andrew Johnson Hotel . It was one of the private rooms . I had never seen the company here . I think I must have been met by a car and driver and brought to Oak Ridge . MRS . DAVIDSON : I came in through the Vermont Gateway , which is where the gas station is now on the corner of what I call Vermont . They call it North Rutgers now . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , I think it must 've been after that . That would 've been at Christmas time . When I applied , I imagine it was early spring . MRS . DAVIDSON : We called the company NEPA , for Nuclear Energy for the Propulsion of Aircraft . It was managed by the Fairchild Corporation the way Union Carbide or one of the other contractors managed the lab . I did not know until the first day I went to work just what the company was doing . They handed me a volume of information that said , " We are looking for - we are trying to make an airplane powered by nuclear energy that could fly to Russia and back without refueling . " That was a great shock to me . MRS . DAVIDSON : I lived in Columbia Hall Dormitory . I was very surprised to find that the rent was $ 15 a month until I realized it was one very small room . That was my living quarters . I took the opportunity to stay out of it as much as possible . I did that by babysitting in some of the B and D houses in the evening . Grandmothers were not here since it was a closed community . Babysitters were in short supply , and even though I didn 't need the money , it was good to get out of the dormitory . MRS . DAVIDSON : The dormitory was like Cheyenne Hall . It was the same type of building . It had wooden stairways from the second - floor hall down on each end . I lived on the second floor . Our dormitory was mostly nurses , since it was up on the hill next to the hospital - I think where the west parking lot is now . There was a kitchen on each end where we could have our own breakfast . Of course we were at the plant at lunchtime , and then we usually went out to supper . I opened the refrigerator door one morning and somebody 's milk came spilling out down my front . Everybody just stuffed things into the refrigerator . MRS . DAVIDSON : I had a single room with a twin bed and enough room to walk to the window by the bed . There was a little table that served as a desk with a chair . There was a much coveted dormitory dresser - a tall one with a number of drawers . They were very popular . MRS . DAVIDSON : They had a wonderful bus service here . Travel wasn 't really a problem . We walked , of course , from the dormitory to Jackson Square and ate supper usually at the Mayflower , which is where I first saw my husband - to - be . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was on the corner of Tennessee , right across from the Soup Kitchen and the Texaco gas station there on the northeast corner . It was a very popular place . In fact , there were several places you could eat . It was the Central Cafeteria , and the T & C Cafeteria in Jackson Square , which is about where the Epicurean is now toward the garden . MRS . DAVIDSON : It must 've been the A & P on Jackson Square . Jackson Square was really the center of activity as far as I was concerned at that time . I still love it . I hope it keeps going . MRS . DAVIDSON : The department stores - the big department store was Taylor 's at the time . They had a wonderful book department headed by Mrs . Keyes , whose daughter I knew at work . They had really fine art books and other books that they would have a great sale on once or twice a year . We were very happy with that . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was in the middle of the block between where Big Ed 's is in the corner . I guess it 's mostly used by the engineering company now . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , not frequently , but I went and saw - there was a theater down at Big Ed 's in Jackson Square and where the Playhouse is now . That was the main one . MRS . DAVIDSON : Henebree . McCrory 's 5 & 10 was there . There was a drugstore - a Service Drugstore . I guess that was where Big Ed 's is now , on the very corner . There was Jackson Square Pharmacy , and on the other side the Hamilton Bank was there next to the movie theater . And Samuel 's Men 's Store was a very nice store . The Jackson Square Pharmacy was there , but in between , which the Pharmacy later took over was a Kay 's Ice Cream Store . We used to go there and - my husband and I would when we were dating . I liked to get coffee with ice cream in it , so we went there . MRS . DAVIDSON : I can 't say that I do . It was just a given , I suppose . It didn 't make a big dent in my memory . After six months of the dormitory , I moved to a D house on Norman Lane . That was another era . MRS . DAVIDSON : A D house was a large three bedroom house . They were very much desired . They were really nice houses - still a lot of them are . The house was - there were five other girls who lived there - two of whom had been college friends . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , it would 've been upstairs . It was the second one to the end . A radiation technologist lived on the corner , and I lived there with school teachers and nurses who made up most of the dorm . MR . HUNNICUTT : Let 's talk a little bit about the dorm again . If I had a message for you or someone left a message for you , how did you retrieve your messages ? Was there a desk when you went in ? MRS . DAVIDSON : There was a desk downstairs . I remember the Valentine 's Day - I guess it must 've been 1949 . The message was that I had some flowers , some red roses . I had just met my husband - to - be at that time . I got all excited , and when I got to the desk , it was from somebody else . I enjoyed the red roses , but not as much as I might have . The thing was that there were ladies - a lot of the women who lived in the dorm worked on the night shift . They would sit around a large kind of living room , I guess they called it . They were all staring when I got flowers . I had to walk around , and it was embarrassing . MRS . DAVIDSON : I was there in the winter of 1948 . I 'm very cold natured , but I don 't remember being cold . We had those heavy navy blanket - navy blue blankets . This brings up a story if I jump to it later on . We were moved from the D house after another six months into the brand - new Garden Apartments on Villanova Road . They needed our D house for families . The people who moved in were the Andersons of the Anderson Hilltop Grocery . Of course , the furniture all belonged to the government there . So the Garden Apartments were not furnished , so we had dwindled down from 6 to 4 people who needed furniture . I took a day off and went to an auction the government set up down at the warehouses . I got seven beds and three or four dressers - much more than I could have used . But the beds were in great demand at work because all the young men who worked there were having children and needed beds . So we took the four . Also I got two sofas , and we could use but one ; so I sold one . They were really shabby awful sofas . Since it was all going to surplus anyway , we switched and took the nice sofa from the D house and left them the bad one . It was all taken away anyhow , so I didn 't feel too bad about that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't really remember about the telephone . We didn 't use the telephone much . We never used it for long - distance except for emergencies and calls home . I don 't remember that as being a problem particularly . MRS . DAVIDSON : I suppose I went on the bus . I did not have a car . One of the housemates from Norman Lane had gotten the car , but she would 've been at work at K - 25 . I don 't know . I may have gotten a ride . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess I paid somebody to deliver it . I don 't know . Maybe some of the fellows at work picked up their beds that they wanted . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was one of those warehouses down at the [ Oak Ridge ] Turnpike on Warehouse Road . I don 't know exactly where it was . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess it was on the bulletin boards at work , or there was a newspaper at the Lab . I guess I heard about it that way . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think probably so - in the newsletters they came around , also at the recreation building - the rec hall - at Jackson Square that was the library upstairs and the rec hall downstairs . Word - of - mouth - I don 't remember . We had a need and found the answer to it . MRS . DAVIDSON : I had to punch a clock at eight in the morning when I first started . I guess we got out at 4 : 30 or 5 o ' clock . We had bus service that went from the bus terminal - the Central one - that 's now by Bus Terminal Road . Later on after we were married , we lived on Waddell Circle and went from there to the Jefferson bus terminal . I went - I rode on the K - 25 bus , and they went out past K - 25 to the road that the powerhouse was on and NEPA was beyond that out by the river . MRS . DAVIDSON : There was some kind of management services office . I 'm not sure what it was called - the Roane Anderson Corporation at that time , I guess . I think that 's where I rented the dormitory room . I probably got bus tokens - I guess I got the tokens of the bus terminal . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think I had a checking account probably at Hamilton Bank in Jackson Square . I don 't recall otherwise . I know I did later . One thing I wanted to say about the buses - if you wanted to go to Clinton to do any shopping , more than what you could have in Oak Ridge or to meet somebody or something , there was a bus that ran frequently back and forth between the bus terminal and Clinton . There was a young man on the bus who had a sing - songy sales pitch for " peanuts , popcorn , Cracker Jacks , candy , and chewing gum . " He wouldn 't drive , but he would sell his wares all the way to Clinton and back . I always wondered who that was because he obviously had some talent . MRS . DAVIDSON : I 'm sure I did . I don 't know what became of it . I guess I had to turn it back in . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think somebody just got - one of the guards got on the bus and checked everybody 's badges . It was not a big thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : Probably . I don 't remember . What I do remember about that was my mother was coming down one time for my birthday - it must 've been in January 1949 . She rode the train . I told her that I would get a ride to meet her . Of course , the train didn 't stop at Oak Ridge . It went on to Knoxville , so I bummed a ride with one of the men in our group . He was actually the technical assistant to the director . His car was a broken down old thing with no floorboards in the back seat , which was pretty bad when my mother saw it . But she didn 't see it because when we got to Knoxville , she was not there . When we were coming back from the gateway entrance , she was not there . There was a message that she was waiting for us at the Elza Gate Station . She had told the conductor she had to get off at Oak Ridge . That 's where she was going , and I was going to meet her . So she slid down the Elza bank over there . She had my birthday cake - a large chocolate cake . She slid downhill with that , and somehow they stopped her at the guard gate at Elza . She waited there for us . MRS . DAVIDSON : Just for her - let her off like a milk train . They ordinarily didn 't stop there , but she wouldn 't have it otherwise . MRS . DAVIDSON : I used the library and rec hall . On Sunday afternoons , they played music ; and you could sit and write letters home , which is what I think I did a good bit . Later on in the better weather , there were tennis courts and a swimming pool . I don 't remember going to movies much . We went to church groups . There were so many young people ; it was just like a party all the time . Nothing in particular stands out . It was just fun . MRS . DAVIDSON : In the company I was , that was not true . There were a lot of women of course - of course , the dormitory was full of school teachers and nurses . But NEPA was mostly men . There were two parts to the Fairchild - the science and engineering part , which was bigger . I happen to be in the research part . My boss was a chemist - Vince Calkins . It was my job to - this was a real shocker to me - to find a chemical that would protect the human body against radiation for the reactor that was supposed to be in the airplane to Russia . I had no background for that kind of thing . I was just fresh out of college really . I realized I was out of my depth , but they decided - he was a pharmacist , I believe , and he wanted to do experiments with rats . They brought in the rat colony . By that time we had a couple of assistants , and I was supposed to be the group leader . One of the men , Ray Waldrop - you may have talked to him . I asked him if he minded working for a woman because he was really more experienced than I , although I had the degree . It was fine with him . There was also another worker , Saul Segal , who was quite a character in his own right . I took the rats in the cages over to the reactor , the " Old Lady " at X - 10 , and put them through what they called " rabbits " and radiated them for certain amount of time . We couldn 't kill the darn things . Then we used the older ones that had already been radiated , they were just tough as anything . I think the experiment was really a failure , although they may have found that to be the case in some later work with older people - that the cells are not dividing as fast and they 're not as subject to radiation . But we didn 't get into that . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was actually not K - 25 . It was beyond there . As I said , the bus took us - the bus dumped people off at K - 25 , and they went on west to just before you get to the Gallaher Bridge . You turn right there and go right past the power station there . It was used for a long time - the power house , and then NEPA was beyond that . The native rats came in - was it domestic experimental rats ? That was not good . I had a janitor who helped me , even though he could 've lost his job for doing it . He helped me clean cages . I always appreciated that . MRS . DAVIDSON : When they got rid of the rats , which was a blessing , my group leader then became Bill Browning , who was a fine scientist . He worked on the Van de Graaff generator . We had an interesting argument . Saul Segal thought he should be the one to do it since he was a man and I was a woman who would be leaving soon ; and it turned out that he left for California before I had left to have my baby . His argument didn 't hold with me anyway , but we argued about that some . We did run the Van de Graaff , and we also did some experiments on metallic sodium . It was nasty stuff to work with . It caught on fire if it was exposed to air . You had to work with that under oil in the glove box . I think that work all had to be repeated after NEPA left for Cincinnati with G . E . . When they moved part of NEPA to X - 10 , they called it the ANP , or something about aircraft and nuclear power . I was not connected with that because my first baby was born in August 1951 . I left in July . MRS . DAVIDSON : I heard somebody say that they had to repeat it all . My boss , the Division Director of Chemistry was interested in vitamin E , and thought it had a lot of protective influence . We worked with that . That was some of the work I did in chemistry - the lab part of it in the early days . It was not good work , I think . I 'm not blaming myself , but some of the other men who were doing chemical work - I think altogether we didn 't come up with anything . MRS . DAVIDSON : It may have been ahead of it 's time for nuclear submarines . I don 't know whether the engineering people thought that or not . In our group which was the chemistry and the physics , my friend who got me the job was Jim Trice . A fellow named Art Miller and somebody named Coneybearwere in the Physics Division . And then there were some others - Fred Maienschein . I did some work for him one time . It was work on beryllium for one thing . I didn 't work with any of the active beryllium . I didn 't do any lab work then , but I did some journal research . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't think they were that far along . I 'm not sure what happened to that part of it . As I said , in July of 1951 they moved to Cincinnati , Evensville , above Cincinnati . I don 't know how many people actually went up there . Most of my friends moved elsewhere . MR . HUNNICUTT : You mentioned the location of the operation was past the steam plant that was on the Clinch River . Was that the same location where the S - 50 project was located ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I think that was the name of our plot of land . I think those - I never was quite sure how they got the designations , but that was the Fairchild domain , I think . MRS . DAVIDSON : Really , it was just when our eyes met . It was very romantic . He followed our group home to the Columbia Hall to see where I lived . But at the time I thought he was too young , and I didn 't think he was following me . I was with a group of other girls . Later on , one of the women in the dormitory , who was a gym teacher in the Oak Ridge schools , told me I really ought to meet Jack Davidson that he loved to ride bicycles ; I was just back from my bicycle trip in Europe . I didn 't know who he was , and then I went to a church group meeting at my Presbyterian Church for young people one Sunday evening . A friend of mine had brought Jack Davidson , and he was the one whose eyes I had met and he had met mine . Sure enough , he loved to ride bicycles . That was the start of a good thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : We did a little bit . On our dates , that 's really what we did mostly at first . We rode out to West Outer Drive and had those wonderful big hills , not too much traffic at that time . We went out to the water tower at the top of Louisiana and had a picnic , and then rode back . When we got really good , we rode our bicycles over to Concord Park one day . I had gotten some chicken breasts at the grocery . I guess it was the A & P at Jackson Square . I was going to fry them for a picnic to take along over to Concord Park . When I went to the refrigerator to get them , they had turned into wings . Somebody had eaten my chicken breast . Jack was a good sport about that . He didn 't care . We had a nice ride . It was before they had improved Lovell Road . It was a pretty rough ride over there , but we were able to enjoy it . MRS . DAVIDSON : He had his bicycle . It was probably a Grey Stone . For me , he rented a bicycle from his work friend . I had forgotten what his name was . We went over to one of the D Streets , I think , and rode them . I didn 't have my English 3 - speed here . I guess I brought it later , but at that time I didn 't have it . MRS . DAVIDSON : That was a problem . I complained to my friend Jim Trice 's wife , Dot , who happened to live around the corner on Outer Drive at that time . She said the boardwalk was used a lot for dating , and of course the theaters . I guess we were outdoors people . I don 't know . MRS . DAVIDSON : He was a graduate of Georgia Tech . At the time he graduated , he was very young . He came up to see about a job , and he was drafted . No , he was in danger of being drafted right away , but they didn 't hire him . He did go to work for NASA , which was at that time NACA , in Virginia ; and worked over there a short time before he was taken into the Army . He had gone through Georgia Tech on a " War Manpower " loan . He was sent to some place to be an MP , I think . He wrote a night letter , which is a 50 - word telegram that was cheaper at night . He wrote a night letter to Stimson , the Secretary of War , telling them they had paid for his college education ; and here he was sitting in a camp doing nothing down in Alabama . He was transferred to the SED , he would never say that was the reason he was transferred . It may or may not have been . He arrived with the SED - he arrived in Oak Ridge the day Roosevelt died , which was in April 1945 , he was here with his group for maybe six weeks before they went out to Los Alamos . So he spent the rest of the war out there . Then he used his G . I . Bill - he stayed on at Los Alamos . They told them they would let him out of the Army if he would agree to stay on as a civilian . So he took that . Then when he did leave , he went to Annapolis and took a liberal arts course because he felt that he had missed out on it at Georgia Tech . He had a year at St . John 's College of Annapolis ; and then all along I guess he thought he would like to come back here . He came back - he arrived on Armistice Day , now Veterans Day , of 1948 . I was here a couple of months before he came , but we met shortly after Christmas in 1949 . MRS . DAVIDSON : Too long . We were married in May 1950 . He wanted to pay off his loan before we could get married , so I helped him along with that . I fed him some . He was very welcome at the D House of girls . I was going to tell you that during the war , there were nine girls in the house , and they slept on shifts on the bunk beds . There were only six of us when I was there . There were a couple of the boyfriends around , and one of them cut the grass . I think Jack did the - empty the clinkers from the furnace , the coal furnace . They made themselves useful . They got their dinner . MRS . DAVIDSON : Most of the houses were a very good design really , and a whole lot better built than we gave them credit for . But each one that I knew of had a corner set off or closed off as a coal storage place that could be filled through a window from the outside , and then you could use the - there was an opening on the inside that you could use to put coal into the furnace . That was awful of course , but that 's what all the houses were doing in that time , too . We had a yard full of clinkers over there . MRS . DAVIDSON : We were taken care of by a Big Brother - the government . They brought the coal around , and you didn 't do a thing . That was part of the rent . When we got our house here on Orange Lane , that 's another story . Are you ready for that yet ? MRS . DAVIDSON : We went back to my home in Louisville , Kentucky , to be married . We had planned to fly to Nashville , but it turned out the Delta Queen was coming through Louisville the next morning . My mother had told us we could not get married the week before because it was too busy with Derby Day . So we delayed until May 13 . Then we spent the night in Louisville at the Brown Hotel , where she pulled some strings to get us a room because it was still very full of visitors from the Derby . We got on the Delta Queen , and our friends were all on the dock to see us off . They had us almost convinced that we were on Daylight Saving Time , and the Delta Queen was not , and we had missed it . But we rode down just as far as Paducah . We were anxious to start in life you know . We lived on Wadell Circle in a K apartment . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was a two - story thing . I guess it was a two - bedroom up above , and we had K - 1 . It was sort of underground at the front and open at the back . We had a nice back porch . There was a closet under the stairway and a very small kitchen . It had a table that folded down . It was not as compact as a flattop , but the furnishings that they had did double duty . You could fold it up and have more room . MRS . DAVIDSON : The K apartment was heated with the coal furnace , but there was a janitor who came around and took care of it for us . We were taken care of by Roane Anderson . MRS . DAVIDSON : We lived in the K from May 1950 , until we got this house in July 1952 . It was said - the word around town was that you couldn 't get a two - bedroom house unless you had three children , all of different sex . We had been on the list for this house ever since we knew our daughter was coming along . That was a long time to wait . We had been offered two houses - Florida Avenue , where the parking was across the street and the backyard just dropped off . We thought that was totally unsuitable for a new child . We turned both of those down . If we had turned this one down , we would 've gone to the bottom of the long list . But we loved this place of the trees and the dead end lane neighborhood . So we sat outside in front all weekend because we were not top on the list . The reason the other people didn 't take it was that the previous owner , Jim Cox and Charlotte , had put in an oil furnace ; and nobody wanted to pay $ 200 for the oil furnace . Since I had been working , we had saved my salary from work , and we had $ 200 to pay . Also , they didn 't want to be in the high rent district . This house rented for something like $ 45 instead of $ 43 in the lower rent districts . MRS . DAVIDSON : The Oak Ridge cemesto houses that were built - I think this house was built in the fall of 1944 or 1943 . Maybe it was ' 43 . The B house has two bedrooms and of course a bath and a kitchen with a dinette into a long narrow living room . It was about 24 feet by 40 something feet . It was small and convenient . It didn 't have much storage space , but it 's been a wonderful house for us because of the trees . We are on a greenbelt , and I enjoy that very much . It 's a nice private neighborhood just above Jackson Square . MRS . DAVIDSON : Our cemesto has a fireplace , and it had a complete brick wall . Some of the B houses had a brick wall just beyond the fireplace . MRS . DAVIDSON : There are hardwood floors in all the cemestos , I believe . Our house has maple flooring , and a lot of them had oak . Wood was hard to come by in the wartime . We love the color - the reddish color of the maple . MRS . DAVIDSON : Adele is our second daughter , and she was two years younger . Our son is Bill Davidson or William . He was born in November of 1954 . He 's just now turning 58 . MRS . DAVIDSON : All three of our children went to Cedar Hill . They had split grades there , so I think the classes were one half size . They would take the kids a half from one grade , and half from the next grade , and that worked out just fine . MRS . DAVIDSON : Cedar Hill was wonderful . It was very special . Mr . Dodd was the principal , and he saw to it - he had the best teachers or at least as good as any . Actually in those days all the teachers and Oak Ridge were special because many of them had been recruited from Columbia Teachers College , along with the superintendent . Others were specially recruited for the job . They were a group a part , I think , from a lot of teachers . MRS . DAVIDSON : The girls both went to Jefferson when it was on the hill at Jackson Square , and Bill was in the first year at the new Jefferson that was over on Fairbanks Road . His was the first class there . They all went through Oak Ridge High . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you recall some of the classes your daughters took while they were in junior high ? Was there Home Ec . or things related to girls ? MRS . DAVIDSON : No , they were on the college prep track . They took eighth grade algebra and that kind of thing . Of course English and math and social studies and science - our older girl I think took biology ; and I 'm not sure if Adele had a more general science course . It just depended on the teacher that they had . They had an excellent education , and the girls were both Merit semifinalists . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course . I was in the PTA . I 'm not sure if I was ever a room mother , but I of course helped with parties and things . MRS . DAVIDSON : The teachers recruited them from each class to help with parties mostly . They helped with any activities that they didn 't really have time to do . MRS . DAVIDSON : Parent - Teacher Association , a time honored group . It got extra things for the school . I got involved with raincoats for the school patrol . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess maybe I was a treasurer of the Cedar Hill PTA , and this goal was to get those yellow slicker raincoat so kids could be visible to the drivers . I found out how much the things cost , and then I estimated postage . At the PTA meeting , Alvin Weinberg was president . He had a son or two in school at the time . He took me to task for estimating the postage , so I had to ask for just the money for the coats themselves since I didn 't really know what the postage is going to be . I thought that was interesting that he wanted to keep it to the exact penny . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think they just wore what the other kids wore . One day we had a deep snow and Bill was in kindergarten , and the snow was up over their boots . I think he had some corduroys . The teacher was making the kids take their pants off and dry them on the radiator , and he wouldn 't do it . I had to go up to the school and take him some fresh pants , some dry clothes . He was very young - just four when he started . MR . HUNNICUTT : Let 's go back a few years . Do you remember 1945 when they dropped the bomb on Japan ? You remember where you were ? And what was your reaction ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I do remember that very clearly because it was the summer after my junior year in college , and I was a camp counselor up in Door County , Wisconsin . There was no electricity at the camp , so we counselors - after we got the kids to bed , went to the state park nearby . This was at Fish Creek , Wisconsin . We would listen to people 's car radios . We knew for about a week that something was happening , but we didn 't know just what . It was very deeply moving when the bomb was dropped , and we thought it would bring an end to the war . Of course , I had friends and a brother on Guam and a cousin was in Europe and others . So that was very deeply moving . I had a book of poetry - my favorite poems at the camp with me . One of my 12 - year - olds picked out a poem - " Once to every man and nation comes a moment to decide " - she read that , and I thought that was very astute of her , a youngster to be able to do that . MRS . DAVIDSON : My husband thought they should have dropped a sample first , but I didn 't feel that way since the first bomb didn 't phase the Japanese . I didn 't think the test one would have either . I was just so glad that the war was over . People could settle down and get into real life again . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think I was in transition from the dormitory to the house , and my husband 's brothers came up from Georgia to witness the opening . So we drove in their car around , and we watched the parade from , I believe , down on the eastern end of the Turnpike down near the warehouses to get out of the traffic . We never could figure out why they invited Marie " The Body " McDonald and [ inaudible ] to ride in the open car for the parade . We couldn 't figure out what they had to do with it , but we did see the burning of the magnesium ribbon . That was exciting . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was only toward town from Elza Gate . I know the central part of town , the Jackson Square area , was very crowded . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think they name the streets for famous cities in the country , and of course the alphabetical designations were very helpful . But Jackson Square , I assume , was named for New Orleans . That 's all I know about it . MRS . DAVIDSON : Sometimes you would pick up the telephone , and the other party was talking . I believe they had different rings . I think maybe the other party had one ring , and we had two . There were four - party lines , but if we were on a four - party line , only the other one was active . I think maybe we were . The other two lines were not being used . MR . HUNNICUTT : When you are raising your family , did you hang your clothes outside on the clothesline ? Did you have a dryer ? What did you use ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I hung them outside on the clothesline . As I said , when we moved here , Anne was a year old . Not much more than three years after that , we had three babies . I was able to talk my husband into getting a dryer that time . Before that , he had built a pulley out of my kitchen window . There was a drop off in the back , and he was able to string it to a tree in the woods . I was able to reel those cloth diapers and reel them in and out . The only problem was that the birds like the trees , too . Sometimes I had to do some re - washing . MR . HUNNICUTT : So in those days you use cloth diapers ? Today we use disposable diapers . How do you think you would 've done if you had disposable diapers ? MRS . DAVIDSON : At one point , when our children were out playing Kick the Can , there were over 40 children on the lane . There were about 20 or 21 houses . There were almost as many dogs . It was just a glorious place for them to grow up . They seem to get along remarkably well most of the time , especially in the early days . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes . We went down there on the opening , and got the radioactive dimes on that occasion . The museum at that time was down at Jefferson Circle . I don 't think any of us ever had our hair stand out on the Van De Graff generator or whatever it was , but we took the children . We went out ourselves . Of course my husband was interested in that kind of thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : Sometimes they walked to Jefferson , but by that time they were carrying pretty heavy books . One of the neighbors on Outer Drive wanted to have a carpool , so we joined that . MRS . DAVIDSON : When Anne was in the fifth grade , they had to write what they did on Friday nights . The teacher would call me and say , " Is it true that you gave your children ice water and watched TV on Friday nights ? " That was how generous we were with them . We didn 't get a TV until they were probably five or six years old . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course it was black and white . The reason we got it - I guess finally it was that the children were always going to the neighbors ' house to watch TV . We decided that we should get our own . They watched things like " Pinky Lee " and I 've forgotten what else . MRS . DAVIDSON : I remember that fondly because my first real date with my husband was going to dinner there with him . He invited me to go to a concert in Knoxville , and his excuse was that we should get to know each other better before he took me to the city with him . That was one thing . I remember there were parties there , and our company had a party at the Oak Terrace Ballroom . One of the NEPA fellows wore a Tarzan costume , which was mostly nothing . It turned out that he lived in the neighborhood . MRS . DAVIDSON : That was just below the dormitory where I lived in Columbia Hall . Jack went there looking for me , he thought I would eat breakfast there and then he could have breakfast with me ; but I ate in the dormitory . He didn 't find me there . When we came back from our bicycle ride to Concord Park , I remember we stopped by there , and he drank two or three Mountain Dew drinks . That surprised me , but we had worked off a lot of sweat . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , we took our children out there and saw " Lawrence of Arabia " and " The 10 Commandment " and those things . It was quite nice . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was about where Kroger 's - where that is now , on the southeast part of Illinois Avenue . It was a nice thing . That was a special treat for the children to go out there . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't think so . I think they were mostly in the car . They had a drawing one time , Jack won something . It was actually nothing , but he did win . MRS . DAVIDSON : I sure did . My three children were born there . It was a green structure , like so many of the buildings in Oak Ridge . I guess the present building is built on that place . It was okay . I didn 't have any problems with it , except after my second child . I had a staph infection from the hospital . Even an Army wife with a private room got an infection there . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , I think they also had been recruited ; and a lot of them were from Tulane University . The time I was sick with my infection , they were having a reunion at Tulane , and my doctor and another one were gone for the reunion . I didn 't like the one who took care of me . He didn 't do a good job . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was okay . I don 't remember having any problems with it . We knew Dr . Rogers from our church , and we went to him . He was called away to the service , I believe . Maybe it was the Korean War , but then he came back . MRS . DAVIDSON : We met at Pine Valley School . The choir sat on the bleachers , and the minister sat under the halo of the basketball net . My husband was a Methodist , and he went to the First Methodist Church . They had a big youth group there . When we were first married , we tried to take them both in . We went to Sunday school one place , and church another until we finally settled on the Presbyterian . It was smaller , and we knew more people . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course the people . I love my trees and my house . I love all the activities . Both my husband and I have always loved music and enjoy the concerts a lot . The symphony concerts with Waldo Cohn conducting were held at Jefferson Junior High on the Kentucky Avenue hill . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you think back about all the people that you knew in the early days ? Do you think it was unusual for everybody to get along - the many people that were here ? MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , I guess so . I didn 't think about it because we just did . It was just fun . Everybody was away from home , and we had to be family for each other . That was particularly true in this close neighborhood . MRS . DAVIDSON : I 'm pleased for the most part . I think we 've made good progress . We 've kept up with the outside world . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think we came through at the very best of times . It was not the pressure of war , but we were growing community . I think things were happening at the Lab . Both of my husband and I loved the Lab because there were so many good things going on out there . It gives us hope for the future . [ Editor 's Note : This transcript has been edited at Mrs . Davidson 's request . The corresponding audio and video components have remained unchanged . ] Click tabs to swap between content that is broken into logical sections . MR . HUNNICUTT : This interview is for the Center of Oak Ridge Oral History . The date is November 8 , 2012 . I am Don Hunnicutt in the home of Mrs . Mary Ann Davidson , 117 Orange Lane , Oak Ridge , Tennessee , to take her oral history about living in Oak Ridge , Tennessee . Please state your full name and your place of birth and your date of birth . MRS . DAVIDSON : My name is Mary Ann Davidson . My date of birth is January 12 , 1925 . I was born in Louisville , Kentucky . I lived there all my early life until I graduated from college . MRS . DAVIDSON : My father was William H . Courtenay . He was born in 1890 , on March 3 . He was in World War I and lived his entire life in Louisville and Shelbyville , Kentucky . He worked for the Mengel Company . They imported mahogany and hardwood from Africa and Central America . He delivered those to customers . He didn 't consider himself a salesman , but he sold them to the furniture factory - furniture makers around Kentucky , mostly Indiana and Cincinnati and some in Tennessee . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , he did not . The Louisville Male High School was considered a fine school at that time . They said that graduates could enter Harvard in their second year . The principal had written textbooks that were apparently used all over . But my father was interested in raising ponies . His father had a farm in Shelbyville , Kentucky . If you 'd didn 't make the grade , you are special . And Dr . Ruben Post - Halleck , the famous principal of the school , told him if he took an exam in math , he could be entered back in . He did that , and he aced the test . He was back in . Then he was a special in English , so they told him if he memorized the " Lady of the Lake " and said that he could get back in school . So he did that . I think he never did finish . He was a twin , and his twin was more of an engineering type and went to manual training high school . MR . HUNNICUTT : What about your mother 's school history ? MRS . DAVIDSON : She grew up in several small towns in western Kentucky . Her father worked for the L & N Railroad . She had her high school in Hopkinsville , Kentucky . She had to stay home - or she went to junior college nearby . She had a scholarship to Randolph Macon Women 's College , but she couldn 't take it because her mother was ill and died at age 50 . It was about the year I was born , I think . MRS . DAVIDSON : His name was William Howard Courtenay III . My father was named for his uncle , who was also William Howard . My older brother works for Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green in the physics department . He made instruments . My younger brother was a pediatrician in Louisville , and he is still living on a farm in Shelbyville . He 's interested in Kentucky antiques . MR . HUNNICUTT : Yes . MRS . DAVIDSON : I went to an unusual kindergarten and first grade . I was at what they called the Enterprise Branch of I . N . Bloom School . It was only kindergarten and first grade . It was in the older building , where we had a Pot Belly Stove . I think we had a maid to help us take our leggings off in the cold weather - galoshes . It was really a wonderful school . It was almost like a private one . It was public . We did things like making butter and we had an orchestra . I played the triangle . I had started a little bit earlier when my younger brother was born . Louisville had half semester , half - year grades . I would 've been a half year , but I skipped the last half of kindergarten . I went to the school board and took a test and went on , so they put me in the regular school year . I went through the big school the I . N . Bloom School and Highland Junior High School in Louisville . Then I went to Atherton High School for Girls . The Louisville public schools were segregated - boys and girls . There were about 900 girls at Atherton . My graduating class was about 200 , and I was the valedictorian . MRS . DAVIDSON : They are pants to keep your legs warm . They zipped up from the inside of the ankle bone up to about knee - high , I guess it was . They were a royal pain to take on and off , so the teacher had to have help to do that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was just ordinary . I 'm sure the girls wore dresses , and the little boys wore suits - not suits , but pants and shirts . MRS . DAVIDSON : I came to Oak Ridge after I graduated from college . I had two years of getting a master 's at Emory while I worked at my alma mater , Agnes Scott College in Decatur , Georgia . I was the chemistry lab instructor . So after those two years were up , I was interested in working in chemistry or biochemistry . My master 's was in biochemistry . In Louisville , there was nothing in that field , except liquor and paint - neither of which I was interested in . In Atlanta , I would like to stay in Atlanta , I heard that Oak Ridge was an interesting new place , and a lot was going on here . One of my dear college friends had recently married a physicist from the University of Kentucky , so I visited them here . I guess that must have been 1947 . Her husband was working at NEPA . He said they were looking for people with a chemistry degree . I applied , and I was accepted . I didn 't know that until I had completed the clearance , so I took the opportunity to go to Europe at an American youth hostel bicycle tour of Western Europe in the summer of 1948 . When I got home , I found that I had indeed gotten the job at Oak Ridge . So I came down here . MRS . DAVIDSON : I was wondering that . I think I came by train . When I interviewed earlier in the spring , my interview was at the Andrew Johnson Hotel . It was one of the private rooms . I had never seen the company here . I think I must have been met by a car and driver and brought to Oak Ridge . MRS . DAVIDSON : I came in through the Vermont Gateway , which is where the gas station is now on the corner of what I call Vermont . They call it North Rutgers now . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , I think it must 've been after that . That would 've been at Christmas time . When I applied , I imagine it was early spring . MRS . DAVIDSON : We called the company NEPA , for Nuclear Energy for the Propulsion of Aircraft . It was managed by the Fairchild Corporation the way Union Carbide or one of the other contractors managed the lab . I did not know until the first day I went to work just what the company was doing . They handed me a volume of information that said , " We are looking for - we are trying to make an airplane powered by nuclear energy that could fly to Russia and back without refueling . " That was a great shock to me . MRS . DAVIDSON : I lived in Columbia Hall Dormitory . I was very surprised to find that the rent was $ 15 a month until I realized it was one very small room . That was my living quarters . I took the opportunity to stay out of it as much as possible . I did that by babysitting in some of the B and D houses in the evening . Grandmothers were not here since it was a closed community . Babysitters were in short supply , and even though I didn 't need the money , it was good to get out of the dormitory . MRS . DAVIDSON : The dormitory was like Cheyenne Hall . It was the same type of building . It had wooden stairways from the second - floor hall down on each end . I lived on the second floor . Our dormitory was mostly nurses , since it was up on the hill next to the hospital - I think where the west parking lot is now . There was a kitchen on each end where we could have our own breakfast . Of course we were at the plant at lunchtime , and then we usually went out to supper . I opened the refrigerator door one morning and somebody 's milk came spilling out down my front . Everybody just stuffed things into the refrigerator . MRS . DAVIDSON : I had a single room with a twin bed and enough room to walk to the window by the bed . There was a little table that served as a desk with a chair . There was a much coveted dormitory dresser - a tall one with a number of drawers . They were very popular . MRS . DAVIDSON : They had a wonderful bus service here . Travel wasn 't really a problem . We walked , of course , from the dormitory to Jackson Square and ate supper usually at the Mayflower , which is where I first saw my husband - to - be . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was on the corner of Tennessee , right across from the Soup Kitchen and the Texaco gas station there on the northeast corner . It was a very popular place . In fact , there were several places you could eat . It was the Central Cafeteria , and the T & C Cafeteria in Jackson Square , which is about where the Epicurean is now toward the garden . MRS . DAVIDSON : It must 've been the A & P on Jackson Square . Jackson Square was really the center of activity as far as I was concerned at that time . I still love it . I hope it keeps going . MRS . DAVIDSON : The department stores - the big department store was Taylor 's at the time . They had a wonderful book department headed by Mrs . Keyes , whose daughter I knew at work . They had really fine art books and other books that they would have a great sale on once or twice a year . We were very happy with that . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was in the middle of the block between where Big Ed 's is in the corner . I guess it 's mostly used by the engineering company now . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , not frequently , but I went and saw - there was a theater down at Big Ed 's in Jackson Square and where the Playhouse is now . That was the main one . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , the jewelry store was on the corner that was Henebree 's , I think . No , that was Heneger 's . MR . HUNNICUTT : Henebree ? MRS . DAVIDSON : Henebree . McCrory 's 5 & 10 was there . There was a drugstore - a Service Drugstore . I guess that was where Big Ed 's is now , on the very corner . There was Jackson Square Pharmacy , and on the other side the Hamilton Bank was there next to the movie theater . And Samuel 's Men 's Store was a very nice store . The Jackson Square Pharmacy was there , but in between , which the Pharmacy later took over was a Kay 's Ice Cream Store . We used to go there and - my husband and I would when we were dating . I liked to get coffee with ice cream in it , so we went there . MR . HUNNICUTT : I believe that was Taff Moody Ice Cream - they served Kay 's Ice Cream . MRS . DAVIDSON : Was it ? I didn 't remember that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I can 't say that I do . It was just a given , I suppose . It didn 't make a big dent in my memory . After six months of the dormitory , I moved to a D house on Norman Lane . That was another era . MR . HUNNICUTT : What is a D house ? MRS . DAVIDSON : A D house was a large three bedroom house . They were very much desired . They were really nice houses - still a lot of them are . The house was - there were five other girls who lived there - two of whom had been college friends . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , it would 've been upstairs . It was the second one to the end . A radiation technologist lived on the corner , and I lived there with school teachers and nurses who made up most of the dorm . MR . HUNNICUTT : Let 's talk a little bit about the dorm again . If I had a message for you or someone left a message for you , how did you retrieve your messages ? Was there a desk when you went in ? MRS . DAVIDSON : There was a desk downstairs . I remember the Valentine 's Day - I guess it must 've been 1949 . The message was that I had some flowers , some red roses . I had just met my husband - to - be at that time . I got all excited , and when I got to the desk , it was from somebody else . I enjoyed the red roses , but not as much as I might have . The thing was that there were ladies - a lot of the women who lived in the dorm worked on the night shift . They would sit around a large kind of living room , I guess they called it . They were all staring when I got flowers . I had to walk around , and it was embarrassing . MRS . DAVIDSON : I was there in the winter of 1948 . I 'm very cold natured , but I don 't remember being cold . We had those heavy navy blanket - navy blue blankets . This brings up a story if I jump to it later on . We were moved from the D house after another six months into the brand - new Garden Apartments on Villanova Road . They needed our D house for families . The people who moved in were the Andersons of the Anderson Hilltop Grocery . Of course , the furniture all belonged to the government there . So the Garden Apartments were not furnished , so we had dwindled down from 6 to 4 people who needed furniture . I took a day off and went to an auction the government set up down at the warehouses . I got seven beds and three or four dressers - much more than I could have used . But the beds were in great demand at work because all the young men who worked there were having children and needed beds . So we took the four . Also I got two sofas , and we could use but one ; so I sold one . They were really shabby awful sofas . Since it was all going to surplus anyway , we switched and took the nice sofa from the D house and left them the bad one . It was all taken away anyhow , so I didn 't feel too bad about that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't really remember about the telephone . We didn 't use the telephone much . We never used it for long - distance except for emergencies and calls home . I don 't remember that as being a problem particularly . MRS . DAVIDSON : I suppose I went on the bus . I did not have a car . One of the housemates from Norman Lane had gotten the car , but she would 've been at work at K - 25 . I don 't know . I may have gotten a ride . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess I paid somebody to deliver it . I don 't know . Maybe some of the fellows at work picked up their beds that they wanted . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was one of those warehouses down at the [ Oak Ridge ] Turnpike on Warehouse Road . I don 't know exactly where it was . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess it was on the bulletin boards at work , or there was a newspaper at the Lab . I guess I heard about it that way . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think probably so - in the newsletters they came around , also at the recreation building - the rec hall - at Jackson Square that was the library upstairs and the rec hall downstairs . Word - of - mouth - I don 't remember . We had a need and found the answer to it . MRS . DAVIDSON : I had to punch a clock at eight in the morning when I first started . I guess we got out at 4 : 30 or 5 o ' clock . We had bus service that went from the bus terminal - the Central one - that 's now by Bus Terminal Road . Later on after we were married , we lived on Waddell Circle and went from there to the Jefferson bus terminal . I went - I rode on the K - 25 bus , and they went out past K - 25 to the road that the powerhouse was on and NEPA was beyond that out by the river . MRS . DAVIDSON : There was some kind of management services office . I 'm not sure what it was called - the Roane Anderson Corporation at that time , I guess . I think that 's where I rented the dormitory room . I probably got bus tokens - I guess I got the tokens of the bus terminal . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think I had a checking account probably at Hamilton Bank in Jackson Square . I don 't recall otherwise . I know I did later . One thing I wanted to say about the buses - if you wanted to go to Clinton to do any shopping , more than what you could have in Oak Ridge or to meet somebody or something , there was a bus that ran frequently back and forth between the bus terminal and Clinton . There was a young man on the bus who had a sing - songy sales pitch for " peanuts , popcorn , Cracker Jacks , candy , and chewing gum . " He wouldn 't drive , but he would sell his wares all the way to Clinton and back . I always wondered who that was because he obviously had some talent . MRS . DAVIDSON : I 'm sure I did . I don 't know what became of it . I guess I had to turn it back in . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think somebody just got - one of the guards got on the bus and checked everybody 's badges . It was not a big thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : Probably . I don 't remember . What I do remember about that was my mother was coming down one time for my birthday - it must 've been in January 1949 . She rode the train . I told her that I would get a ride to meet her . Of course , the train didn 't stop at Oak Ridge . It went on to Knoxville , so I bummed a ride with one of the men in our group . He was actually the technical assistant to the director . His car was a broken down old thing with no floorboards in the back seat , which was pretty bad when my mother saw it . But she didn 't see it because when we got to Knoxville , she was not there . When we were coming back from the gateway entrance , she was not there . There was a message that she was waiting for us at the Elza Gate Station . She had told the conductor she had to get off at Oak Ridge . That 's where she was going , and I was going to meet her . So she slid down the Elza bank over there . She had my birthday cake - a large chocolate cake . She slid downhill with that , and somehow they stopped her at the guard gate at Elza . She waited there for us . MRS . DAVIDSON : Just for her - let her off like a milk train . They ordinarily didn 't stop there , but she wouldn 't have it otherwise . MRS . DAVIDSON : I used the library and rec hall . On Sunday afternoons , they played music ; and you could sit and write letters home , which is what I think I did a good bit . Later on in the better weather , there were tennis courts and a swimming pool . I don 't remember going to movies much . We went to church groups . There were so many young people ; it was just like a party all the time . Nothing in particular stands out . It was just fun . MRS . DAVIDSON : In the company I was , that was not true . There were a lot of women of course - of course , the dormitory was full of school teachers and nurses . But NEPA was mostly men . There were two parts to the Fairchild - the science and engineering part , which was bigger . I happen to be in the research part . My boss was a chemist - Vince Calkins . It was my job to - this was a real shocker to me - to find a chemical that would protect the human body against radiation for the reactor that was supposed to be in the airplane to Russia . I had no background for that kind of thing . I was just fresh out of college really . I realized I was out of my depth , but they decided - he was a pharmacist , I believe , and he wanted to do experiments with rats . They brought in the rat colony . By that time we had a couple of assistants , and I was supposed to be the group leader . One of the men , Ray Waldrop - you may have talked to him . I asked him if he minded working for a woman because he was really more experienced than I , although I had the degree . It was fine with him . There was also another worker , Saul Segal , who was quite a character in his own right . I took the rats in the cages over to the reactor , the " Old Lady " at X - 10 , and put them through what they called " rabbits " and radiated them for certain amount of time . We couldn 't kill the darn things . Then we used the older ones that had already been radiated , they were just tough as anything . I think the experiment was really a failure , although they may have found that to be the case in some later work with older people - that the cells are not dividing as fast and they 're not as subject to radiation . But we didn 't get into that . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was actually not K - 25 . It was beyond there . As I said , the bus took us - the bus dumped people off at K - 25 , and they went on west to just before you get to the Gallaher Bridge . You turn right there and go right past the power station there . It was used for a long time - the power house , and then NEPA was beyond that . The native rats came in - was it domestic experimental rats ? That was not good . I had a janitor who helped me , even though he could 've lost his job for doing it . He helped me clean cages . I always appreciated that . MRS . DAVIDSON : When they got rid of the rats , which was a blessing , my group leader then became Bill Browning , who was a fine scientist . He worked on the Van de Graaff generator . We had an interesting argument . Saul Segal thought he should be the one to do it since he was a man and I was a woman who would be leaving soon ; and it turned out that he left for California before I had left to have my baby . His argument didn 't hold with me anyway , but we argued about that some . We did run the Van de Graaff , and we also did some experiments on metallic sodium . It was nasty stuff to work with . It caught on fire if it was exposed to air . You had to work with that under oil in the glove box . I think that work all had to be repeated after NEPA left for Cincinnati with G . E . . When they moved part of NEPA to X - 10 , they called it the ANP , or something about aircraft and nuclear power . I was not connected with that because my first baby was born in August 1951 . I left in July . MRS . DAVIDSON : I heard somebody say that they had to repeat it all . My boss , the Division Director of Chemistry was interested in vitamin E , and thought it had a lot of protective influence . We worked with that . That was some of the work I did in chemistry - the lab part of it in the early days . It was not good work , I think . I 'm not blaming myself , but some of the other men who were doing chemical work - I think altogether we didn 't come up with anything . MRS . DAVIDSON : It may have been ahead of it 's time for nuclear submarines . I don 't know whether the engineering people thought that or not . In our group which was the chemistry and the physics , my friend who got me the job was Jim Trice . A fellow named Art Miller and somebody named Coneybearwere in the Physics Division . And then there were some others - Fred Maienschein . I did some work for him one time . It was work on beryllium for one thing . I didn 't work with any of the active beryllium . I didn 't do any lab work then , but I did some journal research . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't think they were that far along . I 'm not sure what happened to that part of it . As I said , in July of 1951 they moved to Cincinnati , Evensville , above Cincinnati . I don 't know how many people actually went up there . Most of my friends moved elsewhere . MR . HUNNICUTT : You mentioned the location of the operation was past the steam plant that was on the Clinch River . Was that the same location where the S - 50 project was located ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I think that was the name of our plot of land . I think those - I never was quite sure how they got the designations , but that was the Fairchild domain , I think . MRS . DAVIDSON : Really , it was just when our eyes met . It was very romantic . He followed our group home to the Columbia Hall to see where I lived . But at the time I thought he was too young , and I didn 't think he was following me . I was with a group of other girls . Later on , one of the women in the dormitory , who was a gym teacher in the Oak Ridge schools , told me I really ought to meet Jack Davidson that he loved to ride bicycles ; I was just back from my bicycle trip in Europe . I didn 't know who he was , and then I went to a church group meeting at my Presbyterian Church for young people one Sunday evening . A friend of mine had brought Jack Davidson , and he was the one whose eyes I had met and he had met mine . Sure enough , he loved to ride bicycles . That was the start of a good thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : We did a little bit . On our dates , that 's really what we did mostly at first . We rode out to West Outer Drive and had those wonderful big hills , not too much traffic at that time . We went out to the water tower at the top of Louisiana and had a picnic , and then rode back . When we got really good , we rode our bicycles over to Concord Park one day . I had gotten some chicken breasts at the grocery . I guess it was the A & P at Jackson Square . I was going to fry them for a picnic to take along over to Concord Park . When I went to the refrigerator to get them , they had turned into wings . Somebody had eaten my chicken breast . Jack was a good sport about that . He didn 't care . We had a nice ride . It was before they had improved Lovell Road . It was a pretty rough ride over there , but we were able to enjoy it . MRS . DAVIDSON : He had his bicycle . It was probably a Grey Stone . For me , he rented a bicycle from his work friend . I had forgotten what his name was . We went over to one of the D Streets , I think , and rode them . I didn 't have my English 3 - speed here . I guess I brought it later , but at that time I didn 't have it . MRS . DAVIDSON : That was a problem . I complained to my friend Jim Trice 's wife , Dot , who happened to live around the corner on Outer Drive at that time . She said the boardwalk was used a lot for dating , and of course the theaters . I guess we were outdoors people . I don 't know . MRS . DAVIDSON : He was a graduate of Georgia Tech . At the time he graduated , he was very young . He came up to see about a job , and he was drafted . No , he was in danger of being drafted right away , but they didn 't hire him . He did go to work for NASA , which was at that time NACA , in Virginia ; and worked over there a short time before he was taken into the Army . He had gone through Georgia Tech on a " War Manpower " loan . He was sent to some place to be an MP , I think . He wrote a night letter , which is a 50 - word telegram that was cheaper at night . He wrote a night letter to Stimson , the Secretary of War , telling them they had paid for his college education ; and here he was sitting in a camp doing nothing down in Alabama . He was transferred to the SED , he would never say that was the reason he was transferred . It may or may not have been . He arrived with the SED - he arrived in Oak Ridge the day Roosevelt died , which was in April 1945 , he was here with his group for maybe six weeks before they went out to Los Alamos . So he spent the rest of the war out there . Then he used his G . I . Bill - he stayed on at Los Alamos . They told them they would let him out of the Army if he would agree to stay on as a civilian . So he took that . Then when he did leave , he went to Annapolis and took a liberal arts course because he felt that he had missed out on it at Georgia Tech . He had a year at St . John 's College of Annapolis ; and then all along I guess he thought he would like to come back here . He came back - he arrived on Armistice Day , now Veterans Day , of 1948 . I was here a couple of months before he came , but we met shortly after Christmas in 1949 . MRS . DAVIDSON : Too long . We were married in May 1950 . He wanted to pay off his loan before we could get married , so I helped him along with that . I fed him some . He was very welcome at the D House of girls . I was going to tell you that during the war , there were nine girls in the house , and they slept on shifts on the bunk beds . There were only six of us when I was there . There were a couple of the boyfriends around , and one of them cut the grass . I think Jack did the - empty the clinkers from the furnace , the coal furnace . They made themselves useful . They got their dinner . MR . HUNNICUTT : Tell me about the coal furnace briefly . MRS . DAVIDSON : Most of the houses were a very good design really , and a whole lot better built than we gave them credit for . But each one that I knew of had a corner set off or closed off as a coal storage place that could be filled through a window from the outside , and then you could use the - there was an opening on the inside that you could use to put coal into the furnace . That was awful of course , but that 's what all the houses were doing in that time , too . We had a yard full of clinkers over there . MRS . DAVIDSON : We were taken care of by a Big Brother - the government . They brought the coal around , and you didn 't do a thing . That was part of the rent . When we got our house here on Orange Lane , that 's another story . Are you ready for that yet ? MRS . DAVIDSON : We went back to my home in Louisville , Kentucky , to be married . We had planned to fly to Nashville , but it turned out the Delta Queen was coming through Louisville the next morning . My mother had told us we could not get married the week before because it was too busy with Derby Day . So we delayed until May 13 . Then we spent the night in Louisville at the Brown Hotel , where she pulled some strings to get us a room because it was still very full of visitors from the Derby . We got on the Delta Queen , and our friends were all on the dock to see us off . They had us almost convinced that we were on Daylight Saving Time , and the Delta Queen was not , and we had missed it . But we rode down just as far as Paducah . We were anxious to start in life you know . We lived on Wadell Circle in a K apartment . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you recall the number ? MRS . DAVIDSON : It was a two - story thing . I guess it was a two - bedroom up above , and we had K - 1 . It was sort of underground at the front and open at the back . We had a nice back porch . There was a closet under the stairway and a very small kitchen . It had a table that folded down . It was not as compact as a flattop , but the furnishings that they had did double duty . You could fold it up and have more room . MRS . DAVIDSON : The K apartment was heated with the coal furnace , but there was a janitor who came around and took care of it for us . We were taken care of by Roane Anderson . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you remember what the rent was ? MRS . DAVIDSON : We lived in the K from May 1950 , until we got this house in July 1952 . It was said - the word around town was that you couldn 't get a two - bedroom house unless you had three children , all of different sex . We had been on the list for this house ever since we knew our daughter was coming along . That was a long time to wait . We had been offered two houses - Florida Avenue , where the parking was across the street and the backyard just dropped off . We thought that was totally unsuitable for a new child . We turned both of those down . If we had turned this one down , we would 've gone to the bottom of the long list . But we loved this place of the trees and the dead end lane neighborhood . So we sat outside in front all weekend because we were not top on the list . The reason the other people didn 't take it was that the previous owner , Jim Cox and Charlotte , had put in an oil furnace ; and nobody wanted to pay $ 200 for the oil furnace . Since I had been working , we had saved my salary from work , and we had $ 200 to pay . Also , they didn 't want to be in the high rent district . This house rented for something like $ 45 instead of $ 43 in the lower rent districts . MRS . DAVIDSON : The Oak Ridge cemesto houses that were built - I think this house was built in the fall of 1944 or 1943 . Maybe it was ' 43 . The B house has two bedrooms and of course a bath and a kitchen with a dinette into a long narrow living room . It was about 24 feet by 40 something feet . It was small and convenient . It didn 't have much storage space , but it 's been a wonderful house for us because of the trees . We are on a greenbelt , and I enjoy that very much . It 's a nice private neighborhood just above Jackson Square . MRS . DAVIDSON : Our cemesto has a fireplace , and it had a complete brick wall . Some of the B houses had a brick wall just beyond the fireplace . MRS . DAVIDSON : There are hardwood floors in all the cemestos , I believe . Our house has maple flooring , and a lot of them had oak . Wood was hard to come by in the wartime . We love the color - the reddish color of the maple . MRS . DAVIDSON : Adele is our second daughter , and she was two years younger . Our son is Bill Davidson or William . He was born in November of 1954 . He 's just now turning 58 . MR . HUNNICUTT : So your first daughter went to Cedar Hill ? MRS . DAVIDSON : All three of our children went to Cedar Hill . They had split grades there , so I think the classes were one half size . They would take the kids a half from one grade , and half from the next grade , and that worked out just fine . MRS . DAVIDSON : Cedar Hill was wonderful . It was very special . Mr . Dodd was the principal , and he saw to it - he had the best teachers or at least as good as any . Actually in those days all the teachers and Oak Ridge were special because many of them had been recruited from Columbia Teachers College , along with the superintendent . Others were specially recruited for the job . They were a group a part , I think , from a lot of teachers . MRS . DAVIDSON : The girls both went to Jefferson when it was on the hill at Jackson Square , and Bill was in the first year at the new Jefferson that was over on Fairbanks Road . His was the first class there . They all went through Oak Ridge High . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you recall some of the classes your daughters took while they were in junior high ? Was there Home Ec . or things related to girls ? MRS . DAVIDSON : No , they were on the college prep track . They took eighth grade algebra and that kind of thing . Of course English and math and social studies and science - our older girl I think took biology ; and I 'm not sure if Adele had a more general science course . It just depended on the teacher that they had . They had an excellent education , and the girls were both Merit semifinalists . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course . I was in the PTA . I 'm not sure if I was ever a room mother , but I of course helped with parties and things . MRS . DAVIDSON : The teachers recruited them from each class to help with parties mostly . They helped with any activities that they didn 't really have time to do . MRS . DAVIDSON : Parent - Teacher Association , a time honored group . It got extra things for the school . I got involved with raincoats for the school patrol . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess maybe I was a treasurer of the Cedar Hill PTA , and this goal was to get those yellow slicker raincoat so kids could be visible to the drivers . I found out how much the things cost , and then I estimated postage . At the PTA meeting , Alvin Weinberg was president . He had a son or two in school at the time . He took me to task for estimating the postage , so I had to ask for just the money for the coats themselves since I didn 't really know what the postage is going to be . I thought that was interesting that he wanted to keep it to the exact penny . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think they just wore what the other kids wore . One day we had a deep snow and Bill was in kindergarten , and the snow was up over their boots . I think he had some corduroys . The teacher was making the kids take their pants off and dry them on the radiator , and he wouldn 't do it . I had to go up to the school and take him some fresh pants , some dry clothes . He was very young - just four when he started . MR . HUNNICUTT : Let 's go back a few years . Do you remember 1945 when they dropped the bomb on Japan ? You remember where you were ? And what was your reaction ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I do remember that very clearly because it was the summer after my junior year in college , and I was a camp counselor up in Door County , Wisconsin . There was no electricity at the camp , so we counselors - after we got the kids to bed , went to the state park nearby . This was at Fish Creek , Wisconsin . We would listen to people 's car radios . We knew for about a week that something was happening , but we didn 't know just what . It was very deeply moving when the bomb was dropped , and we thought it would bring an end to the war . Of course , I had friends and a brother on Guam and a cousin was in Europe and others . So that was very deeply moving . I had a book of poetry - my favorite poems at the camp with me . One of my 12 - year - olds picked out a poem - " Once to every man and nation comes a moment to decide " - she read that , and I thought that was very astute of her , a youngster to be able to do that . MRS . DAVIDSON : My husband thought they should have dropped a sample first , but I didn 't feel that way since the first bomb didn 't phase the Japanese . I didn 't think the test one would have either . I was just so glad that the war was over . People could settle down and get into real life again . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think I was in transition from the dormitory to the house , and my husband 's brothers came up from Georgia to witness the opening . So we drove in their car around , and we watched the parade from , I believe , down on the eastern end of the Turnpike down near the warehouses to get out of the traffic . We never could figure out why they invited Marie " The Body " McDonald and [ inaudible ] to ride in the open car for the parade . We couldn 't figure out what they had to do with it , but we did see the burning of the magnesium ribbon . That was exciting . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was only toward town from Elza Gate . I know the central part of town , the Jackson Square area , was very crowded . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think they name the streets for famous cities in the country , and of course the alphabetical designations were very helpful . But Jackson Square , I assume , was named for New Orleans . That 's all I know about it . MRS . DAVIDSON : Sometimes you would pick up the telephone , and the other party was talking . I believe they had different rings . I think maybe the other party had one ring , and we had two . There were four - party lines , but if we were on a four - party line , only the other one was active . I think maybe we were . The other two lines were not being used . MR . HUNNICUTT : When you are raising your family , did you hang your clothes outside on the clothesline ? Did you have a dryer ? What did you use ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I hung them outside on the clothesline . As I said , when we moved here , Anne was a year old . Not much more than three years after that , we had three babies . I was able to talk my husband into getting a dryer that time . Before that , he had built a pulley out of my kitchen window . There was a drop off in the back , and he was able to string it to a tree in the woods . I was able to reel those cloth diapers and reel them in and out . The only problem was that the birds like the trees , too . Sometimes I had to do some re - washing . MR . HUNNICUTT : So in those days you use cloth diapers ? Today we use disposable diapers . How do you think you would 've done if you had disposable diapers ? MRS . DAVIDSON : At one point , when our children were out playing Kick the Can , there were over 40 children on the lane . There were about 20 or 21 houses . There were almost as many dogs . It was just a glorious place for them to grow up . They seem to get along remarkably well most of the time , especially in the early days . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes . We went down there on the opening , and got the radioactive dimes on that occasion . The museum at that time was down at Jefferson Circle . I don 't think any of us ever had our hair stand out on the Van De Graff generator or whatever it was , but we took the children . We went out ourselves . Of course my husband was interested in that kind of thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : Sometimes they walked to Jefferson , but by that time they were carrying pretty heavy books . One of the neighbors on Outer Drive wanted to have a carpool , so we joined that . MRS . DAVIDSON : When Anne was in the fifth grade , they had to write what they did on Friday nights . The teacher would call me and say , " Is it true that you gave your children ice water and watched TV on Friday nights ? " That was how generous we were with them . We didn 't get a TV until they were probably five or six years old . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course it was black and white . The reason we got it - I guess finally it was that the children were always going to the neighbors ' house to watch TV . We decided that we should get our own . They watched things like " Pinky Lee " and I 've forgotten what else . MRS . DAVIDSON : I remember that fondly because my first real date with my husband was going to dinner there with him . He invited me to go to a concert in Knoxville , and his excuse was that we should get to know each other better before he took me to the city with him . That was one thing . I remember there were parties there , and our company had a party at the Oak Terrace Ballroom . One of the NEPA fellows wore a Tarzan costume , which was mostly nothing . It turned out that he lived in the neighborhood . MR . HUNNICUTT : What was the Oak Terrace ballroom - where was it located ? MRS . DAVIDSON : That was just below the dormitory where I lived in Columbia Hall . Jack went there looking for me , he thought I would eat breakfast there and then he could have breakfast with me ; but I ate in the dormitory . He didn 't find me there . When we came back from our bicycle ride to Concord Park , I remember we stopped by there , and he drank two or three Mountain Dew drinks . That surprised me , but we had worked off a lot of sweat . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , we took our children out there and saw " Lawrence of Arabia " and " The 10 Commandment " and those things . It was quite nice . MR . HUNNICUTT : Where was it located ? MRS . DAVIDSON : It was about where Kroger 's - where that is now , on the southeast part of Illinois Avenue . It was a nice thing . That was a special treat for the children to go out there . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't think so . I think they were mostly in the car . They had a drawing one time , Jack won something . It was actually nothing , but he did win . MRS . DAVIDSON : I sure did . My three children were born there . It was a green structure , like so many of the buildings in Oak Ridge . I guess the present building is built on that place . It was okay . I didn 't have any problems with it , except after my second child . I had a staph infection from the hospital . Even an Army wife with a private room got an infection there . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , I think they also had been recruited ; and a lot of them were from Tulane University . The time I was sick with my infection , they were having a reunion at Tulane , and my doctor and another one were gone for the reunion . I didn 't like the one who took care of me . He didn 't do a good job . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was okay . I don 't remember having any problems with it . We knew Dr . Rogers from our church , and we went to him . He was called away to the service , I believe . Maybe it was the Korean War , but then he came back . MRS . DAVIDSON : We met at Pine Valley School . The choir sat on the bleachers , and the minister sat under the halo of the basketball net . My husband was a Methodist , and he went to the First Methodist Church . They had a big youth group there . When we were first married , we tried to take them both in . We went to Sunday school one place , and church another until we finally settled on the Presbyterian . It was smaller , and we knew more people . MR . HUNNICUTT : Thinking back , what do you like best about Oak Ridge ? MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course the people . I love my trees and my house . I love all the activities . Both my husband and I have always loved music and enjoy the concerts a lot . The symphony concerts with Waldo Cohn conducting were held at Jefferson Junior High on the Kentucky Avenue hill . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you think back about all the people that you knew in the early days ? Do you think it was unusual for everybody to get along - the many people that were here ? MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , I guess so . I didn 't think about it because we just did . It was just fun . Everybody was away from home , and we had to be family for each other . That was particularly true in this close neighborhood . MRS . DAVIDSON : I 'm pleased for the most part . I think we 've made good progress . We 've kept up with the outside world . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't know . I 'll probably think of things after you leave . Nothing particular comes to mind . MR . HUNNICUTT : I would like to thank you for your time , and I think this interview will be very helpful for someone in the future to see how you lived in Oak Ridge in the early days . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think we came through at the very best of times . It was not the pressure of war , but we were growing community . I think things were happening at the Lab . Both of my husband and I loved the Lab because there were so many good things going on out there . It gives us hope for the future . MR . HUNNICUTT : I thank you very much for your time . [ Editor 's Note : This transcript has been edited at Mrs . Davidson 's request . The corresponding audio and video components have remained unchanged . ] Your rating was saved . you wish to report :

MR . HUNNICUTT : This interview is for the Center of Oak Ridge Oral History . The date is November 8 , 2012 . I am Don Hunnicutt in the home of Mrs . Mary Ann Davidson , 117 Orange Lane , Oak Ridge , Tennessee , to take her oral history about living in Oak Ridge , Tennessee . Please state your full name and your place of birth and your date of birth . MRS . DAVIDSON : My name is Mary Ann Davidson . My date of birth is January 12 , 1925 . I was born in Louisville , Kentucky . I lived there all my early life until I graduated from college . MRS . DAVIDSON : My father was William H . Courtenay . He was born in 1890 , on March 3 . He was in World War I and lived his entire life in Louisville and Shelbyville , Kentucky . He worked for the Mengel Company . They imported mahogany and hardwood from Africa and Central America . He delivered those to customers . He didn 't consider himself a salesman , but he sold them to the furniture factory - furniture makers around Kentucky , mostly Indiana and Cincinnati and some in Tennessee . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , he did not . The Louisville Male High School was considered a fine school at that time . They said that graduates could enter Harvard in their second year . The principal had written textbooks that were apparently used all over . But my father was interested in raising ponies . His father had a farm in Shelbyville , Kentucky . If you 'd didn 't make the grade , you are special . And Dr . Ruben Post - Halleck , the famous principal of the school , told him if he took an exam in math , he could be entered back in . He did that , and he aced the test . He was back in . Then he was a special in English , so they told him if he memorized the " Lady of the Lake " and said that he could get back in school . So he did that . I think he never did finish . He was a twin , and his twin was more of an engineering type and went to manual training high school . MRS . DAVIDSON : She grew up in several small towns in western Kentucky . Her father worked for the L & N Railroad . She had her high school in Hopkinsville , Kentucky . She had to stay home - or she went to junior college nearby . She had a scholarship to Randolph Macon Women 's College , but she couldn 't take it because her mother was ill and died at age 50 . It was about the year I was born , I think . MRS . DAVIDSON : His name was William Howard Courtenay III . My father was named for his uncle , who was also William Howard . My older brother works for Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green in the physics department . He made instruments . My younger brother was a pediatrician in Louisville , and he is still living on a farm in Shelbyville . He 's interested in Kentucky antiques . MRS . DAVIDSON : I went to an unusual kindergarten and first grade . I was at what they called the Enterprise Branch of I . N . Bloom School . It was only kindergarten and first grade . It was in the older building , where we had a Pot Belly Stove . I think we had a maid to help us take our leggings off in the cold weather - galoshes . It was really a wonderful school . It was almost like a private one . It was public . We did things like making butter and we had an orchestra . I played the triangle . I had started a little bit earlier when my younger brother was born . Louisville had half semester , half - year grades . I would 've been a half year , but I skipped the last half of kindergarten . I went to the school board and took a test and went on , so they put me in the regular school year . I went through the big school the I . N . Bloom School and Highland Junior High School in Louisville . Then I went to Atherton High School for Girls . The Louisville public schools were segregated - boys and girls . There were about 900 girls at Atherton . My graduating class was about 200 , and I was the valedictorian . MRS . DAVIDSON : They are pants to keep your legs warm . They zipped up from the inside of the ankle bone up to about knee - high , I guess it was . They were a royal pain to take on and off , so the teacher had to have help to do that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was just ordinary . I 'm sure the girls wore dresses , and the little boys wore suits - not suits , but pants and shirts . MRS . DAVIDSON : I came to Oak Ridge after I graduated from college . I had two years of getting a master 's at Emory while I worked at my alma mater , Agnes Scott College in Decatur , Georgia . I was the chemistry lab instructor . So after those two years were up , I was interested in working in chemistry or biochemistry . My master 's was in biochemistry . In Louisville , there was nothing in that field , except liquor and paint - neither of which I was interested in . In Atlanta , I would like to stay in Atlanta , I heard that Oak Ridge was an interesting new place , and a lot was going on here . One of my dear college friends had recently married a physicist from the University of Kentucky , so I visited them here . I guess that must have been 1947 . Her husband was working at NEPA . He said they were looking for people with a chemistry degree . I applied , and I was accepted . I didn 't know that until I had completed the clearance , so I took the opportunity to go to Europe at an American youth hostel bicycle tour of Western Europe in the summer of 1948 . When I got home , I found that I had indeed gotten the job at Oak Ridge . So I came down here . MRS . DAVIDSON : I was wondering that . I think I came by train . When I interviewed earlier in the spring , my interview was at the Andrew Johnson Hotel . It was one of the private rooms . I had never seen the company here . I think I must have been met by a car and driver and brought to Oak Ridge . MRS . DAVIDSON : I came in through the Vermont Gateway , which is where the gas station is now on the corner of what I call Vermont . They call it North Rutgers now . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , I think it must 've been after that . That would 've been at Christmas time . When I applied , I imagine it was early spring . MRS . DAVIDSON : We called the company NEPA , for Nuclear Energy for the Propulsion of Aircraft . It was managed by the Fairchild Corporation the way Union Carbide or one of the other contractors managed the lab . I did not know until the first day I went to work just what the company was doing . They handed me a volume of information that said , " We are looking for - we are trying to make an airplane powered by nuclear energy that could fly to Russia and back without refueling . " That was a great shock to me . MRS . DAVIDSON : I lived in Columbia Hall Dormitory . I was very surprised to find that the rent was $ 15 a month until I realized it was one very small room . That was my living quarters . I took the opportunity to stay out of it as much as possible . I did that by babysitting in some of the B and D houses in the evening . Grandmothers were not here since it was a closed community . Babysitters were in short supply , and even though I didn 't need the money , it was good to get out of the dormitory . MRS . DAVIDSON : The dormitory was like Cheyenne Hall . It was the same type of building . It had wooden stairways from the second - floor hall down on each end . I lived on the second floor . Our dormitory was mostly nurses , since it was up on the hill next to the hospital - I think where the west parking lot is now . There was a kitchen on each end where we could have our own breakfast . Of course we were at the plant at lunchtime , and then we usually went out to supper . I opened the refrigerator door one morning and somebody 's milk came spilling out down my front . Everybody just stuffed things into the refrigerator . MRS . DAVIDSON : I had a single room with a twin bed and enough room to walk to the window by the bed . There was a little table that served as a desk with a chair . There was a much coveted dormitory dresser - a tall one with a number of drawers . They were very popular . MRS . DAVIDSON : They had a wonderful bus service here . Travel wasn 't really a problem . We walked , of course , from the dormitory to Jackson Square and ate supper usually at the Mayflower , which is where I first saw my husband - to - be . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was on the corner of Tennessee , right across from the Soup Kitchen and the Texaco gas station there on the northeast corner . It was a very popular place . In fact , there were several places you could eat . It was the Central Cafeteria , and the T & C Cafeteria in Jackson Square , which is about where the Epicurean is now toward the garden . MRS . DAVIDSON : It must 've been the A & P on Jackson Square . Jackson Square was really the center of activity as far as I was concerned at that time . I still love it . I hope it keeps going . MRS . DAVIDSON : The department stores - the big department store was Taylor 's at the time . They had a wonderful book department headed by Mrs . Keyes , whose daughter I knew at work . They had really fine art books and other books that they would have a great sale on once or twice a year . We were very happy with that . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was in the middle of the block between where Big Ed 's is in the corner . I guess it 's mostly used by the engineering company now . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , not frequently , but I went and saw - there was a theater down at Big Ed 's in Jackson Square and where the Playhouse is now . That was the main one . MRS . DAVIDSON : Henebree . McCrory 's 5 & 10 was there . There was a drugstore - a Service Drugstore . I guess that was where Big Ed 's is now , on the very corner . There was Jackson Square Pharmacy , and on the other side the Hamilton Bank was there next to the movie theater . And Samuel 's Men 's Store was a very nice store . The Jackson Square Pharmacy was there , but in between , which the Pharmacy later took over was a Kay 's Ice Cream Store . We used to go there and - my husband and I would when we were dating . I liked to get coffee with ice cream in it , so we went there . MRS . DAVIDSON : I can 't say that I do . It was just a given , I suppose . It didn 't make a big dent in my memory . After six months of the dormitory , I moved to a D house on Norman Lane . That was another era . MRS . DAVIDSON : A D house was a large three bedroom house . They were very much desired . They were really nice houses - still a lot of them are . The house was - there were five other girls who lived there - two of whom had been college friends . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , it would 've been upstairs . It was the second one to the end . A radiation technologist lived on the corner , and I lived there with school teachers and nurses who made up most of the dorm . MR . HUNNICUTT : Let 's talk a little bit about the dorm again . If I had a message for you or someone left a message for you , how did you retrieve your messages ? Was there a desk when you went in ? MRS . DAVIDSON : There was a desk downstairs . I remember the Valentine 's Day - I guess it must 've been 1949 . The message was that I had some flowers , some red roses . I had just met my husband - to - be at that time . I got all excited , and when I got to the desk , it was from somebody else . I enjoyed the red roses , but not as much as I might have . The thing was that there were ladies - a lot of the women who lived in the dorm worked on the night shift . They would sit around a large kind of living room , I guess they called it . They were all staring when I got flowers . I had to walk around , and it was embarrassing . MRS . DAVIDSON : I was there in the winter of 1948 . I 'm very cold natured , but I don 't remember being cold . We had those heavy navy blanket - navy blue blankets . This brings up a story if I jump to it later on . We were moved from the D house after another six months into the brand - new Garden Apartments on Villanova Road . They needed our D house for families . The people who moved in were the Andersons of the Anderson Hilltop Grocery . Of course , the furniture all belonged to the government there . So the Garden Apartments were not furnished , so we had dwindled down from 6 to 4 people who needed furniture . I took a day off and went to an auction the government set up down at the warehouses . I got seven beds and three or four dressers - much more than I could have used . But the beds were in great demand at work because all the young men who worked there were having children and needed beds . So we took the four . Also I got two sofas , and we could use but one ; so I sold one . They were really shabby awful sofas . Since it was all going to surplus anyway , we switched and took the nice sofa from the D house and left them the bad one . It was all taken away anyhow , so I didn 't feel too bad about that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't really remember about the telephone . We didn 't use the telephone much . We never used it for long - distance except for emergencies and calls home . I don 't remember that as being a problem particularly . MRS . DAVIDSON : I suppose I went on the bus . I did not have a car . One of the housemates from Norman Lane had gotten the car , but she would 've been at work at K - 25 . I don 't know . I may have gotten a ride . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess I paid somebody to deliver it . I don 't know . Maybe some of the fellows at work picked up their beds that they wanted . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was one of those warehouses down at the [ Oak Ridge ] Turnpike on Warehouse Road . I don 't know exactly where it was . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess it was on the bulletin boards at work , or there was a newspaper at the Lab . I guess I heard about it that way . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think probably so - in the newsletters they came around , also at the recreation building - the rec hall - at Jackson Square that was the library upstairs and the rec hall downstairs . Word - of - mouth - I don 't remember . We had a need and found the answer to it . MRS . DAVIDSON : I had to punch a clock at eight in the morning when I first started . I guess we got out at 4 : 30 or 5 o ' clock . We had bus service that went from the bus terminal - the Central one - that 's now by Bus Terminal Road . Later on after we were married , we lived on Waddell Circle and went from there to the Jefferson bus terminal . I went - I rode on the K - 25 bus , and they went out past K - 25 to the road that the powerhouse was on and NEPA was beyond that out by the river . MRS . DAVIDSON : There was some kind of management services office . I 'm not sure what it was called - the Roane Anderson Corporation at that time , I guess . I think that 's where I rented the dormitory room . I probably got bus tokens - I guess I got the tokens of the bus terminal . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think I had a checking account probably at Hamilton Bank in Jackson Square . I don 't recall otherwise . I know I did later . One thing I wanted to say about the buses - if you wanted to go to Clinton to do any shopping , more than what you could have in Oak Ridge or to meet somebody or something , there was a bus that ran frequently back and forth between the bus terminal and Clinton . There was a young man on the bus who had a sing - songy sales pitch for " peanuts , popcorn , Cracker Jacks , candy , and chewing gum . " He wouldn 't drive , but he would sell his wares all the way to Clinton and back . I always wondered who that was because he obviously had some talent . MRS . DAVIDSON : I 'm sure I did . I don 't know what became of it . I guess I had to turn it back in . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think somebody just got - one of the guards got on the bus and checked everybody 's badges . It was not a big thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : Probably . I don 't remember . What I do remember about that was my mother was coming down one time for my birthday - it must 've been in January 1949 . She rode the train . I told her that I would get a ride to meet her . Of course , the train didn 't stop at Oak Ridge . It went on to Knoxville , so I bummed a ride with one of the men in our group . He was actually the technical assistant to the director . His car was a broken down old thing with no floorboards in the back seat , which was pretty bad when my mother saw it . But she didn 't see it because when we got to Knoxville , she was not there . When we were coming back from the gateway entrance , she was not there . There was a message that she was waiting for us at the Elza Gate Station . She had told the conductor she had to get off at Oak Ridge . That 's where she was going , and I was going to meet her . So she slid down the Elza bank over there . She had my birthday cake - a large chocolate cake . She slid downhill with that , and somehow they stopped her at the guard gate at Elza . She waited there for us . MRS . DAVIDSON : Just for her - let her off like a milk train . They ordinarily didn 't stop there , but she wouldn 't have it otherwise . MRS . DAVIDSON : I used the library and rec hall . On Sunday afternoons , they played music ; and you could sit and write letters home , which is what I think I did a good bit . Later on in the better weather , there were tennis courts and a swimming pool . I don 't remember going to movies much . We went to church groups . There were so many young people ; it was just like a party all the time . Nothing in particular stands out . It was just fun . MRS . DAVIDSON : In the company I was , that was not true . There were a lot of women of course - of course , the dormitory was full of school teachers and nurses . But NEPA was mostly men . There were two parts to the Fairchild - the science and engineering part , which was bigger . I happen to be in the research part . My boss was a chemist - Vince Calkins . It was my job to - this was a real shocker to me - to find a chemical that would protect the human body against radiation for the reactor that was supposed to be in the airplane to Russia . I had no background for that kind of thing . I was just fresh out of college really . I realized I was out of my depth , but they decided - he was a pharmacist , I believe , and he wanted to do experiments with rats . They brought in the rat colony . By that time we had a couple of assistants , and I was supposed to be the group leader . One of the men , Ray Waldrop - you may have talked to him . I asked him if he minded working for a woman because he was really more experienced than I , although I had the degree . It was fine with him . There was also another worker , Saul Segal , who was quite a character in his own right . I took the rats in the cages over to the reactor , the " Old Lady " at X - 10 , and put them through what they called " rabbits " and radiated them for certain amount of time . We couldn 't kill the darn things . Then we used the older ones that had already been radiated , they were just tough as anything . I think the experiment was really a failure , although they may have found that to be the case in some later work with older people - that the cells are not dividing as fast and they 're not as subject to radiation . But we didn 't get into that . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was actually not K - 25 . It was beyond there . As I said , the bus took us - the bus dumped people off at K - 25 , and they went on west to just before you get to the Gallaher Bridge . You turn right there and go right past the power station there . It was used for a long time - the power house , and then NEPA was beyond that . The native rats came in - was it domestic experimental rats ? That was not good . I had a janitor who helped me , even though he could 've lost his job for doing it . He helped me clean cages . I always appreciated that . MRS . DAVIDSON : When they got rid of the rats , which was a blessing , my group leader then became Bill Browning , who was a fine scientist . He worked on the Van de Graaff generator . We had an interesting argument . Saul Segal thought he should be the one to do it since he was a man and I was a woman who would be leaving soon ; and it turned out that he left for California before I had left to have my baby . His argument didn 't hold with me anyway , but we argued about that some . We did run the Van de Graaff , and we also did some experiments on metallic sodium . It was nasty stuff to work with . It caught on fire if it was exposed to air . You had to work with that under oil in the glove box . I think that work all had to be repeated after NEPA left for Cincinnati with G . E . . When they moved part of NEPA to X - 10 , they called it the ANP , or something about aircraft and nuclear power . I was not connected with that because my first baby was born in August 1951 . I left in July . MRS . DAVIDSON : I heard somebody say that they had to repeat it all . My boss , the Division Director of Chemistry was interested in vitamin E , and thought it had a lot of protective influence . We worked with that . That was some of the work I did in chemistry - the lab part of it in the early days . It was not good work , I think . I 'm not blaming myself , but some of the other men who were doing chemical work - I think altogether we didn 't come up with anything . MRS . DAVIDSON : It may have been ahead of it 's time for nuclear submarines . I don 't know whether the engineering people thought that or not . In our group which was the chemistry and the physics , my friend who got me the job was Jim Trice . A fellow named Art Miller and somebody named Coneybearwere in the Physics Division . And then there were some others - Fred Maienschein . I did some work for him one time . It was work on beryllium for one thing . I didn 't work with any of the active beryllium . I didn 't do any lab work then , but I did some journal research . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't think they were that far along . I 'm not sure what happened to that part of it . As I said , in July of 1951 they moved to Cincinnati , Evensville , above Cincinnati . I don 't know how many people actually went up there . Most of my friends moved elsewhere . MR . HUNNICUTT : You mentioned the location of the operation was past the steam plant that was on the Clinch River . Was that the same location where the S - 50 project was located ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I think that was the name of our plot of land . I think those - I never was quite sure how they got the designations , but that was the Fairchild domain , I think . MRS . DAVIDSON : Really , it was just when our eyes met . It was very romantic . He followed our group home to the Columbia Hall to see where I lived . But at the time I thought he was too young , and I didn 't think he was following me . I was with a group of other girls . Later on , one of the women in the dormitory , who was a gym teacher in the Oak Ridge schools , told me I really ought to meet Jack Davidson that he loved to ride bicycles ; I was just back from my bicycle trip in Europe . I didn 't know who he was , and then I went to a church group meeting at my Presbyterian Church for young people one Sunday evening . A friend of mine had brought Jack Davidson , and he was the one whose eyes I had met and he had met mine . Sure enough , he loved to ride bicycles . That was the start of a good thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : We did a little bit . On our dates , that 's really what we did mostly at first . We rode out to West Outer Drive and had those wonderful big hills , not too much traffic at that time . We went out to the water tower at the top of Louisiana and had a picnic , and then rode back . When we got really good , we rode our bicycles over to Concord Park one day . I had gotten some chicken breasts at the grocery . I guess it was the A & P at Jackson Square . I was going to fry them for a picnic to take along over to Concord Park . When I went to the refrigerator to get them , they had turned into wings . Somebody had eaten my chicken breast . Jack was a good sport about that . He didn 't care . We had a nice ride . It was before they had improved Lovell Road . It was a pretty rough ride over there , but we were able to enjoy it . MRS . DAVIDSON : He had his bicycle . It was probably a Grey Stone . For me , he rented a bicycle from his work friend . I had forgotten what his name was . We went over to one of the D Streets , I think , and rode them . I didn 't have my English 3 - speed here . I guess I brought it later , but at that time I didn 't have it . MRS . DAVIDSON : That was a problem . I complained to my friend Jim Trice 's wife , Dot , who happened to live around the corner on Outer Drive at that time . She said the boardwalk was used a lot for dating , and of course the theaters . I guess we were outdoors people . I don 't know . MRS . DAVIDSON : He was a graduate of Georgia Tech . At the time he graduated , he was very young . He came up to see about a job , and he was drafted . No , he was in danger of being drafted right away , but they didn 't hire him . He did go to work for NASA , which was at that time NACA , in Virginia ; and worked over there a short time before he was taken into the Army . He had gone through Georgia Tech on a " War Manpower " loan . He was sent to some place to be an MP , I think . He wrote a night letter , which is a 50 - word telegram that was cheaper at night . He wrote a night letter to Stimson , the Secretary of War , telling them they had paid for his college education ; and here he was sitting in a camp doing nothing down in Alabama . He was transferred to the SED , he would never say that was the reason he was transferred . It may or may not have been . He arrived with the SED - he arrived in Oak Ridge the day Roosevelt died , which was in April 1945 , he was here with his group for maybe six weeks before they went out to Los Alamos . So he spent the rest of the war out there . Then he used his G . I . Bill - he stayed on at Los Alamos . They told them they would let him out of the Army if he would agree to stay on as a civilian . So he took that . Then when he did leave , he went to Annapolis and took a liberal arts course because he felt that he had missed out on it at Georgia Tech . He had a year at St . John 's College of Annapolis ; and then all along I guess he thought he would like to come back here . He came back - he arrived on Armistice Day , now Veterans Day , of 1948 . I was here a couple of months before he came , but we met shortly after Christmas in 1949 . MRS . DAVIDSON : Too long . We were married in May 1950 . He wanted to pay off his loan before we could get married , so I helped him along with that . I fed him some . He was very welcome at the D House of girls . I was going to tell you that during the war , there were nine girls in the house , and they slept on shifts on the bunk beds . There were only six of us when I was there . There were a couple of the boyfriends around , and one of them cut the grass . I think Jack did the - empty the clinkers from the furnace , the coal furnace . They made themselves useful . They got their dinner . MRS . DAVIDSON : Most of the houses were a very good design really , and a whole lot better built than we gave them credit for . But each one that I knew of had a corner set off or closed off as a coal storage place that could be filled through a window from the outside , and then you could use the - there was an opening on the inside that you could use to put coal into the furnace . That was awful of course , but that 's what all the houses were doing in that time , too . We had a yard full of clinkers over there . MRS . DAVIDSON : We were taken care of by a Big Brother - the government . They brought the coal around , and you didn 't do a thing . That was part of the rent . When we got our house here on Orange Lane , that 's another story . Are you ready for that yet ? MRS . DAVIDSON : We went back to my home in Louisville , Kentucky , to be married . We had planned to fly to Nashville , but it turned out the Delta Queen was coming through Louisville the next morning . My mother had told us we could not get married the week before because it was too busy with Derby Day . So we delayed until May 13 . Then we spent the night in Louisville at the Brown Hotel , where she pulled some strings to get us a room because it was still very full of visitors from the Derby . We got on the Delta Queen , and our friends were all on the dock to see us off . They had us almost convinced that we were on Daylight Saving Time , and the Delta Queen was not , and we had missed it . But we rode down just as far as Paducah . We were anxious to start in life you know . We lived on Wadell Circle in a K apartment . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was a two - story thing . I guess it was a two - bedroom up above , and we had K - 1 . It was sort of underground at the front and open at the back . We had a nice back porch . There was a closet under the stairway and a very small kitchen . It had a table that folded down . It was not as compact as a flattop , but the furnishings that they had did double duty . You could fold it up and have more room . MRS . DAVIDSON : The K apartment was heated with the coal furnace , but there was a janitor who came around and took care of it for us . We were taken care of by Roane Anderson . MRS . DAVIDSON : We lived in the K from May 1950 , until we got this house in July 1952 . It was said - the word around town was that you couldn 't get a two - bedroom house unless you had three children , all of different sex . We had been on the list for this house ever since we knew our daughter was coming along . That was a long time to wait . We had been offered two houses - Florida Avenue , where the parking was across the street and the backyard just dropped off . We thought that was totally unsuitable for a new child . We turned both of those down . If we had turned this one down , we would 've gone to the bottom of the long list . But we loved this place of the trees and the dead end lane neighborhood . So we sat outside in front all weekend because we were not top on the list . The reason the other people didn 't take it was that the previous owner , Jim Cox and Charlotte , had put in an oil furnace ; and nobody wanted to pay $ 200 for the oil furnace . Since I had been working , we had saved my salary from work , and we had $ 200 to pay . Also , they didn 't want to be in the high rent district . This house rented for something like $ 45 instead of $ 43 in the lower rent districts . MRS . DAVIDSON : The Oak Ridge cemesto houses that were built - I think this house was built in the fall of 1944 or 1943 . Maybe it was ' 43 . The B house has two bedrooms and of course a bath and a kitchen with a dinette into a long narrow living room . It was about 24 feet by 40 something feet . It was small and convenient . It didn 't have much storage space , but it 's been a wonderful house for us because of the trees . We are on a greenbelt , and I enjoy that very much . It 's a nice private neighborhood just above Jackson Square . MRS . DAVIDSON : Our cemesto has a fireplace , and it had a complete brick wall . Some of the B houses had a brick wall just beyond the fireplace . MRS . DAVIDSON : There are hardwood floors in all the cemestos , I believe . Our house has maple flooring , and a lot of them had oak . Wood was hard to come by in the wartime . We love the color - the reddish color of the maple . MRS . DAVIDSON : Adele is our second daughter , and she was two years younger . Our son is Bill Davidson or William . He was born in November of 1954 . He 's just now turning 58 . MRS . DAVIDSON : All three of our children went to Cedar Hill . They had split grades there , so I think the classes were one half size . They would take the kids a half from one grade , and half from the next grade , and that worked out just fine . MRS . DAVIDSON : Cedar Hill was wonderful . It was very special . Mr . Dodd was the principal , and he saw to it - he had the best teachers or at least as good as any . Actually in those days all the teachers and Oak Ridge were special because many of them had been recruited from Columbia Teachers College , along with the superintendent . Others were specially recruited for the job . They were a group a part , I think , from a lot of teachers . MRS . DAVIDSON : The girls both went to Jefferson when it was on the hill at Jackson Square , and Bill was in the first year at the new Jefferson that was over on Fairbanks Road . His was the first class there . They all went through Oak Ridge High . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you recall some of the classes your daughters took while they were in junior high ? Was there Home Ec . or things related to girls ? MRS . DAVIDSON : No , they were on the college prep track . They took eighth grade algebra and that kind of thing . Of course English and math and social studies and science - our older girl I think took biology ; and I 'm not sure if Adele had a more general science course . It just depended on the teacher that they had . They had an excellent education , and the girls were both Merit semifinalists . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course . I was in the PTA . I 'm not sure if I was ever a room mother , but I of course helped with parties and things . MRS . DAVIDSON : The teachers recruited them from each class to help with parties mostly . They helped with any activities that they didn 't really have time to do . MRS . DAVIDSON : Parent - Teacher Association , a time honored group . It got extra things for the school . I got involved with raincoats for the school patrol . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess maybe I was a treasurer of the Cedar Hill PTA , and this goal was to get those yellow slicker raincoat so kids could be visible to the drivers . I found out how much the things cost , and then I estimated postage . At the PTA meeting , Alvin Weinberg was president . He had a son or two in school at the time . He took me to task for estimating the postage , so I had to ask for just the money for the coats themselves since I didn 't really know what the postage is going to be . I thought that was interesting that he wanted to keep it to the exact penny . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think they just wore what the other kids wore . One day we had a deep snow and Bill was in kindergarten , and the snow was up over their boots . I think he had some corduroys . The teacher was making the kids take their pants off and dry them on the radiator , and he wouldn 't do it . I had to go up to the school and take him some fresh pants , some dry clothes . He was very young - just four when he started . MR . HUNNICUTT : Let 's go back a few years . Do you remember 1945 when they dropped the bomb on Japan ? You remember where you were ? And what was your reaction ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I do remember that very clearly because it was the summer after my junior year in college , and I was a camp counselor up in Door County , Wisconsin . There was no electricity at the camp , so we counselors - after we got the kids to bed , went to the state park nearby . This was at Fish Creek , Wisconsin . We would listen to people 's car radios . We knew for about a week that something was happening , but we didn 't know just what . It was very deeply moving when the bomb was dropped , and we thought it would bring an end to the war . Of course , I had friends and a brother on Guam and a cousin was in Europe and others . So that was very deeply moving . I had a book of poetry - my favorite poems at the camp with me . One of my 12 - year - olds picked out a poem - " Once to every man and nation comes a moment to decide " - she read that , and I thought that was very astute of her , a youngster to be able to do that . MRS . DAVIDSON : My husband thought they should have dropped a sample first , but I didn 't feel that way since the first bomb didn 't phase the Japanese . I didn 't think the test one would have either . I was just so glad that the war was over . People could settle down and get into real life again . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think I was in transition from the dormitory to the house , and my husband 's brothers came up from Georgia to witness the opening . So we drove in their car around , and we watched the parade from , I believe , down on the eastern end of the Turnpike down near the warehouses to get out of the traffic . We never could figure out why they invited Marie " The Body " McDonald and [ inaudible ] to ride in the open car for the parade . We couldn 't figure out what they had to do with it , but we did see the burning of the magnesium ribbon . That was exciting . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was only toward town from Elza Gate . I know the central part of town , the Jackson Square area , was very crowded . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think they name the streets for famous cities in the country , and of course the alphabetical designations were very helpful . But Jackson Square , I assume , was named for New Orleans . That 's all I know about it . MRS . DAVIDSON : Sometimes you would pick up the telephone , and the other party was talking . I believe they had different rings . I think maybe the other party had one ring , and we had two . There were four - party lines , but if we were on a four - party line , only the other one was active . I think maybe we were . The other two lines were not being used . MR . HUNNICUTT : When you are raising your family , did you hang your clothes outside on the clothesline ? Did you have a dryer ? What did you use ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I hung them outside on the clothesline . As I said , when we moved here , Anne was a year old . Not much more than three years after that , we had three babies . I was able to talk my husband into getting a dryer that time . Before that , he had built a pulley out of my kitchen window . There was a drop off in the back , and he was able to string it to a tree in the woods . I was able to reel those cloth diapers and reel them in and out . The only problem was that the birds like the trees , too . Sometimes I had to do some re - washing . MR . HUNNICUTT : So in those days you use cloth diapers ? Today we use disposable diapers . How do you think you would 've done if you had disposable diapers ? MRS . DAVIDSON : At one point , when our children were out playing Kick the Can , there were over 40 children on the lane . There were about 20 or 21 houses . There were almost as many dogs . It was just a glorious place for them to grow up . They seem to get along remarkably well most of the time , especially in the early days . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes . We went down there on the opening , and got the radioactive dimes on that occasion . The museum at that time was down at Jefferson Circle . I don 't think any of us ever had our hair stand out on the Van De Graff generator or whatever it was , but we took the children . We went out ourselves . Of course my husband was interested in that kind of thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : Sometimes they walked to Jefferson , but by that time they were carrying pretty heavy books . One of the neighbors on Outer Drive wanted to have a carpool , so we joined that . MRS . DAVIDSON : When Anne was in the fifth grade , they had to write what they did on Friday nights . The teacher would call me and say , " Is it true that you gave your children ice water and watched TV on Friday nights ? " That was how generous we were with them . We didn 't get a TV until they were probably five or six years old . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course it was black and white . The reason we got it - I guess finally it was that the children were always going to the neighbors ' house to watch TV . We decided that we should get our own . They watched things like " Pinky Lee " and I 've forgotten what else . MRS . DAVIDSON : I remember that fondly because my first real date with my husband was going to dinner there with him . He invited me to go to a concert in Knoxville , and his excuse was that we should get to know each other better before he took me to the city with him . That was one thing . I remember there were parties there , and our company had a party at the Oak Terrace Ballroom . One of the NEPA fellows wore a Tarzan costume , which was mostly nothing . It turned out that he lived in the neighborhood . MRS . DAVIDSON : That was just below the dormitory where I lived in Columbia Hall . Jack went there looking for me , he thought I would eat breakfast there and then he could have breakfast with me ; but I ate in the dormitory . He didn 't find me there . When we came back from our bicycle ride to Concord Park , I remember we stopped by there , and he drank two or three Mountain Dew drinks . That surprised me , but we had worked off a lot of sweat . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , we took our children out there and saw " Lawrence of Arabia " and " The 10 Commandment " and those things . It was quite nice . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was about where Kroger 's - where that is now , on the southeast part of Illinois Avenue . It was a nice thing . That was a special treat for the children to go out there . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't think so . I think they were mostly in the car . They had a drawing one time , Jack won something . It was actually nothing , but he did win . MRS . DAVIDSON : I sure did . My three children were born there . It was a green structure , like so many of the buildings in Oak Ridge . I guess the present building is built on that place . It was okay . I didn 't have any problems with it , except after my second child . I had a staph infection from the hospital . Even an Army wife with a private room got an infection there . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , I think they also had been recruited ; and a lot of them were from Tulane University . The time I was sick with my infection , they were having a reunion at Tulane , and my doctor and another one were gone for the reunion . I didn 't like the one who took care of me . He didn 't do a good job . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was okay . I don 't remember having any problems with it . We knew Dr . Rogers from our church , and we went to him . He was called away to the service , I believe . Maybe it was the Korean War , but then he came back . MRS . DAVIDSON : We met at Pine Valley School . The choir sat on the bleachers , and the minister sat under the halo of the basketball net . My husband was a Methodist , and he went to the First Methodist Church . They had a big youth group there . When we were first married , we tried to take them both in . We went to Sunday school one place , and church another until we finally settled on the Presbyterian . It was smaller , and we knew more people . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course the people . I love my trees and my house . I love all the activities . Both my husband and I have always loved music and enjoy the concerts a lot . The symphony concerts with Waldo Cohn conducting were held at Jefferson Junior High on the Kentucky Avenue hill . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you think back about all the people that you knew in the early days ? Do you think it was unusual for everybody to get along - the many people that were here ? MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , I guess so . I didn 't think about it because we just did . It was just fun . Everybody was away from home , and we had to be family for each other . That was particularly true in this close neighborhood . MRS . DAVIDSON : I 'm pleased for the most part . I think we 've made good progress . We 've kept up with the outside world . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think we came through at the very best of times . It was not the pressure of war , but we were growing community . I think things were happening at the Lab . Both of my husband and I loved the Lab because there were so many good things going on out there . It gives us hope for the future . [ Editor 's Note : This transcript has been edited at Mrs . Davidson 's request . The corresponding audio and video components have remained unchanged . ] Click tabs to swap between content that is broken into logical sections . MR . HUNNICUTT : This interview is for the Center of Oak Ridge Oral History . The date is November 8 , 2012 . I am Don Hunnicutt in the home of Mrs . Mary Ann Davidson , 117 Orange Lane , Oak Ridge , Tennessee , to take her oral history about living in Oak Ridge , Tennessee . Please state your full name and your place of birth and your date of birth . MRS . DAVIDSON : My name is Mary Ann Davidson . My date of birth is January 12 , 1925 . I was born in Louisville , Kentucky . I lived there all my early life until I graduated from college . MRS . DAVIDSON : My father was William H . Courtenay . He was born in 1890 , on March 3 . He was in World War I and lived his entire life in Louisville and Shelbyville , Kentucky . He worked for the Mengel Company . They imported mahogany and hardwood from Africa and Central America . He delivered those to customers . He didn 't consider himself a salesman , but he sold them to the furniture factory - furniture makers around Kentucky , mostly Indiana and Cincinnati and some in Tennessee . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , he did not . The Louisville Male High School was considered a fine school at that time . They said that graduates could enter Harvard in their second year . The principal had written textbooks that were apparently used all over . But my father was interested in raising ponies . His father had a farm in Shelbyville , Kentucky . If you 'd didn 't make the grade , you are special . And Dr . Ruben Post - Halleck , the famous principal of the school , told him if he took an exam in math , he could be entered back in . He did that , and he aced the test . He was back in . Then he was a special in English , so they told him if he memorized the " Lady of the Lake " and said that he could get back in school . So he did that . I think he never did finish . He was a twin , and his twin was more of an engineering type and went to manual training high school . MR . HUNNICUTT : What about your mother 's school history ? MRS . DAVIDSON : She grew up in several small towns in western Kentucky . Her father worked for the L & N Railroad . She had her high school in Hopkinsville , Kentucky . She had to stay home - or she went to junior college nearby . She had a scholarship to Randolph Macon Women 's College , but she couldn 't take it because her mother was ill and died at age 50 . It was about the year I was born , I think . MRS . DAVIDSON : His name was William Howard Courtenay III . My father was named for his uncle , who was also William Howard . My older brother works for Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green in the physics department . He made instruments . My younger brother was a pediatrician in Louisville , and he is still living on a farm in Shelbyville . He 's interested in Kentucky antiques . MR . HUNNICUTT : Yes . MRS . DAVIDSON : I went to an unusual kindergarten and first grade . I was at what they called the Enterprise Branch of I . N . Bloom School . It was only kindergarten and first grade . It was in the older building , where we had a Pot Belly Stove . I think we had a maid to help us take our leggings off in the cold weather - galoshes . It was really a wonderful school . It was almost like a private one . It was public . We did things like making butter and we had an orchestra . I played the triangle . I had started a little bit earlier when my younger brother was born . Louisville had half semester , half - year grades . I would 've been a half year , but I skipped the last half of kindergarten . I went to the school board and took a test and went on , so they put me in the regular school year . I went through the big school the I . N . Bloom School and Highland Junior High School in Louisville . Then I went to Atherton High School for Girls . The Louisville public schools were segregated - boys and girls . There were about 900 girls at Atherton . My graduating class was about 200 , and I was the valedictorian . MRS . DAVIDSON : They are pants to keep your legs warm . They zipped up from the inside of the ankle bone up to about knee - high , I guess it was . They were a royal pain to take on and off , so the teacher had to have help to do that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was just ordinary . I 'm sure the girls wore dresses , and the little boys wore suits - not suits , but pants and shirts . MRS . DAVIDSON : I came to Oak Ridge after I graduated from college . I had two years of getting a master 's at Emory while I worked at my alma mater , Agnes Scott College in Decatur , Georgia . I was the chemistry lab instructor . So after those two years were up , I was interested in working in chemistry or biochemistry . My master 's was in biochemistry . In Louisville , there was nothing in that field , except liquor and paint - neither of which I was interested in . In Atlanta , I would like to stay in Atlanta , I heard that Oak Ridge was an interesting new place , and a lot was going on here . One of my dear college friends had recently married a physicist from the University of Kentucky , so I visited them here . I guess that must have been 1947 . Her husband was working at NEPA . He said they were looking for people with a chemistry degree . I applied , and I was accepted . I didn 't know that until I had completed the clearance , so I took the opportunity to go to Europe at an American youth hostel bicycle tour of Western Europe in the summer of 1948 . When I got home , I found that I had indeed gotten the job at Oak Ridge . So I came down here . MRS . DAVIDSON : I was wondering that . I think I came by train . When I interviewed earlier in the spring , my interview was at the Andrew Johnson Hotel . It was one of the private rooms . I had never seen the company here . I think I must have been met by a car and driver and brought to Oak Ridge . MRS . DAVIDSON : I came in through the Vermont Gateway , which is where the gas station is now on the corner of what I call Vermont . They call it North Rutgers now . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , I think it must 've been after that . That would 've been at Christmas time . When I applied , I imagine it was early spring . MRS . DAVIDSON : We called the company NEPA , for Nuclear Energy for the Propulsion of Aircraft . It was managed by the Fairchild Corporation the way Union Carbide or one of the other contractors managed the lab . I did not know until the first day I went to work just what the company was doing . They handed me a volume of information that said , " We are looking for - we are trying to make an airplane powered by nuclear energy that could fly to Russia and back without refueling . " That was a great shock to me . MRS . DAVIDSON : I lived in Columbia Hall Dormitory . I was very surprised to find that the rent was $ 15 a month until I realized it was one very small room . That was my living quarters . I took the opportunity to stay out of it as much as possible . I did that by babysitting in some of the B and D houses in the evening . Grandmothers were not here since it was a closed community . Babysitters were in short supply , and even though I didn 't need the money , it was good to get out of the dormitory . MRS . DAVIDSON : The dormitory was like Cheyenne Hall . It was the same type of building . It had wooden stairways from the second - floor hall down on each end . I lived on the second floor . Our dormitory was mostly nurses , since it was up on the hill next to the hospital - I think where the west parking lot is now . There was a kitchen on each end where we could have our own breakfast . Of course we were at the plant at lunchtime , and then we usually went out to supper . I opened the refrigerator door one morning and somebody 's milk came spilling out down my front . Everybody just stuffed things into the refrigerator . MRS . DAVIDSON : I had a single room with a twin bed and enough room to walk to the window by the bed . There was a little table that served as a desk with a chair . There was a much coveted dormitory dresser - a tall one with a number of drawers . They were very popular . MRS . DAVIDSON : They had a wonderful bus service here . Travel wasn 't really a problem . We walked , of course , from the dormitory to Jackson Square and ate supper usually at the Mayflower , which is where I first saw my husband - to - be . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was on the corner of Tennessee , right across from the Soup Kitchen and the Texaco gas station there on the northeast corner . It was a very popular place . In fact , there were several places you could eat . It was the Central Cafeteria , and the T & C Cafeteria in Jackson Square , which is about where the Epicurean is now toward the garden . MRS . DAVIDSON : It must 've been the A & P on Jackson Square . Jackson Square was really the center of activity as far as I was concerned at that time . I still love it . I hope it keeps going . MRS . DAVIDSON : The department stores - the big department store was Taylor 's at the time . They had a wonderful book department headed by Mrs . Keyes , whose daughter I knew at work . They had really fine art books and other books that they would have a great sale on once or twice a year . We were very happy with that . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was in the middle of the block between where Big Ed 's is in the corner . I guess it 's mostly used by the engineering company now . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , not frequently , but I went and saw - there was a theater down at Big Ed 's in Jackson Square and where the Playhouse is now . That was the main one . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , the jewelry store was on the corner that was Henebree 's , I think . No , that was Heneger 's . MR . HUNNICUTT : Henebree ? MRS . DAVIDSON : Henebree . McCrory 's 5 & 10 was there . There was a drugstore - a Service Drugstore . I guess that was where Big Ed 's is now , on the very corner . There was Jackson Square Pharmacy , and on the other side the Hamilton Bank was there next to the movie theater . And Samuel 's Men 's Store was a very nice store . The Jackson Square Pharmacy was there , but in between , which the Pharmacy later took over was a Kay 's Ice Cream Store . We used to go there and - my husband and I would when we were dating . I liked to get coffee with ice cream in it , so we went there . MR . HUNNICUTT : I believe that was Taff Moody Ice Cream - they served Kay 's Ice Cream . MRS . DAVIDSON : Was it ? I didn 't remember that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I can 't say that I do . It was just a given , I suppose . It didn 't make a big dent in my memory . After six months of the dormitory , I moved to a D house on Norman Lane . That was another era . MR . HUNNICUTT : What is a D house ? MRS . DAVIDSON : A D house was a large three bedroom house . They were very much desired . They were really nice houses - still a lot of them are . The house was - there were five other girls who lived there - two of whom had been college friends . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , it would 've been upstairs . It was the second one to the end . A radiation technologist lived on the corner , and I lived there with school teachers and nurses who made up most of the dorm . MR . HUNNICUTT : Let 's talk a little bit about the dorm again . If I had a message for you or someone left a message for you , how did you retrieve your messages ? Was there a desk when you went in ? MRS . DAVIDSON : There was a desk downstairs . I remember the Valentine 's Day - I guess it must 've been 1949 . The message was that I had some flowers , some red roses . I had just met my husband - to - be at that time . I got all excited , and when I got to the desk , it was from somebody else . I enjoyed the red roses , but not as much as I might have . The thing was that there were ladies - a lot of the women who lived in the dorm worked on the night shift . They would sit around a large kind of living room , I guess they called it . They were all staring when I got flowers . I had to walk around , and it was embarrassing . MRS . DAVIDSON : I was there in the winter of 1948 . I 'm very cold natured , but I don 't remember being cold . We had those heavy navy blanket - navy blue blankets . This brings up a story if I jump to it later on . We were moved from the D house after another six months into the brand - new Garden Apartments on Villanova Road . They needed our D house for families . The people who moved in were the Andersons of the Anderson Hilltop Grocery . Of course , the furniture all belonged to the government there . So the Garden Apartments were not furnished , so we had dwindled down from 6 to 4 people who needed furniture . I took a day off and went to an auction the government set up down at the warehouses . I got seven beds and three or four dressers - much more than I could have used . But the beds were in great demand at work because all the young men who worked there were having children and needed beds . So we took the four . Also I got two sofas , and we could use but one ; so I sold one . They were really shabby awful sofas . Since it was all going to surplus anyway , we switched and took the nice sofa from the D house and left them the bad one . It was all taken away anyhow , so I didn 't feel too bad about that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't really remember about the telephone . We didn 't use the telephone much . We never used it for long - distance except for emergencies and calls home . I don 't remember that as being a problem particularly . MRS . DAVIDSON : I suppose I went on the bus . I did not have a car . One of the housemates from Norman Lane had gotten the car , but she would 've been at work at K - 25 . I don 't know . I may have gotten a ride . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess I paid somebody to deliver it . I don 't know . Maybe some of the fellows at work picked up their beds that they wanted . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was one of those warehouses down at the [ Oak Ridge ] Turnpike on Warehouse Road . I don 't know exactly where it was . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess it was on the bulletin boards at work , or there was a newspaper at the Lab . I guess I heard about it that way . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think probably so - in the newsletters they came around , also at the recreation building - the rec hall - at Jackson Square that was the library upstairs and the rec hall downstairs . Word - of - mouth - I don 't remember . We had a need and found the answer to it . MRS . DAVIDSON : I had to punch a clock at eight in the morning when I first started . I guess we got out at 4 : 30 or 5 o ' clock . We had bus service that went from the bus terminal - the Central one - that 's now by Bus Terminal Road . Later on after we were married , we lived on Waddell Circle and went from there to the Jefferson bus terminal . I went - I rode on the K - 25 bus , and they went out past K - 25 to the road that the powerhouse was on and NEPA was beyond that out by the river . MRS . DAVIDSON : There was some kind of management services office . I 'm not sure what it was called - the Roane Anderson Corporation at that time , I guess . I think that 's where I rented the dormitory room . I probably got bus tokens - I guess I got the tokens of the bus terminal . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think I had a checking account probably at Hamilton Bank in Jackson Square . I don 't recall otherwise . I know I did later . One thing I wanted to say about the buses - if you wanted to go to Clinton to do any shopping , more than what you could have in Oak Ridge or to meet somebody or something , there was a bus that ran frequently back and forth between the bus terminal and Clinton . There was a young man on the bus who had a sing - songy sales pitch for " peanuts , popcorn , Cracker Jacks , candy , and chewing gum . " He wouldn 't drive , but he would sell his wares all the way to Clinton and back . I always wondered who that was because he obviously had some talent . MRS . DAVIDSON : I 'm sure I did . I don 't know what became of it . I guess I had to turn it back in . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think somebody just got - one of the guards got on the bus and checked everybody 's badges . It was not a big thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : Probably . I don 't remember . What I do remember about that was my mother was coming down one time for my birthday - it must 've been in January 1949 . She rode the train . I told her that I would get a ride to meet her . Of course , the train didn 't stop at Oak Ridge . It went on to Knoxville , so I bummed a ride with one of the men in our group . He was actually the technical assistant to the director . His car was a broken down old thing with no floorboards in the back seat , which was pretty bad when my mother saw it . But she didn 't see it because when we got to Knoxville , she was not there . When we were coming back from the gateway entrance , she was not there . There was a message that she was waiting for us at the Elza Gate Station . She had told the conductor she had to get off at Oak Ridge . That 's where she was going , and I was going to meet her . So she slid down the Elza bank over there . She had my birthday cake - a large chocolate cake . She slid downhill with that , and somehow they stopped her at the guard gate at Elza . She waited there for us . MRS . DAVIDSON : Just for her - let her off like a milk train . They ordinarily didn 't stop there , but she wouldn 't have it otherwise . MRS . DAVIDSON : I used the library and rec hall . On Sunday afternoons , they played music ; and you could sit and write letters home , which is what I think I did a good bit . Later on in the better weather , there were tennis courts and a swimming pool . I don 't remember going to movies much . We went to church groups . There were so many young people ; it was just like a party all the time . Nothing in particular stands out . It was just fun . MRS . DAVIDSON : In the company I was , that was not true . There were a lot of women of course - of course , the dormitory was full of school teachers and nurses . But NEPA was mostly men . There were two parts to the Fairchild - the science and engineering part , which was bigger . I happen to be in the research part . My boss was a chemist - Vince Calkins . It was my job to - this was a real shocker to me - to find a chemical that would protect the human body against radiation for the reactor that was supposed to be in the airplane to Russia . I had no background for that kind of thing . I was just fresh out of college really . I realized I was out of my depth , but they decided - he was a pharmacist , I believe , and he wanted to do experiments with rats . They brought in the rat colony . By that time we had a couple of assistants , and I was supposed to be the group leader . One of the men , Ray Waldrop - you may have talked to him . I asked him if he minded working for a woman because he was really more experienced than I , although I had the degree . It was fine with him . There was also another worker , Saul Segal , who was quite a character in his own right . I took the rats in the cages over to the reactor , the " Old Lady " at X - 10 , and put them through what they called " rabbits " and radiated them for certain amount of time . We couldn 't kill the darn things . Then we used the older ones that had already been radiated , they were just tough as anything . I think the experiment was really a failure , although they may have found that to be the case in some later work with older people - that the cells are not dividing as fast and they 're not as subject to radiation . But we didn 't get into that . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was actually not K - 25 . It was beyond there . As I said , the bus took us - the bus dumped people off at K - 25 , and they went on west to just before you get to the Gallaher Bridge . You turn right there and go right past the power station there . It was used for a long time - the power house , and then NEPA was beyond that . The native rats came in - was it domestic experimental rats ? That was not good . I had a janitor who helped me , even though he could 've lost his job for doing it . He helped me clean cages . I always appreciated that . MRS . DAVIDSON : When they got rid of the rats , which was a blessing , my group leader then became Bill Browning , who was a fine scientist . He worked on the Van de Graaff generator . We had an interesting argument . Saul Segal thought he should be the one to do it since he was a man and I was a woman who would be leaving soon ; and it turned out that he left for California before I had left to have my baby . His argument didn 't hold with me anyway , but we argued about that some . We did run the Van de Graaff , and we also did some experiments on metallic sodium . It was nasty stuff to work with . It caught on fire if it was exposed to air . You had to work with that under oil in the glove box . I think that work all had to be repeated after NEPA left for Cincinnati with G . E . . When they moved part of NEPA to X - 10 , they called it the ANP , or something about aircraft and nuclear power . I was not connected with that because my first baby was born in August 1951 . I left in July . MRS . DAVIDSON : I heard somebody say that they had to repeat it all . My boss , the Division Director of Chemistry was interested in vitamin E , and thought it had a lot of protective influence . We worked with that . That was some of the work I did in chemistry - the lab part of it in the early days . It was not good work , I think . I 'm not blaming myself , but some of the other men who were doing chemical work - I think altogether we didn 't come up with anything . MRS . DAVIDSON : It may have been ahead of it 's time for nuclear submarines . I don 't know whether the engineering people thought that or not . In our group which was the chemistry and the physics , my friend who got me the job was Jim Trice . A fellow named Art Miller and somebody named Coneybearwere in the Physics Division . And then there were some others - Fred Maienschein . I did some work for him one time . It was work on beryllium for one thing . I didn 't work with any of the active beryllium . I didn 't do any lab work then , but I did some journal research . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't think they were that far along . I 'm not sure what happened to that part of it . As I said , in July of 1951 they moved to Cincinnati , Evensville , above Cincinnati . I don 't know how many people actually went up there . Most of my friends moved elsewhere . MR . HUNNICUTT : You mentioned the location of the operation was past the steam plant that was on the Clinch River . Was that the same location where the S - 50 project was located ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I think that was the name of our plot of land . I think those - I never was quite sure how they got the designations , but that was the Fairchild domain , I think . MRS . DAVIDSON : Really , it was just when our eyes met . It was very romantic . He followed our group home to the Columbia Hall to see where I lived . But at the time I thought he was too young , and I didn 't think he was following me . I was with a group of other girls . Later on , one of the women in the dormitory , who was a gym teacher in the Oak Ridge schools , told me I really ought to meet Jack Davidson that he loved to ride bicycles ; I was just back from my bicycle trip in Europe . I didn 't know who he was , and then I went to a church group meeting at my Presbyterian Church for young people one Sunday evening . A friend of mine had brought Jack Davidson , and he was the one whose eyes I had met and he had met mine . Sure enough , he loved to ride bicycles . That was the start of a good thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : We did a little bit . On our dates , that 's really what we did mostly at first . We rode out to West Outer Drive and had those wonderful big hills , not too much traffic at that time . We went out to the water tower at the top of Louisiana and had a picnic , and then rode back . When we got really good , we rode our bicycles over to Concord Park one day . I had gotten some chicken breasts at the grocery . I guess it was the A & P at Jackson Square . I was going to fry them for a picnic to take along over to Concord Park . When I went to the refrigerator to get them , they had turned into wings . Somebody had eaten my chicken breast . Jack was a good sport about that . He didn 't care . We had a nice ride . It was before they had improved Lovell Road . It was a pretty rough ride over there , but we were able to enjoy it . MRS . DAVIDSON : He had his bicycle . It was probably a Grey Stone . For me , he rented a bicycle from his work friend . I had forgotten what his name was . We went over to one of the D Streets , I think , and rode them . I didn 't have my English 3 - speed here . I guess I brought it later , but at that time I didn 't have it . MRS . DAVIDSON : That was a problem . I complained to my friend Jim Trice 's wife , Dot , who happened to live around the corner on Outer Drive at that time . She said the boardwalk was used a lot for dating , and of course the theaters . I guess we were outdoors people . I don 't know . MRS . DAVIDSON : He was a graduate of Georgia Tech . At the time he graduated , he was very young . He came up to see about a job , and he was drafted . No , he was in danger of being drafted right away , but they didn 't hire him . He did go to work for NASA , which was at that time NACA , in Virginia ; and worked over there a short time before he was taken into the Army . He had gone through Georgia Tech on a " War Manpower " loan . He was sent to some place to be an MP , I think . He wrote a night letter , which is a 50 - word telegram that was cheaper at night . He wrote a night letter to Stimson , the Secretary of War , telling them they had paid for his college education ; and here he was sitting in a camp doing nothing down in Alabama . He was transferred to the SED , he would never say that was the reason he was transferred . It may or may not have been . He arrived with the SED - he arrived in Oak Ridge the day Roosevelt died , which was in April 1945 , he was here with his group for maybe six weeks before they went out to Los Alamos . So he spent the rest of the war out there . Then he used his G . I . Bill - he stayed on at Los Alamos . They told them they would let him out of the Army if he would agree to stay on as a civilian . So he took that . Then when he did leave , he went to Annapolis and took a liberal arts course because he felt that he had missed out on it at Georgia Tech . He had a year at St . John 's College of Annapolis ; and then all along I guess he thought he would like to come back here . He came back - he arrived on Armistice Day , now Veterans Day , of 1948 . I was here a couple of months before he came , but we met shortly after Christmas in 1949 . MRS . DAVIDSON : Too long . We were married in May 1950 . He wanted to pay off his loan before we could get married , so I helped him along with that . I fed him some . He was very welcome at the D House of girls . I was going to tell you that during the war , there were nine girls in the house , and they slept on shifts on the bunk beds . There were only six of us when I was there . There were a couple of the boyfriends around , and one of them cut the grass . I think Jack did the - empty the clinkers from the furnace , the coal furnace . They made themselves useful . They got their dinner . MR . HUNNICUTT : Tell me about the coal furnace briefly . MRS . DAVIDSON : Most of the houses were a very good design really , and a whole lot better built than we gave them credit for . But each one that I knew of had a corner set off or closed off as a coal storage place that could be filled through a window from the outside , and then you could use the - there was an opening on the inside that you could use to put coal into the furnace . That was awful of course , but that 's what all the houses were doing in that time , too . We had a yard full of clinkers over there . MRS . DAVIDSON : We were taken care of by a Big Brother - the government . They brought the coal around , and you didn 't do a thing . That was part of the rent . When we got our house here on Orange Lane , that 's another story . Are you ready for that yet ? MRS . DAVIDSON : We went back to my home in Louisville , Kentucky , to be married . We had planned to fly to Nashville , but it turned out the Delta Queen was coming through Louisville the next morning . My mother had told us we could not get married the week before because it was too busy with Derby Day . So we delayed until May 13 . Then we spent the night in Louisville at the Brown Hotel , where she pulled some strings to get us a room because it was still very full of visitors from the Derby . We got on the Delta Queen , and our friends were all on the dock to see us off . They had us almost convinced that we were on Daylight Saving Time , and the Delta Queen was not , and we had missed it . But we rode down just as far as Paducah . We were anxious to start in life you know . We lived on Wadell Circle in a K apartment . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you recall the number ? MRS . DAVIDSON : It was a two - story thing . I guess it was a two - bedroom up above , and we had K - 1 . It was sort of underground at the front and open at the back . We had a nice back porch . There was a closet under the stairway and a very small kitchen . It had a table that folded down . It was not as compact as a flattop , but the furnishings that they had did double duty . You could fold it up and have more room . MRS . DAVIDSON : The K apartment was heated with the coal furnace , but there was a janitor who came around and took care of it for us . We were taken care of by Roane Anderson . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you remember what the rent was ? MRS . DAVIDSON : We lived in the K from May 1950 , until we got this house in July 1952 . It was said - the word around town was that you couldn 't get a two - bedroom house unless you had three children , all of different sex . We had been on the list for this house ever since we knew our daughter was coming along . That was a long time to wait . We had been offered two houses - Florida Avenue , where the parking was across the street and the backyard just dropped off . We thought that was totally unsuitable for a new child . We turned both of those down . If we had turned this one down , we would 've gone to the bottom of the long list . But we loved this place of the trees and the dead end lane neighborhood . So we sat outside in front all weekend because we were not top on the list . The reason the other people didn 't take it was that the previous owner , Jim Cox and Charlotte , had put in an oil furnace ; and nobody wanted to pay $ 200 for the oil furnace . Since I had been working , we had saved my salary from work , and we had $ 200 to pay . Also , they didn 't want to be in the high rent district . This house rented for something like $ 45 instead of $ 43 in the lower rent districts . MRS . DAVIDSON : The Oak Ridge cemesto houses that were built - I think this house was built in the fall of 1944 or 1943 . Maybe it was ' 43 . The B house has two bedrooms and of course a bath and a kitchen with a dinette into a long narrow living room . It was about 24 feet by 40 something feet . It was small and convenient . It didn 't have much storage space , but it 's been a wonderful house for us because of the trees . We are on a greenbelt , and I enjoy that very much . It 's a nice private neighborhood just above Jackson Square . MRS . DAVIDSON : Our cemesto has a fireplace , and it had a complete brick wall . Some of the B houses had a brick wall just beyond the fireplace . MRS . DAVIDSON : There are hardwood floors in all the cemestos , I believe . Our house has maple flooring , and a lot of them had oak . Wood was hard to come by in the wartime . We love the color - the reddish color of the maple . MRS . DAVIDSON : Adele is our second daughter , and she was two years younger . Our son is Bill Davidson or William . He was born in November of 1954 . He 's just now turning 58 . MR . HUNNICUTT : So your first daughter went to Cedar Hill ? MRS . DAVIDSON : All three of our children went to Cedar Hill . They had split grades there , so I think the classes were one half size . They would take the kids a half from one grade , and half from the next grade , and that worked out just fine . MRS . DAVIDSON : Cedar Hill was wonderful . It was very special . Mr . Dodd was the principal , and he saw to it - he had the best teachers or at least as good as any . Actually in those days all the teachers and Oak Ridge were special because many of them had been recruited from Columbia Teachers College , along with the superintendent . Others were specially recruited for the job . They were a group a part , I think , from a lot of teachers . MRS . DAVIDSON : The girls both went to Jefferson when it was on the hill at Jackson Square , and Bill was in the first year at the new Jefferson that was over on Fairbanks Road . His was the first class there . They all went through Oak Ridge High . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you recall some of the classes your daughters took while they were in junior high ? Was there Home Ec . or things related to girls ? MRS . DAVIDSON : No , they were on the college prep track . They took eighth grade algebra and that kind of thing . Of course English and math and social studies and science - our older girl I think took biology ; and I 'm not sure if Adele had a more general science course . It just depended on the teacher that they had . They had an excellent education , and the girls were both Merit semifinalists . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course . I was in the PTA . I 'm not sure if I was ever a room mother , but I of course helped with parties and things . MRS . DAVIDSON : The teachers recruited them from each class to help with parties mostly . They helped with any activities that they didn 't really have time to do . MRS . DAVIDSON : Parent - Teacher Association , a time honored group . It got extra things for the school . I got involved with raincoats for the school patrol . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess maybe I was a treasurer of the Cedar Hill PTA , and this goal was to get those yellow slicker raincoat so kids could be visible to the drivers . I found out how much the things cost , and then I estimated postage . At the PTA meeting , Alvin Weinberg was president . He had a son or two in school at the time . He took me to task for estimating the postage , so I had to ask for just the money for the coats themselves since I didn 't really know what the postage is going to be . I thought that was interesting that he wanted to keep it to the exact penny . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think they just wore what the other kids wore . One day we had a deep snow and Bill was in kindergarten , and the snow was up over their boots . I think he had some corduroys . The teacher was making the kids take their pants off and dry them on the radiator , and he wouldn 't do it . I had to go up to the school and take him some fresh pants , some dry clothes . He was very young - just four when he started . MR . HUNNICUTT : Let 's go back a few years . Do you remember 1945 when they dropped the bomb on Japan ? You remember where you were ? And what was your reaction ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I do remember that very clearly because it was the summer after my junior year in college , and I was a camp counselor up in Door County , Wisconsin . There was no electricity at the camp , so we counselors - after we got the kids to bed , went to the state park nearby . This was at Fish Creek , Wisconsin . We would listen to people 's car radios . We knew for about a week that something was happening , but we didn 't know just what . It was very deeply moving when the bomb was dropped , and we thought it would bring an end to the war . Of course , I had friends and a brother on Guam and a cousin was in Europe and others . So that was very deeply moving . I had a book of poetry - my favorite poems at the camp with me . One of my 12 - year - olds picked out a poem - " Once to every man and nation comes a moment to decide " - she read that , and I thought that was very astute of her , a youngster to be able to do that . MRS . DAVIDSON : My husband thought they should have dropped a sample first , but I didn 't feel that way since the first bomb didn 't phase the Japanese . I didn 't think the test one would have either . I was just so glad that the war was over . People could settle down and get into real life again . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think I was in transition from the dormitory to the house , and my husband 's brothers came up from Georgia to witness the opening . So we drove in their car around , and we watched the parade from , I believe , down on the eastern end of the Turnpike down near the warehouses to get out of the traffic . We never could figure out why they invited Marie " The Body " McDonald and [ inaudible ] to ride in the open car for the parade . We couldn 't figure out what they had to do with it , but we did see the burning of the magnesium ribbon . That was exciting . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was only toward town from Elza Gate . I know the central part of town , the Jackson Square area , was very crowded . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think they name the streets for famous cities in the country , and of course the alphabetical designations were very helpful . But Jackson Square , I assume , was named for New Orleans . That 's all I know about it . MRS . DAVIDSON : Sometimes you would pick up the telephone , and the other party was talking . I believe they had different rings . I think maybe the other party had one ring , and we had two . There were four - party lines , but if we were on a four - party line , only the other one was active . I think maybe we were . The other two lines were not being used . MR . HUNNICUTT : When you are raising your family , did you hang your clothes outside on the clothesline ? Did you have a dryer ? What did you use ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I hung them outside on the clothesline . As I said , when we moved here , Anne was a year old . Not much more than three years after that , we had three babies . I was able to talk my husband into getting a dryer that time . Before that , he had built a pulley out of my kitchen window . There was a drop off in the back , and he was able to string it to a tree in the woods . I was able to reel those cloth diapers and reel them in and out . The only problem was that the birds like the trees , too . Sometimes I had to do some re - washing . MR . HUNNICUTT : So in those days you use cloth diapers ? Today we use disposable diapers . How do you think you would 've done if you had disposable diapers ? MRS . DAVIDSON : At one point , when our children were out playing Kick the Can , there were over 40 children on the lane . There were about 20 or 21 houses . There were almost as many dogs . It was just a glorious place for them to grow up . They seem to get along remarkably well most of the time , especially in the early days . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes . We went down there on the opening , and got the radioactive dimes on that occasion . The museum at that time was down at Jefferson Circle . I don 't think any of us ever had our hair stand out on the Van De Graff generator or whatever it was , but we took the children . We went out ourselves . Of course my husband was interested in that kind of thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : Sometimes they walked to Jefferson , but by that time they were carrying pretty heavy books . One of the neighbors on Outer Drive wanted to have a carpool , so we joined that . MRS . DAVIDSON : When Anne was in the fifth grade , they had to write what they did on Friday nights . The teacher would call me and say , " Is it true that you gave your children ice water and watched TV on Friday nights ? " That was how generous we were with them . We didn 't get a TV until they were probably five or six years old . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course it was black and white . The reason we got it - I guess finally it was that the children were always going to the neighbors ' house to watch TV . We decided that we should get our own . They watched things like " Pinky Lee " and I 've forgotten what else . MRS . DAVIDSON : I remember that fondly because my first real date with my husband was going to dinner there with him . He invited me to go to a concert in Knoxville , and his excuse was that we should get to know each other better before he took me to the city with him . That was one thing . I remember there were parties there , and our company had a party at the Oak Terrace Ballroom . One of the NEPA fellows wore a Tarzan costume , which was mostly nothing . It turned out that he lived in the neighborhood . MR . HUNNICUTT : What was the Oak Terrace ballroom - where was it located ? MRS . DAVIDSON : That was just below the dormitory where I lived in Columbia Hall . Jack went there looking for me , he thought I would eat breakfast there and then he could have breakfast with me ; but I ate in the dormitory . He didn 't find me there . When we came back from our bicycle ride to Concord Park , I remember we stopped by there , and he drank two or three Mountain Dew drinks . That surprised me , but we had worked off a lot of sweat . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , we took our children out there and saw " Lawrence of Arabia " and " The 10 Commandment " and those things . It was quite nice . MR . HUNNICUTT : Where was it located ? MRS . DAVIDSON : It was about where Kroger 's - where that is now , on the southeast part of Illinois Avenue . It was a nice thing . That was a special treat for the children to go out there . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't think so . I think they were mostly in the car . They had a drawing one time , Jack won something . It was actually nothing , but he did win . MRS . DAVIDSON : I sure did . My three children were born there . It was a green structure , like so many of the buildings in Oak Ridge . I guess the present building is built on that place . It was okay . I didn 't have any problems with it , except after my second child . I had a staph infection from the hospital . Even an Army wife with a private room got an infection there . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , I think they also had been recruited ; and a lot of them were from Tulane University . The time I was sick with my infection , they were having a reunion at Tulane , and my doctor and another one were gone for the reunion . I didn 't like the one who took care of me . He didn 't do a good job . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was okay . I don 't remember having any problems with it . We knew Dr . Rogers from our church , and we went to him . He was called away to the service , I believe . Maybe it was the Korean War , but then he came back . MRS . DAVIDSON : We met at Pine Valley School . The choir sat on the bleachers , and the minister sat under the halo of the basketball net . My husband was a Methodist , and he went to the First Methodist Church . They had a big youth group there . When we were first married , we tried to take them both in . We went to Sunday school one place , and church another until we finally settled on the Presbyterian . It was smaller , and we knew more people . MR . HUNNICUTT : Thinking back , what do you like best about Oak Ridge ? MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course the people . I love my trees and my house . I love all the activities . Both my husband and I have always loved music and enjoy the concerts a lot . The symphony concerts with Waldo Cohn conducting were held at Jefferson Junior High on the Kentucky Avenue hill . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you think back about all the people that you knew in the early days ? Do you think it was unusual for everybody to get along - the many people that were here ? MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , I guess so . I didn 't think about it because we just did . It was just fun . Everybody was away from home , and we had to be family for each other . That was particularly true in this close neighborhood . MRS . DAVIDSON : I 'm pleased for the most part . I think we 've made good progress . We 've kept up with the outside world . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't know . I 'll probably think of things after you leave . Nothing particular comes to mind . MR . HUNNICUTT : I would like to thank you for your time , and I think this interview will be very helpful for someone in the future to see how you lived in Oak Ridge in the early days . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think we came through at the very best of times . It was not the pressure of war , but we were growing community . I think things were happening at the Lab . Both of my husband and I loved the Lab because there were so many good things going on out there . It gives us hope for the future . MR . HUNNICUTT : I thank you very much for your time . [ Editor 's Note : This transcript has been edited at Mrs . Davidson 's request . The corresponding audio and video components have remained unchanged . ] Your rating was saved . you wish to report :

MR . HUNNICUTT : This interview is for the Center of Oak Ridge Oral History . The date is November 8 , 2012 . I am Don Hunnicutt in the home of Mrs . Mary Ann Davidson , 117 Orange Lane , Oak Ridge , Tennessee , to take her oral history about living in Oak Ridge , Tennessee . Please state your full name and your place of birth and your date of birth . MRS . DAVIDSON : My name is Mary Ann Davidson . My date of birth is January 12 , 1925 . I was born in Louisville , Kentucky . I lived there all my early life until I graduated from college . MRS . DAVIDSON : My father was William H . Courtenay . He was born in 1890 , on March 3 . He was in World War I and lived his entire life in Louisville and Shelbyville , Kentucky . He worked for the Mengel Company . They imported mahogany and hardwood from Africa and Central America . He delivered those to customers . He didn 't consider himself a salesman , but he sold them to the furniture factory - furniture makers around Kentucky , mostly Indiana and Cincinnati and some in Tennessee . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , he did not . The Louisville Male High School was considered a fine school at that time . They said that graduates could enter Harvard in their second year . The principal had written textbooks that were apparently used all over . But my father was interested in raising ponies . His father had a farm in Shelbyville , Kentucky . If you 'd didn 't make the grade , you are special . And Dr . Ruben Post - Halleck , the famous principal of the school , told him if he took an exam in math , he could be entered back in . He did that , and he aced the test . He was back in . Then he was a special in English , so they told him if he memorized the " Lady of the Lake " and said that he could get back in school . So he did that . I think he never did finish . He was a twin , and his twin was more of an engineering type and went to manual training high school . MRS . DAVIDSON : She grew up in several small towns in western Kentucky . Her father worked for the L & N Railroad . She had her high school in Hopkinsville , Kentucky . She had to stay home - or she went to junior college nearby . She had a scholarship to Randolph Macon Women 's College , but she couldn 't take it because her mother was ill and died at age 50 . It was about the year I was born , I think . MRS . DAVIDSON : His name was William Howard Courtenay III . My father was named for his uncle , who was also William Howard . My older brother works for Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green in the physics department . He made instruments . My younger brother was a pediatrician in Louisville , and he is still living on a farm in Shelbyville . He 's interested in Kentucky antiques . MRS . DAVIDSON : I went to an unusual kindergarten and first grade . I was at what they called the Enterprise Branch of I . N . Bloom School . It was only kindergarten and first grade . It was in the older building , where we had a Pot Belly Stove . I think we had a maid to help us take our leggings off in the cold weather - galoshes . It was really a wonderful school . It was almost like a private one . It was public . We did things like making butter and we had an orchestra . I played the triangle . I had started a little bit earlier when my younger brother was born . Louisville had half semester , half - year grades . I would 've been a half year , but I skipped the last half of kindergarten . I went to the school board and took a test and went on , so they put me in the regular school year . I went through the big school the I . N . Bloom School and Highland Junior High School in Louisville . Then I went to Atherton High School for Girls . The Louisville public schools were segregated - boys and girls . There were about 900 girls at Atherton . My graduating class was about 200 , and I was the valedictorian . MRS . DAVIDSON : They are pants to keep your legs warm . They zipped up from the inside of the ankle bone up to about knee - high , I guess it was . They were a royal pain to take on and off , so the teacher had to have help to do that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was just ordinary . I 'm sure the girls wore dresses , and the little boys wore suits - not suits , but pants and shirts . MRS . DAVIDSON : I came to Oak Ridge after I graduated from college . I had two years of getting a master 's at Emory while I worked at my alma mater , Agnes Scott College in Decatur , Georgia . I was the chemistry lab instructor . So after those two years were up , I was interested in working in chemistry or biochemistry . My master 's was in biochemistry . In Louisville , there was nothing in that field , except liquor and paint - neither of which I was interested in . In Atlanta , I would like to stay in Atlanta , I heard that Oak Ridge was an interesting new place , and a lot was going on here . One of my dear college friends had recently married a physicist from the University of Kentucky , so I visited them here . I guess that must have been 1947 . Her husband was working at NEPA . He said they were looking for people with a chemistry degree . I applied , and I was accepted . I didn 't know that until I had completed the clearance , so I took the opportunity to go to Europe at an American youth hostel bicycle tour of Western Europe in the summer of 1948 . When I got home , I found that I had indeed gotten the job at Oak Ridge . So I came down here . MRS . DAVIDSON : I was wondering that . I think I came by train . When I interviewed earlier in the spring , my interview was at the Andrew Johnson Hotel . It was one of the private rooms . I had never seen the company here . I think I must have been met by a car and driver and brought to Oak Ridge . MRS . DAVIDSON : I came in through the Vermont Gateway , which is where the gas station is now on the corner of what I call Vermont . They call it North Rutgers now . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , I think it must 've been after that . That would 've been at Christmas time . When I applied , I imagine it was early spring . MRS . DAVIDSON : We called the company NEPA , for Nuclear Energy for the Propulsion of Aircraft . It was managed by the Fairchild Corporation the way Union Carbide or one of the other contractors managed the lab . I did not know until the first day I went to work just what the company was doing . They handed me a volume of information that said , " We are looking for - we are trying to make an airplane powered by nuclear energy that could fly to Russia and back without refueling . " That was a great shock to me . MRS . DAVIDSON : I lived in Columbia Hall Dormitory . I was very surprised to find that the rent was $ 15 a month until I realized it was one very small room . That was my living quarters . I took the opportunity to stay out of it as much as possible . I did that by babysitting in some of the B and D houses in the evening . Grandmothers were not here since it was a closed community . Babysitters were in short supply , and even though I didn 't need the money , it was good to get out of the dormitory . MRS . DAVIDSON : The dormitory was like Cheyenne Hall . It was the same type of building . It had wooden stairways from the second - floor hall down on each end . I lived on the second floor . Our dormitory was mostly nurses , since it was up on the hill next to the hospital - I think where the west parking lot is now . There was a kitchen on each end where we could have our own breakfast . Of course we were at the plant at lunchtime , and then we usually went out to supper . I opened the refrigerator door one morning and somebody 's milk came spilling out down my front . Everybody just stuffed things into the refrigerator . MRS . DAVIDSON : I had a single room with a twin bed and enough room to walk to the window by the bed . There was a little table that served as a desk with a chair . There was a much coveted dormitory dresser - a tall one with a number of drawers . They were very popular . MRS . DAVIDSON : They had a wonderful bus service here . Travel wasn 't really a problem . We walked , of course , from the dormitory to Jackson Square and ate supper usually at the Mayflower , which is where I first saw my husband - to - be . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was on the corner of Tennessee , right across from the Soup Kitchen and the Texaco gas station there on the northeast corner . It was a very popular place . In fact , there were several places you could eat . It was the Central Cafeteria , and the T & C Cafeteria in Jackson Square , which is about where the Epicurean is now toward the garden . MRS . DAVIDSON : It must 've been the A & P on Jackson Square . Jackson Square was really the center of activity as far as I was concerned at that time . I still love it . I hope it keeps going . MRS . DAVIDSON : The department stores - the big department store was Taylor 's at the time . They had a wonderful book department headed by Mrs . Keyes , whose daughter I knew at work . They had really fine art books and other books that they would have a great sale on once or twice a year . We were very happy with that . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was in the middle of the block between where Big Ed 's is in the corner . I guess it 's mostly used by the engineering company now . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , not frequently , but I went and saw - there was a theater down at Big Ed 's in Jackson Square and where the Playhouse is now . That was the main one . MRS . DAVIDSON : Henebree . McCrory 's 5 & 10 was there . There was a drugstore - a Service Drugstore . I guess that was where Big Ed 's is now , on the very corner . There was Jackson Square Pharmacy , and on the other side the Hamilton Bank was there next to the movie theater . And Samuel 's Men 's Store was a very nice store . The Jackson Square Pharmacy was there , but in between , which the Pharmacy later took over was a Kay 's Ice Cream Store . We used to go there and - my husband and I would when we were dating . I liked to get coffee with ice cream in it , so we went there . MRS . DAVIDSON : I can 't say that I do . It was just a given , I suppose . It didn 't make a big dent in my memory . After six months of the dormitory , I moved to a D house on Norman Lane . That was another era . MRS . DAVIDSON : A D house was a large three bedroom house . They were very much desired . They were really nice houses - still a lot of them are . The house was - there were five other girls who lived there - two of whom had been college friends . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , it would 've been upstairs . It was the second one to the end . A radiation technologist lived on the corner , and I lived there with school teachers and nurses who made up most of the dorm . MR . HUNNICUTT : Let 's talk a little bit about the dorm again . If I had a message for you or someone left a message for you , how did you retrieve your messages ? Was there a desk when you went in ? MRS . DAVIDSON : There was a desk downstairs . I remember the Valentine 's Day - I guess it must 've been 1949 . The message was that I had some flowers , some red roses . I had just met my husband - to - be at that time . I got all excited , and when I got to the desk , it was from somebody else . I enjoyed the red roses , but not as much as I might have . The thing was that there were ladies - a lot of the women who lived in the dorm worked on the night shift . They would sit around a large kind of living room , I guess they called it . They were all staring when I got flowers . I had to walk around , and it was embarrassing . MRS . DAVIDSON : I was there in the winter of 1948 . I 'm very cold natured , but I don 't remember being cold . We had those heavy navy blanket - navy blue blankets . This brings up a story if I jump to it later on . We were moved from the D house after another six months into the brand - new Garden Apartments on Villanova Road . They needed our D house for families . The people who moved in were the Andersons of the Anderson Hilltop Grocery . Of course , the furniture all belonged to the government there . So the Garden Apartments were not furnished , so we had dwindled down from 6 to 4 people who needed furniture . I took a day off and went to an auction the government set up down at the warehouses . I got seven beds and three or four dressers - much more than I could have used . But the beds were in great demand at work because all the young men who worked there were having children and needed beds . So we took the four . Also I got two sofas , and we could use but one ; so I sold one . They were really shabby awful sofas . Since it was all going to surplus anyway , we switched and took the nice sofa from the D house and left them the bad one . It was all taken away anyhow , so I didn 't feel too bad about that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't really remember about the telephone . We didn 't use the telephone much . We never used it for long - distance except for emergencies and calls home . I don 't remember that as being a problem particularly . MRS . DAVIDSON : I suppose I went on the bus . I did not have a car . One of the housemates from Norman Lane had gotten the car , but she would 've been at work at K - 25 . I don 't know . I may have gotten a ride . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess I paid somebody to deliver it . I don 't know . Maybe some of the fellows at work picked up their beds that they wanted . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was one of those warehouses down at the [ Oak Ridge ] Turnpike on Warehouse Road . I don 't know exactly where it was . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess it was on the bulletin boards at work , or there was a newspaper at the Lab . I guess I heard about it that way . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think probably so - in the newsletters they came around , also at the recreation building - the rec hall - at Jackson Square that was the library upstairs and the rec hall downstairs . Word - of - mouth - I don 't remember . We had a need and found the answer to it . MRS . DAVIDSON : I had to punch a clock at eight in the morning when I first started . I guess we got out at 4 : 30 or 5 o ' clock . We had bus service that went from the bus terminal - the Central one - that 's now by Bus Terminal Road . Later on after we were married , we lived on Waddell Circle and went from there to the Jefferson bus terminal . I went - I rode on the K - 25 bus , and they went out past K - 25 to the road that the powerhouse was on and NEPA was beyond that out by the river . MRS . DAVIDSON : There was some kind of management services office . I 'm not sure what it was called - the Roane Anderson Corporation at that time , I guess . I think that 's where I rented the dormitory room . I probably got bus tokens - I guess I got the tokens of the bus terminal . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think I had a checking account probably at Hamilton Bank in Jackson Square . I don 't recall otherwise . I know I did later . One thing I wanted to say about the buses - if you wanted to go to Clinton to do any shopping , more than what you could have in Oak Ridge or to meet somebody or something , there was a bus that ran frequently back and forth between the bus terminal and Clinton . There was a young man on the bus who had a sing - songy sales pitch for " peanuts , popcorn , Cracker Jacks , candy , and chewing gum . " He wouldn 't drive , but he would sell his wares all the way to Clinton and back . I always wondered who that was because he obviously had some talent . MRS . DAVIDSON : I 'm sure I did . I don 't know what became of it . I guess I had to turn it back in . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think somebody just got - one of the guards got on the bus and checked everybody 's badges . It was not a big thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : Probably . I don 't remember . What I do remember about that was my mother was coming down one time for my birthday - it must 've been in January 1949 . She rode the train . I told her that I would get a ride to meet her . Of course , the train didn 't stop at Oak Ridge . It went on to Knoxville , so I bummed a ride with one of the men in our group . He was actually the technical assistant to the director . His car was a broken down old thing with no floorboards in the back seat , which was pretty bad when my mother saw it . But she didn 't see it because when we got to Knoxville , she was not there . When we were coming back from the gateway entrance , she was not there . There was a message that she was waiting for us at the Elza Gate Station . She had told the conductor she had to get off at Oak Ridge . That 's where she was going , and I was going to meet her . So she slid down the Elza bank over there . She had my birthday cake - a large chocolate cake . She slid downhill with that , and somehow they stopped her at the guard gate at Elza . She waited there for us . MRS . DAVIDSON : Just for her - let her off like a milk train . They ordinarily didn 't stop there , but she wouldn 't have it otherwise . MRS . DAVIDSON : I used the library and rec hall . On Sunday afternoons , they played music ; and you could sit and write letters home , which is what I think I did a good bit . Later on in the better weather , there were tennis courts and a swimming pool . I don 't remember going to movies much . We went to church groups . There were so many young people ; it was just like a party all the time . Nothing in particular stands out . It was just fun . MRS . DAVIDSON : In the company I was , that was not true . There were a lot of women of course - of course , the dormitory was full of school teachers and nurses . But NEPA was mostly men . There were two parts to the Fairchild - the science and engineering part , which was bigger . I happen to be in the research part . My boss was a chemist - Vince Calkins . It was my job to - this was a real shocker to me - to find a chemical that would protect the human body against radiation for the reactor that was supposed to be in the airplane to Russia . I had no background for that kind of thing . I was just fresh out of college really . I realized I was out of my depth , but they decided - he was a pharmacist , I believe , and he wanted to do experiments with rats . They brought in the rat colony . By that time we had a couple of assistants , and I was supposed to be the group leader . One of the men , Ray Waldrop - you may have talked to him . I asked him if he minded working for a woman because he was really more experienced than I , although I had the degree . It was fine with him . There was also another worker , Saul Segal , who was quite a character in his own right . I took the rats in the cages over to the reactor , the " Old Lady " at X - 10 , and put them through what they called " rabbits " and radiated them for certain amount of time . We couldn 't kill the darn things . Then we used the older ones that had already been radiated , they were just tough as anything . I think the experiment was really a failure , although they may have found that to be the case in some later work with older people - that the cells are not dividing as fast and they 're not as subject to radiation . But we didn 't get into that . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was actually not K - 25 . It was beyond there . As I said , the bus took us - the bus dumped people off at K - 25 , and they went on west to just before you get to the Gallaher Bridge . You turn right there and go right past the power station there . It was used for a long time - the power house , and then NEPA was beyond that . The native rats came in - was it domestic experimental rats ? That was not good . I had a janitor who helped me , even though he could 've lost his job for doing it . He helped me clean cages . I always appreciated that . MRS . DAVIDSON : When they got rid of the rats , which was a blessing , my group leader then became Bill Browning , who was a fine scientist . He worked on the Van de Graaff generator . We had an interesting argument . Saul Segal thought he should be the one to do it since he was a man and I was a woman who would be leaving soon ; and it turned out that he left for California before I had left to have my baby . His argument didn 't hold with me anyway , but we argued about that some . We did run the Van de Graaff , and we also did some experiments on metallic sodium . It was nasty stuff to work with . It caught on fire if it was exposed to air . You had to work with that under oil in the glove box . I think that work all had to be repeated after NEPA left for Cincinnati with G . E . . When they moved part of NEPA to X - 10 , they called it the ANP , or something about aircraft and nuclear power . I was not connected with that because my first baby was born in August 1951 . I left in July . MRS . DAVIDSON : I heard somebody say that they had to repeat it all . My boss , the Division Director of Chemistry was interested in vitamin E , and thought it had a lot of protective influence . We worked with that . That was some of the work I did in chemistry - the lab part of it in the early days . It was not good work , I think . I 'm not blaming myself , but some of the other men who were doing chemical work - I think altogether we didn 't come up with anything . MRS . DAVIDSON : It may have been ahead of it 's time for nuclear submarines . I don 't know whether the engineering people thought that or not . In our group which was the chemistry and the physics , my friend who got me the job was Jim Trice . A fellow named Art Miller and somebody named Coneybearwere in the Physics Division . And then there were some others - Fred Maienschein . I did some work for him one time . It was work on beryllium for one thing . I didn 't work with any of the active beryllium . I didn 't do any lab work then , but I did some journal research . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't think they were that far along . I 'm not sure what happened to that part of it . As I said , in July of 1951 they moved to Cincinnati , Evensville , above Cincinnati . I don 't know how many people actually went up there . Most of my friends moved elsewhere . MR . HUNNICUTT : You mentioned the location of the operation was past the steam plant that was on the Clinch River . Was that the same location where the S - 50 project was located ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I think that was the name of our plot of land . I think those - I never was quite sure how they got the designations , but that was the Fairchild domain , I think . MRS . DAVIDSON : Really , it was just when our eyes met . It was very romantic . He followed our group home to the Columbia Hall to see where I lived . But at the time I thought he was too young , and I didn 't think he was following me . I was with a group of other girls . Later on , one of the women in the dormitory , who was a gym teacher in the Oak Ridge schools , told me I really ought to meet Jack Davidson that he loved to ride bicycles ; I was just back from my bicycle trip in Europe . I didn 't know who he was , and then I went to a church group meeting at my Presbyterian Church for young people one Sunday evening . A friend of mine had brought Jack Davidson , and he was the one whose eyes I had met and he had met mine . Sure enough , he loved to ride bicycles . That was the start of a good thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : We did a little bit . On our dates , that 's really what we did mostly at first . We rode out to West Outer Drive and had those wonderful big hills , not too much traffic at that time . We went out to the water tower at the top of Louisiana and had a picnic , and then rode back . When we got really good , we rode our bicycles over to Concord Park one day . I had gotten some chicken breasts at the grocery . I guess it was the A & P at Jackson Square . I was going to fry them for a picnic to take along over to Concord Park . When I went to the refrigerator to get them , they had turned into wings . Somebody had eaten my chicken breast . Jack was a good sport about that . He didn 't care . We had a nice ride . It was before they had improved Lovell Road . It was a pretty rough ride over there , but we were able to enjoy it . MRS . DAVIDSON : He had his bicycle . It was probably a Grey Stone . For me , he rented a bicycle from his work friend . I had forgotten what his name was . We went over to one of the D Streets , I think , and rode them . I didn 't have my English 3 - speed here . I guess I brought it later , but at that time I didn 't have it . MRS . DAVIDSON : That was a problem . I complained to my friend Jim Trice 's wife , Dot , who happened to live around the corner on Outer Drive at that time . She said the boardwalk was used a lot for dating , and of course the theaters . I guess we were outdoors people . I don 't know . MRS . DAVIDSON : He was a graduate of Georgia Tech . At the time he graduated , he was very young . He came up to see about a job , and he was drafted . No , he was in danger of being drafted right away , but they didn 't hire him . He did go to work for NASA , which was at that time NACA , in Virginia ; and worked over there a short time before he was taken into the Army . He had gone through Georgia Tech on a " War Manpower " loan . He was sent to some place to be an MP , I think . He wrote a night letter , which is a 50 - word telegram that was cheaper at night . He wrote a night letter to Stimson , the Secretary of War , telling them they had paid for his college education ; and here he was sitting in a camp doing nothing down in Alabama . He was transferred to the SED , he would never say that was the reason he was transferred . It may or may not have been . He arrived with the SED - he arrived in Oak Ridge the day Roosevelt died , which was in April 1945 , he was here with his group for maybe six weeks before they went out to Los Alamos . So he spent the rest of the war out there . Then he used his G . I . Bill - he stayed on at Los Alamos . They told them they would let him out of the Army if he would agree to stay on as a civilian . So he took that . Then when he did leave , he went to Annapolis and took a liberal arts course because he felt that he had missed out on it at Georgia Tech . He had a year at St . John 's College of Annapolis ; and then all along I guess he thought he would like to come back here . He came back - he arrived on Armistice Day , now Veterans Day , of 1948 . I was here a couple of months before he came , but we met shortly after Christmas in 1949 . MRS . DAVIDSON : Too long . We were married in May 1950 . He wanted to pay off his loan before we could get married , so I helped him along with that . I fed him some . He was very welcome at the D House of girls . I was going to tell you that during the war , there were nine girls in the house , and they slept on shifts on the bunk beds . There were only six of us when I was there . There were a couple of the boyfriends around , and one of them cut the grass . I think Jack did the - empty the clinkers from the furnace , the coal furnace . They made themselves useful . They got their dinner . MRS . DAVIDSON : Most of the houses were a very good design really , and a whole lot better built than we gave them credit for . But each one that I knew of had a corner set off or closed off as a coal storage place that could be filled through a window from the outside , and then you could use the - there was an opening on the inside that you could use to put coal into the furnace . That was awful of course , but that 's what all the houses were doing in that time , too . We had a yard full of clinkers over there . MRS . DAVIDSON : We were taken care of by a Big Brother - the government . They brought the coal around , and you didn 't do a thing . That was part of the rent . When we got our house here on Orange Lane , that 's another story . Are you ready for that yet ? MRS . DAVIDSON : We went back to my home in Louisville , Kentucky , to be married . We had planned to fly to Nashville , but it turned out the Delta Queen was coming through Louisville the next morning . My mother had told us we could not get married the week before because it was too busy with Derby Day . So we delayed until May 13 . Then we spent the night in Louisville at the Brown Hotel , where she pulled some strings to get us a room because it was still very full of visitors from the Derby . We got on the Delta Queen , and our friends were all on the dock to see us off . They had us almost convinced that we were on Daylight Saving Time , and the Delta Queen was not , and we had missed it . But we rode down just as far as Paducah . We were anxious to start in life you know . We lived on Wadell Circle in a K apartment . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was a two - story thing . I guess it was a two - bedroom up above , and we had K - 1 . It was sort of underground at the front and open at the back . We had a nice back porch . There was a closet under the stairway and a very small kitchen . It had a table that folded down . It was not as compact as a flattop , but the furnishings that they had did double duty . You could fold it up and have more room . MRS . DAVIDSON : The K apartment was heated with the coal furnace , but there was a janitor who came around and took care of it for us . We were taken care of by Roane Anderson . MRS . DAVIDSON : We lived in the K from May 1950 , until we got this house in July 1952 . It was said - the word around town was that you couldn 't get a two - bedroom house unless you had three children , all of different sex . We had been on the list for this house ever since we knew our daughter was coming along . That was a long time to wait . We had been offered two houses - Florida Avenue , where the parking was across the street and the backyard just dropped off . We thought that was totally unsuitable for a new child . We turned both of those down . If we had turned this one down , we would 've gone to the bottom of the long list . But we loved this place of the trees and the dead end lane neighborhood . So we sat outside in front all weekend because we were not top on the list . The reason the other people didn 't take it was that the previous owner , Jim Cox and Charlotte , had put in an oil furnace ; and nobody wanted to pay $ 200 for the oil furnace . Since I had been working , we had saved my salary from work , and we had $ 200 to pay . Also , they didn 't want to be in the high rent district . This house rented for something like $ 45 instead of $ 43 in the lower rent districts . MRS . DAVIDSON : The Oak Ridge cemesto houses that were built - I think this house was built in the fall of 1944 or 1943 . Maybe it was ' 43 . The B house has two bedrooms and of course a bath and a kitchen with a dinette into a long narrow living room . It was about 24 feet by 40 something feet . It was small and convenient . It didn 't have much storage space , but it 's been a wonderful house for us because of the trees . We are on a greenbelt , and I enjoy that very much . It 's a nice private neighborhood just above Jackson Square . MRS . DAVIDSON : Our cemesto has a fireplace , and it had a complete brick wall . Some of the B houses had a brick wall just beyond the fireplace . MRS . DAVIDSON : There are hardwood floors in all the cemestos , I believe . Our house has maple flooring , and a lot of them had oak . Wood was hard to come by in the wartime . We love the color - the reddish color of the maple . MRS . DAVIDSON : Adele is our second daughter , and she was two years younger . Our son is Bill Davidson or William . He was born in November of 1954 . He 's just now turning 58 . MRS . DAVIDSON : All three of our children went to Cedar Hill . They had split grades there , so I think the classes were one half size . They would take the kids a half from one grade , and half from the next grade , and that worked out just fine . MRS . DAVIDSON : Cedar Hill was wonderful . It was very special . Mr . Dodd was the principal , and he saw to it - he had the best teachers or at least as good as any . Actually in those days all the teachers and Oak Ridge were special because many of them had been recruited from Columbia Teachers College , along with the superintendent . Others were specially recruited for the job . They were a group a part , I think , from a lot of teachers . MRS . DAVIDSON : The girls both went to Jefferson when it was on the hill at Jackson Square , and Bill was in the first year at the new Jefferson that was over on Fairbanks Road . His was the first class there . They all went through Oak Ridge High . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you recall some of the classes your daughters took while they were in junior high ? Was there Home Ec . or things related to girls ? MRS . DAVIDSON : No , they were on the college prep track . They took eighth grade algebra and that kind of thing . Of course English and math and social studies and science - our older girl I think took biology ; and I 'm not sure if Adele had a more general science course . It just depended on the teacher that they had . They had an excellent education , and the girls were both Merit semifinalists . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course . I was in the PTA . I 'm not sure if I was ever a room mother , but I of course helped with parties and things . MRS . DAVIDSON : The teachers recruited them from each class to help with parties mostly . They helped with any activities that they didn 't really have time to do . MRS . DAVIDSON : Parent - Teacher Association , a time honored group . It got extra things for the school . I got involved with raincoats for the school patrol . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess maybe I was a treasurer of the Cedar Hill PTA , and this goal was to get those yellow slicker raincoat so kids could be visible to the drivers . I found out how much the things cost , and then I estimated postage . At the PTA meeting , Alvin Weinberg was president . He had a son or two in school at the time . He took me to task for estimating the postage , so I had to ask for just the money for the coats themselves since I didn 't really know what the postage is going to be . I thought that was interesting that he wanted to keep it to the exact penny . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think they just wore what the other kids wore . One day we had a deep snow and Bill was in kindergarten , and the snow was up over their boots . I think he had some corduroys . The teacher was making the kids take their pants off and dry them on the radiator , and he wouldn 't do it . I had to go up to the school and take him some fresh pants , some dry clothes . He was very young - just four when he started . MR . HUNNICUTT : Let 's go back a few years . Do you remember 1945 when they dropped the bomb on Japan ? You remember where you were ? And what was your reaction ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I do remember that very clearly because it was the summer after my junior year in college , and I was a camp counselor up in Door County , Wisconsin . There was no electricity at the camp , so we counselors - after we got the kids to bed , went to the state park nearby . This was at Fish Creek , Wisconsin . We would listen to people 's car radios . We knew for about a week that something was happening , but we didn 't know just what . It was very deeply moving when the bomb was dropped , and we thought it would bring an end to the war . Of course , I had friends and a brother on Guam and a cousin was in Europe and others . So that was very deeply moving . I had a book of poetry - my favorite poems at the camp with me . One of my 12 - year - olds picked out a poem - " Once to every man and nation comes a moment to decide " - she read that , and I thought that was very astute of her , a youngster to be able to do that . MRS . DAVIDSON : My husband thought they should have dropped a sample first , but I didn 't feel that way since the first bomb didn 't phase the Japanese . I didn 't think the test one would have either . I was just so glad that the war was over . People could settle down and get into real life again . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think I was in transition from the dormitory to the house , and my husband 's brothers came up from Georgia to witness the opening . So we drove in their car around , and we watched the parade from , I believe , down on the eastern end of the Turnpike down near the warehouses to get out of the traffic . We never could figure out why they invited Marie " The Body " McDonald and [ inaudible ] to ride in the open car for the parade . We couldn 't figure out what they had to do with it , but we did see the burning of the magnesium ribbon . That was exciting . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was only toward town from Elza Gate . I know the central part of town , the Jackson Square area , was very crowded . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think they name the streets for famous cities in the country , and of course the alphabetical designations were very helpful . But Jackson Square , I assume , was named for New Orleans . That 's all I know about it . MRS . DAVIDSON : Sometimes you would pick up the telephone , and the other party was talking . I believe they had different rings . I think maybe the other party had one ring , and we had two . There were four - party lines , but if we were on a four - party line , only the other one was active . I think maybe we were . The other two lines were not being used . MR . HUNNICUTT : When you are raising your family , did you hang your clothes outside on the clothesline ? Did you have a dryer ? What did you use ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I hung them outside on the clothesline . As I said , when we moved here , Anne was a year old . Not much more than three years after that , we had three babies . I was able to talk my husband into getting a dryer that time . Before that , he had built a pulley out of my kitchen window . There was a drop off in the back , and he was able to string it to a tree in the woods . I was able to reel those cloth diapers and reel them in and out . The only problem was that the birds like the trees , too . Sometimes I had to do some re - washing . MR . HUNNICUTT : So in those days you use cloth diapers ? Today we use disposable diapers . How do you think you would 've done if you had disposable diapers ? MRS . DAVIDSON : At one point , when our children were out playing Kick the Can , there were over 40 children on the lane . There were about 20 or 21 houses . There were almost as many dogs . It was just a glorious place for them to grow up . They seem to get along remarkably well most of the time , especially in the early days . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes . We went down there on the opening , and got the radioactive dimes on that occasion . The museum at that time was down at Jefferson Circle . I don 't think any of us ever had our hair stand out on the Van De Graff generator or whatever it was , but we took the children . We went out ourselves . Of course my husband was interested in that kind of thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : Sometimes they walked to Jefferson , but by that time they were carrying pretty heavy books . One of the neighbors on Outer Drive wanted to have a carpool , so we joined that . MRS . DAVIDSON : When Anne was in the fifth grade , they had to write what they did on Friday nights . The teacher would call me and say , " Is it true that you gave your children ice water and watched TV on Friday nights ? " That was how generous we were with them . We didn 't get a TV until they were probably five or six years old . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course it was black and white . The reason we got it - I guess finally it was that the children were always going to the neighbors ' house to watch TV . We decided that we should get our own . They watched things like " Pinky Lee " and I 've forgotten what else . MRS . DAVIDSON : I remember that fondly because my first real date with my husband was going to dinner there with him . He invited me to go to a concert in Knoxville , and his excuse was that we should get to know each other better before he took me to the city with him . That was one thing . I remember there were parties there , and our company had a party at the Oak Terrace Ballroom . One of the NEPA fellows wore a Tarzan costume , which was mostly nothing . It turned out that he lived in the neighborhood . MRS . DAVIDSON : That was just below the dormitory where I lived in Columbia Hall . Jack went there looking for me , he thought I would eat breakfast there and then he could have breakfast with me ; but I ate in the dormitory . He didn 't find me there . When we came back from our bicycle ride to Concord Park , I remember we stopped by there , and he drank two or three Mountain Dew drinks . That surprised me , but we had worked off a lot of sweat . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , we took our children out there and saw " Lawrence of Arabia " and " The 10 Commandment " and those things . It was quite nice . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was about where Kroger 's - where that is now , on the southeast part of Illinois Avenue . It was a nice thing . That was a special treat for the children to go out there . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't think so . I think they were mostly in the car . They had a drawing one time , Jack won something . It was actually nothing , but he did win . MRS . DAVIDSON : I sure did . My three children were born there . It was a green structure , like so many of the buildings in Oak Ridge . I guess the present building is built on that place . It was okay . I didn 't have any problems with it , except after my second child . I had a staph infection from the hospital . Even an Army wife with a private room got an infection there . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , I think they also had been recruited ; and a lot of them were from Tulane University . The time I was sick with my infection , they were having a reunion at Tulane , and my doctor and another one were gone for the reunion . I didn 't like the one who took care of me . He didn 't do a good job . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was okay . I don 't remember having any problems with it . We knew Dr . Rogers from our church , and we went to him . He was called away to the service , I believe . Maybe it was the Korean War , but then he came back . MRS . DAVIDSON : We met at Pine Valley School . The choir sat on the bleachers , and the minister sat under the halo of the basketball net . My husband was a Methodist , and he went to the First Methodist Church . They had a big youth group there . When we were first married , we tried to take them both in . We went to Sunday school one place , and church another until we finally settled on the Presbyterian . It was smaller , and we knew more people . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course the people . I love my trees and my house . I love all the activities . Both my husband and I have always loved music and enjoy the concerts a lot . The symphony concerts with Waldo Cohn conducting were held at Jefferson Junior High on the Kentucky Avenue hill . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you think back about all the people that you knew in the early days ? Do you think it was unusual for everybody to get along - the many people that were here ? MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , I guess so . I didn 't think about it because we just did . It was just fun . Everybody was away from home , and we had to be family for each other . That was particularly true in this close neighborhood . MRS . DAVIDSON : I 'm pleased for the most part . I think we 've made good progress . We 've kept up with the outside world . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think we came through at the very best of times . It was not the pressure of war , but we were growing community . I think things were happening at the Lab . Both of my husband and I loved the Lab because there were so many good things going on out there . It gives us hope for the future . [ Editor 's Note : This transcript has been edited at Mrs . Davidson 's request . The corresponding audio and video components have remained unchanged . ] Click tabs to swap between content that is broken into logical sections . MR . HUNNICUTT : This interview is for the Center of Oak Ridge Oral History . The date is November 8 , 2012 . I am Don Hunnicutt in the home of Mrs . Mary Ann Davidson , 117 Orange Lane , Oak Ridge , Tennessee , to take her oral history about living in Oak Ridge , Tennessee . Please state your full name and your place of birth and your date of birth . MRS . DAVIDSON : My name is Mary Ann Davidson . My date of birth is January 12 , 1925 . I was born in Louisville , Kentucky . I lived there all my early life until I graduated from college . MRS . DAVIDSON : My father was William H . Courtenay . He was born in 1890 , on March 3 . He was in World War I and lived his entire life in Louisville and Shelbyville , Kentucky . He worked for the Mengel Company . They imported mahogany and hardwood from Africa and Central America . He delivered those to customers . He didn 't consider himself a salesman , but he sold them to the furniture factory - furniture makers around Kentucky , mostly Indiana and Cincinnati and some in Tennessee . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , he did not . The Louisville Male High School was considered a fine school at that time . They said that graduates could enter Harvard in their second year . The principal had written textbooks that were apparently used all over . But my father was interested in raising ponies . His father had a farm in Shelbyville , Kentucky . If you 'd didn 't make the grade , you are special . And Dr . Ruben Post - Halleck , the famous principal of the school , told him if he took an exam in math , he could be entered back in . He did that , and he aced the test . He was back in . Then he was a special in English , so they told him if he memorized the " Lady of the Lake " and said that he could get back in school . So he did that . I think he never did finish . He was a twin , and his twin was more of an engineering type and went to manual training high school . MR . HUNNICUTT : What about your mother 's school history ? MRS . DAVIDSON : She grew up in several small towns in western Kentucky . Her father worked for the L & N Railroad . She had her high school in Hopkinsville , Kentucky . She had to stay home - or she went to junior college nearby . She had a scholarship to Randolph Macon Women 's College , but she couldn 't take it because her mother was ill and died at age 50 . It was about the year I was born , I think . MRS . DAVIDSON : His name was William Howard Courtenay III . My father was named for his uncle , who was also William Howard . My older brother works for Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green in the physics department . He made instruments . My younger brother was a pediatrician in Louisville , and he is still living on a farm in Shelbyville . He 's interested in Kentucky antiques . MR . HUNNICUTT : Yes . MRS . DAVIDSON : I went to an unusual kindergarten and first grade . I was at what they called the Enterprise Branch of I . N . Bloom School . It was only kindergarten and first grade . It was in the older building , where we had a Pot Belly Stove . I think we had a maid to help us take our leggings off in the cold weather - galoshes . It was really a wonderful school . It was almost like a private one . It was public . We did things like making butter and we had an orchestra . I played the triangle . I had started a little bit earlier when my younger brother was born . Louisville had half semester , half - year grades . I would 've been a half year , but I skipped the last half of kindergarten . I went to the school board and took a test and went on , so they put me in the regular school year . I went through the big school the I . N . Bloom School and Highland Junior High School in Louisville . Then I went to Atherton High School for Girls . The Louisville public schools were segregated - boys and girls . There were about 900 girls at Atherton . My graduating class was about 200 , and I was the valedictorian . MRS . DAVIDSON : They are pants to keep your legs warm . They zipped up from the inside of the ankle bone up to about knee - high , I guess it was . They were a royal pain to take on and off , so the teacher had to have help to do that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was just ordinary . I 'm sure the girls wore dresses , and the little boys wore suits - not suits , but pants and shirts . MRS . DAVIDSON : I came to Oak Ridge after I graduated from college . I had two years of getting a master 's at Emory while I worked at my alma mater , Agnes Scott College in Decatur , Georgia . I was the chemistry lab instructor . So after those two years were up , I was interested in working in chemistry or biochemistry . My master 's was in biochemistry . In Louisville , there was nothing in that field , except liquor and paint - neither of which I was interested in . In Atlanta , I would like to stay in Atlanta , I heard that Oak Ridge was an interesting new place , and a lot was going on here . One of my dear college friends had recently married a physicist from the University of Kentucky , so I visited them here . I guess that must have been 1947 . Her husband was working at NEPA . He said they were looking for people with a chemistry degree . I applied , and I was accepted . I didn 't know that until I had completed the clearance , so I took the opportunity to go to Europe at an American youth hostel bicycle tour of Western Europe in the summer of 1948 . When I got home , I found that I had indeed gotten the job at Oak Ridge . So I came down here . MRS . DAVIDSON : I was wondering that . I think I came by train . When I interviewed earlier in the spring , my interview was at the Andrew Johnson Hotel . It was one of the private rooms . I had never seen the company here . I think I must have been met by a car and driver and brought to Oak Ridge . MRS . DAVIDSON : I came in through the Vermont Gateway , which is where the gas station is now on the corner of what I call Vermont . They call it North Rutgers now . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , I think it must 've been after that . That would 've been at Christmas time . When I applied , I imagine it was early spring . MRS . DAVIDSON : We called the company NEPA , for Nuclear Energy for the Propulsion of Aircraft . It was managed by the Fairchild Corporation the way Union Carbide or one of the other contractors managed the lab . I did not know until the first day I went to work just what the company was doing . They handed me a volume of information that said , " We are looking for - we are trying to make an airplane powered by nuclear energy that could fly to Russia and back without refueling . " That was a great shock to me . MRS . DAVIDSON : I lived in Columbia Hall Dormitory . I was very surprised to find that the rent was $ 15 a month until I realized it was one very small room . That was my living quarters . I took the opportunity to stay out of it as much as possible . I did that by babysitting in some of the B and D houses in the evening . Grandmothers were not here since it was a closed community . Babysitters were in short supply , and even though I didn 't need the money , it was good to get out of the dormitory . MRS . DAVIDSON : The dormitory was like Cheyenne Hall . It was the same type of building . It had wooden stairways from the second - floor hall down on each end . I lived on the second floor . Our dormitory was mostly nurses , since it was up on the hill next to the hospital - I think where the west parking lot is now . There was a kitchen on each end where we could have our own breakfast . Of course we were at the plant at lunchtime , and then we usually went out to supper . I opened the refrigerator door one morning and somebody 's milk came spilling out down my front . Everybody just stuffed things into the refrigerator . MRS . DAVIDSON : I had a single room with a twin bed and enough room to walk to the window by the bed . There was a little table that served as a desk with a chair . There was a much coveted dormitory dresser - a tall one with a number of drawers . They were very popular . MRS . DAVIDSON : They had a wonderful bus service here . Travel wasn 't really a problem . We walked , of course , from the dormitory to Jackson Square and ate supper usually at the Mayflower , which is where I first saw my husband - to - be . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was on the corner of Tennessee , right across from the Soup Kitchen and the Texaco gas station there on the northeast corner . It was a very popular place . In fact , there were several places you could eat . It was the Central Cafeteria , and the T & C Cafeteria in Jackson Square , which is about where the Epicurean is now toward the garden . MRS . DAVIDSON : It must 've been the A & P on Jackson Square . Jackson Square was really the center of activity as far as I was concerned at that time . I still love it . I hope it keeps going . MRS . DAVIDSON : The department stores - the big department store was Taylor 's at the time . They had a wonderful book department headed by Mrs . Keyes , whose daughter I knew at work . They had really fine art books and other books that they would have a great sale on once or twice a year . We were very happy with that . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was in the middle of the block between where Big Ed 's is in the corner . I guess it 's mostly used by the engineering company now . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , not frequently , but I went and saw - there was a theater down at Big Ed 's in Jackson Square and where the Playhouse is now . That was the main one . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , the jewelry store was on the corner that was Henebree 's , I think . No , that was Heneger 's . MR . HUNNICUTT : Henebree ? MRS . DAVIDSON : Henebree . McCrory 's 5 & 10 was there . There was a drugstore - a Service Drugstore . I guess that was where Big Ed 's is now , on the very corner . There was Jackson Square Pharmacy , and on the other side the Hamilton Bank was there next to the movie theater . And Samuel 's Men 's Store was a very nice store . The Jackson Square Pharmacy was there , but in between , which the Pharmacy later took over was a Kay 's Ice Cream Store . We used to go there and - my husband and I would when we were dating . I liked to get coffee with ice cream in it , so we went there . MR . HUNNICUTT : I believe that was Taff Moody Ice Cream - they served Kay 's Ice Cream . MRS . DAVIDSON : Was it ? I didn 't remember that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I can 't say that I do . It was just a given , I suppose . It didn 't make a big dent in my memory . After six months of the dormitory , I moved to a D house on Norman Lane . That was another era . MR . HUNNICUTT : What is a D house ? MRS . DAVIDSON : A D house was a large three bedroom house . They were very much desired . They were really nice houses - still a lot of them are . The house was - there were five other girls who lived there - two of whom had been college friends . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , it would 've been upstairs . It was the second one to the end . A radiation technologist lived on the corner , and I lived there with school teachers and nurses who made up most of the dorm . MR . HUNNICUTT : Let 's talk a little bit about the dorm again . If I had a message for you or someone left a message for you , how did you retrieve your messages ? Was there a desk when you went in ? MRS . DAVIDSON : There was a desk downstairs . I remember the Valentine 's Day - I guess it must 've been 1949 . The message was that I had some flowers , some red roses . I had just met my husband - to - be at that time . I got all excited , and when I got to the desk , it was from somebody else . I enjoyed the red roses , but not as much as I might have . The thing was that there were ladies - a lot of the women who lived in the dorm worked on the night shift . They would sit around a large kind of living room , I guess they called it . They were all staring when I got flowers . I had to walk around , and it was embarrassing . MRS . DAVIDSON : I was there in the winter of 1948 . I 'm very cold natured , but I don 't remember being cold . We had those heavy navy blanket - navy blue blankets . This brings up a story if I jump to it later on . We were moved from the D house after another six months into the brand - new Garden Apartments on Villanova Road . They needed our D house for families . The people who moved in were the Andersons of the Anderson Hilltop Grocery . Of course , the furniture all belonged to the government there . So the Garden Apartments were not furnished , so we had dwindled down from 6 to 4 people who needed furniture . I took a day off and went to an auction the government set up down at the warehouses . I got seven beds and three or four dressers - much more than I could have used . But the beds were in great demand at work because all the young men who worked there were having children and needed beds . So we took the four . Also I got two sofas , and we could use but one ; so I sold one . They were really shabby awful sofas . Since it was all going to surplus anyway , we switched and took the nice sofa from the D house and left them the bad one . It was all taken away anyhow , so I didn 't feel too bad about that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't really remember about the telephone . We didn 't use the telephone much . We never used it for long - distance except for emergencies and calls home . I don 't remember that as being a problem particularly . MRS . DAVIDSON : I suppose I went on the bus . I did not have a car . One of the housemates from Norman Lane had gotten the car , but she would 've been at work at K - 25 . I don 't know . I may have gotten a ride . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess I paid somebody to deliver it . I don 't know . Maybe some of the fellows at work picked up their beds that they wanted . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was one of those warehouses down at the [ Oak Ridge ] Turnpike on Warehouse Road . I don 't know exactly where it was . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess it was on the bulletin boards at work , or there was a newspaper at the Lab . I guess I heard about it that way . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think probably so - in the newsletters they came around , also at the recreation building - the rec hall - at Jackson Square that was the library upstairs and the rec hall downstairs . Word - of - mouth - I don 't remember . We had a need and found the answer to it . MRS . DAVIDSON : I had to punch a clock at eight in the morning when I first started . I guess we got out at 4 : 30 or 5 o ' clock . We had bus service that went from the bus terminal - the Central one - that 's now by Bus Terminal Road . Later on after we were married , we lived on Waddell Circle and went from there to the Jefferson bus terminal . I went - I rode on the K - 25 bus , and they went out past K - 25 to the road that the powerhouse was on and NEPA was beyond that out by the river . MRS . DAVIDSON : There was some kind of management services office . I 'm not sure what it was called - the Roane Anderson Corporation at that time , I guess . I think that 's where I rented the dormitory room . I probably got bus tokens - I guess I got the tokens of the bus terminal . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think I had a checking account probably at Hamilton Bank in Jackson Square . I don 't recall otherwise . I know I did later . One thing I wanted to say about the buses - if you wanted to go to Clinton to do any shopping , more than what you could have in Oak Ridge or to meet somebody or something , there was a bus that ran frequently back and forth between the bus terminal and Clinton . There was a young man on the bus who had a sing - songy sales pitch for " peanuts , popcorn , Cracker Jacks , candy , and chewing gum . " He wouldn 't drive , but he would sell his wares all the way to Clinton and back . I always wondered who that was because he obviously had some talent . MRS . DAVIDSON : I 'm sure I did . I don 't know what became of it . I guess I had to turn it back in . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think somebody just got - one of the guards got on the bus and checked everybody 's badges . It was not a big thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : Probably . I don 't remember . What I do remember about that was my mother was coming down one time for my birthday - it must 've been in January 1949 . She rode the train . I told her that I would get a ride to meet her . Of course , the train didn 't stop at Oak Ridge . It went on to Knoxville , so I bummed a ride with one of the men in our group . He was actually the technical assistant to the director . His car was a broken down old thing with no floorboards in the back seat , which was pretty bad when my mother saw it . But she didn 't see it because when we got to Knoxville , she was not there . When we were coming back from the gateway entrance , she was not there . There was a message that she was waiting for us at the Elza Gate Station . She had told the conductor she had to get off at Oak Ridge . That 's where she was going , and I was going to meet her . So she slid down the Elza bank over there . She had my birthday cake - a large chocolate cake . She slid downhill with that , and somehow they stopped her at the guard gate at Elza . She waited there for us . MRS . DAVIDSON : Just for her - let her off like a milk train . They ordinarily didn 't stop there , but she wouldn 't have it otherwise . MRS . DAVIDSON : I used the library and rec hall . On Sunday afternoons , they played music ; and you could sit and write letters home , which is what I think I did a good bit . Later on in the better weather , there were tennis courts and a swimming pool . I don 't remember going to movies much . We went to church groups . There were so many young people ; it was just like a party all the time . Nothing in particular stands out . It was just fun . MRS . DAVIDSON : In the company I was , that was not true . There were a lot of women of course - of course , the dormitory was full of school teachers and nurses . But NEPA was mostly men . There were two parts to the Fairchild - the science and engineering part , which was bigger . I happen to be in the research part . My boss was a chemist - Vince Calkins . It was my job to - this was a real shocker to me - to find a chemical that would protect the human body against radiation for the reactor that was supposed to be in the airplane to Russia . I had no background for that kind of thing . I was just fresh out of college really . I realized I was out of my depth , but they decided - he was a pharmacist , I believe , and he wanted to do experiments with rats . They brought in the rat colony . By that time we had a couple of assistants , and I was supposed to be the group leader . One of the men , Ray Waldrop - you may have talked to him . I asked him if he minded working for a woman because he was really more experienced than I , although I had the degree . It was fine with him . There was also another worker , Saul Segal , who was quite a character in his own right . I took the rats in the cages over to the reactor , the " Old Lady " at X - 10 , and put them through what they called " rabbits " and radiated them for certain amount of time . We couldn 't kill the darn things . Then we used the older ones that had already been radiated , they were just tough as anything . I think the experiment was really a failure , although they may have found that to be the case in some later work with older people - that the cells are not dividing as fast and they 're not as subject to radiation . But we didn 't get into that . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was actually not K - 25 . It was beyond there . As I said , the bus took us - the bus dumped people off at K - 25 , and they went on west to just before you get to the Gallaher Bridge . You turn right there and go right past the power station there . It was used for a long time - the power house , and then NEPA was beyond that . The native rats came in - was it domestic experimental rats ? That was not good . I had a janitor who helped me , even though he could 've lost his job for doing it . He helped me clean cages . I always appreciated that . MRS . DAVIDSON : When they got rid of the rats , which was a blessing , my group leader then became Bill Browning , who was a fine scientist . He worked on the Van de Graaff generator . We had an interesting argument . Saul Segal thought he should be the one to do it since he was a man and I was a woman who would be leaving soon ; and it turned out that he left for California before I had left to have my baby . His argument didn 't hold with me anyway , but we argued about that some . We did run the Van de Graaff , and we also did some experiments on metallic sodium . It was nasty stuff to work with . It caught on fire if it was exposed to air . You had to work with that under oil in the glove box . I think that work all had to be repeated after NEPA left for Cincinnati with G . E . . When they moved part of NEPA to X - 10 , they called it the ANP , or something about aircraft and nuclear power . I was not connected with that because my first baby was born in August 1951 . I left in July . MRS . DAVIDSON : I heard somebody say that they had to repeat it all . My boss , the Division Director of Chemistry was interested in vitamin E , and thought it had a lot of protective influence . We worked with that . That was some of the work I did in chemistry - the lab part of it in the early days . It was not good work , I think . I 'm not blaming myself , but some of the other men who were doing chemical work - I think altogether we didn 't come up with anything . MRS . DAVIDSON : It may have been ahead of it 's time for nuclear submarines . I don 't know whether the engineering people thought that or not . In our group which was the chemistry and the physics , my friend who got me the job was Jim Trice . A fellow named Art Miller and somebody named Coneybearwere in the Physics Division . And then there were some others - Fred Maienschein . I did some work for him one time . It was work on beryllium for one thing . I didn 't work with any of the active beryllium . I didn 't do any lab work then , but I did some journal research . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't think they were that far along . I 'm not sure what happened to that part of it . As I said , in July of 1951 they moved to Cincinnati , Evensville , above Cincinnati . I don 't know how many people actually went up there . Most of my friends moved elsewhere . MR . HUNNICUTT : You mentioned the location of the operation was past the steam plant that was on the Clinch River . Was that the same location where the S - 50 project was located ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I think that was the name of our plot of land . I think those - I never was quite sure how they got the designations , but that was the Fairchild domain , I think . MRS . DAVIDSON : Really , it was just when our eyes met . It was very romantic . He followed our group home to the Columbia Hall to see where I lived . But at the time I thought he was too young , and I didn 't think he was following me . I was with a group of other girls . Later on , one of the women in the dormitory , who was a gym teacher in the Oak Ridge schools , told me I really ought to meet Jack Davidson that he loved to ride bicycles ; I was just back from my bicycle trip in Europe . I didn 't know who he was , and then I went to a church group meeting at my Presbyterian Church for young people one Sunday evening . A friend of mine had brought Jack Davidson , and he was the one whose eyes I had met and he had met mine . Sure enough , he loved to ride bicycles . That was the start of a good thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : We did a little bit . On our dates , that 's really what we did mostly at first . We rode out to West Outer Drive and had those wonderful big hills , not too much traffic at that time . We went out to the water tower at the top of Louisiana and had a picnic , and then rode back . When we got really good , we rode our bicycles over to Concord Park one day . I had gotten some chicken breasts at the grocery . I guess it was the A & P at Jackson Square . I was going to fry them for a picnic to take along over to Concord Park . When I went to the refrigerator to get them , they had turned into wings . Somebody had eaten my chicken breast . Jack was a good sport about that . He didn 't care . We had a nice ride . It was before they had improved Lovell Road . It was a pretty rough ride over there , but we were able to enjoy it . MRS . DAVIDSON : He had his bicycle . It was probably a Grey Stone . For me , he rented a bicycle from his work friend . I had forgotten what his name was . We went over to one of the D Streets , I think , and rode them . I didn 't have my English 3 - speed here . I guess I brought it later , but at that time I didn 't have it . MRS . DAVIDSON : That was a problem . I complained to my friend Jim Trice 's wife , Dot , who happened to live around the corner on Outer Drive at that time . She said the boardwalk was used a lot for dating , and of course the theaters . I guess we were outdoors people . I don 't know . MRS . DAVIDSON : He was a graduate of Georgia Tech . At the time he graduated , he was very young . He came up to see about a job , and he was drafted . No , he was in danger of being drafted right away , but they didn 't hire him . He did go to work for NASA , which was at that time NACA , in Virginia ; and worked over there a short time before he was taken into the Army . He had gone through Georgia Tech on a " War Manpower " loan . He was sent to some place to be an MP , I think . He wrote a night letter , which is a 50 - word telegram that was cheaper at night . He wrote a night letter to Stimson , the Secretary of War , telling them they had paid for his college education ; and here he was sitting in a camp doing nothing down in Alabama . He was transferred to the SED , he would never say that was the reason he was transferred . It may or may not have been . He arrived with the SED - he arrived in Oak Ridge the day Roosevelt died , which was in April 1945 , he was here with his group for maybe six weeks before they went out to Los Alamos . So he spent the rest of the war out there . Then he used his G . I . Bill - he stayed on at Los Alamos . They told them they would let him out of the Army if he would agree to stay on as a civilian . So he took that . Then when he did leave , he went to Annapolis and took a liberal arts course because he felt that he had missed out on it at Georgia Tech . He had a year at St . John 's College of Annapolis ; and then all along I guess he thought he would like to come back here . He came back - he arrived on Armistice Day , now Veterans Day , of 1948 . I was here a couple of months before he came , but we met shortly after Christmas in 1949 . MRS . DAVIDSON : Too long . We were married in May 1950 . He wanted to pay off his loan before we could get married , so I helped him along with that . I fed him some . He was very welcome at the D House of girls . I was going to tell you that during the war , there were nine girls in the house , and they slept on shifts on the bunk beds . There were only six of us when I was there . There were a couple of the boyfriends around , and one of them cut the grass . I think Jack did the - empty the clinkers from the furnace , the coal furnace . They made themselves useful . They got their dinner . MR . HUNNICUTT : Tell me about the coal furnace briefly . MRS . DAVIDSON : Most of the houses were a very good design really , and a whole lot better built than we gave them credit for . But each one that I knew of had a corner set off or closed off as a coal storage place that could be filled through a window from the outside , and then you could use the - there was an opening on the inside that you could use to put coal into the furnace . That was awful of course , but that 's what all the houses were doing in that time , too . We had a yard full of clinkers over there . MRS . DAVIDSON : We were taken care of by a Big Brother - the government . They brought the coal around , and you didn 't do a thing . That was part of the rent . When we got our house here on Orange Lane , that 's another story . Are you ready for that yet ? MRS . DAVIDSON : We went back to my home in Louisville , Kentucky , to be married . We had planned to fly to Nashville , but it turned out the Delta Queen was coming through Louisville the next morning . My mother had told us we could not get married the week before because it was too busy with Derby Day . So we delayed until May 13 . Then we spent the night in Louisville at the Brown Hotel , where she pulled some strings to get us a room because it was still very full of visitors from the Derby . We got on the Delta Queen , and our friends were all on the dock to see us off . They had us almost convinced that we were on Daylight Saving Time , and the Delta Queen was not , and we had missed it . But we rode down just as far as Paducah . We were anxious to start in life you know . We lived on Wadell Circle in a K apartment . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you recall the number ? MRS . DAVIDSON : It was a two - story thing . I guess it was a two - bedroom up above , and we had K - 1 . It was sort of underground at the front and open at the back . We had a nice back porch . There was a closet under the stairway and a very small kitchen . It had a table that folded down . It was not as compact as a flattop , but the furnishings that they had did double duty . You could fold it up and have more room . MRS . DAVIDSON : The K apartment was heated with the coal furnace , but there was a janitor who came around and took care of it for us . We were taken care of by Roane Anderson . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you remember what the rent was ? MRS . DAVIDSON : We lived in the K from May 1950 , until we got this house in July 1952 . It was said - the word around town was that you couldn 't get a two - bedroom house unless you had three children , all of different sex . We had been on the list for this house ever since we knew our daughter was coming along . That was a long time to wait . We had been offered two houses - Florida Avenue , where the parking was across the street and the backyard just dropped off . We thought that was totally unsuitable for a new child . We turned both of those down . If we had turned this one down , we would 've gone to the bottom of the long list . But we loved this place of the trees and the dead end lane neighborhood . So we sat outside in front all weekend because we were not top on the list . The reason the other people didn 't take it was that the previous owner , Jim Cox and Charlotte , had put in an oil furnace ; and nobody wanted to pay $ 200 for the oil furnace . Since I had been working , we had saved my salary from work , and we had $ 200 to pay . Also , they didn 't want to be in the high rent district . This house rented for something like $ 45 instead of $ 43 in the lower rent districts . MRS . DAVIDSON : The Oak Ridge cemesto houses that were built - I think this house was built in the fall of 1944 or 1943 . Maybe it was ' 43 . The B house has two bedrooms and of course a bath and a kitchen with a dinette into a long narrow living room . It was about 24 feet by 40 something feet . It was small and convenient . It didn 't have much storage space , but it 's been a wonderful house for us because of the trees . We are on a greenbelt , and I enjoy that very much . It 's a nice private neighborhood just above Jackson Square . MRS . DAVIDSON : Our cemesto has a fireplace , and it had a complete brick wall . Some of the B houses had a brick wall just beyond the fireplace . MRS . DAVIDSON : There are hardwood floors in all the cemestos , I believe . Our house has maple flooring , and a lot of them had oak . Wood was hard to come by in the wartime . We love the color - the reddish color of the maple . MRS . DAVIDSON : Adele is our second daughter , and she was two years younger . Our son is Bill Davidson or William . He was born in November of 1954 . He 's just now turning 58 . MR . HUNNICUTT : So your first daughter went to Cedar Hill ? MRS . DAVIDSON : All three of our children went to Cedar Hill . They had split grades there , so I think the classes were one half size . They would take the kids a half from one grade , and half from the next grade , and that worked out just fine . MRS . DAVIDSON : Cedar Hill was wonderful . It was very special . Mr . Dodd was the principal , and he saw to it - he had the best teachers or at least as good as any . Actually in those days all the teachers and Oak Ridge were special because many of them had been recruited from Columbia Teachers College , along with the superintendent . Others were specially recruited for the job . They were a group a part , I think , from a lot of teachers . MRS . DAVIDSON : The girls both went to Jefferson when it was on the hill at Jackson Square , and Bill was in the first year at the new Jefferson that was over on Fairbanks Road . His was the first class there . They all went through Oak Ridge High . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you recall some of the classes your daughters took while they were in junior high ? Was there Home Ec . or things related to girls ? MRS . DAVIDSON : No , they were on the college prep track . They took eighth grade algebra and that kind of thing . Of course English and math and social studies and science - our older girl I think took biology ; and I 'm not sure if Adele had a more general science course . It just depended on the teacher that they had . They had an excellent education , and the girls were both Merit semifinalists . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course . I was in the PTA . I 'm not sure if I was ever a room mother , but I of course helped with parties and things . MRS . DAVIDSON : The teachers recruited them from each class to help with parties mostly . They helped with any activities that they didn 't really have time to do . MRS . DAVIDSON : Parent - Teacher Association , a time honored group . It got extra things for the school . I got involved with raincoats for the school patrol . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess maybe I was a treasurer of the Cedar Hill PTA , and this goal was to get those yellow slicker raincoat so kids could be visible to the drivers . I found out how much the things cost , and then I estimated postage . At the PTA meeting , Alvin Weinberg was president . He had a son or two in school at the time . He took me to task for estimating the postage , so I had to ask for just the money for the coats themselves since I didn 't really know what the postage is going to be . I thought that was interesting that he wanted to keep it to the exact penny . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think they just wore what the other kids wore . One day we had a deep snow and Bill was in kindergarten , and the snow was up over their boots . I think he had some corduroys . The teacher was making the kids take their pants off and dry them on the radiator , and he wouldn 't do it . I had to go up to the school and take him some fresh pants , some dry clothes . He was very young - just four when he started . MR . HUNNICUTT : Let 's go back a few years . Do you remember 1945 when they dropped the bomb on Japan ? You remember where you were ? And what was your reaction ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I do remember that very clearly because it was the summer after my junior year in college , and I was a camp counselor up in Door County , Wisconsin . There was no electricity at the camp , so we counselors - after we got the kids to bed , went to the state park nearby . This was at Fish Creek , Wisconsin . We would listen to people 's car radios . We knew for about a week that something was happening , but we didn 't know just what . It was very deeply moving when the bomb was dropped , and we thought it would bring an end to the war . Of course , I had friends and a brother on Guam and a cousin was in Europe and others . So that was very deeply moving . I had a book of poetry - my favorite poems at the camp with me . One of my 12 - year - olds picked out a poem - " Once to every man and nation comes a moment to decide " - she read that , and I thought that was very astute of her , a youngster to be able to do that . MRS . DAVIDSON : My husband thought they should have dropped a sample first , but I didn 't feel that way since the first bomb didn 't phase the Japanese . I didn 't think the test one would have either . I was just so glad that the war was over . People could settle down and get into real life again . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think I was in transition from the dormitory to the house , and my husband 's brothers came up from Georgia to witness the opening . So we drove in their car around , and we watched the parade from , I believe , down on the eastern end of the Turnpike down near the warehouses to get out of the traffic . We never could figure out why they invited Marie " The Body " McDonald and [ inaudible ] to ride in the open car for the parade . We couldn 't figure out what they had to do with it , but we did see the burning of the magnesium ribbon . That was exciting . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was only toward town from Elza Gate . I know the central part of town , the Jackson Square area , was very crowded . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think they name the streets for famous cities in the country , and of course the alphabetical designations were very helpful . But Jackson Square , I assume , was named for New Orleans . That 's all I know about it . MRS . DAVIDSON : Sometimes you would pick up the telephone , and the other party was talking . I believe they had different rings . I think maybe the other party had one ring , and we had two . There were four - party lines , but if we were on a four - party line , only the other one was active . I think maybe we were . The other two lines were not being used . MR . HUNNICUTT : When you are raising your family , did you hang your clothes outside on the clothesline ? Did you have a dryer ? What did you use ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I hung them outside on the clothesline . As I said , when we moved here , Anne was a year old . Not much more than three years after that , we had three babies . I was able to talk my husband into getting a dryer that time . Before that , he had built a pulley out of my kitchen window . There was a drop off in the back , and he was able to string it to a tree in the woods . I was able to reel those cloth diapers and reel them in and out . The only problem was that the birds like the trees , too . Sometimes I had to do some re - washing . MR . HUNNICUTT : So in those days you use cloth diapers ? Today we use disposable diapers . How do you think you would 've done if you had disposable diapers ? MRS . DAVIDSON : At one point , when our children were out playing Kick the Can , there were over 40 children on the lane . There were about 20 or 21 houses . There were almost as many dogs . It was just a glorious place for them to grow up . They seem to get along remarkably well most of the time , especially in the early days . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes . We went down there on the opening , and got the radioactive dimes on that occasion . The museum at that time was down at Jefferson Circle . I don 't think any of us ever had our hair stand out on the Van De Graff generator or whatever it was , but we took the children . We went out ourselves . Of course my husband was interested in that kind of thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : Sometimes they walked to Jefferson , but by that time they were carrying pretty heavy books . One of the neighbors on Outer Drive wanted to have a carpool , so we joined that . MRS . DAVIDSON : When Anne was in the fifth grade , they had to write what they did on Friday nights . The teacher would call me and say , " Is it true that you gave your children ice water and watched TV on Friday nights ? " That was how generous we were with them . We didn 't get a TV until they were probably five or six years old . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course it was black and white . The reason we got it - I guess finally it was that the children were always going to the neighbors ' house to watch TV . We decided that we should get our own . They watched things like " Pinky Lee " and I 've forgotten what else . MRS . DAVIDSON : I remember that fondly because my first real date with my husband was going to dinner there with him . He invited me to go to a concert in Knoxville , and his excuse was that we should get to know each other better before he took me to the city with him . That was one thing . I remember there were parties there , and our company had a party at the Oak Terrace Ballroom . One of the NEPA fellows wore a Tarzan costume , which was mostly nothing . It turned out that he lived in the neighborhood . MR . HUNNICUTT : What was the Oak Terrace ballroom - where was it located ? MRS . DAVIDSON : That was just below the dormitory where I lived in Columbia Hall . Jack went there looking for me , he thought I would eat breakfast there and then he could have breakfast with me ; but I ate in the dormitory . He didn 't find me there . When we came back from our bicycle ride to Concord Park , I remember we stopped by there , and he drank two or three Mountain Dew drinks . That surprised me , but we had worked off a lot of sweat . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , we took our children out there and saw " Lawrence of Arabia " and " The 10 Commandment " and those things . It was quite nice . MR . HUNNICUTT : Where was it located ? MRS . DAVIDSON : It was about where Kroger 's - where that is now , on the southeast part of Illinois Avenue . It was a nice thing . That was a special treat for the children to go out there . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't think so . I think they were mostly in the car . They had a drawing one time , Jack won something . It was actually nothing , but he did win . MRS . DAVIDSON : I sure did . My three children were born there . It was a green structure , like so many of the buildings in Oak Ridge . I guess the present building is built on that place . It was okay . I didn 't have any problems with it , except after my second child . I had a staph infection from the hospital . Even an Army wife with a private room got an infection there . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , I think they also had been recruited ; and a lot of them were from Tulane University . The time I was sick with my infection , they were having a reunion at Tulane , and my doctor and another one were gone for the reunion . I didn 't like the one who took care of me . He didn 't do a good job . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was okay . I don 't remember having any problems with it . We knew Dr . Rogers from our church , and we went to him . He was called away to the service , I believe . Maybe it was the Korean War , but then he came back . MRS . DAVIDSON : We met at Pine Valley School . The choir sat on the bleachers , and the minister sat under the halo of the basketball net . My husband was a Methodist , and he went to the First Methodist Church . They had a big youth group there . When we were first married , we tried to take them both in . We went to Sunday school one place , and church another until we finally settled on the Presbyterian . It was smaller , and we knew more people . MR . HUNNICUTT : Thinking back , what do you like best about Oak Ridge ? MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course the people . I love my trees and my house . I love all the activities . Both my husband and I have always loved music and enjoy the concerts a lot . The symphony concerts with Waldo Cohn conducting were held at Jefferson Junior High on the Kentucky Avenue hill . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you think back about all the people that you knew in the early days ? Do you think it was unusual for everybody to get along - the many people that were here ? MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , I guess so . I didn 't think about it because we just did . It was just fun . Everybody was away from home , and we had to be family for each other . That was particularly true in this close neighborhood . MRS . DAVIDSON : I 'm pleased for the most part . I think we 've made good progress . We 've kept up with the outside world . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't know . I 'll probably think of things after you leave . Nothing particular comes to mind . MR . HUNNICUTT : I would like to thank you for your time , and I think this interview will be very helpful for someone in the future to see how you lived in Oak Ridge in the early days . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think we came through at the very best of times . It was not the pressure of war , but we were growing community . I think things were happening at the Lab . Both of my husband and I loved the Lab because there were so many good things going on out there . It gives us hope for the future . MR . HUNNICUTT : I thank you very much for your time . [ Editor 's Note : This transcript has been edited at Mrs . Davidson 's request . The corresponding audio and video components have remained unchanged . ] Your rating was saved . you wish to report :

MR . HUNNICUTT : This interview is for the Center of Oak Ridge Oral History . The date is November 8 , 2012 . I am Don Hunnicutt in the home of Mrs . Mary Ann Davidson , 117 Orange Lane , Oak Ridge , Tennessee , to take her oral history about living in Oak Ridge , Tennessee . Please state your full name and your place of birth and your date of birth . MRS . DAVIDSON : My name is Mary Ann Davidson . My date of birth is January 12 , 1925 . I was born in Louisville , Kentucky . I lived there all my early life until I graduated from college . MRS . DAVIDSON : My father was William H . Courtenay . He was born in 1890 , on March 3 . He was in World War I and lived his entire life in Louisville and Shelbyville , Kentucky . He worked for the Mengel Company . They imported mahogany and hardwood from Africa and Central America . He delivered those to customers . He didn 't consider himself a salesman , but he sold them to the furniture factory - furniture makers around Kentucky , mostly Indiana and Cincinnati and some in Tennessee . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , he did not . The Louisville Male High School was considered a fine school at that time . They said that graduates could enter Harvard in their second year . The principal had written textbooks that were apparently used all over . But my father was interested in raising ponies . His father had a farm in Shelbyville , Kentucky . If you 'd didn 't make the grade , you are special . And Dr . Ruben Post - Halleck , the famous principal of the school , told him if he took an exam in math , he could be entered back in . He did that , and he aced the test . He was back in . Then he was a special in English , so they told him if he memorized the " Lady of the Lake " and said that he could get back in school . So he did that . I think he never did finish . He was a twin , and his twin was more of an engineering type and went to manual training high school . MRS . DAVIDSON : She grew up in several small towns in western Kentucky . Her father worked for the L & N Railroad . She had her high school in Hopkinsville , Kentucky . She had to stay home - or she went to junior college nearby . She had a scholarship to Randolph Macon Women 's College , but she couldn 't take it because her mother was ill and died at age 50 . It was about the year I was born , I think . MRS . DAVIDSON : His name was William Howard Courtenay III . My father was named for his uncle , who was also William Howard . My older brother works for Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green in the physics department . He made instruments . My younger brother was a pediatrician in Louisville , and he is still living on a farm in Shelbyville . He 's interested in Kentucky antiques . MRS . DAVIDSON : I went to an unusual kindergarten and first grade . I was at what they called the Enterprise Branch of I . N . Bloom School . It was only kindergarten and first grade . It was in the older building , where we had a Pot Belly Stove . I think we had a maid to help us take our leggings off in the cold weather - galoshes . It was really a wonderful school . It was almost like a private one . It was public . We did things like making butter and we had an orchestra . I played the triangle . I had started a little bit earlier when my younger brother was born . Louisville had half semester , half - year grades . I would 've been a half year , but I skipped the last half of kindergarten . I went to the school board and took a test and went on , so they put me in the regular school year . I went through the big school the I . N . Bloom School and Highland Junior High School in Louisville . Then I went to Atherton High School for Girls . The Louisville public schools were segregated - boys and girls . There were about 900 girls at Atherton . My graduating class was about 200 , and I was the valedictorian . MRS . DAVIDSON : They are pants to keep your legs warm . They zipped up from the inside of the ankle bone up to about knee - high , I guess it was . They were a royal pain to take on and off , so the teacher had to have help to do that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was just ordinary . I 'm sure the girls wore dresses , and the little boys wore suits - not suits , but pants and shirts . MRS . DAVIDSON : I came to Oak Ridge after I graduated from college . I had two years of getting a master 's at Emory while I worked at my alma mater , Agnes Scott College in Decatur , Georgia . I was the chemistry lab instructor . So after those two years were up , I was interested in working in chemistry or biochemistry . My master 's was in biochemistry . In Louisville , there was nothing in that field , except liquor and paint - neither of which I was interested in . In Atlanta , I would like to stay in Atlanta , I heard that Oak Ridge was an interesting new place , and a lot was going on here . One of my dear college friends had recently married a physicist from the University of Kentucky , so I visited them here . I guess that must have been 1947 . Her husband was working at NEPA . He said they were looking for people with a chemistry degree . I applied , and I was accepted . I didn 't know that until I had completed the clearance , so I took the opportunity to go to Europe at an American youth hostel bicycle tour of Western Europe in the summer of 1948 . When I got home , I found that I had indeed gotten the job at Oak Ridge . So I came down here . MRS . DAVIDSON : I was wondering that . I think I came by train . When I interviewed earlier in the spring , my interview was at the Andrew Johnson Hotel . It was one of the private rooms . I had never seen the company here . I think I must have been met by a car and driver and brought to Oak Ridge . MRS . DAVIDSON : I came in through the Vermont Gateway , which is where the gas station is now on the corner of what I call Vermont . They call it North Rutgers now . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , I think it must 've been after that . That would 've been at Christmas time . When I applied , I imagine it was early spring . MRS . DAVIDSON : We called the company NEPA , for Nuclear Energy for the Propulsion of Aircraft . It was managed by the Fairchild Corporation the way Union Carbide or one of the other contractors managed the lab . I did not know until the first day I went to work just what the company was doing . They handed me a volume of information that said , " We are looking for - we are trying to make an airplane powered by nuclear energy that could fly to Russia and back without refueling . " That was a great shock to me . MRS . DAVIDSON : I lived in Columbia Hall Dormitory . I was very surprised to find that the rent was $ 15 a month until I realized it was one very small room . That was my living quarters . I took the opportunity to stay out of it as much as possible . I did that by babysitting in some of the B and D houses in the evening . Grandmothers were not here since it was a closed community . Babysitters were in short supply , and even though I didn 't need the money , it was good to get out of the dormitory . MRS . DAVIDSON : The dormitory was like Cheyenne Hall . It was the same type of building . It had wooden stairways from the second - floor hall down on each end . I lived on the second floor . Our dormitory was mostly nurses , since it was up on the hill next to the hospital - I think where the west parking lot is now . There was a kitchen on each end where we could have our own breakfast . Of course we were at the plant at lunchtime , and then we usually went out to supper . I opened the refrigerator door one morning and somebody 's milk came spilling out down my front . Everybody just stuffed things into the refrigerator . MRS . DAVIDSON : I had a single room with a twin bed and enough room to walk to the window by the bed . There was a little table that served as a desk with a chair . There was a much coveted dormitory dresser - a tall one with a number of drawers . They were very popular . MRS . DAVIDSON : They had a wonderful bus service here . Travel wasn 't really a problem . We walked , of course , from the dormitory to Jackson Square and ate supper usually at the Mayflower , which is where I first saw my husband - to - be . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was on the corner of Tennessee , right across from the Soup Kitchen and the Texaco gas station there on the northeast corner . It was a very popular place . In fact , there were several places you could eat . It was the Central Cafeteria , and the T & C Cafeteria in Jackson Square , which is about where the Epicurean is now toward the garden . MRS . DAVIDSON : It must 've been the A & P on Jackson Square . Jackson Square was really the center of activity as far as I was concerned at that time . I still love it . I hope it keeps going . MRS . DAVIDSON : The department stores - the big department store was Taylor 's at the time . They had a wonderful book department headed by Mrs . Keyes , whose daughter I knew at work . They had really fine art books and other books that they would have a great sale on once or twice a year . We were very happy with that . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was in the middle of the block between where Big Ed 's is in the corner . I guess it 's mostly used by the engineering company now . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , not frequently , but I went and saw - there was a theater down at Big Ed 's in Jackson Square and where the Playhouse is now . That was the main one . MRS . DAVIDSON : Henebree . McCrory 's 5 & 10 was there . There was a drugstore - a Service Drugstore . I guess that was where Big Ed 's is now , on the very corner . There was Jackson Square Pharmacy , and on the other side the Hamilton Bank was there next to the movie theater . And Samuel 's Men 's Store was a very nice store . The Jackson Square Pharmacy was there , but in between , which the Pharmacy later took over was a Kay 's Ice Cream Store . We used to go there and - my husband and I would when we were dating . I liked to get coffee with ice cream in it , so we went there . MRS . DAVIDSON : I can 't say that I do . It was just a given , I suppose . It didn 't make a big dent in my memory . After six months of the dormitory , I moved to a D house on Norman Lane . That was another era . MRS . DAVIDSON : A D house was a large three bedroom house . They were very much desired . They were really nice houses - still a lot of them are . The house was - there were five other girls who lived there - two of whom had been college friends . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , it would 've been upstairs . It was the second one to the end . A radiation technologist lived on the corner , and I lived there with school teachers and nurses who made up most of the dorm . MR . HUNNICUTT : Let 's talk a little bit about the dorm again . If I had a message for you or someone left a message for you , how did you retrieve your messages ? Was there a desk when you went in ? MRS . DAVIDSON : There was a desk downstairs . I remember the Valentine 's Day - I guess it must 've been 1949 . The message was that I had some flowers , some red roses . I had just met my husband - to - be at that time . I got all excited , and when I got to the desk , it was from somebody else . I enjoyed the red roses , but not as much as I might have . The thing was that there were ladies - a lot of the women who lived in the dorm worked on the night shift . They would sit around a large kind of living room , I guess they called it . They were all staring when I got flowers . I had to walk around , and it was embarrassing . MRS . DAVIDSON : I was there in the winter of 1948 . I 'm very cold natured , but I don 't remember being cold . We had those heavy navy blanket - navy blue blankets . This brings up a story if I jump to it later on . We were moved from the D house after another six months into the brand - new Garden Apartments on Villanova Road . They needed our D house for families . The people who moved in were the Andersons of the Anderson Hilltop Grocery . Of course , the furniture all belonged to the government there . So the Garden Apartments were not furnished , so we had dwindled down from 6 to 4 people who needed furniture . I took a day off and went to an auction the government set up down at the warehouses . I got seven beds and three or four dressers - much more than I could have used . But the beds were in great demand at work because all the young men who worked there were having children and needed beds . So we took the four . Also I got two sofas , and we could use but one ; so I sold one . They were really shabby awful sofas . Since it was all going to surplus anyway , we switched and took the nice sofa from the D house and left them the bad one . It was all taken away anyhow , so I didn 't feel too bad about that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't really remember about the telephone . We didn 't use the telephone much . We never used it for long - distance except for emergencies and calls home . I don 't remember that as being a problem particularly . MRS . DAVIDSON : I suppose I went on the bus . I did not have a car . One of the housemates from Norman Lane had gotten the car , but she would 've been at work at K - 25 . I don 't know . I may have gotten a ride . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess I paid somebody to deliver it . I don 't know . Maybe some of the fellows at work picked up their beds that they wanted . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was one of those warehouses down at the [ Oak Ridge ] Turnpike on Warehouse Road . I don 't know exactly where it was . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess it was on the bulletin boards at work , or there was a newspaper at the Lab . I guess I heard about it that way . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think probably so - in the newsletters they came around , also at the recreation building - the rec hall - at Jackson Square that was the library upstairs and the rec hall downstairs . Word - of - mouth - I don 't remember . We had a need and found the answer to it . MRS . DAVIDSON : I had to punch a clock at eight in the morning when I first started . I guess we got out at 4 : 30 or 5 o ' clock . We had bus service that went from the bus terminal - the Central one - that 's now by Bus Terminal Road . Later on after we were married , we lived on Waddell Circle and went from there to the Jefferson bus terminal . I went - I rode on the K - 25 bus , and they went out past K - 25 to the road that the powerhouse was on and NEPA was beyond that out by the river . MRS . DAVIDSON : There was some kind of management services office . I 'm not sure what it was called - the Roane Anderson Corporation at that time , I guess . I think that 's where I rented the dormitory room . I probably got bus tokens - I guess I got the tokens of the bus terminal . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think I had a checking account probably at Hamilton Bank in Jackson Square . I don 't recall otherwise . I know I did later . One thing I wanted to say about the buses - if you wanted to go to Clinton to do any shopping , more than what you could have in Oak Ridge or to meet somebody or something , there was a bus that ran frequently back and forth between the bus terminal and Clinton . There was a young man on the bus who had a sing - songy sales pitch for " peanuts , popcorn , Cracker Jacks , candy , and chewing gum . " He wouldn 't drive , but he would sell his wares all the way to Clinton and back . I always wondered who that was because he obviously had some talent . MRS . DAVIDSON : I 'm sure I did . I don 't know what became of it . I guess I had to turn it back in . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think somebody just got - one of the guards got on the bus and checked everybody 's badges . It was not a big thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : Probably . I don 't remember . What I do remember about that was my mother was coming down one time for my birthday - it must 've been in January 1949 . She rode the train . I told her that I would get a ride to meet her . Of course , the train didn 't stop at Oak Ridge . It went on to Knoxville , so I bummed a ride with one of the men in our group . He was actually the technical assistant to the director . His car was a broken down old thing with no floorboards in the back seat , which was pretty bad when my mother saw it . But she didn 't see it because when we got to Knoxville , she was not there . When we were coming back from the gateway entrance , she was not there . There was a message that she was waiting for us at the Elza Gate Station . She had told the conductor she had to get off at Oak Ridge . That 's where she was going , and I was going to meet her . So she slid down the Elza bank over there . She had my birthday cake - a large chocolate cake . She slid downhill with that , and somehow they stopped her at the guard gate at Elza . She waited there for us . MRS . DAVIDSON : Just for her - let her off like a milk train . They ordinarily didn 't stop there , but she wouldn 't have it otherwise . MRS . DAVIDSON : I used the library and rec hall . On Sunday afternoons , they played music ; and you could sit and write letters home , which is what I think I did a good bit . Later on in the better weather , there were tennis courts and a swimming pool . I don 't remember going to movies much . We went to church groups . There were so many young people ; it was just like a party all the time . Nothing in particular stands out . It was just fun . MRS . DAVIDSON : In the company I was , that was not true . There were a lot of women of course - of course , the dormitory was full of school teachers and nurses . But NEPA was mostly men . There were two parts to the Fairchild - the science and engineering part , which was bigger . I happen to be in the research part . My boss was a chemist - Vince Calkins . It was my job to - this was a real shocker to me - to find a chemical that would protect the human body against radiation for the reactor that was supposed to be in the airplane to Russia . I had no background for that kind of thing . I was just fresh out of college really . I realized I was out of my depth , but they decided - he was a pharmacist , I believe , and he wanted to do experiments with rats . They brought in the rat colony . By that time we had a couple of assistants , and I was supposed to be the group leader . One of the men , Ray Waldrop - you may have talked to him . I asked him if he minded working for a woman because he was really more experienced than I , although I had the degree . It was fine with him . There was also another worker , Saul Segal , who was quite a character in his own right . I took the rats in the cages over to the reactor , the " Old Lady " at X - 10 , and put them through what they called " rabbits " and radiated them for certain amount of time . We couldn 't kill the darn things . Then we used the older ones that had already been radiated , they were just tough as anything . I think the experiment was really a failure , although they may have found that to be the case in some later work with older people - that the cells are not dividing as fast and they 're not as subject to radiation . But we didn 't get into that . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was actually not K - 25 . It was beyond there . As I said , the bus took us - the bus dumped people off at K - 25 , and they went on west to just before you get to the Gallaher Bridge . You turn right there and go right past the power station there . It was used for a long time - the power house , and then NEPA was beyond that . The native rats came in - was it domestic experimental rats ? That was not good . I had a janitor who helped me , even though he could 've lost his job for doing it . He helped me clean cages . I always appreciated that . MRS . DAVIDSON : When they got rid of the rats , which was a blessing , my group leader then became Bill Browning , who was a fine scientist . He worked on the Van de Graaff generator . We had an interesting argument . Saul Segal thought he should be the one to do it since he was a man and I was a woman who would be leaving soon ; and it turned out that he left for California before I had left to have my baby . His argument didn 't hold with me anyway , but we argued about that some . We did run the Van de Graaff , and we also did some experiments on metallic sodium . It was nasty stuff to work with . It caught on fire if it was exposed to air . You had to work with that under oil in the glove box . I think that work all had to be repeated after NEPA left for Cincinnati with G . E . . When they moved part of NEPA to X - 10 , they called it the ANP , or something about aircraft and nuclear power . I was not connected with that because my first baby was born in August 1951 . I left in July . MRS . DAVIDSON : I heard somebody say that they had to repeat it all . My boss , the Division Director of Chemistry was interested in vitamin E , and thought it had a lot of protective influence . We worked with that . That was some of the work I did in chemistry - the lab part of it in the early days . It was not good work , I think . I 'm not blaming myself , but some of the other men who were doing chemical work - I think altogether we didn 't come up with anything . MRS . DAVIDSON : It may have been ahead of it 's time for nuclear submarines . I don 't know whether the engineering people thought that or not . In our group which was the chemistry and the physics , my friend who got me the job was Jim Trice . A fellow named Art Miller and somebody named Coneybearwere in the Physics Division . And then there were some others - Fred Maienschein . I did some work for him one time . It was work on beryllium for one thing . I didn 't work with any of the active beryllium . I didn 't do any lab work then , but I did some journal research . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't think they were that far along . I 'm not sure what happened to that part of it . As I said , in July of 1951 they moved to Cincinnati , Evensville , above Cincinnati . I don 't know how many people actually went up there . Most of my friends moved elsewhere . MR . HUNNICUTT : You mentioned the location of the operation was past the steam plant that was on the Clinch River . Was that the same location where the S - 50 project was located ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I think that was the name of our plot of land . I think those - I never was quite sure how they got the designations , but that was the Fairchild domain , I think . MRS . DAVIDSON : Really , it was just when our eyes met . It was very romantic . He followed our group home to the Columbia Hall to see where I lived . But at the time I thought he was too young , and I didn 't think he was following me . I was with a group of other girls . Later on , one of the women in the dormitory , who was a gym teacher in the Oak Ridge schools , told me I really ought to meet Jack Davidson that he loved to ride bicycles ; I was just back from my bicycle trip in Europe . I didn 't know who he was , and then I went to a church group meeting at my Presbyterian Church for young people one Sunday evening . A friend of mine had brought Jack Davidson , and he was the one whose eyes I had met and he had met mine . Sure enough , he loved to ride bicycles . That was the start of a good thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : We did a little bit . On our dates , that 's really what we did mostly at first . We rode out to West Outer Drive and had those wonderful big hills , not too much traffic at that time . We went out to the water tower at the top of Louisiana and had a picnic , and then rode back . When we got really good , we rode our bicycles over to Concord Park one day . I had gotten some chicken breasts at the grocery . I guess it was the A & P at Jackson Square . I was going to fry them for a picnic to take along over to Concord Park . When I went to the refrigerator to get them , they had turned into wings . Somebody had eaten my chicken breast . Jack was a good sport about that . He didn 't care . We had a nice ride . It was before they had improved Lovell Road . It was a pretty rough ride over there , but we were able to enjoy it . MRS . DAVIDSON : He had his bicycle . It was probably a Grey Stone . For me , he rented a bicycle from his work friend . I had forgotten what his name was . We went over to one of the D Streets , I think , and rode them . I didn 't have my English 3 - speed here . I guess I brought it later , but at that time I didn 't have it . MRS . DAVIDSON : That was a problem . I complained to my friend Jim Trice 's wife , Dot , who happened to live around the corner on Outer Drive at that time . She said the boardwalk was used a lot for dating , and of course the theaters . I guess we were outdoors people . I don 't know . MRS . DAVIDSON : He was a graduate of Georgia Tech . At the time he graduated , he was very young . He came up to see about a job , and he was drafted . No , he was in danger of being drafted right away , but they didn 't hire him . He did go to work for NASA , which was at that time NACA , in Virginia ; and worked over there a short time before he was taken into the Army . He had gone through Georgia Tech on a " War Manpower " loan . He was sent to some place to be an MP , I think . He wrote a night letter , which is a 50 - word telegram that was cheaper at night . He wrote a night letter to Stimson , the Secretary of War , telling them they had paid for his college education ; and here he was sitting in a camp doing nothing down in Alabama . He was transferred to the SED , he would never say that was the reason he was transferred . It may or may not have been . He arrived with the SED - he arrived in Oak Ridge the day Roosevelt died , which was in April 1945 , he was here with his group for maybe six weeks before they went out to Los Alamos . So he spent the rest of the war out there . Then he used his G . I . Bill - he stayed on at Los Alamos . They told them they would let him out of the Army if he would agree to stay on as a civilian . So he took that . Then when he did leave , he went to Annapolis and took a liberal arts course because he felt that he had missed out on it at Georgia Tech . He had a year at St . John 's College of Annapolis ; and then all along I guess he thought he would like to come back here . He came back - he arrived on Armistice Day , now Veterans Day , of 1948 . I was here a couple of months before he came , but we met shortly after Christmas in 1949 . MRS . DAVIDSON : Too long . We were married in May 1950 . He wanted to pay off his loan before we could get married , so I helped him along with that . I fed him some . He was very welcome at the D House of girls . I was going to tell you that during the war , there were nine girls in the house , and they slept on shifts on the bunk beds . There were only six of us when I was there . There were a couple of the boyfriends around , and one of them cut the grass . I think Jack did the - empty the clinkers from the furnace , the coal furnace . They made themselves useful . They got their dinner . MRS . DAVIDSON : Most of the houses were a very good design really , and a whole lot better built than we gave them credit for . But each one that I knew of had a corner set off or closed off as a coal storage place that could be filled through a window from the outside , and then you could use the - there was an opening on the inside that you could use to put coal into the furnace . That was awful of course , but that 's what all the houses were doing in that time , too . We had a yard full of clinkers over there . MRS . DAVIDSON : We were taken care of by a Big Brother - the government . They brought the coal around , and you didn 't do a thing . That was part of the rent . When we got our house here on Orange Lane , that 's another story . Are you ready for that yet ? MRS . DAVIDSON : We went back to my home in Louisville , Kentucky , to be married . We had planned to fly to Nashville , but it turned out the Delta Queen was coming through Louisville the next morning . My mother had told us we could not get married the week before because it was too busy with Derby Day . So we delayed until May 13 . Then we spent the night in Louisville at the Brown Hotel , where she pulled some strings to get us a room because it was still very full of visitors from the Derby . We got on the Delta Queen , and our friends were all on the dock to see us off . They had us almost convinced that we were on Daylight Saving Time , and the Delta Queen was not , and we had missed it . But we rode down just as far as Paducah . We were anxious to start in life you know . We lived on Wadell Circle in a K apartment . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was a two - story thing . I guess it was a two - bedroom up above , and we had K - 1 . It was sort of underground at the front and open at the back . We had a nice back porch . There was a closet under the stairway and a very small kitchen . It had a table that folded down . It was not as compact as a flattop , but the furnishings that they had did double duty . You could fold it up and have more room . MRS . DAVIDSON : The K apartment was heated with the coal furnace , but there was a janitor who came around and took care of it for us . We were taken care of by Roane Anderson . MRS . DAVIDSON : We lived in the K from May 1950 , until we got this house in July 1952 . It was said - the word around town was that you couldn 't get a two - bedroom house unless you had three children , all of different sex . We had been on the list for this house ever since we knew our daughter was coming along . That was a long time to wait . We had been offered two houses - Florida Avenue , where the parking was across the street and the backyard just dropped off . We thought that was totally unsuitable for a new child . We turned both of those down . If we had turned this one down , we would 've gone to the bottom of the long list . But we loved this place of the trees and the dead end lane neighborhood . So we sat outside in front all weekend because we were not top on the list . The reason the other people didn 't take it was that the previous owner , Jim Cox and Charlotte , had put in an oil furnace ; and nobody wanted to pay $ 200 for the oil furnace . Since I had been working , we had saved my salary from work , and we had $ 200 to pay . Also , they didn 't want to be in the high rent district . This house rented for something like $ 45 instead of $ 43 in the lower rent districts . MRS . DAVIDSON : The Oak Ridge cemesto houses that were built - I think this house was built in the fall of 1944 or 1943 . Maybe it was ' 43 . The B house has two bedrooms and of course a bath and a kitchen with a dinette into a long narrow living room . It was about 24 feet by 40 something feet . It was small and convenient . It didn 't have much storage space , but it 's been a wonderful house for us because of the trees . We are on a greenbelt , and I enjoy that very much . It 's a nice private neighborhood just above Jackson Square . MRS . DAVIDSON : Our cemesto has a fireplace , and it had a complete brick wall . Some of the B houses had a brick wall just beyond the fireplace . MRS . DAVIDSON : There are hardwood floors in all the cemestos , I believe . Our house has maple flooring , and a lot of them had oak . Wood was hard to come by in the wartime . We love the color - the reddish color of the maple . MRS . DAVIDSON : Adele is our second daughter , and she was two years younger . Our son is Bill Davidson or William . He was born in November of 1954 . He 's just now turning 58 . MRS . DAVIDSON : All three of our children went to Cedar Hill . They had split grades there , so I think the classes were one half size . They would take the kids a half from one grade , and half from the next grade , and that worked out just fine . MRS . DAVIDSON : Cedar Hill was wonderful . It was very special . Mr . Dodd was the principal , and he saw to it - he had the best teachers or at least as good as any . Actually in those days all the teachers and Oak Ridge were special because many of them had been recruited from Columbia Teachers College , along with the superintendent . Others were specially recruited for the job . They were a group a part , I think , from a lot of teachers . MRS . DAVIDSON : The girls both went to Jefferson when it was on the hill at Jackson Square , and Bill was in the first year at the new Jefferson that was over on Fairbanks Road . His was the first class there . They all went through Oak Ridge High . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you recall some of the classes your daughters took while they were in junior high ? Was there Home Ec . or things related to girls ? MRS . DAVIDSON : No , they were on the college prep track . They took eighth grade algebra and that kind of thing . Of course English and math and social studies and science - our older girl I think took biology ; and I 'm not sure if Adele had a more general science course . It just depended on the teacher that they had . They had an excellent education , and the girls were both Merit semifinalists . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course . I was in the PTA . I 'm not sure if I was ever a room mother , but I of course helped with parties and things . MRS . DAVIDSON : The teachers recruited them from each class to help with parties mostly . They helped with any activities that they didn 't really have time to do . MRS . DAVIDSON : Parent - Teacher Association , a time honored group . It got extra things for the school . I got involved with raincoats for the school patrol . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess maybe I was a treasurer of the Cedar Hill PTA , and this goal was to get those yellow slicker raincoat so kids could be visible to the drivers . I found out how much the things cost , and then I estimated postage . At the PTA meeting , Alvin Weinberg was president . He had a son or two in school at the time . He took me to task for estimating the postage , so I had to ask for just the money for the coats themselves since I didn 't really know what the postage is going to be . I thought that was interesting that he wanted to keep it to the exact penny . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think they just wore what the other kids wore . One day we had a deep snow and Bill was in kindergarten , and the snow was up over their boots . I think he had some corduroys . The teacher was making the kids take their pants off and dry them on the radiator , and he wouldn 't do it . I had to go up to the school and take him some fresh pants , some dry clothes . He was very young - just four when he started . MR . HUNNICUTT : Let 's go back a few years . Do you remember 1945 when they dropped the bomb on Japan ? You remember where you were ? And what was your reaction ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I do remember that very clearly because it was the summer after my junior year in college , and I was a camp counselor up in Door County , Wisconsin . There was no electricity at the camp , so we counselors - after we got the kids to bed , went to the state park nearby . This was at Fish Creek , Wisconsin . We would listen to people 's car radios . We knew for about a week that something was happening , but we didn 't know just what . It was very deeply moving when the bomb was dropped , and we thought it would bring an end to the war . Of course , I had friends and a brother on Guam and a cousin was in Europe and others . So that was very deeply moving . I had a book of poetry - my favorite poems at the camp with me . One of my 12 - year - olds picked out a poem - " Once to every man and nation comes a moment to decide " - she read that , and I thought that was very astute of her , a youngster to be able to do that . MRS . DAVIDSON : My husband thought they should have dropped a sample first , but I didn 't feel that way since the first bomb didn 't phase the Japanese . I didn 't think the test one would have either . I was just so glad that the war was over . People could settle down and get into real life again . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think I was in transition from the dormitory to the house , and my husband 's brothers came up from Georgia to witness the opening . So we drove in their car around , and we watched the parade from , I believe , down on the eastern end of the Turnpike down near the warehouses to get out of the traffic . We never could figure out why they invited Marie " The Body " McDonald and [ inaudible ] to ride in the open car for the parade . We couldn 't figure out what they had to do with it , but we did see the burning of the magnesium ribbon . That was exciting . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was only toward town from Elza Gate . I know the central part of town , the Jackson Square area , was very crowded . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think they name the streets for famous cities in the country , and of course the alphabetical designations were very helpful . But Jackson Square , I assume , was named for New Orleans . That 's all I know about it . MRS . DAVIDSON : Sometimes you would pick up the telephone , and the other party was talking . I believe they had different rings . I think maybe the other party had one ring , and we had two . There were four - party lines , but if we were on a four - party line , only the other one was active . I think maybe we were . The other two lines were not being used . MR . HUNNICUTT : When you are raising your family , did you hang your clothes outside on the clothesline ? Did you have a dryer ? What did you use ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I hung them outside on the clothesline . As I said , when we moved here , Anne was a year old . Not much more than three years after that , we had three babies . I was able to talk my husband into getting a dryer that time . Before that , he had built a pulley out of my kitchen window . There was a drop off in the back , and he was able to string it to a tree in the woods . I was able to reel those cloth diapers and reel them in and out . The only problem was that the birds like the trees , too . Sometimes I had to do some re - washing . MR . HUNNICUTT : So in those days you use cloth diapers ? Today we use disposable diapers . How do you think you would 've done if you had disposable diapers ? MRS . DAVIDSON : At one point , when our children were out playing Kick the Can , there were over 40 children on the lane . There were about 20 or 21 houses . There were almost as many dogs . It was just a glorious place for them to grow up . They seem to get along remarkably well most of the time , especially in the early days . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes . We went down there on the opening , and got the radioactive dimes on that occasion . The museum at that time was down at Jefferson Circle . I don 't think any of us ever had our hair stand out on the Van De Graff generator or whatever it was , but we took the children . We went out ourselves . Of course my husband was interested in that kind of thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : Sometimes they walked to Jefferson , but by that time they were carrying pretty heavy books . One of the neighbors on Outer Drive wanted to have a carpool , so we joined that . MRS . DAVIDSON : When Anne was in the fifth grade , they had to write what they did on Friday nights . The teacher would call me and say , " Is it true that you gave your children ice water and watched TV on Friday nights ? " That was how generous we were with them . We didn 't get a TV until they were probably five or six years old . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course it was black and white . The reason we got it - I guess finally it was that the children were always going to the neighbors ' house to watch TV . We decided that we should get our own . They watched things like " Pinky Lee " and I 've forgotten what else . MRS . DAVIDSON : I remember that fondly because my first real date with my husband was going to dinner there with him . He invited me to go to a concert in Knoxville , and his excuse was that we should get to know each other better before he took me to the city with him . That was one thing . I remember there were parties there , and our company had a party at the Oak Terrace Ballroom . One of the NEPA fellows wore a Tarzan costume , which was mostly nothing . It turned out that he lived in the neighborhood . MRS . DAVIDSON : That was just below the dormitory where I lived in Columbia Hall . Jack went there looking for me , he thought I would eat breakfast there and then he could have breakfast with me ; but I ate in the dormitory . He didn 't find me there . When we came back from our bicycle ride to Concord Park , I remember we stopped by there , and he drank two or three Mountain Dew drinks . That surprised me , but we had worked off a lot of sweat . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , we took our children out there and saw " Lawrence of Arabia " and " The 10 Commandment " and those things . It was quite nice . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was about where Kroger 's - where that is now , on the southeast part of Illinois Avenue . It was a nice thing . That was a special treat for the children to go out there . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't think so . I think they were mostly in the car . They had a drawing one time , Jack won something . It was actually nothing , but he did win . MRS . DAVIDSON : I sure did . My three children were born there . It was a green structure , like so many of the buildings in Oak Ridge . I guess the present building is built on that place . It was okay . I didn 't have any problems with it , except after my second child . I had a staph infection from the hospital . Even an Army wife with a private room got an infection there . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , I think they also had been recruited ; and a lot of them were from Tulane University . The time I was sick with my infection , they were having a reunion at Tulane , and my doctor and another one were gone for the reunion . I didn 't like the one who took care of me . He didn 't do a good job . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was okay . I don 't remember having any problems with it . We knew Dr . Rogers from our church , and we went to him . He was called away to the service , I believe . Maybe it was the Korean War , but then he came back . MRS . DAVIDSON : We met at Pine Valley School . The choir sat on the bleachers , and the minister sat under the halo of the basketball net . My husband was a Methodist , and he went to the First Methodist Church . They had a big youth group there . When we were first married , we tried to take them both in . We went to Sunday school one place , and church another until we finally settled on the Presbyterian . It was smaller , and we knew more people . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course the people . I love my trees and my house . I love all the activities . Both my husband and I have always loved music and enjoy the concerts a lot . The symphony concerts with Waldo Cohn conducting were held at Jefferson Junior High on the Kentucky Avenue hill . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you think back about all the people that you knew in the early days ? Do you think it was unusual for everybody to get along - the many people that were here ? MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , I guess so . I didn 't think about it because we just did . It was just fun . Everybody was away from home , and we had to be family for each other . That was particularly true in this close neighborhood . MRS . DAVIDSON : I 'm pleased for the most part . I think we 've made good progress . We 've kept up with the outside world . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think we came through at the very best of times . It was not the pressure of war , but we were growing community . I think things were happening at the Lab . Both of my husband and I loved the Lab because there were so many good things going on out there . It gives us hope for the future . [ Editor 's Note : This transcript has been edited at Mrs . Davidson 's request . The corresponding audio and video components have remained unchanged . ] Click tabs to swap between content that is broken into logical sections . MR . HUNNICUTT : This interview is for the Center of Oak Ridge Oral History . The date is November 8 , 2012 . I am Don Hunnicutt in the home of Mrs . Mary Ann Davidson , 117 Orange Lane , Oak Ridge , Tennessee , to take her oral history about living in Oak Ridge , Tennessee . Please state your full name and your place of birth and your date of birth . MRS . DAVIDSON : My name is Mary Ann Davidson . My date of birth is January 12 , 1925 . I was born in Louisville , Kentucky . I lived there all my early life until I graduated from college . MRS . DAVIDSON : My father was William H . Courtenay . He was born in 1890 , on March 3 . He was in World War I and lived his entire life in Louisville and Shelbyville , Kentucky . He worked for the Mengel Company . They imported mahogany and hardwood from Africa and Central America . He delivered those to customers . He didn 't consider himself a salesman , but he sold them to the furniture factory - furniture makers around Kentucky , mostly Indiana and Cincinnati and some in Tennessee . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , he did not . The Louisville Male High School was considered a fine school at that time . They said that graduates could enter Harvard in their second year . The principal had written textbooks that were apparently used all over . But my father was interested in raising ponies . His father had a farm in Shelbyville , Kentucky . If you 'd didn 't make the grade , you are special . And Dr . Ruben Post - Halleck , the famous principal of the school , told him if he took an exam in math , he could be entered back in . He did that , and he aced the test . He was back in . Then he was a special in English , so they told him if he memorized the " Lady of the Lake " and said that he could get back in school . So he did that . I think he never did finish . He was a twin , and his twin was more of an engineering type and went to manual training high school . MR . HUNNICUTT : What about your mother 's school history ? MRS . DAVIDSON : She grew up in several small towns in western Kentucky . Her father worked for the L & N Railroad . She had her high school in Hopkinsville , Kentucky . She had to stay home - or she went to junior college nearby . She had a scholarship to Randolph Macon Women 's College , but she couldn 't take it because her mother was ill and died at age 50 . It was about the year I was born , I think . MRS . DAVIDSON : His name was William Howard Courtenay III . My father was named for his uncle , who was also William Howard . My older brother works for Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green in the physics department . He made instruments . My younger brother was a pediatrician in Louisville , and he is still living on a farm in Shelbyville . He 's interested in Kentucky antiques . MR . HUNNICUTT : Yes . MRS . DAVIDSON : I went to an unusual kindergarten and first grade . I was at what they called the Enterprise Branch of I . N . Bloom School . It was only kindergarten and first grade . It was in the older building , where we had a Pot Belly Stove . I think we had a maid to help us take our leggings off in the cold weather - galoshes . It was really a wonderful school . It was almost like a private one . It was public . We did things like making butter and we had an orchestra . I played the triangle . I had started a little bit earlier when my younger brother was born . Louisville had half semester , half - year grades . I would 've been a half year , but I skipped the last half of kindergarten . I went to the school board and took a test and went on , so they put me in the regular school year . I went through the big school the I . N . Bloom School and Highland Junior High School in Louisville . Then I went to Atherton High School for Girls . The Louisville public schools were segregated - boys and girls . There were about 900 girls at Atherton . My graduating class was about 200 , and I was the valedictorian . MRS . DAVIDSON : They are pants to keep your legs warm . They zipped up from the inside of the ankle bone up to about knee - high , I guess it was . They were a royal pain to take on and off , so the teacher had to have help to do that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was just ordinary . I 'm sure the girls wore dresses , and the little boys wore suits - not suits , but pants and shirts . MRS . DAVIDSON : I came to Oak Ridge after I graduated from college . I had two years of getting a master 's at Emory while I worked at my alma mater , Agnes Scott College in Decatur , Georgia . I was the chemistry lab instructor . So after those two years were up , I was interested in working in chemistry or biochemistry . My master 's was in biochemistry . In Louisville , there was nothing in that field , except liquor and paint - neither of which I was interested in . In Atlanta , I would like to stay in Atlanta , I heard that Oak Ridge was an interesting new place , and a lot was going on here . One of my dear college friends had recently married a physicist from the University of Kentucky , so I visited them here . I guess that must have been 1947 . Her husband was working at NEPA . He said they were looking for people with a chemistry degree . I applied , and I was accepted . I didn 't know that until I had completed the clearance , so I took the opportunity to go to Europe at an American youth hostel bicycle tour of Western Europe in the summer of 1948 . When I got home , I found that I had indeed gotten the job at Oak Ridge . So I came down here . MRS . DAVIDSON : I was wondering that . I think I came by train . When I interviewed earlier in the spring , my interview was at the Andrew Johnson Hotel . It was one of the private rooms . I had never seen the company here . I think I must have been met by a car and driver and brought to Oak Ridge . MRS . DAVIDSON : I came in through the Vermont Gateway , which is where the gas station is now on the corner of what I call Vermont . They call it North Rutgers now . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , I think it must 've been after that . That would 've been at Christmas time . When I applied , I imagine it was early spring . MRS . DAVIDSON : We called the company NEPA , for Nuclear Energy for the Propulsion of Aircraft . It was managed by the Fairchild Corporation the way Union Carbide or one of the other contractors managed the lab . I did not know until the first day I went to work just what the company was doing . They handed me a volume of information that said , " We are looking for - we are trying to make an airplane powered by nuclear energy that could fly to Russia and back without refueling . " That was a great shock to me . MRS . DAVIDSON : I lived in Columbia Hall Dormitory . I was very surprised to find that the rent was $ 15 a month until I realized it was one very small room . That was my living quarters . I took the opportunity to stay out of it as much as possible . I did that by babysitting in some of the B and D houses in the evening . Grandmothers were not here since it was a closed community . Babysitters were in short supply , and even though I didn 't need the money , it was good to get out of the dormitory . MRS . DAVIDSON : The dormitory was like Cheyenne Hall . It was the same type of building . It had wooden stairways from the second - floor hall down on each end . I lived on the second floor . Our dormitory was mostly nurses , since it was up on the hill next to the hospital - I think where the west parking lot is now . There was a kitchen on each end where we could have our own breakfast . Of course we were at the plant at lunchtime , and then we usually went out to supper . I opened the refrigerator door one morning and somebody 's milk came spilling out down my front . Everybody just stuffed things into the refrigerator . MRS . DAVIDSON : I had a single room with a twin bed and enough room to walk to the window by the bed . There was a little table that served as a desk with a chair . There was a much coveted dormitory dresser - a tall one with a number of drawers . They were very popular . MRS . DAVIDSON : They had a wonderful bus service here . Travel wasn 't really a problem . We walked , of course , from the dormitory to Jackson Square and ate supper usually at the Mayflower , which is where I first saw my husband - to - be . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was on the corner of Tennessee , right across from the Soup Kitchen and the Texaco gas station there on the northeast corner . It was a very popular place . In fact , there were several places you could eat . It was the Central Cafeteria , and the T & C Cafeteria in Jackson Square , which is about where the Epicurean is now toward the garden . MRS . DAVIDSON : It must 've been the A & P on Jackson Square . Jackson Square was really the center of activity as far as I was concerned at that time . I still love it . I hope it keeps going . MRS . DAVIDSON : The department stores - the big department store was Taylor 's at the time . They had a wonderful book department headed by Mrs . Keyes , whose daughter I knew at work . They had really fine art books and other books that they would have a great sale on once or twice a year . We were very happy with that . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was in the middle of the block between where Big Ed 's is in the corner . I guess it 's mostly used by the engineering company now . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , not frequently , but I went and saw - there was a theater down at Big Ed 's in Jackson Square and where the Playhouse is now . That was the main one . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , the jewelry store was on the corner that was Henebree 's , I think . No , that was Heneger 's . MR . HUNNICUTT : Henebree ? MRS . DAVIDSON : Henebree . McCrory 's 5 & 10 was there . There was a drugstore - a Service Drugstore . I guess that was where Big Ed 's is now , on the very corner . There was Jackson Square Pharmacy , and on the other side the Hamilton Bank was there next to the movie theater . And Samuel 's Men 's Store was a very nice store . The Jackson Square Pharmacy was there , but in between , which the Pharmacy later took over was a Kay 's Ice Cream Store . We used to go there and - my husband and I would when we were dating . I liked to get coffee with ice cream in it , so we went there . MR . HUNNICUTT : I believe that was Taff Moody Ice Cream - they served Kay 's Ice Cream . MRS . DAVIDSON : Was it ? I didn 't remember that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I can 't say that I do . It was just a given , I suppose . It didn 't make a big dent in my memory . After six months of the dormitory , I moved to a D house on Norman Lane . That was another era . MR . HUNNICUTT : What is a D house ? MRS . DAVIDSON : A D house was a large three bedroom house . They were very much desired . They were really nice houses - still a lot of them are . The house was - there were five other girls who lived there - two of whom had been college friends . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , it would 've been upstairs . It was the second one to the end . A radiation technologist lived on the corner , and I lived there with school teachers and nurses who made up most of the dorm . MR . HUNNICUTT : Let 's talk a little bit about the dorm again . If I had a message for you or someone left a message for you , how did you retrieve your messages ? Was there a desk when you went in ? MRS . DAVIDSON : There was a desk downstairs . I remember the Valentine 's Day - I guess it must 've been 1949 . The message was that I had some flowers , some red roses . I had just met my husband - to - be at that time . I got all excited , and when I got to the desk , it was from somebody else . I enjoyed the red roses , but not as much as I might have . The thing was that there were ladies - a lot of the women who lived in the dorm worked on the night shift . They would sit around a large kind of living room , I guess they called it . They were all staring when I got flowers . I had to walk around , and it was embarrassing . MRS . DAVIDSON : I was there in the winter of 1948 . I 'm very cold natured , but I don 't remember being cold . We had those heavy navy blanket - navy blue blankets . This brings up a story if I jump to it later on . We were moved from the D house after another six months into the brand - new Garden Apartments on Villanova Road . They needed our D house for families . The people who moved in were the Andersons of the Anderson Hilltop Grocery . Of course , the furniture all belonged to the government there . So the Garden Apartments were not furnished , so we had dwindled down from 6 to 4 people who needed furniture . I took a day off and went to an auction the government set up down at the warehouses . I got seven beds and three or four dressers - much more than I could have used . But the beds were in great demand at work because all the young men who worked there were having children and needed beds . So we took the four . Also I got two sofas , and we could use but one ; so I sold one . They were really shabby awful sofas . Since it was all going to surplus anyway , we switched and took the nice sofa from the D house and left them the bad one . It was all taken away anyhow , so I didn 't feel too bad about that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't really remember about the telephone . We didn 't use the telephone much . We never used it for long - distance except for emergencies and calls home . I don 't remember that as being a problem particularly . MRS . DAVIDSON : I suppose I went on the bus . I did not have a car . One of the housemates from Norman Lane had gotten the car , but she would 've been at work at K - 25 . I don 't know . I may have gotten a ride . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess I paid somebody to deliver it . I don 't know . Maybe some of the fellows at work picked up their beds that they wanted . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was one of those warehouses down at the [ Oak Ridge ] Turnpike on Warehouse Road . I don 't know exactly where it was . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess it was on the bulletin boards at work , or there was a newspaper at the Lab . I guess I heard about it that way . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think probably so - in the newsletters they came around , also at the recreation building - the rec hall - at Jackson Square that was the library upstairs and the rec hall downstairs . Word - of - mouth - I don 't remember . We had a need and found the answer to it . MRS . DAVIDSON : I had to punch a clock at eight in the morning when I first started . I guess we got out at 4 : 30 or 5 o ' clock . We had bus service that went from the bus terminal - the Central one - that 's now by Bus Terminal Road . Later on after we were married , we lived on Waddell Circle and went from there to the Jefferson bus terminal . I went - I rode on the K - 25 bus , and they went out past K - 25 to the road that the powerhouse was on and NEPA was beyond that out by the river . MRS . DAVIDSON : There was some kind of management services office . I 'm not sure what it was called - the Roane Anderson Corporation at that time , I guess . I think that 's where I rented the dormitory room . I probably got bus tokens - I guess I got the tokens of the bus terminal . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think I had a checking account probably at Hamilton Bank in Jackson Square . I don 't recall otherwise . I know I did later . One thing I wanted to say about the buses - if you wanted to go to Clinton to do any shopping , more than what you could have in Oak Ridge or to meet somebody or something , there was a bus that ran frequently back and forth between the bus terminal and Clinton . There was a young man on the bus who had a sing - songy sales pitch for " peanuts , popcorn , Cracker Jacks , candy , and chewing gum . " He wouldn 't drive , but he would sell his wares all the way to Clinton and back . I always wondered who that was because he obviously had some talent . MRS . DAVIDSON : I 'm sure I did . I don 't know what became of it . I guess I had to turn it back in . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think somebody just got - one of the guards got on the bus and checked everybody 's badges . It was not a big thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : Probably . I don 't remember . What I do remember about that was my mother was coming down one time for my birthday - it must 've been in January 1949 . She rode the train . I told her that I would get a ride to meet her . Of course , the train didn 't stop at Oak Ridge . It went on to Knoxville , so I bummed a ride with one of the men in our group . He was actually the technical assistant to the director . His car was a broken down old thing with no floorboards in the back seat , which was pretty bad when my mother saw it . But she didn 't see it because when we got to Knoxville , she was not there . When we were coming back from the gateway entrance , she was not there . There was a message that she was waiting for us at the Elza Gate Station . She had told the conductor she had to get off at Oak Ridge . That 's where she was going , and I was going to meet her . So she slid down the Elza bank over there . She had my birthday cake - a large chocolate cake . She slid downhill with that , and somehow they stopped her at the guard gate at Elza . She waited there for us . MRS . DAVIDSON : Just for her - let her off like a milk train . They ordinarily didn 't stop there , but she wouldn 't have it otherwise . MRS . DAVIDSON : I used the library and rec hall . On Sunday afternoons , they played music ; and you could sit and write letters home , which is what I think I did a good bit . Later on in the better weather , there were tennis courts and a swimming pool . I don 't remember going to movies much . We went to church groups . There were so many young people ; it was just like a party all the time . Nothing in particular stands out . It was just fun . MRS . DAVIDSON : In the company I was , that was not true . There were a lot of women of course - of course , the dormitory was full of school teachers and nurses . But NEPA was mostly men . There were two parts to the Fairchild - the science and engineering part , which was bigger . I happen to be in the research part . My boss was a chemist - Vince Calkins . It was my job to - this was a real shocker to me - to find a chemical that would protect the human body against radiation for the reactor that was supposed to be in the airplane to Russia . I had no background for that kind of thing . I was just fresh out of college really . I realized I was out of my depth , but they decided - he was a pharmacist , I believe , and he wanted to do experiments with rats . They brought in the rat colony . By that time we had a couple of assistants , and I was supposed to be the group leader . One of the men , Ray Waldrop - you may have talked to him . I asked him if he minded working for a woman because he was really more experienced than I , although I had the degree . It was fine with him . There was also another worker , Saul Segal , who was quite a character in his own right . I took the rats in the cages over to the reactor , the " Old Lady " at X - 10 , and put them through what they called " rabbits " and radiated them for certain amount of time . We couldn 't kill the darn things . Then we used the older ones that had already been radiated , they were just tough as anything . I think the experiment was really a failure , although they may have found that to be the case in some later work with older people - that the cells are not dividing as fast and they 're not as subject to radiation . But we didn 't get into that . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was actually not K - 25 . It was beyond there . As I said , the bus took us - the bus dumped people off at K - 25 , and they went on west to just before you get to the Gallaher Bridge . You turn right there and go right past the power station there . It was used for a long time - the power house , and then NEPA was beyond that . The native rats came in - was it domestic experimental rats ? That was not good . I had a janitor who helped me , even though he could 've lost his job for doing it . He helped me clean cages . I always appreciated that . MRS . DAVIDSON : When they got rid of the rats , which was a blessing , my group leader then became Bill Browning , who was a fine scientist . He worked on the Van de Graaff generator . We had an interesting argument . Saul Segal thought he should be the one to do it since he was a man and I was a woman who would be leaving soon ; and it turned out that he left for California before I had left to have my baby . His argument didn 't hold with me anyway , but we argued about that some . We did run the Van de Graaff , and we also did some experiments on metallic sodium . It was nasty stuff to work with . It caught on fire if it was exposed to air . You had to work with that under oil in the glove box . I think that work all had to be repeated after NEPA left for Cincinnati with G . E . . When they moved part of NEPA to X - 10 , they called it the ANP , or something about aircraft and nuclear power . I was not connected with that because my first baby was born in August 1951 . I left in July . MRS . DAVIDSON : I heard somebody say that they had to repeat it all . My boss , the Division Director of Chemistry was interested in vitamin E , and thought it had a lot of protective influence . We worked with that . That was some of the work I did in chemistry - the lab part of it in the early days . It was not good work , I think . I 'm not blaming myself , but some of the other men who were doing chemical work - I think altogether we didn 't come up with anything . MRS . DAVIDSON : It may have been ahead of it 's time for nuclear submarines . I don 't know whether the engineering people thought that or not . In our group which was the chemistry and the physics , my friend who got me the job was Jim Trice . A fellow named Art Miller and somebody named Coneybearwere in the Physics Division . And then there were some others - Fred Maienschein . I did some work for him one time . It was work on beryllium for one thing . I didn 't work with any of the active beryllium . I didn 't do any lab work then , but I did some journal research . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't think they were that far along . I 'm not sure what happened to that part of it . As I said , in July of 1951 they moved to Cincinnati , Evensville , above Cincinnati . I don 't know how many people actually went up there . Most of my friends moved elsewhere . MR . HUNNICUTT : You mentioned the location of the operation was past the steam plant that was on the Clinch River . Was that the same location where the S - 50 project was located ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I think that was the name of our plot of land . I think those - I never was quite sure how they got the designations , but that was the Fairchild domain , I think . MRS . DAVIDSON : Really , it was just when our eyes met . It was very romantic . He followed our group home to the Columbia Hall to see where I lived . But at the time I thought he was too young , and I didn 't think he was following me . I was with a group of other girls . Later on , one of the women in the dormitory , who was a gym teacher in the Oak Ridge schools , told me I really ought to meet Jack Davidson that he loved to ride bicycles ; I was just back from my bicycle trip in Europe . I didn 't know who he was , and then I went to a church group meeting at my Presbyterian Church for young people one Sunday evening . A friend of mine had brought Jack Davidson , and he was the one whose eyes I had met and he had met mine . Sure enough , he loved to ride bicycles . That was the start of a good thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : We did a little bit . On our dates , that 's really what we did mostly at first . We rode out to West Outer Drive and had those wonderful big hills , not too much traffic at that time . We went out to the water tower at the top of Louisiana and had a picnic , and then rode back . When we got really good , we rode our bicycles over to Concord Park one day . I had gotten some chicken breasts at the grocery . I guess it was the A & P at Jackson Square . I was going to fry them for a picnic to take along over to Concord Park . When I went to the refrigerator to get them , they had turned into wings . Somebody had eaten my chicken breast . Jack was a good sport about that . He didn 't care . We had a nice ride . It was before they had improved Lovell Road . It was a pretty rough ride over there , but we were able to enjoy it . MRS . DAVIDSON : He had his bicycle . It was probably a Grey Stone . For me , he rented a bicycle from his work friend . I had forgotten what his name was . We went over to one of the D Streets , I think , and rode them . I didn 't have my English 3 - speed here . I guess I brought it later , but at that time I didn 't have it . MRS . DAVIDSON : That was a problem . I complained to my friend Jim Trice 's wife , Dot , who happened to live around the corner on Outer Drive at that time . She said the boardwalk was used a lot for dating , and of course the theaters . I guess we were outdoors people . I don 't know . MRS . DAVIDSON : He was a graduate of Georgia Tech . At the time he graduated , he was very young . He came up to see about a job , and he was drafted . No , he was in danger of being drafted right away , but they didn 't hire him . He did go to work for NASA , which was at that time NACA , in Virginia ; and worked over there a short time before he was taken into the Army . He had gone through Georgia Tech on a " War Manpower " loan . He was sent to some place to be an MP , I think . He wrote a night letter , which is a 50 - word telegram that was cheaper at night . He wrote a night letter to Stimson , the Secretary of War , telling them they had paid for his college education ; and here he was sitting in a camp doing nothing down in Alabama . He was transferred to the SED , he would never say that was the reason he was transferred . It may or may not have been . He arrived with the SED - he arrived in Oak Ridge the day Roosevelt died , which was in April 1945 , he was here with his group for maybe six weeks before they went out to Los Alamos . So he spent the rest of the war out there . Then he used his G . I . Bill - he stayed on at Los Alamos . They told them they would let him out of the Army if he would agree to stay on as a civilian . So he took that . Then when he did leave , he went to Annapolis and took a liberal arts course because he felt that he had missed out on it at Georgia Tech . He had a year at St . John 's College of Annapolis ; and then all along I guess he thought he would like to come back here . He came back - he arrived on Armistice Day , now Veterans Day , of 1948 . I was here a couple of months before he came , but we met shortly after Christmas in 1949 . MRS . DAVIDSON : Too long . We were married in May 1950 . He wanted to pay off his loan before we could get married , so I helped him along with that . I fed him some . He was very welcome at the D House of girls . I was going to tell you that during the war , there were nine girls in the house , and they slept on shifts on the bunk beds . There were only six of us when I was there . There were a couple of the boyfriends around , and one of them cut the grass . I think Jack did the - empty the clinkers from the furnace , the coal furnace . They made themselves useful . They got their dinner . MR . HUNNICUTT : Tell me about the coal furnace briefly . MRS . DAVIDSON : Most of the houses were a very good design really , and a whole lot better built than we gave them credit for . But each one that I knew of had a corner set off or closed off as a coal storage place that could be filled through a window from the outside , and then you could use the - there was an opening on the inside that you could use to put coal into the furnace . That was awful of course , but that 's what all the houses were doing in that time , too . We had a yard full of clinkers over there . MRS . DAVIDSON : We were taken care of by a Big Brother - the government . They brought the coal around , and you didn 't do a thing . That was part of the rent . When we got our house here on Orange Lane , that 's another story . Are you ready for that yet ? MRS . DAVIDSON : We went back to my home in Louisville , Kentucky , to be married . We had planned to fly to Nashville , but it turned out the Delta Queen was coming through Louisville the next morning . My mother had told us we could not get married the week before because it was too busy with Derby Day . So we delayed until May 13 . Then we spent the night in Louisville at the Brown Hotel , where she pulled some strings to get us a room because it was still very full of visitors from the Derby . We got on the Delta Queen , and our friends were all on the dock to see us off . They had us almost convinced that we were on Daylight Saving Time , and the Delta Queen was not , and we had missed it . But we rode down just as far as Paducah . We were anxious to start in life you know . We lived on Wadell Circle in a K apartment . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you recall the number ? MRS . DAVIDSON : It was a two - story thing . I guess it was a two - bedroom up above , and we had K - 1 . It was sort of underground at the front and open at the back . We had a nice back porch . There was a closet under the stairway and a very small kitchen . It had a table that folded down . It was not as compact as a flattop , but the furnishings that they had did double duty . You could fold it up and have more room . MRS . DAVIDSON : The K apartment was heated with the coal furnace , but there was a janitor who came around and took care of it for us . We were taken care of by Roane Anderson . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you remember what the rent was ? MRS . DAVIDSON : We lived in the K from May 1950 , until we got this house in July 1952 . It was said - the word around town was that you couldn 't get a two - bedroom house unless you had three children , all of different sex . We had been on the list for this house ever since we knew our daughter was coming along . That was a long time to wait . We had been offered two houses - Florida Avenue , where the parking was across the street and the backyard just dropped off . We thought that was totally unsuitable for a new child . We turned both of those down . If we had turned this one down , we would 've gone to the bottom of the long list . But we loved this place of the trees and the dead end lane neighborhood . So we sat outside in front all weekend because we were not top on the list . The reason the other people didn 't take it was that the previous owner , Jim Cox and Charlotte , had put in an oil furnace ; and nobody wanted to pay $ 200 for the oil furnace . Since I had been working , we had saved my salary from work , and we had $ 200 to pay . Also , they didn 't want to be in the high rent district . This house rented for something like $ 45 instead of $ 43 in the lower rent districts . MRS . DAVIDSON : The Oak Ridge cemesto houses that were built - I think this house was built in the fall of 1944 or 1943 . Maybe it was ' 43 . The B house has two bedrooms and of course a bath and a kitchen with a dinette into a long narrow living room . It was about 24 feet by 40 something feet . It was small and convenient . It didn 't have much storage space , but it 's been a wonderful house for us because of the trees . We are on a greenbelt , and I enjoy that very much . It 's a nice private neighborhood just above Jackson Square . MRS . DAVIDSON : Our cemesto has a fireplace , and it had a complete brick wall . Some of the B houses had a brick wall just beyond the fireplace . MRS . DAVIDSON : There are hardwood floors in all the cemestos , I believe . Our house has maple flooring , and a lot of them had oak . Wood was hard to come by in the wartime . We love the color - the reddish color of the maple . MRS . DAVIDSON : Adele is our second daughter , and she was two years younger . Our son is Bill Davidson or William . He was born in November of 1954 . He 's just now turning 58 . MR . HUNNICUTT : So your first daughter went to Cedar Hill ? MRS . DAVIDSON : All three of our children went to Cedar Hill . They had split grades there , so I think the classes were one half size . They would take the kids a half from one grade , and half from the next grade , and that worked out just fine . MRS . DAVIDSON : Cedar Hill was wonderful . It was very special . Mr . Dodd was the principal , and he saw to it - he had the best teachers or at least as good as any . Actually in those days all the teachers and Oak Ridge were special because many of them had been recruited from Columbia Teachers College , along with the superintendent . Others were specially recruited for the job . They were a group a part , I think , from a lot of teachers . MRS . DAVIDSON : The girls both went to Jefferson when it was on the hill at Jackson Square , and Bill was in the first year at the new Jefferson that was over on Fairbanks Road . His was the first class there . They all went through Oak Ridge High . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you recall some of the classes your daughters took while they were in junior high ? Was there Home Ec . or things related to girls ? MRS . DAVIDSON : No , they were on the college prep track . They took eighth grade algebra and that kind of thing . Of course English and math and social studies and science - our older girl I think took biology ; and I 'm not sure if Adele had a more general science course . It just depended on the teacher that they had . They had an excellent education , and the girls were both Merit semifinalists . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course . I was in the PTA . I 'm not sure if I was ever a room mother , but I of course helped with parties and things . MRS . DAVIDSON : The teachers recruited them from each class to help with parties mostly . They helped with any activities that they didn 't really have time to do . MRS . DAVIDSON : Parent - Teacher Association , a time honored group . It got extra things for the school . I got involved with raincoats for the school patrol . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess maybe I was a treasurer of the Cedar Hill PTA , and this goal was to get those yellow slicker raincoat so kids could be visible to the drivers . I found out how much the things cost , and then I estimated postage . At the PTA meeting , Alvin Weinberg was president . He had a son or two in school at the time . He took me to task for estimating the postage , so I had to ask for just the money for the coats themselves since I didn 't really know what the postage is going to be . I thought that was interesting that he wanted to keep it to the exact penny . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think they just wore what the other kids wore . One day we had a deep snow and Bill was in kindergarten , and the snow was up over their boots . I think he had some corduroys . The teacher was making the kids take their pants off and dry them on the radiator , and he wouldn 't do it . I had to go up to the school and take him some fresh pants , some dry clothes . He was very young - just four when he started . MR . HUNNICUTT : Let 's go back a few years . Do you remember 1945 when they dropped the bomb on Japan ? You remember where you were ? And what was your reaction ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I do remember that very clearly because it was the summer after my junior year in college , and I was a camp counselor up in Door County , Wisconsin . There was no electricity at the camp , so we counselors - after we got the kids to bed , went to the state park nearby . This was at Fish Creek , Wisconsin . We would listen to people 's car radios . We knew for about a week that something was happening , but we didn 't know just what . It was very deeply moving when the bomb was dropped , and we thought it would bring an end to the war . Of course , I had friends and a brother on Guam and a cousin was in Europe and others . So that was very deeply moving . I had a book of poetry - my favorite poems at the camp with me . One of my 12 - year - olds picked out a poem - " Once to every man and nation comes a moment to decide " - she read that , and I thought that was very astute of her , a youngster to be able to do that . MRS . DAVIDSON : My husband thought they should have dropped a sample first , but I didn 't feel that way since the first bomb didn 't phase the Japanese . I didn 't think the test one would have either . I was just so glad that the war was over . People could settle down and get into real life again . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think I was in transition from the dormitory to the house , and my husband 's brothers came up from Georgia to witness the opening . So we drove in their car around , and we watched the parade from , I believe , down on the eastern end of the Turnpike down near the warehouses to get out of the traffic . We never could figure out why they invited Marie " The Body " McDonald and [ inaudible ] to ride in the open car for the parade . We couldn 't figure out what they had to do with it , but we did see the burning of the magnesium ribbon . That was exciting . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was only toward town from Elza Gate . I know the central part of town , the Jackson Square area , was very crowded . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think they name the streets for famous cities in the country , and of course the alphabetical designations were very helpful . But Jackson Square , I assume , was named for New Orleans . That 's all I know about it . MRS . DAVIDSON : Sometimes you would pick up the telephone , and the other party was talking . I believe they had different rings . I think maybe the other party had one ring , and we had two . There were four - party lines , but if we were on a four - party line , only the other one was active . I think maybe we were . The other two lines were not being used . MR . HUNNICUTT : When you are raising your family , did you hang your clothes outside on the clothesline ? Did you have a dryer ? What did you use ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I hung them outside on the clothesline . As I said , when we moved here , Anne was a year old . Not much more than three years after that , we had three babies . I was able to talk my husband into getting a dryer that time . Before that , he had built a pulley out of my kitchen window . There was a drop off in the back , and he was able to string it to a tree in the woods . I was able to reel those cloth diapers and reel them in and out . The only problem was that the birds like the trees , too . Sometimes I had to do some re - washing . MR . HUNNICUTT : So in those days you use cloth diapers ? Today we use disposable diapers . How do you think you would 've done if you had disposable diapers ? MRS . DAVIDSON : At one point , when our children were out playing Kick the Can , there were over 40 children on the lane . There were about 20 or 21 houses . There were almost as many dogs . It was just a glorious place for them to grow up . They seem to get along remarkably well most of the time , especially in the early days . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes . We went down there on the opening , and got the radioactive dimes on that occasion . The museum at that time was down at Jefferson Circle . I don 't think any of us ever had our hair stand out on the Van De Graff generator or whatever it was , but we took the children . We went out ourselves . Of course my husband was interested in that kind of thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : Sometimes they walked to Jefferson , but by that time they were carrying pretty heavy books . One of the neighbors on Outer Drive wanted to have a carpool , so we joined that . MRS . DAVIDSON : When Anne was in the fifth grade , they had to write what they did on Friday nights . The teacher would call me and say , " Is it true that you gave your children ice water and watched TV on Friday nights ? " That was how generous we were with them . We didn 't get a TV until they were probably five or six years old . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course it was black and white . The reason we got it - I guess finally it was that the children were always going to the neighbors ' house to watch TV . We decided that we should get our own . They watched things like " Pinky Lee " and I 've forgotten what else . MRS . DAVIDSON : I remember that fondly because my first real date with my husband was going to dinner there with him . He invited me to go to a concert in Knoxville , and his excuse was that we should get to know each other better before he took me to the city with him . That was one thing . I remember there were parties there , and our company had a party at the Oak Terrace Ballroom . One of the NEPA fellows wore a Tarzan costume , which was mostly nothing . It turned out that he lived in the neighborhood . MR . HUNNICUTT : What was the Oak Terrace ballroom - where was it located ? MRS . DAVIDSON : That was just below the dormitory where I lived in Columbia Hall . Jack went there looking for me , he thought I would eat breakfast there and then he could have breakfast with me ; but I ate in the dormitory . He didn 't find me there . When we came back from our bicycle ride to Concord Park , I remember we stopped by there , and he drank two or three Mountain Dew drinks . That surprised me , but we had worked off a lot of sweat . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , we took our children out there and saw " Lawrence of Arabia " and " The 10 Commandment " and those things . It was quite nice . MR . HUNNICUTT : Where was it located ? MRS . DAVIDSON : It was about where Kroger 's - where that is now , on the southeast part of Illinois Avenue . It was a nice thing . That was a special treat for the children to go out there . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't think so . I think they were mostly in the car . They had a drawing one time , Jack won something . It was actually nothing , but he did win . MRS . DAVIDSON : I sure did . My three children were born there . It was a green structure , like so many of the buildings in Oak Ridge . I guess the present building is built on that place . It was okay . I didn 't have any problems with it , except after my second child . I had a staph infection from the hospital . Even an Army wife with a private room got an infection there . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , I think they also had been recruited ; and a lot of them were from Tulane University . The time I was sick with my infection , they were having a reunion at Tulane , and my doctor and another one were gone for the reunion . I didn 't like the one who took care of me . He didn 't do a good job . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was okay . I don 't remember having any problems with it . We knew Dr . Rogers from our church , and we went to him . He was called away to the service , I believe . Maybe it was the Korean War , but then he came back . MRS . DAVIDSON : We met at Pine Valley School . The choir sat on the bleachers , and the minister sat under the halo of the basketball net . My husband was a Methodist , and he went to the First Methodist Church . They had a big youth group there . When we were first married , we tried to take them both in . We went to Sunday school one place , and church another until we finally settled on the Presbyterian . It was smaller , and we knew more people . MR . HUNNICUTT : Thinking back , what do you like best about Oak Ridge ? MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course the people . I love my trees and my house . I love all the activities . Both my husband and I have always loved music and enjoy the concerts a lot . The symphony concerts with Waldo Cohn conducting were held at Jefferson Junior High on the Kentucky Avenue hill . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you think back about all the people that you knew in the early days ? Do you think it was unusual for everybody to get along - the many people that were here ? MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , I guess so . I didn 't think about it because we just did . It was just fun . Everybody was away from home , and we had to be family for each other . That was particularly true in this close neighborhood . MRS . DAVIDSON : I 'm pleased for the most part . I think we 've made good progress . We 've kept up with the outside world . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't know . I 'll probably think of things after you leave . Nothing particular comes to mind . MR . HUNNICUTT : I would like to thank you for your time , and I think this interview will be very helpful for someone in the future to see how you lived in Oak Ridge in the early days . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think we came through at the very best of times . It was not the pressure of war , but we were growing community . I think things were happening at the Lab . Both of my husband and I loved the Lab because there were so many good things going on out there . It gives us hope for the future . MR . HUNNICUTT : I thank you very much for your time . [ Editor 's Note : This transcript has been edited at Mrs . Davidson 's request . The corresponding audio and video components have remained unchanged . ] Your rating was saved . you wish to report :

MR . HUNNICUTT : This interview is for the Center of Oak Ridge Oral History . The date is November 8 , 2012 . I am Don Hunnicutt in the home of Mrs . Mary Ann Davidson , 117 Orange Lane , Oak Ridge , Tennessee , to take her oral history about living in Oak Ridge , Tennessee . Please state your full name and your place of birth and your date of birth . MRS . DAVIDSON : My name is Mary Ann Davidson . My date of birth is January 12 , 1925 . I was born in Louisville , Kentucky . I lived there all my early life until I graduated from college . MRS . DAVIDSON : My father was William H . Courtenay . He was born in 1890 , on March 3 . He was in World War I and lived his entire life in Louisville and Shelbyville , Kentucky . He worked for the Mengel Company . They imported mahogany and hardwood from Africa and Central America . He delivered those to customers . He didn 't consider himself a salesman , but he sold them to the furniture factory - furniture makers around Kentucky , mostly Indiana and Cincinnati and some in Tennessee . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , he did not . The Louisville Male High School was considered a fine school at that time . They said that graduates could enter Harvard in their second year . The principal had written textbooks that were apparently used all over . But my father was interested in raising ponies . His father had a farm in Shelbyville , Kentucky . If you 'd didn 't make the grade , you are special . And Dr . Ruben Post - Halleck , the famous principal of the school , told him if he took an exam in math , he could be entered back in . He did that , and he aced the test . He was back in . Then he was a special in English , so they told him if he memorized the " Lady of the Lake " and said that he could get back in school . So he did that . I think he never did finish . He was a twin , and his twin was more of an engineering type and went to manual training high school . MRS . DAVIDSON : She grew up in several small towns in western Kentucky . Her father worked for the L & N Railroad . She had her high school in Hopkinsville , Kentucky . She had to stay home - or she went to junior college nearby . She had a scholarship to Randolph Macon Women 's College , but she couldn 't take it because her mother was ill and died at age 50 . It was about the year I was born , I think . MRS . DAVIDSON : His name was William Howard Courtenay III . My father was named for his uncle , who was also William Howard . My older brother works for Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green in the physics department . He made instruments . My younger brother was a pediatrician in Louisville , and he is still living on a farm in Shelbyville . He 's interested in Kentucky antiques . MRS . DAVIDSON : I went to an unusual kindergarten and first grade . I was at what they called the Enterprise Branch of I . N . Bloom School . It was only kindergarten and first grade . It was in the older building , where we had a Pot Belly Stove . I think we had a maid to help us take our leggings off in the cold weather - galoshes . It was really a wonderful school . It was almost like a private one . It was public . We did things like making butter and we had an orchestra . I played the triangle . I had started a little bit earlier when my younger brother was born . Louisville had half semester , half - year grades . I would 've been a half year , but I skipped the last half of kindergarten . I went to the school board and took a test and went on , so they put me in the regular school year . I went through the big school the I . N . Bloom School and Highland Junior High School in Louisville . Then I went to Atherton High School for Girls . The Louisville public schools were segregated - boys and girls . There were about 900 girls at Atherton . My graduating class was about 200 , and I was the valedictorian . MRS . DAVIDSON : They are pants to keep your legs warm . They zipped up from the inside of the ankle bone up to about knee - high , I guess it was . They were a royal pain to take on and off , so the teacher had to have help to do that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was just ordinary . I 'm sure the girls wore dresses , and the little boys wore suits - not suits , but pants and shirts . MRS . DAVIDSON : I came to Oak Ridge after I graduated from college . I had two years of getting a master 's at Emory while I worked at my alma mater , Agnes Scott College in Decatur , Georgia . I was the chemistry lab instructor . So after those two years were up , I was interested in working in chemistry or biochemistry . My master 's was in biochemistry . In Louisville , there was nothing in that field , except liquor and paint - neither of which I was interested in . In Atlanta , I would like to stay in Atlanta , I heard that Oak Ridge was an interesting new place , and a lot was going on here . One of my dear college friends had recently married a physicist from the University of Kentucky , so I visited them here . I guess that must have been 1947 . Her husband was working at NEPA . He said they were looking for people with a chemistry degree . I applied , and I was accepted . I didn 't know that until I had completed the clearance , so I took the opportunity to go to Europe at an American youth hostel bicycle tour of Western Europe in the summer of 1948 . When I got home , I found that I had indeed gotten the job at Oak Ridge . So I came down here . MRS . DAVIDSON : I was wondering that . I think I came by train . When I interviewed earlier in the spring , my interview was at the Andrew Johnson Hotel . It was one of the private rooms . I had never seen the company here . I think I must have been met by a car and driver and brought to Oak Ridge . MRS . DAVIDSON : I came in through the Vermont Gateway , which is where the gas station is now on the corner of what I call Vermont . They call it North Rutgers now . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , I think it must 've been after that . That would 've been at Christmas time . When I applied , I imagine it was early spring . MRS . DAVIDSON : We called the company NEPA , for Nuclear Energy for the Propulsion of Aircraft . It was managed by the Fairchild Corporation the way Union Carbide or one of the other contractors managed the lab . I did not know until the first day I went to work just what the company was doing . They handed me a volume of information that said , " We are looking for - we are trying to make an airplane powered by nuclear energy that could fly to Russia and back without refueling . " That was a great shock to me . MRS . DAVIDSON : I lived in Columbia Hall Dormitory . I was very surprised to find that the rent was $ 15 a month until I realized it was one very small room . That was my living quarters . I took the opportunity to stay out of it as much as possible . I did that by babysitting in some of the B and D houses in the evening . Grandmothers were not here since it was a closed community . Babysitters were in short supply , and even though I didn 't need the money , it was good to get out of the dormitory . MRS . DAVIDSON : The dormitory was like Cheyenne Hall . It was the same type of building . It had wooden stairways from the second - floor hall down on each end . I lived on the second floor . Our dormitory was mostly nurses , since it was up on the hill next to the hospital - I think where the west parking lot is now . There was a kitchen on each end where we could have our own breakfast . Of course we were at the plant at lunchtime , and then we usually went out to supper . I opened the refrigerator door one morning and somebody 's milk came spilling out down my front . Everybody just stuffed things into the refrigerator . MRS . DAVIDSON : I had a single room with a twin bed and enough room to walk to the window by the bed . There was a little table that served as a desk with a chair . There was a much coveted dormitory dresser - a tall one with a number of drawers . They were very popular . MRS . DAVIDSON : They had a wonderful bus service here . Travel wasn 't really a problem . We walked , of course , from the dormitory to Jackson Square and ate supper usually at the Mayflower , which is where I first saw my husband - to - be . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was on the corner of Tennessee , right across from the Soup Kitchen and the Texaco gas station there on the northeast corner . It was a very popular place . In fact , there were several places you could eat . It was the Central Cafeteria , and the T & C Cafeteria in Jackson Square , which is about where the Epicurean is now toward the garden . MRS . DAVIDSON : It must 've been the A & P on Jackson Square . Jackson Square was really the center of activity as far as I was concerned at that time . I still love it . I hope it keeps going . MRS . DAVIDSON : The department stores - the big department store was Taylor 's at the time . They had a wonderful book department headed by Mrs . Keyes , whose daughter I knew at work . They had really fine art books and other books that they would have a great sale on once or twice a year . We were very happy with that . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was in the middle of the block between where Big Ed 's is in the corner . I guess it 's mostly used by the engineering company now . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , not frequently , but I went and saw - there was a theater down at Big Ed 's in Jackson Square and where the Playhouse is now . That was the main one . MRS . DAVIDSON : Henebree . McCrory 's 5 & 10 was there . There was a drugstore - a Service Drugstore . I guess that was where Big Ed 's is now , on the very corner . There was Jackson Square Pharmacy , and on the other side the Hamilton Bank was there next to the movie theater . And Samuel 's Men 's Store was a very nice store . The Jackson Square Pharmacy was there , but in between , which the Pharmacy later took over was a Kay 's Ice Cream Store . We used to go there and - my husband and I would when we were dating . I liked to get coffee with ice cream in it , so we went there . MRS . DAVIDSON : I can 't say that I do . It was just a given , I suppose . It didn 't make a big dent in my memory . After six months of the dormitory , I moved to a D house on Norman Lane . That was another era . MRS . DAVIDSON : A D house was a large three bedroom house . They were very much desired . They were really nice houses - still a lot of them are . The house was - there were five other girls who lived there - two of whom had been college friends . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , it would 've been upstairs . It was the second one to the end . A radiation technologist lived on the corner , and I lived there with school teachers and nurses who made up most of the dorm . MR . HUNNICUTT : Let 's talk a little bit about the dorm again . If I had a message for you or someone left a message for you , how did you retrieve your messages ? Was there a desk when you went in ? MRS . DAVIDSON : There was a desk downstairs . I remember the Valentine 's Day - I guess it must 've been 1949 . The message was that I had some flowers , some red roses . I had just met my husband - to - be at that time . I got all excited , and when I got to the desk , it was from somebody else . I enjoyed the red roses , but not as much as I might have . The thing was that there were ladies - a lot of the women who lived in the dorm worked on the night shift . They would sit around a large kind of living room , I guess they called it . They were all staring when I got flowers . I had to walk around , and it was embarrassing . MRS . DAVIDSON : I was there in the winter of 1948 . I 'm very cold natured , but I don 't remember being cold . We had those heavy navy blanket - navy blue blankets . This brings up a story if I jump to it later on . We were moved from the D house after another six months into the brand - new Garden Apartments on Villanova Road . They needed our D house for families . The people who moved in were the Andersons of the Anderson Hilltop Grocery . Of course , the furniture all belonged to the government there . So the Garden Apartments were not furnished , so we had dwindled down from 6 to 4 people who needed furniture . I took a day off and went to an auction the government set up down at the warehouses . I got seven beds and three or four dressers - much more than I could have used . But the beds were in great demand at work because all the young men who worked there were having children and needed beds . So we took the four . Also I got two sofas , and we could use but one ; so I sold one . They were really shabby awful sofas . Since it was all going to surplus anyway , we switched and took the nice sofa from the D house and left them the bad one . It was all taken away anyhow , so I didn 't feel too bad about that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't really remember about the telephone . We didn 't use the telephone much . We never used it for long - distance except for emergencies and calls home . I don 't remember that as being a problem particularly . MRS . DAVIDSON : I suppose I went on the bus . I did not have a car . One of the housemates from Norman Lane had gotten the car , but she would 've been at work at K - 25 . I don 't know . I may have gotten a ride . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess I paid somebody to deliver it . I don 't know . Maybe some of the fellows at work picked up their beds that they wanted . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was one of those warehouses down at the [ Oak Ridge ] Turnpike on Warehouse Road . I don 't know exactly where it was . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess it was on the bulletin boards at work , or there was a newspaper at the Lab . I guess I heard about it that way . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think probably so - in the newsletters they came around , also at the recreation building - the rec hall - at Jackson Square that was the library upstairs and the rec hall downstairs . Word - of - mouth - I don 't remember . We had a need and found the answer to it . MRS . DAVIDSON : I had to punch a clock at eight in the morning when I first started . I guess we got out at 4 : 30 or 5 o ' clock . We had bus service that went from the bus terminal - the Central one - that 's now by Bus Terminal Road . Later on after we were married , we lived on Waddell Circle and went from there to the Jefferson bus terminal . I went - I rode on the K - 25 bus , and they went out past K - 25 to the road that the powerhouse was on and NEPA was beyond that out by the river . MRS . DAVIDSON : There was some kind of management services office . I 'm not sure what it was called - the Roane Anderson Corporation at that time , I guess . I think that 's where I rented the dormitory room . I probably got bus tokens - I guess I got the tokens of the bus terminal . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think I had a checking account probably at Hamilton Bank in Jackson Square . I don 't recall otherwise . I know I did later . One thing I wanted to say about the buses - if you wanted to go to Clinton to do any shopping , more than what you could have in Oak Ridge or to meet somebody or something , there was a bus that ran frequently back and forth between the bus terminal and Clinton . There was a young man on the bus who had a sing - songy sales pitch for " peanuts , popcorn , Cracker Jacks , candy , and chewing gum . " He wouldn 't drive , but he would sell his wares all the way to Clinton and back . I always wondered who that was because he obviously had some talent . MRS . DAVIDSON : I 'm sure I did . I don 't know what became of it . I guess I had to turn it back in . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think somebody just got - one of the guards got on the bus and checked everybody 's badges . It was not a big thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : Probably . I don 't remember . What I do remember about that was my mother was coming down one time for my birthday - it must 've been in January 1949 . She rode the train . I told her that I would get a ride to meet her . Of course , the train didn 't stop at Oak Ridge . It went on to Knoxville , so I bummed a ride with one of the men in our group . He was actually the technical assistant to the director . His car was a broken down old thing with no floorboards in the back seat , which was pretty bad when my mother saw it . But she didn 't see it because when we got to Knoxville , she was not there . When we were coming back from the gateway entrance , she was not there . There was a message that she was waiting for us at the Elza Gate Station . She had told the conductor she had to get off at Oak Ridge . That 's where she was going , and I was going to meet her . So she slid down the Elza bank over there . She had my birthday cake - a large chocolate cake . She slid downhill with that , and somehow they stopped her at the guard gate at Elza . She waited there for us . MRS . DAVIDSON : Just for her - let her off like a milk train . They ordinarily didn 't stop there , but she wouldn 't have it otherwise . MRS . DAVIDSON : I used the library and rec hall . On Sunday afternoons , they played music ; and you could sit and write letters home , which is what I think I did a good bit . Later on in the better weather , there were tennis courts and a swimming pool . I don 't remember going to movies much . We went to church groups . There were so many young people ; it was just like a party all the time . Nothing in particular stands out . It was just fun . MRS . DAVIDSON : In the company I was , that was not true . There were a lot of women of course - of course , the dormitory was full of school teachers and nurses . But NEPA was mostly men . There were two parts to the Fairchild - the science and engineering part , which was bigger . I happen to be in the research part . My boss was a chemist - Vince Calkins . It was my job to - this was a real shocker to me - to find a chemical that would protect the human body against radiation for the reactor that was supposed to be in the airplane to Russia . I had no background for that kind of thing . I was just fresh out of college really . I realized I was out of my depth , but they decided - he was a pharmacist , I believe , and he wanted to do experiments with rats . They brought in the rat colony . By that time we had a couple of assistants , and I was supposed to be the group leader . One of the men , Ray Waldrop - you may have talked to him . I asked him if he minded working for a woman because he was really more experienced than I , although I had the degree . It was fine with him . There was also another worker , Saul Segal , who was quite a character in his own right . I took the rats in the cages over to the reactor , the " Old Lady " at X - 10 , and put them through what they called " rabbits " and radiated them for certain amount of time . We couldn 't kill the darn things . Then we used the older ones that had already been radiated , they were just tough as anything . I think the experiment was really a failure , although they may have found that to be the case in some later work with older people - that the cells are not dividing as fast and they 're not as subject to radiation . But we didn 't get into that . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was actually not K - 25 . It was beyond there . As I said , the bus took us - the bus dumped people off at K - 25 , and they went on west to just before you get to the Gallaher Bridge . You turn right there and go right past the power station there . It was used for a long time - the power house , and then NEPA was beyond that . The native rats came in - was it domestic experimental rats ? That was not good . I had a janitor who helped me , even though he could 've lost his job for doing it . He helped me clean cages . I always appreciated that . MRS . DAVIDSON : When they got rid of the rats , which was a blessing , my group leader then became Bill Browning , who was a fine scientist . He worked on the Van de Graaff generator . We had an interesting argument . Saul Segal thought he should be the one to do it since he was a man and I was a woman who would be leaving soon ; and it turned out that he left for California before I had left to have my baby . His argument didn 't hold with me anyway , but we argued about that some . We did run the Van de Graaff , and we also did some experiments on metallic sodium . It was nasty stuff to work with . It caught on fire if it was exposed to air . You had to work with that under oil in the glove box . I think that work all had to be repeated after NEPA left for Cincinnati with G . E . . When they moved part of NEPA to X - 10 , they called it the ANP , or something about aircraft and nuclear power . I was not connected with that because my first baby was born in August 1951 . I left in July . MRS . DAVIDSON : I heard somebody say that they had to repeat it all . My boss , the Division Director of Chemistry was interested in vitamin E , and thought it had a lot of protective influence . We worked with that . That was some of the work I did in chemistry - the lab part of it in the early days . It was not good work , I think . I 'm not blaming myself , but some of the other men who were doing chemical work - I think altogether we didn 't come up with anything . MRS . DAVIDSON : It may have been ahead of it 's time for nuclear submarines . I don 't know whether the engineering people thought that or not . In our group which was the chemistry and the physics , my friend who got me the job was Jim Trice . A fellow named Art Miller and somebody named Coneybearwere in the Physics Division . And then there were some others - Fred Maienschein . I did some work for him one time . It was work on beryllium for one thing . I didn 't work with any of the active beryllium . I didn 't do any lab work then , but I did some journal research . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't think they were that far along . I 'm not sure what happened to that part of it . As I said , in July of 1951 they moved to Cincinnati , Evensville , above Cincinnati . I don 't know how many people actually went up there . Most of my friends moved elsewhere . MR . HUNNICUTT : You mentioned the location of the operation was past the steam plant that was on the Clinch River . Was that the same location where the S - 50 project was located ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I think that was the name of our plot of land . I think those - I never was quite sure how they got the designations , but that was the Fairchild domain , I think . MRS . DAVIDSON : Really , it was just when our eyes met . It was very romantic . He followed our group home to the Columbia Hall to see where I lived . But at the time I thought he was too young , and I didn 't think he was following me . I was with a group of other girls . Later on , one of the women in the dormitory , who was a gym teacher in the Oak Ridge schools , told me I really ought to meet Jack Davidson that he loved to ride bicycles ; I was just back from my bicycle trip in Europe . I didn 't know who he was , and then I went to a church group meeting at my Presbyterian Church for young people one Sunday evening . A friend of mine had brought Jack Davidson , and he was the one whose eyes I had met and he had met mine . Sure enough , he loved to ride bicycles . That was the start of a good thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : We did a little bit . On our dates , that 's really what we did mostly at first . We rode out to West Outer Drive and had those wonderful big hills , not too much traffic at that time . We went out to the water tower at the top of Louisiana and had a picnic , and then rode back . When we got really good , we rode our bicycles over to Concord Park one day . I had gotten some chicken breasts at the grocery . I guess it was the A & P at Jackson Square . I was going to fry them for a picnic to take along over to Concord Park . When I went to the refrigerator to get them , they had turned into wings . Somebody had eaten my chicken breast . Jack was a good sport about that . He didn 't care . We had a nice ride . It was before they had improved Lovell Road . It was a pretty rough ride over there , but we were able to enjoy it . MRS . DAVIDSON : He had his bicycle . It was probably a Grey Stone . For me , he rented a bicycle from his work friend . I had forgotten what his name was . We went over to one of the D Streets , I think , and rode them . I didn 't have my English 3 - speed here . I guess I brought it later , but at that time I didn 't have it . MRS . DAVIDSON : That was a problem . I complained to my friend Jim Trice 's wife , Dot , who happened to live around the corner on Outer Drive at that time . She said the boardwalk was used a lot for dating , and of course the theaters . I guess we were outdoors people . I don 't know . MRS . DAVIDSON : He was a graduate of Georgia Tech . At the time he graduated , he was very young . He came up to see about a job , and he was drafted . No , he was in danger of being drafted right away , but they didn 't hire him . He did go to work for NASA , which was at that time NACA , in Virginia ; and worked over there a short time before he was taken into the Army . He had gone through Georgia Tech on a " War Manpower " loan . He was sent to some place to be an MP , I think . He wrote a night letter , which is a 50 - word telegram that was cheaper at night . He wrote a night letter to Stimson , the Secretary of War , telling them they had paid for his college education ; and here he was sitting in a camp doing nothing down in Alabama . He was transferred to the SED , he would never say that was the reason he was transferred . It may or may not have been . He arrived with the SED - he arrived in Oak Ridge the day Roosevelt died , which was in April 1945 , he was here with his group for maybe six weeks before they went out to Los Alamos . So he spent the rest of the war out there . Then he used his G . I . Bill - he stayed on at Los Alamos . They told them they would let him out of the Army if he would agree to stay on as a civilian . So he took that . Then when he did leave , he went to Annapolis and took a liberal arts course because he felt that he had missed out on it at Georgia Tech . He had a year at St . John 's College of Annapolis ; and then all along I guess he thought he would like to come back here . He came back - he arrived on Armistice Day , now Veterans Day , of 1948 . I was here a couple of months before he came , but we met shortly after Christmas in 1949 . MRS . DAVIDSON : Too long . We were married in May 1950 . He wanted to pay off his loan before we could get married , so I helped him along with that . I fed him some . He was very welcome at the D House of girls . I was going to tell you that during the war , there were nine girls in the house , and they slept on shifts on the bunk beds . There were only six of us when I was there . There were a couple of the boyfriends around , and one of them cut the grass . I think Jack did the - empty the clinkers from the furnace , the coal furnace . They made themselves useful . They got their dinner . MRS . DAVIDSON : Most of the houses were a very good design really , and a whole lot better built than we gave them credit for . But each one that I knew of had a corner set off or closed off as a coal storage place that could be filled through a window from the outside , and then you could use the - there was an opening on the inside that you could use to put coal into the furnace . That was awful of course , but that 's what all the houses were doing in that time , too . We had a yard full of clinkers over there . MRS . DAVIDSON : We were taken care of by a Big Brother - the government . They brought the coal around , and you didn 't do a thing . That was part of the rent . When we got our house here on Orange Lane , that 's another story . Are you ready for that yet ? MRS . DAVIDSON : We went back to my home in Louisville , Kentucky , to be married . We had planned to fly to Nashville , but it turned out the Delta Queen was coming through Louisville the next morning . My mother had told us we could not get married the week before because it was too busy with Derby Day . So we delayed until May 13 . Then we spent the night in Louisville at the Brown Hotel , where she pulled some strings to get us a room because it was still very full of visitors from the Derby . We got on the Delta Queen , and our friends were all on the dock to see us off . They had us almost convinced that we were on Daylight Saving Time , and the Delta Queen was not , and we had missed it . But we rode down just as far as Paducah . We were anxious to start in life you know . We lived on Wadell Circle in a K apartment . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was a two - story thing . I guess it was a two - bedroom up above , and we had K - 1 . It was sort of underground at the front and open at the back . We had a nice back porch . There was a closet under the stairway and a very small kitchen . It had a table that folded down . It was not as compact as a flattop , but the furnishings that they had did double duty . You could fold it up and have more room . MRS . DAVIDSON : The K apartment was heated with the coal furnace , but there was a janitor who came around and took care of it for us . We were taken care of by Roane Anderson . MRS . DAVIDSON : We lived in the K from May 1950 , until we got this house in July 1952 . It was said - the word around town was that you couldn 't get a two - bedroom house unless you had three children , all of different sex . We had been on the list for this house ever since we knew our daughter was coming along . That was a long time to wait . We had been offered two houses - Florida Avenue , where the parking was across the street and the backyard just dropped off . We thought that was totally unsuitable for a new child . We turned both of those down . If we had turned this one down , we would 've gone to the bottom of the long list . But we loved this place of the trees and the dead end lane neighborhood . So we sat outside in front all weekend because we were not top on the list . The reason the other people didn 't take it was that the previous owner , Jim Cox and Charlotte , had put in an oil furnace ; and nobody wanted to pay $ 200 for the oil furnace . Since I had been working , we had saved my salary from work , and we had $ 200 to pay . Also , they didn 't want to be in the high rent district . This house rented for something like $ 45 instead of $ 43 in the lower rent districts . MRS . DAVIDSON : The Oak Ridge cemesto houses that were built - I think this house was built in the fall of 1944 or 1943 . Maybe it was ' 43 . The B house has two bedrooms and of course a bath and a kitchen with a dinette into a long narrow living room . It was about 24 feet by 40 something feet . It was small and convenient . It didn 't have much storage space , but it 's been a wonderful house for us because of the trees . We are on a greenbelt , and I enjoy that very much . It 's a nice private neighborhood just above Jackson Square . MRS . DAVIDSON : Our cemesto has a fireplace , and it had a complete brick wall . Some of the B houses had a brick wall just beyond the fireplace . MRS . DAVIDSON : There are hardwood floors in all the cemestos , I believe . Our house has maple flooring , and a lot of them had oak . Wood was hard to come by in the wartime . We love the color - the reddish color of the maple . MRS . DAVIDSON : Adele is our second daughter , and she was two years younger . Our son is Bill Davidson or William . He was born in November of 1954 . He 's just now turning 58 . MRS . DAVIDSON : All three of our children went to Cedar Hill . They had split grades there , so I think the classes were one half size . They would take the kids a half from one grade , and half from the next grade , and that worked out just fine . MRS . DAVIDSON : Cedar Hill was wonderful . It was very special . Mr . Dodd was the principal , and he saw to it - he had the best teachers or at least as good as any . Actually in those days all the teachers and Oak Ridge were special because many of them had been recruited from Columbia Teachers College , along with the superintendent . Others were specially recruited for the job . They were a group a part , I think , from a lot of teachers . MRS . DAVIDSON : The girls both went to Jefferson when it was on the hill at Jackson Square , and Bill was in the first year at the new Jefferson that was over on Fairbanks Road . His was the first class there . They all went through Oak Ridge High . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you recall some of the classes your daughters took while they were in junior high ? Was there Home Ec . or things related to girls ? MRS . DAVIDSON : No , they were on the college prep track . They took eighth grade algebra and that kind of thing . Of course English and math and social studies and science - our older girl I think took biology ; and I 'm not sure if Adele had a more general science course . It just depended on the teacher that they had . They had an excellent education , and the girls were both Merit semifinalists . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course . I was in the PTA . I 'm not sure if I was ever a room mother , but I of course helped with parties and things . MRS . DAVIDSON : The teachers recruited them from each class to help with parties mostly . They helped with any activities that they didn 't really have time to do . MRS . DAVIDSON : Parent - Teacher Association , a time honored group . It got extra things for the school . I got involved with raincoats for the school patrol . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess maybe I was a treasurer of the Cedar Hill PTA , and this goal was to get those yellow slicker raincoat so kids could be visible to the drivers . I found out how much the things cost , and then I estimated postage . At the PTA meeting , Alvin Weinberg was president . He had a son or two in school at the time . He took me to task for estimating the postage , so I had to ask for just the money for the coats themselves since I didn 't really know what the postage is going to be . I thought that was interesting that he wanted to keep it to the exact penny . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think they just wore what the other kids wore . One day we had a deep snow and Bill was in kindergarten , and the snow was up over their boots . I think he had some corduroys . The teacher was making the kids take their pants off and dry them on the radiator , and he wouldn 't do it . I had to go up to the school and take him some fresh pants , some dry clothes . He was very young - just four when he started . MR . HUNNICUTT : Let 's go back a few years . Do you remember 1945 when they dropped the bomb on Japan ? You remember where you were ? And what was your reaction ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I do remember that very clearly because it was the summer after my junior year in college , and I was a camp counselor up in Door County , Wisconsin . There was no electricity at the camp , so we counselors - after we got the kids to bed , went to the state park nearby . This was at Fish Creek , Wisconsin . We would listen to people 's car radios . We knew for about a week that something was happening , but we didn 't know just what . It was very deeply moving when the bomb was dropped , and we thought it would bring an end to the war . Of course , I had friends and a brother on Guam and a cousin was in Europe and others . So that was very deeply moving . I had a book of poetry - my favorite poems at the camp with me . One of my 12 - year - olds picked out a poem - " Once to every man and nation comes a moment to decide " - she read that , and I thought that was very astute of her , a youngster to be able to do that . MRS . DAVIDSON : My husband thought they should have dropped a sample first , but I didn 't feel that way since the first bomb didn 't phase the Japanese . I didn 't think the test one would have either . I was just so glad that the war was over . People could settle down and get into real life again . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think I was in transition from the dormitory to the house , and my husband 's brothers came up from Georgia to witness the opening . So we drove in their car around , and we watched the parade from , I believe , down on the eastern end of the Turnpike down near the warehouses to get out of the traffic . We never could figure out why they invited Marie " The Body " McDonald and [ inaudible ] to ride in the open car for the parade . We couldn 't figure out what they had to do with it , but we did see the burning of the magnesium ribbon . That was exciting . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was only toward town from Elza Gate . I know the central part of town , the Jackson Square area , was very crowded . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think they name the streets for famous cities in the country , and of course the alphabetical designations were very helpful . But Jackson Square , I assume , was named for New Orleans . That 's all I know about it . MRS . DAVIDSON : Sometimes you would pick up the telephone , and the other party was talking . I believe they had different rings . I think maybe the other party had one ring , and we had two . There were four - party lines , but if we were on a four - party line , only the other one was active . I think maybe we were . The other two lines were not being used . MR . HUNNICUTT : When you are raising your family , did you hang your clothes outside on the clothesline ? Did you have a dryer ? What did you use ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I hung them outside on the clothesline . As I said , when we moved here , Anne was a year old . Not much more than three years after that , we had three babies . I was able to talk my husband into getting a dryer that time . Before that , he had built a pulley out of my kitchen window . There was a drop off in the back , and he was able to string it to a tree in the woods . I was able to reel those cloth diapers and reel them in and out . The only problem was that the birds like the trees , too . Sometimes I had to do some re - washing . MR . HUNNICUTT : So in those days you use cloth diapers ? Today we use disposable diapers . How do you think you would 've done if you had disposable diapers ? MRS . DAVIDSON : At one point , when our children were out playing Kick the Can , there were over 40 children on the lane . There were about 20 or 21 houses . There were almost as many dogs . It was just a glorious place for them to grow up . They seem to get along remarkably well most of the time , especially in the early days . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes . We went down there on the opening , and got the radioactive dimes on that occasion . The museum at that time was down at Jefferson Circle . I don 't think any of us ever had our hair stand out on the Van De Graff generator or whatever it was , but we took the children . We went out ourselves . Of course my husband was interested in that kind of thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : Sometimes they walked to Jefferson , but by that time they were carrying pretty heavy books . One of the neighbors on Outer Drive wanted to have a carpool , so we joined that . MRS . DAVIDSON : When Anne was in the fifth grade , they had to write what they did on Friday nights . The teacher would call me and say , " Is it true that you gave your children ice water and watched TV on Friday nights ? " That was how generous we were with them . We didn 't get a TV until they were probably five or six years old . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course it was black and white . The reason we got it - I guess finally it was that the children were always going to the neighbors ' house to watch TV . We decided that we should get our own . They watched things like " Pinky Lee " and I 've forgotten what else . MRS . DAVIDSON : I remember that fondly because my first real date with my husband was going to dinner there with him . He invited me to go to a concert in Knoxville , and his excuse was that we should get to know each other better before he took me to the city with him . That was one thing . I remember there were parties there , and our company had a party at the Oak Terrace Ballroom . One of the NEPA fellows wore a Tarzan costume , which was mostly nothing . It turned out that he lived in the neighborhood . MRS . DAVIDSON : That was just below the dormitory where I lived in Columbia Hall . Jack went there looking for me , he thought I would eat breakfast there and then he could have breakfast with me ; but I ate in the dormitory . He didn 't find me there . When we came back from our bicycle ride to Concord Park , I remember we stopped by there , and he drank two or three Mountain Dew drinks . That surprised me , but we had worked off a lot of sweat . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , we took our children out there and saw " Lawrence of Arabia " and " The 10 Commandment " and those things . It was quite nice . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was about where Kroger 's - where that is now , on the southeast part of Illinois Avenue . It was a nice thing . That was a special treat for the children to go out there . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't think so . I think they were mostly in the car . They had a drawing one time , Jack won something . It was actually nothing , but he did win . MRS . DAVIDSON : I sure did . My three children were born there . It was a green structure , like so many of the buildings in Oak Ridge . I guess the present building is built on that place . It was okay . I didn 't have any problems with it , except after my second child . I had a staph infection from the hospital . Even an Army wife with a private room got an infection there . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , I think they also had been recruited ; and a lot of them were from Tulane University . The time I was sick with my infection , they were having a reunion at Tulane , and my doctor and another one were gone for the reunion . I didn 't like the one who took care of me . He didn 't do a good job . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was okay . I don 't remember having any problems with it . We knew Dr . Rogers from our church , and we went to him . He was called away to the service , I believe . Maybe it was the Korean War , but then he came back . MRS . DAVIDSON : We met at Pine Valley School . The choir sat on the bleachers , and the minister sat under the halo of the basketball net . My husband was a Methodist , and he went to the First Methodist Church . They had a big youth group there . When we were first married , we tried to take them both in . We went to Sunday school one place , and church another until we finally settled on the Presbyterian . It was smaller , and we knew more people . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course the people . I love my trees and my house . I love all the activities . Both my husband and I have always loved music and enjoy the concerts a lot . The symphony concerts with Waldo Cohn conducting were held at Jefferson Junior High on the Kentucky Avenue hill . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you think back about all the people that you knew in the early days ? Do you think it was unusual for everybody to get along - the many people that were here ? MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , I guess so . I didn 't think about it because we just did . It was just fun . Everybody was away from home , and we had to be family for each other . That was particularly true in this close neighborhood . MRS . DAVIDSON : I 'm pleased for the most part . I think we 've made good progress . We 've kept up with the outside world . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think we came through at the very best of times . It was not the pressure of war , but we were growing community . I think things were happening at the Lab . Both of my husband and I loved the Lab because there were so many good things going on out there . It gives us hope for the future . [ Editor 's Note : This transcript has been edited at Mrs . Davidson 's request . The corresponding audio and video components have remained unchanged . ] Click tabs to swap between content that is broken into logical sections . MR . HUNNICUTT : This interview is for the Center of Oak Ridge Oral History . The date is November 8 , 2012 . I am Don Hunnicutt in the home of Mrs . Mary Ann Davidson , 117 Orange Lane , Oak Ridge , Tennessee , to take her oral history about living in Oak Ridge , Tennessee . Please state your full name and your place of birth and your date of birth . MRS . DAVIDSON : My name is Mary Ann Davidson . My date of birth is January 12 , 1925 . I was born in Louisville , Kentucky . I lived there all my early life until I graduated from college . MRS . DAVIDSON : My father was William H . Courtenay . He was born in 1890 , on March 3 . He was in World War I and lived his entire life in Louisville and Shelbyville , Kentucky . He worked for the Mengel Company . They imported mahogany and hardwood from Africa and Central America . He delivered those to customers . He didn 't consider himself a salesman , but he sold them to the furniture factory - furniture makers around Kentucky , mostly Indiana and Cincinnati and some in Tennessee . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , he did not . The Louisville Male High School was considered a fine school at that time . They said that graduates could enter Harvard in their second year . The principal had written textbooks that were apparently used all over . But my father was interested in raising ponies . His father had a farm in Shelbyville , Kentucky . If you 'd didn 't make the grade , you are special . And Dr . Ruben Post - Halleck , the famous principal of the school , told him if he took an exam in math , he could be entered back in . He did that , and he aced the test . He was back in . Then he was a special in English , so they told him if he memorized the " Lady of the Lake " and said that he could get back in school . So he did that . I think he never did finish . He was a twin , and his twin was more of an engineering type and went to manual training high school . MR . HUNNICUTT : What about your mother 's school history ? MRS . DAVIDSON : She grew up in several small towns in western Kentucky . Her father worked for the L & N Railroad . She had her high school in Hopkinsville , Kentucky . She had to stay home - or she went to junior college nearby . She had a scholarship to Randolph Macon Women 's College , but she couldn 't take it because her mother was ill and died at age 50 . It was about the year I was born , I think . MRS . DAVIDSON : His name was William Howard Courtenay III . My father was named for his uncle , who was also William Howard . My older brother works for Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green in the physics department . He made instruments . My younger brother was a pediatrician in Louisville , and he is still living on a farm in Shelbyville . He 's interested in Kentucky antiques . MR . HUNNICUTT : Yes . MRS . DAVIDSON : I went to an unusual kindergarten and first grade . I was at what they called the Enterprise Branch of I . N . Bloom School . It was only kindergarten and first grade . It was in the older building , where we had a Pot Belly Stove . I think we had a maid to help us take our leggings off in the cold weather - galoshes . It was really a wonderful school . It was almost like a private one . It was public . We did things like making butter and we had an orchestra . I played the triangle . I had started a little bit earlier when my younger brother was born . Louisville had half semester , half - year grades . I would 've been a half year , but I skipped the last half of kindergarten . I went to the school board and took a test and went on , so they put me in the regular school year . I went through the big school the I . N . Bloom School and Highland Junior High School in Louisville . Then I went to Atherton High School for Girls . The Louisville public schools were segregated - boys and girls . There were about 900 girls at Atherton . My graduating class was about 200 , and I was the valedictorian . MRS . DAVIDSON : They are pants to keep your legs warm . They zipped up from the inside of the ankle bone up to about knee - high , I guess it was . They were a royal pain to take on and off , so the teacher had to have help to do that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was just ordinary . I 'm sure the girls wore dresses , and the little boys wore suits - not suits , but pants and shirts . MRS . DAVIDSON : I came to Oak Ridge after I graduated from college . I had two years of getting a master 's at Emory while I worked at my alma mater , Agnes Scott College in Decatur , Georgia . I was the chemistry lab instructor . So after those two years were up , I was interested in working in chemistry or biochemistry . My master 's was in biochemistry . In Louisville , there was nothing in that field , except liquor and paint - neither of which I was interested in . In Atlanta , I would like to stay in Atlanta , I heard that Oak Ridge was an interesting new place , and a lot was going on here . One of my dear college friends had recently married a physicist from the University of Kentucky , so I visited them here . I guess that must have been 1947 . Her husband was working at NEPA . He said they were looking for people with a chemistry degree . I applied , and I was accepted . I didn 't know that until I had completed the clearance , so I took the opportunity to go to Europe at an American youth hostel bicycle tour of Western Europe in the summer of 1948 . When I got home , I found that I had indeed gotten the job at Oak Ridge . So I came down here . MRS . DAVIDSON : I was wondering that . I think I came by train . When I interviewed earlier in the spring , my interview was at the Andrew Johnson Hotel . It was one of the private rooms . I had never seen the company here . I think I must have been met by a car and driver and brought to Oak Ridge . MRS . DAVIDSON : I came in through the Vermont Gateway , which is where the gas station is now on the corner of what I call Vermont . They call it North Rutgers now . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , I think it must 've been after that . That would 've been at Christmas time . When I applied , I imagine it was early spring . MRS . DAVIDSON : We called the company NEPA , for Nuclear Energy for the Propulsion of Aircraft . It was managed by the Fairchild Corporation the way Union Carbide or one of the other contractors managed the lab . I did not know until the first day I went to work just what the company was doing . They handed me a volume of information that said , " We are looking for - we are trying to make an airplane powered by nuclear energy that could fly to Russia and back without refueling . " That was a great shock to me . MRS . DAVIDSON : I lived in Columbia Hall Dormitory . I was very surprised to find that the rent was $ 15 a month until I realized it was one very small room . That was my living quarters . I took the opportunity to stay out of it as much as possible . I did that by babysitting in some of the B and D houses in the evening . Grandmothers were not here since it was a closed community . Babysitters were in short supply , and even though I didn 't need the money , it was good to get out of the dormitory . MRS . DAVIDSON : The dormitory was like Cheyenne Hall . It was the same type of building . It had wooden stairways from the second - floor hall down on each end . I lived on the second floor . Our dormitory was mostly nurses , since it was up on the hill next to the hospital - I think where the west parking lot is now . There was a kitchen on each end where we could have our own breakfast . Of course we were at the plant at lunchtime , and then we usually went out to supper . I opened the refrigerator door one morning and somebody 's milk came spilling out down my front . Everybody just stuffed things into the refrigerator . MRS . DAVIDSON : I had a single room with a twin bed and enough room to walk to the window by the bed . There was a little table that served as a desk with a chair . There was a much coveted dormitory dresser - a tall one with a number of drawers . They were very popular . MRS . DAVIDSON : They had a wonderful bus service here . Travel wasn 't really a problem . We walked , of course , from the dormitory to Jackson Square and ate supper usually at the Mayflower , which is where I first saw my husband - to - be . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was on the corner of Tennessee , right across from the Soup Kitchen and the Texaco gas station there on the northeast corner . It was a very popular place . In fact , there were several places you could eat . It was the Central Cafeteria , and the T & C Cafeteria in Jackson Square , which is about where the Epicurean is now toward the garden . MRS . DAVIDSON : It must 've been the A & P on Jackson Square . Jackson Square was really the center of activity as far as I was concerned at that time . I still love it . I hope it keeps going . MRS . DAVIDSON : The department stores - the big department store was Taylor 's at the time . They had a wonderful book department headed by Mrs . Keyes , whose daughter I knew at work . They had really fine art books and other books that they would have a great sale on once or twice a year . We were very happy with that . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was in the middle of the block between where Big Ed 's is in the corner . I guess it 's mostly used by the engineering company now . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , not frequently , but I went and saw - there was a theater down at Big Ed 's in Jackson Square and where the Playhouse is now . That was the main one . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , the jewelry store was on the corner that was Henebree 's , I think . No , that was Heneger 's . MR . HUNNICUTT : Henebree ? MRS . DAVIDSON : Henebree . McCrory 's 5 & 10 was there . There was a drugstore - a Service Drugstore . I guess that was where Big Ed 's is now , on the very corner . There was Jackson Square Pharmacy , and on the other side the Hamilton Bank was there next to the movie theater . And Samuel 's Men 's Store was a very nice store . The Jackson Square Pharmacy was there , but in between , which the Pharmacy later took over was a Kay 's Ice Cream Store . We used to go there and - my husband and I would when we were dating . I liked to get coffee with ice cream in it , so we went there . MR . HUNNICUTT : I believe that was Taff Moody Ice Cream - they served Kay 's Ice Cream . MRS . DAVIDSON : Was it ? I didn 't remember that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I can 't say that I do . It was just a given , I suppose . It didn 't make a big dent in my memory . After six months of the dormitory , I moved to a D house on Norman Lane . That was another era . MR . HUNNICUTT : What is a D house ? MRS . DAVIDSON : A D house was a large three bedroom house . They were very much desired . They were really nice houses - still a lot of them are . The house was - there were five other girls who lived there - two of whom had been college friends . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , it would 've been upstairs . It was the second one to the end . A radiation technologist lived on the corner , and I lived there with school teachers and nurses who made up most of the dorm . MR . HUNNICUTT : Let 's talk a little bit about the dorm again . If I had a message for you or someone left a message for you , how did you retrieve your messages ? Was there a desk when you went in ? MRS . DAVIDSON : There was a desk downstairs . I remember the Valentine 's Day - I guess it must 've been 1949 . The message was that I had some flowers , some red roses . I had just met my husband - to - be at that time . I got all excited , and when I got to the desk , it was from somebody else . I enjoyed the red roses , but not as much as I might have . The thing was that there were ladies - a lot of the women who lived in the dorm worked on the night shift . They would sit around a large kind of living room , I guess they called it . They were all staring when I got flowers . I had to walk around , and it was embarrassing . MRS . DAVIDSON : I was there in the winter of 1948 . I 'm very cold natured , but I don 't remember being cold . We had those heavy navy blanket - navy blue blankets . This brings up a story if I jump to it later on . We were moved from the D house after another six months into the brand - new Garden Apartments on Villanova Road . They needed our D house for families . The people who moved in were the Andersons of the Anderson Hilltop Grocery . Of course , the furniture all belonged to the government there . So the Garden Apartments were not furnished , so we had dwindled down from 6 to 4 people who needed furniture . I took a day off and went to an auction the government set up down at the warehouses . I got seven beds and three or four dressers - much more than I could have used . But the beds were in great demand at work because all the young men who worked there were having children and needed beds . So we took the four . Also I got two sofas , and we could use but one ; so I sold one . They were really shabby awful sofas . Since it was all going to surplus anyway , we switched and took the nice sofa from the D house and left them the bad one . It was all taken away anyhow , so I didn 't feel too bad about that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't really remember about the telephone . We didn 't use the telephone much . We never used it for long - distance except for emergencies and calls home . I don 't remember that as being a problem particularly . MRS . DAVIDSON : I suppose I went on the bus . I did not have a car . One of the housemates from Norman Lane had gotten the car , but she would 've been at work at K - 25 . I don 't know . I may have gotten a ride . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess I paid somebody to deliver it . I don 't know . Maybe some of the fellows at work picked up their beds that they wanted . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was one of those warehouses down at the [ Oak Ridge ] Turnpike on Warehouse Road . I don 't know exactly where it was . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess it was on the bulletin boards at work , or there was a newspaper at the Lab . I guess I heard about it that way . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think probably so - in the newsletters they came around , also at the recreation building - the rec hall - at Jackson Square that was the library upstairs and the rec hall downstairs . Word - of - mouth - I don 't remember . We had a need and found the answer to it . MRS . DAVIDSON : I had to punch a clock at eight in the morning when I first started . I guess we got out at 4 : 30 or 5 o ' clock . We had bus service that went from the bus terminal - the Central one - that 's now by Bus Terminal Road . Later on after we were married , we lived on Waddell Circle and went from there to the Jefferson bus terminal . I went - I rode on the K - 25 bus , and they went out past K - 25 to the road that the powerhouse was on and NEPA was beyond that out by the river . MRS . DAVIDSON : There was some kind of management services office . I 'm not sure what it was called - the Roane Anderson Corporation at that time , I guess . I think that 's where I rented the dormitory room . I probably got bus tokens - I guess I got the tokens of the bus terminal . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think I had a checking account probably at Hamilton Bank in Jackson Square . I don 't recall otherwise . I know I did later . One thing I wanted to say about the buses - if you wanted to go to Clinton to do any shopping , more than what you could have in Oak Ridge or to meet somebody or something , there was a bus that ran frequently back and forth between the bus terminal and Clinton . There was a young man on the bus who had a sing - songy sales pitch for " peanuts , popcorn , Cracker Jacks , candy , and chewing gum . " He wouldn 't drive , but he would sell his wares all the way to Clinton and back . I always wondered who that was because he obviously had some talent . MRS . DAVIDSON : I 'm sure I did . I don 't know what became of it . I guess I had to turn it back in . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think somebody just got - one of the guards got on the bus and checked everybody 's badges . It was not a big thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : Probably . I don 't remember . What I do remember about that was my mother was coming down one time for my birthday - it must 've been in January 1949 . She rode the train . I told her that I would get a ride to meet her . Of course , the train didn 't stop at Oak Ridge . It went on to Knoxville , so I bummed a ride with one of the men in our group . He was actually the technical assistant to the director . His car was a broken down old thing with no floorboards in the back seat , which was pretty bad when my mother saw it . But she didn 't see it because when we got to Knoxville , she was not there . When we were coming back from the gateway entrance , she was not there . There was a message that she was waiting for us at the Elza Gate Station . She had told the conductor she had to get off at Oak Ridge . That 's where she was going , and I was going to meet her . So she slid down the Elza bank over there . She had my birthday cake - a large chocolate cake . She slid downhill with that , and somehow they stopped her at the guard gate at Elza . She waited there for us . MRS . DAVIDSON : Just for her - let her off like a milk train . They ordinarily didn 't stop there , but she wouldn 't have it otherwise . MRS . DAVIDSON : I used the library and rec hall . On Sunday afternoons , they played music ; and you could sit and write letters home , which is what I think I did a good bit . Later on in the better weather , there were tennis courts and a swimming pool . I don 't remember going to movies much . We went to church groups . There were so many young people ; it was just like a party all the time . Nothing in particular stands out . It was just fun . MRS . DAVIDSON : In the company I was , that was not true . There were a lot of women of course - of course , the dormitory was full of school teachers and nurses . But NEPA was mostly men . There were two parts to the Fairchild - the science and engineering part , which was bigger . I happen to be in the research part . My boss was a chemist - Vince Calkins . It was my job to - this was a real shocker to me - to find a chemical that would protect the human body against radiation for the reactor that was supposed to be in the airplane to Russia . I had no background for that kind of thing . I was just fresh out of college really . I realized I was out of my depth , but they decided - he was a pharmacist , I believe , and he wanted to do experiments with rats . They brought in the rat colony . By that time we had a couple of assistants , and I was supposed to be the group leader . One of the men , Ray Waldrop - you may have talked to him . I asked him if he minded working for a woman because he was really more experienced than I , although I had the degree . It was fine with him . There was also another worker , Saul Segal , who was quite a character in his own right . I took the rats in the cages over to the reactor , the " Old Lady " at X - 10 , and put them through what they called " rabbits " and radiated them for certain amount of time . We couldn 't kill the darn things . Then we used the older ones that had already been radiated , they were just tough as anything . I think the experiment was really a failure , although they may have found that to be the case in some later work with older people - that the cells are not dividing as fast and they 're not as subject to radiation . But we didn 't get into that . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was actually not K - 25 . It was beyond there . As I said , the bus took us - the bus dumped people off at K - 25 , and they went on west to just before you get to the Gallaher Bridge . You turn right there and go right past the power station there . It was used for a long time - the power house , and then NEPA was beyond that . The native rats came in - was it domestic experimental rats ? That was not good . I had a janitor who helped me , even though he could 've lost his job for doing it . He helped me clean cages . I always appreciated that . MRS . DAVIDSON : When they got rid of the rats , which was a blessing , my group leader then became Bill Browning , who was a fine scientist . He worked on the Van de Graaff generator . We had an interesting argument . Saul Segal thought he should be the one to do it since he was a man and I was a woman who would be leaving soon ; and it turned out that he left for California before I had left to have my baby . His argument didn 't hold with me anyway , but we argued about that some . We did run the Van de Graaff , and we also did some experiments on metallic sodium . It was nasty stuff to work with . It caught on fire if it was exposed to air . You had to work with that under oil in the glove box . I think that work all had to be repeated after NEPA left for Cincinnati with G . E . . When they moved part of NEPA to X - 10 , they called it the ANP , or something about aircraft and nuclear power . I was not connected with that because my first baby was born in August 1951 . I left in July . MRS . DAVIDSON : I heard somebody say that they had to repeat it all . My boss , the Division Director of Chemistry was interested in vitamin E , and thought it had a lot of protective influence . We worked with that . That was some of the work I did in chemistry - the lab part of it in the early days . It was not good work , I think . I 'm not blaming myself , but some of the other men who were doing chemical work - I think altogether we didn 't come up with anything . MRS . DAVIDSON : It may have been ahead of it 's time for nuclear submarines . I don 't know whether the engineering people thought that or not . In our group which was the chemistry and the physics , my friend who got me the job was Jim Trice . A fellow named Art Miller and somebody named Coneybearwere in the Physics Division . And then there were some others - Fred Maienschein . I did some work for him one time . It was work on beryllium for one thing . I didn 't work with any of the active beryllium . I didn 't do any lab work then , but I did some journal research . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't think they were that far along . I 'm not sure what happened to that part of it . As I said , in July of 1951 they moved to Cincinnati , Evensville , above Cincinnati . I don 't know how many people actually went up there . Most of my friends moved elsewhere . MR . HUNNICUTT : You mentioned the location of the operation was past the steam plant that was on the Clinch River . Was that the same location where the S - 50 project was located ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I think that was the name of our plot of land . I think those - I never was quite sure how they got the designations , but that was the Fairchild domain , I think . MRS . DAVIDSON : Really , it was just when our eyes met . It was very romantic . He followed our group home to the Columbia Hall to see where I lived . But at the time I thought he was too young , and I didn 't think he was following me . I was with a group of other girls . Later on , one of the women in the dormitory , who was a gym teacher in the Oak Ridge schools , told me I really ought to meet Jack Davidson that he loved to ride bicycles ; I was just back from my bicycle trip in Europe . I didn 't know who he was , and then I went to a church group meeting at my Presbyterian Church for young people one Sunday evening . A friend of mine had brought Jack Davidson , and he was the one whose eyes I had met and he had met mine . Sure enough , he loved to ride bicycles . That was the start of a good thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : We did a little bit . On our dates , that 's really what we did mostly at first . We rode out to West Outer Drive and had those wonderful big hills , not too much traffic at that time . We went out to the water tower at the top of Louisiana and had a picnic , and then rode back . When we got really good , we rode our bicycles over to Concord Park one day . I had gotten some chicken breasts at the grocery . I guess it was the A & P at Jackson Square . I was going to fry them for a picnic to take along over to Concord Park . When I went to the refrigerator to get them , they had turned into wings . Somebody had eaten my chicken breast . Jack was a good sport about that . He didn 't care . We had a nice ride . It was before they had improved Lovell Road . It was a pretty rough ride over there , but we were able to enjoy it . MRS . DAVIDSON : He had his bicycle . It was probably a Grey Stone . For me , he rented a bicycle from his work friend . I had forgotten what his name was . We went over to one of the D Streets , I think , and rode them . I didn 't have my English 3 - speed here . I guess I brought it later , but at that time I didn 't have it . MRS . DAVIDSON : That was a problem . I complained to my friend Jim Trice 's wife , Dot , who happened to live around the corner on Outer Drive at that time . She said the boardwalk was used a lot for dating , and of course the theaters . I guess we were outdoors people . I don 't know . MRS . DAVIDSON : He was a graduate of Georgia Tech . At the time he graduated , he was very young . He came up to see about a job , and he was drafted . No , he was in danger of being drafted right away , but they didn 't hire him . He did go to work for NASA , which was at that time NACA , in Virginia ; and worked over there a short time before he was taken into the Army . He had gone through Georgia Tech on a " War Manpower " loan . He was sent to some place to be an MP , I think . He wrote a night letter , which is a 50 - word telegram that was cheaper at night . He wrote a night letter to Stimson , the Secretary of War , telling them they had paid for his college education ; and here he was sitting in a camp doing nothing down in Alabama . He was transferred to the SED , he would never say that was the reason he was transferred . It may or may not have been . He arrived with the SED - he arrived in Oak Ridge the day Roosevelt died , which was in April 1945 , he was here with his group for maybe six weeks before they went out to Los Alamos . So he spent the rest of the war out there . Then he used his G . I . Bill - he stayed on at Los Alamos . They told them they would let him out of the Army if he would agree to stay on as a civilian . So he took that . Then when he did leave , he went to Annapolis and took a liberal arts course because he felt that he had missed out on it at Georgia Tech . He had a year at St . John 's College of Annapolis ; and then all along I guess he thought he would like to come back here . He came back - he arrived on Armistice Day , now Veterans Day , of 1948 . I was here a couple of months before he came , but we met shortly after Christmas in 1949 . MRS . DAVIDSON : Too long . We were married in May 1950 . He wanted to pay off his loan before we could get married , so I helped him along with that . I fed him some . He was very welcome at the D House of girls . I was going to tell you that during the war , there were nine girls in the house , and they slept on shifts on the bunk beds . There were only six of us when I was there . There were a couple of the boyfriends around , and one of them cut the grass . I think Jack did the - empty the clinkers from the furnace , the coal furnace . They made themselves useful . They got their dinner . MR . HUNNICUTT : Tell me about the coal furnace briefly . MRS . DAVIDSON : Most of the houses were a very good design really , and a whole lot better built than we gave them credit for . But each one that I knew of had a corner set off or closed off as a coal storage place that could be filled through a window from the outside , and then you could use the - there was an opening on the inside that you could use to put coal into the furnace . That was awful of course , but that 's what all the houses were doing in that time , too . We had a yard full of clinkers over there . MRS . DAVIDSON : We were taken care of by a Big Brother - the government . They brought the coal around , and you didn 't do a thing . That was part of the rent . When we got our house here on Orange Lane , that 's another story . Are you ready for that yet ? MRS . DAVIDSON : We went back to my home in Louisville , Kentucky , to be married . We had planned to fly to Nashville , but it turned out the Delta Queen was coming through Louisville the next morning . My mother had told us we could not get married the week before because it was too busy with Derby Day . So we delayed until May 13 . Then we spent the night in Louisville at the Brown Hotel , where she pulled some strings to get us a room because it was still very full of visitors from the Derby . We got on the Delta Queen , and our friends were all on the dock to see us off . They had us almost convinced that we were on Daylight Saving Time , and the Delta Queen was not , and we had missed it . But we rode down just as far as Paducah . We were anxious to start in life you know . We lived on Wadell Circle in a K apartment . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you recall the number ? MRS . DAVIDSON : It was a two - story thing . I guess it was a two - bedroom up above , and we had K - 1 . It was sort of underground at the front and open at the back . We had a nice back porch . There was a closet under the stairway and a very small kitchen . It had a table that folded down . It was not as compact as a flattop , but the furnishings that they had did double duty . You could fold it up and have more room . MRS . DAVIDSON : The K apartment was heated with the coal furnace , but there was a janitor who came around and took care of it for us . We were taken care of by Roane Anderson . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you remember what the rent was ? MRS . DAVIDSON : We lived in the K from May 1950 , until we got this house in July 1952 . It was said - the word around town was that you couldn 't get a two - bedroom house unless you had three children , all of different sex . We had been on the list for this house ever since we knew our daughter was coming along . That was a long time to wait . We had been offered two houses - Florida Avenue , where the parking was across the street and the backyard just dropped off . We thought that was totally unsuitable for a new child . We turned both of those down . If we had turned this one down , we would 've gone to the bottom of the long list . But we loved this place of the trees and the dead end lane neighborhood . So we sat outside in front all weekend because we were not top on the list . The reason the other people didn 't take it was that the previous owner , Jim Cox and Charlotte , had put in an oil furnace ; and nobody wanted to pay $ 200 for the oil furnace . Since I had been working , we had saved my salary from work , and we had $ 200 to pay . Also , they didn 't want to be in the high rent district . This house rented for something like $ 45 instead of $ 43 in the lower rent districts . MRS . DAVIDSON : The Oak Ridge cemesto houses that were built - I think this house was built in the fall of 1944 or 1943 . Maybe it was ' 43 . The B house has two bedrooms and of course a bath and a kitchen with a dinette into a long narrow living room . It was about 24 feet by 40 something feet . It was small and convenient . It didn 't have much storage space , but it 's been a wonderful house for us because of the trees . We are on a greenbelt , and I enjoy that very much . It 's a nice private neighborhood just above Jackson Square . MRS . DAVIDSON : Our cemesto has a fireplace , and it had a complete brick wall . Some of the B houses had a brick wall just beyond the fireplace . MRS . DAVIDSON : There are hardwood floors in all the cemestos , I believe . Our house has maple flooring , and a lot of them had oak . Wood was hard to come by in the wartime . We love the color - the reddish color of the maple . MRS . DAVIDSON : Adele is our second daughter , and she was two years younger . Our son is Bill Davidson or William . He was born in November of 1954 . He 's just now turning 58 . MR . HUNNICUTT : So your first daughter went to Cedar Hill ? MRS . DAVIDSON : All three of our children went to Cedar Hill . They had split grades there , so I think the classes were one half size . They would take the kids a half from one grade , and half from the next grade , and that worked out just fine . MRS . DAVIDSON : Cedar Hill was wonderful . It was very special . Mr . Dodd was the principal , and he saw to it - he had the best teachers or at least as good as any . Actually in those days all the teachers and Oak Ridge were special because many of them had been recruited from Columbia Teachers College , along with the superintendent . Others were specially recruited for the job . They were a group a part , I think , from a lot of teachers . MRS . DAVIDSON : The girls both went to Jefferson when it was on the hill at Jackson Square , and Bill was in the first year at the new Jefferson that was over on Fairbanks Road . His was the first class there . They all went through Oak Ridge High . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you recall some of the classes your daughters took while they were in junior high ? Was there Home Ec . or things related to girls ? MRS . DAVIDSON : No , they were on the college prep track . They took eighth grade algebra and that kind of thing . Of course English and math and social studies and science - our older girl I think took biology ; and I 'm not sure if Adele had a more general science course . It just depended on the teacher that they had . They had an excellent education , and the girls were both Merit semifinalists . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course . I was in the PTA . I 'm not sure if I was ever a room mother , but I of course helped with parties and things . MRS . DAVIDSON : The teachers recruited them from each class to help with parties mostly . They helped with any activities that they didn 't really have time to do . MRS . DAVIDSON : Parent - Teacher Association , a time honored group . It got extra things for the school . I got involved with raincoats for the school patrol . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess maybe I was a treasurer of the Cedar Hill PTA , and this goal was to get those yellow slicker raincoat so kids could be visible to the drivers . I found out how much the things cost , and then I estimated postage . At the PTA meeting , Alvin Weinberg was president . He had a son or two in school at the time . He took me to task for estimating the postage , so I had to ask for just the money for the coats themselves since I didn 't really know what the postage is going to be . I thought that was interesting that he wanted to keep it to the exact penny . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think they just wore what the other kids wore . One day we had a deep snow and Bill was in kindergarten , and the snow was up over their boots . I think he had some corduroys . The teacher was making the kids take their pants off and dry them on the radiator , and he wouldn 't do it . I had to go up to the school and take him some fresh pants , some dry clothes . He was very young - just four when he started . MR . HUNNICUTT : Let 's go back a few years . Do you remember 1945 when they dropped the bomb on Japan ? You remember where you were ? And what was your reaction ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I do remember that very clearly because it was the summer after my junior year in college , and I was a camp counselor up in Door County , Wisconsin . There was no electricity at the camp , so we counselors - after we got the kids to bed , went to the state park nearby . This was at Fish Creek , Wisconsin . We would listen to people 's car radios . We knew for about a week that something was happening , but we didn 't know just what . It was very deeply moving when the bomb was dropped , and we thought it would bring an end to the war . Of course , I had friends and a brother on Guam and a cousin was in Europe and others . So that was very deeply moving . I had a book of poetry - my favorite poems at the camp with me . One of my 12 - year - olds picked out a poem - " Once to every man and nation comes a moment to decide " - she read that , and I thought that was very astute of her , a youngster to be able to do that . MRS . DAVIDSON : My husband thought they should have dropped a sample first , but I didn 't feel that way since the first bomb didn 't phase the Japanese . I didn 't think the test one would have either . I was just so glad that the war was over . People could settle down and get into real life again . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think I was in transition from the dormitory to the house , and my husband 's brothers came up from Georgia to witness the opening . So we drove in their car around , and we watched the parade from , I believe , down on the eastern end of the Turnpike down near the warehouses to get out of the traffic . We never could figure out why they invited Marie " The Body " McDonald and [ inaudible ] to ride in the open car for the parade . We couldn 't figure out what they had to do with it , but we did see the burning of the magnesium ribbon . That was exciting . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was only toward town from Elza Gate . I know the central part of town , the Jackson Square area , was very crowded . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think they name the streets for famous cities in the country , and of course the alphabetical designations were very helpful . But Jackson Square , I assume , was named for New Orleans . That 's all I know about it . MRS . DAVIDSON : Sometimes you would pick up the telephone , and the other party was talking . I believe they had different rings . I think maybe the other party had one ring , and we had two . There were four - party lines , but if we were on a four - party line , only the other one was active . I think maybe we were . The other two lines were not being used . MR . HUNNICUTT : When you are raising your family , did you hang your clothes outside on the clothesline ? Did you have a dryer ? What did you use ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I hung them outside on the clothesline . As I said , when we moved here , Anne was a year old . Not much more than three years after that , we had three babies . I was able to talk my husband into getting a dryer that time . Before that , he had built a pulley out of my kitchen window . There was a drop off in the back , and he was able to string it to a tree in the woods . I was able to reel those cloth diapers and reel them in and out . The only problem was that the birds like the trees , too . Sometimes I had to do some re - washing . MR . HUNNICUTT : So in those days you use cloth diapers ? Today we use disposable diapers . How do you think you would 've done if you had disposable diapers ? MRS . DAVIDSON : At one point , when our children were out playing Kick the Can , there were over 40 children on the lane . There were about 20 or 21 houses . There were almost as many dogs . It was just a glorious place for them to grow up . They seem to get along remarkably well most of the time , especially in the early days . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes . We went down there on the opening , and got the radioactive dimes on that occasion . The museum at that time was down at Jefferson Circle . I don 't think any of us ever had our hair stand out on the Van De Graff generator or whatever it was , but we took the children . We went out ourselves . Of course my husband was interested in that kind of thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : Sometimes they walked to Jefferson , but by that time they were carrying pretty heavy books . One of the neighbors on Outer Drive wanted to have a carpool , so we joined that . MRS . DAVIDSON : When Anne was in the fifth grade , they had to write what they did on Friday nights . The teacher would call me and say , " Is it true that you gave your children ice water and watched TV on Friday nights ? " That was how generous we were with them . We didn 't get a TV until they were probably five or six years old . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course it was black and white . The reason we got it - I guess finally it was that the children were always going to the neighbors ' house to watch TV . We decided that we should get our own . They watched things like " Pinky Lee " and I 've forgotten what else . MRS . DAVIDSON : I remember that fondly because my first real date with my husband was going to dinner there with him . He invited me to go to a concert in Knoxville , and his excuse was that we should get to know each other better before he took me to the city with him . That was one thing . I remember there were parties there , and our company had a party at the Oak Terrace Ballroom . One of the NEPA fellows wore a Tarzan costume , which was mostly nothing . It turned out that he lived in the neighborhood . MR . HUNNICUTT : What was the Oak Terrace ballroom - where was it located ? MRS . DAVIDSON : That was just below the dormitory where I lived in Columbia Hall . Jack went there looking for me , he thought I would eat breakfast there and then he could have breakfast with me ; but I ate in the dormitory . He didn 't find me there . When we came back from our bicycle ride to Concord Park , I remember we stopped by there , and he drank two or three Mountain Dew drinks . That surprised me , but we had worked off a lot of sweat . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , we took our children out there and saw " Lawrence of Arabia " and " The 10 Commandment " and those things . It was quite nice . MR . HUNNICUTT : Where was it located ? MRS . DAVIDSON : It was about where Kroger 's - where that is now , on the southeast part of Illinois Avenue . It was a nice thing . That was a special treat for the children to go out there . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't think so . I think they were mostly in the car . They had a drawing one time , Jack won something . It was actually nothing , but he did win . MRS . DAVIDSON : I sure did . My three children were born there . It was a green structure , like so many of the buildings in Oak Ridge . I guess the present building is built on that place . It was okay . I didn 't have any problems with it , except after my second child . I had a staph infection from the hospital . Even an Army wife with a private room got an infection there . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , I think they also had been recruited ; and a lot of them were from Tulane University . The time I was sick with my infection , they were having a reunion at Tulane , and my doctor and another one were gone for the reunion . I didn 't like the one who took care of me . He didn 't do a good job . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was okay . I don 't remember having any problems with it . We knew Dr . Rogers from our church , and we went to him . He was called away to the service , I believe . Maybe it was the Korean War , but then he came back . MRS . DAVIDSON : We met at Pine Valley School . The choir sat on the bleachers , and the minister sat under the halo of the basketball net . My husband was a Methodist , and he went to the First Methodist Church . They had a big youth group there . When we were first married , we tried to take them both in . We went to Sunday school one place , and church another until we finally settled on the Presbyterian . It was smaller , and we knew more people . MR . HUNNICUTT : Thinking back , what do you like best about Oak Ridge ? MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course the people . I love my trees and my house . I love all the activities . Both my husband and I have always loved music and enjoy the concerts a lot . The symphony concerts with Waldo Cohn conducting were held at Jefferson Junior High on the Kentucky Avenue hill . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you think back about all the people that you knew in the early days ? Do you think it was unusual for everybody to get along - the many people that were here ? MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , I guess so . I didn 't think about it because we just did . It was just fun . Everybody was away from home , and we had to be family for each other . That was particularly true in this close neighborhood . MRS . DAVIDSON : I 'm pleased for the most part . I think we 've made good progress . We 've kept up with the outside world . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't know . I 'll probably think of things after you leave . Nothing particular comes to mind . MR . HUNNICUTT : I would like to thank you for your time , and I think this interview will be very helpful for someone in the future to see how you lived in Oak Ridge in the early days . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think we came through at the very best of times . It was not the pressure of war , but we were growing community . I think things were happening at the Lab . Both of my husband and I loved the Lab because there were so many good things going on out there . It gives us hope for the future . MR . HUNNICUTT : I thank you very much for your time . [ Editor 's Note : This transcript has been edited at Mrs . Davidson 's request . The corresponding audio and video components have remained unchanged . ] Your rating was saved . you wish to report :

MR . HUNNICUTT : This interview is for the Center of Oak Ridge Oral History . The date is November 8 , 2012 . I am Don Hunnicutt in the home of Mrs . Mary Ann Davidson , 117 Orange Lane , Oak Ridge , Tennessee , to take her oral history about living in Oak Ridge , Tennessee . Please state your full name and your place of birth and your date of birth . MRS . DAVIDSON : My name is Mary Ann Davidson . My date of birth is January 12 , 1925 . I was born in Louisville , Kentucky . I lived there all my early life until I graduated from college . MRS . DAVIDSON : My father was William H . Courtenay . He was born in 1890 , on March 3 . He was in World War I and lived his entire life in Louisville and Shelbyville , Kentucky . He worked for the Mengel Company . They imported mahogany and hardwood from Africa and Central America . He delivered those to customers . He didn 't consider himself a salesman , but he sold them to the furniture factory - furniture makers around Kentucky , mostly Indiana and Cincinnati and some in Tennessee . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , he did not . The Louisville Male High School was considered a fine school at that time . They said that graduates could enter Harvard in their second year . The principal had written textbooks that were apparently used all over . But my father was interested in raising ponies . His father had a farm in Shelbyville , Kentucky . If you 'd didn 't make the grade , you are special . And Dr . Ruben Post - Halleck , the famous principal of the school , told him if he took an exam in math , he could be entered back in . He did that , and he aced the test . He was back in . Then he was a special in English , so they told him if he memorized the " Lady of the Lake " and said that he could get back in school . So he did that . I think he never did finish . He was a twin , and his twin was more of an engineering type and went to manual training high school . MRS . DAVIDSON : She grew up in several small towns in western Kentucky . Her father worked for the L & N Railroad . She had her high school in Hopkinsville , Kentucky . She had to stay home - or she went to junior college nearby . She had a scholarship to Randolph Macon Women 's College , but she couldn 't take it because her mother was ill and died at age 50 . It was about the year I was born , I think . MRS . DAVIDSON : His name was William Howard Courtenay III . My father was named for his uncle , who was also William Howard . My older brother works for Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green in the physics department . He made instruments . My younger brother was a pediatrician in Louisville , and he is still living on a farm in Shelbyville . He 's interested in Kentucky antiques . MRS . DAVIDSON : I went to an unusual kindergarten and first grade . I was at what they called the Enterprise Branch of I . N . Bloom School . It was only kindergarten and first grade . It was in the older building , where we had a Pot Belly Stove . I think we had a maid to help us take our leggings off in the cold weather - galoshes . It was really a wonderful school . It was almost like a private one . It was public . We did things like making butter and we had an orchestra . I played the triangle . I had started a little bit earlier when my younger brother was born . Louisville had half semester , half - year grades . I would 've been a half year , but I skipped the last half of kindergarten . I went to the school board and took a test and went on , so they put me in the regular school year . I went through the big school the I . N . Bloom School and Highland Junior High School in Louisville . Then I went to Atherton High School for Girls . The Louisville public schools were segregated - boys and girls . There were about 900 girls at Atherton . My graduating class was about 200 , and I was the valedictorian . MRS . DAVIDSON : They are pants to keep your legs warm . They zipped up from the inside of the ankle bone up to about knee - high , I guess it was . They were a royal pain to take on and off , so the teacher had to have help to do that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was just ordinary . I 'm sure the girls wore dresses , and the little boys wore suits - not suits , but pants and shirts . MRS . DAVIDSON : I came to Oak Ridge after I graduated from college . I had two years of getting a master 's at Emory while I worked at my alma mater , Agnes Scott College in Decatur , Georgia . I was the chemistry lab instructor . So after those two years were up , I was interested in working in chemistry or biochemistry . My master 's was in biochemistry . In Louisville , there was nothing in that field , except liquor and paint - neither of which I was interested in . In Atlanta , I would like to stay in Atlanta , I heard that Oak Ridge was an interesting new place , and a lot was going on here . One of my dear college friends had recently married a physicist from the University of Kentucky , so I visited them here . I guess that must have been 1947 . Her husband was working at NEPA . He said they were looking for people with a chemistry degree . I applied , and I was accepted . I didn 't know that until I had completed the clearance , so I took the opportunity to go to Europe at an American youth hostel bicycle tour of Western Europe in the summer of 1948 . When I got home , I found that I had indeed gotten the job at Oak Ridge . So I came down here . MRS . DAVIDSON : I was wondering that . I think I came by train . When I interviewed earlier in the spring , my interview was at the Andrew Johnson Hotel . It was one of the private rooms . I had never seen the company here . I think I must have been met by a car and driver and brought to Oak Ridge . MRS . DAVIDSON : I came in through the Vermont Gateway , which is where the gas station is now on the corner of what I call Vermont . They call it North Rutgers now . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , I think it must 've been after that . That would 've been at Christmas time . When I applied , I imagine it was early spring . MRS . DAVIDSON : We called the company NEPA , for Nuclear Energy for the Propulsion of Aircraft . It was managed by the Fairchild Corporation the way Union Carbide or one of the other contractors managed the lab . I did not know until the first day I went to work just what the company was doing . They handed me a volume of information that said , " We are looking for - we are trying to make an airplane powered by nuclear energy that could fly to Russia and back without refueling . " That was a great shock to me . MRS . DAVIDSON : I lived in Columbia Hall Dormitory . I was very surprised to find that the rent was $ 15 a month until I realized it was one very small room . That was my living quarters . I took the opportunity to stay out of it as much as possible . I did that by babysitting in some of the B and D houses in the evening . Grandmothers were not here since it was a closed community . Babysitters were in short supply , and even though I didn 't need the money , it was good to get out of the dormitory . MRS . DAVIDSON : The dormitory was like Cheyenne Hall . It was the same type of building . It had wooden stairways from the second - floor hall down on each end . I lived on the second floor . Our dormitory was mostly nurses , since it was up on the hill next to the hospital - I think where the west parking lot is now . There was a kitchen on each end where we could have our own breakfast . Of course we were at the plant at lunchtime , and then we usually went out to supper . I opened the refrigerator door one morning and somebody 's milk came spilling out down my front . Everybody just stuffed things into the refrigerator . MRS . DAVIDSON : I had a single room with a twin bed and enough room to walk to the window by the bed . There was a little table that served as a desk with a chair . There was a much coveted dormitory dresser - a tall one with a number of drawers . They were very popular . MRS . DAVIDSON : They had a wonderful bus service here . Travel wasn 't really a problem . We walked , of course , from the dormitory to Jackson Square and ate supper usually at the Mayflower , which is where I first saw my husband - to - be . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was on the corner of Tennessee , right across from the Soup Kitchen and the Texaco gas station there on the northeast corner . It was a very popular place . In fact , there were several places you could eat . It was the Central Cafeteria , and the T & C Cafeteria in Jackson Square , which is about where the Epicurean is now toward the garden . MRS . DAVIDSON : It must 've been the A & P on Jackson Square . Jackson Square was really the center of activity as far as I was concerned at that time . I still love it . I hope it keeps going . MRS . DAVIDSON : The department stores - the big department store was Taylor 's at the time . They had a wonderful book department headed by Mrs . Keyes , whose daughter I knew at work . They had really fine art books and other books that they would have a great sale on once or twice a year . We were very happy with that . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was in the middle of the block between where Big Ed 's is in the corner . I guess it 's mostly used by the engineering company now . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , not frequently , but I went and saw - there was a theater down at Big Ed 's in Jackson Square and where the Playhouse is now . That was the main one . MRS . DAVIDSON : Henebree . McCrory 's 5 & 10 was there . There was a drugstore - a Service Drugstore . I guess that was where Big Ed 's is now , on the very corner . There was Jackson Square Pharmacy , and on the other side the Hamilton Bank was there next to the movie theater . And Samuel 's Men 's Store was a very nice store . The Jackson Square Pharmacy was there , but in between , which the Pharmacy later took over was a Kay 's Ice Cream Store . We used to go there and - my husband and I would when we were dating . I liked to get coffee with ice cream in it , so we went there . MRS . DAVIDSON : I can 't say that I do . It was just a given , I suppose . It didn 't make a big dent in my memory . After six months of the dormitory , I moved to a D house on Norman Lane . That was another era . MRS . DAVIDSON : A D house was a large three bedroom house . They were very much desired . They were really nice houses - still a lot of them are . The house was - there were five other girls who lived there - two of whom had been college friends . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , it would 've been upstairs . It was the second one to the end . A radiation technologist lived on the corner , and I lived there with school teachers and nurses who made up most of the dorm . MR . HUNNICUTT : Let 's talk a little bit about the dorm again . If I had a message for you or someone left a message for you , how did you retrieve your messages ? Was there a desk when you went in ? MRS . DAVIDSON : There was a desk downstairs . I remember the Valentine 's Day - I guess it must 've been 1949 . The message was that I had some flowers , some red roses . I had just met my husband - to - be at that time . I got all excited , and when I got to the desk , it was from somebody else . I enjoyed the red roses , but not as much as I might have . The thing was that there were ladies - a lot of the women who lived in the dorm worked on the night shift . They would sit around a large kind of living room , I guess they called it . They were all staring when I got flowers . I had to walk around , and it was embarrassing . MRS . DAVIDSON : I was there in the winter of 1948 . I 'm very cold natured , but I don 't remember being cold . We had those heavy navy blanket - navy blue blankets . This brings up a story if I jump to it later on . We were moved from the D house after another six months into the brand - new Garden Apartments on Villanova Road . They needed our D house for families . The people who moved in were the Andersons of the Anderson Hilltop Grocery . Of course , the furniture all belonged to the government there . So the Garden Apartments were not furnished , so we had dwindled down from 6 to 4 people who needed furniture . I took a day off and went to an auction the government set up down at the warehouses . I got seven beds and three or four dressers - much more than I could have used . But the beds were in great demand at work because all the young men who worked there were having children and needed beds . So we took the four . Also I got two sofas , and we could use but one ; so I sold one . They were really shabby awful sofas . Since it was all going to surplus anyway , we switched and took the nice sofa from the D house and left them the bad one . It was all taken away anyhow , so I didn 't feel too bad about that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't really remember about the telephone . We didn 't use the telephone much . We never used it for long - distance except for emergencies and calls home . I don 't remember that as being a problem particularly . MRS . DAVIDSON : I suppose I went on the bus . I did not have a car . One of the housemates from Norman Lane had gotten the car , but she would 've been at work at K - 25 . I don 't know . I may have gotten a ride . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess I paid somebody to deliver it . I don 't know . Maybe some of the fellows at work picked up their beds that they wanted . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was one of those warehouses down at the [ Oak Ridge ] Turnpike on Warehouse Road . I don 't know exactly where it was . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess it was on the bulletin boards at work , or there was a newspaper at the Lab . I guess I heard about it that way . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think probably so - in the newsletters they came around , also at the recreation building - the rec hall - at Jackson Square that was the library upstairs and the rec hall downstairs . Word - of - mouth - I don 't remember . We had a need and found the answer to it . MRS . DAVIDSON : I had to punch a clock at eight in the morning when I first started . I guess we got out at 4 : 30 or 5 o ' clock . We had bus service that went from the bus terminal - the Central one - that 's now by Bus Terminal Road . Later on after we were married , we lived on Waddell Circle and went from there to the Jefferson bus terminal . I went - I rode on the K - 25 bus , and they went out past K - 25 to the road that the powerhouse was on and NEPA was beyond that out by the river . MRS . DAVIDSON : There was some kind of management services office . I 'm not sure what it was called - the Roane Anderson Corporation at that time , I guess . I think that 's where I rented the dormitory room . I probably got bus tokens - I guess I got the tokens of the bus terminal . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think I had a checking account probably at Hamilton Bank in Jackson Square . I don 't recall otherwise . I know I did later . One thing I wanted to say about the buses - if you wanted to go to Clinton to do any shopping , more than what you could have in Oak Ridge or to meet somebody or something , there was a bus that ran frequently back and forth between the bus terminal and Clinton . There was a young man on the bus who had a sing - songy sales pitch for " peanuts , popcorn , Cracker Jacks , candy , and chewing gum . " He wouldn 't drive , but he would sell his wares all the way to Clinton and back . I always wondered who that was because he obviously had some talent . MRS . DAVIDSON : I 'm sure I did . I don 't know what became of it . I guess I had to turn it back in . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think somebody just got - one of the guards got on the bus and checked everybody 's badges . It was not a big thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : Probably . I don 't remember . What I do remember about that was my mother was coming down one time for my birthday - it must 've been in January 1949 . She rode the train . I told her that I would get a ride to meet her . Of course , the train didn 't stop at Oak Ridge . It went on to Knoxville , so I bummed a ride with one of the men in our group . He was actually the technical assistant to the director . His car was a broken down old thing with no floorboards in the back seat , which was pretty bad when my mother saw it . But she didn 't see it because when we got to Knoxville , she was not there . When we were coming back from the gateway entrance , she was not there . There was a message that she was waiting for us at the Elza Gate Station . She had told the conductor she had to get off at Oak Ridge . That 's where she was going , and I was going to meet her . So she slid down the Elza bank over there . She had my birthday cake - a large chocolate cake . She slid downhill with that , and somehow they stopped her at the guard gate at Elza . She waited there for us . MRS . DAVIDSON : Just for her - let her off like a milk train . They ordinarily didn 't stop there , but she wouldn 't have it otherwise . MRS . DAVIDSON : I used the library and rec hall . On Sunday afternoons , they played music ; and you could sit and write letters home , which is what I think I did a good bit . Later on in the better weather , there were tennis courts and a swimming pool . I don 't remember going to movies much . We went to church groups . There were so many young people ; it was just like a party all the time . Nothing in particular stands out . It was just fun . MRS . DAVIDSON : In the company I was , that was not true . There were a lot of women of course - of course , the dormitory was full of school teachers and nurses . But NEPA was mostly men . There were two parts to the Fairchild - the science and engineering part , which was bigger . I happen to be in the research part . My boss was a chemist - Vince Calkins . It was my job to - this was a real shocker to me - to find a chemical that would protect the human body against radiation for the reactor that was supposed to be in the airplane to Russia . I had no background for that kind of thing . I was just fresh out of college really . I realized I was out of my depth , but they decided - he was a pharmacist , I believe , and he wanted to do experiments with rats . They brought in the rat colony . By that time we had a couple of assistants , and I was supposed to be the group leader . One of the men , Ray Waldrop - you may have talked to him . I asked him if he minded working for a woman because he was really more experienced than I , although I had the degree . It was fine with him . There was also another worker , Saul Segal , who was quite a character in his own right . I took the rats in the cages over to the reactor , the " Old Lady " at X - 10 , and put them through what they called " rabbits " and radiated them for certain amount of time . We couldn 't kill the darn things . Then we used the older ones that had already been radiated , they were just tough as anything . I think the experiment was really a failure , although they may have found that to be the case in some later work with older people - that the cells are not dividing as fast and they 're not as subject to radiation . But we didn 't get into that . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was actually not K - 25 . It was beyond there . As I said , the bus took us - the bus dumped people off at K - 25 , and they went on west to just before you get to the Gallaher Bridge . You turn right there and go right past the power station there . It was used for a long time - the power house , and then NEPA was beyond that . The native rats came in - was it domestic experimental rats ? That was not good . I had a janitor who helped me , even though he could 've lost his job for doing it . He helped me clean cages . I always appreciated that . MRS . DAVIDSON : When they got rid of the rats , which was a blessing , my group leader then became Bill Browning , who was a fine scientist . He worked on the Van de Graaff generator . We had an interesting argument . Saul Segal thought he should be the one to do it since he was a man and I was a woman who would be leaving soon ; and it turned out that he left for California before I had left to have my baby . His argument didn 't hold with me anyway , but we argued about that some . We did run the Van de Graaff , and we also did some experiments on metallic sodium . It was nasty stuff to work with . It caught on fire if it was exposed to air . You had to work with that under oil in the glove box . I think that work all had to be repeated after NEPA left for Cincinnati with G . E . . When they moved part of NEPA to X - 10 , they called it the ANP , or something about aircraft and nuclear power . I was not connected with that because my first baby was born in August 1951 . I left in July . MRS . DAVIDSON : I heard somebody say that they had to repeat it all . My boss , the Division Director of Chemistry was interested in vitamin E , and thought it had a lot of protective influence . We worked with that . That was some of the work I did in chemistry - the lab part of it in the early days . It was not good work , I think . I 'm not blaming myself , but some of the other men who were doing chemical work - I think altogether we didn 't come up with anything . MRS . DAVIDSON : It may have been ahead of it 's time for nuclear submarines . I don 't know whether the engineering people thought that or not . In our group which was the chemistry and the physics , my friend who got me the job was Jim Trice . A fellow named Art Miller and somebody named Coneybearwere in the Physics Division . And then there were some others - Fred Maienschein . I did some work for him one time . It was work on beryllium for one thing . I didn 't work with any of the active beryllium . I didn 't do any lab work then , but I did some journal research . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't think they were that far along . I 'm not sure what happened to that part of it . As I said , in July of 1951 they moved to Cincinnati , Evensville , above Cincinnati . I don 't know how many people actually went up there . Most of my friends moved elsewhere . MR . HUNNICUTT : You mentioned the location of the operation was past the steam plant that was on the Clinch River . Was that the same location where the S - 50 project was located ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I think that was the name of our plot of land . I think those - I never was quite sure how they got the designations , but that was the Fairchild domain , I think . MRS . DAVIDSON : Really , it was just when our eyes met . It was very romantic . He followed our group home to the Columbia Hall to see where I lived . But at the time I thought he was too young , and I didn 't think he was following me . I was with a group of other girls . Later on , one of the women in the dormitory , who was a gym teacher in the Oak Ridge schools , told me I really ought to meet Jack Davidson that he loved to ride bicycles ; I was just back from my bicycle trip in Europe . I didn 't know who he was , and then I went to a church group meeting at my Presbyterian Church for young people one Sunday evening . A friend of mine had brought Jack Davidson , and he was the one whose eyes I had met and he had met mine . Sure enough , he loved to ride bicycles . That was the start of a good thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : We did a little bit . On our dates , that 's really what we did mostly at first . We rode out to West Outer Drive and had those wonderful big hills , not too much traffic at that time . We went out to the water tower at the top of Louisiana and had a picnic , and then rode back . When we got really good , we rode our bicycles over to Concord Park one day . I had gotten some chicken breasts at the grocery . I guess it was the A & P at Jackson Square . I was going to fry them for a picnic to take along over to Concord Park . When I went to the refrigerator to get them , they had turned into wings . Somebody had eaten my chicken breast . Jack was a good sport about that . He didn 't care . We had a nice ride . It was before they had improved Lovell Road . It was a pretty rough ride over there , but we were able to enjoy it . MRS . DAVIDSON : He had his bicycle . It was probably a Grey Stone . For me , he rented a bicycle from his work friend . I had forgotten what his name was . We went over to one of the D Streets , I think , and rode them . I didn 't have my English 3 - speed here . I guess I brought it later , but at that time I didn 't have it . MRS . DAVIDSON : That was a problem . I complained to my friend Jim Trice 's wife , Dot , who happened to live around the corner on Outer Drive at that time . She said the boardwalk was used a lot for dating , and of course the theaters . I guess we were outdoors people . I don 't know . MRS . DAVIDSON : He was a graduate of Georgia Tech . At the time he graduated , he was very young . He came up to see about a job , and he was drafted . No , he was in danger of being drafted right away , but they didn 't hire him . He did go to work for NASA , which was at that time NACA , in Virginia ; and worked over there a short time before he was taken into the Army . He had gone through Georgia Tech on a " War Manpower " loan . He was sent to some place to be an MP , I think . He wrote a night letter , which is a 50 - word telegram that was cheaper at night . He wrote a night letter to Stimson , the Secretary of War , telling them they had paid for his college education ; and here he was sitting in a camp doing nothing down in Alabama . He was transferred to the SED , he would never say that was the reason he was transferred . It may or may not have been . He arrived with the SED - he arrived in Oak Ridge the day Roosevelt died , which was in April 1945 , he was here with his group for maybe six weeks before they went out to Los Alamos . So he spent the rest of the war out there . Then he used his G . I . Bill - he stayed on at Los Alamos . They told them they would let him out of the Army if he would agree to stay on as a civilian . So he took that . Then when he did leave , he went to Annapolis and took a liberal arts course because he felt that he had missed out on it at Georgia Tech . He had a year at St . John 's College of Annapolis ; and then all along I guess he thought he would like to come back here . He came back - he arrived on Armistice Day , now Veterans Day , of 1948 . I was here a couple of months before he came , but we met shortly after Christmas in 1949 . MRS . DAVIDSON : Too long . We were married in May 1950 . He wanted to pay off his loan before we could get married , so I helped him along with that . I fed him some . He was very welcome at the D House of girls . I was going to tell you that during the war , there were nine girls in the house , and they slept on shifts on the bunk beds . There were only six of us when I was there . There were a couple of the boyfriends around , and one of them cut the grass . I think Jack did the - empty the clinkers from the furnace , the coal furnace . They made themselves useful . They got their dinner . MRS . DAVIDSON : Most of the houses were a very good design really , and a whole lot better built than we gave them credit for . But each one that I knew of had a corner set off or closed off as a coal storage place that could be filled through a window from the outside , and then you could use the - there was an opening on the inside that you could use to put coal into the furnace . That was awful of course , but that 's what all the houses were doing in that time , too . We had a yard full of clinkers over there . MRS . DAVIDSON : We were taken care of by a Big Brother - the government . They brought the coal around , and you didn 't do a thing . That was part of the rent . When we got our house here on Orange Lane , that 's another story . Are you ready for that yet ? MRS . DAVIDSON : We went back to my home in Louisville , Kentucky , to be married . We had planned to fly to Nashville , but it turned out the Delta Queen was coming through Louisville the next morning . My mother had told us we could not get married the week before because it was too busy with Derby Day . So we delayed until May 13 . Then we spent the night in Louisville at the Brown Hotel , where she pulled some strings to get us a room because it was still very full of visitors from the Derby . We got on the Delta Queen , and our friends were all on the dock to see us off . They had us almost convinced that we were on Daylight Saving Time , and the Delta Queen was not , and we had missed it . But we rode down just as far as Paducah . We were anxious to start in life you know . We lived on Wadell Circle in a K apartment . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was a two - story thing . I guess it was a two - bedroom up above , and we had K - 1 . It was sort of underground at the front and open at the back . We had a nice back porch . There was a closet under the stairway and a very small kitchen . It had a table that folded down . It was not as compact as a flattop , but the furnishings that they had did double duty . You could fold it up and have more room . MRS . DAVIDSON : The K apartment was heated with the coal furnace , but there was a janitor who came around and took care of it for us . We were taken care of by Roane Anderson . MRS . DAVIDSON : We lived in the K from May 1950 , until we got this house in July 1952 . It was said - the word around town was that you couldn 't get a two - bedroom house unless you had three children , all of different sex . We had been on the list for this house ever since we knew our daughter was coming along . That was a long time to wait . We had been offered two houses - Florida Avenue , where the parking was across the street and the backyard just dropped off . We thought that was totally unsuitable for a new child . We turned both of those down . If we had turned this one down , we would 've gone to the bottom of the long list . But we loved this place of the trees and the dead end lane neighborhood . So we sat outside in front all weekend because we were not top on the list . The reason the other people didn 't take it was that the previous owner , Jim Cox and Charlotte , had put in an oil furnace ; and nobody wanted to pay $ 200 for the oil furnace . Since I had been working , we had saved my salary from work , and we had $ 200 to pay . Also , they didn 't want to be in the high rent district . This house rented for something like $ 45 instead of $ 43 in the lower rent districts . MRS . DAVIDSON : The Oak Ridge cemesto houses that were built - I think this house was built in the fall of 1944 or 1943 . Maybe it was ' 43 . The B house has two bedrooms and of course a bath and a kitchen with a dinette into a long narrow living room . It was about 24 feet by 40 something feet . It was small and convenient . It didn 't have much storage space , but it 's been a wonderful house for us because of the trees . We are on a greenbelt , and I enjoy that very much . It 's a nice private neighborhood just above Jackson Square . MRS . DAVIDSON : Our cemesto has a fireplace , and it had a complete brick wall . Some of the B houses had a brick wall just beyond the fireplace . MRS . DAVIDSON : There are hardwood floors in all the cemestos , I believe . Our house has maple flooring , and a lot of them had oak . Wood was hard to come by in the wartime . We love the color - the reddish color of the maple . MRS . DAVIDSON : Adele is our second daughter , and she was two years younger . Our son is Bill Davidson or William . He was born in November of 1954 . He 's just now turning 58 . MRS . DAVIDSON : All three of our children went to Cedar Hill . They had split grades there , so I think the classes were one half size . They would take the kids a half from one grade , and half from the next grade , and that worked out just fine . MRS . DAVIDSON : Cedar Hill was wonderful . It was very special . Mr . Dodd was the principal , and he saw to it - he had the best teachers or at least as good as any . Actually in those days all the teachers and Oak Ridge were special because many of them had been recruited from Columbia Teachers College , along with the superintendent . Others were specially recruited for the job . They were a group a part , I think , from a lot of teachers . MRS . DAVIDSON : The girls both went to Jefferson when it was on the hill at Jackson Square , and Bill was in the first year at the new Jefferson that was over on Fairbanks Road . His was the first class there . They all went through Oak Ridge High . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you recall some of the classes your daughters took while they were in junior high ? Was there Home Ec . or things related to girls ? MRS . DAVIDSON : No , they were on the college prep track . They took eighth grade algebra and that kind of thing . Of course English and math and social studies and science - our older girl I think took biology ; and I 'm not sure if Adele had a more general science course . It just depended on the teacher that they had . They had an excellent education , and the girls were both Merit semifinalists . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course . I was in the PTA . I 'm not sure if I was ever a room mother , but I of course helped with parties and things . MRS . DAVIDSON : The teachers recruited them from each class to help with parties mostly . They helped with any activities that they didn 't really have time to do . MRS . DAVIDSON : Parent - Teacher Association , a time honored group . It got extra things for the school . I got involved with raincoats for the school patrol . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess maybe I was a treasurer of the Cedar Hill PTA , and this goal was to get those yellow slicker raincoat so kids could be visible to the drivers . I found out how much the things cost , and then I estimated postage . At the PTA meeting , Alvin Weinberg was president . He had a son or two in school at the time . He took me to task for estimating the postage , so I had to ask for just the money for the coats themselves since I didn 't really know what the postage is going to be . I thought that was interesting that he wanted to keep it to the exact penny . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think they just wore what the other kids wore . One day we had a deep snow and Bill was in kindergarten , and the snow was up over their boots . I think he had some corduroys . The teacher was making the kids take their pants off and dry them on the radiator , and he wouldn 't do it . I had to go up to the school and take him some fresh pants , some dry clothes . He was very young - just four when he started . MR . HUNNICUTT : Let 's go back a few years . Do you remember 1945 when they dropped the bomb on Japan ? You remember where you were ? And what was your reaction ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I do remember that very clearly because it was the summer after my junior year in college , and I was a camp counselor up in Door County , Wisconsin . There was no electricity at the camp , so we counselors - after we got the kids to bed , went to the state park nearby . This was at Fish Creek , Wisconsin . We would listen to people 's car radios . We knew for about a week that something was happening , but we didn 't know just what . It was very deeply moving when the bomb was dropped , and we thought it would bring an end to the war . Of course , I had friends and a brother on Guam and a cousin was in Europe and others . So that was very deeply moving . I had a book of poetry - my favorite poems at the camp with me . One of my 12 - year - olds picked out a poem - " Once to every man and nation comes a moment to decide " - she read that , and I thought that was very astute of her , a youngster to be able to do that . MRS . DAVIDSON : My husband thought they should have dropped a sample first , but I didn 't feel that way since the first bomb didn 't phase the Japanese . I didn 't think the test one would have either . I was just so glad that the war was over . People could settle down and get into real life again . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think I was in transition from the dormitory to the house , and my husband 's brothers came up from Georgia to witness the opening . So we drove in their car around , and we watched the parade from , I believe , down on the eastern end of the Turnpike down near the warehouses to get out of the traffic . We never could figure out why they invited Marie " The Body " McDonald and [ inaudible ] to ride in the open car for the parade . We couldn 't figure out what they had to do with it , but we did see the burning of the magnesium ribbon . That was exciting . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was only toward town from Elza Gate . I know the central part of town , the Jackson Square area , was very crowded . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think they name the streets for famous cities in the country , and of course the alphabetical designations were very helpful . But Jackson Square , I assume , was named for New Orleans . That 's all I know about it . MRS . DAVIDSON : Sometimes you would pick up the telephone , and the other party was talking . I believe they had different rings . I think maybe the other party had one ring , and we had two . There were four - party lines , but if we were on a four - party line , only the other one was active . I think maybe we were . The other two lines were not being used . MR . HUNNICUTT : When you are raising your family , did you hang your clothes outside on the clothesline ? Did you have a dryer ? What did you use ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I hung them outside on the clothesline . As I said , when we moved here , Anne was a year old . Not much more than three years after that , we had three babies . I was able to talk my husband into getting a dryer that time . Before that , he had built a pulley out of my kitchen window . There was a drop off in the back , and he was able to string it to a tree in the woods . I was able to reel those cloth diapers and reel them in and out . The only problem was that the birds like the trees , too . Sometimes I had to do some re - washing . MR . HUNNICUTT : So in those days you use cloth diapers ? Today we use disposable diapers . How do you think you would 've done if you had disposable diapers ? MRS . DAVIDSON : At one point , when our children were out playing Kick the Can , there were over 40 children on the lane . There were about 20 or 21 houses . There were almost as many dogs . It was just a glorious place for them to grow up . They seem to get along remarkably well most of the time , especially in the early days . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes . We went down there on the opening , and got the radioactive dimes on that occasion . The museum at that time was down at Jefferson Circle . I don 't think any of us ever had our hair stand out on the Van De Graff generator or whatever it was , but we took the children . We went out ourselves . Of course my husband was interested in that kind of thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : Sometimes they walked to Jefferson , but by that time they were carrying pretty heavy books . One of the neighbors on Outer Drive wanted to have a carpool , so we joined that . MRS . DAVIDSON : When Anne was in the fifth grade , they had to write what they did on Friday nights . The teacher would call me and say , " Is it true that you gave your children ice water and watched TV on Friday nights ? " That was how generous we were with them . We didn 't get a TV until they were probably five or six years old . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course it was black and white . The reason we got it - I guess finally it was that the children were always going to the neighbors ' house to watch TV . We decided that we should get our own . They watched things like " Pinky Lee " and I 've forgotten what else . MRS . DAVIDSON : I remember that fondly because my first real date with my husband was going to dinner there with him . He invited me to go to a concert in Knoxville , and his excuse was that we should get to know each other better before he took me to the city with him . That was one thing . I remember there were parties there , and our company had a party at the Oak Terrace Ballroom . One of the NEPA fellows wore a Tarzan costume , which was mostly nothing . It turned out that he lived in the neighborhood . MRS . DAVIDSON : That was just below the dormitory where I lived in Columbia Hall . Jack went there looking for me , he thought I would eat breakfast there and then he could have breakfast with me ; but I ate in the dormitory . He didn 't find me there . When we came back from our bicycle ride to Concord Park , I remember we stopped by there , and he drank two or three Mountain Dew drinks . That surprised me , but we had worked off a lot of sweat . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , we took our children out there and saw " Lawrence of Arabia " and " The 10 Commandment " and those things . It was quite nice . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was about where Kroger 's - where that is now , on the southeast part of Illinois Avenue . It was a nice thing . That was a special treat for the children to go out there . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't think so . I think they were mostly in the car . They had a drawing one time , Jack won something . It was actually nothing , but he did win . MRS . DAVIDSON : I sure did . My three children were born there . It was a green structure , like so many of the buildings in Oak Ridge . I guess the present building is built on that place . It was okay . I didn 't have any problems with it , except after my second child . I had a staph infection from the hospital . Even an Army wife with a private room got an infection there . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , I think they also had been recruited ; and a lot of them were from Tulane University . The time I was sick with my infection , they were having a reunion at Tulane , and my doctor and another one were gone for the reunion . I didn 't like the one who took care of me . He didn 't do a good job . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was okay . I don 't remember having any problems with it . We knew Dr . Rogers from our church , and we went to him . He was called away to the service , I believe . Maybe it was the Korean War , but then he came back . MRS . DAVIDSON : We met at Pine Valley School . The choir sat on the bleachers , and the minister sat under the halo of the basketball net . My husband was a Methodist , and he went to the First Methodist Church . They had a big youth group there . When we were first married , we tried to take them both in . We went to Sunday school one place , and church another until we finally settled on the Presbyterian . It was smaller , and we knew more people . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course the people . I love my trees and my house . I love all the activities . Both my husband and I have always loved music and enjoy the concerts a lot . The symphony concerts with Waldo Cohn conducting were held at Jefferson Junior High on the Kentucky Avenue hill . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you think back about all the people that you knew in the early days ? Do you think it was unusual for everybody to get along - the many people that were here ? MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , I guess so . I didn 't think about it because we just did . It was just fun . Everybody was away from home , and we had to be family for each other . That was particularly true in this close neighborhood . MRS . DAVIDSON : I 'm pleased for the most part . I think we 've made good progress . We 've kept up with the outside world . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think we came through at the very best of times . It was not the pressure of war , but we were growing community . I think things were happening at the Lab . Both of my husband and I loved the Lab because there were so many good things going on out there . It gives us hope for the future . [ Editor 's Note : This transcript has been edited at Mrs . Davidson 's request . The corresponding audio and video components have remained unchanged . ] Click tabs to swap between content that is broken into logical sections . MR . HUNNICUTT : This interview is for the Center of Oak Ridge Oral History . The date is November 8 , 2012 . I am Don Hunnicutt in the home of Mrs . Mary Ann Davidson , 117 Orange Lane , Oak Ridge , Tennessee , to take her oral history about living in Oak Ridge , Tennessee . Please state your full name and your place of birth and your date of birth . MRS . DAVIDSON : My name is Mary Ann Davidson . My date of birth is January 12 , 1925 . I was born in Louisville , Kentucky . I lived there all my early life until I graduated from college . MRS . DAVIDSON : My father was William H . Courtenay . He was born in 1890 , on March 3 . He was in World War I and lived his entire life in Louisville and Shelbyville , Kentucky . He worked for the Mengel Company . They imported mahogany and hardwood from Africa and Central America . He delivered those to customers . He didn 't consider himself a salesman , but he sold them to the furniture factory - furniture makers around Kentucky , mostly Indiana and Cincinnati and some in Tennessee . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , he did not . The Louisville Male High School was considered a fine school at that time . They said that graduates could enter Harvard in their second year . The principal had written textbooks that were apparently used all over . But my father was interested in raising ponies . His father had a farm in Shelbyville , Kentucky . If you 'd didn 't make the grade , you are special . And Dr . Ruben Post - Halleck , the famous principal of the school , told him if he took an exam in math , he could be entered back in . He did that , and he aced the test . He was back in . Then he was a special in English , so they told him if he memorized the " Lady of the Lake " and said that he could get back in school . So he did that . I think he never did finish . He was a twin , and his twin was more of an engineering type and went to manual training high school . MR . HUNNICUTT : What about your mother 's school history ? MRS . DAVIDSON : She grew up in several small towns in western Kentucky . Her father worked for the L & N Railroad . She had her high school in Hopkinsville , Kentucky . She had to stay home - or she went to junior college nearby . She had a scholarship to Randolph Macon Women 's College , but she couldn 't take it because her mother was ill and died at age 50 . It was about the year I was born , I think . MRS . DAVIDSON : His name was William Howard Courtenay III . My father was named for his uncle , who was also William Howard . My older brother works for Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green in the physics department . He made instruments . My younger brother was a pediatrician in Louisville , and he is still living on a farm in Shelbyville . He 's interested in Kentucky antiques . MR . HUNNICUTT : Yes . MRS . DAVIDSON : I went to an unusual kindergarten and first grade . I was at what they called the Enterprise Branch of I . N . Bloom School . It was only kindergarten and first grade . It was in the older building , where we had a Pot Belly Stove . I think we had a maid to help us take our leggings off in the cold weather - galoshes . It was really a wonderful school . It was almost like a private one . It was public . We did things like making butter and we had an orchestra . I played the triangle . I had started a little bit earlier when my younger brother was born . Louisville had half semester , half - year grades . I would 've been a half year , but I skipped the last half of kindergarten . I went to the school board and took a test and went on , so they put me in the regular school year . I went through the big school the I . N . Bloom School and Highland Junior High School in Louisville . Then I went to Atherton High School for Girls . The Louisville public schools were segregated - boys and girls . There were about 900 girls at Atherton . My graduating class was about 200 , and I was the valedictorian . MRS . DAVIDSON : They are pants to keep your legs warm . They zipped up from the inside of the ankle bone up to about knee - high , I guess it was . They were a royal pain to take on and off , so the teacher had to have help to do that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was just ordinary . I 'm sure the girls wore dresses , and the little boys wore suits - not suits , but pants and shirts . MRS . DAVIDSON : I came to Oak Ridge after I graduated from college . I had two years of getting a master 's at Emory while I worked at my alma mater , Agnes Scott College in Decatur , Georgia . I was the chemistry lab instructor . So after those two years were up , I was interested in working in chemistry or biochemistry . My master 's was in biochemistry . In Louisville , there was nothing in that field , except liquor and paint - neither of which I was interested in . In Atlanta , I would like to stay in Atlanta , I heard that Oak Ridge was an interesting new place , and a lot was going on here . One of my dear college friends had recently married a physicist from the University of Kentucky , so I visited them here . I guess that must have been 1947 . Her husband was working at NEPA . He said they were looking for people with a chemistry degree . I applied , and I was accepted . I didn 't know that until I had completed the clearance , so I took the opportunity to go to Europe at an American youth hostel bicycle tour of Western Europe in the summer of 1948 . When I got home , I found that I had indeed gotten the job at Oak Ridge . So I came down here . MRS . DAVIDSON : I was wondering that . I think I came by train . When I interviewed earlier in the spring , my interview was at the Andrew Johnson Hotel . It was one of the private rooms . I had never seen the company here . I think I must have been met by a car and driver and brought to Oak Ridge . MRS . DAVIDSON : I came in through the Vermont Gateway , which is where the gas station is now on the corner of what I call Vermont . They call it North Rutgers now . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , I think it must 've been after that . That would 've been at Christmas time . When I applied , I imagine it was early spring . MRS . DAVIDSON : We called the company NEPA , for Nuclear Energy for the Propulsion of Aircraft . It was managed by the Fairchild Corporation the way Union Carbide or one of the other contractors managed the lab . I did not know until the first day I went to work just what the company was doing . They handed me a volume of information that said , " We are looking for - we are trying to make an airplane powered by nuclear energy that could fly to Russia and back without refueling . " That was a great shock to me . MRS . DAVIDSON : I lived in Columbia Hall Dormitory . I was very surprised to find that the rent was $ 15 a month until I realized it was one very small room . That was my living quarters . I took the opportunity to stay out of it as much as possible . I did that by babysitting in some of the B and D houses in the evening . Grandmothers were not here since it was a closed community . Babysitters were in short supply , and even though I didn 't need the money , it was good to get out of the dormitory . MRS . DAVIDSON : The dormitory was like Cheyenne Hall . It was the same type of building . It had wooden stairways from the second - floor hall down on each end . I lived on the second floor . Our dormitory was mostly nurses , since it was up on the hill next to the hospital - I think where the west parking lot is now . There was a kitchen on each end where we could have our own breakfast . Of course we were at the plant at lunchtime , and then we usually went out to supper . I opened the refrigerator door one morning and somebody 's milk came spilling out down my front . Everybody just stuffed things into the refrigerator . MRS . DAVIDSON : I had a single room with a twin bed and enough room to walk to the window by the bed . There was a little table that served as a desk with a chair . There was a much coveted dormitory dresser - a tall one with a number of drawers . They were very popular . MRS . DAVIDSON : They had a wonderful bus service here . Travel wasn 't really a problem . We walked , of course , from the dormitory to Jackson Square and ate supper usually at the Mayflower , which is where I first saw my husband - to - be . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was on the corner of Tennessee , right across from the Soup Kitchen and the Texaco gas station there on the northeast corner . It was a very popular place . In fact , there were several places you could eat . It was the Central Cafeteria , and the T & C Cafeteria in Jackson Square , which is about where the Epicurean is now toward the garden . MRS . DAVIDSON : It must 've been the A & P on Jackson Square . Jackson Square was really the center of activity as far as I was concerned at that time . I still love it . I hope it keeps going . MRS . DAVIDSON : The department stores - the big department store was Taylor 's at the time . They had a wonderful book department headed by Mrs . Keyes , whose daughter I knew at work . They had really fine art books and other books that they would have a great sale on once or twice a year . We were very happy with that . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was in the middle of the block between where Big Ed 's is in the corner . I guess it 's mostly used by the engineering company now . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , not frequently , but I went and saw - there was a theater down at Big Ed 's in Jackson Square and where the Playhouse is now . That was the main one . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , the jewelry store was on the corner that was Henebree 's , I think . No , that was Heneger 's . MR . HUNNICUTT : Henebree ? MRS . DAVIDSON : Henebree . McCrory 's 5 & 10 was there . There was a drugstore - a Service Drugstore . I guess that was where Big Ed 's is now , on the very corner . There was Jackson Square Pharmacy , and on the other side the Hamilton Bank was there next to the movie theater . And Samuel 's Men 's Store was a very nice store . The Jackson Square Pharmacy was there , but in between , which the Pharmacy later took over was a Kay 's Ice Cream Store . We used to go there and - my husband and I would when we were dating . I liked to get coffee with ice cream in it , so we went there . MR . HUNNICUTT : I believe that was Taff Moody Ice Cream - they served Kay 's Ice Cream . MRS . DAVIDSON : Was it ? I didn 't remember that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I can 't say that I do . It was just a given , I suppose . It didn 't make a big dent in my memory . After six months of the dormitory , I moved to a D house on Norman Lane . That was another era . MR . HUNNICUTT : What is a D house ? MRS . DAVIDSON : A D house was a large three bedroom house . They were very much desired . They were really nice houses - still a lot of them are . The house was - there were five other girls who lived there - two of whom had been college friends . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , it would 've been upstairs . It was the second one to the end . A radiation technologist lived on the corner , and I lived there with school teachers and nurses who made up most of the dorm . MR . HUNNICUTT : Let 's talk a little bit about the dorm again . If I had a message for you or someone left a message for you , how did you retrieve your messages ? Was there a desk when you went in ? MRS . DAVIDSON : There was a desk downstairs . I remember the Valentine 's Day - I guess it must 've been 1949 . The message was that I had some flowers , some red roses . I had just met my husband - to - be at that time . I got all excited , and when I got to the desk , it was from somebody else . I enjoyed the red roses , but not as much as I might have . The thing was that there were ladies - a lot of the women who lived in the dorm worked on the night shift . They would sit around a large kind of living room , I guess they called it . They were all staring when I got flowers . I had to walk around , and it was embarrassing . MRS . DAVIDSON : I was there in the winter of 1948 . I 'm very cold natured , but I don 't remember being cold . We had those heavy navy blanket - navy blue blankets . This brings up a story if I jump to it later on . We were moved from the D house after another six months into the brand - new Garden Apartments on Villanova Road . They needed our D house for families . The people who moved in were the Andersons of the Anderson Hilltop Grocery . Of course , the furniture all belonged to the government there . So the Garden Apartments were not furnished , so we had dwindled down from 6 to 4 people who needed furniture . I took a day off and went to an auction the government set up down at the warehouses . I got seven beds and three or four dressers - much more than I could have used . But the beds were in great demand at work because all the young men who worked there were having children and needed beds . So we took the four . Also I got two sofas , and we could use but one ; so I sold one . They were really shabby awful sofas . Since it was all going to surplus anyway , we switched and took the nice sofa from the D house and left them the bad one . It was all taken away anyhow , so I didn 't feel too bad about that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't really remember about the telephone . We didn 't use the telephone much . We never used it for long - distance except for emergencies and calls home . I don 't remember that as being a problem particularly . MRS . DAVIDSON : I suppose I went on the bus . I did not have a car . One of the housemates from Norman Lane had gotten the car , but she would 've been at work at K - 25 . I don 't know . I may have gotten a ride . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess I paid somebody to deliver it . I don 't know . Maybe some of the fellows at work picked up their beds that they wanted . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was one of those warehouses down at the [ Oak Ridge ] Turnpike on Warehouse Road . I don 't know exactly where it was . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess it was on the bulletin boards at work , or there was a newspaper at the Lab . I guess I heard about it that way . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think probably so - in the newsletters they came around , also at the recreation building - the rec hall - at Jackson Square that was the library upstairs and the rec hall downstairs . Word - of - mouth - I don 't remember . We had a need and found the answer to it . MRS . DAVIDSON : I had to punch a clock at eight in the morning when I first started . I guess we got out at 4 : 30 or 5 o ' clock . We had bus service that went from the bus terminal - the Central one - that 's now by Bus Terminal Road . Later on after we were married , we lived on Waddell Circle and went from there to the Jefferson bus terminal . I went - I rode on the K - 25 bus , and they went out past K - 25 to the road that the powerhouse was on and NEPA was beyond that out by the river . MRS . DAVIDSON : There was some kind of management services office . I 'm not sure what it was called - the Roane Anderson Corporation at that time , I guess . I think that 's where I rented the dormitory room . I probably got bus tokens - I guess I got the tokens of the bus terminal . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think I had a checking account probably at Hamilton Bank in Jackson Square . I don 't recall otherwise . I know I did later . One thing I wanted to say about the buses - if you wanted to go to Clinton to do any shopping , more than what you could have in Oak Ridge or to meet somebody or something , there was a bus that ran frequently back and forth between the bus terminal and Clinton . There was a young man on the bus who had a sing - songy sales pitch for " peanuts , popcorn , Cracker Jacks , candy , and chewing gum . " He wouldn 't drive , but he would sell his wares all the way to Clinton and back . I always wondered who that was because he obviously had some talent . MRS . DAVIDSON : I 'm sure I did . I don 't know what became of it . I guess I had to turn it back in . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think somebody just got - one of the guards got on the bus and checked everybody 's badges . It was not a big thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : Probably . I don 't remember . What I do remember about that was my mother was coming down one time for my birthday - it must 've been in January 1949 . She rode the train . I told her that I would get a ride to meet her . Of course , the train didn 't stop at Oak Ridge . It went on to Knoxville , so I bummed a ride with one of the men in our group . He was actually the technical assistant to the director . His car was a broken down old thing with no floorboards in the back seat , which was pretty bad when my mother saw it . But she didn 't see it because when we got to Knoxville , she was not there . When we were coming back from the gateway entrance , she was not there . There was a message that she was waiting for us at the Elza Gate Station . She had told the conductor she had to get off at Oak Ridge . That 's where she was going , and I was going to meet her . So she slid down the Elza bank over there . She had my birthday cake - a large chocolate cake . She slid downhill with that , and somehow they stopped her at the guard gate at Elza . She waited there for us . MRS . DAVIDSON : Just for her - let her off like a milk train . They ordinarily didn 't stop there , but she wouldn 't have it otherwise . MRS . DAVIDSON : I used the library and rec hall . On Sunday afternoons , they played music ; and you could sit and write letters home , which is what I think I did a good bit . Later on in the better weather , there were tennis courts and a swimming pool . I don 't remember going to movies much . We went to church groups . There were so many young people ; it was just like a party all the time . Nothing in particular stands out . It was just fun . MRS . DAVIDSON : In the company I was , that was not true . There were a lot of women of course - of course , the dormitory was full of school teachers and nurses . But NEPA was mostly men . There were two parts to the Fairchild - the science and engineering part , which was bigger . I happen to be in the research part . My boss was a chemist - Vince Calkins . It was my job to - this was a real shocker to me - to find a chemical that would protect the human body against radiation for the reactor that was supposed to be in the airplane to Russia . I had no background for that kind of thing . I was just fresh out of college really . I realized I was out of my depth , but they decided - he was a pharmacist , I believe , and he wanted to do experiments with rats . They brought in the rat colony . By that time we had a couple of assistants , and I was supposed to be the group leader . One of the men , Ray Waldrop - you may have talked to him . I asked him if he minded working for a woman because he was really more experienced than I , although I had the degree . It was fine with him . There was also another worker , Saul Segal , who was quite a character in his own right . I took the rats in the cages over to the reactor , the " Old Lady " at X - 10 , and put them through what they called " rabbits " and radiated them for certain amount of time . We couldn 't kill the darn things . Then we used the older ones that had already been radiated , they were just tough as anything . I think the experiment was really a failure , although they may have found that to be the case in some later work with older people - that the cells are not dividing as fast and they 're not as subject to radiation . But we didn 't get into that . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was actually not K - 25 . It was beyond there . As I said , the bus took us - the bus dumped people off at K - 25 , and they went on west to just before you get to the Gallaher Bridge . You turn right there and go right past the power station there . It was used for a long time - the power house , and then NEPA was beyond that . The native rats came in - was it domestic experimental rats ? That was not good . I had a janitor who helped me , even though he could 've lost his job for doing it . He helped me clean cages . I always appreciated that . MRS . DAVIDSON : When they got rid of the rats , which was a blessing , my group leader then became Bill Browning , who was a fine scientist . He worked on the Van de Graaff generator . We had an interesting argument . Saul Segal thought he should be the one to do it since he was a man and I was a woman who would be leaving soon ; and it turned out that he left for California before I had left to have my baby . His argument didn 't hold with me anyway , but we argued about that some . We did run the Van de Graaff , and we also did some experiments on metallic sodium . It was nasty stuff to work with . It caught on fire if it was exposed to air . You had to work with that under oil in the glove box . I think that work all had to be repeated after NEPA left for Cincinnati with G . E . . When they moved part of NEPA to X - 10 , they called it the ANP , or something about aircraft and nuclear power . I was not connected with that because my first baby was born in August 1951 . I left in July . MRS . DAVIDSON : I heard somebody say that they had to repeat it all . My boss , the Division Director of Chemistry was interested in vitamin E , and thought it had a lot of protective influence . We worked with that . That was some of the work I did in chemistry - the lab part of it in the early days . It was not good work , I think . I 'm not blaming myself , but some of the other men who were doing chemical work - I think altogether we didn 't come up with anything . MRS . DAVIDSON : It may have been ahead of it 's time for nuclear submarines . I don 't know whether the engineering people thought that or not . In our group which was the chemistry and the physics , my friend who got me the job was Jim Trice . A fellow named Art Miller and somebody named Coneybearwere in the Physics Division . And then there were some others - Fred Maienschein . I did some work for him one time . It was work on beryllium for one thing . I didn 't work with any of the active beryllium . I didn 't do any lab work then , but I did some journal research . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't think they were that far along . I 'm not sure what happened to that part of it . As I said , in July of 1951 they moved to Cincinnati , Evensville , above Cincinnati . I don 't know how many people actually went up there . Most of my friends moved elsewhere . MR . HUNNICUTT : You mentioned the location of the operation was past the steam plant that was on the Clinch River . Was that the same location where the S - 50 project was located ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I think that was the name of our plot of land . I think those - I never was quite sure how they got the designations , but that was the Fairchild domain , I think . MRS . DAVIDSON : Really , it was just when our eyes met . It was very romantic . He followed our group home to the Columbia Hall to see where I lived . But at the time I thought he was too young , and I didn 't think he was following me . I was with a group of other girls . Later on , one of the women in the dormitory , who was a gym teacher in the Oak Ridge schools , told me I really ought to meet Jack Davidson that he loved to ride bicycles ; I was just back from my bicycle trip in Europe . I didn 't know who he was , and then I went to a church group meeting at my Presbyterian Church for young people one Sunday evening . A friend of mine had brought Jack Davidson , and he was the one whose eyes I had met and he had met mine . Sure enough , he loved to ride bicycles . That was the start of a good thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : We did a little bit . On our dates , that 's really what we did mostly at first . We rode out to West Outer Drive and had those wonderful big hills , not too much traffic at that time . We went out to the water tower at the top of Louisiana and had a picnic , and then rode back . When we got really good , we rode our bicycles over to Concord Park one day . I had gotten some chicken breasts at the grocery . I guess it was the A & P at Jackson Square . I was going to fry them for a picnic to take along over to Concord Park . When I went to the refrigerator to get them , they had turned into wings . Somebody had eaten my chicken breast . Jack was a good sport about that . He didn 't care . We had a nice ride . It was before they had improved Lovell Road . It was a pretty rough ride over there , but we were able to enjoy it . MRS . DAVIDSON : He had his bicycle . It was probably a Grey Stone . For me , he rented a bicycle from his work friend . I had forgotten what his name was . We went over to one of the D Streets , I think , and rode them . I didn 't have my English 3 - speed here . I guess I brought it later , but at that time I didn 't have it . MRS . DAVIDSON : That was a problem . I complained to my friend Jim Trice 's wife , Dot , who happened to live around the corner on Outer Drive at that time . She said the boardwalk was used a lot for dating , and of course the theaters . I guess we were outdoors people . I don 't know . MRS . DAVIDSON : He was a graduate of Georgia Tech . At the time he graduated , he was very young . He came up to see about a job , and he was drafted . No , he was in danger of being drafted right away , but they didn 't hire him . He did go to work for NASA , which was at that time NACA , in Virginia ; and worked over there a short time before he was taken into the Army . He had gone through Georgia Tech on a " War Manpower " loan . He was sent to some place to be an MP , I think . He wrote a night letter , which is a 50 - word telegram that was cheaper at night . He wrote a night letter to Stimson , the Secretary of War , telling them they had paid for his college education ; and here he was sitting in a camp doing nothing down in Alabama . He was transferred to the SED , he would never say that was the reason he was transferred . It may or may not have been . He arrived with the SED - he arrived in Oak Ridge the day Roosevelt died , which was in April 1945 , he was here with his group for maybe six weeks before they went out to Los Alamos . So he spent the rest of the war out there . Then he used his G . I . Bill - he stayed on at Los Alamos . They told them they would let him out of the Army if he would agree to stay on as a civilian . So he took that . Then when he did leave , he went to Annapolis and took a liberal arts course because he felt that he had missed out on it at Georgia Tech . He had a year at St . John 's College of Annapolis ; and then all along I guess he thought he would like to come back here . He came back - he arrived on Armistice Day , now Veterans Day , of 1948 . I was here a couple of months before he came , but we met shortly after Christmas in 1949 . MRS . DAVIDSON : Too long . We were married in May 1950 . He wanted to pay off his loan before we could get married , so I helped him along with that . I fed him some . He was very welcome at the D House of girls . I was going to tell you that during the war , there were nine girls in the house , and they slept on shifts on the bunk beds . There were only six of us when I was there . There were a couple of the boyfriends around , and one of them cut the grass . I think Jack did the - empty the clinkers from the furnace , the coal furnace . They made themselves useful . They got their dinner . MR . HUNNICUTT : Tell me about the coal furnace briefly . MRS . DAVIDSON : Most of the houses were a very good design really , and a whole lot better built than we gave them credit for . But each one that I knew of had a corner set off or closed off as a coal storage place that could be filled through a window from the outside , and then you could use the - there was an opening on the inside that you could use to put coal into the furnace . That was awful of course , but that 's what all the houses were doing in that time , too . We had a yard full of clinkers over there . MRS . DAVIDSON : We were taken care of by a Big Brother - the government . They brought the coal around , and you didn 't do a thing . That was part of the rent . When we got our house here on Orange Lane , that 's another story . Are you ready for that yet ? MRS . DAVIDSON : We went back to my home in Louisville , Kentucky , to be married . We had planned to fly to Nashville , but it turned out the Delta Queen was coming through Louisville the next morning . My mother had told us we could not get married the week before because it was too busy with Derby Day . So we delayed until May 13 . Then we spent the night in Louisville at the Brown Hotel , where she pulled some strings to get us a room because it was still very full of visitors from the Derby . We got on the Delta Queen , and our friends were all on the dock to see us off . They had us almost convinced that we were on Daylight Saving Time , and the Delta Queen was not , and we had missed it . But we rode down just as far as Paducah . We were anxious to start in life you know . We lived on Wadell Circle in a K apartment . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you recall the number ? MRS . DAVIDSON : It was a two - story thing . I guess it was a two - bedroom up above , and we had K - 1 . It was sort of underground at the front and open at the back . We had a nice back porch . There was a closet under the stairway and a very small kitchen . It had a table that folded down . It was not as compact as a flattop , but the furnishings that they had did double duty . You could fold it up and have more room . MRS . DAVIDSON : The K apartment was heated with the coal furnace , but there was a janitor who came around and took care of it for us . We were taken care of by Roane Anderson . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you remember what the rent was ? MRS . DAVIDSON : We lived in the K from May 1950 , until we got this house in July 1952 . It was said - the word around town was that you couldn 't get a two - bedroom house unless you had three children , all of different sex . We had been on the list for this house ever since we knew our daughter was coming along . That was a long time to wait . We had been offered two houses - Florida Avenue , where the parking was across the street and the backyard just dropped off . We thought that was totally unsuitable for a new child . We turned both of those down . If we had turned this one down , we would 've gone to the bottom of the long list . But we loved this place of the trees and the dead end lane neighborhood . So we sat outside in front all weekend because we were not top on the list . The reason the other people didn 't take it was that the previous owner , Jim Cox and Charlotte , had put in an oil furnace ; and nobody wanted to pay $ 200 for the oil furnace . Since I had been working , we had saved my salary from work , and we had $ 200 to pay . Also , they didn 't want to be in the high rent district . This house rented for something like $ 45 instead of $ 43 in the lower rent districts . MRS . DAVIDSON : The Oak Ridge cemesto houses that were built - I think this house was built in the fall of 1944 or 1943 . Maybe it was ' 43 . The B house has two bedrooms and of course a bath and a kitchen with a dinette into a long narrow living room . It was about 24 feet by 40 something feet . It was small and convenient . It didn 't have much storage space , but it 's been a wonderful house for us because of the trees . We are on a greenbelt , and I enjoy that very much . It 's a nice private neighborhood just above Jackson Square . MRS . DAVIDSON : Our cemesto has a fireplace , and it had a complete brick wall . Some of the B houses had a brick wall just beyond the fireplace . MRS . DAVIDSON : There are hardwood floors in all the cemestos , I believe . Our house has maple flooring , and a lot of them had oak . Wood was hard to come by in the wartime . We love the color - the reddish color of the maple . MRS . DAVIDSON : Adele is our second daughter , and she was two years younger . Our son is Bill Davidson or William . He was born in November of 1954 . He 's just now turning 58 . MR . HUNNICUTT : So your first daughter went to Cedar Hill ? MRS . DAVIDSON : All three of our children went to Cedar Hill . They had split grades there , so I think the classes were one half size . They would take the kids a half from one grade , and half from the next grade , and that worked out just fine . MRS . DAVIDSON : Cedar Hill was wonderful . It was very special . Mr . Dodd was the principal , and he saw to it - he had the best teachers or at least as good as any . Actually in those days all the teachers and Oak Ridge were special because many of them had been recruited from Columbia Teachers College , along with the superintendent . Others were specially recruited for the job . They were a group a part , I think , from a lot of teachers . MRS . DAVIDSON : The girls both went to Jefferson when it was on the hill at Jackson Square , and Bill was in the first year at the new Jefferson that was over on Fairbanks Road . His was the first class there . They all went through Oak Ridge High . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you recall some of the classes your daughters took while they were in junior high ? Was there Home Ec . or things related to girls ? MRS . DAVIDSON : No , they were on the college prep track . They took eighth grade algebra and that kind of thing . Of course English and math and social studies and science - our older girl I think took biology ; and I 'm not sure if Adele had a more general science course . It just depended on the teacher that they had . They had an excellent education , and the girls were both Merit semifinalists . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course . I was in the PTA . I 'm not sure if I was ever a room mother , but I of course helped with parties and things . MRS . DAVIDSON : The teachers recruited them from each class to help with parties mostly . They helped with any activities that they didn 't really have time to do . MRS . DAVIDSON : Parent - Teacher Association , a time honored group . It got extra things for the school . I got involved with raincoats for the school patrol . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess maybe I was a treasurer of the Cedar Hill PTA , and this goal was to get those yellow slicker raincoat so kids could be visible to the drivers . I found out how much the things cost , and then I estimated postage . At the PTA meeting , Alvin Weinberg was president . He had a son or two in school at the time . He took me to task for estimating the postage , so I had to ask for just the money for the coats themselves since I didn 't really know what the postage is going to be . I thought that was interesting that he wanted to keep it to the exact penny . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think they just wore what the other kids wore . One day we had a deep snow and Bill was in kindergarten , and the snow was up over their boots . I think he had some corduroys . The teacher was making the kids take their pants off and dry them on the radiator , and he wouldn 't do it . I had to go up to the school and take him some fresh pants , some dry clothes . He was very young - just four when he started . MR . HUNNICUTT : Let 's go back a few years . Do you remember 1945 when they dropped the bomb on Japan ? You remember where you were ? And what was your reaction ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I do remember that very clearly because it was the summer after my junior year in college , and I was a camp counselor up in Door County , Wisconsin . There was no electricity at the camp , so we counselors - after we got the kids to bed , went to the state park nearby . This was at Fish Creek , Wisconsin . We would listen to people 's car radios . We knew for about a week that something was happening , but we didn 't know just what . It was very deeply moving when the bomb was dropped , and we thought it would bring an end to the war . Of course , I had friends and a brother on Guam and a cousin was in Europe and others . So that was very deeply moving . I had a book of poetry - my favorite poems at the camp with me . One of my 12 - year - olds picked out a poem - " Once to every man and nation comes a moment to decide " - she read that , and I thought that was very astute of her , a youngster to be able to do that . MRS . DAVIDSON : My husband thought they should have dropped a sample first , but I didn 't feel that way since the first bomb didn 't phase the Japanese . I didn 't think the test one would have either . I was just so glad that the war was over . People could settle down and get into real life again . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think I was in transition from the dormitory to the house , and my husband 's brothers came up from Georgia to witness the opening . So we drove in their car around , and we watched the parade from , I believe , down on the eastern end of the Turnpike down near the warehouses to get out of the traffic . We never could figure out why they invited Marie " The Body " McDonald and [ inaudible ] to ride in the open car for the parade . We couldn 't figure out what they had to do with it , but we did see the burning of the magnesium ribbon . That was exciting . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was only toward town from Elza Gate . I know the central part of town , the Jackson Square area , was very crowded . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think they name the streets for famous cities in the country , and of course the alphabetical designations were very helpful . But Jackson Square , I assume , was named for New Orleans . That 's all I know about it . MRS . DAVIDSON : Sometimes you would pick up the telephone , and the other party was talking . I believe they had different rings . I think maybe the other party had one ring , and we had two . There were four - party lines , but if we were on a four - party line , only the other one was active . I think maybe we were . The other two lines were not being used . MR . HUNNICUTT : When you are raising your family , did you hang your clothes outside on the clothesline ? Did you have a dryer ? What did you use ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I hung them outside on the clothesline . As I said , when we moved here , Anne was a year old . Not much more than three years after that , we had three babies . I was able to talk my husband into getting a dryer that time . Before that , he had built a pulley out of my kitchen window . There was a drop off in the back , and he was able to string it to a tree in the woods . I was able to reel those cloth diapers and reel them in and out . The only problem was that the birds like the trees , too . Sometimes I had to do some re - washing . MR . HUNNICUTT : So in those days you use cloth diapers ? Today we use disposable diapers . How do you think you would 've done if you had disposable diapers ? MRS . DAVIDSON : At one point , when our children were out playing Kick the Can , there were over 40 children on the lane . There were about 20 or 21 houses . There were almost as many dogs . It was just a glorious place for them to grow up . They seem to get along remarkably well most of the time , especially in the early days . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes . We went down there on the opening , and got the radioactive dimes on that occasion . The museum at that time was down at Jefferson Circle . I don 't think any of us ever had our hair stand out on the Van De Graff generator or whatever it was , but we took the children . We went out ourselves . Of course my husband was interested in that kind of thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : Sometimes they walked to Jefferson , but by that time they were carrying pretty heavy books . One of the neighbors on Outer Drive wanted to have a carpool , so we joined that . MRS . DAVIDSON : When Anne was in the fifth grade , they had to write what they did on Friday nights . The teacher would call me and say , " Is it true that you gave your children ice water and watched TV on Friday nights ? " That was how generous we were with them . We didn 't get a TV until they were probably five or six years old . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course it was black and white . The reason we got it - I guess finally it was that the children were always going to the neighbors ' house to watch TV . We decided that we should get our own . They watched things like " Pinky Lee " and I 've forgotten what else . MRS . DAVIDSON : I remember that fondly because my first real date with my husband was going to dinner there with him . He invited me to go to a concert in Knoxville , and his excuse was that we should get to know each other better before he took me to the city with him . That was one thing . I remember there were parties there , and our company had a party at the Oak Terrace Ballroom . One of the NEPA fellows wore a Tarzan costume , which was mostly nothing . It turned out that he lived in the neighborhood . MR . HUNNICUTT : What was the Oak Terrace ballroom - where was it located ? MRS . DAVIDSON : That was just below the dormitory where I lived in Columbia Hall . Jack went there looking for me , he thought I would eat breakfast there and then he could have breakfast with me ; but I ate in the dormitory . He didn 't find me there . When we came back from our bicycle ride to Concord Park , I remember we stopped by there , and he drank two or three Mountain Dew drinks . That surprised me , but we had worked off a lot of sweat . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , we took our children out there and saw " Lawrence of Arabia " and " The 10 Commandment " and those things . It was quite nice . MR . HUNNICUTT : Where was it located ? MRS . DAVIDSON : It was about where Kroger 's - where that is now , on the southeast part of Illinois Avenue . It was a nice thing . That was a special treat for the children to go out there . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't think so . I think they were mostly in the car . They had a drawing one time , Jack won something . It was actually nothing , but he did win . MRS . DAVIDSON : I sure did . My three children were born there . It was a green structure , like so many of the buildings in Oak Ridge . I guess the present building is built on that place . It was okay . I didn 't have any problems with it , except after my second child . I had a staph infection from the hospital . Even an Army wife with a private room got an infection there . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , I think they also had been recruited ; and a lot of them were from Tulane University . The time I was sick with my infection , they were having a reunion at Tulane , and my doctor and another one were gone for the reunion . I didn 't like the one who took care of me . He didn 't do a good job . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was okay . I don 't remember having any problems with it . We knew Dr . Rogers from our church , and we went to him . He was called away to the service , I believe . Maybe it was the Korean War , but then he came back . MRS . DAVIDSON : We met at Pine Valley School . The choir sat on the bleachers , and the minister sat under the halo of the basketball net . My husband was a Methodist , and he went to the First Methodist Church . They had a big youth group there . When we were first married , we tried to take them both in . We went to Sunday school one place , and church another until we finally settled on the Presbyterian . It was smaller , and we knew more people . MR . HUNNICUTT : Thinking back , what do you like best about Oak Ridge ? MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course the people . I love my trees and my house . I love all the activities . Both my husband and I have always loved music and enjoy the concerts a lot . The symphony concerts with Waldo Cohn conducting were held at Jefferson Junior High on the Kentucky Avenue hill . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you think back about all the people that you knew in the early days ? Do you think it was unusual for everybody to get along - the many people that were here ? MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , I guess so . I didn 't think about it because we just did . It was just fun . Everybody was away from home , and we had to be family for each other . That was particularly true in this close neighborhood . MRS . DAVIDSON : I 'm pleased for the most part . I think we 've made good progress . We 've kept up with the outside world . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't know . I 'll probably think of things after you leave . Nothing particular comes to mind . MR . HUNNICUTT : I would like to thank you for your time , and I think this interview will be very helpful for someone in the future to see how you lived in Oak Ridge in the early days . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think we came through at the very best of times . It was not the pressure of war , but we were growing community . I think things were happening at the Lab . Both of my husband and I loved the Lab because there were so many good things going on out there . It gives us hope for the future . MR . HUNNICUTT : I thank you very much for your time . [ Editor 's Note : This transcript has been edited at Mrs . Davidson 's request . The corresponding audio and video components have remained unchanged . ] Your rating was saved . you wish to report :

MR . HUNNICUTT : This interview is for the Center of Oak Ridge Oral History . The date is November 8 , 2012 . I am Don Hunnicutt in the home of Mrs . Mary Ann Davidson , 117 Orange Lane , Oak Ridge , Tennessee , to take her oral history about living in Oak Ridge , Tennessee . Please state your full name and your place of birth and your date of birth . MRS . DAVIDSON : My name is Mary Ann Davidson . My date of birth is January 12 , 1925 . I was born in Louisville , Kentucky . I lived there all my early life until I graduated from college . MRS . DAVIDSON : My father was William H . Courtenay . He was born in 1890 , on March 3 . He was in World War I and lived his entire life in Louisville and Shelbyville , Kentucky . He worked for the Mengel Company . They imported mahogany and hardwood from Africa and Central America . He delivered those to customers . He didn 't consider himself a salesman , but he sold them to the furniture factory - furniture makers around Kentucky , mostly Indiana and Cincinnati and some in Tennessee . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , he did not . The Louisville Male High School was considered a fine school at that time . They said that graduates could enter Harvard in their second year . The principal had written textbooks that were apparently used all over . But my father was interested in raising ponies . His father had a farm in Shelbyville , Kentucky . If you 'd didn 't make the grade , you are special . And Dr . Ruben Post - Halleck , the famous principal of the school , told him if he took an exam in math , he could be entered back in . He did that , and he aced the test . He was back in . Then he was a special in English , so they told him if he memorized the " Lady of the Lake " and said that he could get back in school . So he did that . I think he never did finish . He was a twin , and his twin was more of an engineering type and went to manual training high school . MRS . DAVIDSON : She grew up in several small towns in western Kentucky . Her father worked for the L & N Railroad . She had her high school in Hopkinsville , Kentucky . She had to stay home - or she went to junior college nearby . She had a scholarship to Randolph Macon Women 's College , but she couldn 't take it because her mother was ill and died at age 50 . It was about the year I was born , I think . MRS . DAVIDSON : His name was William Howard Courtenay III . My father was named for his uncle , who was also William Howard . My older brother works for Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green in the physics department . He made instruments . My younger brother was a pediatrician in Louisville , and he is still living on a farm in Shelbyville . He 's interested in Kentucky antiques . MRS . DAVIDSON : I went to an unusual kindergarten and first grade . I was at what they called the Enterprise Branch of I . N . Bloom School . It was only kindergarten and first grade . It was in the older building , where we had a Pot Belly Stove . I think we had a maid to help us take our leggings off in the cold weather - galoshes . It was really a wonderful school . It was almost like a private one . It was public . We did things like making butter and we had an orchestra . I played the triangle . I had started a little bit earlier when my younger brother was born . Louisville had half semester , half - year grades . I would 've been a half year , but I skipped the last half of kindergarten . I went to the school board and took a test and went on , so they put me in the regular school year . I went through the big school the I . N . Bloom School and Highland Junior High School in Louisville . Then I went to Atherton High School for Girls . The Louisville public schools were segregated - boys and girls . There were about 900 girls at Atherton . My graduating class was about 200 , and I was the valedictorian . MRS . DAVIDSON : They are pants to keep your legs warm . They zipped up from the inside of the ankle bone up to about knee - high , I guess it was . They were a royal pain to take on and off , so the teacher had to have help to do that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was just ordinary . I 'm sure the girls wore dresses , and the little boys wore suits - not suits , but pants and shirts . MRS . DAVIDSON : I came to Oak Ridge after I graduated from college . I had two years of getting a master 's at Emory while I worked at my alma mater , Agnes Scott College in Decatur , Georgia . I was the chemistry lab instructor . So after those two years were up , I was interested in working in chemistry or biochemistry . My master 's was in biochemistry . In Louisville , there was nothing in that field , except liquor and paint - neither of which I was interested in . In Atlanta , I would like to stay in Atlanta , I heard that Oak Ridge was an interesting new place , and a lot was going on here . One of my dear college friends had recently married a physicist from the University of Kentucky , so I visited them here . I guess that must have been 1947 . Her husband was working at NEPA . He said they were looking for people with a chemistry degree . I applied , and I was accepted . I didn 't know that until I had completed the clearance , so I took the opportunity to go to Europe at an American youth hostel bicycle tour of Western Europe in the summer of 1948 . When I got home , I found that I had indeed gotten the job at Oak Ridge . So I came down here . MRS . DAVIDSON : I was wondering that . I think I came by train . When I interviewed earlier in the spring , my interview was at the Andrew Johnson Hotel . It was one of the private rooms . I had never seen the company here . I think I must have been met by a car and driver and brought to Oak Ridge . MRS . DAVIDSON : I came in through the Vermont Gateway , which is where the gas station is now on the corner of what I call Vermont . They call it North Rutgers now . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , I think it must 've been after that . That would 've been at Christmas time . When I applied , I imagine it was early spring . MRS . DAVIDSON : We called the company NEPA , for Nuclear Energy for the Propulsion of Aircraft . It was managed by the Fairchild Corporation the way Union Carbide or one of the other contractors managed the lab . I did not know until the first day I went to work just what the company was doing . They handed me a volume of information that said , " We are looking for - we are trying to make an airplane powered by nuclear energy that could fly to Russia and back without refueling . " That was a great shock to me . MRS . DAVIDSON : I lived in Columbia Hall Dormitory . I was very surprised to find that the rent was $ 15 a month until I realized it was one very small room . That was my living quarters . I took the opportunity to stay out of it as much as possible . I did that by babysitting in some of the B and D houses in the evening . Grandmothers were not here since it was a closed community . Babysitters were in short supply , and even though I didn 't need the money , it was good to get out of the dormitory . MRS . DAVIDSON : The dormitory was like Cheyenne Hall . It was the same type of building . It had wooden stairways from the second - floor hall down on each end . I lived on the second floor . Our dormitory was mostly nurses , since it was up on the hill next to the hospital - I think where the west parking lot is now . There was a kitchen on each end where we could have our own breakfast . Of course we were at the plant at lunchtime , and then we usually went out to supper . I opened the refrigerator door one morning and somebody 's milk came spilling out down my front . Everybody just stuffed things into the refrigerator . MRS . DAVIDSON : I had a single room with a twin bed and enough room to walk to the window by the bed . There was a little table that served as a desk with a chair . There was a much coveted dormitory dresser - a tall one with a number of drawers . They were very popular . MRS . DAVIDSON : They had a wonderful bus service here . Travel wasn 't really a problem . We walked , of course , from the dormitory to Jackson Square and ate supper usually at the Mayflower , which is where I first saw my husband - to - be . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was on the corner of Tennessee , right across from the Soup Kitchen and the Texaco gas station there on the northeast corner . It was a very popular place . In fact , there were several places you could eat . It was the Central Cafeteria , and the T & C Cafeteria in Jackson Square , which is about where the Epicurean is now toward the garden . MRS . DAVIDSON : It must 've been the A & P on Jackson Square . Jackson Square was really the center of activity as far as I was concerned at that time . I still love it . I hope it keeps going . MRS . DAVIDSON : The department stores - the big department store was Taylor 's at the time . They had a wonderful book department headed by Mrs . Keyes , whose daughter I knew at work . They had really fine art books and other books that they would have a great sale on once or twice a year . We were very happy with that . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was in the middle of the block between where Big Ed 's is in the corner . I guess it 's mostly used by the engineering company now . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , not frequently , but I went and saw - there was a theater down at Big Ed 's in Jackson Square and where the Playhouse is now . That was the main one . MRS . DAVIDSON : Henebree . McCrory 's 5 & 10 was there . There was a drugstore - a Service Drugstore . I guess that was where Big Ed 's is now , on the very corner . There was Jackson Square Pharmacy , and on the other side the Hamilton Bank was there next to the movie theater . And Samuel 's Men 's Store was a very nice store . The Jackson Square Pharmacy was there , but in between , which the Pharmacy later took over was a Kay 's Ice Cream Store . We used to go there and - my husband and I would when we were dating . I liked to get coffee with ice cream in it , so we went there . MRS . DAVIDSON : I can 't say that I do . It was just a given , I suppose . It didn 't make a big dent in my memory . After six months of the dormitory , I moved to a D house on Norman Lane . That was another era . MRS . DAVIDSON : A D house was a large three bedroom house . They were very much desired . They were really nice houses - still a lot of them are . The house was - there were five other girls who lived there - two of whom had been college friends . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , it would 've been upstairs . It was the second one to the end . A radiation technologist lived on the corner , and I lived there with school teachers and nurses who made up most of the dorm . MR . HUNNICUTT : Let 's talk a little bit about the dorm again . If I had a message for you or someone left a message for you , how did you retrieve your messages ? Was there a desk when you went in ? MRS . DAVIDSON : There was a desk downstairs . I remember the Valentine 's Day - I guess it must 've been 1949 . The message was that I had some flowers , some red roses . I had just met my husband - to - be at that time . I got all excited , and when I got to the desk , it was from somebody else . I enjoyed the red roses , but not as much as I might have . The thing was that there were ladies - a lot of the women who lived in the dorm worked on the night shift . They would sit around a large kind of living room , I guess they called it . They were all staring when I got flowers . I had to walk around , and it was embarrassing . MRS . DAVIDSON : I was there in the winter of 1948 . I 'm very cold natured , but I don 't remember being cold . We had those heavy navy blanket - navy blue blankets . This brings up a story if I jump to it later on . We were moved from the D house after another six months into the brand - new Garden Apartments on Villanova Road . They needed our D house for families . The people who moved in were the Andersons of the Anderson Hilltop Grocery . Of course , the furniture all belonged to the government there . So the Garden Apartments were not furnished , so we had dwindled down from 6 to 4 people who needed furniture . I took a day off and went to an auction the government set up down at the warehouses . I got seven beds and three or four dressers - much more than I could have used . But the beds were in great demand at work because all the young men who worked there were having children and needed beds . So we took the four . Also I got two sofas , and we could use but one ; so I sold one . They were really shabby awful sofas . Since it was all going to surplus anyway , we switched and took the nice sofa from the D house and left them the bad one . It was all taken away anyhow , so I didn 't feel too bad about that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't really remember about the telephone . We didn 't use the telephone much . We never used it for long - distance except for emergencies and calls home . I don 't remember that as being a problem particularly . MRS . DAVIDSON : I suppose I went on the bus . I did not have a car . One of the housemates from Norman Lane had gotten the car , but she would 've been at work at K - 25 . I don 't know . I may have gotten a ride . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess I paid somebody to deliver it . I don 't know . Maybe some of the fellows at work picked up their beds that they wanted . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was one of those warehouses down at the [ Oak Ridge ] Turnpike on Warehouse Road . I don 't know exactly where it was . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess it was on the bulletin boards at work , or there was a newspaper at the Lab . I guess I heard about it that way . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think probably so - in the newsletters they came around , also at the recreation building - the rec hall - at Jackson Square that was the library upstairs and the rec hall downstairs . Word - of - mouth - I don 't remember . We had a need and found the answer to it . MRS . DAVIDSON : I had to punch a clock at eight in the morning when I first started . I guess we got out at 4 : 30 or 5 o ' clock . We had bus service that went from the bus terminal - the Central one - that 's now by Bus Terminal Road . Later on after we were married , we lived on Waddell Circle and went from there to the Jefferson bus terminal . I went - I rode on the K - 25 bus , and they went out past K - 25 to the road that the powerhouse was on and NEPA was beyond that out by the river . MRS . DAVIDSON : There was some kind of management services office . I 'm not sure what it was called - the Roane Anderson Corporation at that time , I guess . I think that 's where I rented the dormitory room . I probably got bus tokens - I guess I got the tokens of the bus terminal . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think I had a checking account probably at Hamilton Bank in Jackson Square . I don 't recall otherwise . I know I did later . One thing I wanted to say about the buses - if you wanted to go to Clinton to do any shopping , more than what you could have in Oak Ridge or to meet somebody or something , there was a bus that ran frequently back and forth between the bus terminal and Clinton . There was a young man on the bus who had a sing - songy sales pitch for " peanuts , popcorn , Cracker Jacks , candy , and chewing gum . " He wouldn 't drive , but he would sell his wares all the way to Clinton and back . I always wondered who that was because he obviously had some talent . MRS . DAVIDSON : I 'm sure I did . I don 't know what became of it . I guess I had to turn it back in . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think somebody just got - one of the guards got on the bus and checked everybody 's badges . It was not a big thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : Probably . I don 't remember . What I do remember about that was my mother was coming down one time for my birthday - it must 've been in January 1949 . She rode the train . I told her that I would get a ride to meet her . Of course , the train didn 't stop at Oak Ridge . It went on to Knoxville , so I bummed a ride with one of the men in our group . He was actually the technical assistant to the director . His car was a broken down old thing with no floorboards in the back seat , which was pretty bad when my mother saw it . But she didn 't see it because when we got to Knoxville , she was not there . When we were coming back from the gateway entrance , she was not there . There was a message that she was waiting for us at the Elza Gate Station . She had told the conductor she had to get off at Oak Ridge . That 's where she was going , and I was going to meet her . So she slid down the Elza bank over there . She had my birthday cake - a large chocolate cake . She slid downhill with that , and somehow they stopped her at the guard gate at Elza . She waited there for us . MRS . DAVIDSON : Just for her - let her off like a milk train . They ordinarily didn 't stop there , but she wouldn 't have it otherwise . MRS . DAVIDSON : I used the library and rec hall . On Sunday afternoons , they played music ; and you could sit and write letters home , which is what I think I did a good bit . Later on in the better weather , there were tennis courts and a swimming pool . I don 't remember going to movies much . We went to church groups . There were so many young people ; it was just like a party all the time . Nothing in particular stands out . It was just fun . MRS . DAVIDSON : In the company I was , that was not true . There were a lot of women of course - of course , the dormitory was full of school teachers and nurses . But NEPA was mostly men . There were two parts to the Fairchild - the science and engineering part , which was bigger . I happen to be in the research part . My boss was a chemist - Vince Calkins . It was my job to - this was a real shocker to me - to find a chemical that would protect the human body against radiation for the reactor that was supposed to be in the airplane to Russia . I had no background for that kind of thing . I was just fresh out of college really . I realized I was out of my depth , but they decided - he was a pharmacist , I believe , and he wanted to do experiments with rats . They brought in the rat colony . By that time we had a couple of assistants , and I was supposed to be the group leader . One of the men , Ray Waldrop - you may have talked to him . I asked him if he minded working for a woman because he was really more experienced than I , although I had the degree . It was fine with him . There was also another worker , Saul Segal , who was quite a character in his own right . I took the rats in the cages over to the reactor , the " Old Lady " at X - 10 , and put them through what they called " rabbits " and radiated them for certain amount of time . We couldn 't kill the darn things . Then we used the older ones that had already been radiated , they were just tough as anything . I think the experiment was really a failure , although they may have found that to be the case in some later work with older people - that the cells are not dividing as fast and they 're not as subject to radiation . But we didn 't get into that . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was actually not K - 25 . It was beyond there . As I said , the bus took us - the bus dumped people off at K - 25 , and they went on west to just before you get to the Gallaher Bridge . You turn right there and go right past the power station there . It was used for a long time - the power house , and then NEPA was beyond that . The native rats came in - was it domestic experimental rats ? That was not good . I had a janitor who helped me , even though he could 've lost his job for doing it . He helped me clean cages . I always appreciated that . MRS . DAVIDSON : When they got rid of the rats , which was a blessing , my group leader then became Bill Browning , who was a fine scientist . He worked on the Van de Graaff generator . We had an interesting argument . Saul Segal thought he should be the one to do it since he was a man and I was a woman who would be leaving soon ; and it turned out that he left for California before I had left to have my baby . His argument didn 't hold with me anyway , but we argued about that some . We did run the Van de Graaff , and we also did some experiments on metallic sodium . It was nasty stuff to work with . It caught on fire if it was exposed to air . You had to work with that under oil in the glove box . I think that work all had to be repeated after NEPA left for Cincinnati with G . E . . When they moved part of NEPA to X - 10 , they called it the ANP , or something about aircraft and nuclear power . I was not connected with that because my first baby was born in August 1951 . I left in July . MRS . DAVIDSON : I heard somebody say that they had to repeat it all . My boss , the Division Director of Chemistry was interested in vitamin E , and thought it had a lot of protective influence . We worked with that . That was some of the work I did in chemistry - the lab part of it in the early days . It was not good work , I think . I 'm not blaming myself , but some of the other men who were doing chemical work - I think altogether we didn 't come up with anything . MRS . DAVIDSON : It may have been ahead of it 's time for nuclear submarines . I don 't know whether the engineering people thought that or not . In our group which was the chemistry and the physics , my friend who got me the job was Jim Trice . A fellow named Art Miller and somebody named Coneybearwere in the Physics Division . And then there were some others - Fred Maienschein . I did some work for him one time . It was work on beryllium for one thing . I didn 't work with any of the active beryllium . I didn 't do any lab work then , but I did some journal research . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't think they were that far along . I 'm not sure what happened to that part of it . As I said , in July of 1951 they moved to Cincinnati , Evensville , above Cincinnati . I don 't know how many people actually went up there . Most of my friends moved elsewhere . MR . HUNNICUTT : You mentioned the location of the operation was past the steam plant that was on the Clinch River . Was that the same location where the S - 50 project was located ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I think that was the name of our plot of land . I think those - I never was quite sure how they got the designations , but that was the Fairchild domain , I think . MRS . DAVIDSON : Really , it was just when our eyes met . It was very romantic . He followed our group home to the Columbia Hall to see where I lived . But at the time I thought he was too young , and I didn 't think he was following me . I was with a group of other girls . Later on , one of the women in the dormitory , who was a gym teacher in the Oak Ridge schools , told me I really ought to meet Jack Davidson that he loved to ride bicycles ; I was just back from my bicycle trip in Europe . I didn 't know who he was , and then I went to a church group meeting at my Presbyterian Church for young people one Sunday evening . A friend of mine had brought Jack Davidson , and he was the one whose eyes I had met and he had met mine . Sure enough , he loved to ride bicycles . That was the start of a good thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : We did a little bit . On our dates , that 's really what we did mostly at first . We rode out to West Outer Drive and had those wonderful big hills , not too much traffic at that time . We went out to the water tower at the top of Louisiana and had a picnic , and then rode back . When we got really good , we rode our bicycles over to Concord Park one day . I had gotten some chicken breasts at the grocery . I guess it was the A & P at Jackson Square . I was going to fry them for a picnic to take along over to Concord Park . When I went to the refrigerator to get them , they had turned into wings . Somebody had eaten my chicken breast . Jack was a good sport about that . He didn 't care . We had a nice ride . It was before they had improved Lovell Road . It was a pretty rough ride over there , but we were able to enjoy it . MRS . DAVIDSON : He had his bicycle . It was probably a Grey Stone . For me , he rented a bicycle from his work friend . I had forgotten what his name was . We went over to one of the D Streets , I think , and rode them . I didn 't have my English 3 - speed here . I guess I brought it later , but at that time I didn 't have it . MRS . DAVIDSON : That was a problem . I complained to my friend Jim Trice 's wife , Dot , who happened to live around the corner on Outer Drive at that time . She said the boardwalk was used a lot for dating , and of course the theaters . I guess we were outdoors people . I don 't know . MRS . DAVIDSON : He was a graduate of Georgia Tech . At the time he graduated , he was very young . He came up to see about a job , and he was drafted . No , he was in danger of being drafted right away , but they didn 't hire him . He did go to work for NASA , which was at that time NACA , in Virginia ; and worked over there a short time before he was taken into the Army . He had gone through Georgia Tech on a " War Manpower " loan . He was sent to some place to be an MP , I think . He wrote a night letter , which is a 50 - word telegram that was cheaper at night . He wrote a night letter to Stimson , the Secretary of War , telling them they had paid for his college education ; and here he was sitting in a camp doing nothing down in Alabama . He was transferred to the SED , he would never say that was the reason he was transferred . It may or may not have been . He arrived with the SED - he arrived in Oak Ridge the day Roosevelt died , which was in April 1945 , he was here with his group for maybe six weeks before they went out to Los Alamos . So he spent the rest of the war out there . Then he used his G . I . Bill - he stayed on at Los Alamos . They told them they would let him out of the Army if he would agree to stay on as a civilian . So he took that . Then when he did leave , he went to Annapolis and took a liberal arts course because he felt that he had missed out on it at Georgia Tech . He had a year at St . John 's College of Annapolis ; and then all along I guess he thought he would like to come back here . He came back - he arrived on Armistice Day , now Veterans Day , of 1948 . I was here a couple of months before he came , but we met shortly after Christmas in 1949 . MRS . DAVIDSON : Too long . We were married in May 1950 . He wanted to pay off his loan before we could get married , so I helped him along with that . I fed him some . He was very welcome at the D House of girls . I was going to tell you that during the war , there were nine girls in the house , and they slept on shifts on the bunk beds . There were only six of us when I was there . There were a couple of the boyfriends around , and one of them cut the grass . I think Jack did the - empty the clinkers from the furnace , the coal furnace . They made themselves useful . They got their dinner . MRS . DAVIDSON : Most of the houses were a very good design really , and a whole lot better built than we gave them credit for . But each one that I knew of had a corner set off or closed off as a coal storage place that could be filled through a window from the outside , and then you could use the - there was an opening on the inside that you could use to put coal into the furnace . That was awful of course , but that 's what all the houses were doing in that time , too . We had a yard full of clinkers over there . MRS . DAVIDSON : We were taken care of by a Big Brother - the government . They brought the coal around , and you didn 't do a thing . That was part of the rent . When we got our house here on Orange Lane , that 's another story . Are you ready for that yet ? MRS . DAVIDSON : We went back to my home in Louisville , Kentucky , to be married . We had planned to fly to Nashville , but it turned out the Delta Queen was coming through Louisville the next morning . My mother had told us we could not get married the week before because it was too busy with Derby Day . So we delayed until May 13 . Then we spent the night in Louisville at the Brown Hotel , where she pulled some strings to get us a room because it was still very full of visitors from the Derby . We got on the Delta Queen , and our friends were all on the dock to see us off . They had us almost convinced that we were on Daylight Saving Time , and the Delta Queen was not , and we had missed it . But we rode down just as far as Paducah . We were anxious to start in life you know . We lived on Wadell Circle in a K apartment . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was a two - story thing . I guess it was a two - bedroom up above , and we had K - 1 . It was sort of underground at the front and open at the back . We had a nice back porch . There was a closet under the stairway and a very small kitchen . It had a table that folded down . It was not as compact as a flattop , but the furnishings that they had did double duty . You could fold it up and have more room . MRS . DAVIDSON : The K apartment was heated with the coal furnace , but there was a janitor who came around and took care of it for us . We were taken care of by Roane Anderson . MRS . DAVIDSON : We lived in the K from May 1950 , until we got this house in July 1952 . It was said - the word around town was that you couldn 't get a two - bedroom house unless you had three children , all of different sex . We had been on the list for this house ever since we knew our daughter was coming along . That was a long time to wait . We had been offered two houses - Florida Avenue , where the parking was across the street and the backyard just dropped off . We thought that was totally unsuitable for a new child . We turned both of those down . If we had turned this one down , we would 've gone to the bottom of the long list . But we loved this place of the trees and the dead end lane neighborhood . So we sat outside in front all weekend because we were not top on the list . The reason the other people didn 't take it was that the previous owner , Jim Cox and Charlotte , had put in an oil furnace ; and nobody wanted to pay $ 200 for the oil furnace . Since I had been working , we had saved my salary from work , and we had $ 200 to pay . Also , they didn 't want to be in the high rent district . This house rented for something like $ 45 instead of $ 43 in the lower rent districts . MRS . DAVIDSON : The Oak Ridge cemesto houses that were built - I think this house was built in the fall of 1944 or 1943 . Maybe it was ' 43 . The B house has two bedrooms and of course a bath and a kitchen with a dinette into a long narrow living room . It was about 24 feet by 40 something feet . It was small and convenient . It didn 't have much storage space , but it 's been a wonderful house for us because of the trees . We are on a greenbelt , and I enjoy that very much . It 's a nice private neighborhood just above Jackson Square . MRS . DAVIDSON : Our cemesto has a fireplace , and it had a complete brick wall . Some of the B houses had a brick wall just beyond the fireplace . MRS . DAVIDSON : There are hardwood floors in all the cemestos , I believe . Our house has maple flooring , and a lot of them had oak . Wood was hard to come by in the wartime . We love the color - the reddish color of the maple . MRS . DAVIDSON : Adele is our second daughter , and she was two years younger . Our son is Bill Davidson or William . He was born in November of 1954 . He 's just now turning 58 . MRS . DAVIDSON : All three of our children went to Cedar Hill . They had split grades there , so I think the classes were one half size . They would take the kids a half from one grade , and half from the next grade , and that worked out just fine . MRS . DAVIDSON : Cedar Hill was wonderful . It was very special . Mr . Dodd was the principal , and he saw to it - he had the best teachers or at least as good as any . Actually in those days all the teachers and Oak Ridge were special because many of them had been recruited from Columbia Teachers College , along with the superintendent . Others were specially recruited for the job . They were a group a part , I think , from a lot of teachers . MRS . DAVIDSON : The girls both went to Jefferson when it was on the hill at Jackson Square , and Bill was in the first year at the new Jefferson that was over on Fairbanks Road . His was the first class there . They all went through Oak Ridge High . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you recall some of the classes your daughters took while they were in junior high ? Was there Home Ec . or things related to girls ? MRS . DAVIDSON : No , they were on the college prep track . They took eighth grade algebra and that kind of thing . Of course English and math and social studies and science - our older girl I think took biology ; and I 'm not sure if Adele had a more general science course . It just depended on the teacher that they had . They had an excellent education , and the girls were both Merit semifinalists . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course . I was in the PTA . I 'm not sure if I was ever a room mother , but I of course helped with parties and things . MRS . DAVIDSON : The teachers recruited them from each class to help with parties mostly . They helped with any activities that they didn 't really have time to do . MRS . DAVIDSON : Parent - Teacher Association , a time honored group . It got extra things for the school . I got involved with raincoats for the school patrol . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess maybe I was a treasurer of the Cedar Hill PTA , and this goal was to get those yellow slicker raincoat so kids could be visible to the drivers . I found out how much the things cost , and then I estimated postage . At the PTA meeting , Alvin Weinberg was president . He had a son or two in school at the time . He took me to task for estimating the postage , so I had to ask for just the money for the coats themselves since I didn 't really know what the postage is going to be . I thought that was interesting that he wanted to keep it to the exact penny . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think they just wore what the other kids wore . One day we had a deep snow and Bill was in kindergarten , and the snow was up over their boots . I think he had some corduroys . The teacher was making the kids take their pants off and dry them on the radiator , and he wouldn 't do it . I had to go up to the school and take him some fresh pants , some dry clothes . He was very young - just four when he started . MR . HUNNICUTT : Let 's go back a few years . Do you remember 1945 when they dropped the bomb on Japan ? You remember where you were ? And what was your reaction ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I do remember that very clearly because it was the summer after my junior year in college , and I was a camp counselor up in Door County , Wisconsin . There was no electricity at the camp , so we counselors - after we got the kids to bed , went to the state park nearby . This was at Fish Creek , Wisconsin . We would listen to people 's car radios . We knew for about a week that something was happening , but we didn 't know just what . It was very deeply moving when the bomb was dropped , and we thought it would bring an end to the war . Of course , I had friends and a brother on Guam and a cousin was in Europe and others . So that was very deeply moving . I had a book of poetry - my favorite poems at the camp with me . One of my 12 - year - olds picked out a poem - " Once to every man and nation comes a moment to decide " - she read that , and I thought that was very astute of her , a youngster to be able to do that . MRS . DAVIDSON : My husband thought they should have dropped a sample first , but I didn 't feel that way since the first bomb didn 't phase the Japanese . I didn 't think the test one would have either . I was just so glad that the war was over . People could settle down and get into real life again . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think I was in transition from the dormitory to the house , and my husband 's brothers came up from Georgia to witness the opening . So we drove in their car around , and we watched the parade from , I believe , down on the eastern end of the Turnpike down near the warehouses to get out of the traffic . We never could figure out why they invited Marie " The Body " McDonald and [ inaudible ] to ride in the open car for the parade . We couldn 't figure out what they had to do with it , but we did see the burning of the magnesium ribbon . That was exciting . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was only toward town from Elza Gate . I know the central part of town , the Jackson Square area , was very crowded . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think they name the streets for famous cities in the country , and of course the alphabetical designations were very helpful . But Jackson Square , I assume , was named for New Orleans . That 's all I know about it . MRS . DAVIDSON : Sometimes you would pick up the telephone , and the other party was talking . I believe they had different rings . I think maybe the other party had one ring , and we had two . There were four - party lines , but if we were on a four - party line , only the other one was active . I think maybe we were . The other two lines were not being used . MR . HUNNICUTT : When you are raising your family , did you hang your clothes outside on the clothesline ? Did you have a dryer ? What did you use ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I hung them outside on the clothesline . As I said , when we moved here , Anne was a year old . Not much more than three years after that , we had three babies . I was able to talk my husband into getting a dryer that time . Before that , he had built a pulley out of my kitchen window . There was a drop off in the back , and he was able to string it to a tree in the woods . I was able to reel those cloth diapers and reel them in and out . The only problem was that the birds like the trees , too . Sometimes I had to do some re - washing . MR . HUNNICUTT : So in those days you use cloth diapers ? Today we use disposable diapers . How do you think you would 've done if you had disposable diapers ? MRS . DAVIDSON : At one point , when our children were out playing Kick the Can , there were over 40 children on the lane . There were about 20 or 21 houses . There were almost as many dogs . It was just a glorious place for them to grow up . They seem to get along remarkably well most of the time , especially in the early days . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes . We went down there on the opening , and got the radioactive dimes on that occasion . The museum at that time was down at Jefferson Circle . I don 't think any of us ever had our hair stand out on the Van De Graff generator or whatever it was , but we took the children . We went out ourselves . Of course my husband was interested in that kind of thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : Sometimes they walked to Jefferson , but by that time they were carrying pretty heavy books . One of the neighbors on Outer Drive wanted to have a carpool , so we joined that . MRS . DAVIDSON : When Anne was in the fifth grade , they had to write what they did on Friday nights . The teacher would call me and say , " Is it true that you gave your children ice water and watched TV on Friday nights ? " That was how generous we were with them . We didn 't get a TV until they were probably five or six years old . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course it was black and white . The reason we got it - I guess finally it was that the children were always going to the neighbors ' house to watch TV . We decided that we should get our own . They watched things like " Pinky Lee " and I 've forgotten what else . MRS . DAVIDSON : I remember that fondly because my first real date with my husband was going to dinner there with him . He invited me to go to a concert in Knoxville , and his excuse was that we should get to know each other better before he took me to the city with him . That was one thing . I remember there were parties there , and our company had a party at the Oak Terrace Ballroom . One of the NEPA fellows wore a Tarzan costume , which was mostly nothing . It turned out that he lived in the neighborhood . MRS . DAVIDSON : That was just below the dormitory where I lived in Columbia Hall . Jack went there looking for me , he thought I would eat breakfast there and then he could have breakfast with me ; but I ate in the dormitory . He didn 't find me there . When we came back from our bicycle ride to Concord Park , I remember we stopped by there , and he drank two or three Mountain Dew drinks . That surprised me , but we had worked off a lot of sweat . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , we took our children out there and saw " Lawrence of Arabia " and " The 10 Commandment " and those things . It was quite nice . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was about where Kroger 's - where that is now , on the southeast part of Illinois Avenue . It was a nice thing . That was a special treat for the children to go out there . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't think so . I think they were mostly in the car . They had a drawing one time , Jack won something . It was actually nothing , but he did win . MRS . DAVIDSON : I sure did . My three children were born there . It was a green structure , like so many of the buildings in Oak Ridge . I guess the present building is built on that place . It was okay . I didn 't have any problems with it , except after my second child . I had a staph infection from the hospital . Even an Army wife with a private room got an infection there . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , I think they also had been recruited ; and a lot of them were from Tulane University . The time I was sick with my infection , they were having a reunion at Tulane , and my doctor and another one were gone for the reunion . I didn 't like the one who took care of me . He didn 't do a good job . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was okay . I don 't remember having any problems with it . We knew Dr . Rogers from our church , and we went to him . He was called away to the service , I believe . Maybe it was the Korean War , but then he came back . MRS . DAVIDSON : We met at Pine Valley School . The choir sat on the bleachers , and the minister sat under the halo of the basketball net . My husband was a Methodist , and he went to the First Methodist Church . They had a big youth group there . When we were first married , we tried to take them both in . We went to Sunday school one place , and church another until we finally settled on the Presbyterian . It was smaller , and we knew more people . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course the people . I love my trees and my house . I love all the activities . Both my husband and I have always loved music and enjoy the concerts a lot . The symphony concerts with Waldo Cohn conducting were held at Jefferson Junior High on the Kentucky Avenue hill . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you think back about all the people that you knew in the early days ? Do you think it was unusual for everybody to get along - the many people that were here ? MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , I guess so . I didn 't think about it because we just did . It was just fun . Everybody was away from home , and we had to be family for each other . That was particularly true in this close neighborhood . MRS . DAVIDSON : I 'm pleased for the most part . I think we 've made good progress . We 've kept up with the outside world . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think we came through at the very best of times . It was not the pressure of war , but we were growing community . I think things were happening at the Lab . Both of my husband and I loved the Lab because there were so many good things going on out there . It gives us hope for the future . [ Editor 's Note : This transcript has been edited at Mrs . Davidson 's request . The corresponding audio and video components have remained unchanged . ] Click tabs to swap between content that is broken into logical sections . MR . HUNNICUTT : This interview is for the Center of Oak Ridge Oral History . The date is November 8 , 2012 . I am Don Hunnicutt in the home of Mrs . Mary Ann Davidson , 117 Orange Lane , Oak Ridge , Tennessee , to take her oral history about living in Oak Ridge , Tennessee . Please state your full name and your place of birth and your date of birth . MRS . DAVIDSON : My name is Mary Ann Davidson . My date of birth is January 12 , 1925 . I was born in Louisville , Kentucky . I lived there all my early life until I graduated from college . MRS . DAVIDSON : My father was William H . Courtenay . He was born in 1890 , on March 3 . He was in World War I and lived his entire life in Louisville and Shelbyville , Kentucky . He worked for the Mengel Company . They imported mahogany and hardwood from Africa and Central America . He delivered those to customers . He didn 't consider himself a salesman , but he sold them to the furniture factory - furniture makers around Kentucky , mostly Indiana and Cincinnati and some in Tennessee . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , he did not . The Louisville Male High School was considered a fine school at that time . They said that graduates could enter Harvard in their second year . The principal had written textbooks that were apparently used all over . But my father was interested in raising ponies . His father had a farm in Shelbyville , Kentucky . If you 'd didn 't make the grade , you are special . And Dr . Ruben Post - Halleck , the famous principal of the school , told him if he took an exam in math , he could be entered back in . He did that , and he aced the test . He was back in . Then he was a special in English , so they told him if he memorized the " Lady of the Lake " and said that he could get back in school . So he did that . I think he never did finish . He was a twin , and his twin was more of an engineering type and went to manual training high school . MR . HUNNICUTT : What about your mother 's school history ? MRS . DAVIDSON : She grew up in several small towns in western Kentucky . Her father worked for the L & N Railroad . She had her high school in Hopkinsville , Kentucky . She had to stay home - or she went to junior college nearby . She had a scholarship to Randolph Macon Women 's College , but she couldn 't take it because her mother was ill and died at age 50 . It was about the year I was born , I think . MRS . DAVIDSON : His name was William Howard Courtenay III . My father was named for his uncle , who was also William Howard . My older brother works for Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green in the physics department . He made instruments . My younger brother was a pediatrician in Louisville , and he is still living on a farm in Shelbyville . He 's interested in Kentucky antiques . MR . HUNNICUTT : Yes . MRS . DAVIDSON : I went to an unusual kindergarten and first grade . I was at what they called the Enterprise Branch of I . N . Bloom School . It was only kindergarten and first grade . It was in the older building , where we had a Pot Belly Stove . I think we had a maid to help us take our leggings off in the cold weather - galoshes . It was really a wonderful school . It was almost like a private one . It was public . We did things like making butter and we had an orchestra . I played the triangle . I had started a little bit earlier when my younger brother was born . Louisville had half semester , half - year grades . I would 've been a half year , but I skipped the last half of kindergarten . I went to the school board and took a test and went on , so they put me in the regular school year . I went through the big school the I . N . Bloom School and Highland Junior High School in Louisville . Then I went to Atherton High School for Girls . The Louisville public schools were segregated - boys and girls . There were about 900 girls at Atherton . My graduating class was about 200 , and I was the valedictorian . MRS . DAVIDSON : They are pants to keep your legs warm . They zipped up from the inside of the ankle bone up to about knee - high , I guess it was . They were a royal pain to take on and off , so the teacher had to have help to do that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was just ordinary . I 'm sure the girls wore dresses , and the little boys wore suits - not suits , but pants and shirts . MRS . DAVIDSON : I came to Oak Ridge after I graduated from college . I had two years of getting a master 's at Emory while I worked at my alma mater , Agnes Scott College in Decatur , Georgia . I was the chemistry lab instructor . So after those two years were up , I was interested in working in chemistry or biochemistry . My master 's was in biochemistry . In Louisville , there was nothing in that field , except liquor and paint - neither of which I was interested in . In Atlanta , I would like to stay in Atlanta , I heard that Oak Ridge was an interesting new place , and a lot was going on here . One of my dear college friends had recently married a physicist from the University of Kentucky , so I visited them here . I guess that must have been 1947 . Her husband was working at NEPA . He said they were looking for people with a chemistry degree . I applied , and I was accepted . I didn 't know that until I had completed the clearance , so I took the opportunity to go to Europe at an American youth hostel bicycle tour of Western Europe in the summer of 1948 . When I got home , I found that I had indeed gotten the job at Oak Ridge . So I came down here . MRS . DAVIDSON : I was wondering that . I think I came by train . When I interviewed earlier in the spring , my interview was at the Andrew Johnson Hotel . It was one of the private rooms . I had never seen the company here . I think I must have been met by a car and driver and brought to Oak Ridge . MRS . DAVIDSON : I came in through the Vermont Gateway , which is where the gas station is now on the corner of what I call Vermont . They call it North Rutgers now . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , I think it must 've been after that . That would 've been at Christmas time . When I applied , I imagine it was early spring . MRS . DAVIDSON : We called the company NEPA , for Nuclear Energy for the Propulsion of Aircraft . It was managed by the Fairchild Corporation the way Union Carbide or one of the other contractors managed the lab . I did not know until the first day I went to work just what the company was doing . They handed me a volume of information that said , " We are looking for - we are trying to make an airplane powered by nuclear energy that could fly to Russia and back without refueling . " That was a great shock to me . MRS . DAVIDSON : I lived in Columbia Hall Dormitory . I was very surprised to find that the rent was $ 15 a month until I realized it was one very small room . That was my living quarters . I took the opportunity to stay out of it as much as possible . I did that by babysitting in some of the B and D houses in the evening . Grandmothers were not here since it was a closed community . Babysitters were in short supply , and even though I didn 't need the money , it was good to get out of the dormitory . MRS . DAVIDSON : The dormitory was like Cheyenne Hall . It was the same type of building . It had wooden stairways from the second - floor hall down on each end . I lived on the second floor . Our dormitory was mostly nurses , since it was up on the hill next to the hospital - I think where the west parking lot is now . There was a kitchen on each end where we could have our own breakfast . Of course we were at the plant at lunchtime , and then we usually went out to supper . I opened the refrigerator door one morning and somebody 's milk came spilling out down my front . Everybody just stuffed things into the refrigerator . MRS . DAVIDSON : I had a single room with a twin bed and enough room to walk to the window by the bed . There was a little table that served as a desk with a chair . There was a much coveted dormitory dresser - a tall one with a number of drawers . They were very popular . MRS . DAVIDSON : They had a wonderful bus service here . Travel wasn 't really a problem . We walked , of course , from the dormitory to Jackson Square and ate supper usually at the Mayflower , which is where I first saw my husband - to - be . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was on the corner of Tennessee , right across from the Soup Kitchen and the Texaco gas station there on the northeast corner . It was a very popular place . In fact , there were several places you could eat . It was the Central Cafeteria , and the T & C Cafeteria in Jackson Square , which is about where the Epicurean is now toward the garden . MRS . DAVIDSON : It must 've been the A & P on Jackson Square . Jackson Square was really the center of activity as far as I was concerned at that time . I still love it . I hope it keeps going . MRS . DAVIDSON : The department stores - the big department store was Taylor 's at the time . They had a wonderful book department headed by Mrs . Keyes , whose daughter I knew at work . They had really fine art books and other books that they would have a great sale on once or twice a year . We were very happy with that . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was in the middle of the block between where Big Ed 's is in the corner . I guess it 's mostly used by the engineering company now . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , not frequently , but I went and saw - there was a theater down at Big Ed 's in Jackson Square and where the Playhouse is now . That was the main one . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , the jewelry store was on the corner that was Henebree 's , I think . No , that was Heneger 's . MR . HUNNICUTT : Henebree ? MRS . DAVIDSON : Henebree . McCrory 's 5 & 10 was there . There was a drugstore - a Service Drugstore . I guess that was where Big Ed 's is now , on the very corner . There was Jackson Square Pharmacy , and on the other side the Hamilton Bank was there next to the movie theater . And Samuel 's Men 's Store was a very nice store . The Jackson Square Pharmacy was there , but in between , which the Pharmacy later took over was a Kay 's Ice Cream Store . We used to go there and - my husband and I would when we were dating . I liked to get coffee with ice cream in it , so we went there . MR . HUNNICUTT : I believe that was Taff Moody Ice Cream - they served Kay 's Ice Cream . MRS . DAVIDSON : Was it ? I didn 't remember that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I can 't say that I do . It was just a given , I suppose . It didn 't make a big dent in my memory . After six months of the dormitory , I moved to a D house on Norman Lane . That was another era . MR . HUNNICUTT : What is a D house ? MRS . DAVIDSON : A D house was a large three bedroom house . They were very much desired . They were really nice houses - still a lot of them are . The house was - there were five other girls who lived there - two of whom had been college friends . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , it would 've been upstairs . It was the second one to the end . A radiation technologist lived on the corner , and I lived there with school teachers and nurses who made up most of the dorm . MR . HUNNICUTT : Let 's talk a little bit about the dorm again . If I had a message for you or someone left a message for you , how did you retrieve your messages ? Was there a desk when you went in ? MRS . DAVIDSON : There was a desk downstairs . I remember the Valentine 's Day - I guess it must 've been 1949 . The message was that I had some flowers , some red roses . I had just met my husband - to - be at that time . I got all excited , and when I got to the desk , it was from somebody else . I enjoyed the red roses , but not as much as I might have . The thing was that there were ladies - a lot of the women who lived in the dorm worked on the night shift . They would sit around a large kind of living room , I guess they called it . They were all staring when I got flowers . I had to walk around , and it was embarrassing . MRS . DAVIDSON : I was there in the winter of 1948 . I 'm very cold natured , but I don 't remember being cold . We had those heavy navy blanket - navy blue blankets . This brings up a story if I jump to it later on . We were moved from the D house after another six months into the brand - new Garden Apartments on Villanova Road . They needed our D house for families . The people who moved in were the Andersons of the Anderson Hilltop Grocery . Of course , the furniture all belonged to the government there . So the Garden Apartments were not furnished , so we had dwindled down from 6 to 4 people who needed furniture . I took a day off and went to an auction the government set up down at the warehouses . I got seven beds and three or four dressers - much more than I could have used . But the beds were in great demand at work because all the young men who worked there were having children and needed beds . So we took the four . Also I got two sofas , and we could use but one ; so I sold one . They were really shabby awful sofas . Since it was all going to surplus anyway , we switched and took the nice sofa from the D house and left them the bad one . It was all taken away anyhow , so I didn 't feel too bad about that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't really remember about the telephone . We didn 't use the telephone much . We never used it for long - distance except for emergencies and calls home . I don 't remember that as being a problem particularly . MRS . DAVIDSON : I suppose I went on the bus . I did not have a car . One of the housemates from Norman Lane had gotten the car , but she would 've been at work at K - 25 . I don 't know . I may have gotten a ride . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess I paid somebody to deliver it . I don 't know . Maybe some of the fellows at work picked up their beds that they wanted . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was one of those warehouses down at the [ Oak Ridge ] Turnpike on Warehouse Road . I don 't know exactly where it was . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess it was on the bulletin boards at work , or there was a newspaper at the Lab . I guess I heard about it that way . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think probably so - in the newsletters they came around , also at the recreation building - the rec hall - at Jackson Square that was the library upstairs and the rec hall downstairs . Word - of - mouth - I don 't remember . We had a need and found the answer to it . MRS . DAVIDSON : I had to punch a clock at eight in the morning when I first started . I guess we got out at 4 : 30 or 5 o ' clock . We had bus service that went from the bus terminal - the Central one - that 's now by Bus Terminal Road . Later on after we were married , we lived on Waddell Circle and went from there to the Jefferson bus terminal . I went - I rode on the K - 25 bus , and they went out past K - 25 to the road that the powerhouse was on and NEPA was beyond that out by the river . MRS . DAVIDSON : There was some kind of management services office . I 'm not sure what it was called - the Roane Anderson Corporation at that time , I guess . I think that 's where I rented the dormitory room . I probably got bus tokens - I guess I got the tokens of the bus terminal . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think I had a checking account probably at Hamilton Bank in Jackson Square . I don 't recall otherwise . I know I did later . One thing I wanted to say about the buses - if you wanted to go to Clinton to do any shopping , more than what you could have in Oak Ridge or to meet somebody or something , there was a bus that ran frequently back and forth between the bus terminal and Clinton . There was a young man on the bus who had a sing - songy sales pitch for " peanuts , popcorn , Cracker Jacks , candy , and chewing gum . " He wouldn 't drive , but he would sell his wares all the way to Clinton and back . I always wondered who that was because he obviously had some talent . MRS . DAVIDSON : I 'm sure I did . I don 't know what became of it . I guess I had to turn it back in . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think somebody just got - one of the guards got on the bus and checked everybody 's badges . It was not a big thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : Probably . I don 't remember . What I do remember about that was my mother was coming down one time for my birthday - it must 've been in January 1949 . She rode the train . I told her that I would get a ride to meet her . Of course , the train didn 't stop at Oak Ridge . It went on to Knoxville , so I bummed a ride with one of the men in our group . He was actually the technical assistant to the director . His car was a broken down old thing with no floorboards in the back seat , which was pretty bad when my mother saw it . But she didn 't see it because when we got to Knoxville , she was not there . When we were coming back from the gateway entrance , she was not there . There was a message that she was waiting for us at the Elza Gate Station . She had told the conductor she had to get off at Oak Ridge . That 's where she was going , and I was going to meet her . So she slid down the Elza bank over there . She had my birthday cake - a large chocolate cake . She slid downhill with that , and somehow they stopped her at the guard gate at Elza . She waited there for us . MRS . DAVIDSON : Just for her - let her off like a milk train . They ordinarily didn 't stop there , but she wouldn 't have it otherwise . MRS . DAVIDSON : I used the library and rec hall . On Sunday afternoons , they played music ; and you could sit and write letters home , which is what I think I did a good bit . Later on in the better weather , there were tennis courts and a swimming pool . I don 't remember going to movies much . We went to church groups . There were so many young people ; it was just like a party all the time . Nothing in particular stands out . It was just fun . MRS . DAVIDSON : In the company I was , that was not true . There were a lot of women of course - of course , the dormitory was full of school teachers and nurses . But NEPA was mostly men . There were two parts to the Fairchild - the science and engineering part , which was bigger . I happen to be in the research part . My boss was a chemist - Vince Calkins . It was my job to - this was a real shocker to me - to find a chemical that would protect the human body against radiation for the reactor that was supposed to be in the airplane to Russia . I had no background for that kind of thing . I was just fresh out of college really . I realized I was out of my depth , but they decided - he was a pharmacist , I believe , and he wanted to do experiments with rats . They brought in the rat colony . By that time we had a couple of assistants , and I was supposed to be the group leader . One of the men , Ray Waldrop - you may have talked to him . I asked him if he minded working for a woman because he was really more experienced than I , although I had the degree . It was fine with him . There was also another worker , Saul Segal , who was quite a character in his own right . I took the rats in the cages over to the reactor , the " Old Lady " at X - 10 , and put them through what they called " rabbits " and radiated them for certain amount of time . We couldn 't kill the darn things . Then we used the older ones that had already been radiated , they were just tough as anything . I think the experiment was really a failure , although they may have found that to be the case in some later work with older people - that the cells are not dividing as fast and they 're not as subject to radiation . But we didn 't get into that . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was actually not K - 25 . It was beyond there . As I said , the bus took us - the bus dumped people off at K - 25 , and they went on west to just before you get to the Gallaher Bridge . You turn right there and go right past the power station there . It was used for a long time - the power house , and then NEPA was beyond that . The native rats came in - was it domestic experimental rats ? That was not good . I had a janitor who helped me , even though he could 've lost his job for doing it . He helped me clean cages . I always appreciated that . MRS . DAVIDSON : When they got rid of the rats , which was a blessing , my group leader then became Bill Browning , who was a fine scientist . He worked on the Van de Graaff generator . We had an interesting argument . Saul Segal thought he should be the one to do it since he was a man and I was a woman who would be leaving soon ; and it turned out that he left for California before I had left to have my baby . His argument didn 't hold with me anyway , but we argued about that some . We did run the Van de Graaff , and we also did some experiments on metallic sodium . It was nasty stuff to work with . It caught on fire if it was exposed to air . You had to work with that under oil in the glove box . I think that work all had to be repeated after NEPA left for Cincinnati with G . E . . When they moved part of NEPA to X - 10 , they called it the ANP , or something about aircraft and nuclear power . I was not connected with that because my first baby was born in August 1951 . I left in July . MRS . DAVIDSON : I heard somebody say that they had to repeat it all . My boss , the Division Director of Chemistry was interested in vitamin E , and thought it had a lot of protective influence . We worked with that . That was some of the work I did in chemistry - the lab part of it in the early days . It was not good work , I think . I 'm not blaming myself , but some of the other men who were doing chemical work - I think altogether we didn 't come up with anything . MRS . DAVIDSON : It may have been ahead of it 's time for nuclear submarines . I don 't know whether the engineering people thought that or not . In our group which was the chemistry and the physics , my friend who got me the job was Jim Trice . A fellow named Art Miller and somebody named Coneybearwere in the Physics Division . And then there were some others - Fred Maienschein . I did some work for him one time . It was work on beryllium for one thing . I didn 't work with any of the active beryllium . I didn 't do any lab work then , but I did some journal research . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't think they were that far along . I 'm not sure what happened to that part of it . As I said , in July of 1951 they moved to Cincinnati , Evensville , above Cincinnati . I don 't know how many people actually went up there . Most of my friends moved elsewhere . MR . HUNNICUTT : You mentioned the location of the operation was past the steam plant that was on the Clinch River . Was that the same location where the S - 50 project was located ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I think that was the name of our plot of land . I think those - I never was quite sure how they got the designations , but that was the Fairchild domain , I think . MRS . DAVIDSON : Really , it was just when our eyes met . It was very romantic . He followed our group home to the Columbia Hall to see where I lived . But at the time I thought he was too young , and I didn 't think he was following me . I was with a group of other girls . Later on , one of the women in the dormitory , who was a gym teacher in the Oak Ridge schools , told me I really ought to meet Jack Davidson that he loved to ride bicycles ; I was just back from my bicycle trip in Europe . I didn 't know who he was , and then I went to a church group meeting at my Presbyterian Church for young people one Sunday evening . A friend of mine had brought Jack Davidson , and he was the one whose eyes I had met and he had met mine . Sure enough , he loved to ride bicycles . That was the start of a good thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : We did a little bit . On our dates , that 's really what we did mostly at first . We rode out to West Outer Drive and had those wonderful big hills , not too much traffic at that time . We went out to the water tower at the top of Louisiana and had a picnic , and then rode back . When we got really good , we rode our bicycles over to Concord Park one day . I had gotten some chicken breasts at the grocery . I guess it was the A & P at Jackson Square . I was going to fry them for a picnic to take along over to Concord Park . When I went to the refrigerator to get them , they had turned into wings . Somebody had eaten my chicken breast . Jack was a good sport about that . He didn 't care . We had a nice ride . It was before they had improved Lovell Road . It was a pretty rough ride over there , but we were able to enjoy it . MRS . DAVIDSON : He had his bicycle . It was probably a Grey Stone . For me , he rented a bicycle from his work friend . I had forgotten what his name was . We went over to one of the D Streets , I think , and rode them . I didn 't have my English 3 - speed here . I guess I brought it later , but at that time I didn 't have it . MRS . DAVIDSON : That was a problem . I complained to my friend Jim Trice 's wife , Dot , who happened to live around the corner on Outer Drive at that time . She said the boardwalk was used a lot for dating , and of course the theaters . I guess we were outdoors people . I don 't know . MRS . DAVIDSON : He was a graduate of Georgia Tech . At the time he graduated , he was very young . He came up to see about a job , and he was drafted . No , he was in danger of being drafted right away , but they didn 't hire him . He did go to work for NASA , which was at that time NACA , in Virginia ; and worked over there a short time before he was taken into the Army . He had gone through Georgia Tech on a " War Manpower " loan . He was sent to some place to be an MP , I think . He wrote a night letter , which is a 50 - word telegram that was cheaper at night . He wrote a night letter to Stimson , the Secretary of War , telling them they had paid for his college education ; and here he was sitting in a camp doing nothing down in Alabama . He was transferred to the SED , he would never say that was the reason he was transferred . It may or may not have been . He arrived with the SED - he arrived in Oak Ridge the day Roosevelt died , which was in April 1945 , he was here with his group for maybe six weeks before they went out to Los Alamos . So he spent the rest of the war out there . Then he used his G . I . Bill - he stayed on at Los Alamos . They told them they would let him out of the Army if he would agree to stay on as a civilian . So he took that . Then when he did leave , he went to Annapolis and took a liberal arts course because he felt that he had missed out on it at Georgia Tech . He had a year at St . John 's College of Annapolis ; and then all along I guess he thought he would like to come back here . He came back - he arrived on Armistice Day , now Veterans Day , of 1948 . I was here a couple of months before he came , but we met shortly after Christmas in 1949 . MRS . DAVIDSON : Too long . We were married in May 1950 . He wanted to pay off his loan before we could get married , so I helped him along with that . I fed him some . He was very welcome at the D House of girls . I was going to tell you that during the war , there were nine girls in the house , and they slept on shifts on the bunk beds . There were only six of us when I was there . There were a couple of the boyfriends around , and one of them cut the grass . I think Jack did the - empty the clinkers from the furnace , the coal furnace . They made themselves useful . They got their dinner . MR . HUNNICUTT : Tell me about the coal furnace briefly . MRS . DAVIDSON : Most of the houses were a very good design really , and a whole lot better built than we gave them credit for . But each one that I knew of had a corner set off or closed off as a coal storage place that could be filled through a window from the outside , and then you could use the - there was an opening on the inside that you could use to put coal into the furnace . That was awful of course , but that 's what all the houses were doing in that time , too . We had a yard full of clinkers over there . MRS . DAVIDSON : We were taken care of by a Big Brother - the government . They brought the coal around , and you didn 't do a thing . That was part of the rent . When we got our house here on Orange Lane , that 's another story . Are you ready for that yet ? MRS . DAVIDSON : We went back to my home in Louisville , Kentucky , to be married . We had planned to fly to Nashville , but it turned out the Delta Queen was coming through Louisville the next morning . My mother had told us we could not get married the week before because it was too busy with Derby Day . So we delayed until May 13 . Then we spent the night in Louisville at the Brown Hotel , where she pulled some strings to get us a room because it was still very full of visitors from the Derby . We got on the Delta Queen , and our friends were all on the dock to see us off . They had us almost convinced that we were on Daylight Saving Time , and the Delta Queen was not , and we had missed it . But we rode down just as far as Paducah . We were anxious to start in life you know . We lived on Wadell Circle in a K apartment . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you recall the number ? MRS . DAVIDSON : It was a two - story thing . I guess it was a two - bedroom up above , and we had K - 1 . It was sort of underground at the front and open at the back . We had a nice back porch . There was a closet under the stairway and a very small kitchen . It had a table that folded down . It was not as compact as a flattop , but the furnishings that they had did double duty . You could fold it up and have more room . MRS . DAVIDSON : The K apartment was heated with the coal furnace , but there was a janitor who came around and took care of it for us . We were taken care of by Roane Anderson . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you remember what the rent was ? MRS . DAVIDSON : We lived in the K from May 1950 , until we got this house in July 1952 . It was said - the word around town was that you couldn 't get a two - bedroom house unless you had three children , all of different sex . We had been on the list for this house ever since we knew our daughter was coming along . That was a long time to wait . We had been offered two houses - Florida Avenue , where the parking was across the street and the backyard just dropped off . We thought that was totally unsuitable for a new child . We turned both of those down . If we had turned this one down , we would 've gone to the bottom of the long list . But we loved this place of the trees and the dead end lane neighborhood . So we sat outside in front all weekend because we were not top on the list . The reason the other people didn 't take it was that the previous owner , Jim Cox and Charlotte , had put in an oil furnace ; and nobody wanted to pay $ 200 for the oil furnace . Since I had been working , we had saved my salary from work , and we had $ 200 to pay . Also , they didn 't want to be in the high rent district . This house rented for something like $ 45 instead of $ 43 in the lower rent districts . MRS . DAVIDSON : The Oak Ridge cemesto houses that were built - I think this house was built in the fall of 1944 or 1943 . Maybe it was ' 43 . The B house has two bedrooms and of course a bath and a kitchen with a dinette into a long narrow living room . It was about 24 feet by 40 something feet . It was small and convenient . It didn 't have much storage space , but it 's been a wonderful house for us because of the trees . We are on a greenbelt , and I enjoy that very much . It 's a nice private neighborhood just above Jackson Square . MRS . DAVIDSON : Our cemesto has a fireplace , and it had a complete brick wall . Some of the B houses had a brick wall just beyond the fireplace . MRS . DAVIDSON : There are hardwood floors in all the cemestos , I believe . Our house has maple flooring , and a lot of them had oak . Wood was hard to come by in the wartime . We love the color - the reddish color of the maple . MRS . DAVIDSON : Adele is our second daughter , and she was two years younger . Our son is Bill Davidson or William . He was born in November of 1954 . He 's just now turning 58 . MR . HUNNICUTT : So your first daughter went to Cedar Hill ? MRS . DAVIDSON : All three of our children went to Cedar Hill . They had split grades there , so I think the classes were one half size . They would take the kids a half from one grade , and half from the next grade , and that worked out just fine . MRS . DAVIDSON : Cedar Hill was wonderful . It was very special . Mr . Dodd was the principal , and he saw to it - he had the best teachers or at least as good as any . Actually in those days all the teachers and Oak Ridge were special because many of them had been recruited from Columbia Teachers College , along with the superintendent . Others were specially recruited for the job . They were a group a part , I think , from a lot of teachers . MRS . DAVIDSON : The girls both went to Jefferson when it was on the hill at Jackson Square , and Bill was in the first year at the new Jefferson that was over on Fairbanks Road . His was the first class there . They all went through Oak Ridge High . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you recall some of the classes your daughters took while they were in junior high ? Was there Home Ec . or things related to girls ? MRS . DAVIDSON : No , they were on the college prep track . They took eighth grade algebra and that kind of thing . Of course English and math and social studies and science - our older girl I think took biology ; and I 'm not sure if Adele had a more general science course . It just depended on the teacher that they had . They had an excellent education , and the girls were both Merit semifinalists . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course . I was in the PTA . I 'm not sure if I was ever a room mother , but I of course helped with parties and things . MRS . DAVIDSON : The teachers recruited them from each class to help with parties mostly . They helped with any activities that they didn 't really have time to do . MRS . DAVIDSON : Parent - Teacher Association , a time honored group . It got extra things for the school . I got involved with raincoats for the school patrol . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess maybe I was a treasurer of the Cedar Hill PTA , and this goal was to get those yellow slicker raincoat so kids could be visible to the drivers . I found out how much the things cost , and then I estimated postage . At the PTA meeting , Alvin Weinberg was president . He had a son or two in school at the time . He took me to task for estimating the postage , so I had to ask for just the money for the coats themselves since I didn 't really know what the postage is going to be . I thought that was interesting that he wanted to keep it to the exact penny . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think they just wore what the other kids wore . One day we had a deep snow and Bill was in kindergarten , and the snow was up over their boots . I think he had some corduroys . The teacher was making the kids take their pants off and dry them on the radiator , and he wouldn 't do it . I had to go up to the school and take him some fresh pants , some dry clothes . He was very young - just four when he started . MR . HUNNICUTT : Let 's go back a few years . Do you remember 1945 when they dropped the bomb on Japan ? You remember where you were ? And what was your reaction ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I do remember that very clearly because it was the summer after my junior year in college , and I was a camp counselor up in Door County , Wisconsin . There was no electricity at the camp , so we counselors - after we got the kids to bed , went to the state park nearby . This was at Fish Creek , Wisconsin . We would listen to people 's car radios . We knew for about a week that something was happening , but we didn 't know just what . It was very deeply moving when the bomb was dropped , and we thought it would bring an end to the war . Of course , I had friends and a brother on Guam and a cousin was in Europe and others . So that was very deeply moving . I had a book of poetry - my favorite poems at the camp with me . One of my 12 - year - olds picked out a poem - " Once to every man and nation comes a moment to decide " - she read that , and I thought that was very astute of her , a youngster to be able to do that . MRS . DAVIDSON : My husband thought they should have dropped a sample first , but I didn 't feel that way since the first bomb didn 't phase the Japanese . I didn 't think the test one would have either . I was just so glad that the war was over . People could settle down and get into real life again . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think I was in transition from the dormitory to the house , and my husband 's brothers came up from Georgia to witness the opening . So we drove in their car around , and we watched the parade from , I believe , down on the eastern end of the Turnpike down near the warehouses to get out of the traffic . We never could figure out why they invited Marie " The Body " McDonald and [ inaudible ] to ride in the open car for the parade . We couldn 't figure out what they had to do with it , but we did see the burning of the magnesium ribbon . That was exciting . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was only toward town from Elza Gate . I know the central part of town , the Jackson Square area , was very crowded . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think they name the streets for famous cities in the country , and of course the alphabetical designations were very helpful . But Jackson Square , I assume , was named for New Orleans . That 's all I know about it . MRS . DAVIDSON : Sometimes you would pick up the telephone , and the other party was talking . I believe they had different rings . I think maybe the other party had one ring , and we had two . There were four - party lines , but if we were on a four - party line , only the other one was active . I think maybe we were . The other two lines were not being used . MR . HUNNICUTT : When you are raising your family , did you hang your clothes outside on the clothesline ? Did you have a dryer ? What did you use ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I hung them outside on the clothesline . As I said , when we moved here , Anne was a year old . Not much more than three years after that , we had three babies . I was able to talk my husband into getting a dryer that time . Before that , he had built a pulley out of my kitchen window . There was a drop off in the back , and he was able to string it to a tree in the woods . I was able to reel those cloth diapers and reel them in and out . The only problem was that the birds like the trees , too . Sometimes I had to do some re - washing . MR . HUNNICUTT : So in those days you use cloth diapers ? Today we use disposable diapers . How do you think you would 've done if you had disposable diapers ? MRS . DAVIDSON : At one point , when our children were out playing Kick the Can , there were over 40 children on the lane . There were about 20 or 21 houses . There were almost as many dogs . It was just a glorious place for them to grow up . They seem to get along remarkably well most of the time , especially in the early days . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes . We went down there on the opening , and got the radioactive dimes on that occasion . The museum at that time was down at Jefferson Circle . I don 't think any of us ever had our hair stand out on the Van De Graff generator or whatever it was , but we took the children . We went out ourselves . Of course my husband was interested in that kind of thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : Sometimes they walked to Jefferson , but by that time they were carrying pretty heavy books . One of the neighbors on Outer Drive wanted to have a carpool , so we joined that . MRS . DAVIDSON : When Anne was in the fifth grade , they had to write what they did on Friday nights . The teacher would call me and say , " Is it true that you gave your children ice water and watched TV on Friday nights ? " That was how generous we were with them . We didn 't get a TV until they were probably five or six years old . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course it was black and white . The reason we got it - I guess finally it was that the children were always going to the neighbors ' house to watch TV . We decided that we should get our own . They watched things like " Pinky Lee " and I 've forgotten what else . MRS . DAVIDSON : I remember that fondly because my first real date with my husband was going to dinner there with him . He invited me to go to a concert in Knoxville , and his excuse was that we should get to know each other better before he took me to the city with him . That was one thing . I remember there were parties there , and our company had a party at the Oak Terrace Ballroom . One of the NEPA fellows wore a Tarzan costume , which was mostly nothing . It turned out that he lived in the neighborhood . MR . HUNNICUTT : What was the Oak Terrace ballroom - where was it located ? MRS . DAVIDSON : That was just below the dormitory where I lived in Columbia Hall . Jack went there looking for me , he thought I would eat breakfast there and then he could have breakfast with me ; but I ate in the dormitory . He didn 't find me there . When we came back from our bicycle ride to Concord Park , I remember we stopped by there , and he drank two or three Mountain Dew drinks . That surprised me , but we had worked off a lot of sweat . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , we took our children out there and saw " Lawrence of Arabia " and " The 10 Commandment " and those things . It was quite nice . MR . HUNNICUTT : Where was it located ? MRS . DAVIDSON : It was about where Kroger 's - where that is now , on the southeast part of Illinois Avenue . It was a nice thing . That was a special treat for the children to go out there . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't think so . I think they were mostly in the car . They had a drawing one time , Jack won something . It was actually nothing , but he did win . MRS . DAVIDSON : I sure did . My three children were born there . It was a green structure , like so many of the buildings in Oak Ridge . I guess the present building is built on that place . It was okay . I didn 't have any problems with it , except after my second child . I had a staph infection from the hospital . Even an Army wife with a private room got an infection there . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , I think they also had been recruited ; and a lot of them were from Tulane University . The time I was sick with my infection , they were having a reunion at Tulane , and my doctor and another one were gone for the reunion . I didn 't like the one who took care of me . He didn 't do a good job . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was okay . I don 't remember having any problems with it . We knew Dr . Rogers from our church , and we went to him . He was called away to the service , I believe . Maybe it was the Korean War , but then he came back . MRS . DAVIDSON : We met at Pine Valley School . The choir sat on the bleachers , and the minister sat under the halo of the basketball net . My husband was a Methodist , and he went to the First Methodist Church . They had a big youth group there . When we were first married , we tried to take them both in . We went to Sunday school one place , and church another until we finally settled on the Presbyterian . It was smaller , and we knew more people . MR . HUNNICUTT : Thinking back , what do you like best about Oak Ridge ? MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course the people . I love my trees and my house . I love all the activities . Both my husband and I have always loved music and enjoy the concerts a lot . The symphony concerts with Waldo Cohn conducting were held at Jefferson Junior High on the Kentucky Avenue hill . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you think back about all the people that you knew in the early days ? Do you think it was unusual for everybody to get along - the many people that were here ? MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , I guess so . I didn 't think about it because we just did . It was just fun . Everybody was away from home , and we had to be family for each other . That was particularly true in this close neighborhood . MRS . DAVIDSON : I 'm pleased for the most part . I think we 've made good progress . We 've kept up with the outside world . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't know . I 'll probably think of things after you leave . Nothing particular comes to mind . MR . HUNNICUTT : I would like to thank you for your time , and I think this interview will be very helpful for someone in the future to see how you lived in Oak Ridge in the early days . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think we came through at the very best of times . It was not the pressure of war , but we were growing community . I think things were happening at the Lab . Both of my husband and I loved the Lab because there were so many good things going on out there . It gives us hope for the future . MR . HUNNICUTT : I thank you very much for your time . [ Editor 's Note : This transcript has been edited at Mrs . Davidson 's request . The corresponding audio and video components have remained unchanged . ] Your rating was saved . you wish to report :

MR . HUNNICUTT : This interview is for the Center of Oak Ridge Oral History . The date is November 8 , 2012 . I am Don Hunnicutt in the home of Mrs . Mary Ann Davidson , 117 Orange Lane , Oak Ridge , Tennessee , to take her oral history about living in Oak Ridge , Tennessee . Please state your full name and your place of birth and your date of birth . MRS . DAVIDSON : My name is Mary Ann Davidson . My date of birth is January 12 , 1925 . I was born in Louisville , Kentucky . I lived there all my early life until I graduated from college . MRS . DAVIDSON : My father was William H . Courtenay . He was born in 1890 , on March 3 . He was in World War I and lived his entire life in Louisville and Shelbyville , Kentucky . He worked for the Mengel Company . They imported mahogany and hardwood from Africa and Central America . He delivered those to customers . He didn 't consider himself a salesman , but he sold them to the furniture factory - furniture makers around Kentucky , mostly Indiana and Cincinnati and some in Tennessee . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , he did not . The Louisville Male High School was considered a fine school at that time . They said that graduates could enter Harvard in their second year . The principal had written textbooks that were apparently used all over . But my father was interested in raising ponies . His father had a farm in Shelbyville , Kentucky . If you 'd didn 't make the grade , you are special . And Dr . Ruben Post - Halleck , the famous principal of the school , told him if he took an exam in math , he could be entered back in . He did that , and he aced the test . He was back in . Then he was a special in English , so they told him if he memorized the " Lady of the Lake " and said that he could get back in school . So he did that . I think he never did finish . He was a twin , and his twin was more of an engineering type and went to manual training high school . MRS . DAVIDSON : She grew up in several small towns in western Kentucky . Her father worked for the L & N Railroad . She had her high school in Hopkinsville , Kentucky . She had to stay home - or she went to junior college nearby . She had a scholarship to Randolph Macon Women 's College , but she couldn 't take it because her mother was ill and died at age 50 . It was about the year I was born , I think . MRS . DAVIDSON : His name was William Howard Courtenay III . My father was named for his uncle , who was also William Howard . My older brother works for Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green in the physics department . He made instruments . My younger brother was a pediatrician in Louisville , and he is still living on a farm in Shelbyville . He 's interested in Kentucky antiques . MRS . DAVIDSON : I went to an unusual kindergarten and first grade . I was at what they called the Enterprise Branch of I . N . Bloom School . It was only kindergarten and first grade . It was in the older building , where we had a Pot Belly Stove . I think we had a maid to help us take our leggings off in the cold weather - galoshes . It was really a wonderful school . It was almost like a private one . It was public . We did things like making butter and we had an orchestra . I played the triangle . I had started a little bit earlier when my younger brother was born . Louisville had half semester , half - year grades . I would 've been a half year , but I skipped the last half of kindergarten . I went to the school board and took a test and went on , so they put me in the regular school year . I went through the big school the I . N . Bloom School and Highland Junior High School in Louisville . Then I went to Atherton High School for Girls . The Louisville public schools were segregated - boys and girls . There were about 900 girls at Atherton . My graduating class was about 200 , and I was the valedictorian . MRS . DAVIDSON : They are pants to keep your legs warm . They zipped up from the inside of the ankle bone up to about knee - high , I guess it was . They were a royal pain to take on and off , so the teacher had to have help to do that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was just ordinary . I 'm sure the girls wore dresses , and the little boys wore suits - not suits , but pants and shirts . MRS . DAVIDSON : I came to Oak Ridge after I graduated from college . I had two years of getting a master 's at Emory while I worked at my alma mater , Agnes Scott College in Decatur , Georgia . I was the chemistry lab instructor . So after those two years were up , I was interested in working in chemistry or biochemistry . My master 's was in biochemistry . In Louisville , there was nothing in that field , except liquor and paint - neither of which I was interested in . In Atlanta , I would like to stay in Atlanta , I heard that Oak Ridge was an interesting new place , and a lot was going on here . One of my dear college friends had recently married a physicist from the University of Kentucky , so I visited them here . I guess that must have been 1947 . Her husband was working at NEPA . He said they were looking for people with a chemistry degree . I applied , and I was accepted . I didn 't know that until I had completed the clearance , so I took the opportunity to go to Europe at an American youth hostel bicycle tour of Western Europe in the summer of 1948 . When I got home , I found that I had indeed gotten the job at Oak Ridge . So I came down here . MRS . DAVIDSON : I was wondering that . I think I came by train . When I interviewed earlier in the spring , my interview was at the Andrew Johnson Hotel . It was one of the private rooms . I had never seen the company here . I think I must have been met by a car and driver and brought to Oak Ridge . MRS . DAVIDSON : I came in through the Vermont Gateway , which is where the gas station is now on the corner of what I call Vermont . They call it North Rutgers now . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , I think it must 've been after that . That would 've been at Christmas time . When I applied , I imagine it was early spring . MRS . DAVIDSON : We called the company NEPA , for Nuclear Energy for the Propulsion of Aircraft . It was managed by the Fairchild Corporation the way Union Carbide or one of the other contractors managed the lab . I did not know until the first day I went to work just what the company was doing . They handed me a volume of information that said , " We are looking for - we are trying to make an airplane powered by nuclear energy that could fly to Russia and back without refueling . " That was a great shock to me . MRS . DAVIDSON : I lived in Columbia Hall Dormitory . I was very surprised to find that the rent was $ 15 a month until I realized it was one very small room . That was my living quarters . I took the opportunity to stay out of it as much as possible . I did that by babysitting in some of the B and D houses in the evening . Grandmothers were not here since it was a closed community . Babysitters were in short supply , and even though I didn 't need the money , it was good to get out of the dormitory . MRS . DAVIDSON : The dormitory was like Cheyenne Hall . It was the same type of building . It had wooden stairways from the second - floor hall down on each end . I lived on the second floor . Our dormitory was mostly nurses , since it was up on the hill next to the hospital - I think where the west parking lot is now . There was a kitchen on each end where we could have our own breakfast . Of course we were at the plant at lunchtime , and then we usually went out to supper . I opened the refrigerator door one morning and somebody 's milk came spilling out down my front . Everybody just stuffed things into the refrigerator . MRS . DAVIDSON : I had a single room with a twin bed and enough room to walk to the window by the bed . There was a little table that served as a desk with a chair . There was a much coveted dormitory dresser - a tall one with a number of drawers . They were very popular . MRS . DAVIDSON : They had a wonderful bus service here . Travel wasn 't really a problem . We walked , of course , from the dormitory to Jackson Square and ate supper usually at the Mayflower , which is where I first saw my husband - to - be . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was on the corner of Tennessee , right across from the Soup Kitchen and the Texaco gas station there on the northeast corner . It was a very popular place . In fact , there were several places you could eat . It was the Central Cafeteria , and the T & C Cafeteria in Jackson Square , which is about where the Epicurean is now toward the garden . MRS . DAVIDSON : It must 've been the A & P on Jackson Square . Jackson Square was really the center of activity as far as I was concerned at that time . I still love it . I hope it keeps going . MRS . DAVIDSON : The department stores - the big department store was Taylor 's at the time . They had a wonderful book department headed by Mrs . Keyes , whose daughter I knew at work . They had really fine art books and other books that they would have a great sale on once or twice a year . We were very happy with that . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was in the middle of the block between where Big Ed 's is in the corner . I guess it 's mostly used by the engineering company now . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , not frequently , but I went and saw - there was a theater down at Big Ed 's in Jackson Square and where the Playhouse is now . That was the main one . MRS . DAVIDSON : Henebree . McCrory 's 5 & 10 was there . There was a drugstore - a Service Drugstore . I guess that was where Big Ed 's is now , on the very corner . There was Jackson Square Pharmacy , and on the other side the Hamilton Bank was there next to the movie theater . And Samuel 's Men 's Store was a very nice store . The Jackson Square Pharmacy was there , but in between , which the Pharmacy later took over was a Kay 's Ice Cream Store . We used to go there and - my husband and I would when we were dating . I liked to get coffee with ice cream in it , so we went there . MRS . DAVIDSON : I can 't say that I do . It was just a given , I suppose . It didn 't make a big dent in my memory . After six months of the dormitory , I moved to a D house on Norman Lane . That was another era . MRS . DAVIDSON : A D house was a large three bedroom house . They were very much desired . They were really nice houses - still a lot of them are . The house was - there were five other girls who lived there - two of whom had been college friends . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , it would 've been upstairs . It was the second one to the end . A radiation technologist lived on the corner , and I lived there with school teachers and nurses who made up most of the dorm . MR . HUNNICUTT : Let 's talk a little bit about the dorm again . If I had a message for you or someone left a message for you , how did you retrieve your messages ? Was there a desk when you went in ? MRS . DAVIDSON : There was a desk downstairs . I remember the Valentine 's Day - I guess it must 've been 1949 . The message was that I had some flowers , some red roses . I had just met my husband - to - be at that time . I got all excited , and when I got to the desk , it was from somebody else . I enjoyed the red roses , but not as much as I might have . The thing was that there were ladies - a lot of the women who lived in the dorm worked on the night shift . They would sit around a large kind of living room , I guess they called it . They were all staring when I got flowers . I had to walk around , and it was embarrassing . MRS . DAVIDSON : I was there in the winter of 1948 . I 'm very cold natured , but I don 't remember being cold . We had those heavy navy blanket - navy blue blankets . This brings up a story if I jump to it later on . We were moved from the D house after another six months into the brand - new Garden Apartments on Villanova Road . They needed our D house for families . The people who moved in were the Andersons of the Anderson Hilltop Grocery . Of course , the furniture all belonged to the government there . So the Garden Apartments were not furnished , so we had dwindled down from 6 to 4 people who needed furniture . I took a day off and went to an auction the government set up down at the warehouses . I got seven beds and three or four dressers - much more than I could have used . But the beds were in great demand at work because all the young men who worked there were having children and needed beds . So we took the four . Also I got two sofas , and we could use but one ; so I sold one . They were really shabby awful sofas . Since it was all going to surplus anyway , we switched and took the nice sofa from the D house and left them the bad one . It was all taken away anyhow , so I didn 't feel too bad about that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't really remember about the telephone . We didn 't use the telephone much . We never used it for long - distance except for emergencies and calls home . I don 't remember that as being a problem particularly . MRS . DAVIDSON : I suppose I went on the bus . I did not have a car . One of the housemates from Norman Lane had gotten the car , but she would 've been at work at K - 25 . I don 't know . I may have gotten a ride . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess I paid somebody to deliver it . I don 't know . Maybe some of the fellows at work picked up their beds that they wanted . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was one of those warehouses down at the [ Oak Ridge ] Turnpike on Warehouse Road . I don 't know exactly where it was . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess it was on the bulletin boards at work , or there was a newspaper at the Lab . I guess I heard about it that way . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think probably so - in the newsletters they came around , also at the recreation building - the rec hall - at Jackson Square that was the library upstairs and the rec hall downstairs . Word - of - mouth - I don 't remember . We had a need and found the answer to it . MRS . DAVIDSON : I had to punch a clock at eight in the morning when I first started . I guess we got out at 4 : 30 or 5 o ' clock . We had bus service that went from the bus terminal - the Central one - that 's now by Bus Terminal Road . Later on after we were married , we lived on Waddell Circle and went from there to the Jefferson bus terminal . I went - I rode on the K - 25 bus , and they went out past K - 25 to the road that the powerhouse was on and NEPA was beyond that out by the river . MRS . DAVIDSON : There was some kind of management services office . I 'm not sure what it was called - the Roane Anderson Corporation at that time , I guess . I think that 's where I rented the dormitory room . I probably got bus tokens - I guess I got the tokens of the bus terminal . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think I had a checking account probably at Hamilton Bank in Jackson Square . I don 't recall otherwise . I know I did later . One thing I wanted to say about the buses - if you wanted to go to Clinton to do any shopping , more than what you could have in Oak Ridge or to meet somebody or something , there was a bus that ran frequently back and forth between the bus terminal and Clinton . There was a young man on the bus who had a sing - songy sales pitch for " peanuts , popcorn , Cracker Jacks , candy , and chewing gum . " He wouldn 't drive , but he would sell his wares all the way to Clinton and back . I always wondered who that was because he obviously had some talent . MRS . DAVIDSON : I 'm sure I did . I don 't know what became of it . I guess I had to turn it back in . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think somebody just got - one of the guards got on the bus and checked everybody 's badges . It was not a big thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : Probably . I don 't remember . What I do remember about that was my mother was coming down one time for my birthday - it must 've been in January 1949 . She rode the train . I told her that I would get a ride to meet her . Of course , the train didn 't stop at Oak Ridge . It went on to Knoxville , so I bummed a ride with one of the men in our group . He was actually the technical assistant to the director . His car was a broken down old thing with no floorboards in the back seat , which was pretty bad when my mother saw it . But she didn 't see it because when we got to Knoxville , she was not there . When we were coming back from the gateway entrance , she was not there . There was a message that she was waiting for us at the Elza Gate Station . She had told the conductor she had to get off at Oak Ridge . That 's where she was going , and I was going to meet her . So she slid down the Elza bank over there . She had my birthday cake - a large chocolate cake . She slid downhill with that , and somehow they stopped her at the guard gate at Elza . She waited there for us . MRS . DAVIDSON : Just for her - let her off like a milk train . They ordinarily didn 't stop there , but she wouldn 't have it otherwise . MRS . DAVIDSON : I used the library and rec hall . On Sunday afternoons , they played music ; and you could sit and write letters home , which is what I think I did a good bit . Later on in the better weather , there were tennis courts and a swimming pool . I don 't remember going to movies much . We went to church groups . There were so many young people ; it was just like a party all the time . Nothing in particular stands out . It was just fun . MRS . DAVIDSON : In the company I was , that was not true . There were a lot of women of course - of course , the dormitory was full of school teachers and nurses . But NEPA was mostly men . There were two parts to the Fairchild - the science and engineering part , which was bigger . I happen to be in the research part . My boss was a chemist - Vince Calkins . It was my job to - this was a real shocker to me - to find a chemical that would protect the human body against radiation for the reactor that was supposed to be in the airplane to Russia . I had no background for that kind of thing . I was just fresh out of college really . I realized I was out of my depth , but they decided - he was a pharmacist , I believe , and he wanted to do experiments with rats . They brought in the rat colony . By that time we had a couple of assistants , and I was supposed to be the group leader . One of the men , Ray Waldrop - you may have talked to him . I asked him if he minded working for a woman because he was really more experienced than I , although I had the degree . It was fine with him . There was also another worker , Saul Segal , who was quite a character in his own right . I took the rats in the cages over to the reactor , the " Old Lady " at X - 10 , and put them through what they called " rabbits " and radiated them for certain amount of time . We couldn 't kill the darn things . Then we used the older ones that had already been radiated , they were just tough as anything . I think the experiment was really a failure , although they may have found that to be the case in some later work with older people - that the cells are not dividing as fast and they 're not as subject to radiation . But we didn 't get into that . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was actually not K - 25 . It was beyond there . As I said , the bus took us - the bus dumped people off at K - 25 , and they went on west to just before you get to the Gallaher Bridge . You turn right there and go right past the power station there . It was used for a long time - the power house , and then NEPA was beyond that . The native rats came in - was it domestic experimental rats ? That was not good . I had a janitor who helped me , even though he could 've lost his job for doing it . He helped me clean cages . I always appreciated that . MRS . DAVIDSON : When they got rid of the rats , which was a blessing , my group leader then became Bill Browning , who was a fine scientist . He worked on the Van de Graaff generator . We had an interesting argument . Saul Segal thought he should be the one to do it since he was a man and I was a woman who would be leaving soon ; and it turned out that he left for California before I had left to have my baby . His argument didn 't hold with me anyway , but we argued about that some . We did run the Van de Graaff , and we also did some experiments on metallic sodium . It was nasty stuff to work with . It caught on fire if it was exposed to air . You had to work with that under oil in the glove box . I think that work all had to be repeated after NEPA left for Cincinnati with G . E . . When they moved part of NEPA to X - 10 , they called it the ANP , or something about aircraft and nuclear power . I was not connected with that because my first baby was born in August 1951 . I left in July . MRS . DAVIDSON : I heard somebody say that they had to repeat it all . My boss , the Division Director of Chemistry was interested in vitamin E , and thought it had a lot of protective influence . We worked with that . That was some of the work I did in chemistry - the lab part of it in the early days . It was not good work , I think . I 'm not blaming myself , but some of the other men who were doing chemical work - I think altogether we didn 't come up with anything . MRS . DAVIDSON : It may have been ahead of it 's time for nuclear submarines . I don 't know whether the engineering people thought that or not . In our group which was the chemistry and the physics , my friend who got me the job was Jim Trice . A fellow named Art Miller and somebody named Coneybearwere in the Physics Division . And then there were some others - Fred Maienschein . I did some work for him one time . It was work on beryllium for one thing . I didn 't work with any of the active beryllium . I didn 't do any lab work then , but I did some journal research . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't think they were that far along . I 'm not sure what happened to that part of it . As I said , in July of 1951 they moved to Cincinnati , Evensville , above Cincinnati . I don 't know how many people actually went up there . Most of my friends moved elsewhere . MR . HUNNICUTT : You mentioned the location of the operation was past the steam plant that was on the Clinch River . Was that the same location where the S - 50 project was located ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I think that was the name of our plot of land . I think those - I never was quite sure how they got the designations , but that was the Fairchild domain , I think . MRS . DAVIDSON : Really , it was just when our eyes met . It was very romantic . He followed our group home to the Columbia Hall to see where I lived . But at the time I thought he was too young , and I didn 't think he was following me . I was with a group of other girls . Later on , one of the women in the dormitory , who was a gym teacher in the Oak Ridge schools , told me I really ought to meet Jack Davidson that he loved to ride bicycles ; I was just back from my bicycle trip in Europe . I didn 't know who he was , and then I went to a church group meeting at my Presbyterian Church for young people one Sunday evening . A friend of mine had brought Jack Davidson , and he was the one whose eyes I had met and he had met mine . Sure enough , he loved to ride bicycles . That was the start of a good thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : We did a little bit . On our dates , that 's really what we did mostly at first . We rode out to West Outer Drive and had those wonderful big hills , not too much traffic at that time . We went out to the water tower at the top of Louisiana and had a picnic , and then rode back . When we got really good , we rode our bicycles over to Concord Park one day . I had gotten some chicken breasts at the grocery . I guess it was the A & P at Jackson Square . I was going to fry them for a picnic to take along over to Concord Park . When I went to the refrigerator to get them , they had turned into wings . Somebody had eaten my chicken breast . Jack was a good sport about that . He didn 't care . We had a nice ride . It was before they had improved Lovell Road . It was a pretty rough ride over there , but we were able to enjoy it . MRS . DAVIDSON : He had his bicycle . It was probably a Grey Stone . For me , he rented a bicycle from his work friend . I had forgotten what his name was . We went over to one of the D Streets , I think , and rode them . I didn 't have my English 3 - speed here . I guess I brought it later , but at that time I didn 't have it . MRS . DAVIDSON : That was a problem . I complained to my friend Jim Trice 's wife , Dot , who happened to live around the corner on Outer Drive at that time . She said the boardwalk was used a lot for dating , and of course the theaters . I guess we were outdoors people . I don 't know . MRS . DAVIDSON : He was a graduate of Georgia Tech . At the time he graduated , he was very young . He came up to see about a job , and he was drafted . No , he was in danger of being drafted right away , but they didn 't hire him . He did go to work for NASA , which was at that time NACA , in Virginia ; and worked over there a short time before he was taken into the Army . He had gone through Georgia Tech on a " War Manpower " loan . He was sent to some place to be an MP , I think . He wrote a night letter , which is a 50 - word telegram that was cheaper at night . He wrote a night letter to Stimson , the Secretary of War , telling them they had paid for his college education ; and here he was sitting in a camp doing nothing down in Alabama . He was transferred to the SED , he would never say that was the reason he was transferred . It may or may not have been . He arrived with the SED - he arrived in Oak Ridge the day Roosevelt died , which was in April 1945 , he was here with his group for maybe six weeks before they went out to Los Alamos . So he spent the rest of the war out there . Then he used his G . I . Bill - he stayed on at Los Alamos . They told them they would let him out of the Army if he would agree to stay on as a civilian . So he took that . Then when he did leave , he went to Annapolis and took a liberal arts course because he felt that he had missed out on it at Georgia Tech . He had a year at St . John 's College of Annapolis ; and then all along I guess he thought he would like to come back here . He came back - he arrived on Armistice Day , now Veterans Day , of 1948 . I was here a couple of months before he came , but we met shortly after Christmas in 1949 . MRS . DAVIDSON : Too long . We were married in May 1950 . He wanted to pay off his loan before we could get married , so I helped him along with that . I fed him some . He was very welcome at the D House of girls . I was going to tell you that during the war , there were nine girls in the house , and they slept on shifts on the bunk beds . There were only six of us when I was there . There were a couple of the boyfriends around , and one of them cut the grass . I think Jack did the - empty the clinkers from the furnace , the coal furnace . They made themselves useful . They got their dinner . MRS . DAVIDSON : Most of the houses were a very good design really , and a whole lot better built than we gave them credit for . But each one that I knew of had a corner set off or closed off as a coal storage place that could be filled through a window from the outside , and then you could use the - there was an opening on the inside that you could use to put coal into the furnace . That was awful of course , but that 's what all the houses were doing in that time , too . We had a yard full of clinkers over there . MRS . DAVIDSON : We were taken care of by a Big Brother - the government . They brought the coal around , and you didn 't do a thing . That was part of the rent . When we got our house here on Orange Lane , that 's another story . Are you ready for that yet ? MRS . DAVIDSON : We went back to my home in Louisville , Kentucky , to be married . We had planned to fly to Nashville , but it turned out the Delta Queen was coming through Louisville the next morning . My mother had told us we could not get married the week before because it was too busy with Derby Day . So we delayed until May 13 . Then we spent the night in Louisville at the Brown Hotel , where she pulled some strings to get us a room because it was still very full of visitors from the Derby . We got on the Delta Queen , and our friends were all on the dock to see us off . They had us almost convinced that we were on Daylight Saving Time , and the Delta Queen was not , and we had missed it . But we rode down just as far as Paducah . We were anxious to start in life you know . We lived on Wadell Circle in a K apartment . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was a two - story thing . I guess it was a two - bedroom up above , and we had K - 1 . It was sort of underground at the front and open at the back . We had a nice back porch . There was a closet under the stairway and a very small kitchen . It had a table that folded down . It was not as compact as a flattop , but the furnishings that they had did double duty . You could fold it up and have more room . MRS . DAVIDSON : The K apartment was heated with the coal furnace , but there was a janitor who came around and took care of it for us . We were taken care of by Roane Anderson . MRS . DAVIDSON : We lived in the K from May 1950 , until we got this house in July 1952 . It was said - the word around town was that you couldn 't get a two - bedroom house unless you had three children , all of different sex . We had been on the list for this house ever since we knew our daughter was coming along . That was a long time to wait . We had been offered two houses - Florida Avenue , where the parking was across the street and the backyard just dropped off . We thought that was totally unsuitable for a new child . We turned both of those down . If we had turned this one down , we would 've gone to the bottom of the long list . But we loved this place of the trees and the dead end lane neighborhood . So we sat outside in front all weekend because we were not top on the list . The reason the other people didn 't take it was that the previous owner , Jim Cox and Charlotte , had put in an oil furnace ; and nobody wanted to pay $ 200 for the oil furnace . Since I had been working , we had saved my salary from work , and we had $ 200 to pay . Also , they didn 't want to be in the high rent district . This house rented for something like $ 45 instead of $ 43 in the lower rent districts . MRS . DAVIDSON : The Oak Ridge cemesto houses that were built - I think this house was built in the fall of 1944 or 1943 . Maybe it was ' 43 . The B house has two bedrooms and of course a bath and a kitchen with a dinette into a long narrow living room . It was about 24 feet by 40 something feet . It was small and convenient . It didn 't have much storage space , but it 's been a wonderful house for us because of the trees . We are on a greenbelt , and I enjoy that very much . It 's a nice private neighborhood just above Jackson Square . MRS . DAVIDSON : Our cemesto has a fireplace , and it had a complete brick wall . Some of the B houses had a brick wall just beyond the fireplace . MRS . DAVIDSON : There are hardwood floors in all the cemestos , I believe . Our house has maple flooring , and a lot of them had oak . Wood was hard to come by in the wartime . We love the color - the reddish color of the maple . MRS . DAVIDSON : Adele is our second daughter , and she was two years younger . Our son is Bill Davidson or William . He was born in November of 1954 . He 's just now turning 58 . MRS . DAVIDSON : All three of our children went to Cedar Hill . They had split grades there , so I think the classes were one half size . They would take the kids a half from one grade , and half from the next grade , and that worked out just fine . MRS . DAVIDSON : Cedar Hill was wonderful . It was very special . Mr . Dodd was the principal , and he saw to it - he had the best teachers or at least as good as any . Actually in those days all the teachers and Oak Ridge were special because many of them had been recruited from Columbia Teachers College , along with the superintendent . Others were specially recruited for the job . They were a group a part , I think , from a lot of teachers . MRS . DAVIDSON : The girls both went to Jefferson when it was on the hill at Jackson Square , and Bill was in the first year at the new Jefferson that was over on Fairbanks Road . His was the first class there . They all went through Oak Ridge High . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you recall some of the classes your daughters took while they were in junior high ? Was there Home Ec . or things related to girls ? MRS . DAVIDSON : No , they were on the college prep track . They took eighth grade algebra and that kind of thing . Of course English and math and social studies and science - our older girl I think took biology ; and I 'm not sure if Adele had a more general science course . It just depended on the teacher that they had . They had an excellent education , and the girls were both Merit semifinalists . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course . I was in the PTA . I 'm not sure if I was ever a room mother , but I of course helped with parties and things . MRS . DAVIDSON : The teachers recruited them from each class to help with parties mostly . They helped with any activities that they didn 't really have time to do . MRS . DAVIDSON : Parent - Teacher Association , a time honored group . It got extra things for the school . I got involved with raincoats for the school patrol . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess maybe I was a treasurer of the Cedar Hill PTA , and this goal was to get those yellow slicker raincoat so kids could be visible to the drivers . I found out how much the things cost , and then I estimated postage . At the PTA meeting , Alvin Weinberg was president . He had a son or two in school at the time . He took me to task for estimating the postage , so I had to ask for just the money for the coats themselves since I didn 't really know what the postage is going to be . I thought that was interesting that he wanted to keep it to the exact penny . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think they just wore what the other kids wore . One day we had a deep snow and Bill was in kindergarten , and the snow was up over their boots . I think he had some corduroys . The teacher was making the kids take their pants off and dry them on the radiator , and he wouldn 't do it . I had to go up to the school and take him some fresh pants , some dry clothes . He was very young - just four when he started . MR . HUNNICUTT : Let 's go back a few years . Do you remember 1945 when they dropped the bomb on Japan ? You remember where you were ? And what was your reaction ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I do remember that very clearly because it was the summer after my junior year in college , and I was a camp counselor up in Door County , Wisconsin . There was no electricity at the camp , so we counselors - after we got the kids to bed , went to the state park nearby . This was at Fish Creek , Wisconsin . We would listen to people 's car radios . We knew for about a week that something was happening , but we didn 't know just what . It was very deeply moving when the bomb was dropped , and we thought it would bring an end to the war . Of course , I had friends and a brother on Guam and a cousin was in Europe and others . So that was very deeply moving . I had a book of poetry - my favorite poems at the camp with me . One of my 12 - year - olds picked out a poem - " Once to every man and nation comes a moment to decide " - she read that , and I thought that was very astute of her , a youngster to be able to do that . MRS . DAVIDSON : My husband thought they should have dropped a sample first , but I didn 't feel that way since the first bomb didn 't phase the Japanese . I didn 't think the test one would have either . I was just so glad that the war was over . People could settle down and get into real life again . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think I was in transition from the dormitory to the house , and my husband 's brothers came up from Georgia to witness the opening . So we drove in their car around , and we watched the parade from , I believe , down on the eastern end of the Turnpike down near the warehouses to get out of the traffic . We never could figure out why they invited Marie " The Body " McDonald and [ inaudible ] to ride in the open car for the parade . We couldn 't figure out what they had to do with it , but we did see the burning of the magnesium ribbon . That was exciting . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was only toward town from Elza Gate . I know the central part of town , the Jackson Square area , was very crowded . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think they name the streets for famous cities in the country , and of course the alphabetical designations were very helpful . But Jackson Square , I assume , was named for New Orleans . That 's all I know about it . MRS . DAVIDSON : Sometimes you would pick up the telephone , and the other party was talking . I believe they had different rings . I think maybe the other party had one ring , and we had two . There were four - party lines , but if we were on a four - party line , only the other one was active . I think maybe we were . The other two lines were not being used . MR . HUNNICUTT : When you are raising your family , did you hang your clothes outside on the clothesline ? Did you have a dryer ? What did you use ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I hung them outside on the clothesline . As I said , when we moved here , Anne was a year old . Not much more than three years after that , we had three babies . I was able to talk my husband into getting a dryer that time . Before that , he had built a pulley out of my kitchen window . There was a drop off in the back , and he was able to string it to a tree in the woods . I was able to reel those cloth diapers and reel them in and out . The only problem was that the birds like the trees , too . Sometimes I had to do some re - washing . MR . HUNNICUTT : So in those days you use cloth diapers ? Today we use disposable diapers . How do you think you would 've done if you had disposable diapers ? MRS . DAVIDSON : At one point , when our children were out playing Kick the Can , there were over 40 children on the lane . There were about 20 or 21 houses . There were almost as many dogs . It was just a glorious place for them to grow up . They seem to get along remarkably well most of the time , especially in the early days . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes . We went down there on the opening , and got the radioactive dimes on that occasion . The museum at that time was down at Jefferson Circle . I don 't think any of us ever had our hair stand out on the Van De Graff generator or whatever it was , but we took the children . We went out ourselves . Of course my husband was interested in that kind of thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : Sometimes they walked to Jefferson , but by that time they were carrying pretty heavy books . One of the neighbors on Outer Drive wanted to have a carpool , so we joined that . MRS . DAVIDSON : When Anne was in the fifth grade , they had to write what they did on Friday nights . The teacher would call me and say , " Is it true that you gave your children ice water and watched TV on Friday nights ? " That was how generous we were with them . We didn 't get a TV until they were probably five or six years old . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course it was black and white . The reason we got it - I guess finally it was that the children were always going to the neighbors ' house to watch TV . We decided that we should get our own . They watched things like " Pinky Lee " and I 've forgotten what else . MRS . DAVIDSON : I remember that fondly because my first real date with my husband was going to dinner there with him . He invited me to go to a concert in Knoxville , and his excuse was that we should get to know each other better before he took me to the city with him . That was one thing . I remember there were parties there , and our company had a party at the Oak Terrace Ballroom . One of the NEPA fellows wore a Tarzan costume , which was mostly nothing . It turned out that he lived in the neighborhood . MRS . DAVIDSON : That was just below the dormitory where I lived in Columbia Hall . Jack went there looking for me , he thought I would eat breakfast there and then he could have breakfast with me ; but I ate in the dormitory . He didn 't find me there . When we came back from our bicycle ride to Concord Park , I remember we stopped by there , and he drank two or three Mountain Dew drinks . That surprised me , but we had worked off a lot of sweat . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , we took our children out there and saw " Lawrence of Arabia " and " The 10 Commandment " and those things . It was quite nice . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was about where Kroger 's - where that is now , on the southeast part of Illinois Avenue . It was a nice thing . That was a special treat for the children to go out there . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't think so . I think they were mostly in the car . They had a drawing one time , Jack won something . It was actually nothing , but he did win . MRS . DAVIDSON : I sure did . My three children were born there . It was a green structure , like so many of the buildings in Oak Ridge . I guess the present building is built on that place . It was okay . I didn 't have any problems with it , except after my second child . I had a staph infection from the hospital . Even an Army wife with a private room got an infection there . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , I think they also had been recruited ; and a lot of them were from Tulane University . The time I was sick with my infection , they were having a reunion at Tulane , and my doctor and another one were gone for the reunion . I didn 't like the one who took care of me . He didn 't do a good job . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was okay . I don 't remember having any problems with it . We knew Dr . Rogers from our church , and we went to him . He was called away to the service , I believe . Maybe it was the Korean War , but then he came back . MRS . DAVIDSON : We met at Pine Valley School . The choir sat on the bleachers , and the minister sat under the halo of the basketball net . My husband was a Methodist , and he went to the First Methodist Church . They had a big youth group there . When we were first married , we tried to take them both in . We went to Sunday school one place , and church another until we finally settled on the Presbyterian . It was smaller , and we knew more people . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course the people . I love my trees and my house . I love all the activities . Both my husband and I have always loved music and enjoy the concerts a lot . The symphony concerts with Waldo Cohn conducting were held at Jefferson Junior High on the Kentucky Avenue hill . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you think back about all the people that you knew in the early days ? Do you think it was unusual for everybody to get along - the many people that were here ? MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , I guess so . I didn 't think about it because we just did . It was just fun . Everybody was away from home , and we had to be family for each other . That was particularly true in this close neighborhood . MRS . DAVIDSON : I 'm pleased for the most part . I think we 've made good progress . We 've kept up with the outside world . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think we came through at the very best of times . It was not the pressure of war , but we were growing community . I think things were happening at the Lab . Both of my husband and I loved the Lab because there were so many good things going on out there . It gives us hope for the future . [ Editor 's Note : This transcript has been edited at Mrs . Davidson 's request . The corresponding audio and video components have remained unchanged . ] Click tabs to swap between content that is broken into logical sections . MR . HUNNICUTT : This interview is for the Center of Oak Ridge Oral History . The date is November 8 , 2012 . I am Don Hunnicutt in the home of Mrs . Mary Ann Davidson , 117 Orange Lane , Oak Ridge , Tennessee , to take her oral history about living in Oak Ridge , Tennessee . Please state your full name and your place of birth and your date of birth . MRS . DAVIDSON : My name is Mary Ann Davidson . My date of birth is January 12 , 1925 . I was born in Louisville , Kentucky . I lived there all my early life until I graduated from college . MRS . DAVIDSON : My father was William H . Courtenay . He was born in 1890 , on March 3 . He was in World War I and lived his entire life in Louisville and Shelbyville , Kentucky . He worked for the Mengel Company . They imported mahogany and hardwood from Africa and Central America . He delivered those to customers . He didn 't consider himself a salesman , but he sold them to the furniture factory - furniture makers around Kentucky , mostly Indiana and Cincinnati and some in Tennessee . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , he did not . The Louisville Male High School was considered a fine school at that time . They said that graduates could enter Harvard in their second year . The principal had written textbooks that were apparently used all over . But my father was interested in raising ponies . His father had a farm in Shelbyville , Kentucky . If you 'd didn 't make the grade , you are special . And Dr . Ruben Post - Halleck , the famous principal of the school , told him if he took an exam in math , he could be entered back in . He did that , and he aced the test . He was back in . Then he was a special in English , so they told him if he memorized the " Lady of the Lake " and said that he could get back in school . So he did that . I think he never did finish . He was a twin , and his twin was more of an engineering type and went to manual training high school . MR . HUNNICUTT : What about your mother 's school history ? MRS . DAVIDSON : She grew up in several small towns in western Kentucky . Her father worked for the L & N Railroad . She had her high school in Hopkinsville , Kentucky . She had to stay home - or she went to junior college nearby . She had a scholarship to Randolph Macon Women 's College , but she couldn 't take it because her mother was ill and died at age 50 . It was about the year I was born , I think . MRS . DAVIDSON : His name was William Howard Courtenay III . My father was named for his uncle , who was also William Howard . My older brother works for Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green in the physics department . He made instruments . My younger brother was a pediatrician in Louisville , and he is still living on a farm in Shelbyville . He 's interested in Kentucky antiques . MR . HUNNICUTT : Yes . MRS . DAVIDSON : I went to an unusual kindergarten and first grade . I was at what they called the Enterprise Branch of I . N . Bloom School . It was only kindergarten and first grade . It was in the older building , where we had a Pot Belly Stove . I think we had a maid to help us take our leggings off in the cold weather - galoshes . It was really a wonderful school . It was almost like a private one . It was public . We did things like making butter and we had an orchestra . I played the triangle . I had started a little bit earlier when my younger brother was born . Louisville had half semester , half - year grades . I would 've been a half year , but I skipped the last half of kindergarten . I went to the school board and took a test and went on , so they put me in the regular school year . I went through the big school the I . N . Bloom School and Highland Junior High School in Louisville . Then I went to Atherton High School for Girls . The Louisville public schools were segregated - boys and girls . There were about 900 girls at Atherton . My graduating class was about 200 , and I was the valedictorian . MRS . DAVIDSON : They are pants to keep your legs warm . They zipped up from the inside of the ankle bone up to about knee - high , I guess it was . They were a royal pain to take on and off , so the teacher had to have help to do that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was just ordinary . I 'm sure the girls wore dresses , and the little boys wore suits - not suits , but pants and shirts . MRS . DAVIDSON : I came to Oak Ridge after I graduated from college . I had two years of getting a master 's at Emory while I worked at my alma mater , Agnes Scott College in Decatur , Georgia . I was the chemistry lab instructor . So after those two years were up , I was interested in working in chemistry or biochemistry . My master 's was in biochemistry . In Louisville , there was nothing in that field , except liquor and paint - neither of which I was interested in . In Atlanta , I would like to stay in Atlanta , I heard that Oak Ridge was an interesting new place , and a lot was going on here . One of my dear college friends had recently married a physicist from the University of Kentucky , so I visited them here . I guess that must have been 1947 . Her husband was working at NEPA . He said they were looking for people with a chemistry degree . I applied , and I was accepted . I didn 't know that until I had completed the clearance , so I took the opportunity to go to Europe at an American youth hostel bicycle tour of Western Europe in the summer of 1948 . When I got home , I found that I had indeed gotten the job at Oak Ridge . So I came down here . MRS . DAVIDSON : I was wondering that . I think I came by train . When I interviewed earlier in the spring , my interview was at the Andrew Johnson Hotel . It was one of the private rooms . I had never seen the company here . I think I must have been met by a car and driver and brought to Oak Ridge . MRS . DAVIDSON : I came in through the Vermont Gateway , which is where the gas station is now on the corner of what I call Vermont . They call it North Rutgers now . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , I think it must 've been after that . That would 've been at Christmas time . When I applied , I imagine it was early spring . MRS . DAVIDSON : We called the company NEPA , for Nuclear Energy for the Propulsion of Aircraft . It was managed by the Fairchild Corporation the way Union Carbide or one of the other contractors managed the lab . I did not know until the first day I went to work just what the company was doing . They handed me a volume of information that said , " We are looking for - we are trying to make an airplane powered by nuclear energy that could fly to Russia and back without refueling . " That was a great shock to me . MRS . DAVIDSON : I lived in Columbia Hall Dormitory . I was very surprised to find that the rent was $ 15 a month until I realized it was one very small room . That was my living quarters . I took the opportunity to stay out of it as much as possible . I did that by babysitting in some of the B and D houses in the evening . Grandmothers were not here since it was a closed community . Babysitters were in short supply , and even though I didn 't need the money , it was good to get out of the dormitory . MRS . DAVIDSON : The dormitory was like Cheyenne Hall . It was the same type of building . It had wooden stairways from the second - floor hall down on each end . I lived on the second floor . Our dormitory was mostly nurses , since it was up on the hill next to the hospital - I think where the west parking lot is now . There was a kitchen on each end where we could have our own breakfast . Of course we were at the plant at lunchtime , and then we usually went out to supper . I opened the refrigerator door one morning and somebody 's milk came spilling out down my front . Everybody just stuffed things into the refrigerator . MRS . DAVIDSON : I had a single room with a twin bed and enough room to walk to the window by the bed . There was a little table that served as a desk with a chair . There was a much coveted dormitory dresser - a tall one with a number of drawers . They were very popular . MRS . DAVIDSON : They had a wonderful bus service here . Travel wasn 't really a problem . We walked , of course , from the dormitory to Jackson Square and ate supper usually at the Mayflower , which is where I first saw my husband - to - be . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was on the corner of Tennessee , right across from the Soup Kitchen and the Texaco gas station there on the northeast corner . It was a very popular place . In fact , there were several places you could eat . It was the Central Cafeteria , and the T & C Cafeteria in Jackson Square , which is about where the Epicurean is now toward the garden . MRS . DAVIDSON : It must 've been the A & P on Jackson Square . Jackson Square was really the center of activity as far as I was concerned at that time . I still love it . I hope it keeps going . MRS . DAVIDSON : The department stores - the big department store was Taylor 's at the time . They had a wonderful book department headed by Mrs . Keyes , whose daughter I knew at work . They had really fine art books and other books that they would have a great sale on once or twice a year . We were very happy with that . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was in the middle of the block between where Big Ed 's is in the corner . I guess it 's mostly used by the engineering company now . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , not frequently , but I went and saw - there was a theater down at Big Ed 's in Jackson Square and where the Playhouse is now . That was the main one . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , the jewelry store was on the corner that was Henebree 's , I think . No , that was Heneger 's . MR . HUNNICUTT : Henebree ? MRS . DAVIDSON : Henebree . McCrory 's 5 & 10 was there . There was a drugstore - a Service Drugstore . I guess that was where Big Ed 's is now , on the very corner . There was Jackson Square Pharmacy , and on the other side the Hamilton Bank was there next to the movie theater . And Samuel 's Men 's Store was a very nice store . The Jackson Square Pharmacy was there , but in between , which the Pharmacy later took over was a Kay 's Ice Cream Store . We used to go there and - my husband and I would when we were dating . I liked to get coffee with ice cream in it , so we went there . MR . HUNNICUTT : I believe that was Taff Moody Ice Cream - they served Kay 's Ice Cream . MRS . DAVIDSON : Was it ? I didn 't remember that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I can 't say that I do . It was just a given , I suppose . It didn 't make a big dent in my memory . After six months of the dormitory , I moved to a D house on Norman Lane . That was another era . MR . HUNNICUTT : What is a D house ? MRS . DAVIDSON : A D house was a large three bedroom house . They were very much desired . They were really nice houses - still a lot of them are . The house was - there were five other girls who lived there - two of whom had been college friends . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , it would 've been upstairs . It was the second one to the end . A radiation technologist lived on the corner , and I lived there with school teachers and nurses who made up most of the dorm . MR . HUNNICUTT : Let 's talk a little bit about the dorm again . If I had a message for you or someone left a message for you , how did you retrieve your messages ? Was there a desk when you went in ? MRS . DAVIDSON : There was a desk downstairs . I remember the Valentine 's Day - I guess it must 've been 1949 . The message was that I had some flowers , some red roses . I had just met my husband - to - be at that time . I got all excited , and when I got to the desk , it was from somebody else . I enjoyed the red roses , but not as much as I might have . The thing was that there were ladies - a lot of the women who lived in the dorm worked on the night shift . They would sit around a large kind of living room , I guess they called it . They were all staring when I got flowers . I had to walk around , and it was embarrassing . MRS . DAVIDSON : I was there in the winter of 1948 . I 'm very cold natured , but I don 't remember being cold . We had those heavy navy blanket - navy blue blankets . This brings up a story if I jump to it later on . We were moved from the D house after another six months into the brand - new Garden Apartments on Villanova Road . They needed our D house for families . The people who moved in were the Andersons of the Anderson Hilltop Grocery . Of course , the furniture all belonged to the government there . So the Garden Apartments were not furnished , so we had dwindled down from 6 to 4 people who needed furniture . I took a day off and went to an auction the government set up down at the warehouses . I got seven beds and three or four dressers - much more than I could have used . But the beds were in great demand at work because all the young men who worked there were having children and needed beds . So we took the four . Also I got two sofas , and we could use but one ; so I sold one . They were really shabby awful sofas . Since it was all going to surplus anyway , we switched and took the nice sofa from the D house and left them the bad one . It was all taken away anyhow , so I didn 't feel too bad about that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't really remember about the telephone . We didn 't use the telephone much . We never used it for long - distance except for emergencies and calls home . I don 't remember that as being a problem particularly . MRS . DAVIDSON : I suppose I went on the bus . I did not have a car . One of the housemates from Norman Lane had gotten the car , but she would 've been at work at K - 25 . I don 't know . I may have gotten a ride . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess I paid somebody to deliver it . I don 't know . Maybe some of the fellows at work picked up their beds that they wanted . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was one of those warehouses down at the [ Oak Ridge ] Turnpike on Warehouse Road . I don 't know exactly where it was . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess it was on the bulletin boards at work , or there was a newspaper at the Lab . I guess I heard about it that way . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think probably so - in the newsletters they came around , also at the recreation building - the rec hall - at Jackson Square that was the library upstairs and the rec hall downstairs . Word - of - mouth - I don 't remember . We had a need and found the answer to it . MRS . DAVIDSON : I had to punch a clock at eight in the morning when I first started . I guess we got out at 4 : 30 or 5 o ' clock . We had bus service that went from the bus terminal - the Central one - that 's now by Bus Terminal Road . Later on after we were married , we lived on Waddell Circle and went from there to the Jefferson bus terminal . I went - I rode on the K - 25 bus , and they went out past K - 25 to the road that the powerhouse was on and NEPA was beyond that out by the river . MRS . DAVIDSON : There was some kind of management services office . I 'm not sure what it was called - the Roane Anderson Corporation at that time , I guess . I think that 's where I rented the dormitory room . I probably got bus tokens - I guess I got the tokens of the bus terminal . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think I had a checking account probably at Hamilton Bank in Jackson Square . I don 't recall otherwise . I know I did later . One thing I wanted to say about the buses - if you wanted to go to Clinton to do any shopping , more than what you could have in Oak Ridge or to meet somebody or something , there was a bus that ran frequently back and forth between the bus terminal and Clinton . There was a young man on the bus who had a sing - songy sales pitch for " peanuts , popcorn , Cracker Jacks , candy , and chewing gum . " He wouldn 't drive , but he would sell his wares all the way to Clinton and back . I always wondered who that was because he obviously had some talent . MRS . DAVIDSON : I 'm sure I did . I don 't know what became of it . I guess I had to turn it back in . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think somebody just got - one of the guards got on the bus and checked everybody 's badges . It was not a big thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : Probably . I don 't remember . What I do remember about that was my mother was coming down one time for my birthday - it must 've been in January 1949 . She rode the train . I told her that I would get a ride to meet her . Of course , the train didn 't stop at Oak Ridge . It went on to Knoxville , so I bummed a ride with one of the men in our group . He was actually the technical assistant to the director . His car was a broken down old thing with no floorboards in the back seat , which was pretty bad when my mother saw it . But she didn 't see it because when we got to Knoxville , she was not there . When we were coming back from the gateway entrance , she was not there . There was a message that she was waiting for us at the Elza Gate Station . She had told the conductor she had to get off at Oak Ridge . That 's where she was going , and I was going to meet her . So she slid down the Elza bank over there . She had my birthday cake - a large chocolate cake . She slid downhill with that , and somehow they stopped her at the guard gate at Elza . She waited there for us . MRS . DAVIDSON : Just for her - let her off like a milk train . They ordinarily didn 't stop there , but she wouldn 't have it otherwise . MRS . DAVIDSON : I used the library and rec hall . On Sunday afternoons , they played music ; and you could sit and write letters home , which is what I think I did a good bit . Later on in the better weather , there were tennis courts and a swimming pool . I don 't remember going to movies much . We went to church groups . There were so many young people ; it was just like a party all the time . Nothing in particular stands out . It was just fun . MRS . DAVIDSON : In the company I was , that was not true . There were a lot of women of course - of course , the dormitory was full of school teachers and nurses . But NEPA was mostly men . There were two parts to the Fairchild - the science and engineering part , which was bigger . I happen to be in the research part . My boss was a chemist - Vince Calkins . It was my job to - this was a real shocker to me - to find a chemical that would protect the human body against radiation for the reactor that was supposed to be in the airplane to Russia . I had no background for that kind of thing . I was just fresh out of college really . I realized I was out of my depth , but they decided - he was a pharmacist , I believe , and he wanted to do experiments with rats . They brought in the rat colony . By that time we had a couple of assistants , and I was supposed to be the group leader . One of the men , Ray Waldrop - you may have talked to him . I asked him if he minded working for a woman because he was really more experienced than I , although I had the degree . It was fine with him . There was also another worker , Saul Segal , who was quite a character in his own right . I took the rats in the cages over to the reactor , the " Old Lady " at X - 10 , and put them through what they called " rabbits " and radiated them for certain amount of time . We couldn 't kill the darn things . Then we used the older ones that had already been radiated , they were just tough as anything . I think the experiment was really a failure , although they may have found that to be the case in some later work with older people - that the cells are not dividing as fast and they 're not as subject to radiation . But we didn 't get into that . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was actually not K - 25 . It was beyond there . As I said , the bus took us - the bus dumped people off at K - 25 , and they went on west to just before you get to the Gallaher Bridge . You turn right there and go right past the power station there . It was used for a long time - the power house , and then NEPA was beyond that . The native rats came in - was it domestic experimental rats ? That was not good . I had a janitor who helped me , even though he could 've lost his job for doing it . He helped me clean cages . I always appreciated that . MRS . DAVIDSON : When they got rid of the rats , which was a blessing , my group leader then became Bill Browning , who was a fine scientist . He worked on the Van de Graaff generator . We had an interesting argument . Saul Segal thought he should be the one to do it since he was a man and I was a woman who would be leaving soon ; and it turned out that he left for California before I had left to have my baby . His argument didn 't hold with me anyway , but we argued about that some . We did run the Van de Graaff , and we also did some experiments on metallic sodium . It was nasty stuff to work with . It caught on fire if it was exposed to air . You had to work with that under oil in the glove box . I think that work all had to be repeated after NEPA left for Cincinnati with G . E . . When they moved part of NEPA to X - 10 , they called it the ANP , or something about aircraft and nuclear power . I was not connected with that because my first baby was born in August 1951 . I left in July . MRS . DAVIDSON : I heard somebody say that they had to repeat it all . My boss , the Division Director of Chemistry was interested in vitamin E , and thought it had a lot of protective influence . We worked with that . That was some of the work I did in chemistry - the lab part of it in the early days . It was not good work , I think . I 'm not blaming myself , but some of the other men who were doing chemical work - I think altogether we didn 't come up with anything . MRS . DAVIDSON : It may have been ahead of it 's time for nuclear submarines . I don 't know whether the engineering people thought that or not . In our group which was the chemistry and the physics , my friend who got me the job was Jim Trice . A fellow named Art Miller and somebody named Coneybearwere in the Physics Division . And then there were some others - Fred Maienschein . I did some work for him one time . It was work on beryllium for one thing . I didn 't work with any of the active beryllium . I didn 't do any lab work then , but I did some journal research . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't think they were that far along . I 'm not sure what happened to that part of it . As I said , in July of 1951 they moved to Cincinnati , Evensville , above Cincinnati . I don 't know how many people actually went up there . Most of my friends moved elsewhere . MR . HUNNICUTT : You mentioned the location of the operation was past the steam plant that was on the Clinch River . Was that the same location where the S - 50 project was located ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I think that was the name of our plot of land . I think those - I never was quite sure how they got the designations , but that was the Fairchild domain , I think . MRS . DAVIDSON : Really , it was just when our eyes met . It was very romantic . He followed our group home to the Columbia Hall to see where I lived . But at the time I thought he was too young , and I didn 't think he was following me . I was with a group of other girls . Later on , one of the women in the dormitory , who was a gym teacher in the Oak Ridge schools , told me I really ought to meet Jack Davidson that he loved to ride bicycles ; I was just back from my bicycle trip in Europe . I didn 't know who he was , and then I went to a church group meeting at my Presbyterian Church for young people one Sunday evening . A friend of mine had brought Jack Davidson , and he was the one whose eyes I had met and he had met mine . Sure enough , he loved to ride bicycles . That was the start of a good thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : We did a little bit . On our dates , that 's really what we did mostly at first . We rode out to West Outer Drive and had those wonderful big hills , not too much traffic at that time . We went out to the water tower at the top of Louisiana and had a picnic , and then rode back . When we got really good , we rode our bicycles over to Concord Park one day . I had gotten some chicken breasts at the grocery . I guess it was the A & P at Jackson Square . I was going to fry them for a picnic to take along over to Concord Park . When I went to the refrigerator to get them , they had turned into wings . Somebody had eaten my chicken breast . Jack was a good sport about that . He didn 't care . We had a nice ride . It was before they had improved Lovell Road . It was a pretty rough ride over there , but we were able to enjoy it . MRS . DAVIDSON : He had his bicycle . It was probably a Grey Stone . For me , he rented a bicycle from his work friend . I had forgotten what his name was . We went over to one of the D Streets , I think , and rode them . I didn 't have my English 3 - speed here . I guess I brought it later , but at that time I didn 't have it . MRS . DAVIDSON : That was a problem . I complained to my friend Jim Trice 's wife , Dot , who happened to live around the corner on Outer Drive at that time . She said the boardwalk was used a lot for dating , and of course the theaters . I guess we were outdoors people . I don 't know . MRS . DAVIDSON : He was a graduate of Georgia Tech . At the time he graduated , he was very young . He came up to see about a job , and he was drafted . No , he was in danger of being drafted right away , but they didn 't hire him . He did go to work for NASA , which was at that time NACA , in Virginia ; and worked over there a short time before he was taken into the Army . He had gone through Georgia Tech on a " War Manpower " loan . He was sent to some place to be an MP , I think . He wrote a night letter , which is a 50 - word telegram that was cheaper at night . He wrote a night letter to Stimson , the Secretary of War , telling them they had paid for his college education ; and here he was sitting in a camp doing nothing down in Alabama . He was transferred to the SED , he would never say that was the reason he was transferred . It may or may not have been . He arrived with the SED - he arrived in Oak Ridge the day Roosevelt died , which was in April 1945 , he was here with his group for maybe six weeks before they went out to Los Alamos . So he spent the rest of the war out there . Then he used his G . I . Bill - he stayed on at Los Alamos . They told them they would let him out of the Army if he would agree to stay on as a civilian . So he took that . Then when he did leave , he went to Annapolis and took a liberal arts course because he felt that he had missed out on it at Georgia Tech . He had a year at St . John 's College of Annapolis ; and then all along I guess he thought he would like to come back here . He came back - he arrived on Armistice Day , now Veterans Day , of 1948 . I was here a couple of months before he came , but we met shortly after Christmas in 1949 . MRS . DAVIDSON : Too long . We were married in May 1950 . He wanted to pay off his loan before we could get married , so I helped him along with that . I fed him some . He was very welcome at the D House of girls . I was going to tell you that during the war , there were nine girls in the house , and they slept on shifts on the bunk beds . There were only six of us when I was there . There were a couple of the boyfriends around , and one of them cut the grass . I think Jack did the - empty the clinkers from the furnace , the coal furnace . They made themselves useful . They got their dinner . MR . HUNNICUTT : Tell me about the coal furnace briefly . MRS . DAVIDSON : Most of the houses were a very good design really , and a whole lot better built than we gave them credit for . But each one that I knew of had a corner set off or closed off as a coal storage place that could be filled through a window from the outside , and then you could use the - there was an opening on the inside that you could use to put coal into the furnace . That was awful of course , but that 's what all the houses were doing in that time , too . We had a yard full of clinkers over there . MRS . DAVIDSON : We were taken care of by a Big Brother - the government . They brought the coal around , and you didn 't do a thing . That was part of the rent . When we got our house here on Orange Lane , that 's another story . Are you ready for that yet ? MRS . DAVIDSON : We went back to my home in Louisville , Kentucky , to be married . We had planned to fly to Nashville , but it turned out the Delta Queen was coming through Louisville the next morning . My mother had told us we could not get married the week before because it was too busy with Derby Day . So we delayed until May 13 . Then we spent the night in Louisville at the Brown Hotel , where she pulled some strings to get us a room because it was still very full of visitors from the Derby . We got on the Delta Queen , and our friends were all on the dock to see us off . They had us almost convinced that we were on Daylight Saving Time , and the Delta Queen was not , and we had missed it . But we rode down just as far as Paducah . We were anxious to start in life you know . We lived on Wadell Circle in a K apartment . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you recall the number ? MRS . DAVIDSON : It was a two - story thing . I guess it was a two - bedroom up above , and we had K - 1 . It was sort of underground at the front and open at the back . We had a nice back porch . There was a closet under the stairway and a very small kitchen . It had a table that folded down . It was not as compact as a flattop , but the furnishings that they had did double duty . You could fold it up and have more room . MRS . DAVIDSON : The K apartment was heated with the coal furnace , but there was a janitor who came around and took care of it for us . We were taken care of by Roane Anderson . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you remember what the rent was ? MRS . DAVIDSON : We lived in the K from May 1950 , until we got this house in July 1952 . It was said - the word around town was that you couldn 't get a two - bedroom house unless you had three children , all of different sex . We had been on the list for this house ever since we knew our daughter was coming along . That was a long time to wait . We had been offered two houses - Florida Avenue , where the parking was across the street and the backyard just dropped off . We thought that was totally unsuitable for a new child . We turned both of those down . If we had turned this one down , we would 've gone to the bottom of the long list . But we loved this place of the trees and the dead end lane neighborhood . So we sat outside in front all weekend because we were not top on the list . The reason the other people didn 't take it was that the previous owner , Jim Cox and Charlotte , had put in an oil furnace ; and nobody wanted to pay $ 200 for the oil furnace . Since I had been working , we had saved my salary from work , and we had $ 200 to pay . Also , they didn 't want to be in the high rent district . This house rented for something like $ 45 instead of $ 43 in the lower rent districts . MRS . DAVIDSON : The Oak Ridge cemesto houses that were built - I think this house was built in the fall of 1944 or 1943 . Maybe it was ' 43 . The B house has two bedrooms and of course a bath and a kitchen with a dinette into a long narrow living room . It was about 24 feet by 40 something feet . It was small and convenient . It didn 't have much storage space , but it 's been a wonderful house for us because of the trees . We are on a greenbelt , and I enjoy that very much . It 's a nice private neighborhood just above Jackson Square . MRS . DAVIDSON : Our cemesto has a fireplace , and it had a complete brick wall . Some of the B houses had a brick wall just beyond the fireplace . MRS . DAVIDSON : There are hardwood floors in all the cemestos , I believe . Our house has maple flooring , and a lot of them had oak . Wood was hard to come by in the wartime . We love the color - the reddish color of the maple . MRS . DAVIDSON : Adele is our second daughter , and she was two years younger . Our son is Bill Davidson or William . He was born in November of 1954 . He 's just now turning 58 . MR . HUNNICUTT : So your first daughter went to Cedar Hill ? MRS . DAVIDSON : All three of our children went to Cedar Hill . They had split grades there , so I think the classes were one half size . They would take the kids a half from one grade , and half from the next grade , and that worked out just fine . MRS . DAVIDSON : Cedar Hill was wonderful . It was very special . Mr . Dodd was the principal , and he saw to it - he had the best teachers or at least as good as any . Actually in those days all the teachers and Oak Ridge were special because many of them had been recruited from Columbia Teachers College , along with the superintendent . Others were specially recruited for the job . They were a group a part , I think , from a lot of teachers . MRS . DAVIDSON : The girls both went to Jefferson when it was on the hill at Jackson Square , and Bill was in the first year at the new Jefferson that was over on Fairbanks Road . His was the first class there . They all went through Oak Ridge High . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you recall some of the classes your daughters took while they were in junior high ? Was there Home Ec . or things related to girls ? MRS . DAVIDSON : No , they were on the college prep track . They took eighth grade algebra and that kind of thing . Of course English and math and social studies and science - our older girl I think took biology ; and I 'm not sure if Adele had a more general science course . It just depended on the teacher that they had . They had an excellent education , and the girls were both Merit semifinalists . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course . I was in the PTA . I 'm not sure if I was ever a room mother , but I of course helped with parties and things . MRS . DAVIDSON : The teachers recruited them from each class to help with parties mostly . They helped with any activities that they didn 't really have time to do . MRS . DAVIDSON : Parent - Teacher Association , a time honored group . It got extra things for the school . I got involved with raincoats for the school patrol . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess maybe I was a treasurer of the Cedar Hill PTA , and this goal was to get those yellow slicker raincoat so kids could be visible to the drivers . I found out how much the things cost , and then I estimated postage . At the PTA meeting , Alvin Weinberg was president . He had a son or two in school at the time . He took me to task for estimating the postage , so I had to ask for just the money for the coats themselves since I didn 't really know what the postage is going to be . I thought that was interesting that he wanted to keep it to the exact penny . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think they just wore what the other kids wore . One day we had a deep snow and Bill was in kindergarten , and the snow was up over their boots . I think he had some corduroys . The teacher was making the kids take their pants off and dry them on the radiator , and he wouldn 't do it . I had to go up to the school and take him some fresh pants , some dry clothes . He was very young - just four when he started . MR . HUNNICUTT : Let 's go back a few years . Do you remember 1945 when they dropped the bomb on Japan ? You remember where you were ? And what was your reaction ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I do remember that very clearly because it was the summer after my junior year in college , and I was a camp counselor up in Door County , Wisconsin . There was no electricity at the camp , so we counselors - after we got the kids to bed , went to the state park nearby . This was at Fish Creek , Wisconsin . We would listen to people 's car radios . We knew for about a week that something was happening , but we didn 't know just what . It was very deeply moving when the bomb was dropped , and we thought it would bring an end to the war . Of course , I had friends and a brother on Guam and a cousin was in Europe and others . So that was very deeply moving . I had a book of poetry - my favorite poems at the camp with me . One of my 12 - year - olds picked out a poem - " Once to every man and nation comes a moment to decide " - she read that , and I thought that was very astute of her , a youngster to be able to do that . MRS . DAVIDSON : My husband thought they should have dropped a sample first , but I didn 't feel that way since the first bomb didn 't phase the Japanese . I didn 't think the test one would have either . I was just so glad that the war was over . People could settle down and get into real life again . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think I was in transition from the dormitory to the house , and my husband 's brothers came up from Georgia to witness the opening . So we drove in their car around , and we watched the parade from , I believe , down on the eastern end of the Turnpike down near the warehouses to get out of the traffic . We never could figure out why they invited Marie " The Body " McDonald and [ inaudible ] to ride in the open car for the parade . We couldn 't figure out what they had to do with it , but we did see the burning of the magnesium ribbon . That was exciting . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was only toward town from Elza Gate . I know the central part of town , the Jackson Square area , was very crowded . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think they name the streets for famous cities in the country , and of course the alphabetical designations were very helpful . But Jackson Square , I assume , was named for New Orleans . That 's all I know about it . MRS . DAVIDSON : Sometimes you would pick up the telephone , and the other party was talking . I believe they had different rings . I think maybe the other party had one ring , and we had two . There were four - party lines , but if we were on a four - party line , only the other one was active . I think maybe we were . The other two lines were not being used . MR . HUNNICUTT : When you are raising your family , did you hang your clothes outside on the clothesline ? Did you have a dryer ? What did you use ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I hung them outside on the clothesline . As I said , when we moved here , Anne was a year old . Not much more than three years after that , we had three babies . I was able to talk my husband into getting a dryer that time . Before that , he had built a pulley out of my kitchen window . There was a drop off in the back , and he was able to string it to a tree in the woods . I was able to reel those cloth diapers and reel them in and out . The only problem was that the birds like the trees , too . Sometimes I had to do some re - washing . MR . HUNNICUTT : So in those days you use cloth diapers ? Today we use disposable diapers . How do you think you would 've done if you had disposable diapers ? MRS . DAVIDSON : At one point , when our children were out playing Kick the Can , there were over 40 children on the lane . There were about 20 or 21 houses . There were almost as many dogs . It was just a glorious place for them to grow up . They seem to get along remarkably well most of the time , especially in the early days . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes . We went down there on the opening , and got the radioactive dimes on that occasion . The museum at that time was down at Jefferson Circle . I don 't think any of us ever had our hair stand out on the Van De Graff generator or whatever it was , but we took the children . We went out ourselves . Of course my husband was interested in that kind of thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : Sometimes they walked to Jefferson , but by that time they were carrying pretty heavy books . One of the neighbors on Outer Drive wanted to have a carpool , so we joined that . MRS . DAVIDSON : When Anne was in the fifth grade , they had to write what they did on Friday nights . The teacher would call me and say , " Is it true that you gave your children ice water and watched TV on Friday nights ? " That was how generous we were with them . We didn 't get a TV until they were probably five or six years old . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course it was black and white . The reason we got it - I guess finally it was that the children were always going to the neighbors ' house to watch TV . We decided that we should get our own . They watched things like " Pinky Lee " and I 've forgotten what else . MRS . DAVIDSON : I remember that fondly because my first real date with my husband was going to dinner there with him . He invited me to go to a concert in Knoxville , and his excuse was that we should get to know each other better before he took me to the city with him . That was one thing . I remember there were parties there , and our company had a party at the Oak Terrace Ballroom . One of the NEPA fellows wore a Tarzan costume , which was mostly nothing . It turned out that he lived in the neighborhood . MR . HUNNICUTT : What was the Oak Terrace ballroom - where was it located ? MRS . DAVIDSON : That was just below the dormitory where I lived in Columbia Hall . Jack went there looking for me , he thought I would eat breakfast there and then he could have breakfast with me ; but I ate in the dormitory . He didn 't find me there . When we came back from our bicycle ride to Concord Park , I remember we stopped by there , and he drank two or three Mountain Dew drinks . That surprised me , but we had worked off a lot of sweat . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , we took our children out there and saw " Lawrence of Arabia " and " The 10 Commandment " and those things . It was quite nice . MR . HUNNICUTT : Where was it located ? MRS . DAVIDSON : It was about where Kroger 's - where that is now , on the southeast part of Illinois Avenue . It was a nice thing . That was a special treat for the children to go out there . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't think so . I think they were mostly in the car . They had a drawing one time , Jack won something . It was actually nothing , but he did win . MRS . DAVIDSON : I sure did . My three children were born there . It was a green structure , like so many of the buildings in Oak Ridge . I guess the present building is built on that place . It was okay . I didn 't have any problems with it , except after my second child . I had a staph infection from the hospital . Even an Army wife with a private room got an infection there . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , I think they also had been recruited ; and a lot of them were from Tulane University . The time I was sick with my infection , they were having a reunion at Tulane , and my doctor and another one were gone for the reunion . I didn 't like the one who took care of me . He didn 't do a good job . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was okay . I don 't remember having any problems with it . We knew Dr . Rogers from our church , and we went to him . He was called away to the service , I believe . Maybe it was the Korean War , but then he came back . MRS . DAVIDSON : We met at Pine Valley School . The choir sat on the bleachers , and the minister sat under the halo of the basketball net . My husband was a Methodist , and he went to the First Methodist Church . They had a big youth group there . When we were first married , we tried to take them both in . We went to Sunday school one place , and church another until we finally settled on the Presbyterian . It was smaller , and we knew more people . MR . HUNNICUTT : Thinking back , what do you like best about Oak Ridge ? MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course the people . I love my trees and my house . I love all the activities . Both my husband and I have always loved music and enjoy the concerts a lot . The symphony concerts with Waldo Cohn conducting were held at Jefferson Junior High on the Kentucky Avenue hill . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you think back about all the people that you knew in the early days ? Do you think it was unusual for everybody to get along - the many people that were here ? MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , I guess so . I didn 't think about it because we just did . It was just fun . Everybody was away from home , and we had to be family for each other . That was particularly true in this close neighborhood . MRS . DAVIDSON : I 'm pleased for the most part . I think we 've made good progress . We 've kept up with the outside world . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't know . I 'll probably think of things after you leave . Nothing particular comes to mind . MR . HUNNICUTT : I would like to thank you for your time , and I think this interview will be very helpful for someone in the future to see how you lived in Oak Ridge in the early days . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think we came through at the very best of times . It was not the pressure of war , but we were growing community . I think things were happening at the Lab . Both of my husband and I loved the Lab because there were so many good things going on out there . It gives us hope for the future . MR . HUNNICUTT : I thank you very much for your time . [ Editor 's Note : This transcript has been edited at Mrs . Davidson 's request . The corresponding audio and video components have remained unchanged . ] Your rating was saved . you wish to report :

MR . HUNNICUTT : This interview is for the Center of Oak Ridge Oral History . The date is November 8 , 2012 . I am Don Hunnicutt in the home of Mrs . Mary Ann Davidson , 117 Orange Lane , Oak Ridge , Tennessee , to take her oral history about living in Oak Ridge , Tennessee . Please state your full name and your place of birth and your date of birth . MRS . DAVIDSON : My name is Mary Ann Davidson . My date of birth is January 12 , 1925 . I was born in Louisville , Kentucky . I lived there all my early life until I graduated from college . MRS . DAVIDSON : My father was William H . Courtenay . He was born in 1890 , on March 3 . He was in World War I and lived his entire life in Louisville and Shelbyville , Kentucky . He worked for the Mengel Company . They imported mahogany and hardwood from Africa and Central America . He delivered those to customers . He didn 't consider himself a salesman , but he sold them to the furniture factory - furniture makers around Kentucky , mostly Indiana and Cincinnati and some in Tennessee . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , he did not . The Louisville Male High School was considered a fine school at that time . They said that graduates could enter Harvard in their second year . The principal had written textbooks that were apparently used all over . But my father was interested in raising ponies . His father had a farm in Shelbyville , Kentucky . If you 'd didn 't make the grade , you are special . And Dr . Ruben Post - Halleck , the famous principal of the school , told him if he took an exam in math , he could be entered back in . He did that , and he aced the test . He was back in . Then he was a special in English , so they told him if he memorized the " Lady of the Lake " and said that he could get back in school . So he did that . I think he never did finish . He was a twin , and his twin was more of an engineering type and went to manual training high school . MRS . DAVIDSON : She grew up in several small towns in western Kentucky . Her father worked for the L & N Railroad . She had her high school in Hopkinsville , Kentucky . She had to stay home - or she went to junior college nearby . She had a scholarship to Randolph Macon Women 's College , but she couldn 't take it because her mother was ill and died at age 50 . It was about the year I was born , I think . MRS . DAVIDSON : His name was William Howard Courtenay III . My father was named for his uncle , who was also William Howard . My older brother works for Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green in the physics department . He made instruments . My younger brother was a pediatrician in Louisville , and he is still living on a farm in Shelbyville . He 's interested in Kentucky antiques . MRS . DAVIDSON : I went to an unusual kindergarten and first grade . I was at what they called the Enterprise Branch of I . N . Bloom School . It was only kindergarten and first grade . It was in the older building , where we had a Pot Belly Stove . I think we had a maid to help us take our leggings off in the cold weather - galoshes . It was really a wonderful school . It was almost like a private one . It was public . We did things like making butter and we had an orchestra . I played the triangle . I had started a little bit earlier when my younger brother was born . Louisville had half semester , half - year grades . I would 've been a half year , but I skipped the last half of kindergarten . I went to the school board and took a test and went on , so they put me in the regular school year . I went through the big school the I . N . Bloom School and Highland Junior High School in Louisville . Then I went to Atherton High School for Girls . The Louisville public schools were segregated - boys and girls . There were about 900 girls at Atherton . My graduating class was about 200 , and I was the valedictorian . MRS . DAVIDSON : They are pants to keep your legs warm . They zipped up from the inside of the ankle bone up to about knee - high , I guess it was . They were a royal pain to take on and off , so the teacher had to have help to do that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was just ordinary . I 'm sure the girls wore dresses , and the little boys wore suits - not suits , but pants and shirts . MRS . DAVIDSON : I came to Oak Ridge after I graduated from college . I had two years of getting a master 's at Emory while I worked at my alma mater , Agnes Scott College in Decatur , Georgia . I was the chemistry lab instructor . So after those two years were up , I was interested in working in chemistry or biochemistry . My master 's was in biochemistry . In Louisville , there was nothing in that field , except liquor and paint - neither of which I was interested in . In Atlanta , I would like to stay in Atlanta , I heard that Oak Ridge was an interesting new place , and a lot was going on here . One of my dear college friends had recently married a physicist from the University of Kentucky , so I visited them here . I guess that must have been 1947 . Her husband was working at NEPA . He said they were looking for people with a chemistry degree . I applied , and I was accepted . I didn 't know that until I had completed the clearance , so I took the opportunity to go to Europe at an American youth hostel bicycle tour of Western Europe in the summer of 1948 . When I got home , I found that I had indeed gotten the job at Oak Ridge . So I came down here . MRS . DAVIDSON : I was wondering that . I think I came by train . When I interviewed earlier in the spring , my interview was at the Andrew Johnson Hotel . It was one of the private rooms . I had never seen the company here . I think I must have been met by a car and driver and brought to Oak Ridge . MRS . DAVIDSON : I came in through the Vermont Gateway , which is where the gas station is now on the corner of what I call Vermont . They call it North Rutgers now . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , I think it must 've been after that . That would 've been at Christmas time . When I applied , I imagine it was early spring . MRS . DAVIDSON : We called the company NEPA , for Nuclear Energy for the Propulsion of Aircraft . It was managed by the Fairchild Corporation the way Union Carbide or one of the other contractors managed the lab . I did not know until the first day I went to work just what the company was doing . They handed me a volume of information that said , " We are looking for - we are trying to make an airplane powered by nuclear energy that could fly to Russia and back without refueling . " That was a great shock to me . MRS . DAVIDSON : I lived in Columbia Hall Dormitory . I was very surprised to find that the rent was $ 15 a month until I realized it was one very small room . That was my living quarters . I took the opportunity to stay out of it as much as possible . I did that by babysitting in some of the B and D houses in the evening . Grandmothers were not here since it was a closed community . Babysitters were in short supply , and even though I didn 't need the money , it was good to get out of the dormitory . MRS . DAVIDSON : The dormitory was like Cheyenne Hall . It was the same type of building . It had wooden stairways from the second - floor hall down on each end . I lived on the second floor . Our dormitory was mostly nurses , since it was up on the hill next to the hospital - I think where the west parking lot is now . There was a kitchen on each end where we could have our own breakfast . Of course we were at the plant at lunchtime , and then we usually went out to supper . I opened the refrigerator door one morning and somebody 's milk came spilling out down my front . Everybody just stuffed things into the refrigerator . MRS . DAVIDSON : I had a single room with a twin bed and enough room to walk to the window by the bed . There was a little table that served as a desk with a chair . There was a much coveted dormitory dresser - a tall one with a number of drawers . They were very popular . MRS . DAVIDSON : They had a wonderful bus service here . Travel wasn 't really a problem . We walked , of course , from the dormitory to Jackson Square and ate supper usually at the Mayflower , which is where I first saw my husband - to - be . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was on the corner of Tennessee , right across from the Soup Kitchen and the Texaco gas station there on the northeast corner . It was a very popular place . In fact , there were several places you could eat . It was the Central Cafeteria , and the T & C Cafeteria in Jackson Square , which is about where the Epicurean is now toward the garden . MRS . DAVIDSON : It must 've been the A & P on Jackson Square . Jackson Square was really the center of activity as far as I was concerned at that time . I still love it . I hope it keeps going . MRS . DAVIDSON : The department stores - the big department store was Taylor 's at the time . They had a wonderful book department headed by Mrs . Keyes , whose daughter I knew at work . They had really fine art books and other books that they would have a great sale on once or twice a year . We were very happy with that . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was in the middle of the block between where Big Ed 's is in the corner . I guess it 's mostly used by the engineering company now . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , not frequently , but I went and saw - there was a theater down at Big Ed 's in Jackson Square and where the Playhouse is now . That was the main one . MRS . DAVIDSON : Henebree . McCrory 's 5 & 10 was there . There was a drugstore - a Service Drugstore . I guess that was where Big Ed 's is now , on the very corner . There was Jackson Square Pharmacy , and on the other side the Hamilton Bank was there next to the movie theater . And Samuel 's Men 's Store was a very nice store . The Jackson Square Pharmacy was there , but in between , which the Pharmacy later took over was a Kay 's Ice Cream Store . We used to go there and - my husband and I would when we were dating . I liked to get coffee with ice cream in it , so we went there . MRS . DAVIDSON : I can 't say that I do . It was just a given , I suppose . It didn 't make a big dent in my memory . After six months of the dormitory , I moved to a D house on Norman Lane . That was another era . MRS . DAVIDSON : A D house was a large three bedroom house . They were very much desired . They were really nice houses - still a lot of them are . The house was - there were five other girls who lived there - two of whom had been college friends . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , it would 've been upstairs . It was the second one to the end . A radiation technologist lived on the corner , and I lived there with school teachers and nurses who made up most of the dorm . MR . HUNNICUTT : Let 's talk a little bit about the dorm again . If I had a message for you or someone left a message for you , how did you retrieve your messages ? Was there a desk when you went in ? MRS . DAVIDSON : There was a desk downstairs . I remember the Valentine 's Day - I guess it must 've been 1949 . The message was that I had some flowers , some red roses . I had just met my husband - to - be at that time . I got all excited , and when I got to the desk , it was from somebody else . I enjoyed the red roses , but not as much as I might have . The thing was that there were ladies - a lot of the women who lived in the dorm worked on the night shift . They would sit around a large kind of living room , I guess they called it . They were all staring when I got flowers . I had to walk around , and it was embarrassing . MRS . DAVIDSON : I was there in the winter of 1948 . I 'm very cold natured , but I don 't remember being cold . We had those heavy navy blanket - navy blue blankets . This brings up a story if I jump to it later on . We were moved from the D house after another six months into the brand - new Garden Apartments on Villanova Road . They needed our D house for families . The people who moved in were the Andersons of the Anderson Hilltop Grocery . Of course , the furniture all belonged to the government there . So the Garden Apartments were not furnished , so we had dwindled down from 6 to 4 people who needed furniture . I took a day off and went to an auction the government set up down at the warehouses . I got seven beds and three or four dressers - much more than I could have used . But the beds were in great demand at work because all the young men who worked there were having children and needed beds . So we took the four . Also I got two sofas , and we could use but one ; so I sold one . They were really shabby awful sofas . Since it was all going to surplus anyway , we switched and took the nice sofa from the D house and left them the bad one . It was all taken away anyhow , so I didn 't feel too bad about that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't really remember about the telephone . We didn 't use the telephone much . We never used it for long - distance except for emergencies and calls home . I don 't remember that as being a problem particularly . MRS . DAVIDSON : I suppose I went on the bus . I did not have a car . One of the housemates from Norman Lane had gotten the car , but she would 've been at work at K - 25 . I don 't know . I may have gotten a ride . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess I paid somebody to deliver it . I don 't know . Maybe some of the fellows at work picked up their beds that they wanted . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was one of those warehouses down at the [ Oak Ridge ] Turnpike on Warehouse Road . I don 't know exactly where it was . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess it was on the bulletin boards at work , or there was a newspaper at the Lab . I guess I heard about it that way . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think probably so - in the newsletters they came around , also at the recreation building - the rec hall - at Jackson Square that was the library upstairs and the rec hall downstairs . Word - of - mouth - I don 't remember . We had a need and found the answer to it . MRS . DAVIDSON : I had to punch a clock at eight in the morning when I first started . I guess we got out at 4 : 30 or 5 o ' clock . We had bus service that went from the bus terminal - the Central one - that 's now by Bus Terminal Road . Later on after we were married , we lived on Waddell Circle and went from there to the Jefferson bus terminal . I went - I rode on the K - 25 bus , and they went out past K - 25 to the road that the powerhouse was on and NEPA was beyond that out by the river . MRS . DAVIDSON : There was some kind of management services office . I 'm not sure what it was called - the Roane Anderson Corporation at that time , I guess . I think that 's where I rented the dormitory room . I probably got bus tokens - I guess I got the tokens of the bus terminal . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think I had a checking account probably at Hamilton Bank in Jackson Square . I don 't recall otherwise . I know I did later . One thing I wanted to say about the buses - if you wanted to go to Clinton to do any shopping , more than what you could have in Oak Ridge or to meet somebody or something , there was a bus that ran frequently back and forth between the bus terminal and Clinton . There was a young man on the bus who had a sing - songy sales pitch for " peanuts , popcorn , Cracker Jacks , candy , and chewing gum . " He wouldn 't drive , but he would sell his wares all the way to Clinton and back . I always wondered who that was because he obviously had some talent . MRS . DAVIDSON : I 'm sure I did . I don 't know what became of it . I guess I had to turn it back in . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think somebody just got - one of the guards got on the bus and checked everybody 's badges . It was not a big thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : Probably . I don 't remember . What I do remember about that was my mother was coming down one time for my birthday - it must 've been in January 1949 . She rode the train . I told her that I would get a ride to meet her . Of course , the train didn 't stop at Oak Ridge . It went on to Knoxville , so I bummed a ride with one of the men in our group . He was actually the technical assistant to the director . His car was a broken down old thing with no floorboards in the back seat , which was pretty bad when my mother saw it . But she didn 't see it because when we got to Knoxville , she was not there . When we were coming back from the gateway entrance , she was not there . There was a message that she was waiting for us at the Elza Gate Station . She had told the conductor she had to get off at Oak Ridge . That 's where she was going , and I was going to meet her . So she slid down the Elza bank over there . She had my birthday cake - a large chocolate cake . She slid downhill with that , and somehow they stopped her at the guard gate at Elza . She waited there for us . MRS . DAVIDSON : Just for her - let her off like a milk train . They ordinarily didn 't stop there , but she wouldn 't have it otherwise . MRS . DAVIDSON : I used the library and rec hall . On Sunday afternoons , they played music ; and you could sit and write letters home , which is what I think I did a good bit . Later on in the better weather , there were tennis courts and a swimming pool . I don 't remember going to movies much . We went to church groups . There were so many young people ; it was just like a party all the time . Nothing in particular stands out . It was just fun . MRS . DAVIDSON : In the company I was , that was not true . There were a lot of women of course - of course , the dormitory was full of school teachers and nurses . But NEPA was mostly men . There were two parts to the Fairchild - the science and engineering part , which was bigger . I happen to be in the research part . My boss was a chemist - Vince Calkins . It was my job to - this was a real shocker to me - to find a chemical that would protect the human body against radiation for the reactor that was supposed to be in the airplane to Russia . I had no background for that kind of thing . I was just fresh out of college really . I realized I was out of my depth , but they decided - he was a pharmacist , I believe , and he wanted to do experiments with rats . They brought in the rat colony . By that time we had a couple of assistants , and I was supposed to be the group leader . One of the men , Ray Waldrop - you may have talked to him . I asked him if he minded working for a woman because he was really more experienced than I , although I had the degree . It was fine with him . There was also another worker , Saul Segal , who was quite a character in his own right . I took the rats in the cages over to the reactor , the " Old Lady " at X - 10 , and put them through what they called " rabbits " and radiated them for certain amount of time . We couldn 't kill the darn things . Then we used the older ones that had already been radiated , they were just tough as anything . I think the experiment was really a failure , although they may have found that to be the case in some later work with older people - that the cells are not dividing as fast and they 're not as subject to radiation . But we didn 't get into that . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was actually not K - 25 . It was beyond there . As I said , the bus took us - the bus dumped people off at K - 25 , and they went on west to just before you get to the Gallaher Bridge . You turn right there and go right past the power station there . It was used for a long time - the power house , and then NEPA was beyond that . The native rats came in - was it domestic experimental rats ? That was not good . I had a janitor who helped me , even though he could 've lost his job for doing it . He helped me clean cages . I always appreciated that . MRS . DAVIDSON : When they got rid of the rats , which was a blessing , my group leader then became Bill Browning , who was a fine scientist . He worked on the Van de Graaff generator . We had an interesting argument . Saul Segal thought he should be the one to do it since he was a man and I was a woman who would be leaving soon ; and it turned out that he left for California before I had left to have my baby . His argument didn 't hold with me anyway , but we argued about that some . We did run the Van de Graaff , and we also did some experiments on metallic sodium . It was nasty stuff to work with . It caught on fire if it was exposed to air . You had to work with that under oil in the glove box . I think that work all had to be repeated after NEPA left for Cincinnati with G . E . . When they moved part of NEPA to X - 10 , they called it the ANP , or something about aircraft and nuclear power . I was not connected with that because my first baby was born in August 1951 . I left in July . MRS . DAVIDSON : I heard somebody say that they had to repeat it all . My boss , the Division Director of Chemistry was interested in vitamin E , and thought it had a lot of protective influence . We worked with that . That was some of the work I did in chemistry - the lab part of it in the early days . It was not good work , I think . I 'm not blaming myself , but some of the other men who were doing chemical work - I think altogether we didn 't come up with anything . MRS . DAVIDSON : It may have been ahead of it 's time for nuclear submarines . I don 't know whether the engineering people thought that or not . In our group which was the chemistry and the physics , my friend who got me the job was Jim Trice . A fellow named Art Miller and somebody named Coneybearwere in the Physics Division . And then there were some others - Fred Maienschein . I did some work for him one time . It was work on beryllium for one thing . I didn 't work with any of the active beryllium . I didn 't do any lab work then , but I did some journal research . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't think they were that far along . I 'm not sure what happened to that part of it . As I said , in July of 1951 they moved to Cincinnati , Evensville , above Cincinnati . I don 't know how many people actually went up there . Most of my friends moved elsewhere . MR . HUNNICUTT : You mentioned the location of the operation was past the steam plant that was on the Clinch River . Was that the same location where the S - 50 project was located ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I think that was the name of our plot of land . I think those - I never was quite sure how they got the designations , but that was the Fairchild domain , I think . MRS . DAVIDSON : Really , it was just when our eyes met . It was very romantic . He followed our group home to the Columbia Hall to see where I lived . But at the time I thought he was too young , and I didn 't think he was following me . I was with a group of other girls . Later on , one of the women in the dormitory , who was a gym teacher in the Oak Ridge schools , told me I really ought to meet Jack Davidson that he loved to ride bicycles ; I was just back from my bicycle trip in Europe . I didn 't know who he was , and then I went to a church group meeting at my Presbyterian Church for young people one Sunday evening . A friend of mine had brought Jack Davidson , and he was the one whose eyes I had met and he had met mine . Sure enough , he loved to ride bicycles . That was the start of a good thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : We did a little bit . On our dates , that 's really what we did mostly at first . We rode out to West Outer Drive and had those wonderful big hills , not too much traffic at that time . We went out to the water tower at the top of Louisiana and had a picnic , and then rode back . When we got really good , we rode our bicycles over to Concord Park one day . I had gotten some chicken breasts at the grocery . I guess it was the A & P at Jackson Square . I was going to fry them for a picnic to take along over to Concord Park . When I went to the refrigerator to get them , they had turned into wings . Somebody had eaten my chicken breast . Jack was a good sport about that . He didn 't care . We had a nice ride . It was before they had improved Lovell Road . It was a pretty rough ride over there , but we were able to enjoy it . MRS . DAVIDSON : He had his bicycle . It was probably a Grey Stone . For me , he rented a bicycle from his work friend . I had forgotten what his name was . We went over to one of the D Streets , I think , and rode them . I didn 't have my English 3 - speed here . I guess I brought it later , but at that time I didn 't have it . MRS . DAVIDSON : That was a problem . I complained to my friend Jim Trice 's wife , Dot , who happened to live around the corner on Outer Drive at that time . She said the boardwalk was used a lot for dating , and of course the theaters . I guess we were outdoors people . I don 't know . MRS . DAVIDSON : He was a graduate of Georgia Tech . At the time he graduated , he was very young . He came up to see about a job , and he was drafted . No , he was in danger of being drafted right away , but they didn 't hire him . He did go to work for NASA , which was at that time NACA , in Virginia ; and worked over there a short time before he was taken into the Army . He had gone through Georgia Tech on a " War Manpower " loan . He was sent to some place to be an MP , I think . He wrote a night letter , which is a 50 - word telegram that was cheaper at night . He wrote a night letter to Stimson , the Secretary of War , telling them they had paid for his college education ; and here he was sitting in a camp doing nothing down in Alabama . He was transferred to the SED , he would never say that was the reason he was transferred . It may or may not have been . He arrived with the SED - he arrived in Oak Ridge the day Roosevelt died , which was in April 1945 , he was here with his group for maybe six weeks before they went out to Los Alamos . So he spent the rest of the war out there . Then he used his G . I . Bill - he stayed on at Los Alamos . They told them they would let him out of the Army if he would agree to stay on as a civilian . So he took that . Then when he did leave , he went to Annapolis and took a liberal arts course because he felt that he had missed out on it at Georgia Tech . He had a year at St . John 's College of Annapolis ; and then all along I guess he thought he would like to come back here . He came back - he arrived on Armistice Day , now Veterans Day , of 1948 . I was here a couple of months before he came , but we met shortly after Christmas in 1949 . MRS . DAVIDSON : Too long . We were married in May 1950 . He wanted to pay off his loan before we could get married , so I helped him along with that . I fed him some . He was very welcome at the D House of girls . I was going to tell you that during the war , there were nine girls in the house , and they slept on shifts on the bunk beds . There were only six of us when I was there . There were a couple of the boyfriends around , and one of them cut the grass . I think Jack did the - empty the clinkers from the furnace , the coal furnace . They made themselves useful . They got their dinner . MRS . DAVIDSON : Most of the houses were a very good design really , and a whole lot better built than we gave them credit for . But each one that I knew of had a corner set off or closed off as a coal storage place that could be filled through a window from the outside , and then you could use the - there was an opening on the inside that you could use to put coal into the furnace . That was awful of course , but that 's what all the houses were doing in that time , too . We had a yard full of clinkers over there . MRS . DAVIDSON : We were taken care of by a Big Brother - the government . They brought the coal around , and you didn 't do a thing . That was part of the rent . When we got our house here on Orange Lane , that 's another story . Are you ready for that yet ? MRS . DAVIDSON : We went back to my home in Louisville , Kentucky , to be married . We had planned to fly to Nashville , but it turned out the Delta Queen was coming through Louisville the next morning . My mother had told us we could not get married the week before because it was too busy with Derby Day . So we delayed until May 13 . Then we spent the night in Louisville at the Brown Hotel , where she pulled some strings to get us a room because it was still very full of visitors from the Derby . We got on the Delta Queen , and our friends were all on the dock to see us off . They had us almost convinced that we were on Daylight Saving Time , and the Delta Queen was not , and we had missed it . But we rode down just as far as Paducah . We were anxious to start in life you know . We lived on Wadell Circle in a K apartment . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was a two - story thing . I guess it was a two - bedroom up above , and we had K - 1 . It was sort of underground at the front and open at the back . We had a nice back porch . There was a closet under the stairway and a very small kitchen . It had a table that folded down . It was not as compact as a flattop , but the furnishings that they had did double duty . You could fold it up and have more room . MRS . DAVIDSON : The K apartment was heated with the coal furnace , but there was a janitor who came around and took care of it for us . We were taken care of by Roane Anderson . MRS . DAVIDSON : We lived in the K from May 1950 , until we got this house in July 1952 . It was said - the word around town was that you couldn 't get a two - bedroom house unless you had three children , all of different sex . We had been on the list for this house ever since we knew our daughter was coming along . That was a long time to wait . We had been offered two houses - Florida Avenue , where the parking was across the street and the backyard just dropped off . We thought that was totally unsuitable for a new child . We turned both of those down . If we had turned this one down , we would 've gone to the bottom of the long list . But we loved this place of the trees and the dead end lane neighborhood . So we sat outside in front all weekend because we were not top on the list . The reason the other people didn 't take it was that the previous owner , Jim Cox and Charlotte , had put in an oil furnace ; and nobody wanted to pay $ 200 for the oil furnace . Since I had been working , we had saved my salary from work , and we had $ 200 to pay . Also , they didn 't want to be in the high rent district . This house rented for something like $ 45 instead of $ 43 in the lower rent districts . MRS . DAVIDSON : The Oak Ridge cemesto houses that were built - I think this house was built in the fall of 1944 or 1943 . Maybe it was ' 43 . The B house has two bedrooms and of course a bath and a kitchen with a dinette into a long narrow living room . It was about 24 feet by 40 something feet . It was small and convenient . It didn 't have much storage space , but it 's been a wonderful house for us because of the trees . We are on a greenbelt , and I enjoy that very much . It 's a nice private neighborhood just above Jackson Square . MRS . DAVIDSON : Our cemesto has a fireplace , and it had a complete brick wall . Some of the B houses had a brick wall just beyond the fireplace . MRS . DAVIDSON : There are hardwood floors in all the cemestos , I believe . Our house has maple flooring , and a lot of them had oak . Wood was hard to come by in the wartime . We love the color - the reddish color of the maple . MRS . DAVIDSON : Adele is our second daughter , and she was two years younger . Our son is Bill Davidson or William . He was born in November of 1954 . He 's just now turning 58 . MRS . DAVIDSON : All three of our children went to Cedar Hill . They had split grades there , so I think the classes were one half size . They would take the kids a half from one grade , and half from the next grade , and that worked out just fine . MRS . DAVIDSON : Cedar Hill was wonderful . It was very special . Mr . Dodd was the principal , and he saw to it - he had the best teachers or at least as good as any . Actually in those days all the teachers and Oak Ridge were special because many of them had been recruited from Columbia Teachers College , along with the superintendent . Others were specially recruited for the job . They were a group a part , I think , from a lot of teachers . MRS . DAVIDSON : The girls both went to Jefferson when it was on the hill at Jackson Square , and Bill was in the first year at the new Jefferson that was over on Fairbanks Road . His was the first class there . They all went through Oak Ridge High . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you recall some of the classes your daughters took while they were in junior high ? Was there Home Ec . or things related to girls ? MRS . DAVIDSON : No , they were on the college prep track . They took eighth grade algebra and that kind of thing . Of course English and math and social studies and science - our older girl I think took biology ; and I 'm not sure if Adele had a more general science course . It just depended on the teacher that they had . They had an excellent education , and the girls were both Merit semifinalists . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course . I was in the PTA . I 'm not sure if I was ever a room mother , but I of course helped with parties and things . MRS . DAVIDSON : The teachers recruited them from each class to help with parties mostly . They helped with any activities that they didn 't really have time to do . MRS . DAVIDSON : Parent - Teacher Association , a time honored group . It got extra things for the school . I got involved with raincoats for the school patrol . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess maybe I was a treasurer of the Cedar Hill PTA , and this goal was to get those yellow slicker raincoat so kids could be visible to the drivers . I found out how much the things cost , and then I estimated postage . At the PTA meeting , Alvin Weinberg was president . He had a son or two in school at the time . He took me to task for estimating the postage , so I had to ask for just the money for the coats themselves since I didn 't really know what the postage is going to be . I thought that was interesting that he wanted to keep it to the exact penny . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think they just wore what the other kids wore . One day we had a deep snow and Bill was in kindergarten , and the snow was up over their boots . I think he had some corduroys . The teacher was making the kids take their pants off and dry them on the radiator , and he wouldn 't do it . I had to go up to the school and take him some fresh pants , some dry clothes . He was very young - just four when he started . MR . HUNNICUTT : Let 's go back a few years . Do you remember 1945 when they dropped the bomb on Japan ? You remember where you were ? And what was your reaction ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I do remember that very clearly because it was the summer after my junior year in college , and I was a camp counselor up in Door County , Wisconsin . There was no electricity at the camp , so we counselors - after we got the kids to bed , went to the state park nearby . This was at Fish Creek , Wisconsin . We would listen to people 's car radios . We knew for about a week that something was happening , but we didn 't know just what . It was very deeply moving when the bomb was dropped , and we thought it would bring an end to the war . Of course , I had friends and a brother on Guam and a cousin was in Europe and others . So that was very deeply moving . I had a book of poetry - my favorite poems at the camp with me . One of my 12 - year - olds picked out a poem - " Once to every man and nation comes a moment to decide " - she read that , and I thought that was very astute of her , a youngster to be able to do that . MRS . DAVIDSON : My husband thought they should have dropped a sample first , but I didn 't feel that way since the first bomb didn 't phase the Japanese . I didn 't think the test one would have either . I was just so glad that the war was over . People could settle down and get into real life again . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think I was in transition from the dormitory to the house , and my husband 's brothers came up from Georgia to witness the opening . So we drove in their car around , and we watched the parade from , I believe , down on the eastern end of the Turnpike down near the warehouses to get out of the traffic . We never could figure out why they invited Marie " The Body " McDonald and [ inaudible ] to ride in the open car for the parade . We couldn 't figure out what they had to do with it , but we did see the burning of the magnesium ribbon . That was exciting . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was only toward town from Elza Gate . I know the central part of town , the Jackson Square area , was very crowded . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think they name the streets for famous cities in the country , and of course the alphabetical designations were very helpful . But Jackson Square , I assume , was named for New Orleans . That 's all I know about it . MRS . DAVIDSON : Sometimes you would pick up the telephone , and the other party was talking . I believe they had different rings . I think maybe the other party had one ring , and we had two . There were four - party lines , but if we were on a four - party line , only the other one was active . I think maybe we were . The other two lines were not being used . MR . HUNNICUTT : When you are raising your family , did you hang your clothes outside on the clothesline ? Did you have a dryer ? What did you use ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I hung them outside on the clothesline . As I said , when we moved here , Anne was a year old . Not much more than three years after that , we had three babies . I was able to talk my husband into getting a dryer that time . Before that , he had built a pulley out of my kitchen window . There was a drop off in the back , and he was able to string it to a tree in the woods . I was able to reel those cloth diapers and reel them in and out . The only problem was that the birds like the trees , too . Sometimes I had to do some re - washing . MR . HUNNICUTT : So in those days you use cloth diapers ? Today we use disposable diapers . How do you think you would 've done if you had disposable diapers ? MRS . DAVIDSON : At one point , when our children were out playing Kick the Can , there were over 40 children on the lane . There were about 20 or 21 houses . There were almost as many dogs . It was just a glorious place for them to grow up . They seem to get along remarkably well most of the time , especially in the early days . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes . We went down there on the opening , and got the radioactive dimes on that occasion . The museum at that time was down at Jefferson Circle . I don 't think any of us ever had our hair stand out on the Van De Graff generator or whatever it was , but we took the children . We went out ourselves . Of course my husband was interested in that kind of thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : Sometimes they walked to Jefferson , but by that time they were carrying pretty heavy books . One of the neighbors on Outer Drive wanted to have a carpool , so we joined that . MRS . DAVIDSON : When Anne was in the fifth grade , they had to write what they did on Friday nights . The teacher would call me and say , " Is it true that you gave your children ice water and watched TV on Friday nights ? " That was how generous we were with them . We didn 't get a TV until they were probably five or six years old . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course it was black and white . The reason we got it - I guess finally it was that the children were always going to the neighbors ' house to watch TV . We decided that we should get our own . They watched things like " Pinky Lee " and I 've forgotten what else . MRS . DAVIDSON : I remember that fondly because my first real date with my husband was going to dinner there with him . He invited me to go to a concert in Knoxville , and his excuse was that we should get to know each other better before he took me to the city with him . That was one thing . I remember there were parties there , and our company had a party at the Oak Terrace Ballroom . One of the NEPA fellows wore a Tarzan costume , which was mostly nothing . It turned out that he lived in the neighborhood . MRS . DAVIDSON : That was just below the dormitory where I lived in Columbia Hall . Jack went there looking for me , he thought I would eat breakfast there and then he could have breakfast with me ; but I ate in the dormitory . He didn 't find me there . When we came back from our bicycle ride to Concord Park , I remember we stopped by there , and he drank two or three Mountain Dew drinks . That surprised me , but we had worked off a lot of sweat . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , we took our children out there and saw " Lawrence of Arabia " and " The 10 Commandment " and those things . It was quite nice . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was about where Kroger 's - where that is now , on the southeast part of Illinois Avenue . It was a nice thing . That was a special treat for the children to go out there . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't think so . I think they were mostly in the car . They had a drawing one time , Jack won something . It was actually nothing , but he did win . MRS . DAVIDSON : I sure did . My three children were born there . It was a green structure , like so many of the buildings in Oak Ridge . I guess the present building is built on that place . It was okay . I didn 't have any problems with it , except after my second child . I had a staph infection from the hospital . Even an Army wife with a private room got an infection there . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , I think they also had been recruited ; and a lot of them were from Tulane University . The time I was sick with my infection , they were having a reunion at Tulane , and my doctor and another one were gone for the reunion . I didn 't like the one who took care of me . He didn 't do a good job . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was okay . I don 't remember having any problems with it . We knew Dr . Rogers from our church , and we went to him . He was called away to the service , I believe . Maybe it was the Korean War , but then he came back . MRS . DAVIDSON : We met at Pine Valley School . The choir sat on the bleachers , and the minister sat under the halo of the basketball net . My husband was a Methodist , and he went to the First Methodist Church . They had a big youth group there . When we were first married , we tried to take them both in . We went to Sunday school one place , and church another until we finally settled on the Presbyterian . It was smaller , and we knew more people . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course the people . I love my trees and my house . I love all the activities . Both my husband and I have always loved music and enjoy the concerts a lot . The symphony concerts with Waldo Cohn conducting were held at Jefferson Junior High on the Kentucky Avenue hill . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you think back about all the people that you knew in the early days ? Do you think it was unusual for everybody to get along - the many people that were here ? MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , I guess so . I didn 't think about it because we just did . It was just fun . Everybody was away from home , and we had to be family for each other . That was particularly true in this close neighborhood . MRS . DAVIDSON : I 'm pleased for the most part . I think we 've made good progress . We 've kept up with the outside world . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think we came through at the very best of times . It was not the pressure of war , but we were growing community . I think things were happening at the Lab . Both of my husband and I loved the Lab because there were so many good things going on out there . It gives us hope for the future . [ Editor 's Note : This transcript has been edited at Mrs . Davidson 's request . The corresponding audio and video components have remained unchanged . ] Click tabs to swap between content that is broken into logical sections . MR . HUNNICUTT : This interview is for the Center of Oak Ridge Oral History . The date is November 8 , 2012 . I am Don Hunnicutt in the home of Mrs . Mary Ann Davidson , 117 Orange Lane , Oak Ridge , Tennessee , to take her oral history about living in Oak Ridge , Tennessee . Please state your full name and your place of birth and your date of birth . MRS . DAVIDSON : My name is Mary Ann Davidson . My date of birth is January 12 , 1925 . I was born in Louisville , Kentucky . I lived there all my early life until I graduated from college . MRS . DAVIDSON : My father was William H . Courtenay . He was born in 1890 , on March 3 . He was in World War I and lived his entire life in Louisville and Shelbyville , Kentucky . He worked for the Mengel Company . They imported mahogany and hardwood from Africa and Central America . He delivered those to customers . He didn 't consider himself a salesman , but he sold them to the furniture factory - furniture makers around Kentucky , mostly Indiana and Cincinnati and some in Tennessee . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , he did not . The Louisville Male High School was considered a fine school at that time . They said that graduates could enter Harvard in their second year . The principal had written textbooks that were apparently used all over . But my father was interested in raising ponies . His father had a farm in Shelbyville , Kentucky . If you 'd didn 't make the grade , you are special . And Dr . Ruben Post - Halleck , the famous principal of the school , told him if he took an exam in math , he could be entered back in . He did that , and he aced the test . He was back in . Then he was a special in English , so they told him if he memorized the " Lady of the Lake " and said that he could get back in school . So he did that . I think he never did finish . He was a twin , and his twin was more of an engineering type and went to manual training high school . MR . HUNNICUTT : What about your mother 's school history ? MRS . DAVIDSON : She grew up in several small towns in western Kentucky . Her father worked for the L & N Railroad . She had her high school in Hopkinsville , Kentucky . She had to stay home - or she went to junior college nearby . She had a scholarship to Randolph Macon Women 's College , but she couldn 't take it because her mother was ill and died at age 50 . It was about the year I was born , I think . MRS . DAVIDSON : His name was William Howard Courtenay III . My father was named for his uncle , who was also William Howard . My older brother works for Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green in the physics department . He made instruments . My younger brother was a pediatrician in Louisville , and he is still living on a farm in Shelbyville . He 's interested in Kentucky antiques . MR . HUNNICUTT : Yes . MRS . DAVIDSON : I went to an unusual kindergarten and first grade . I was at what they called the Enterprise Branch of I . N . Bloom School . It was only kindergarten and first grade . It was in the older building , where we had a Pot Belly Stove . I think we had a maid to help us take our leggings off in the cold weather - galoshes . It was really a wonderful school . It was almost like a private one . It was public . We did things like making butter and we had an orchestra . I played the triangle . I had started a little bit earlier when my younger brother was born . Louisville had half semester , half - year grades . I would 've been a half year , but I skipped the last half of kindergarten . I went to the school board and took a test and went on , so they put me in the regular school year . I went through the big school the I . N . Bloom School and Highland Junior High School in Louisville . Then I went to Atherton High School for Girls . The Louisville public schools were segregated - boys and girls . There were about 900 girls at Atherton . My graduating class was about 200 , and I was the valedictorian . MRS . DAVIDSON : They are pants to keep your legs warm . They zipped up from the inside of the ankle bone up to about knee - high , I guess it was . They were a royal pain to take on and off , so the teacher had to have help to do that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was just ordinary . I 'm sure the girls wore dresses , and the little boys wore suits - not suits , but pants and shirts . MRS . DAVIDSON : I came to Oak Ridge after I graduated from college . I had two years of getting a master 's at Emory while I worked at my alma mater , Agnes Scott College in Decatur , Georgia . I was the chemistry lab instructor . So after those two years were up , I was interested in working in chemistry or biochemistry . My master 's was in biochemistry . In Louisville , there was nothing in that field , except liquor and paint - neither of which I was interested in . In Atlanta , I would like to stay in Atlanta , I heard that Oak Ridge was an interesting new place , and a lot was going on here . One of my dear college friends had recently married a physicist from the University of Kentucky , so I visited them here . I guess that must have been 1947 . Her husband was working at NEPA . He said they were looking for people with a chemistry degree . I applied , and I was accepted . I didn 't know that until I had completed the clearance , so I took the opportunity to go to Europe at an American youth hostel bicycle tour of Western Europe in the summer of 1948 . When I got home , I found that I had indeed gotten the job at Oak Ridge . So I came down here . MRS . DAVIDSON : I was wondering that . I think I came by train . When I interviewed earlier in the spring , my interview was at the Andrew Johnson Hotel . It was one of the private rooms . I had never seen the company here . I think I must have been met by a car and driver and brought to Oak Ridge . MRS . DAVIDSON : I came in through the Vermont Gateway , which is where the gas station is now on the corner of what I call Vermont . They call it North Rutgers now . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , I think it must 've been after that . That would 've been at Christmas time . When I applied , I imagine it was early spring . MRS . DAVIDSON : We called the company NEPA , for Nuclear Energy for the Propulsion of Aircraft . It was managed by the Fairchild Corporation the way Union Carbide or one of the other contractors managed the lab . I did not know until the first day I went to work just what the company was doing . They handed me a volume of information that said , " We are looking for - we are trying to make an airplane powered by nuclear energy that could fly to Russia and back without refueling . " That was a great shock to me . MRS . DAVIDSON : I lived in Columbia Hall Dormitory . I was very surprised to find that the rent was $ 15 a month until I realized it was one very small room . That was my living quarters . I took the opportunity to stay out of it as much as possible . I did that by babysitting in some of the B and D houses in the evening . Grandmothers were not here since it was a closed community . Babysitters were in short supply , and even though I didn 't need the money , it was good to get out of the dormitory . MRS . DAVIDSON : The dormitory was like Cheyenne Hall . It was the same type of building . It had wooden stairways from the second - floor hall down on each end . I lived on the second floor . Our dormitory was mostly nurses , since it was up on the hill next to the hospital - I think where the west parking lot is now . There was a kitchen on each end where we could have our own breakfast . Of course we were at the plant at lunchtime , and then we usually went out to supper . I opened the refrigerator door one morning and somebody 's milk came spilling out down my front . Everybody just stuffed things into the refrigerator . MRS . DAVIDSON : I had a single room with a twin bed and enough room to walk to the window by the bed . There was a little table that served as a desk with a chair . There was a much coveted dormitory dresser - a tall one with a number of drawers . They were very popular . MRS . DAVIDSON : They had a wonderful bus service here . Travel wasn 't really a problem . We walked , of course , from the dormitory to Jackson Square and ate supper usually at the Mayflower , which is where I first saw my husband - to - be . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was on the corner of Tennessee , right across from the Soup Kitchen and the Texaco gas station there on the northeast corner . It was a very popular place . In fact , there were several places you could eat . It was the Central Cafeteria , and the T & C Cafeteria in Jackson Square , which is about where the Epicurean is now toward the garden . MRS . DAVIDSON : It must 've been the A & P on Jackson Square . Jackson Square was really the center of activity as far as I was concerned at that time . I still love it . I hope it keeps going . MRS . DAVIDSON : The department stores - the big department store was Taylor 's at the time . They had a wonderful book department headed by Mrs . Keyes , whose daughter I knew at work . They had really fine art books and other books that they would have a great sale on once or twice a year . We were very happy with that . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was in the middle of the block between where Big Ed 's is in the corner . I guess it 's mostly used by the engineering company now . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , not frequently , but I went and saw - there was a theater down at Big Ed 's in Jackson Square and where the Playhouse is now . That was the main one . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , the jewelry store was on the corner that was Henebree 's , I think . No , that was Heneger 's . MR . HUNNICUTT : Henebree ? MRS . DAVIDSON : Henebree . McCrory 's 5 & 10 was there . There was a drugstore - a Service Drugstore . I guess that was where Big Ed 's is now , on the very corner . There was Jackson Square Pharmacy , and on the other side the Hamilton Bank was there next to the movie theater . And Samuel 's Men 's Store was a very nice store . The Jackson Square Pharmacy was there , but in between , which the Pharmacy later took over was a Kay 's Ice Cream Store . We used to go there and - my husband and I would when we were dating . I liked to get coffee with ice cream in it , so we went there . MR . HUNNICUTT : I believe that was Taff Moody Ice Cream - they served Kay 's Ice Cream . MRS . DAVIDSON : Was it ? I didn 't remember that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I can 't say that I do . It was just a given , I suppose . It didn 't make a big dent in my memory . After six months of the dormitory , I moved to a D house on Norman Lane . That was another era . MR . HUNNICUTT : What is a D house ? MRS . DAVIDSON : A D house was a large three bedroom house . They were very much desired . They were really nice houses - still a lot of them are . The house was - there were five other girls who lived there - two of whom had been college friends . MRS . DAVIDSON : No , it would 've been upstairs . It was the second one to the end . A radiation technologist lived on the corner , and I lived there with school teachers and nurses who made up most of the dorm . MR . HUNNICUTT : Let 's talk a little bit about the dorm again . If I had a message for you or someone left a message for you , how did you retrieve your messages ? Was there a desk when you went in ? MRS . DAVIDSON : There was a desk downstairs . I remember the Valentine 's Day - I guess it must 've been 1949 . The message was that I had some flowers , some red roses . I had just met my husband - to - be at that time . I got all excited , and when I got to the desk , it was from somebody else . I enjoyed the red roses , but not as much as I might have . The thing was that there were ladies - a lot of the women who lived in the dorm worked on the night shift . They would sit around a large kind of living room , I guess they called it . They were all staring when I got flowers . I had to walk around , and it was embarrassing . MRS . DAVIDSON : I was there in the winter of 1948 . I 'm very cold natured , but I don 't remember being cold . We had those heavy navy blanket - navy blue blankets . This brings up a story if I jump to it later on . We were moved from the D house after another six months into the brand - new Garden Apartments on Villanova Road . They needed our D house for families . The people who moved in were the Andersons of the Anderson Hilltop Grocery . Of course , the furniture all belonged to the government there . So the Garden Apartments were not furnished , so we had dwindled down from 6 to 4 people who needed furniture . I took a day off and went to an auction the government set up down at the warehouses . I got seven beds and three or four dressers - much more than I could have used . But the beds were in great demand at work because all the young men who worked there were having children and needed beds . So we took the four . Also I got two sofas , and we could use but one ; so I sold one . They were really shabby awful sofas . Since it was all going to surplus anyway , we switched and took the nice sofa from the D house and left them the bad one . It was all taken away anyhow , so I didn 't feel too bad about that . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't really remember about the telephone . We didn 't use the telephone much . We never used it for long - distance except for emergencies and calls home . I don 't remember that as being a problem particularly . MRS . DAVIDSON : I suppose I went on the bus . I did not have a car . One of the housemates from Norman Lane had gotten the car , but she would 've been at work at K - 25 . I don 't know . I may have gotten a ride . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess I paid somebody to deliver it . I don 't know . Maybe some of the fellows at work picked up their beds that they wanted . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was one of those warehouses down at the [ Oak Ridge ] Turnpike on Warehouse Road . I don 't know exactly where it was . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess it was on the bulletin boards at work , or there was a newspaper at the Lab . I guess I heard about it that way . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think probably so - in the newsletters they came around , also at the recreation building - the rec hall - at Jackson Square that was the library upstairs and the rec hall downstairs . Word - of - mouth - I don 't remember . We had a need and found the answer to it . MRS . DAVIDSON : I had to punch a clock at eight in the morning when I first started . I guess we got out at 4 : 30 or 5 o ' clock . We had bus service that went from the bus terminal - the Central one - that 's now by Bus Terminal Road . Later on after we were married , we lived on Waddell Circle and went from there to the Jefferson bus terminal . I went - I rode on the K - 25 bus , and they went out past K - 25 to the road that the powerhouse was on and NEPA was beyond that out by the river . MRS . DAVIDSON : There was some kind of management services office . I 'm not sure what it was called - the Roane Anderson Corporation at that time , I guess . I think that 's where I rented the dormitory room . I probably got bus tokens - I guess I got the tokens of the bus terminal . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think I had a checking account probably at Hamilton Bank in Jackson Square . I don 't recall otherwise . I know I did later . One thing I wanted to say about the buses - if you wanted to go to Clinton to do any shopping , more than what you could have in Oak Ridge or to meet somebody or something , there was a bus that ran frequently back and forth between the bus terminal and Clinton . There was a young man on the bus who had a sing - songy sales pitch for " peanuts , popcorn , Cracker Jacks , candy , and chewing gum . " He wouldn 't drive , but he would sell his wares all the way to Clinton and back . I always wondered who that was because he obviously had some talent . MRS . DAVIDSON : I 'm sure I did . I don 't know what became of it . I guess I had to turn it back in . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think somebody just got - one of the guards got on the bus and checked everybody 's badges . It was not a big thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : Probably . I don 't remember . What I do remember about that was my mother was coming down one time for my birthday - it must 've been in January 1949 . She rode the train . I told her that I would get a ride to meet her . Of course , the train didn 't stop at Oak Ridge . It went on to Knoxville , so I bummed a ride with one of the men in our group . He was actually the technical assistant to the director . His car was a broken down old thing with no floorboards in the back seat , which was pretty bad when my mother saw it . But she didn 't see it because when we got to Knoxville , she was not there . When we were coming back from the gateway entrance , she was not there . There was a message that she was waiting for us at the Elza Gate Station . She had told the conductor she had to get off at Oak Ridge . That 's where she was going , and I was going to meet her . So she slid down the Elza bank over there . She had my birthday cake - a large chocolate cake . She slid downhill with that , and somehow they stopped her at the guard gate at Elza . She waited there for us . MRS . DAVIDSON : Just for her - let her off like a milk train . They ordinarily didn 't stop there , but she wouldn 't have it otherwise . MRS . DAVIDSON : I used the library and rec hall . On Sunday afternoons , they played music ; and you could sit and write letters home , which is what I think I did a good bit . Later on in the better weather , there were tennis courts and a swimming pool . I don 't remember going to movies much . We went to church groups . There were so many young people ; it was just like a party all the time . Nothing in particular stands out . It was just fun . MRS . DAVIDSON : In the company I was , that was not true . There were a lot of women of course - of course , the dormitory was full of school teachers and nurses . But NEPA was mostly men . There were two parts to the Fairchild - the science and engineering part , which was bigger . I happen to be in the research part . My boss was a chemist - Vince Calkins . It was my job to - this was a real shocker to me - to find a chemical that would protect the human body against radiation for the reactor that was supposed to be in the airplane to Russia . I had no background for that kind of thing . I was just fresh out of college really . I realized I was out of my depth , but they decided - he was a pharmacist , I believe , and he wanted to do experiments with rats . They brought in the rat colony . By that time we had a couple of assistants , and I was supposed to be the group leader . One of the men , Ray Waldrop - you may have talked to him . I asked him if he minded working for a woman because he was really more experienced than I , although I had the degree . It was fine with him . There was also another worker , Saul Segal , who was quite a character in his own right . I took the rats in the cages over to the reactor , the " Old Lady " at X - 10 , and put them through what they called " rabbits " and radiated them for certain amount of time . We couldn 't kill the darn things . Then we used the older ones that had already been radiated , they were just tough as anything . I think the experiment was really a failure , although they may have found that to be the case in some later work with older people - that the cells are not dividing as fast and they 're not as subject to radiation . But we didn 't get into that . MRS . DAVIDSON : It was actually not K - 25 . It was beyond there . As I said , the bus took us - the bus dumped people off at K - 25 , and they went on west to just before you get to the Gallaher Bridge . You turn right there and go right past the power station there . It was used for a long time - the power house , and then NEPA was beyond that . The native rats came in - was it domestic experimental rats ? That was not good . I had a janitor who helped me , even though he could 've lost his job for doing it . He helped me clean cages . I always appreciated that . MRS . DAVIDSON : When they got rid of the rats , which was a blessing , my group leader then became Bill Browning , who was a fine scientist . He worked on the Van de Graaff generator . We had an interesting argument . Saul Segal thought he should be the one to do it since he was a man and I was a woman who would be leaving soon ; and it turned out that he left for California before I had left to have my baby . His argument didn 't hold with me anyway , but we argued about that some . We did run the Van de Graaff , and we also did some experiments on metallic sodium . It was nasty stuff to work with . It caught on fire if it was exposed to air . You had to work with that under oil in the glove box . I think that work all had to be repeated after NEPA left for Cincinnati with G . E . . When they moved part of NEPA to X - 10 , they called it the ANP , or something about aircraft and nuclear power . I was not connected with that because my first baby was born in August 1951 . I left in July . MRS . DAVIDSON : I heard somebody say that they had to repeat it all . My boss , the Division Director of Chemistry was interested in vitamin E , and thought it had a lot of protective influence . We worked with that . That was some of the work I did in chemistry - the lab part of it in the early days . It was not good work , I think . I 'm not blaming myself , but some of the other men who were doing chemical work - I think altogether we didn 't come up with anything . MRS . DAVIDSON : It may have been ahead of it 's time for nuclear submarines . I don 't know whether the engineering people thought that or not . In our group which was the chemistry and the physics , my friend who got me the job was Jim Trice . A fellow named Art Miller and somebody named Coneybearwere in the Physics Division . And then there were some others - Fred Maienschein . I did some work for him one time . It was work on beryllium for one thing . I didn 't work with any of the active beryllium . I didn 't do any lab work then , but I did some journal research . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't think they were that far along . I 'm not sure what happened to that part of it . As I said , in July of 1951 they moved to Cincinnati , Evensville , above Cincinnati . I don 't know how many people actually went up there . Most of my friends moved elsewhere . MR . HUNNICUTT : You mentioned the location of the operation was past the steam plant that was on the Clinch River . Was that the same location where the S - 50 project was located ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I think that was the name of our plot of land . I think those - I never was quite sure how they got the designations , but that was the Fairchild domain , I think . MRS . DAVIDSON : Really , it was just when our eyes met . It was very romantic . He followed our group home to the Columbia Hall to see where I lived . But at the time I thought he was too young , and I didn 't think he was following me . I was with a group of other girls . Later on , one of the women in the dormitory , who was a gym teacher in the Oak Ridge schools , told me I really ought to meet Jack Davidson that he loved to ride bicycles ; I was just back from my bicycle trip in Europe . I didn 't know who he was , and then I went to a church group meeting at my Presbyterian Church for young people one Sunday evening . A friend of mine had brought Jack Davidson , and he was the one whose eyes I had met and he had met mine . Sure enough , he loved to ride bicycles . That was the start of a good thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : We did a little bit . On our dates , that 's really what we did mostly at first . We rode out to West Outer Drive and had those wonderful big hills , not too much traffic at that time . We went out to the water tower at the top of Louisiana and had a picnic , and then rode back . When we got really good , we rode our bicycles over to Concord Park one day . I had gotten some chicken breasts at the grocery . I guess it was the A & P at Jackson Square . I was going to fry them for a picnic to take along over to Concord Park . When I went to the refrigerator to get them , they had turned into wings . Somebody had eaten my chicken breast . Jack was a good sport about that . He didn 't care . We had a nice ride . It was before they had improved Lovell Road . It was a pretty rough ride over there , but we were able to enjoy it . MRS . DAVIDSON : He had his bicycle . It was probably a Grey Stone . For me , he rented a bicycle from his work friend . I had forgotten what his name was . We went over to one of the D Streets , I think , and rode them . I didn 't have my English 3 - speed here . I guess I brought it later , but at that time I didn 't have it . MRS . DAVIDSON : That was a problem . I complained to my friend Jim Trice 's wife , Dot , who happened to live around the corner on Outer Drive at that time . She said the boardwalk was used a lot for dating , and of course the theaters . I guess we were outdoors people . I don 't know . MRS . DAVIDSON : He was a graduate of Georgia Tech . At the time he graduated , he was very young . He came up to see about a job , and he was drafted . No , he was in danger of being drafted right away , but they didn 't hire him . He did go to work for NASA , which was at that time NACA , in Virginia ; and worked over there a short time before he was taken into the Army . He had gone through Georgia Tech on a " War Manpower " loan . He was sent to some place to be an MP , I think . He wrote a night letter , which is a 50 - word telegram that was cheaper at night . He wrote a night letter to Stimson , the Secretary of War , telling them they had paid for his college education ; and here he was sitting in a camp doing nothing down in Alabama . He was transferred to the SED , he would never say that was the reason he was transferred . It may or may not have been . He arrived with the SED - he arrived in Oak Ridge the day Roosevelt died , which was in April 1945 , he was here with his group for maybe six weeks before they went out to Los Alamos . So he spent the rest of the war out there . Then he used his G . I . Bill - he stayed on at Los Alamos . They told them they would let him out of the Army if he would agree to stay on as a civilian . So he took that . Then when he did leave , he went to Annapolis and took a liberal arts course because he felt that he had missed out on it at Georgia Tech . He had a year at St . John 's College of Annapolis ; and then all along I guess he thought he would like to come back here . He came back - he arrived on Armistice Day , now Veterans Day , of 1948 . I was here a couple of months before he came , but we met shortly after Christmas in 1949 . MRS . DAVIDSON : Too long . We were married in May 1950 . He wanted to pay off his loan before we could get married , so I helped him along with that . I fed him some . He was very welcome at the D House of girls . I was going to tell you that during the war , there were nine girls in the house , and they slept on shifts on the bunk beds . There were only six of us when I was there . There were a couple of the boyfriends around , and one of them cut the grass . I think Jack did the - empty the clinkers from the furnace , the coal furnace . They made themselves useful . They got their dinner . MR . HUNNICUTT : Tell me about the coal furnace briefly . MRS . DAVIDSON : Most of the houses were a very good design really , and a whole lot better built than we gave them credit for . But each one that I knew of had a corner set off or closed off as a coal storage place that could be filled through a window from the outside , and then you could use the - there was an opening on the inside that you could use to put coal into the furnace . That was awful of course , but that 's what all the houses were doing in that time , too . We had a yard full of clinkers over there . MRS . DAVIDSON : We were taken care of by a Big Brother - the government . They brought the coal around , and you didn 't do a thing . That was part of the rent . When we got our house here on Orange Lane , that 's another story . Are you ready for that yet ? MRS . DAVIDSON : We went back to my home in Louisville , Kentucky , to be married . We had planned to fly to Nashville , but it turned out the Delta Queen was coming through Louisville the next morning . My mother had told us we could not get married the week before because it was too busy with Derby Day . So we delayed until May 13 . Then we spent the night in Louisville at the Brown Hotel , where she pulled some strings to get us a room because it was still very full of visitors from the Derby . We got on the Delta Queen , and our friends were all on the dock to see us off . They had us almost convinced that we were on Daylight Saving Time , and the Delta Queen was not , and we had missed it . But we rode down just as far as Paducah . We were anxious to start in life you know . We lived on Wadell Circle in a K apartment . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you recall the number ? MRS . DAVIDSON : It was a two - story thing . I guess it was a two - bedroom up above , and we had K - 1 . It was sort of underground at the front and open at the back . We had a nice back porch . There was a closet under the stairway and a very small kitchen . It had a table that folded down . It was not as compact as a flattop , but the furnishings that they had did double duty . You could fold it up and have more room . MRS . DAVIDSON : The K apartment was heated with the coal furnace , but there was a janitor who came around and took care of it for us . We were taken care of by Roane Anderson . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you remember what the rent was ? MRS . DAVIDSON : We lived in the K from May 1950 , until we got this house in July 1952 . It was said - the word around town was that you couldn 't get a two - bedroom house unless you had three children , all of different sex . We had been on the list for this house ever since we knew our daughter was coming along . That was a long time to wait . We had been offered two houses - Florida Avenue , where the parking was across the street and the backyard just dropped off . We thought that was totally unsuitable for a new child . We turned both of those down . If we had turned this one down , we would 've gone to the bottom of the long list . But we loved this place of the trees and the dead end lane neighborhood . So we sat outside in front all weekend because we were not top on the list . The reason the other people didn 't take it was that the previous owner , Jim Cox and Charlotte , had put in an oil furnace ; and nobody wanted to pay $ 200 for the oil furnace . Since I had been working , we had saved my salary from work , and we had $ 200 to pay . Also , they didn 't want to be in the high rent district . This house rented for something like $ 45 instead of $ 43 in the lower rent districts . MRS . DAVIDSON : The Oak Ridge cemesto houses that were built - I think this house was built in the fall of 1944 or 1943 . Maybe it was ' 43 . The B house has two bedrooms and of course a bath and a kitchen with a dinette into a long narrow living room . It was about 24 feet by 40 something feet . It was small and convenient . It didn 't have much storage space , but it 's been a wonderful house for us because of the trees . We are on a greenbelt , and I enjoy that very much . It 's a nice private neighborhood just above Jackson Square . MRS . DAVIDSON : Our cemesto has a fireplace , and it had a complete brick wall . Some of the B houses had a brick wall just beyond the fireplace . MRS . DAVIDSON : There are hardwood floors in all the cemestos , I believe . Our house has maple flooring , and a lot of them had oak . Wood was hard to come by in the wartime . We love the color - the reddish color of the maple . MRS . DAVIDSON : Adele is our second daughter , and she was two years younger . Our son is Bill Davidson or William . He was born in November of 1954 . He 's just now turning 58 . MR . HUNNICUTT : So your first daughter went to Cedar Hill ? MRS . DAVIDSON : All three of our children went to Cedar Hill . They had split grades there , so I think the classes were one half size . They would take the kids a half from one grade , and half from the next grade , and that worked out just fine . MRS . DAVIDSON : Cedar Hill was wonderful . It was very special . Mr . Dodd was the principal , and he saw to it - he had the best teachers or at least as good as any . Actually in those days all the teachers and Oak Ridge were special because many of them had been recruited from Columbia Teachers College , along with the superintendent . Others were specially recruited for the job . They were a group a part , I think , from a lot of teachers . MRS . DAVIDSON : The girls both went to Jefferson when it was on the hill at Jackson Square , and Bill was in the first year at the new Jefferson that was over on Fairbanks Road . His was the first class there . They all went through Oak Ridge High . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you recall some of the classes your daughters took while they were in junior high ? Was there Home Ec . or things related to girls ? MRS . DAVIDSON : No , they were on the college prep track . They took eighth grade algebra and that kind of thing . Of course English and math and social studies and science - our older girl I think took biology ; and I 'm not sure if Adele had a more general science course . It just depended on the teacher that they had . They had an excellent education , and the girls were both Merit semifinalists . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course . I was in the PTA . I 'm not sure if I was ever a room mother , but I of course helped with parties and things . MRS . DAVIDSON : The teachers recruited them from each class to help with parties mostly . They helped with any activities that they didn 't really have time to do . MRS . DAVIDSON : Parent - Teacher Association , a time honored group . It got extra things for the school . I got involved with raincoats for the school patrol . MRS . DAVIDSON : I guess maybe I was a treasurer of the Cedar Hill PTA , and this goal was to get those yellow slicker raincoat so kids could be visible to the drivers . I found out how much the things cost , and then I estimated postage . At the PTA meeting , Alvin Weinberg was president . He had a son or two in school at the time . He took me to task for estimating the postage , so I had to ask for just the money for the coats themselves since I didn 't really know what the postage is going to be . I thought that was interesting that he wanted to keep it to the exact penny . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think they just wore what the other kids wore . One day we had a deep snow and Bill was in kindergarten , and the snow was up over their boots . I think he had some corduroys . The teacher was making the kids take their pants off and dry them on the radiator , and he wouldn 't do it . I had to go up to the school and take him some fresh pants , some dry clothes . He was very young - just four when he started . MR . HUNNICUTT : Let 's go back a few years . Do you remember 1945 when they dropped the bomb on Japan ? You remember where you were ? And what was your reaction ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I do remember that very clearly because it was the summer after my junior year in college , and I was a camp counselor up in Door County , Wisconsin . There was no electricity at the camp , so we counselors - after we got the kids to bed , went to the state park nearby . This was at Fish Creek , Wisconsin . We would listen to people 's car radios . We knew for about a week that something was happening , but we didn 't know just what . It was very deeply moving when the bomb was dropped , and we thought it would bring an end to the war . Of course , I had friends and a brother on Guam and a cousin was in Europe and others . So that was very deeply moving . I had a book of poetry - my favorite poems at the camp with me . One of my 12 - year - olds picked out a poem - " Once to every man and nation comes a moment to decide " - she read that , and I thought that was very astute of her , a youngster to be able to do that . MRS . DAVIDSON : My husband thought they should have dropped a sample first , but I didn 't feel that way since the first bomb didn 't phase the Japanese . I didn 't think the test one would have either . I was just so glad that the war was over . People could settle down and get into real life again . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think I was in transition from the dormitory to the house , and my husband 's brothers came up from Georgia to witness the opening . So we drove in their car around , and we watched the parade from , I believe , down on the eastern end of the Turnpike down near the warehouses to get out of the traffic . We never could figure out why they invited Marie " The Body " McDonald and [ inaudible ] to ride in the open car for the parade . We couldn 't figure out what they had to do with it , but we did see the burning of the magnesium ribbon . That was exciting . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was only toward town from Elza Gate . I know the central part of town , the Jackson Square area , was very crowded . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think they name the streets for famous cities in the country , and of course the alphabetical designations were very helpful . But Jackson Square , I assume , was named for New Orleans . That 's all I know about it . MRS . DAVIDSON : Sometimes you would pick up the telephone , and the other party was talking . I believe they had different rings . I think maybe the other party had one ring , and we had two . There were four - party lines , but if we were on a four - party line , only the other one was active . I think maybe we were . The other two lines were not being used . MR . HUNNICUTT : When you are raising your family , did you hang your clothes outside on the clothesline ? Did you have a dryer ? What did you use ? MRS . DAVIDSON : I hung them outside on the clothesline . As I said , when we moved here , Anne was a year old . Not much more than three years after that , we had three babies . I was able to talk my husband into getting a dryer that time . Before that , he had built a pulley out of my kitchen window . There was a drop off in the back , and he was able to string it to a tree in the woods . I was able to reel those cloth diapers and reel them in and out . The only problem was that the birds like the trees , too . Sometimes I had to do some re - washing . MR . HUNNICUTT : So in those days you use cloth diapers ? Today we use disposable diapers . How do you think you would 've done if you had disposable diapers ? MRS . DAVIDSON : At one point , when our children were out playing Kick the Can , there were over 40 children on the lane . There were about 20 or 21 houses . There were almost as many dogs . It was just a glorious place for them to grow up . They seem to get along remarkably well most of the time , especially in the early days . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes . We went down there on the opening , and got the radioactive dimes on that occasion . The museum at that time was down at Jefferson Circle . I don 't think any of us ever had our hair stand out on the Van De Graff generator or whatever it was , but we took the children . We went out ourselves . Of course my husband was interested in that kind of thing . MRS . DAVIDSON : Sometimes they walked to Jefferson , but by that time they were carrying pretty heavy books . One of the neighbors on Outer Drive wanted to have a carpool , so we joined that . MRS . DAVIDSON : When Anne was in the fifth grade , they had to write what they did on Friday nights . The teacher would call me and say , " Is it true that you gave your children ice water and watched TV on Friday nights ? " That was how generous we were with them . We didn 't get a TV until they were probably five or six years old . MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course it was black and white . The reason we got it - I guess finally it was that the children were always going to the neighbors ' house to watch TV . We decided that we should get our own . They watched things like " Pinky Lee " and I 've forgotten what else . MRS . DAVIDSON : I remember that fondly because my first real date with my husband was going to dinner there with him . He invited me to go to a concert in Knoxville , and his excuse was that we should get to know each other better before he took me to the city with him . That was one thing . I remember there were parties there , and our company had a party at the Oak Terrace Ballroom . One of the NEPA fellows wore a Tarzan costume , which was mostly nothing . It turned out that he lived in the neighborhood . MR . HUNNICUTT : What was the Oak Terrace ballroom - where was it located ? MRS . DAVIDSON : That was just below the dormitory where I lived in Columbia Hall . Jack went there looking for me , he thought I would eat breakfast there and then he could have breakfast with me ; but I ate in the dormitory . He didn 't find me there . When we came back from our bicycle ride to Concord Park , I remember we stopped by there , and he drank two or three Mountain Dew drinks . That surprised me , but we had worked off a lot of sweat . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , we took our children out there and saw " Lawrence of Arabia " and " The 10 Commandment " and those things . It was quite nice . MR . HUNNICUTT : Where was it located ? MRS . DAVIDSON : It was about where Kroger 's - where that is now , on the southeast part of Illinois Avenue . It was a nice thing . That was a special treat for the children to go out there . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't think so . I think they were mostly in the car . They had a drawing one time , Jack won something . It was actually nothing , but he did win . MRS . DAVIDSON : I sure did . My three children were born there . It was a green structure , like so many of the buildings in Oak Ridge . I guess the present building is built on that place . It was okay . I didn 't have any problems with it , except after my second child . I had a staph infection from the hospital . Even an Army wife with a private room got an infection there . MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , I think they also had been recruited ; and a lot of them were from Tulane University . The time I was sick with my infection , they were having a reunion at Tulane , and my doctor and another one were gone for the reunion . I didn 't like the one who took care of me . He didn 't do a good job . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think it was okay . I don 't remember having any problems with it . We knew Dr . Rogers from our church , and we went to him . He was called away to the service , I believe . Maybe it was the Korean War , but then he came back . MRS . DAVIDSON : We met at Pine Valley School . The choir sat on the bleachers , and the minister sat under the halo of the basketball net . My husband was a Methodist , and he went to the First Methodist Church . They had a big youth group there . When we were first married , we tried to take them both in . We went to Sunday school one place , and church another until we finally settled on the Presbyterian . It was smaller , and we knew more people . MR . HUNNICUTT : Thinking back , what do you like best about Oak Ridge ? MRS . DAVIDSON : Of course the people . I love my trees and my house . I love all the activities . Both my husband and I have always loved music and enjoy the concerts a lot . The symphony concerts with Waldo Cohn conducting were held at Jefferson Junior High on the Kentucky Avenue hill . MR . HUNNICUTT : Do you think back about all the people that you knew in the early days ? Do you think it was unusual for everybody to get along - the many people that were here ? MRS . DAVIDSON : Yes , I guess so . I didn 't think about it because we just did . It was just fun . Everybody was away from home , and we had to be family for each other . That was particularly true in this close neighborhood . MRS . DAVIDSON : I 'm pleased for the most part . I think we 've made good progress . We 've kept up with the outside world . MRS . DAVIDSON : I don 't know . I 'll probably think of things after you leave . Nothing particular comes to mind . MR . HUNNICUTT : I would like to thank you for your time , and I think this interview will be very helpful for someone in the future to see how you lived in Oak Ridge in the early days . MRS . DAVIDSON : I think we came through at the very best of times . It was not the pressure of war , but we were growing community . I think things were happening at the Lab . Both of my husband and I loved the Lab because there were so many good things going on out there . It gives us hope for the future . MR . HUNNICUTT : I thank you very much for your time . [ Editor 's Note : This transcript has been edited at Mrs . Davidson 's request . The corresponding audio and video components have remained unchanged . ] Your rating was saved . you wish to report :

Caution : This Suspense Sex Story contains strong sexual content , including Ma / Fa , Consensual , Cheating , Slut Wife , Cuckold , BDSM , DomSub , MaleDom , Light Bond , Oral Sex , Masturbation , Desc : Suspense Sex Story : Part 1 : The Taking of Alice - Be careful choosing your friends . Richard will steal your wife , destroy your marriage , make her his sex toy , and devastate your manhood . He 'll shatter both your lives and walk away as though nothing had happened . It 's often the case that the big changes in life sneak up on you . It 's possible , I guess , that you might anticipate some of them , but not all , and not all the time . My mother - in - law was wrong to think she could avoid all evil by worrying about it . It comes whether you worry or not , like a thief in the night , at a time of its own choosing , and you can 't outguess it . Our thief didn 't come where this story begins , a Saturday night , the night for making love , one on which Alice and I had come home early enough to have the energy for excitement . I turned to Alice in bed and started kissing her , and then I ran my palm across one of her nipples . I especially liked to do that because Alice had - has - big , round nipples that remind me of red blackberries . " Let 's check . Oh , my ! You 're a bad boy . Well , light the candle . I 'll be back in a sec . " I turned out the bedside lamps and lit the aromatic candle beside the bed . It 's sandalwood and shaped like a star . I 'm staring at it as I write this , letting it help me remember . I stripped . Water was running in the master bathroom . In the sink . In a minute she came out carrying a washcloth . She knelt over me and cleaned the head of my penis . It 's always a struggle not to squirm . Men will know what I mean . Then she tossed the cloth to the floor and leaned down to lick me . " Mmm . You taste good . " She took me in her mouth and played me for a few minutes , just the head , while I reached around and caressed her ass , running my hand over the whole expanse of it , then up and down her crease , playing a lot right around her anus before I moved my hand to her vagina and began to diddle her . After a few minutes she sat up . It was New Year 's Eve eve . The night before it all began . That 's what made it memorable . Tomorrow night we 'd be up late . You can always stay up late in Las Vegas , but New Year 's is special , and we planned to have a big night out with Bill and Jessica and some people from Bill 's company , and we planned to party like it was ten years earlier . I didn 't know the half of it , but then neither did Alice . Fuck you , Richard ! Fuck you ! Fuck you , you God damned motherfucking son of a bitch ! Fuck you , you shit ! I 'll kill you ! I 'll tear your goddamned shit - fucking dick off ! I 'll fucking kill you ! I will ! Fuck . I think we were happy together before Richard came back into our lives . I know I was . Reasonably happy , I mean . I wasn 't unhappy . Alice was my wife and I loved her . Some of us are cursed to always want something a little extra , something outside the norm , something different . That 's all I mean . We enjoyed doing things together and we had a nice house , nice yard , both of which we 'd worked hard on . People commented on them . The paper had even done a Sunday photo shoot of our yard a few years back . The sex . Well , you can tell the sex wasn 't explosive . I mean , we 'd been married over a decade , you know ? The sex was a lot , oh , more mellow than a decade ago . There were things we didn 't even talk about that we 'd enjoyed doing a few years before . But it wasn 't bad , you know ? Sometimes I surfed Internet porn . Sometimes I even subscribed , and it was enough to get me through the rough spots . I wasn 't chasing other women . There was nothing to make me think Alice was unhappy with us , or that she would do anything with other men . Nothing at all . Why couldn 't we have skipped the New Years party ? I like parties , getting out , seeing people , drinking more than I should , the whole thing . Alice doesn 't . Not really . Or didn 't . Anyway , I 'd made up a lot of excuses for her over the years . She could have begged off and stayed home to watch the New Year 's Eve shows on TV . She always enjoyed watching the ball drop in Times Square , and she always considered that the true New Year 's moment . Why did she come tonight ? I guess because she thought I 'd be upset if she stayed home again . Maybe , too , because of the friends who would be there . Whatever . I don 't know how events conspire . Isn 't that a nice phrase ? " Events conspire ? " I don 't even know what I mean . Yes I do . Things have to happen just so . For want of a horse , the kingdom is lost . For want of a party . . . that sort of thing . And if only we hadn 't seen Richard . If , if , if . That didn 't have to happen , and then the next thing wouldn 't have happened , and the next . I think . We certainly didn 't go looking for him . He hadn 't been much of a friend for years , not since he 'd decided to move from law to sex . Yes , that . He went from representing pornographers to being one . Almost . Almost . I might be overstating it . He bumped into me a couple of years ago . " Henry , my French film won an award at Cannes ! " " Yes indeed ! The critics praised its uncompromising standards . The suck scene was the hardest part though , pun intended . We did so many takes . Finally when the filming was over I told Michelle Brioche , who 's a fine , fine actress , that she didn 't need to have an affair with André , because they 'd already done everything on the set ! Do you know what she said to me ? " " She said , not until I get mine , too ! " Richard walked away , chuckling to himself . At Hanukkah he sent us a copy of the film . I had to admit it was well done , and the sex made me hard and hot . Alice , though . Well , Alice walked out during the blow job . So maybe it isn 't porn , just " almost . " What 's the definition of obscenity ? That I know it when I see it , right ? That 's what it comes down to . Anyway , his stuff may be serious enough to withstand the new Federal crackdown . Along with the film , Richard sent a card that offered us free passage on a cruise to his resort island in the Caribbean , the island reserved for sex vacations . Why ? Because he was once my best friend , a long time ago . Or he was showing off . Sorry , Richard , no can do . Thanks for the offer , but the wife - you know ? That 's what I told him . He has sex clubs , Internet sites , and a legal whorehouse on the Nevada desert . I never received an offer of a free trip there . He gives personal advice and personal services . All this grew out of an epiphany he had about where money was to be made and what niche needed filling , and where he would be happiest . We stopped seeing him when he dumped his wife , who had stayed with him through pretty extreme bondage . At least that 's what she hinted to Alice . I think she would have stayed with him forever , almost no matter what he did , if it had been her decision , but at least he left her well off . Shit . You can see where this is going . Old story . My best friend and my wife . But it 's more complicated than that , in a lot of ways . Not my best friend for a long time , not since he began hanging with sex merchants and movie stars and intellectuals , and affecting that fey accent . And the thing about Alice . Was it her ? Or was it me ? It 's . . . difficult . Anyway , there we were on the ballroom floor , faint smells of grass and opium wafting around , the band pounding us , the chinging of the slots next door obliterated by the music . I would have left . Not Alice . Me ! I would have left if we hadn 't had to stay . If we weren 't stuck . It 's because we couldn 't even talk , or only for the short periods when the slots chimed in the background like a distant Pachinko galaxy . It was the sort of thing for twenty - year - olds . My ears were shorting out . I stuffed some tissue into them and Bill handed me a joint , and in a few minutes it got better . And then there was Richard . He appeared just as a number ended , poof , like the devil , wearing an all - black suit that didn 't fit Vegas at all but would have been better in Chicago , maybe on Al Capone . It fit his hair , slicked back like a mobster 's . Do you have to dress like that in the sex industry ? It was all so fucking stupid . I don 't think I 'm being too insulting in saying that , though given how many women he had hanging off his dick , I guess it worked for him . I hadn 't seen him for almost forever , but he was always exactly the same . Always in dark , always playing the dom , always with a new , sweet - luscious thing in tow . The newest one was a blonde . Of course . Lean and big - boobed . She had perfectly round , sticking - out breasts that screamed " plastic ! " No , I 'm not talking about how he paid for them . Richard had dressed her in something almost like the go - go dancers of the ' 70s , but with a short skirt instead of short - shorts . The skirt was so short that you could see the curve of her ass and it was clear if she leaned the least bit over you 'd be able to tell if she was a natural blonde . Then she did , and you couldn 't , because she was shaved . There was just a twinkling of pale flesh . We hadn 't spoken yet . He was in a sort of antechamber that served as a smoking and gathering room for those with . Those without were relegated to the ballroom . I wasn 't certain at that moment that he had seen us . Anyway , he ostentatiously dropped something on the floor and she bent to pick it up for him , and it was then she pussy - flashed everyone . A hint of labium , and a touch of anus , both looking pristine . She was already attracting attention . Even those of us without could see her through the double doors . She certainly caught Alice 's attention . Alice jabbed me in the arm and said " look who 's here with his pussy - du - jour , " and Jessica laughed a nervous little laugh . When I looked up from the vision of sweet pubis , Richard was staring directly at us and leering . No . Not at us . At Alice . The others were too late to see the leer because they couldn 't tear their eyes from the girl 's crotch . But me - I should have had some sort of premonition . I should have . From there things became complicated pretty quickly . Richard walked into the ballroom , directly over to us , the girl in tow . I 'm repeating myself , but she really was " in tow . " Once I took my eyes off her pubes I saw she was wearing a dog collar , and attached to it was a leash . Richard held the leash . She walked two steps behind him as he came over , and the crowd parted for him like the Red Sea , Pharaoh 's troops stopping to look , to see if there would be another flash of pudendum , then losing themselves in swirls and eddies . Even women were transfixed . Neither of them seemed to pay the crowd any attention , though . Richard kept his smarmy look as he continued to part the sea , while the girl kept her head down and stared at the seafloor in front of her . I shouldn 't have challenged him . I knew it then , but he looked so damned presumptuous and I was a little high . The pachinko sound from the slots and the ringing in my ears merged to form an otherworldly harmony that told me I could say anything . So it leaped out : " Hi Richard . Where 'd you get your pet ? " " Henry ! " His voice boomed . " And the always luscious Alice ! Allow me to present Diane . Diane , say ' hello ' . " He emphasized the word ' always . ' Diane looked up at us but didn 't raise her head much . Just her eyes . Even so , under all that make - up she looked scared . " Hello , " she said , in a leetle , tiny , Southern voice . My God ! Like some poor thing straight out of Mayberry . How had he gotten her into this role ? " I 'm teaching Diane the ropes , " he boomed again . He was ignoring everyone but Alice and me . He had to know the effect he and Diane were making . People were still watching . He wanted someone to play straight man and Alice took the bait . " I bet you are ! And the tricks , too . Isn 't she a little , ah , young ? " She had that mean smirk on that said " fuck you " all by itself . Jessica giggled her nervous laugh again . " Oh , just doing a favor . I 'd much rather have a mature lovely like yourself . " He looked Alice up and down slowly , deliberately , so that no one could mistake what he meant . " In fact , if Henry wanted to trade I 'd take you in a second ! Half a second ! " He turned to me . " Want to do it , Henry ? Sweet Diane is just the girl to recharge the old guy who hasn 't had variety in a while . " " And you , lovely Alice , I 'd do everything for you and to you . I 'd play with your ass , lick you , stretch out the love - making until you begged . " Her eyes widened . " Any man who does less than that doesn 't deserve you . " No one except Richard had any idea what to say , not even Bill . You could hear the silence . Our silence . We were all standing there in the middle of the tinkling of the slot machines , as thoughtless as any group of idiots . Jessica looked like she wanted to hide , though she couldn 't take her eyes off Richard . He , though , he could have kept it up for hours , I think , but the music started again . The house lights dropped , leaving only the fairy lights from the chandeliers , and some music crashed down on us . Richard stepped right up to Alice and shouted , so all of us could hear him . " No . " She paused , thinking . It was clear to me that she wanted a good answer for him . " No thanks . You have a date . " I 'm not sure there was a melody , or a vocalist . For me the music was noise with a beat that went with the strobes . I have no real memory of it . I kept putting my hands over my ears , then pulling them down to keep from looking like a total dork . The floor was full of people , some in the light , or at least in the flashes , some in shadow . Music hammered me . People were caught in successions of strobe stills , like some experiment in motion pictures . Neither Alice nor I did anything . Richard was directly in front of us in his Al Capone suit , dancing with Diane . He was barely moving himself , just a little shuffling of his feet , holding the leash while Diane went out and back and wrapped the leash around herself as she twirled to him , then twirled out when he pulled on the thing , spinning her out in spastic strobe segments . Her little skirt was almost short enough to show her vagina even when she was standing . And it did show - once , then again . More people were watching them . Damn , it must have made him happy , being the center of attention as usual . On the floor and at the tables , you could see some of them leaning and pointing . Men were staring . Women were staring . Alice was staring . She was trying to say something to me but I couldn 't make it out . It was too loud . The room went black for an instant and the music changed tempo and pitch . When the strobes started back up Alice was yelling in my ear and grabbing my arm . " That son of a bitch ! " she was yelling . " Look ! " I could hardly hear her because my ears were ringing . Richard was still swaying in that otherworldly succession of flashes , but something had changed . Somehow the leash was wrapped around Diane 's neck so that at first I thought he was throttling her . But no . He pulled her down . He bent her from the waist . Her face was away from us and he pointed her ass directly at us . Richard was pointing his face at us , at Alice , the whole time , ignoring everything else , the music , the strobes , me , the crowd . Now Diane 's hairless pussy was visible to everyone . Richard held the leash close to Diane 's neck , to keep her head down . He held the end with his right hand . There was about a foot of loose leather that dangled from his hand . He ran that hand up from her crotch , across her anus , and into the air . He was looking at Alice while he did it , as though daring her something , as though there was some communication only the two of them could hear , as though he owned the world , as though he owned Diane , as though he owned Alice . Then he took the next step . He took the end of the leash , swung it back , and whipped it right across Diane 's vagina . The leather took about three strobe flashes to land , so that it was a slow - motion stroke . Diane jerked a slow - motion movement to the left , upwards , and down . Her ass clenched . The crowd on the dance floor moved away from them , forming a circle with Richard and Diane in the middle . They were looking and talking , though you couldn 't hear them through the noise . More were pointing . I remember some leers and some looks like laughter , and some shock , though people in Vegas don 't like to show that anything could shock them . Richard leered at Alice and struck Diane again . You could tell it was a hard lash . Diane jerked again . There was a little mark on her where the first one had hit some white skin . Then Richard raised his middle finger in a bird , pointed it at Alice and , still staring at her directly in the face , put his hand down to Diane 's vagina , and pushed it in . All the way in . Slowly . He finger - fucked her slowly while the music reached crescendo , stroboscopically in and out while the noise pushed us to the bottom of the sea and a hundred people watched him breathlessly . Finally he pulled his finger out , theatrically , slow - motion , up in the air , and brought it to his face . He smelled his finger , an elaborate sniff . He sucked on it . He was still looking at Alice while he sucked . Alice was staring but not yelling anything any more , or pulling at me . Just staring . And then the music ended , making my ears feel like they were stuffed with cotton . The soft house lights came back on . I looked at Alice , and when I looked back , Richard and Diane were gone in the crowd . I could see his head moving out toward the gambling area . That set the mood for the evening , and the conversation . Alice couldn 't stop saying " that creep , " or " that bastard , " muttering things while others talked , and it didn 't help when someone tried to make a joke of it . " None of you even tried to stop him ! " She was angry . " Why didn 't security arrest him ? " I mean this was Las Vegas , for Christ 's sake . Things sometimes happen , especially where people have money , but you couldn 't tell that to Alice . Bill held Jessica close and said he was going to whip her when they got home . She curved against him and said she 'd be good , and she giggled , but she 's such a mousy , nervous little thing that I bet it really happened . Would he make her shave , too ? And it passed . The first bit , the shock . I thought it was over . He 'd come and done his act and now we could go on about our own business . We stayed in the casino until the New Year came in , and we all had pretty good buzzes on by then . It was in the middle of a slow dance with Alice that I first noticed the change in her . She began to writhe against me and move her mound up and down against my crotch . We frenched and my penis began to grow . About two in the morning we went outside and walked down the Strip to watch the fountains dance . It was as crowded as everywhere else , crowded and dark enough that I could slip my hand down inside her skirt right there and be almost invisible . I hadn 't done that to her for years , and even though we could get caught she didn 't stop me . I had a flash memory of Richard finger fucking Diane , and I move my hand until I felt fur , then further , to lips , then to the hole . I finger - fucked her while the fountains danced to some 1950s number and she leaned against me pretending to watch them , until in the middle of it she pointed toward some bushes away from the light . There was a man leaning against a beam , and a woman was kneeling in front of him , giving him a blow job . So we went home and sexed the second night in a row . That didn 't happen very often . We did the same things as the night before . The wheel turned , as it does , but just barely . A few days of the New Year passed , life went on , and then something happened . What happened ? Something happened . Something changed between our phone conversation at lunch and dinner time . Why was she different ? What was going on ? But I came in the door from work and Alice was different . I should have marked it on my calendar . It seems a lifetime ago , but it was only a few months back . " Hi , honey , I 'm home . " She ignored me and went on chopping some lettuce . I bent to give her a peck and she hardly responded . " Helloooo ? " " Oh , I 'm sorry Henry . I 'm just tired . I 'll have dinner ready in about half an hour . Why don 't you watch the news ? " She didn 't look at me as she said it . Her eyes wandered up to the cabinets , then to the refrigerator , to anywhere but right at me . Her voice had that flatness , you know , the tone that says " I 'm upset but I 'm not going to tell you ; you have to figure it out . " Oh shit , what was the matter ? What had I done this time ? That wasn 't how we were . We always chatted and joked , except when we were having a fight . But there was no fight . Nothing had happened . I couldn 't be certain she was really angry . She was more - how to put it ? - distant , as though something was on her mind that she wouldn 't tell me . There wasn 't much conversation during dinner . She left the table early . She asked to be excused during the national news and walked out of the room . Definitely angry . What had I done ? It had to be bad . But then she came back in while I was clearing the dishes and gave me a hug . It was so sudden and intense I almost dropped a plate . One minute I 'm staring out the window at our grape trellis , feeling hollow inside and wondering how I can make right something that 's hidden from me , and the next minute Alice is holding me like she 's afraid I might try to get away from her . " I 'm sorry , honey , " she said . " Really , I 'm just tired . But let 's go to bed early tonight , okay ? " And in bed it was different , in the good way . She came out in lingerie to get me , carrying the candle . This wasn 't Alice . It was almost embarrassing . Then she attacked me , and played with my dick the whole wobbly walk back to the bedroom , while we frenched like mad . In bed she asked , " Honey , will you do that thing ? With your tongue ? " I wasn 't expecting that ! I thought , you decided three or four years ago that you didn 't want me do that to you any more . What changed ? What I said was : " Of course , ma ' am . It 's my pleasure . " So I pushed her thighs apart with my shoulders and went down . Her legs were pulled up , leaving her knees in the air , and I could look straight down to her bush . I brushed one thigh all the way down , over her vagina , and up the other side , giving her chills . Everything was so soft , her thighs especially , even getting plumper like they were . I gave her nibbles all the way down both sides , and gave her a hickey , before I nestled into her mound . I sucked in her labia , ran my tongue up and down between them , then searched out her little nub . I hadn 't thought about her taste for a long time , but right away I remembered what I had liked about it . It was even better when I moved my tongue down to her vagina and pushed inside . She was so damn tangy in there . It wasn 't that her body was open to me . Well , yes , of course it was partly that , her thighs and vagina spread for me and hidden from everyone else , there for me to use , the feel of her skin and her soft puff of brown pubic fur and the plumpness of her labia there for me alone . But it was also the other , that I could tell I gave her touches of pleasure and excitement , then jolts of them , that I could do this to her and know she wanted it and that I had touched something deep and personal and usually hidden . Alice was holding my head , pulling me into her . When I looked up her eyes were open and she was staring at what I was doing . I moved to her button and began circling it with my tongue , once twice , again , again . At about the third pass she sighed and closed her eyes . Her hands clenched in my hair . I kept it up . Sigh , Alice . Moan for me . Love it . Show you love it . Show it . She began huffing , " hah , hah ! " like she does when she 's really high , and her voice went higher and higher until it was like a begging little whimper , and then she came for me . " Please , honey . Come inside me . Hurry . Please . " I got inside her and began humping while she squeezed me with her vagina . I think she came again before I finished . Whatever the problem had been . Or so it seemed . Everything was fine when Alice got home the next evening , her day to work late . I was fixing a dish with pork loin and she came right up to me , hugged me tight , and said , " I love you so much , Henry . " She kept giving me surprise little kisses during the evening , and whispering " I love you . " Finally , when she was getting ready for bed , I came up behind her , reached around , and rolled both her nipples . " I 'll show you nasty in a few minutes . " I went to the bedroom , lit the candle , and lay there naked , watching the soft flickers on the ceiling and caressing my penis to keep it up for her , until she came into the room . She wore a peignoir under a green satin robe , old anniversary gifts that usually stayed in the armoire . Indeed she did . But even more was to come . I licked her to orgasm again . It was a lot like the previous night , so I was able to watch her get higher and higher and then explode , but when she had come she didn 't ask me to put it inside her . and dick , tickling the whole ensemble until I could hardly stand it . I wanted to touch her while she did it , but she knelt between my legs so I couldn 't touch her . She played with me for about twenty minutes , then she sucked my dick in as far as she could take it , moving her mouth up and down , that hot mouth , soft flesh on my penis . Jesus , I got so close so fast . I put a hand to her head . She lifted off . " I 'm doing you all the way tonight . Lay back . " So I lay back and she fucked my dick with her mouth and I came inside her . Oh Jesus ! That wet , soft mouth . But sure enough , the next night she came out to the den when I was watching TV , pulled down my zipper , and sucked me all the way to climax right there . I thought , who is my new Alice ? What 's starting to happen ? Let 's progress ! But she wouldn 't let me do her back . Then . . . oh , you could see this coming , couldn 't you ? You 're far ahead of me , the village idiot . Well , maybe the village idiot doesn 't want to imagine the worst possibility . She became permanently distant . By permanent I mean the next several days . Little conversation , no sex , a lot of time spent reading back in the bedroom or surfing the Net on her computer . That was when she was home at all , because she had to go back to the office to work late twice , and she found the need to go shopping alone Saturday and Sunday . That wasn 't like Alice , not at all , but there 's an instant when something hits you , when the possibility that something bad could happen becomes real to you , and it hadn 't yet hit me . Maybe she 'd run out for some groceries . But she hadn 't left a note . There weren 't any phone messages . Where ? What ? I walked through the house . I went through every room . Everything seemed normal , except that Alice wasn 't anywhere . I called her cell number and got voice mail . Alice ? Where are you ? Call home , will you ? I called her office , but it had closed for the day . Six - thirty p . m . Seven . Still no Alice . Stare out the window . Pace . Look again for a note . Make sure the phone is working . Do it all again . The thought kept rising , call the police . Call them now , before it 's too late . Maybe there was an accident . Maybe something else . Maybe what ? I was beginning to get an inkling of the ' what . ' I knew it , but I didn 't want to think it , that it was me . My chest and stomach felt hollow and electrical current spread down both my arms . Have you had those terrible feelings ? I almost hoped there had been an accident . God , Alice . What is it ? Where are you ? Could she have left me ? Could I have blown it that badly and not have a clue ? I 'm dense , but not that dense . Could I have missed something so big ? Maybe I should call her sister first , to check on her . How do I explain the call ? Hi Deb , I can 't find Alice . Has she left me ? But what else to do ? Call the police . Wait ! If she left she 'd take a bag . I ran back to the bedroom closet . Of course a suitcase was gone , and by now I knew Alice was , too . So it really was time to call Deb ; maybe Jessica . What was happening ? What was it ? Was the sex a parting gift , a way to make the break easier for her , a goodbye blow job , something to lessen the guilt ? I didn 't answer . I couldn 't . I didn 't understand . It was surreal . Could Alice really be with Richard ? How ? I did not understand . I stood there with the phone pushed to my ear , staring at a print above the phone stand , and none of it made any sense to me . Finally . . . " Put her on . " " In a moment , Henry . In a moment . She 'll have a hard time talking to you , so I told her I 'd speak with you first . Alice is with me , and she 's staying with me . She 's my woman now . You 'll have to get over her . " His voice was as warm and jolly as ever . " Sure , Henry , sure . But try to control yourself . This isn 't easy for her , and she 's just trying to grab some happiness in her dreary life . " There was a crackling sound as he handed the phone to Alice . " Henry , I 'm sorry . I couldn 't tell you , but I had to get out . I was smothering . I couldn 't stand it anymore . " " What do you mean ? What 's going on ? I don 't understand , Alice . I love you ! Please , come home so we can talk . " Short , direct little sentences , one after the other , like footsteps leading away . But not an explanation . She was unhappy . She wanted out . Why now ? There was the coldness recently . But a week ago she loved me . What happened ? Where was the unhappiness ? All Richard 's phones are unlisted . I called the numbers I knew but no one answered , so I left messages everywhere . " Richard . I need to speak with Alice . Have her call me , or come by , or anything . Richard , do it ! We have to talk . I need to understand ! " I called Deb . " Henry ! " she scolded , " I don 't know what 's going on with you two . She told me she was making a change . Let me finish ! It was just today , this morning . What did you do ? " I called Jessica . Bill answered . " What did you do , Henry ? I can 't believe Alice would just up and leave out of the blue . Some women , but not her . " No , Jessica hadn 't heard anything at all . You 'd call everyone you could think of if she were yours , if it was all you could do in the night , dialing people who were almost strangers to tell them you 'd lost your wife and did they know anything , had they heard anything , was there anything at all they could tell you . So our whole world knew almost right away . " She went with him ? " He 's that well known . Yes , yes , and yes , she did . At least none of them asked me what I had done to deserve it . I have trouble remembering separate things , details , from that night and the next few days . I was too frantic to keep my thoughts ordered . I think it was around midnight that it occurred to me to drive to Richard 's estate . It 's his own gated community of one , lined with trees from the eastern woodlands that could drink the desert dry . I had the security guard at the gate call the house . He talked for a moment , glancing down into the car at me every few seconds as though I might be a troublemaker . " I 'm sorry , sir . He 's staying at another residence tonight . The staff doesn 't know when he will return to this one . " I asked the logical question and got the answer I expected . " No , sir . We aren 't authorized to reveal his location . " Shit . What was he doing to Alice while I chased my tail ? He had her tail all to himself , didn 't he ? I drove to Richard 's office building at dawn , when everything was still quiet , and waited in the car until people started to arrive . At nine I called Alice 's office and got her administrative assistant . Another surprise . She had quit . Last week . She hadn 't even given them two weeks ' notice . So she was changing everything in her life , cutting out everyone and everything and especially me . I couldn 't have been bad enough to have caused that . She could have gone to Deb 's , gotten an apartment , demanded counseling . It was him . Only him . That son of a bitch ! A dark limo pulled into Richard 's parking space and I jumped out of my car and ran to it without even closing my door . I needn 't have bothered . The passenger window rolled down and I was looking at some attorney . " As you can see , Mr . Moriarty is not here . Moreover , you are not welcome on these premises . If you do not leave right away we will have you removed . " A PI I 've used once told me people should never think they can 't be found . They leave traces . Hell , Richard hardly tried . He had the money to make himself unavailable . My PI found two other residences with a couple of hours work , along with three more phone numbers , registrations on four cars , two work addresses , the whole McGillicuddy . I drove to the first address , another gated estate . The same two men were waiting for me there . They followed me as I went on to find the third residence , and then to Richard 's other work address , where they were met by two more men . I went home and began calling all his numbers , leaving voice messages all over . I called his offices over and over . His attack secretaries got to not answering . Fucking caller ID ! I drove to a spot a few blocks from one of Richard 's estates , parked , and began looking for a chink in its fortifications , but within five minutes the second set of large men came out to greet me . This time they grabbed me and hustled me back to my car . " Listen , you fucker ! " one said . " Stay away from Mr . Moriarty or you 're going to get hurt ! " Not nearly as polite . I finally saw Richard because he came to see me . It was a few days later , two or three I guess , and I was sitting in the living room staring at a wall , out of ideas and out of gas . Alice , my wife , my life partner . She was gone , and it was out of the blue , and it was with Mr . Sex . I jumped when the doorbell rang . There he was , flanked by the two polite bodyguards , one of whom positioned himself partly between the two of us . " What do you mean ? What have you done with her ? " God , I wanted to kill him . That was the moment I hated him above all the other moments that would follow . " Oh , you don 't want to ask that , Henry . I 've done plenty with her . Our lovemaking is , oh , very imaginative . And I might add ' passionate . ' Why , the things you never did to her ! " Richard looked a little impatient . " Look , Henry . I seduced her , okay ? I convinced her I 'm the man who can give her these experiences she 's missed . And it 's true . I can . So I talked her into it . " " Henry , Henry , Henry . If I have to tell you it won 't do any good . The fact is that a lot of women are pretty easy if you approach them right . Alice was as easy as any . Men are so pussy - whipped they think they have to be sensitive , and supportive , and all that , to get them . " He twisted out the word " sensitive . " " But that 's not what most women want . Some . Not most . They 're so transparent if you look at whom they gravitate toward . They want a man with a capital M . They want him clever and strong and rich and powerful and experienced . He has to be smarter than they are . And they want him aggressive and a little controlling . For this guy , they want to be his special girl . " " They deny it . They think they should be feminists , but it 's true . Then , once they make the commitment to a guy , in their heads , he can make them do almost anything . They 'll like most of it , too . Didn 't you ever wonder why so many of them change their feelings about sex to match his , start doing the sexual things he wants ? Almost all the women into swinging and bondage started doing it to please their men . And it isn 't just sex . You find it in all kinds of attitudes . You see it but you don 't understand it . If he 's in charge that 's how it usually works out . That 's why so many stay with batterers and child rapers . They can 't imagine life without him , and they 'll do anything to try to stay his special little thang . " " You want to know how I got to your little Alice , don 't you ? God , it was so easy ! I seduced her over the phone . By the second call I knew I was in , figuratively speaking . You wouldn 't believe how much fun it is with those bitches who think they 're tough and want to show it by being insulting . No , of course you wouldn 't , Henry . You don 't know how to seduce a woman at all . If you ever did it , it was by luck . " " I 'm never fooled by appearances , " he said . " She thought she was supposed to hate me but I was this fantasy man . I could offer her so many things . I became the man in her imagination . I 'm sure after my first call she was wondering what it would be like to be fucked by me . Maybe before that , after the New Year 's thing . That 's the way the sex works out , Henry dear . Don 't think women go into it wanting the pleasure . Oh , they love the pleasure all right . But first they want the man . She commits to him in her mind and then she starts wanting him to do her . And she 'll get off by letting him fuck with her . " " Gotta go , Henry . By the way , this was just a courtesy call . You should leave Alice alone . She doesn 't want to see you , and I wouldn 't want things to become . . . unpleasant . But who knows ? Maybe one day we can all be friends again . Meanwhile , if you need to leave a message , call this number only . " A CD arrived the next day . The bell rang again . It only brought bad news . This time it was a courier , who hand - delivered the thing . What would you do with it ? I went straight to a CD player and popped it in . It was a recording of Richard 's first call to Alice . His way of boasting . What it told me was that everything he 'd said was true . Richard had seduced Alice just like he said he had . He was truthful , I thought one of the most truthful people I 've ever known . I still have the CD . It 's stored carefully , and I transferred the text to my hard drive so I could listen to it over and over , when I wanted to torture myself . Listen . " Of course she does ! Dear , dear Alice . It was part of the fantasy . Couldn 't you see how excited she became by it all ? Everything was a fantasy scene we worked out in advance , so she could experience something she 'd only imagined . So she got to live it out . I thought surely you recognized that . I saw it in your eyes . Everything that really drives people has large dollops of fantasy , you know , and New Year 's Eve drove Diane into a such a state . " " A day at the office . I build my life around fantasy . You know that . It 's made me wealthy . And free . And in demand . " " Don 't try so hard to convince yourself , lovely Alice . You find me more intriguing than you let on . And I find you irresistible . But it was only half a show . It was a scene . She accepted the rules before we started , the rules of the fantasy . She was bound to uphold her side . If she didn 't , if it were just a show , she wouldn 't have been half so aroused . She had to know I could play out everything in the role of master , to give her fantasy world the illusion of reality . If you 'd like , I could ask her to explain it to you . " On the tape Richard explodes in a warm laugh , sounding completely un - self conscious , before he responds : " Well , yes to the first part . " He laughs again . " But not so arrogant that I think I can just swoop in and a lady will find me irresistible . Things are muchly much more complex than that ! " Again he laughs . " Heavens no ! Good fantasy requires imagination and a mind for myriad details , but it also needs enormous preparation . That 's why most people 's fantasies go nowhere . One must master them , play with them , plot reasonable paths and outcomes , deal with logistics . And it requires action . It takes all that to grow fantasy into something more than a desperate yearning within you when you 're having your coitus . " Finally she says something , in a quieter voice , all the high - spirited , romance - novel challenge drained from it . " I think I better go now , Richard . I 'm not one of your girls . I 'm a happily married woman . I 'm not looking for your games . " " No . Of course not , Alice . " Richard 's voice drops , both volume and timbre . " I never suggested otherwise . I apologize . I 'm not that presumptuous . And yet . And yet you do have fantasies , unspoken ones . You make love in predictable ways , at predictable times . And you bring the fantasies up from the back of your mind when you 're doing it . Maybe before you start . Maybe they 're what get you excited in the first place . They 're your most private thoughts , not even for Henry . " A very brief silence . He didn 't let it drag , the bastard . His timing comes out on the tape . " Tell me I 'm wrong , Alice . Tell me that honestly . " " Of course not , Alice . I apologize again . I 'm explaining what I do . I evolve fantasies for people , and I charge them for the job . I charge them excessively . I tell them everyone 's can be more , and it 's true . Later they come back and pay me more to take their fantasies further or to craft new ones . There can always be more . Fantasy is what makes life really worth living for the thinking person . You know yours can be more . I do that for people , and it 's worth it to them to pay me very well . " Here it seems she tries to make a joke of the conversation with a laugh that is only a little bit forced . " I don 't know why I let you go on like this ! Like I said , I 'm not going to be one of your little fantasy girls . " He laughs again , and it 's not forced at all . " And yet here you are , talking with the enemy when you could have hung up long ago . " He laughs once again , then says something with faux sadness : " I guess I 'll just have to go away with my own little fantasies of you . " She laughs , still forced : " Yes , I guess so . " There 's a hesitation . " Though I don 't think I like your having fantasies of me . You don 't have my permission to have any . " " But as you said , everyone has fantasies . I 'm simply more honest about them . That 's part of why I 'm good with them , why they 're my business , because I 'm not like other people , not ashamed of them . " Then he sounds more serious . " And they 're mine . I don 't need permission . Goethe wrote , If I love you , what business is it of yours ? " He lets the silence hang this time . I can imagine him timing it , deciding how long he should give her . It 's only about five seconds before she responds , but it seems longer . " Well . Well , I don 't know . " Her mouth seems dry : " Maybe you should . Tell me . I think . . . I think you should tell me what they are . " Another pause . She 's ill at ease . He has her . " Because I think I might worry about them . About what you 're thinking . " " Well . . . " He drags it out , again . It 's as though he 's taking long drag on a cigarette and letting it out slowly : " In this one I 'm licking and sucking your pussy . " Another pause . Then : " Oh . " I can 't tell if that 's a question or a statement , or if it 's a little gasp , caught and molded at the last instant . " Heavens no ! It 's just that such a woman as you might throttle me with your thighs at just the wrong moment , and we couldn 't have that , could we ? " He laughs , but continues before she can interject : " But really this is for you , so that you can 't control how it goes , or how long it goes , and so you get to experience the delicious mixture of helplessness and pleasure . Because in the fantasy I press my tongue against your spot with hard , steady pressure , then move it up and down and around . I make you hot , but I go slowly , slowly , slowly , and I make it drag on once you 're high enough . " " Because I have a belt . If you say anything at all , you know I 'll whip you . So you have to take it . My tongue is moving over your clitoris , around and around . My mouth is hot on you . " She delays responding . I can picture her wondering what to say , and how to phrase it . She sounds almost empty of air when she finally comes back on . " So . What 's in that fantasy for you , if you 're busy pleasuring the woman ? " " My time will come , I 'm sure . And I get to experience you the entire time , Alice , in so many ways . I feel your flesh and feel you move . And I see you under me , your sweet body , your face . Do you know you close your eyes when you 're inflamed ? " " And I taste you . You taste musky in my fantasy , Alice . I smell your musk as you become more aroused . It ' sa like a wonderful cologne . And I get to hear you . I 'm experiencing Alice with all my senses . I hear every breath , every gasp , every little whimper , every sound of disappointment when I let up a little and every moan as I go faster and harder on you . You move your body because you can 't help responding , Alice . You get so caught up in it . At some . . . "

" Who am I ? " It 's a question that 's important because you are interested in my story . But I 'm not what makes the story interesting . The truth is , I 'm nobody . I 'm not rich , not great looking , there 's no talent that makes me extraordinary and I don 't sweep women off their feet . I 'm just an average guy with an average life . The only thing that makes me special is my daughter . To say she 's the light of my life would be an understatement . Her smile lights up the room . Her enthusiasm is beyond contagious . The way she sees the world makes me understand how important it is to live my life the right way . She can bring this 35 year - old man to tears just by saying " I love you , daddy . " I was 27 and living an ordinary life when I met Katie . She was a few years older than me and had been a little more adventurous in her life . She was an attractive blonde with a quirky personality . I think the thing that I appreciated the most was her sense of humor . It was fun - loving with just a touch of cynicism . We quickly became friends . We stayed close for a few months , watching each other go through one bad relationship after another . Finally it seemed like a good idea to take a look at each other . It only took three dates for us to take things to the next level . We went to my place after dinner , then straight to my room . Neither of us spoke , we just knew it was what we both wanted . I found out quickly she liked to be in charge and was quite aggressive . She kissed me lustfully , her tongue searching for mine . I was surprised when she moved her lips to my neck and began lightly biting up and down the side . Her hand unbuckled my belt and reach into my pants . Without any preamble , she began jerking me off while moving her mouth to my chest . When my shirt prevented her from going lower , she dropped to her knees and took me in her mouth . I groaned with pleasure . She took several inches of my very hard prick into her mouth and used her hand to cover the rest . I could feel her tongue swirling side to side across the underside of my shaft while she moved her mouth up and down . It had been a while since I had been intimate with someone , so it couldn 't have been more than a few minutes before I could feel myself reach the point of no return . She pulled back and stroked me quickly while using her other hand to catch my sperm . I guess you could say that it was a metaphor for our entire relationship . Big build up , not such a great finish . The eventual sex between us was good , but not great . When we finished I could sense that even though we both enjoyed ourselves , there was something missing . We were friends and probably shouldn 't have crossed that line . We kept dating for a little over a month , when we both came to the conclusion that we just weren 't compatible . It wasn 't a horrible breakup , just a parting of the ways . Two weeks later she called to ask if I 'd stop by . When I got to the door , she greeted me nervously . I thought that she wanted to give it another shot . Since I was still fond of her , I was prepared to say yes , if we could just take it slower this time . Instead she said the words that shook me to my core . And life spirals . . . " But . . . But you said that you couldn 't get pregnant ! " I said , stunned . We hadn 't bothered with birth control because neither of us was promiscuous and she had a medical condition that prevented pregnancy . Her doctor had said she wouldn 't be able to conceive even if she underwent treatment . " I know what my doctor said , but I 'm pregnant . There hasn 't been anyone else ; it 's yours . What are we going to do ? " My head spun . The thought that maybe she would have an abortion so I could get off the hook flashed unbidden through my mind . I was immediately ashamed . I have always wanted children and there was no way I could ask for something like that . Luckily , she couldn 't either . We talked about what to do for weeks . Finally we agreed to do our best to make things work between us . We went through months of couples counseling and I moved in to help support and take care of her . Danielle was born shortly thereafter and I couldn 't have been happier . She was perfect . Because the doctors did a C - Section delivery , she was born looking the way she would for her entire childhood . Her pictures from 3 months to 7 years looked just like the same person , only bigger . The first 6 months were the happiest of my life . I had never been around babies , so didn 't know what to expect . They depend on you for everything ; food , protection , comfort and affection . She would look at me like I was her entire world . Love isn 't something you talk about or plan , it is just a given . The bond we forged was far stronger than anything I could have imagined . Unfortunately , her mother and I weren 't so lucky . It turned out our original decision to break up had been the correct one . There was no hope for us . Too different , too stubborn and painfully unhappy with each other . After helping her raise Danielle for 6 months , she asked me to move out and part of me was relieved . I was crushed to be leaving my baby girl , to have no more nights tucking her in or stopping by to kiss her head in the middle of the night , but she was right ; it was time to go . Things were strained , but we managed to get along well enough , until we had to go to court . Once the lawyers got involved , we went from not getting along , to us actively hating each other . It didn 't happen overnight , but it took a depressingly short period of time . I don 't know if it was the stress of not having control over our own fate , or if it was just having to talk through third parties , but neither of us came out ahead . We argued , threatened each other and were consumed with each of us wondering what the other would do next to be spiteful . Sometimes I felt like I was losing my mind . I disagreed with most of the things she did , from daycare to her dating life . We even used our daughter as a weapon against each other . To this day the pain of that is as clear in my mind as any other memory . I made it through three years of living week to week , just waiting for my time with Dani . We did everything she could want . I tried not to spoil her , but I wanted to experience everything through her eyes . Truth be told , I also was a little afraid of her not having the same kind of memories with me that she did with her mother . One of the biggest downsides of being a single father is the jealousy you feel toward the other parent . Just after she turned four , I met Jenny . It was pure dumb luck . I had a small company that coordinated private parties . We provided the event planning , entertainment and catering . It wasn 't making me rich , but it was a fun job and I enjoyed it . I was hosting a company dinner party for a friend named Kathy . During the party she introduced me to her daughter Jenny who had just flown in from New York to visit . Jenny was twenty - five years old and had been a professional dancer for almost a decade . Unfortunately she told me she had to give it up because of a string of injuries that left her with a number of knee surgeries , making any career in dancing impossible . She came to spend time with her mom while she figured out what to do with her life . I found out we had a great deal in common . Talking with her was like hanging out with someone I 'd known for years . However , while I found her very attractive , I also believed in the axiom that you don 't mess around with clients ' daughters , so was content to make small talk . Usually I was nervous around women I was that attracted to , but I guess my feelings that nothing could happen allowed me to relax and be myself . We talked for over an hour and I was enchanted . At the end of the night I felt a pang of regret when I had to go home by myself . Two days later my cell phone rang . I didn 't recognize the number , so hoped it might be a potential client . " Hello , " I said pleasantly . " Hi , it 's Jenny . I was wondering if you were busy tonight . I don 't know anyone here , but I wanted to see the city . Would you be interested in showing me around ? " I tried to sound nonchalant , but probably failed miserably . My stomach was doing cartwheels . " Sure , I 'd love to . What do you want to do ? " The moment I hung up the phone , the wheels started turning . Working in the entertainment business , I 'd made great contacts all over the city . I made several calls and came up with what I thought would be the perfect date . When I showed up at her mom 's place to pick her up , I was floored . She was beautiful at the party , but I underestimated just how beautiful . When she was made up to go out on the town , she was an angel . Long curly black hair , brown eyes , beautiful lips that curled at the ends into just the hint of a smirk and freckles . I 'm not saying she should have been a model ; it was more like the girl next door kind of attractiveness . She was definitely the most beautiful woman I 'd ever been out with . We went to the art museum , then to the ballet . It must have been amusing for her . I don 't know anything about art and even less about the ballet so she spent the bulk of the date explaining things to me . I wasn 't sure if I was endearing or annoying , but she seemed to enjoy educating me about culture . The ballet was particularly great . She intently watched everything , her eyes sparkling . I thought about how much she must have wished she was in the company . I watched her face as the show went on . At times she looked quite emotional , making me wonder how it would feel to be great at what you do , only to be forced to give it up . I had an overwhelming desire to put my arm around her . Not in a calculating way , but just to comfort her . Instead I settled for holding her hand . After the show we went out to dinner . It was the kind of restaurant that I normally couldn 't have afforded . Thankfully , bartering had become part of my life , and I found I was quite talented at it . All it took was a promise to do a favor for the manager , and voila . . . it was suddenly very affordable . Over the course of the dinner I found that she was even better company than I had first thought . She was smart , had a razor sharp wit and wicked sense of humor . Our conversation went from politics to our favorite game shows seamlessly . When I talked to her about my daughter , she eagerly listened and asked a number of questions . It really had an impact on me because most people just nod and patiently try to humor you despite their lack of real interest . We finished the date by making out in the front seat of my car like teenagers . She had the softest lips I 've ever kissed . I tried to keep control of the situation , not wanting her to think it was just physical for me . When we finally said goodnight , I drove home wondering what I could possibly do to top it . Turns out I didn 't have to be worried . Jenny was just as comfortable going out for pizza and catching a band as she was hobnobbing with the rich and famous . I was relieved because that wasn 't the kind of lifestyle that interested me . I 'm a hamburger kind of guy . Steak and lobster is cool once in a while , but trying to pretend you are something you 're not is a bad way to start a relationship . A couple weeks and a half - dozen dates later , we went out for dinner and dancing . I had been dreading it since the first date . I was definitely no Fred Astaire and was afraid she was going to take one look at me on the dance floor and change her mind about me . It quickly became a non - issue . She was so graceful that I actually didn 't feel like a complete fool . We wheeled around the dance floor like we 'd been doing it for years . Every man in the bar must have been envious of me . She looked amazing and the way she moved was breathtaking . I 've always loved talented women . Musicians , artists and especially dancers have always affected me differently than most women . There is an elegance to their movements that goes far beyond sensuality . As the night wore on I took almost as much pleasure in watching Jenny dance as I did by dancing with her . I felt an uncomfortable feeling in my gut and realized I was falling for her faster than I thought was possible . Afterward we went to my place . She sat down on the living room couch and I put on some music . I touched her face with my hand , tilting it slightly so I could kiss her . She closed her eyes and let me take control . As our lips met , her mouth opened and I could feel her tongue softly enter my mouth . After a few seconds , I dropped my lips to her neck and began nibbling up and down the side . I moved to the front and let my tongue slowly trace from the top of her chest up to her chin , then back to those wonderful lips . I was going slowly , wanting to be patient and let things build . I moved my hands to her blouse and began unbuttoning it starting from the top . When I reached the bottom , I stopped kissing her to watch as I slid it off her shoulders . She had small breasts like most dancers . I unclasped the bra in front and moved it away . I loved her breasts . There is no hint of sagging , she has the most perfect pink nipples that were erect and her areolas are about the size of a silver dollar . They look a little large because of the size of the breasts , but I found them to be very sexy . I lowered my face and took a nipple into my mouth . As I nibbled lightly , she moaned and I felt the urge to be more aggressive . I pulled her tightly to me , increasing my aggression with her breasts . After a short time I stopped and suggested we move upstairs . To my delight she eagerly agreed . Once in my bedroom , I had her stand at the foot of the bed while I unbuttoned her jeans . I pulled them down her legs , dragging her red panties with them . I got a surprise when I noticed that as they moved down her hips , no pubic hair appeared . When her pussy finally came into view I couldn 't help grinning at the sight . My hands were shaking as I pushed her to a sitting position on the bed . I already felt so strongly about her ; I wanted this to be great . I pushed her legs apart and tentatively kissed my way up her thigh . She put her hands on the back of my head ; letting me know I was on the right track . I finally let myself make contact with her labia . I began licking around her lips , trying to find the spots that I 'd need to remember later . When I felt like she was ready , I urged her down until she was lying on the bed with her legs off of the end . I put one leg on my shoulder and attacked her clit enthusiastically . I could feel her juices already flowing . The movement of her hips against my face signaled her arousal , so without removing my mouth I took a finger and slid it back and forth across her lips . After making sure she was wet enough , I sank it all the way into her with one , smooth motion . She moaned louder and lifted her hips off of the bed , encouraging me to penetrate her faster , this time while sucking on her clit . I could feel her legs quiver and felt pride in my ability to drive this beautiful woman so wild . I added a second finger and softly turned my hand as they pushed into her . The noises she made changed to short , uncontrolled bursts and I suspected she was close . When she finished cumming , I moved up her body , dragging my tongue softly all the way . When I reached her face , she didn 't hesitate to kiss me deeply . I began moving my cock up and down her now drenched pussy , searching for the entrance . She tried to stop me , " Isn 't it your turn now ? " She was smiling , which gave me the feeling she was very proud of her oral skills . I couldn 't wait to find out later , but right now I just wanted to be inside her . I lodged the head inside her , but she put out her hands to stop me from entering further . When I gave her a questioning look , she wrapped her legs behind me and slowly pulled me inside of her . It was the single most erotic feeling I 've ever had . She was tight , warm and unbelievably wet . I suddenly wished I would have let her go down on me . I hadn 't had sex in a long time and didn 't want to disappoint her . I moved slowly , getting used to how she felt and how she responded . As I felt more comfortable , I began kissing her and rotating my hips trying to touch every inch of her . She rocked her hips up to meet my thrusts , making me feel like she was fucking me , even though I was on top . I returned my mouth to her breasts , trying to find a way to return the sensations I was feeling . I reached behind one of her legs and brought it up high , allowing me to penetrate slightly deeper . Although I know I 'm not hung in a way that women tell their friends about , I was just right for Jenny . I heard her moan when I finally got all the way inside of her . Her pussy gripped me snugly , accentuated by the contractions her muscles made . Again I reflected on how perfect everything seemed to be between us . My random thought almost betrayed me as I felt myself reach the edge of an orgasm . She didn 't say a word , but slid out from under me . I got onto my back in the middle of the bed as she kneeled beside me . She gave me a couple seconds to gain control again as she lazily dragged her tongue over my stomach , then down my leg . When she made the return trip up , she took my cock into her mouth for just a second , nibbling on the head . She looked up at me and flashed me a nasty smile that made me realize the adventures were just starting . I had no doubt that she was going to challenge me constantly . She straightened up and swung one leg over to straddle me , taking me by the shaft and rubbing it slowly back and forth across her opening . I grabbed the sheets with both hands and squeezed as the sensation made me want to thrust hard into her . She took her time , teasing me as she slowly lowered herself . She let the head and about a couple of inches slide inside of her then smiled as she raised herself up and almost off , then slid down just a bit further . I took the opportunity to admire the rest of her body . She had slim hips with an even slimmer waist . Her shape was more that of a college cheerleader than an adult woman , but it was beautiful . Her heritage blessed her with naturally darker skin , so there were no tan lines , just a smooth , light brown that covered her whole body . I thought she was an incredibly beautiful woman . I couldn 't imagine how she could possibly be sexier . She let go of me with her hand and leaned forward across my body . As she licked and bit at my chest , she continued moving her hips , pushing me inside her . She would go halfway down my shaft and then , on the next thrust , would only go an inch . After several minutes of this maddening teasing , I grabbed her hips and tried to push myself deeper . She had a mischievous look in her eyes and said , " No way , I 'm in charge now . " She just moved further forward and prevented me from getting what I wanted . Jenny kept up her teasing for several long minutes , her coy smile letting me know that she was enjoying my torture . Finally she took pity on me and pulled my head forward to kiss me as she slid down hard and drove me all the way into her . She leaned back again and drove herself down onto me faster and harder , causing me to believe she was heading for another orgasm . There was no doubt I was almost there . I tried to think of baseball , politics , or anything else that would keep me from finishing and ending the incredible moment . It wasn 't easy , she had a way of rotating her hips as she was also raising and lowering them that felt like nothing I 'd ever experienced . Suddenly she pushed down hard on me and leaned further back . She squeezed my hands tightly as I felt her whole body shake in a powerful orgasm . She made a noise that was somewhere between a moan and a squeal . I couldn 't suppress a smile . It seemed like there wasn 't anything about her that I didn 't find enchanting . After taking a second to bask in her pleasure , she turned her attention back to me . She got a determined look in her eye and started raising herself almost the entire length of my shaft , then dropping down hard . It started slowly , but gained speed on every thrust . After only another minute I warned her that I was close . She looked into my eyes and saw that I was serious . I had already told her how Dani had been completely unexpected and she must have realized why I was alarmed . Without another word she moved off of me , slid down and took me deeply into her mouth . She furiously pumped my cock with her fist as she kept sucking on the head . I arched my back as my hands clenched so hard I could feel my nails dig into my own skin . She had me feeling as aroused as I could ever remember . Her mouth felt incredible . " I 'm cumming Jen , " I groaned . She turned her eyes up to meet mine and let another couple of inches slide into her mouth . As I came , she never moved , swallowing deeply several times . When she knew I was through , she slid up my body , dragging her breasts against my skin . She kissed me and tried to slide her tongue into my mouth . I hesitated because I had never kissed a girl right after that before . After a moment I decided my concerns were irrelevant , so kissed her back . She kept moving her hips back and forth , dragging the lips of her pussy against my sensitive shaft while kissing me . Abruptly she pulled her knees to either side of my chest , sat back on my stomach and put her hands on her hips . We dated exclusively and very seriously from that night on . A few weeks later I anxiously got my daughter ready as I prepared her to meet Jenny . As much as I liked her , there was no future for us if she and Dani didn 't take to each other quickly . My daughter was my life and I made no secret of it . Thankfully , it wasn 't an issue . It took about 5 minutes to see how well they clicked . Jenny loved to run her fingers through Danielle 's hair while they talked . I could tell that my daughter really enjoyed her affection and the way Jenny read to her like she had been doing it all her life . Before the night was over , she even showed Danielle how a ballerina danced . It was absolutely perfect . I was pretty sure that Jenny was already in love with me and I had no doubt that I felt the same for her . The way she acted toward Danielle just made me feel more strongly about her . At the end of the night she said her goodbyes and left with a hug for each of us . I took Dani upstairs to get ready for bed . When I finished reading her bedtime story , she got a very serious look on her face . Life can be wonderful . . . It was four months later when I got the call . It was Katie and I could tell she 'd been crying . She just said , " We need to talk . " When I arrived at her house , she informed me that she hadn 't been feeling well . She went to her doctor and the tests came back that morning . Pituitary cancer , advanced stages , no cure . I was speechless . Over the last year , things had gotten somewhat better between us . She and I stopped arguing so much , which helped us stop questioning each other 's motives . Once that happened , the hatred of our past faded . Now it was easy to put my negative feelings aside , realizing my daughter was going to lose her mother . " Yes , you need to take Danielle now . I 'm going to be too sick to take care of her very soon and she needs to get used to being with you all the time . She 's all I 'm leaving behind and I want her to be happy . " 3 Months later she was gone . Danielle was devastated . She couldn 't understand why and I couldn 't explain it . It took months to see her return to her old self . I felt so helpless . Jenny understood the situation with Danielle and spent as much time with her as possible . They grew very close and I could tell there was a bond growing that eased my daughter 's pain . I don 't know how I would have made it through that time without her help . I waited six months to propose , out of respect to my daughter . I was afraid she would think I was trying to replace her mom . When I finally was sure the time was right , I asked Dani first , to make sure there wouldn 't be any problems . She seemed very happy about it , anxious for something positive to look forward to . The first thing to do was get the ring . I know in this day and age men are supposed to let the woman pick out the ring so she can get exactly what she wants , but I 'm old - fashioned . I wanted to surprise her with a ring and I wanted it to be one she would love . I found out early in the relationship that Jenny had a thing for yellow roses . She couldn 't get enough of them . Over the months I surprised her with bouquets , figurines and even a professional painting done by a friend . Surprisingly she never seemed to tire of the gesture . It became kind of a game between us for me to find new ways to surprise her . I talked to an artist I had worked with in the past and had him put together a design that we both thought was exceptional . I had the number for a jeweler who owned his own shop . When he got married a couple years earlier , I had to step in at the last second and fix a mess another company had created . He was so happy that he promised to do anything he could to make it up to me . After walking me through my options , he agreed to give me a break on the price so I could afford it . He beat me up badly for future favors , but it all worked out . Then next thing was to work out a plan . I thought about a public proposal , but couldn 't figure out how to do it right , so decided it would be best to do it in private . I wanted to somehow include Danielle . I had read that kids sometimes feel helpless when their parents remarry . Since they have no say in the decision , they can resent the spouse . I decided to ask her to help , both because I thought Jenny would love it and to make her feel more involved . She was very excited to be my co - conspirator . I took Jenny out to see a concert pianist who was touring the states . He was in town for one night only and I was able to score very good seats . It was an amazing experience for both of us . We came home to find a candlelight dinner consisting of smoked salmon from her favorite seafood restaurant and a great variety of side dishes all hand - picked by an excellent local chef . Jenny seemed thrilled with everything . We ate and talked until we couldn 't finish another bite . I excused myself for a moment and found Danielle upstairs with Tammy , the next - door neighbor 's daughter who watched her for me sometimes . I told her it was time for Dani to help me , so she could go home . Tammy smiled happily and wished me luck . I took a very excited Danielle downstairs to the dinning room . Jenny jumped up to hug her and began telling her the details of our wonderful night . I distracted her for a moment and winked at Dani . She pulled the small box out of her pocket . Jenny 's hands shook as she took the box from Danielle 's hand . She opened it and found a ring that someone like me shouldn 't have been able to afford . An ornately crafted silver band with a stalk running all the way around and opening into a beautiful yellow rose ( with the biggest diamond I could afford on top ) . I took it from the case and put it on her finger . We had an amazing honeymoon . Her mom watched Dani for a week while we flew to New York . She introduced me to all her old friends and made me feel like royalty . We stayed in a great hotel and spent every night having insanely passionate sex . By the end of the week I was actually glad to go home where I could get a little rest . She was insatiable . When we got back we settled into a great rhythm . Jenny got a job as a secretary for a construction company . It wasn 't her dream job , but paid well and the hours allowed her the freedom to spend a lot of time with both Dani and me . Everything just flowed without either of us having to work at it . We shared many interests , so it was rare that either of us had to talk the other into doing anything . We set up special dates so each of us could try new things . The rules were the person owning the date got to do whatever they wanted and the other had to go along with no complaints . If it wasn 't enjoyable you didn 't have to repeat it , but there was no turning one down without at least trying . Her dates were very interesting . She knew how to have a great time doing something unexpected . I 'm not sure how much she liked my outings , but she was always a good sport and made me feel like it was important to her . The sex was amazing . I never dreamed of finding a woman who could shock me in the bedroom . There was almost nothing I could think of that she wasn 't eager to try . My favorite was the candy cane incident . I surprised Jenny one night with a regular sized candy cane ( about 6 " long and kind of thin ) . We laid down some towels to keep from making our bed sticky forever . After teasing her by running it over the lips of her pussy for several minutes , I gently pushed it inside her . I began a soft fucking motion with it as I licked and nibbled her thighs , first one , than the other . After working her into a frenzy , I finally obeyed her pleas and began licking her lightly from her clit down to the edge of the treat that I was still fucking her with . As her excitement continued to build , I decided to tease her just a little more . I pulled it out and showed the mostly melted candy cane to her while luxuriously licking one side . Then I gently pushed it into her mouth and let her enjoy it while I worked on her now remarkably sweet pussy . The sensation was remarkable because instead of trying to find ways to please her , I was licking and sucking wildly because it was so enjoyable for me . It probably wasn 't the best technique I 'd ever used , but the effect was undeniable . She had a huge orgasm and told me she 'd find a way to pay me back . After not talking about it again for a couple of months , the topic resurfaced on Christmas . She gave me her nastiest smile as I opened one of her presents . . . a 10 inch long candy cane that was about an inch wide . We did things like that constantly for close to two years . About two months before our second anniversary , something changed . I don 't know why , but we fell out of rhythm . When I was in the mood , she wasn 't and vice versa . If I was having a good day , she had a bad one at work . When she wanted to go out , I was tired . It wasn 't that we fought or had severe drama ; we just couldn 't get on the same page . Being a guy , I guess I underestimated the impact on her . To me it was an inconvenience , but I think she felt it more deeply . She might have even feared we were growing apart , but she wouldn 't say anything to me . When we did try to talk about it , nothing seemed to get settled . We both tried to fix the problems , but things always seemed to get in the way . A few weeks before our anniversary , she got a call from her friend Megan . She was one of Jenny 's NY friends I met during our honeymoon . Megan moved to town after our first anniversary and they resumed their close friendship immediately . I never really cared for her because she gave me the impression I wasn 't welcome when they went out . It wasn 't bad enough to complain about to Jenny , but we didn 't seem to click at all . I took it as an opportunity to let Jenny have a slice of her old life . She could go do things with Megan , allowing me to have some time to do things just for me . I also liked the chance to have some alone time with Danielle . She was so close with her step - mother that I welcomed the chance to keep part of her just to myself . One of Megan 's oldest girlfriends was getting married in New Orleans . Since she didn 't have a guy to take she asked if Jenny would like to go . I didn 't have any objection , so they planned a trip leaving late Thursday night and coming back late Sunday night . After she left I was surprised at how empty the bed felt for the first time in two years . Jenny didn 't call me all weekend , which seemed unusual for her . I wasn 't too worried about it since I knew there was a lot going on with the rehearsal dinner , bachelorette party , then the wedding Sunday afternoon . There were also a lot of shopping things planned for the women who hadn 't been together in years . I thought about calling her to say hi , but didn 't want to interrupt . I found that three days without her made a big impact on me . I really missed her , despite the problems of the last couple of months . In the three years I had known her , we had done everything together . By Sunday morning I couldn 't wait to see her . I resolved to find a way to fix things immediately no matter what . Even though I wasn 't worried about our rough patch , I felt like it was eating at her . I swore to make it my priority to alleviate her concerns . Next to Danielle , I loved Jenny more than anything and just wanted her to be happy . I got a message from her early Sunday afternoon telling me she was catching an earlier flight . Instead of getting home around midnight , she would be back at 7 : 00 . I didn 't get to talk to her because the call came in while Dani and I were out . We decided to have a big surprise for her , decorating the whole living room and getting her a cake . I left Dani with the sitter and headed to the airport . Jen called me on my cell to tell me she 'd be waiting for me in front of one of the terminals . When I saw her out front waiting , I had to do a double take . She looked terrible . Her hair was a mess , she looked tired and her eyes were red and swollen like she 'd been crying . I stopped the car and jumped out , very concerned . She ran to me without saying a word and hugged me tightly , starting to cry again . She paused and looked down . After a moment she muttered " Megan and I had a terrible fight . I came back by myself . The whole weekend was a disaster . " I could see her shoulder 's heave as she tried to stop crying . I knew we had to get out of there before I got towed , so I steered her to the car . I threw her bags into the back and got on the highway . She leaned against me and I could still feel her crying softly on my shoulder . I made it to a fast food place and pulled into the parking lot . I wanted to help , but didn 't want to push her to talk if she wasn 't ready . " Well , we can if you want , but Dani 's waiting for us with a surprise for you . If you show up like this I 'm afraid she 's going to be really disappointed . We worked on it all day for you . " She looked at me with an expression I couldn 't read . Without another word she put her arms around my neck and pulled me tightly against her . " Can we just sit here a minute ? I missed you so much . I promise to get it together so we can go . I just want you to hold me . I love you more than anything . " She kissed my cheek softly and rested her head against my shoulder again . I was sad her homecoming had been ruined , but to her credit she did compose herself . We went home and she was properly ' surprised ' by the work Dani and I had done . All three of us spent the rest of the night hugging and talking . It was subdued , but we were so glad to have her back it didn 't matter . After we put Danielle to bed , I hoped to find a way to get Jenny in a better mood , but she was exhausted . She went straight to bed and asked me to come hold her . The fight with Megan must have been really bad . As she fell asleep in my arms I felt like a kink had again been thrown into my plan to fix our problems . It turned out to be just the opposite . Jenny was really down all week , but bounced back the next weekend . I hadn 't pushed her for sex because she was so unhappy , but she knocked my socks off Saturday night with the most amazing sex I 'd seen in months . She was so energized and eager to please me that I felt like I wasn 't doing my part . That seemed to be the end of our troubles . For the next six months things were great and she was the perfect wife . For my part I tried my best to make her feel as loved as she was making me feel . Our caring about each other put all the troubles behind us and we regained our rhythm . So now you 're saying to yourself , " Everything 's perfect , how 'd you get here ? " Well , that 's easy . I 'm a pervert . Now don 't get me wrong , I 'm not into anything gross . I don 't get off on looking at sick or twisted pictures . It 's just that despite the fact I have a wonderful wife who fulfills every sexual fantasy I ever had , I like checking out adult Web sites from time to time . It 's harmless and I figured it was better to occasionally get off looking at a pretty girl than constructing some fantasy about someone I knew . Fantasies seemed more like doing something that could undermine my marriage . I don 't do it a lot , maybe a few times a month . My favorites are the amateur sites . Nothing turns me off more than a professional stripper with tens of thousands of dollars worth of plastic surgery pretending to enjoy herself . I 'll take the women whose boyfriends talk them into taping their sex , Girls Gone Wild , or my favorite , the bachelorette party videos . You 've seen them ; drunken girls deciding to jump a bunch of male strippers , even though it 's being taped and the room is full of people . It 's so depraved it 's impossible to stop watching . One Friday night almost six months after our second anniversary , Jenny took Dani out to see a movie . While they were gone , I was goofing around on my computer . I checked my email and saw a new message . It simply said " The best party video ever ! " At first I thought it was spam , but the address was from a hotmail account , so I opened the message . Instead of a link or advertisement , it said " John , I know you like these . This is one you 'll never believe ! " and had a URL . I was perplexed . Who the hell would send me a message like that ? They knew me well enough to know what Web sites I enjoyed , but I had no idea who the address belonged to . I decided to check it out . A site popped up that advertised great videos of women fucking strippers . There were 3 sample videos . I loaded the first and it was pretty typical . The second was a little hotter , but still hadn 't lived up to the praise . Then I clicked on the third . I waited for 5 , maybe 10 seconds and then the video opened . It was about 45 seconds long . At about the 20 second mark , it focused on an attractive male stripper who looked to be college aged . He was banging some impossibly hot brunette from behind while she was going down on the woman in front of her . " Son of a bitch ! " I said , shocked . The girl getting her pussy eaten was Jenny 's friend , Megan . She was beautiful with long blonde hair and nice medium sized tits . I couldn 't see anything else because the woman in front of her was in the way . " Damn , " I muttered . I wasn 't sure if I should enjoy this or not . Although she was beautiful , I didn 't want to see one of Jenny 's friends naked . That kind of image could lead to bad things . On the other hand , it was impossible to tear my eyes from the screen ; the scene was incredibly erotic . Suddenly the cameraman walked to the side of the threesome and the bottom fell out of my world . " Jenny ! " I cried as I felt like I was going to pass out . Life is a hateful , vindictive bitch . . . I had never dreamed of dealing with so many emotions at once . I was angry , jealous and crushed along with a hundred other emotions I couldn 't even identify . I had to be sure , so I clicked on the link again . It came up the same as before . When the cameraman moved to the side , there was my wife , plain as day , going down on her friend while being fucked by a stripper . . . in front of 40 or 50 women and on video . With shaking hands , I whipped out my credit card and bought a 30 - day trial . It took a minute to find the full video , but I did . I recognized the room from the sample . I looked on feeling utterly sick to my stomach as I watched . The camera panned around to a lot of different people getting naked or fucking , but I didn 't see Jen or Megan . Finally I did catch a glimpse of Jenny sitting at a table , shooing away the stripper with an embarrassed look on her face . When she appeared again 5 minutes later , she was laying on the stage and Megan had her tongue stuck in my wife 's pussy . Jenny was wearing a skirt and her panties were still on . Megan was holding the material to the side with one hand while moving her face up and down , pushing her tongue in and out of my wife 's sensitive lips . Jen had her blouse partially unbuttoned and was massaging her breasts as she was obviously closing in on an orgasm . I had learned since our first night together that oral sex was her weakness . I could make her orgasm virtually every time , as long as I was patient and built her up to it . As Megan kept working on her , the same stripper who I saw fucking her in the sample walked over and casually began hitting Jenny on the lips with his cock . I noticed with some dismay that it was pretty big . It wasn 't porn star big , but definitely seemed bigger than me . When she didn 't take him into her mouth right away , in some bizarre denial of reality I hoped she would get up and walk away . Her hips began bouncing in the throes of an orgasm . Megan kept working her over as she basked in the sensation . I saw the stripper say something to her . I couldn 't hear it over the music , but it didn 't matter because it was easy to read his lips . I was utterly shocked to see him mouth " Come on Jenny , please . " Seconds later she turned to the stripper and willingly took his cock into her mouth . After a few seconds of sucking on him , he grabbed the back of her head and started face fucking her . The camera stopped jumping around , I guess because that was the hottest action in the room . Jenny started moving her hips wildly again . I couldn 't believe she was having another orgasm so quickly . This time Megan stopped and said something to the stripper who got up and moved beside her . She inched aside so he could get between Jenny 's legs . Megan took his cock in her hand and rubbed it up and down my wife 's slit . He got the tip in and then waited . She said something to Jenny who shook her head ' no ' . Megan leaned closer and talked insistently , then began French - kissing her and massaging her breasts . Jenny put her legs behind him and pulled him in . . . just like she did with me . He moved his hips forward , driving himself inside her as she reacted with obvious pleasure . The stripper began moving his hips from side to side , trying to find the sensitive areas of her sex . When she arched up off the stage , putting her hands over her face in ecstasy , he pulled out of her and quickly turned her over . Once Jenny was on her knees , Megan slid down in front of her and pulled my wife 's face to her exposed pussy . When Jenny hesitated , the stripper drove into her harder , causing her head to roll forward as the pleasure seemed to increase . Finally , she lowered her face to Megan 's crotch obediently . The guy was now crashing into her very hard , forcing her to grab Megan 's hips to steady herself . The action continued for another twenty seconds , then the camera cut away to another couple . I fast forwarded through the rest , but Jenny wasn 't on the video after that . When it ended , I checked to make sure there were no other videos of the party and then tried to get myself together . I looked at the file ; it was listed by the date , 10 / 23 / 04 . I looked at the calendar on my computer and confirmed that it was the weekend that Jenny went to New Orleans . I sat there for at least fifteen minutes staring at the screen . I had never felt so lost in my life . I heard a car in the driveway and jumped up to look through the window . It was the girls . Watching Jenny step from the car laughing without a care in the world hit my like a punch to the gut . Anger replaced my sadness and my entire body trembled from the adrenaline . Quickly I went back to the computer and started the video again . I moved it forward to about where I saw the action and was rewarded with just the right moment . I hit pause and went to the living room . They walked in laughing . Danielle ran to me and jumped into my arms . I held her tightly , knowing I was about to shatter her world , possibly forever . She sensed something because she immediately asked me what was wrong . I couldn 't look at her face as I firmly told her to go upstairs to her room and close the door . She looked upset , but obeyed me . Jenny was very alarmed . She probably thought there had been a death in the family or something . I didn 't say a word , but walked back into the study . When we reached the computer , I grabbed her shoulders with both hands and turned her to face it . I took no pleasure in seeing all the color drain from her face as she saw a perfect still of herself being fucked from behind while going down on Megan . There was no response from her for several moments . I saw her shoulders move several times before I was able to hear her sob . " What about the next day ? Whose bed did you sleep in after the party ? " It was only a guess , but I was pretty sure it was a good one . She didn 't answer me , she just cried louder . " Well that 's just fucking great . I bring you into my house , tell my daughter to trust you and you turn out to be . . . this ? " I hissed , pointing at the screen . " Was it good ? Did you cum better than with me ? How did that big dick feel poking up inside you ? Was it worth the end of our marriage ? " She cried louder and still hadn 't looked at me . It didn 't matter . My anger was out of control and I wasn 't in the mood to feel pity . " This is how it 's going to be , you good for nothing slut . You have five minutes to have your stuff packed and be out of my house . When I get to five minutes and one - second , if you 're not out the door , this video gets sent to your family , then your friends and then your work . Once you leave , you are never to contact me again . Our lawyers can do the talking . " That broke the dam . " Don 't you ever say my daughter 's name again , you whore ! " I yelled . " When you are gone , I 'll tell her as nicely as possible what a piece of trash you really are . You chose your party friends over us . You are never to contact her again or I 'll get a restraining order and have you arrested . " She finally turned to me with a look of utter pain , " You can 't do that ! She 's like my own daughter . I 've helped raise her . " I had already thought of that . " Well since we never got around to getting adoption papers drawn up , you have no fucking rights at all . I guess you weren 't thinking about her when you had your tongue stuck up Megan 's pussy . " I saw her cringe at the reference . I knew I was too loud , but I couldn 't stop myself . " Please don 't do this to me , to us . I 'm begging you to give me a chance to explain . It 's been six months and I 've done everything I could to make it up to you . " I had finally reached the point where I couldn 't stay that angry and started to calm down a little , which let me regain my control . " So because you lied to me for six months and I didn 't find out until now , I 'm supposed to give you a pass ? How do I know how often it 's happened ? Why would I trust a lying whore in the first place ? Even if I did trust you , I don 't give a shit . You fucked them , you made your choice . " Then I began counting out loud , " One , two , three , four . . . " " Ten , eleven , twelve . . . " I started to think she wasn 't taking me seriously , so I sat down at the computer and pulled up my email account . I addressed a new message to both of her parents and sister Nicole , then typed , ' The truth about your daughter , ' into the message field . Finally I clicked on < attach files > . I didn 't even look over my shoulder as I continued counting , " twenty - two , twenty - three . . . " With a frustrated cry she fled the room and ran upstairs . I waited a minute to stop myself from falling apart and then followed . I stopped at the top of the stairs , just out of sight and listened to her frantic packing . I checked my watch and saw the time to be around three minutes . Then I heard something that made my heart break . " I 'm sorry baby ; I have to go to Aunt Nicole 's house for a while . I did something very bad and hurt your daddy . It 's all my fault , not his . " I thought I had reached the limit of the pain I could feel until I heard Dani say through her tears . " Did you say you 're sorry ? If you say you 're sorry he has to forgive you . Please don 't go . " I was actually kind of proud when Jenny dropped her suitcase and stopped crying for a moment , her only concern being for Danielle . " I love you more than anything . I love you this much , " and moved her arms all the way apart . " I have to go now , but you be brave . Maybe someday your daddy can forgive me . But you always remember that this is my fault , not his . He loves you more than anything . I wish I could explain , but I have to go . " I heard more rushed talking , then the sound of someone coming down the stairs fast . Jenny passed me , then paused and turned . " John , I don 't blame you for this . I know I deserve it . I 'm so sorry I hurt you . I 'll love you forever . " " Four fifty - five , fifty - six . . . " She turned and lunged for the door . When it closed behind her , I went up the stairs to comfort my little angel . I couldn 't even focus on the pain I was feeling , I knew what I had done had ripped the heart right out of my little girl . My anger at Jenny gave me no cure for my self - recrimination . I ran up the stairs to try and fix the unfixable .

In this section of my testimony , I will describe some of the things God did during the 10 years or so of my time in London , England . Ten years is quite a long time , so I can only select a number of events and , even so , I will have to leave out a lot of details . I looked to the Lord and asked Him , " What do You , Lord , want me to say about what You did ? " Whatever the Lord does is inevitably unique in character , we call it the miraculous . Everything that God does is miraculous to us because it is not natural ; and what is supernatural always astonishes us . I aim to choose those incidents for which there is no real human explanation . In other words , you can 't think of some valid psychological explanation or some human way to explain them . I choose those accounts for which it is difficult , if not utterly impossible , to find a human explanation . We mentioned earlier that the whole Christian life , if it is a genuine Christian life , is miraculous . If it isn 't miraculous , it isn 't God who is working . When God works , there is a miracle , isn 't there ? The Christian life begins with dying and ends up with life . That is the reverse of all that goes on in the world . We begin by being crucified with Christ ( Galatians 2 . 20 ) and through this God raises us up into newness of life ( Romans 6 . 4 ) . To drive home the point about dying , what I will do today is to describe matters in reverse . That means at first I will talk about my life in Christ or Christ living in me , as the song says , " Christ lives in me " . I don 't live anymore , Christ lives in me . It is important to understand that we experience God 's miracles working in and through us only if Christ lives in us . What worries me about so many Christians is that they hardly ever experience anything that can properly be called miraculous or supernatural - God 's work . And it worries me because I wonder if Christ is truly living in them . Is Christ living in you ? When Christ lives in you , God will do things in and through you , and what He does appears to us as miraculous . He does not do amazing things to impress us or to impress other people ; it is just that when we are living the life of Christ , walking along his path , living to serve him , miracles just happen constantly . I will give you a number of examples of some outstanding things that Christ did . But I would also like to show you that when he lives in us , even the way we think will become totally different . In an earlier part of my testimony I mentioned that at one point I finally acquired a motorcycle . This motorcycle ( for those of you who know something about motorcycles ) was a BSA ( which is no longer in production ) . It was a 150 cc British motorcycle , which was fairly powerful . It was much heavier than most motorcycles we see on the streets of Malaysia , for example , which seem to be mostly 80 cc or less . I acquired this old motorcycle , and for a poor student ( as I was at that time ) who owned next to nothing , a motorcycle was a very valuable possession . The friend from whom I bought the bike , had been a classmate of mine at the same Bible institute ; he was a graduate from Cambridge and was soon going to Japan as a missionary , so he sold me his old motorcycle for £ 50 . Wow ! For a poor student , £ 50 is a lot of money . I couldn 't pay the whole amount in one go , so he kindly agreed that I pay in installments , whenever money became available . Not long after I had bought the motorcycle , something happened to it . At that time I was staying in an apartment which I shared with two Malaysians , one was studying architecture who was from Ipoh and the other was studying electrical engineering who was from Kuala Lumpur , a brilliant scholarship student . One day an American - born Chinese brother came to visit us and he stayed in my room with me . We had some time of fellowship and finally said " Good night " and went to bed . But a few minutes later I heard a distinctive " click " coming from outside our window . I knew the sound right away : it was my motorcycle stand being pushed up . I knew somebody was messing around with my motorcycle three floors down ; I could hear it three floors up . I jumped out of bed , rushed to the window and took a look . I saw two fellows sitting on my motorcycle and the fellow in front was trying to kick start it . I ran down the stairs full speed and was just about to grab the neck of the fellow at the back when the engine started and the motorcycle shot off . It was gone . But the thing I want to emphasize is this : there was total peace in my heart about the loss of the motorcycle . I experienced the heavenly , supernatural peace which the apostle Paul speaks of in Philippians 4 . 7 , " And the peace of God , which transcends all understanding , will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus " ( see also v . 6 ) . Now , you could rightly say that I lost the only thing I had that had some monetary value . Moreover , it affected my transportation , because I rode on it to get to college and also to church . Now I would have to take the underground trains and pay what for me were expensive fares . The motorcycle was gone . Yet the beauty about Christ living in you is that the world means nothing . It doesn 't matter ; I did not even let it bother me for a moment . Okay , the bike was gone . I went upstairs , committed the matter to God , went back to bed , and promptly fell asleep . My American friend couldn 't believe it . He said to me the next day , " I don 't understand you . " I asked , " Did I do something wrong ? " He said , " No , but your motorcycle just got stolen and you go back to bed and just drop off to sleep ! " I said , " Well , what 's the problem ? " He looked at me in complete disbelief . We seemed to be talking two different languages . So he shrugged his shoulders and walked away evidently thinking , " This guy is impossible to understand . " Looking back at my friend 's reaction , I realized that he expected me to have reacted like a " normal " human being and be very upset that I had lost my most valuable possession , my motorcycle . He couldn 't understand that it didn 't bother me at all . He knew that this was not because I had so much money that I could go out and buy another motorcycle . I couldn 't . Even so , it didn 't bother me in the least . This is not " normal " . Is there any human explanation for such perfect peace ? Or is this not an example of how we can experience for ourselves the peace which Paul spoke of in Philippians 4 . 7 ? It is a peace that is beyond human understanding ; it was a peace that guarded my heart and mind in Christ so that I remained undisturbed in the confidence that everything remains under God 's control . How do you feel when things in the world don 't go your way ? Do you sit there and ask , " Lord , I am here living for You , I gave my life to You - and yet You allow my motorcycle to be stolen ! What kind of God are You ? Surely , You can protect my motorcycle , can 't You ? " Isn 't this the way the human mind reasons ? What do you want to believe in God for , if He can 't do anything for you ? He can 't even protect your motorcycle ! But I was not bothered because I knew that God had a good reason for this , even though I didn 't know what that reason was . It was good enough for me that since He gave it , He can also take it away , just as Job said , " Yahweh gave and Yahweh has taken away . Blessed be the name of Yahweh . " ( Job 1 : 21 ) He gave me the motorcycle ; He took it away . Let His name be praised . But do we normally think like this ? Or has our thinking not yet been changed ? That is why we have nothing to witness to . We have no impact . But when the Lord changes our lives , we become different ; we have perfect peace in circumstances where normally there would be no peace . That is why my American friend looked at me in total disbelief . You don 't even have to talk ; your life will witness to God 's peace and power . Someone who met my American friend many years later told me that he still mentioned this incident . Later on , he himself became a servant of the Lord . He went back to the United States , completed his studies , and went into training for the pastoral ministry . I did not know about this until many years later . Witnessing is not just a matter of talking . We could talk our mouths dry , but it is a matter of the kind of life we live , a life that moves people to say , " Hmm , this guy is extraordinary . He is unusual . What is the secret of his life ? " What is more , because my motorcycle was stolen , it became the reason for another series of miracles that I will tell you about in a moment . In the meantime , I also had to do something that was quite normal : I went to the police station the next day and reported that my motorcycle had been stolen ; this is what the law requires . They told me , frankly , that the chances of finding a motorcycle in a city like London are close to zero . London is too big a city , and there are too many motorcycles . I told them , " That 's okay . I am just letting you know that it was stolen . " But a few days later , I got a call from a police officer , " We 've found your motorcycle ; just come to the station and collect it . " So I went there and got the motorcycle back . But whoever was rough - riding the motorcycle did some damage to it . The rear brake was now defective ; that was one thing , and there seemed to be a leak somewhere in the engine which I could not locate . But should I let these things become a cause for complaining ? You see , I was just about to go on a mission to Ireland when the motorcycle was stolen . I was about to go there to serve God with another brother who had a similar motorcycle . His motorcycle was in perfect condition , but mine was now defective . Anyone who rides a motorcycle would know that a defective brake can be dangerous and deadly . In this case , relying on the front brake alone , the bike would be unable to stop quickly enough at higher speeds and could skid if the road is wet , which in England is quite often . When a motorcycle skids , it is not like a car that has four wheels ; you fly off the motorcycle and your life could be in danger . For the term break , I had arranged with my friend to go to Ireland to evangelize . Much of my testimony about my time in London is about witnessing . It was my constant joy and determination to witness for my Lord . I was going to Ireland to witness together with this friend of mine , and now my motorcycle was defective . If I used the little money I had to repair the brakes , I couldn 't go on the mission . But if I go on the mission , I would have no money to pay for the brakes . So what to do ? I asked the Lord , " What do You want me to do now ? " And the Lord gave me confidence . " You go . I will be with you . " Of course , this doesn 't mean that we could be careless ; so when we were setting out on the mission , we listened carefully to the weather forecast . I usually don 't pay attention to the weather forecast , but when you have defective brakes , it is wise to listen . The forecast said that on the day we were to leave , it was going to rain . I asked God , " Do You want us to go on the mission on this day or not ? It is going to rain ; shall we delay this project ? " Rain was forecast for several more days . After further waiting before the Lord , I received the confidence to pray , " Lord , I know that the enemy wants to stop us from witnessing for You , but we are ready to go forward and we entrust the whole motorcycle situation into Your hands . " The Lord granted us His peace and so we went forth . The two of us set out for Ireland . From London to Ireland , you would travel westward through England and Wales . I still remember that the road was the A40 that goes through Oxford , and from there we went on to Wales . We looked at the sky and there was something that I had never seen before . Looking westward , in the direction we were heading , the sky was all clear . In front of us the sky was blue , but looking backward it was all black . Have you ever seen anything like that ? A north - south line stretched right across the sky : black behind , blue in front ! I looked up and said , " My God is going to do interesting things today . " My friend and I prayed together , and rode off towards Oxford , then through Oxford westward . Whenever we looked up , do you know what ? The line was following us . Where our motorcycles were , right above us was the line , black behind and blue in front . We left London in the morning and by mid - afternoon we were about halfway to our destination in Wales for that first day ; all day we were following the sun going westward . When we were not far from the Welsh border , I remembered that there was somebody I wanted to witness to in a nearby Catholic monastery . So I said to my friend , " Let us pause our journey and witness to a monk in the monastery . " He exclaimed , " What ? Witness ? Look at the black clouds moving , we 've got to keep ahead of the clouds . " I said , " Well , let us do the Lord 's work and we will leave the weather to Him . " He thought I was being reckless . I said , " No . We put God 's work first and He will take care of the weather . " This brother was from a conventional church and had no particular experience of God , so he thought that the whole idea was unreasonable . Anyway , I spent some time with the monk , witnessing to him , and then we continued westward . Looking up , remarkably the cloud was still right above our heads , and as we went on , that line kept moving west . And then it got darker and darker until we couldn 't see very much of what was going on above any more , but we rode on . When we were riding , we took turns riding in front with the other person behind . This was especially useful in the dark because riding in front in the dark and relying only on your headlight requires more alertness and is more tiring . The one behind just follows the red taillight of the one in front , so he can get a little rest on a long ride like this one . On one stretch , when I was riding in front and my friend was riding behind , suddenly my engine faltered and stopped and my lights went out . Everything went black . What happened ? My electrical system was not powered by a battery but by a dynamo that generated electricity for the lights . This means that while the engine is running there is light ; but when the engine stops , the lights go out . My friend came up to me and asked , " What happened ? " We looked into the engine and saw that I had no more gas . There was a small leak in the engine because of the damage done by the theft , and we hadn 't been aware of it . The gas was draining faster than usual . My friend , who rode a similar motorcycle , needed no gas at this time ; indeed , he didn 't need any for the rest of the journey that day . What should we do now ? We were in the countryside in the middle of nowhere , and in pitch darkness . What are we going to do ? We prayed and committed this whole situation to the Lord . Then my friend rode off , and I watched him as his lights disappeared over the hill ; now I was standing there in the darkness by myself , just looking to the Lord . A few moments later , I saw a light coming back . My friend had come back with a can of gas . He said , " It 's amazing ! When I went over the top of that hill , I found a gas station right there . The man was just about to close the garage ; I got there just as he was about to lock up , and he gave me this can of gas . " Have you noticed the timing of God 's works ? Neither of us knew that there was a gas station there . Only God knew , and He did not allow the engine to die until we got close to the gas station . The Lord wants to test our faithfulness and whether we trust in Him all the time . What is faith ? Faith is trust . Do we trust in Him ? I also realized that through this whole thing , God was speaking to my friend . The Lord was transforming his life by giving him a chance to witness the remarkable things He did all along the journey . In this incident , my friend realized that God 's timing is amazing . He got to the garage just as the owner was locking up the place . Can you imagine what would have been our situation if it had been five minutes later and the man at the garage had already left ? I filled the tank , and we rode on into Wales , to the small town of Caerphilly where we were going to stop for the night . When we got to the house in Caerphilly , do you know what happened ? When we got there , removed our things from the motorcycle , and stepped inside the door , at that precise moment the rain came down , absolutely pouring . If it had been pouring while we were on our motorcycles , we would have been blinded by the rain , utterly soaked , and also in great danger because Wales is a hilly place . The road goes up and down , left and right , and when you have brakes that don 't function properly you could be in real danger . Now you know from this account that God controlled the weather - not only for that night , but for the entire three weeks or so of our journey . Do you know what ? It never rained in the daytime for three weeks ! Walking with God was a privilege granted to us ! I still remember how when we stepped in through the door in that house in Caerphilly , it was as though we had stepped on some device on the floor inside the door that triggered the sudden downpour of rain . I looked at my friend , and saw that his mouth had dropped open as he stared at the rain . The timing was so astonishing ; indeed , it was awesome . Can you think of a human explanation for all this ? Shall we just call it a coincidence ? You will find that when you walk with God , there will be one " coincidence " after another until there is no more coincidence worth talking about , because if a coincidence happens every time , it is by definition no longer a coincidence . On our way to Wales we stopped for a drink at a small town and I said to my friend , " You know , God has given me a message to speak to the brothers and sisters in Caerphilly " . Surprised , he asked , " Do they know you are coming ? " I said , " No , I don 't think they know . " " Then how do they know you are going to preach this Sunday ? " I said , " I don 't know . All I know is that God gave me a message to give to them this Sunday . " He looked puzzled . The day after we got to the town ( I think we arrived on a Friday night ) , the people of the church said , " Oh , we didn 't know you were coming , otherwise we would have invited you to preach . " I said , " That 's all right . " After they left , my friend looked at me and said , " Ah ! So what about that message God gave you to give this Sunday ? They 've already got a preacher from a Bible college . " I said , " That is all right . I mean , it is God 's message . If He wants me to give it , I will give it . If He doesn 't want me to give it , I won 't give it . Either way is fine with me . " But he must have thought that I had heard the Lord wrongly in regard to this message from Him . Early Sunday morning there was a knock on the door . My friend opened the door , and there was a young man standing there . Neither of us knew him . The man couldn 't talk properly ; his throat was hoarse and he whispered , " I am the man who is supposed to preach this Sunday , but I don 't know why during the night I lost my voice . Would you be so kind as to preach in my place ? " I said , " Oh , no problem . I would be pleased to . " My friend looked at me , " Your God is real . Oh my , He is real ! " Mind you , he was a Christian , yet had never experienced the Lord , and that is true of many Christians today . My friend found all this awesome . I had told him in advance that God had given me a message for the church in Caerphilly , but he found it difficult to believe . When we were told after our arrival that they had already arranged a preacher for that Sunday , it seemed clear to him that I had been quite wrong . But now he was amazed . In recounting this incident , I emphasize that it doesn 't mean that I am any better than this brother from the Bible College . Not at all . It is just that sometimes God gives a particular message through one person , and at another time through someone else . He is the Lord , and He chooses whom He wants to speak on any particular occasion . So I am not implying in any way that I am better than this brother from the Bible college , whom I didn 't even know personally . I am simply relating the events as they happened . What about my friend who traveled with me on this three - week mission trip ? His whole life was transformed , revolutionized , not because I was preaching to him but because he saw what God was doing , and he was simply stunned ; he said he had never seen such things before . And do you know what happened ? Yes , he became a servant of God too . After he completed his engineering program at University of London , he went to a theological college and then went into the ministry . But that is another story . During this period in London , I was driven by a desire to witness for the Lord . If you haven 't tried witnessing , you won 't experience God 's working . One of the ways to experience God is to witness , and then see what He will do in another person 's life . I can give you account after account of how people turned to the Lord , and not because of the eloquence of my witnessing . In fact , there were often times I didn 't even have to start a conversation , yet the Lord drew the person to Himself . Take for example the case of a Vietnamese student in Cambridge who later became a good friend of mine . I must first explain that I often went to Cambridge because , though I studied in London , London is a big and bustling city . I was very busy in the church , so it was often hard to find the quiet that I needed to study . I loved the quietness of Cambridge . But whenever I was in Cambridge , I would have a strong desire to witness , and I would go around looking for people to witness to about God . I stayed at a place in Cambridge called " Tyndale House for Biblical Research " . Though it was called a house for Biblical research , in fact many graduate students living there were not doing Biblical studies but doing their Ph . D . 's in engineering or some other subject . They were permitted to stay there if rooms were available , if they were graduates , and if they were believers . That was where I stayed in Cambridge . The woman in charge of the day - to - day management of the place was a very fine Christian who was always trying to witness , especially to the Asian students in Cambridge . One day she told me that in one of the colleges there was a Vietnamese student that she would like me to meet . She asked , " Would you like to witness to him ? " I said , " That 's fine . Just give me his name and tell me where he is staying , and I will go look for him . " He was a brilliant scholarship student studying electrical engineering . I visited him in his room . When God works , you don 't even have to think of all sorts of ways to start a conversation by asking questions like , " Are you by any chance going to church ? Have you been to church ? Do you know any Christians ? " It is amazing that when God works , He speaks to the other person at a deeper level ; often I just keep quiet . After briefly introducing ourselves to each other , the Vietnamese student immediately said , " I am a Buddhist , are you a Christian ? " When I said " Yes " he went straight to the point , " Tell me about Christianity . " From the first minute he already wanted to talk about Christianity ! I had just walked in through the door , and he didn 't even know me , yet he said , " Tell me about Christianity . " He explained , " I am not satisfied with Buddhism . I have looked into Buddhism ( Vietnamese people are traditionally Buddhists ) , but I am not satisfied with it , so tell me about Christianity . " That same evening , I think not much more than an hour or so later , he knelt down with me and yielded his life to the Lord . We became good friends . He also began to experience God in amazing ways . But that is another long story . Let me tell you about a person from Taiwan , whom the lady at Tyndale House had invited for tea . She would often do this . She would invite people for tea in Tyndale House and then she would run to my room , knock on the door , and ask me to come downstairs , saying , " I 've invited someone for tea , come and talk to him . " I ended up talking to a good number of people in this way . So there was this Taiwanese research student who was invited for tea . After some conversation , he yielded his life to the Lord there and then , that very afternoon . I always like to tell the story about him because some time later I saw him and he was full of joy . He said , " You know , God is really wonderful . " I asked , " What did you experience ? " He said , " I have to tell you about this . The other day I was walking along one of the narrow streets in Cambridge ( in fact , it is the road that leads from Tyndale House towards the city center ) . As I was walking down that road , I had the desire to pray . I said to God , ' I am going to pray now . I am going to close my eyes and please see to it that I don 't bump into the wall or into trees while I am praying . ' " This is a brilliant research student doing his degree in mathematical economics , whatever that is . My father studied economics ; but I am not so sure what mathematical economics is , though we know that economics is becoming more and more involved with mathematics . Here he is , like a little child ; he wanted to pray and he just closed his eyes . He said , " You know , I walked down the entire road praying with my eyes closed and I never hit the wall and never hit the trees . " I know the road he was talking about , and the sidewalk of that road is quite narrow . You couldn 't even walk with your arms stretched out , that is how narrow it was . On one side were trees and on the other side was a long wall , so the chances of hitting a tree or the wall is quite good . He walked down the entire road and never hit a tree or the wall . And he said , " God is so amazing . I just pray to Him . " I smiled at him and said , " That is wonderful but let me tell you something else that is also wonderful . " He said , " What is that ? " I said , " You can also pray with your eyes open . " " You can ? " he said in astonishment . So lovely and so childlike , isn 't it ? There was a student from Hong Kong whom I got to know by simply knocking on his door . The nice thing about witnessing in Cambridge is that you can just go and knock on someone 's door . When he opened the door , he looked at me and invited me in . " Where do you stay ? " he asked . I told him I was staying at Tyndale House for Biblical Research . " Oh , " he said , " you are a Christian ? " " Yes , " I replied . Right away he said , " Well , tell me how you became a Christian . " As fast as that ! What is it that draws people ? Do you find it hard to witness ? You try to witness but the other person never raises the subject and you say , " Uh , by the way , have you ever read the Bible ? " " No . " " Do you have Christian friends ? " " No . " And you don 't know where to go from there ; it 's so awkward , isn 't it ? But here within two minutes he was asking me to tell him how I had become a Christian . That is how fast things go when it is God who is working . Then as though he became afraid that he had opened a door he might not be able to close , he said , " But don 't try to convert me , all right ? Just tell me how you became a Christian , but don 't try to convert me . " I replied , " Sure . That 's fine . " I could give him that assurance because the fact is that I am not the one doing the converting . It is God who converts a person . True conversion is something that only God can do ; only He can change and transform the human heart . Knowing this , I knew that I was not the one to convert him . I was only a witness . So I witnessed to him , but my principle is this : When you start witnessing , don 't keep on talking and talking . You are going to wear everybody out and they will be tired of your witnessing . So I witnessed for a few minutes and stopped . He said , " I am still listening . " I normally continue on when the other person is eager to hear more . This is an important principle of witnessing : Don 't talk to a person until he is sick of hearing you . I shared with him a while longer and stopped again . Every time I stopped , he asked me to carry on . Finally I said , " I think I have shared enough for today , it 's time for me to go . " So he said , " Okay . We will talk again . " Indeed , we met together several times after this . He was studying medicine in Cambridge . Most medical students there , after completing their first three years at Cambridge , have to go to London to complete the rest of their medical training in one of the well - known teaching hospitals in London . And when he got to London , where did he live ? Oh yes , God knows what He is doing all the time . That student ended up in the same district where Helen and I were living ! When we found out where he was staying , we invited him over for supper . Do you know what happened ? He walked in through the door and said , " By the way , where did we finish last time ? You were telling me how you came to the Lord . Please continue . But don 't try to convert me , all right ? " You can see his great spiritual hunger , yet he doesn 't want anyone to give him pressure . He was hungry to know God , so I shared with him . Later on we had to leave London because I had to go to Liverpool to take up the ministry there . The work was very busy , and I eventually lost contact with Arthur ( which is this medical student 's name ) . Many years passed , and one day I thought to myself , " What ever happened to Arthur ? " Then some years ago , we went to serve the Lord in Hong Kong . Somehow God brought Arthur Lee back to my memory . I looked him up in the telephone directory . Do you know how many Lee 's there are in Hong Kong ? The directory has many pages for this common surname . " Arthur " too is a common name . There was no way for me to find him like this . A year or so later , I was watching the news on television and someone was being interviewed , and then the name of the person being interviewed appeared on the screen : " Professor Arthur Lee " ! I seldom watched that local news program , but I happened to turn to it that evening . Yes , Arthur had become head of the medical department of the Chinese University , and Professor of Surgery , teaching at the well - known Prince of Wales Hospital . We had found him after all these years . The student in Cambridge was now a professor in Hong Kong . I picked up the phone and called him , and even after more than twenty years , he remembered me right away and he said , " How about we have lunch together ? " He invited us to meet him at an exclusive club in Hong Kong . I , being ignorant of these high - class clubs , didn 't even know it was some high - class place until I got there . After lunch , when I tried to pay he smiled and said , " You can 't pay here . You 've got to be a club member . " Anyway , the main thing I wanted to know about him was his relationship to the Lord . He replied , " Yes , I am a Christian . " Amazing , isn 't it ? Somewhere along the way , he had come to the Lord . It is through witnessing that we have the privilege of seeing people 's lives being transformed by God 's love and power . Is there any greater joy that this ? Or any greater miracle than this ? By the way , I saw Arthur on television again a few months ago . He is now Vice Chancellor of the university . But now that he knows the Lord , I don 't see the need to contact him , at least not unless God leads me to do so . In any case , it is truly amazing what God does . Many of the things I am sharing with you today I have already shared in various messages over the years in order to use these experiences of God to illustrate my messages at various times . When we were in Kuala Lumpur a few days ago , I said to Helen , " All one has to do to know what I have witnessed for the Lord through the years is to run through all my messages , take all the stories out , arrange them in some kind of sequence , and there you 've got my witness . Then I don 't have to say all this here . " She replied , " Yes , but the only problem is that you 've preached several hundred messages . It would take a long time to dig out all the accounts from these messages . " That is why I guess I have to give the account here . But I want to stress again : Isn 't it a tremendous joy to witness for the Lord and to see God 's power working in people 's lives ? I have seen so many people 's lives changed . Preaching the word of God by itself can also change people 's lives , but I always put in my own witnessing as much as possible , even in preaching . One of the great joys of preaching the gospel in Liverpool was to see people 's lives being changed in front of my eyes . As I witnessed to them and preached the word of God to them , it was amazing in those few years to see that people were being transformed . Witnessing is something that is and should be close to every Christian 's heart . Another time I experienced God very deeply in connection to the matter of witnessing , was when I stayed at the Foreign Missions Club in North London . One evening as I was studying , the Lord spoke to me very clear and distinctly : " Eric , get up and go down to the YMCA in central London . " Nowadays , many people think it is strange that God would speak to you , but why such doubts ? The Bible is full of such instances . Have we not frequently read in the Old Testament that the prophets Isaiah , Jeremiah , and other prophets proclaimed a message from Yahweh God with the words , " Thus says Yahweh " ? Do you think the prophets dared to invent those words ? Would they dare to say that Yahweh said something when He didn 't ? No . It means then that God spoke to the prophets in such a way that they could hear it , and having heard what Yahweh said to them , they declared it with the words , " This is what Yahweh says … " Count how many times " Thus says the Lord " occurs in the Old Testament and you will be amazed ( over 400 times ! ) . Even today , God speaks to His servants all the time ; this is true for those who are living in such a way that Christ lives in them . God said to me , " Get up and go to the YMCA . " So off to the YMCA I went , but not without some mumbling to God that I had a lot of homework to do . I was thinking about how I was going to get through my work if I had to go down to the YMCA . I was also wondering what I was supposed to do when I got there . Anyway , I got on my motorcycle and went on the long ride to the city center . The YMCA was right in the city center near Oxford Circus ( for those of you who know London ) . I arrived at the YMCA and said , " Lord , what do You want me to do here ? I haven 't got a clue about I am supposed to do . " As I stood inside the YMCA wondering what to do , the Lord directed my attention to the front revolving door where people were coming in and going out . The Lord said , " Look towards the door . " I looked , and I saw a tall Chinese gentleman coming in . Then the Lord instructed me , " Talk to this man . " As I went towards him , I asked God , " What am I supposed to say to him ? " I had never seen this man before , and had no idea what I was to say . The Lord said , " Ask him if he needs help . " Would you normally stop someone in the middle of a public place like the YMCA and ask , " Do you need help " ? Well , I asked him , " Do you need any help ? " I was surprised by his " Yes . " I no longer remember what kind of assistance he needed , but what mattered was that we got into a conversation , and soon we were talking about spiritual things . He was older , perhaps in his mid or late forties . I , being much younger , felt it was not appropriate for me to be the one to help him on the spiritual level . So I arranged for him to meet the pastor of our church the next day , and there and then he came to the Lord ! When this gentleman later told me his side of the story , I realized how amazing God 's leading was ; and one cannot think of any human explanation to account for the course of the events . The day I met him , he had just come in from Taiwan , where he was a fairly high ranking government official . He was on his way to Geneva as a representative for some trade talks . I did not ask him for any details . He had just arrived in London , and did not know the city . That was why when I asked him whether he needed help , he said " Yes . " Moreover , he was leaving the day after the next , which meant that he had only two days in London . Either he comes to the Lord now , or he will never . After the conference in Geneva , he was to go back to Taiwan ; so he only had those two days in London . It struck me later that that was exactly what happened when Philip went to meet the Ethiopian eunuch in the desert ( Acts 8 : 27 - 39 ) . The eunuch was also a government official who was traveling ; so Philip 's timing had to be perfect or he would have missed him . When Philip arrived in the desert where the eunuch was traveling through , he found the eunuch reading the Bible in Isaiah , and Philip asked him , " Do you understand what you are reading ? " That is also to say , " Do you need any help ? " The eunuch needed someone to help him understand it , and Philip was there to explain it to him , and the eunuch yielded his life to the Lord . This was what happened in the case of the government official from Taiwan when he committed his life to the Lord . The timing was just marvelous . Had I not listened to God , had I disobeyed Him , the blood of this man would have been on my hands . He wouldn 't have come to the Lord . He said to me afterwards , before he went off to Geneva for his conference : " It is amazing . I was looking for God . I didn 't realize I will find God , or God will find me here in London . " This had to happen exactly within that short time slot . Can you find a human explanation for this ? Our God is amazing . What He does is truly amazing . I am filled with amazement , but also with fear and trembling that had I not listened , what would have happened to this man ? Will someone pass away without knowing God because you were not listening to the Lord ? For the sake of clarification , something else needs to be said . You may have noticed that the experiences described above happened when I was quite young - young not only in terms of physical age ( I was in my mid - twenties at the time ) but also in the sense of being spiritually young . So when I was still young in both senses , God had already spoken to me audibly on a few occasions . But when I became spiritually more mature , God communicated with me in another , non - audible , way . He now lets me know His will directly ( that is , without words being used ) and clearly ( that is , I know clearly it is from Him and not something produced by my own mind ) . He impresses upon my heart , " This is My will , " in such a way that I have no doubt what He wants me to do . I have not heard God speak to me audibly for a long time ; He doesn 't need to , because as I have learned to walk closer to Him through the years , He communicates His will to me heart to heart , straight to my heart . As I wait and listen to Him , He lets me know what He wants me to know or to do . I don 't need to hear it audibly anymore . I think that when I was much younger spiritually and physically , I was not walking with God close enough to receive the message directly from Him into my heart . I needed to hear it with my ear , as it were . But He knows our needs and is very gracious : He will meet you at your point of maturity or lack of maturity . If you are very young in the Lord , He will talk to you at your level . It is like the difference between talking to a little child and talking to an adult , you don 't talk to a child in exactly the same way you talk to an adult . So He talked to me when I was spiritually immature in a way that I could clearly understand Him . Nowadays He often makes His will known to me like seeing a flash of light , clear as day , at whatever time He chooses to do so . I know it is from Him because what He reveals is beyond human knowledge . For example , the future is always unknown to us , yet we need to know what God wants us to do , where He wants us to go , whether it is later today or tomorrow . But how can we be " led by the Spirit , " as every child of God should be led ( Romans 8 . 14 ) , unless He reveals His will to us ? If He wants me to help someone , He will reveal it to me . If really necessary , He may even reveal whether a particular person who is seriously ill will die or not . Of course , He doesn 't reveal things to satisfy my curiosity ; He only does so if there is a definite need for me to know . For example , there were two separate cases of doctors saying that two persons ( one person in one case , another person in the other case ) would surely die , but God revealed to me that they would not die . When I told the relatives and friends of the seriously ill persons that the sick person will not die , they responded , as one might expect , with the words , " But the doctors said he will die . " So they had to choose whether to believe the doctors or what my Lord had told me . In the end , of course , the doctors were wrong and what the Lord said to me was true . Certainly , no one blames the doctors for being mistaken , because we know that they spoke according to the best of their medical knowledge , but God 's power works beyond the limits of man 's knowledge . That is the wonder of walking with the living God . So far I have talked about Christ living in us . Now I need to draw your attention to a verse that is very short , yet is one of the most important verses in the New Testament for practical Christian living : Romans 6 : 7 , " He who has died is freed from sin . " He who has died is free , that is , free from the most fearful thing in this world : sin . When sin is in your life , the devil has a grip on it . You don 't believe in the devil ? It doesn 't matter . The devil doesn 't want you to believe in him . He doesn 't need you to believe in him , because he is very real whether you believe in him or not . The same is true of God : If you don 't believe in God , it doesn 't change the matter . Do you think God disappears just because you don 't believe in Him ? God is there . Whether or not you believe in Him doesn 't change that fact , therefore it doesn 't make any difference . But it does make a difference to you . For example , if a doctor told you that your body has a malignant cancer , and you say , " I don 't believe you , " do you think your cancer disappears just because you don 't believe it exists ? That cancer will kill you ; whether you believe the doctor or not makes no difference . The thing that does make a difference is how you react to it . " Oh , there is cancer in me . Now I need to know what I have to do . " But if you don 't believe , and therefore take no precautions , you will die . If you respond wisely , you might live . If you respond foolishly , you will die . God is real . Not believing in Him doesn 't change the fact of His existence . He doesn 't cease to exist just because you don 't believe in Him . But your belief or disbelief affects you yourself , because how you respond to Him is a matter of life and death . The same is true of the devil . If you don 't believe in the devil , he doesn 't disappear . But your disbelief does affect you because you will let your guard down , you won 't be cautious any more . But the devil can 't do anything to you when sin is not controlling your life ; he can 't touch you then . He needs to have sin in your life , then he has got a handle which he can grab hold of , and with it he can shake you around . Is there sin in your life ? If there is , then the devil has got a grip on you . Do you have sin in your life ? If you do , then the world has a grip on you too , because the world is what the devil uses to work on you . He is the " god of this world ( or age ) " ( 2Corinthians 4 . 4 ) . The world is his tool . When you have sin , you are dead , my friend , spiritually dead . And the way to get out of it is to die to sin , and therefore die to the death that sin brings . The path to freedom - freedom from sin - comes from dying to sin . Have you ever experienced the joy of that freedom ? Or are you simply a slave that Satan can push around as he likes ? Few Christians experience complete freedom , and that is because so few Christians have experienced death - death with Christ ( Romans 6 : 3 - 7 ) . This death through being united with Christ is not an end or goal in itself . Dying is only a door to life . Have you ever seen a Christian die , I mean physically die ? There are people who have come to God just by watching a Christian die physically , seeing the sheer peace , and even the quiet joy . For them , death is simply a door to eternal life . The early church had a powerful witness to the world around them because the non - Christians were terrified of death . The fear of death is what the devil uses to control people . Are you afraid to die ? Of course . You don 't know where you are going - apart from going six feet ( or less ) under the ground . But the one who has lived with Christ in this world knows where he is going . He is already freed from being dominated by sin , and therefore freed from fear . Sin brings fear . Free of sin , free of fear . Nothing to fear . It is simply wonderful , the freedom that comes from being dead to sin . Finally , I want to share with you some things relating to my family life . Though these things are deeply personal and which we may prefer not to talk about , yet I don 't know any other way to witness to you about my dying with Christ and its effect on my relationship with my mother , and what the Lord did in that relationship . Some time ago I mentioned a little about my family . I said a bit about my father , but almost nothing about my mother . You see , my mother was someone I hardly knew when I was a child , because even when I was an infant I was cared for mostly by a succession of nannies . I was only five years old when World War II started . My father , being a patriotic man , joined the war effort against the aggressors by serving in the wartime government . He slipped out of Shanghai just before the Japanese army took the city . My mother and I were stranded in enemy territory for the duration of the war . She found a job to have some income , and again she hired a nanny to do the housework and to look after me . When I was ready for primary school she thought it best to send me to a boarding school , which was on the other side of Shanghai , for the first two years . I would come home only on occasional weekends , which meant I rarely saw her . Even when I was home , she was usually not at home . She was young and beautiful and , understandably , wanted to enjoy some social life when there was opportunity . All this meant that I grew up hardly seeing or knowing my mother and therefore not experiencing motherly love . I didn 't experience motherly love except in a surrogate form , that is , a substitute form . My " amah " ( nanny ) was a mother to me . She brought me up . She was very devoted to me . She loved me so much that , in a way , I never really lost anything , because though I didn 't have my natural mother , I had another mother who loved me as her own child ; and it could be that she loved me more than most of you have experienced from your own physical mother . So in this sense , God had already graciously provided for me ; He provided me with an amah who was really more like a mother than an amah . Even so , no amah , no matter how good , is actually your own mother . So I didn 't know how to relate to my own mother . To make things worse , my mother did a few things that hurt me deeply as a child . Amah once brought me a fully grown chicken from the countryside where her home was . She had gone home for a visit , and when she came back she said to me , " I 've got a present for you . " Children , of course , love presents . I asked , " Yes , what is it ? " She opened her large basket and to my surprise and delight , out came a chicken ! It had beautiful feathers , and apparently was clever too ! How clever ? Whenever my nanny called it , it would immediately come to her . At that time we lived in an apartment on the third floor , and there were two main entrances on every floor . This served as an intelligence test for the chicken because when my nanny called the chicken from the third floor window , how would it know which of the two doors of the building was the right one to enter ? And which floor does it have to go up to ? And which is the right door on the right floor ? My super chicken was really something ! It would know exactly how to get home . My amah would put the chicken out in the garden ; it was not a private garden but a public garden that was open to the street . Yet this chicken would never walk out to the street , it would always stay inside the garden . Who taught this chicken to stay in the garden ? Remember that it was not brought up as a little chick in that garden . It was already a grown chicken when it came . And yet it would stay in the garden and feed there , and when my amah goes to the window and calls it , the chicken comes running up the stairs , through the right door , to the right floor , and right into our door ! Is that not a " super chicken " ? This chicken became very precious to me . One day I came home from school , and where was my chicken ? It was in the cooking pot . I demanded an explanation from my amah , " What do you mean by cooking my chicken ? " " I didn 't want to cook your chicken , but your mother told me to , " she said sadly , because that chicken was dear to her too . " Why did she do that ? " The explanation given was that my mother had some guests and she wanted to put more food on the table - so that 's what happened to the chicken . Now , remember that I was just a child and this chicken was precious to me . To you a chicken may not mean much , especially if it is not your pet chicken . I didn 't know how to forgive my mother for that ( though I don 't recall that she ever asked for forgiveness ) . It was a cruelty to my pet . I looked back through my earlier years and I thought : I didn 't get anything from my mother and now what was dear to me she has taken away from me . One of the greatest friends and greatest pets you can have is , of course , your dog . I had a little dog , a Pekingese terrier . It was a little white terrier , with long fur that covered the eyes so that you can hardly see the eyes . It had a round , very cute face . It looked like a little teddy bear . It was very dear to me because when I came home from school at weekend , my dog would welcome me excitedly , jumping all over me . You cannot get a warmer welcome than from a dog . I hadn 't received such a warm welcome from human beings . Isn 't it true that in many households when the husband comes home from the office , the wife is too busy cooking , washing the clothes , and looking after the baby ? Often the husband is also too tired or too busy to give his wife much attention . Often neither husband nor wife has much time or energy to welcome or greet each other when the husband comes home . The thing about dogs is that they always give you a warm welcome . They jump all over you , licking all over you . I came home one day but there was no dog . No welcome . No pet . No nothing . What happened to my dog ? " Oh , your mother forgot to close the door . The dog went out , disappeared into the streets and never came back . " My chicken was gone . My dog was gone . I had lost just about all that gave me joy . This was a little too much to take . If you grow up with anger , resentment , and bitterness , what kind of person will you become ? If God had not worked in my heart , I think that is exactly what I would have become . Why do I feel no bitterness at all against my mother ? Why don 't I feel resentful ? Why don 't I hate her ? Because I have died ; and in my dying with Christ , I lost the old person in me that was offended , hurt , and neglected . I entered into life without bitterness , without anger , without hatred , only because Eric Chang , who grew up without his mother 's love , without even the minimal attention from a mother , had died . I don 't suffer from any psychological effect , none whatever . Afterwards , I could even love my mother . And before she died , we became very close friends with one another . That is the evidence of God 's saving and transforming power . Now it is evident why I have never actually talked about my mother in the past . It is because I didn 't want to say these things about her . The reason I finally do say something about this whole matter is because only by doing so can I testify about this very important aspect of the Lord 's work in my life , and then afterwards also in her life . Unless you know about the seriousness and painfulness of the situation I grew up in , and its potential for deep and permanent inner damage , you will not be able to appreciate the greatness of God 's work in changing me into a new person . By drawing me into a new life in Him , God also transformed my attitude and my relationship with my mother , which finally resulted in her being changed too . Nowadays there is a section of the Christian church that preaches something called " inner healing " . They claim that this " inner healing " applies to everyone , but in particular to people like me who were hurt inwardly . It is true that , when I search my memory , not one example of mother 's love comes to mind . If you ask me to quote just one such incident from my childhood years , I can 't think of one . This does not prove that she did not love me ; it is only to say that no expression of motherly love has been impressed upon my memory . Such a childhood is supposed to inevitably leave emotional and psychological scars on one 's mind . But I can 't find any scars . There is nothing to be healed . I don 't need to go and see a psychiatrist or psychologist and work through the effects of psychological hurts and the like . Why ? Because Jesus came into my life ; I died with him at baptism and rose with him to a new life in him . In dying with him , my old self with its old memories and attitudes all passed away . The old " me " had to die so that a new " me " could come into being . To " heal " the old " self " is like patching an old garment with a new piece of cloth , which in time will make the tear even worse . In saving us , God does not patch up the old person but , in Christ , He makes a new person out of us . That is the New Testament teaching ( 2 Corinthians 5 : 17 , etc ) . After God saved me , I began to love my mother , and I didn 't even know why ! But I could do that only after Jesus had come into my life . He lives in me and he is a friend of sinners . He forgives sinners just like me , and he put his love into my heart . This love was the most powerful thing that turned my mother around , such was the wonder of what the Lord had done in me . During the summer holidays in London , I went to her home to visit her . I can 't call it my " home " because I wasn 't really welcome there . Again , I could have felt hurt or harbored hatred , but no , I wouldn 't let that get to me . " He who has died is freed from sin " ( Romans 6 . 7 ) , and hatred is sin . But my presence was interfering with her private life , so my being there was somewhat inconvenient for her . So I would only stay for a short time . But when I stayed , I would wash the dishes and do the things I was not expected to do . I thought : I am not going to preach to her , but I will witness with my life . If my life doesn 't speak to her , nothing will . One day she asked me , " By the way , how do you pay for your studies ? Who provides financially for your studies in London ? " I told her , " My God provides . " " Yes , but surely He doesn 't drop money out of heaven . " I said , " Well , perhaps sometimes He does ! In any case , one way or another , He has His ways of doing it . " She said , " I don 't understand . " Because she didn 't know the Lord , she couldn 't possibly understand that our living God looks after His children and provides for their needs when they look to Him to take care of them . After I had graduated a few years later , she said to me on one occasion , " I don 't understand how the Lord provides for you , but I see that your God is real . " A few years later , my father died . I was still in London at that time . My father and my mother had been separated . I find it difficult to talk about these family matters , but again I see no other way to bring out what God did in my life without making some reference to these things . Officially they were divorced , but my father had written in his will that my mother is the one to whom he bequeathed all his possessions . He loved my mother , and still hoped to reunite with her , but she didn 't want to . When he died , the executor of his will looked at it , and saw that he had instructed that his possessions were to be given to " my wife , " namely , my mother . The court refused to permit the execution of my father 's will according to that instruction unless my mother could prove that she was still his wife . She couldn 't , of course , because they were divorced . Consequently , the court decided that since my mother could not claim the inheritance , it must be given to me . My mother wanted to contest , or at least appeal against , the court 's decision . Would we not be inclined to think , " Isn 't this going too far ? You don 't want to be his wife , you don 't want to be a mother , but you want the inheritance ! ? " But let us remember : she was not a Christian . What then should I do in such a situation ? Well , this is what I did : I said to my mother , " I will give you the whole inheritance . " I went to the lawyer , at my own expense , and instructed the lawyer to write a statement on my behalf whereby I relinquished the inheritance which the court in the United States ( where my father died ) had declared to be mine . So I signed away my inheritance . I said , " Give it all to my mother . I don 't want it . Give it to her . I am a servant of the Lord . " I had no money myself ; and I couldn 't pay the lawyer 's fees immediately . The lawyer , who was a good Christian , was touched by what I had done , and he said to me , " I don 't want you to pay me . In the future , whenever you need legal help , you come to me and I will do it for you free of charge . " That is how the inheritance went to my mother . Slowly , slowly , God was working in her heart and the hardness and selfishness began to melt away . One of the most profound moments in my life came on the day she said to me , " Eric , how do I come to know the God you trust and serve ? How can I know Him ? Tell me how . " I asked her , " Mum , do you really want to know ? " She said , " Yes , how do I get to know Him ? " I said , " Well , are you prepared to kneel down here with me and open your heart to God , break with the past , yield your life completely to God , and let Him make a new person out of you ? Are you willing to do that ? " She said , " Yes . " I asked , " Shall we kneel down together ? " She said , " Yes , " and so she knelt down with me and yielded her life to the Lord . Tears of repentance poured down . She wept abundantly . It was amazing . I can never think about this incident without feeling the power of that emotion as I looked at what God was doing in my mother 's heart . She had been a person who didn 't want to see the inside of a church , who wasn 't interested in the gospel , who didn 't believe in God , who lived only for herself , yes , for herself alone - God had now made a whole new person out of her , right before my eyes . I am a witness to this wonderful event . We became very close to one another . There was a whole new kind of love for one another . It is very hard to explain . It was just amazing . Since my mother cannot be here to testify to how the Lord saved her and changed her into a new person , I am sure she would be happy that I have done it for her . Moreover , if she were the one to describe her former life , she would perhaps have described it in stronger terms than I would ; this is because we see ourselves and what we were in the past , so much more clearly after the Lord has changed us . For my part , if I try to avoid the unpleasantness of having to mention past events and therefore do not refer to them at all , then you would have been unable to see how vast and astonishing was the change that God had accomplished in her life . She became a totally different person from the one I had known before . A few years after my mother came to the Lord , she passed away . I felt a deep pain in my heart . In fact , it is one of the few times ( I will be honest with you and confess to you ) that I was unhappy with God . I said to God , " You know , all my life I didn 't have my real mother . Now mother has come to You , she now loves You , she wants to walk with You , and I am just beginning to know that I have a mother - and You take her away . I don 't understand this . Lord , I am unhappy about this . " I confess to you that I grumbled to God . Why did He do this ? To be perfectly honest with you , I still don 't quite understand . Just when we had become closer to one another , when we had a new love for one another and such sweetness - she passed away . What seemed to have been an ordinary cold developed into a vicious viral pneumonia that no antibiotic could stop . She went into a coma and died within a few days . I never even got to say goodbye to her , not even over the phone . I was away on a mission at that time . Shortly after I returned , a telegram brought the news that my mother had passed away . Yes , I know that being a Christian is not always easy , and I frankly admit that it grieved me tremendously that God saw it fit to take her away , but I also know that there must be a reason for that which one day I will more fully understand . Until then , I am reminded by the Word of God that : The important point I want to emphasize is that because of my having died with Christ , I did not have any unhappiness with my mother . After I had come to know God , there was no problem to forgive . In fact , I could no longer think of anything to forgive because I - the one who had once been neglected , hurt , and so forth - had died . That Eric Chang did not exist anymore . There was a new man in whom Christ lives . And my mother encountered the saving power of God in this new man , and this power changed her , a person whose heart was so hardened that , humanly speaking , it was impossible to save such a person . I hope that you have come to see what it means to die with Christ . I never needed any " inner healing " . I had no need for emotional healing , because once you have died , then all that which was bad and was hurt has died with you . The old life , together with its scars and sins , has passed away . Quite recently , there was a young woman who told us that she went through the terrible experience of being painfully abused , and she was left with deep psychological scars . But after she died with Christ , she required no psychological treatment , no healing of any sort . The old had passed , the new had come . She experienced for herself the truth that the one who has died is free from past sins and hurts , free to live a new life that is enriched and made meaningful by the glory of God , the joy of God , and the liberty of God . The salvation and transformation of a person is the greatest miracle you can ever see . I have experienced and witnessed many miracles , but none is greater than the transformation of a person . There is nothing to compare with that . It is simply amazing . I visit my mother 's grave from time to time when I am in that part of the world , and I would say , " O Lord , how marvelous are Your ways ! "

Several years ago , a friend of mine and her husband were invited to spend the weekend at the husband 's employer 's home . My friend , Arlene , was nervous about the weekend . The boss was very wealthy , with a fine home on the waterway , and cars costing more than her house . The first day and evening went well , and Arlene was delighted to have this rare glimpse into how the very wealthy live . The husband 's employer was quite generous as a host , and took them to the finest restaurants . Arlene knew she would never have the opportunity to indulge in this kind of extravagance again , so was enjoying herself immensely . As the three of them were about to enter an exclusive restaurant that evening , the boss was walking slightly ahead of Arlene and her husband . He stopped suddenly , looking down on the pavement for a long , silent moment . Arlene wondered if she was supposed to pass him . There was nothing on the ground except a single darkened penny that someone had dropped , and a few cigarette butts . Still silent , the man reached down and picked up the penny . He held it up and smiled , then put it in his pocket as if he had found a great treasure . How absurd ! What need did this man have for a single penny ? Why would he even take the time to stop and pick it up ? Throughout dinner , the entire scene nagged at her . Finally , she could stand it no longer . She Casually mentioned that her daughter once had a coin collection , and asked if the penny he had found had been of some value . A smile crept across the man 's face as he reached into his pocket for the penny and held it out for her to see . She had seen many pennies before ! What was the point of this ? " Look at it . " He said . " Read what it says . " She read the words " United States of America . " " No , not that ; read further . " " One cent ? " " No , keep reading . " " In God we Trust ? " " Yes ! " " And ? " " And if I trust in God , the name of God is holy , even on a coin . Whenever I find a coin I see that inscription . It is written on every single United States coin , but we never seem to notice it ! God drops aPosted by The Socrates Triple Filter Test In ancient Greece , Socrates was reputed to hold knowledge in high esteem . One day an acquaintance met the great philosopher and said , " Do you know what I just heard about your friend ? " Hold on a minute , " Socrates replied . " Before telling me anything , I 'd like you to pass a little test . It 's called the Triple Filter Test . " Triple filter ? " That 's right , " Socrates continued . " Before you talk to me about my friend , it might be a good idea to take a moment and filter what you 're going to say . That 's why I call it the triple filter test . The first filter is TRUTH . Have you made absolutely sure that what you are about to tell me is true ? " No , " the man said , " actually I just heard about it and . . . " All right , " said Socrates . " So you don 't really know if it 's true or not . Now let 's try the second filter , the filter of GOODNESS . Is what you are about to tell me about my friend something good ? " No , on the contrary . . . " So , " Socrates continued , " you want to tell me something bad about him , but you 're not certain it 's true . You may still pass the test though , because there 's one filter left : the filter of USEFULNESS . Is what you want to tell me about my friend going to be useful to me ? " No , not really . " Well , " concluded Socrates , " if what you want to tell me is neither true nor good nor even useful , why tell it to me at all ? " This is why Socrates was a great philosopher & held in such high esteem . Friends , use this triple filter each time you hear loose talk about any of your near & dear friends . A candle loses nothing if it is used to light another one . A long time ago in China , a girl named Li - Li got married & went to live with her husband and mother - in - law . In a very short time , Li - Li found that she couldn 't get along with mother - in - law at all . Their personalities were very different , and Li - Li was angered by many of her mother - in - law 's habits . In addition , she criticized Li - Li constantly . Days passed , and weeks passed . Li - Li and her mother - in - law never stopped arguing and fighting . But what made the situation even worse was that , according to ancient Chinese tradition , Li - Li had to bow to her mother - in - law and obey her every wish . All the anger and unhappiness in the house was causing Li - Li 's poor husband great distress . Finally , Li - Li could not stand her mother - in - law 's bad temper and dictatorship any longer , and she decided to do something about it ! Li - Li went to see her father 's good friend , Mr . Huang , who sold herbs . She told him the situation and asked if he would give her some poison so that she could solve the problem once and for all . . Mr . Huang thought for a while , and finally said , ' Li - Li , I will help you solve your problem , but you must listen to me and obey what I tell you . ' Li - Li said , ' Yes , Mr . Huang , I will do whatever you tell me to do . ' Mr . Huang went into the back room , and returned in a few minutes with a package of herbs . He told Li - Li , ' You can 't use a quick - acting poison to get rid of your mother - in - law , because that would cause people to become suspicious . Therefore , I have given you a number of herbs that will slowly build up poison in her body . Every other day prepare some delicious meal and put a little of these herbs in her serving . Now , in order to make sure that nobody suspect you , when she dies , you must be very careful to be actively friendly towards her . ' Don 't argue with her , obey her every wish , and treat her like a queen . ' Li - Li was so happy . She thanked Mr . Huang and hurried home to start her plot of murdering her mother - in - law . Weeks went by , and months went by , aPradhumn Kumar Don 't leave your friends A man and his dog were walking along a road . The man was enjoying the scenery , when it suddenly occurred to him that he was dead . He remembered dying , and that the dog walking beside him had been dead for years . He wondered where the road was leading them . After a while , they came to a high , white stone wall along one side of the road . It looked like fine marble . At the top of a long hill , it was broken by a tall arch that glowed in the sunlight . When he was standing before it he saw a magnificent gate in the arch that looked like mother - of - pearl , and the street that led to the gate looked like pure gold . He and the dog walked toward the gate , and as he got closer , he saw a man at a desk to one side . When he was close enough , he called out , " Excuse me , where are we ? " " This is Heaven , sir , " the man answered . " Wow ! Would you happen to have some water ? " the man asked . " Of course , sir . Come right in , and I 'll have some ice water brought right up . " The man gestured , and the gate began to open . " Can my friend , " gesturing toward his dog , " come in , too ? " the traveler asked . " I 'm sorry , sir , but we don 't accept pets . " The man thought a moment and then turned back toward the road and continued the way he had been going with his dog . After another long walk , and at the top of another long hill , he came to a dirt road leading through a farm gate that looked as if it had never been closed . There was no fence As he approached the gate , he saw a man inside , leaning against a tree and reading a book . " Excuse me ! " he called to the man . " Do you have any water ? " " Yeah , sure , there 's a pump over there , come on in . " " How about my friend here ? " the traveler gestured to the dog . " There should be a bowl by the pump . " They went through the gate , and sure enough , there was an old - fashioned hand pump with a bowl beside it . The traveler filled the water bowl and took a long drink himself , then he gave some to the dog . When they were full , he and the dog walked back toward the man who was standing by the tree . " What do you call this pPosted by There are only two ways of looking at life , only two basic attitudes with which you view life - either as a problem or a situation . Those who are smart know the alchemy of converting problems into situations while a fool converts situations into problems . Osho tells a great Sufi parable : A king wanted to appoint a prime minister . Four great thinkers of the country were called . They were put into a room and told that the door was going to be locked and that the lock was not an ordinary lock , but a mathematical puzzle . " Unless you solve the puzzle , you will not be able to open the door . If you solve the puzzle , you will be able to open the lock and come out . " The king went out and closed the door . Three of the four thinkers got down to work , immediately . They had brought paper and some guide books , and they started working really seriously . There were a few numbers written on the lock . They observed the numbers and noted them down . Then , they started working out the problem . The fourth thinker simply sat in a corner . The three others thought he was mad . " What is he doing ? " He was sitting there with his eyes shut . After a few minutes , he stood up , went to the door , pushed the door and it opened ! And he went out . . . The other scholars were still busy scratching their heads to solve the problem . They didn 't even realise what had just happened . They were too preoccupied to see that the fourth person was already out . Finally , the king came in with the fourth man . Addressing the three thinkers , he said , " Stop ! The examination is over . I have chosen my prime minister . This is the man . " They were jolted out of their stupor . They couldn 't believe their eyes . They said , " How could this happen ? He wasn 't doing anything . He just sat in the corner . How could he solve it ? " And the man replied calmly , " There was no problem . I sat there , and the first thing , the basic thing , was to know whether the door was locked or not . I simply meditated silently . I just gathered my consciousness together . I became completely quiet and pondered ovPosted by A man was strolling along the beach one day when he spotted a bottle washed up on the shore . He went over and picked it up , and noticed a message in the bottle . He popped the cork out and inside was a weathered treasure map indicating that there was buried treasure to be found in the shallow waters below . But the man thought it was a hoax , so he slipped the map back in and threw the bottle back into the ocean . . . A little later , another man was walking along the beach and the bottle had washed upon the shore . He too picked up the bottle , popped out the cork , and found the treasure map . This man , however , was curious enough to wade into the water and hoped it was buried shallow enough to find . But once the cold ocean waters reached up to his thighs , he decided to quit . " This is not worth it ! " he thought to himself . So he scrambled back to shore and chucked the bottle back into the ocean . . . . A third man was walking by the beach and noticed the bottle washed upon the shore . He went over , opened the bottle and found the map . The map looked authentic enough , and promised great treasure . . . So he got himself a small raft and set out into the ocean to claim the treasure . . he rowed out far enough into the ocean where the " X " on the map was and to his surprise , he saw the glint of something shining in the waters below . . he dove into the ocean and swam towards the shining object below . . he could see that there was something that looked like a treasure chest , but he couldn 't quite reach it and the deeper he went , the greater the cold and pressure on his body and his mind . . , " I am about to lose my breath , and the longer i take , my raft might be swept away ! " , he thought . So the man decided to give up the hunt so he would ensure his own life and safety . . when he reached the shore once more , he took the bottle from the raft and tossed it back into the ocean . . . Finally , one more man was walking along the beach . He noticed the bottle , went over , popped it open , and was excited to find a map promising great treasure . He noticed someone hadEternal life is waiting for all those who are willing to take that risk to follow God all the way of life , where we find love , forgiveness and life everlasting . . . . for eternity . The Broken Pot . . . A water bearer in India had two large pots , each hung on the ends of a pole which he carried across his neck . One of the pots had a crack in it , while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water . At the end of the long walk from the stream to the house , the cracked pot arrived only half full . For a full two years this went on daily , with the bearer delivering only one and a half pots full of water to his house . Of course , the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments , perfect for which it was made . But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection , and miserable that it was able to accomplish only half of what it had been made to do . After two years of what it perceived to be a bitter failure , it spoke to the water bearer one day by the stream . " I am ashamed of myself , and I want to apologize to you . I have been able to deliver only half my load because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your house . Because of my flaws , you have to do a lot of this work , and you don 't get full value from your efforts , " the pot said . The bearer said to the pot , " Did you notice that there were flowers only on your side of the path , but not on the other pot 's side ? That 's because I have always known about your flaw , and I planted flower seeds on your side of the path , and every day while we walk back , you 've watered them . For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate the table . Without you being just the way you are , there would not be this beauty to grace the house . " Moral : Each of us has our own unique flaws . We 're all cracked pots . But it 's the cracks and flaws we each have that make our lives together so very interesting and rewarding . The Bird that did not Talk There is a story about a fellow who lived alone and went to a pet store to buy a parrot . He thought the bird might fill some of his lonely hours . The very next day , however , he came back to complain , " That bird doesn 't talk . " The store owner asked if he had a mirror in its cage , and the man said he didn 't . " Oh , parrots love mirrors , " he explained . " When he sees his reflection in the mirror , he 'll just start talking away . " So he sold him a birdcage mirror . The bird owner was back the next day to gripe that his parrot still hadn 't said a word . " That 's very peculiar , " allowed the pet expert . " How about a swing ? Birds really love these little swings , and a happy parrot is a talkative parrot . " So the man bought a swing , took it home , and installed it in the cage . But he was back the next day with the same story . " Does he have a ladder to climb ? " the salesman asked . " That just has to be the problem . Once he has a ladder , he 'll probably talk your ear off ! " So the fellow bought a ladder . The man was back at the pet store when it opened the next day . From the look on his face , the owner knew something was wrong . " Didn 't your parrot like the ladder ? " he asked . His repeat customer looked up and said , " The parrot died . " " I 'm so sorry , " the stunned businessman said . " Did he ever say anything ? " " Well , yes . He finally talked just before he died . In a weak little voice , he asked me , " don 't they sell any bird seed at that pet store ? ' " Some of us have mistakenly thought that happiness consists of lining our cages with toys , gadgets , and other stuff . Excessive consumption has become the hallmark of our life . " Whoever has the most toys wins " seems to be the likely candidate to be the bumper sticker for an entire culture . But is it so ? There is a spiritual hunger in the human heart that can 't be satisfied by seeing one 's own image reflected back in vanity mirrors , playing with our grown - up toys , or climbing the corporate ladder . Our hearts need real nourishment . The love of family and friends , relationships over Posted by Gandhi ji 's Teachings : As relevant as ever Mahatma Gandhi is one of the most influential persons of the 20th century . Albert Einstein , very aptly put it , when he said : " Generations will scarce believe that such a one as this ever in flesh and blood walked upon this earth . " He was not just a political leader , but a social reformer and a spiritual teacher , too . Incidents from the Mahatma 's life and his well - documented experiments with truth serve as a great way of inculcating values in our children . He stressed that one should always live one 's philosophies , beliefs and faith , and he was a prime example of that . Honesty is the best policy In primary school , once during a school inspection , Gandhiji had spelt the word , ' kettle ' wrong . When his teacher urged him to copy from others and correct the spelling , he refused as he was convinced that it was not the right thing to do . Honesty and truthfulness were qualities he came to embody throughout his lifetime . In the modern world , we strive to make our children excel in academics , sports and the ways of life , but we must also pay great attention to these character - building attributes , which may seem a little old - fashioned . Clothes do not a man make When Gandhiji set out to England to study law , he had a brush with the sophisticated lifestyle of the British . In his pursuit of being an ' English gentleman ' he tried dressing up like one . He busted money on fashionable clothes and even a chimney - pot hat in a desperate attempt to belong . He took lessons in dancing and elocution , but these infatuations lasted for a while before common sense dawned . Gandhiji realized that character , and not clothes , made a man . Much later , his thoughts about dressing took him further in quite the opposite direction and he started dressing in loincloth to empathise with the poorest of the poor . In that , he used the symbolism of dressing as a conscious tool to shape public opinion . It would be far - fetched to expect that we emulate him , but it would be worthwhile to interpret his experiences and ePosted by While at the park one day , a woman sat down next to a mid age man on a bench near a playground . That 's my son over there , she said , pointing to a little boy in a red sweater who was gliding down the slide . He 's a fine looking boy , the man said . That 's my son on the swing in the blue sweater . Then , looking at his watch , he called to his son . What do you say we go , Todd . Todd pleaded , Just five more minutes , Dad . Please Just five more minutes . The man nodded and Todd continued to swing to his heart 's content . Minutes passed and the father stood and called again to his son . Time to go now Again Todd pleaded , Five more minutes , Dad . Just five more minutes . The man smiled and said , O . K . My , you certainly are a patient father , the woman responded . The man smiled and then said , My older son Tommy was killed by a drunk driver last year while he was riding his bike near here . I never spent much time with Tommy and now I 'd give anything for just five more minutes with him . I 've vowed not to make the same mistake with Todd . He thinks he has five more minutes to swing . The truth is , I get Five more minutes to watch . One day all the employees reached the office and they saw a big notice on the door on which it was written : " Yesterday the person who has been hindering your growth in this company passed away . We invite you to join the funeral in the room that has been prepared in the gym " . In the beginning , they all felt sad for the death of one of their colleagues , but after a while they started getting curious ; who was that man who hindered the growth of his colleagues and the company itself . The excitement in the gym was such that security guards were brought in to control the crowd within the room . As they neared the coffin , the more the excitement heated up . Everyone was thinking : " Who is this guy who was hindering my progress ? Well , at least he died ! " One by one the thrilled employees got closer to the coffin , and when they looked inside it , they suddenly became speechless . They stood over the coffin , shocked and in silence , as if someone had touched the deepest part of their soul . There was a mirror inside the coffin : everyone who looked inside it could see himself . There was also a sign next to the mirror that said : There is only one person , who is capable to set limits to your growth : It is You . You are the ONLY person who can revolutionize your life . You are the only person , who can influence your happiness , realization and success . You are the ONLY person who can help YOURSELF . Your life does not change when your boss changes , when your friends change , when your partner changes , when your company changes . Your life changes when YOU change , when you go beyond your limiting beliefs , when you realize that you are the ONLY one responsible for your life . THE MOST IMPORTANT RELATIONSHIP YOU CAN HAVE IS THEONE YOU HAVE WITH YOURSELF ! " . Examine yourself . Watch yourself . Don 't be afraid of difficulties and losses : Be a WINNER , Build Yourself and Your Reality . The world is like a Mirror . It gives back to anyone the reflection of the thoughts in which one hasstrongly believed . The world and your reality are like mirrors lying in a coffinPosted by The Perfect Heart . . . . One day a man was standing in the middle of the town proclaiming that he had the most beautiful heart in the whole valley . A large crowd gathered and they all admired his heart for it was perfect . There was not a mark or a flaw in it . Yes , they all agreed it truly was the most beautiful heart they had ever seen . The young man was very proud and boasted more loudly about his beautiful heart . Suddenly , an old man appeared at the front of the crowd and said , " Why your heart is not nearly as beautiful as mine . " The crowd and the young man looked at the old man 's heart . It was beating strongly , but full of scars , it had places where pieces had been removed and other pieces put in , but they didn 't fit quite right and there were several jagged edges . In fact , in some places there were deep gouges where whole pieces were missing . The people stared - - how can he say his heart is more beautiful , they thought ? The young man looked at the old man 's heart and saw its state and laughed . " You must be joking , " he said . " Compare your heart with mine , mine is perfect and yours is a mess of scars and tears . " Yes , " said the old man , " yours is perfect looking but I would never trade with you . You see , every scar represents a person to whom I have given my love - I tear out a piece of my heart and give it to them , and often they give me a piece of their heart which fits into the empty place in my heart , but because the pieces aren 't exact , I have some rough edges , which I cherish , because they remind me of the love we shared . Sometimes I have given pieces of my heart away , and the other person hasn 't returned a piece of his heart to me . These are the empty gouges - - giving love is taking a chance . Although these gouges are painful , they stay open , reminding me of the love I have for these people too , and I hope someday they may return and fill the space I have waiting . So now do you see what true beauty is ? " The young man stood silently with tears running down his cheeks . He walked up to the old man , reached into his pePosted by Performence Evaluation and Effects Have you heard the story of " The Washer man and the Foolish Donkey " ? To refresh your memory , and for the benefit of those who have not grown up listening to this moral story , it goes like this … There was once a washer man who had a donkey and a dog . One night when the whole world was sleeping , a thief broke into the house , the washer man was fast asleep but the donkey and the dog were awake . The dog decided not to bark since the master did not take good care of him and wanted to teach him a lesson . The donkey got worried and said to the dog that if he doesn 't bark , the donkey will have to do something himself . The dog did not change his mind and the donkey started braying loudly . Hearing the donkey bray , the thief ran away , the master woke up and started beating the donkey for braying in the middle of the night for no reason . Moral of the story " One must not engage in duties other than his own " Now take a new look at the same story … The washer man ( J ) was a well educated man from a premier management institute . He had the fundas of looking at the bigger picture and thinking out of the box . He was convinced that there must be some reason for the donkey to bray in the night . He walked outside a little and did some fact finding , applied a bottom up approach , figured out from the ground realities that there was a thief who broke in and the donkey only wanted to alert him about it . Looking at the donkey 's extra initiative and going beyond the call of the duty , he rewarded him with lot of hay and other perks and became his favorite pet . The dog 's life didn 't change much , except that now the donkey was more motivated in doing the dogs duties as well . In the annual appraisal the dog managed a " meets requirement " . Soon the dog realized that the donkey is taking care of his duties and he can enjoy his life sleeping and lazing around . The donkey was rated as " star performer " . The donkey had to live up to his already high performance standards . Soon he was over burdened with worPradhumn Kumar A Tragedy or a Blessing ? 100 years ago in Scotland , the Clark family had a dream . Clark and his wife worked and saved , making plans for their nine children and themselves to travel to the United States . It had taken years , but they had finally saved enough money and had gotten passports and reservations for the whole family on a new liner to the United States . The entire family was filled with anticipation and excitement about their new life . However , seven days before their departure , the youngest son was bitten by a dog . The doctor sewed up the boy but hung a yellow sheet on the Clarks ' front door . Because of the possibility of rabies , they were being quarantined for fourteen days . The family 's dreams were dashed . They would not be able to make the trip to America as they had planned . The father , filled with disappointment and anger , stomped to the dock to watch the ship leave - without the Clark family . The father shed tears of disappointment and cursed both his son and God for their misfortune . Five days later , the tragic news spread throughout Scotland - the mighty Titanic had sunk . The unsinkable ship had sunk , taking hundreds of lives with it . The Clark family was to have been on that ship , but because the son had been bitten by a dog , they were left behind in Scotland . When Mr . Clark heard the news , he hugged his son and thanked him for saving the family . He thanked God for saving their lives and turning what he had felt was a tragedy into a blessing . Although we may not always understand , all things happen for a reason . Posted by Keep Marketing You . Rejection and job searching go hand in hand . As a writer , I can tell you something about disappointment . I had enough " reject " slips from New York publishers to start a bonfire . Then one day , an editor said , " Yes , " and my world was drastically transformed . Ken Taylor began re - writing the Bible in a contemporary translation and had more than 60 rejections . He finally decided to self - publish " The Living Bible " and it became one of the greatest best - sellers in publishing history . If you are qualified for a particular job , never stop interviewing - - even if you return to the same companies five or six times . Meanwhile , you need to accept an interim position to keep yourself gainfully employed . When you add lack of funds to job rejection , it is a double - whammy . Never overlook working for a " temporary " employment agency . It gives you a chance to demonstrate your skills to a number of companies and can open some exciting doors . As a last resort , start free - lancing your skills . Who knows ? You may wind up with your own business and be your own boss ! Posted by The " Want to ! " I remember the night in Chandigarh when our son , Jack , was just five years old . We were staying with relatives and it was his bedtime . When I looked at the living room floor , I knew we had a problem . Toys were all over the place . " Jack , " I said , " you need to pick up all those toys before you go to bed . " " Daddy , " he said , " I 'm too tired to pick up my toys . " My immediate inclination was to force him to clean up the room . Instead , I went into the bedroom , laid down , and said , " Jack , come here . Let 's play Humpty Dumpty . " He climbed up on my knees and I said , " Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall . Humpty Dumpty had a great fall . " And he fell . Jack laughed and said , " Let 's do it again . " Well , after the third " fall , " I said , " Okay , but first go pick up those toys . " Without thinking , he ran into the living room and in ninety seconds he finished a job that could have taken half an hour . Then he jumped back on my knees and repeated , " Daddy , let 's do it again . " " Jack , I thought you were too tired to pick up those toys . " He answered , " I was , daddy , but I just wanted to do this ! " We can finish any job when we have the " Want to ! " Posted by In a town , a person decided to open up a brothel , which was right opposite to a church . The church & its congregation started a campaign to block the brothel from opening with petitions and prayed daily against his business . Work progressed . However , when it was almost complete and was about to open a few days later , a strong lightning struck the brothel and it was burnt to the ground . The church folks were rather smug in their outlook after that , till the brothel owner sued the church authorities on the grounds that the church through its congregation & prayers was ultimately responsible for the destruction of his brothel , either through direct or indirect actions or means . In its reply to the court , the church vehemently denied all responsibility or any connection that their prayers were reasons for the act of God . As the case made its way into court , the judge looked over the paperwork at the hearing and commented : ' I don 't know how I 'm going to decide this case , but it appears from the paperwork , we have a brothel owner who believes in the power of prayer and we have an entire church that doesn 't . ' Refusing to Accept Failure Sir Edmund Hillary was the first man to climb Mount Everest . On May 29 , 1953 he scaled the highest mountain then known to man - 29 , 000 feet straight up . He was knighted for his efforts . He even made American Express card commercials because of it ! However , until we read his book , High Adventure , we do not understand that Hillary had to grow into this success . You see , in 1952 he attempted to climb Mount Everest , but failed . A few weeks later a group in England asked him to address its members . Hillary walked on stage to a thunderous applause . The audience was recognizing an attempt at greatness , but Edmund Hillary saw himself as a failure . He moved away from the microphone and walked to the edge of the platform . He made a fist and pointed at a picture of the mountain . He said in a loud voice , " Mount Everest , you beat me the first time , but I 'll beat you the next time because you 've grown all you are going to grow . . . but I 'm still growing ! " The Red Rose & The Cactus One beautiful spring day a red rose blossomed in a forest . Many kinds of trees and plants grew there . . As the rose looked around , a pine tree nearby said , " What a beautiful flower . I wish I was that lovely . " Another tree said , " Dear pine , do not be sad , we cannot have everything . " The rose turned its head and remarked , " It seems that I am the most beautiful plant in this forest . " A sunflower raised its yellow head and asked , " Why do you say that ? In this forest there are many beautiful plants . You are just one of them . " The red rose replied , " I see everyone looking at me and admiring me . " Then the rose looked at a cactus and said , " Look at that ugly plant full of thorns ! " The pine tree said , " Red rose , what kind of talk is this ? Who can say what beauty is ? You have thorns too . " The proud red rose looked angrily at the pine and said , " I thought you had good taste ! You do not know what beauty is at all . You can not compare my thorns to that of the cactus . " " What a proud flower " , thought the trees . The rose tried to move its roots away from the cactus , but it could not move . As the days passed , the red rose would look at the cactus and say insulting things , like : This plant is useless ? How sorry I am to be his neighbor . " The cactus never got upset and he even tried to advise the rose , saying , " God did not create any form of life without a purpose . " Spring passed , and the weather became very warm . Life became difficult in the forest , as the plants and animals needed water and no rain fell . The red rose began to wilt . One day the rose saw sparrows stick their beaks into the cactus and then fly away , refreshed . This was puzzling , and the red rose asked the pine tree what the birds were doing . The pine tree explained that the birds got water from the cactus . " Does it not hurt when they make holes ? " asked the rose . " Yes , but the cactus does not like to see any birds suffer , " replied the pine . The rose opened its eyes in wonder and said , " The cactus has water ? " " Yes you can also drink from it . . The sparrowPosted by

A black , two - door Honda Accord pulled into the driveway with the headlights off and without the stereo playing . As soon as it reached its spot , the engine was shut off . Brian and Mira sat in the front seat and held their breath , waiting for the lights in the one - story house to come on and their parents to come and stand at the front door . Neither happened . Brian was still checking the house . " That , " he said , " I don 't know . " He paused . " It 's all your fault anyways . " Purposefully , he didn 't look at her as he took the keys from the ignition . Their curfew had been about an hour and a half ago . Brian had spent most of that hour and a half searching for his sister ( well , step - sister ) at the party they were now returning from . She had to have been off with some fucking guy the whole time . Though Brian had no concrete proof of that . " Nothing , " he said , opening his door gently . " Come on . And don 't slam the door . " They got out of the car and Brian started towards the front door of the house . " No , " she spoke in a forced whisper , " the front door is too close to their bedroom . They 'll hear it . Come on , I left my window unlocked . We can get in that way . " Brian nodded and started moving back towards her . It made sense . The house had three bedrooms . The biggest , their parents room , was at the right end of the house , maybe ten feet away from the front door . Brian and Mira 's bedrooms were at the opposite end of the house . They tiptoed around the side of the house . " I assume you 've done this before , " Brian sarcastically commented , whispering . " The light , " Mira whispered . " The light is on in their bedroom . See ? " She pointed to the window ahead . Light was glowing and spilling out into the dark night , creating a large , yellow rectangle on the grass that gradually faded into the black as it got further from its source . " I don 't know , " Mira replied . She was quiet while she thought about it . " I say we just go ahead and sneak in . Then just hope for the best . Maybe tomorrow they 'll assume they just didn 't hear us come in . " Mira shrugged . " I don 't know . What I do know is if we just walk in now , then we 're definitely in trouble . At least this way there 's a chance , even if it is wishful thinking . " Brian pondered her thought for several seconds . Having decided that she was probably right , he nodded his head in agreement . It won 't fucking work , but at least this way there was a sliver of chance to not be in trouble . She started inching her way along the rear of the house and Brian followed . They took light , soft steps , conscious and on the lookout for any obstacle that might give them away , like stepping on a branch or something . They made it right up to the glowing window when Mira stopped again . Brian didn 't think that was likely to have been the case , but nodded his head in agreement anyways . Mira took a few deep breaths , steadying her nerves . Then , slowly , very slowly , she moved her head to peek around the side of the window . She quickly snapped it back though . Mira leaned forward so she could whisper in his ear . " I said they 're in there fucking . " She pulled back away from him and watched for his reaction . He didn 't know if it was the idea of the sex evidently going on in there or it was the way Mira 's breath whispered ' fucking ' in his ear , but he got a little hard right then . " Really ? " he asked . Mira nodded . He looked at her . Then to the window . " Here , " Mira whispered , " see for yourself . " She scooted to move out of the way . Sliding in front of him , the curve of her ass brushed against the bulge developing in his pants . She paused for a split second in that instant , but finished her move . Brian looked at her again , unsure . What was that ? These sorts of things never happened to him . He wouldn 't even have been here to witness any of this if it hadn 't been for Mira and her party . On any other given Friday , he probably wouldn 't have gone anywhere . She nodded him on , and he stepped into the same position Mira had just stepped away from . He peered around the side of the window . The view he had was of the bed from its left side , four or five feet away . His stepmother , Tyran , was laying on her back in the middle of the bed . His father , Ralph , was on top , his arms propping his torso above her like he was at the apex of a push - up while he pumped into her from between her spread legs . Ralph had a fairly rapid tempo going and the force of his penetrations forced Tyran 's legs to flail wildly around in the air while , at the same time , her firm , plump tits bounced and rebounded back and forth . Brian had always thought that the shapely 37 - year - old was alluringly beautiful . Her long , light brown hair , wistfully highlighted with various shades of blonde , was always just right , without looking like it was trying to . She had these sparkling blue eyes that always seemed just on the edge of flirty when she looked at you . Well , to me , anyways . Her body , though he never really saw her exercise , seemed completely toned . A lot of women , he noticed , wanted to kill her for it . And most men , he knew , would kill to be on it . In some of his more interesting dreaming at night while he slept , he had been all over it once or twice . Though , this was the first time he had ever seen her without any clothes on . And it was entrancing . Brian glanced over at Mira , who kept her eyes on the action . The five - and - a - half foot blonde was absently tracing her fingertips around the black tube top over her perky breasts . Her nipples were hard , and she seemed to be focusing her light touch on them . Brian looked back into the bedroom . He was getting aroused , too . His cock was hardening , looking at his stepmother getting fucked . It was wildly stimulating , watching like this . Much more than any of the porn he had . His father slammed hard into Tyran 's body and held his cock in her . Then pulled back and slammed hard , holding in buried again . And again , one last time . Mira paid attention when he immediately pulled out of the arms and rolled off her mom , his deflating shaft pulling out of her and into Mira and Brian 's sight . Ralph - his cock - was average . Completely average . Really , it 's slightly smaller than average , I would think . Fuck . Mira was kind of disappointed . It seemed so anti - climatic . The way her mom looked to be carrying on as she was being fucked , Mira thought that he had to have been packing a huge cock . Or maybe her mom was just trying to make him think he was . Sorry , Mom . Out of curiosity , a stray thought flashed in her mind . She looked over and down at Brian 's crotch . There was definitely a bulge there . Hard to tell how big he is , though . She didn 't really know why she 'd even care , it just seemed like an appropriate time to wonder about it for a moment . Mira walked quietly over to her door and cracked it open , looking out in the hall . " All clear , " she whispered . Brian nodded and with his own quick glances confirming hers , he stepped out into the hall and moved as quick as he could to his room directly across the hall . Once inside , he sat down on his bed . The image of his stepmother being fucked playing in a loop on the little screen in his head . He felt his cock starting to get hard again . After he stripped out of his clothes , he turned out the light and rested back on his bed . Mira , in her room , had changed out of her party clothes and into a pajama top and loose , Scooby - Doo boxers . Her tight little frame reached up into the top of her closet and took an old shoebox from the back . Mira carried it over to her bed and climbed onto the mattress . Laying back on her bed , Mira snaked her right hand down her stomach and inside the boxers . She hadn 't bothered with panties , so immediately her fingers dropped into the hot folds of her sex . She rubbed herself slowly , small bursts of sensation making her body squirm on the bed . Brian was stroking more rapidly now . His hand moved to match the motion of Tyran being pounded that he was seeing in his head . It was no longer his dad , but it was him now in the memory with her . He saw those round , full tits , bouncing , moving below him as he fucked her from on top . She held her legs up in the air and they had hopped around at each and every thrust . Mira raised her hips off the mattress and pushed the boxers down to her ankles with her left hand and her legs while she kept rubbing her clit with the right . Eyes closed and mouth open with staggered breathing , Mira 's left hand reached over , found the shoebox and opened it . Feeling around inside , she found and took out her dildo . Brian was stroking furiously now . He was close to exploding . He saw Tyran having her orgasm , arching her back , thrusting her hips , thrusting her tits up into the air , pushing up into him with her hips . Then he came , grunting through gritted teeth . Blasts of the creamy fluid landing and coalescing all over his torso . He was breathing heavily from his orgasm . In his mind , Tyran was radiant after she came , laying there holding her spent lover . Kissing him all over , telling him how much she loved his cock in her . Fuck , the imagination has never been that vivid before . Shit . Mira 's right hand had switched from rubbing her clit to fucking herself hard with the dildo . Her left hand had unbuttoned enough of the pajama top to uncover her naked tits , which she now rubbed , squeezed and teased . Her body lurched up when the first blast of her orgasm exploded and she landed on her side . Her hand was still trying to fuck her with the dildo , but was being prevented from doing so by the thighs squeezed together that had locked her arm in place . Mira slowly pulled the toy out of her , and felt it 's disappearance from inside of her . God , that thing is so much better than Stephen . ' Seven inches isn 't that big if it 's a pencil , and doesn 't matter at all if you can 't use it for longer than two minutes , asshole ' . She put it back in the box , then pulled the boxers back up into place . Rolling over to the edge of the bed , she slid the box under it . She didn 't feel like getting up to put it back in the closet . Mira got under the covers and soon fell into a pleasant sleep . Brian woke up , rubbed his sleepy eyes a little and looked at the clock on his nightstand through a thin haze that hadn 't yet disappeared from his eyes . It read 11 : 34 . ' Hell ' upside down . He wondered if he should take it as a sign . He hoped not . Brian saw Tyran at the stove cooking when , after having relieved himself , he went to the kitchen for a cup of coffee . He immediately realized that he couldn 't see her the same way as he always had . Not after watching her last night . Where before he might not have even noticed it , now he was wishing the top of the robe she wore could open just the slightest bit more so that he could glimpse what he knew were bare breasts underneath . Before , he probably wouldn 't have even glanced down , but now , his eyes followed the graceful concave curve at the small of her back flow out into the smooth convex curve of her ass . If it was yesterday morning , it might not have ever occurred to him that when she took a step , as she just had to get butter from the refrigerator , the bottom half of her robe opened up the middle revealing the slightest bit of an inner thigh . Now , though , he knew that it would be just the few , tortuous inches from the top of that gap that he would fantasize moving his hand through for the next few hours . ' Late start ' ? Ha . Yeah , in the middle of the night , you were getting fucked and I was whacking off because of it . " I guess so , " he answered , pouring coffee . " But on the other hand , it is Saturday . " Tyran smiled , with an oddly inserted cute little twitch of her nose as if she was signaling to him that she had heard his thought , and shrugged as she turned her attention back to the food on the stove . " Fair enough . This 'll be ready in about ten minutes . " Mira was sitting on one end of the couch in the living room , with her bare legs curled up under her and a blanket over them . Her normally straight blonde hair was chaotic from sleep and she was blowing her bangs out of her eyes . Looney Tunes were playing on the TV . She looked up when she noticed Brian walk in . He sat down on the other end of the couch . Brian chuckled , but soon became serious . He looked back towards the kitchen to be sure nobody could hear them . Mira saw him do it and did the same . " Anything ? " he asked in a hush , leaning in towards her a little . Mira shook her head . " No . I 've been down here for half an hour now and neither one of them said anything or acted mad or anything . " Brian was pleasantly surprised that it had worked . " Alright , " he shrugged . " Awesome . " The two got up and joined their parents at the dining room table . " But Dad , it wasn 't even my fault , " Brian interjected . " I wouldn 't have been late if I hadn 't had to search for Mira for an hour and a half . What was I supposed to do ? Leave her ? " " It makes no difference , " Ralph dismissed him , " the two of you were responsible for each other . One late , both late . You should have been more responsible . " Ralph looked at her . " I was still going to let you two go on your trips . But then , the both of you sat here and lied to me instead of owning up to the truth . So now , those are off , too . " " Your mother and I have already discussed this , " Ralph told Mira . " It 's already been decided . Nowhere but school and home for the next month unless you are going somewhere with the family , like church . No car , Brian . And no Spring Break trips for either of you . " " I can 't believe this , " Brian said , standing up with a bolt . He stared down at Mira , seething . Then turned and stormed away from the kitchen . A few seconds later , the sound of his bedroom door slamming came echoing down the hallway . Mira looked at her stepfather and her mother again . And without a further word , she stood up and left the table , too . She walked down the hallway and stopped at Brian 's door . Grabbing the door handle , she found it locked . She knocked lightly at the door . " Brian ? " Brian blew out a frustrated sigh . He decided he might as well go ahead and call his best friend . He didn 't really see there being any chance of getting out of his punishment . It didn 't really sound like his dad would even be willing to listen to an appeal , let alone consider one . He launched himself up out of his desk chair , sending it rolling backwards across the room in recoil and it knocked a stack of discs off of a small file cabinet . He looked at the accident and rolled his eyes . Action and reaction , another fucking thing to go wrong . He grabbed his cell off the nightstand , plopped down onto the bed and dialed Mark 's number . " Bri ! " Mark answered . " What 's up man ? All packed ? We 're out of this shithole in 24 hours ! " There was the sound of other people in the background being loud . " What ? " Mark 's voice got a little louder as if he was having a hard time hearing the conversation . Brian figured he was probably covering his other ear as well . " What do you mean you can 't go ? We 've been planning this for six months ! " Mark was right , of course . Brian and his friends usually didn 't associate much with the crowd of ' populars ' that Mira seemed part of . A little shallow , they always explained when asked about the ' populars ' , but Brian knew the truth was that most of the ' unpopulars ' wouldn 't have the chance to go to those parties , even if they wanted to . Brian , himself , didn 't really feel an integral part of either side , just kind of ended up where he ended up . " They wouldn 't let Mira go if I didn 't go along , and she begged me . So I went . Then I couldn 't find her and we got back over an hour late . " Brian hung up and tossed his phone back onto the nightstand . He fell back and stretched out on the bed . He still couldn 't believe his dad had been so harsh . He wasn 't always like that . He was pretty cool , before Brian 's mom died . And for a little while after that . Ralph had still disciplined him when he did something wrong back then , but the emphasis was more on realizing why whatever he did was wrong . Not deterrence by incarceration . Ralph , an agnostic professor of religious studies ( at that time , anyways ) , was lost for a while and started to seek out the church more and more , the one where his wife had gone . The one where he had only really been a ' social ' Christian at before . After a while , because of his profession , he was asked to run a bible study group , and the members of the church were so impressed by the faith he had grown , and the knowledge he already had , that when the pastor retired , they asked Ralph to take his place . Brian 's dad had taken this as sort of a sign . He accepted . Then he started emulating what everyone thought a pastor was supposed to be like . In a fundamentalist congregation anyways . Eventually , a little while after he remarried , he became that person , taking as his role model , it seemed , the God of the Old Testament : authoritatively demanding strict obedience and delivering swift , vengeful wrath when he didn 't get it . A little over four years ago , before their parents got married , she was his girlfriend and had been for over a year . Though they were young , they were older than their years , more mature than most kids their age , and knew what love was . And that they had it . Tyran was a single mother , working hard to support herself and Mira , the child she had gotten pregnant with in high school and gave birth to at the tender age of 16 . But getting by was hard for them . Brian helped when he could . Stuff around the house , chores . Buying things for Mira , ordering pizza in a subtle way when Tyran would come home tired from work and Brian and Mira were just doing their homework . Just things to help . In whatever way he might . Ralph met Mira 's mother in one of the study groups he taught . And they got to know each other because the kids spent so much time together . About a year after his wife had died , Ralph and Tyran were married . And she and Mira moved in to Brian 's home . For a split second , Brian was excited about his love moving into his very own house . Until it was decided that , even though they had been dating since before all this happened , the parents , especially his dad , couldn 't have a step - brother and a step - sister dating . That was just wrong . Families didn 't do that , and they were a family now . Besides , they were young . They didn 't really know what love was , and couldn 't really be expected to stay together for the rest of their unknown lives anyways . Every way any excuse could be used to justify their decision , the parents used it . It was hard for the kids , but eventually they grew to accept this new arrangement . Mira found a new group of friends when she joined the tennis team at high school and started dating . She became less mature with her popularity and more ' in the moment ' . Brian forced himself to stop thinking about it by diving into computers and software programming , which came with its own group of friends . He didn 't really date , though . Everyone told him he had become introverted and cynical . And now here they were . One of Mira 's parties , with some of Mira 's friends and one of Mira 's guys , had cost him his Spring Break . He couldn 't believe that , essentially , he was being punished because he was nice enough to wait for her while his ex - girlfriend was off fucking some guy . Mira stood at the window in her bedroom . She watched as Brian was finishing his mowing in the back yard . He shut the lawnmower down and sat in the grass along the edge of the large pond that cut through the corner of their property . Brian had started the yard work as soon as the family had returned from church three hours ago , and hadn 't even come inside for a drink or anything in that time . He was avoiding her . And now , as she watched him sitting , shirtless , soaked in sweat , she wondered why he was still just out there in the sun . Why not cool off in the pond ? Or sit in the shade of the gazebo their parents had built on the shore ? Maybe he was trying not to do anything that might invite company . Her company . He was still avoiding her . Mira stepped away from the window and went to lay down on her bed . She stared up at the ceiling . She had to figure a way to fix this . She knew it was her fault , and it wasn 't like they were especially close , anymore , but she couldn 't take this wall that had been erected between them . She had to find a way to break it down . " Didn 't think you would , " Tyran spoke knowingly . " Alright , well , we should be back around nine or ten , depending on how long the evening service runs . You gonna be okay here ? " The beach . Mira had been excited to go . She was 18 now and it was going to be her first trip without parents around . Just her and her friends . She had bought a popular romance novel from the bestsellers list to read while she tanned on the sand . Now she would be reading it at her house . She thought of other things she had bought for the trip when an idea hit her . She looked at her alarm clock . It was about twenty minutes to four . That meant a good five hours before the parents would be back . Maybe she did have a way to break the ice . Mira sat up . After pulling her hair back into a ponytail with a hair band from her nightstand , she stood and started undoing the buttons down the front of her dress . She let it fall to the floor on her way to the closet , where , after removing her bra and panties , she dug around for clothes to change into . Mira peeked through the curtains of the bay window that looked out on the front yard and the driveway . Only Brian 's car was there . The parents were gone . She checked the deadbolt in the front door . It was usually always set , at her mother 's insistence , especially when the kids were home alone . And it was . Making sure she had everything , Mira turned through the kitchen and exited through the back door . As soon as she was outside , she put her hands behind her back , so that Brian couldn 't see what she was carrying . But she didn 't see him now . He wasn 't sitting where she had seen him last . But she didn 't see the lawnmower , either . She looked to the right , towards the small toolshed . The door was open . Mira walked over and stood in the doorway . Brian was inside , facing away from her . Her shadow , though , made him turn to see who it was that stood there . He saw it was her , and just turned back to what he was doing . Brian was wrestling with himself in his mind . On the one hand , he was mad at her , and had a legitimate right to be . But on the other , he could scarcely resist her presence . The way she looked right now - her blonde ponytail with bangs in her face , the loose high school tennis t - shirt haphazardly tucked in the front of her denim shorts , but hanging down in the back over her ass , her flip - flops and her little red toenails - Mira was his perfect image for the girl next door . She always had been , when she wasn 't trying to impress everyone else . And , her leaning against the doorframe there , with her hands behind her back , her chest stuck out the slightest bit more . Whether she realized it or not , she wasn 't playing fair . " Fine then , just listen . Look , I 'm sorry . You know I am . I know it was all my fault . You were nice enough to go so that I could go to the party and I just got us into trouble . I tried to tell them , you heard me tell them . " But Mira just continued . " I 'll find some way to make it right . Maybe you and I can go after graduation . I 'll even pay or whatever . But we 're going to be stuck here all week together , and I don 't think I could take this the whole time , so , I came here to apologize . Again . " Brian sighed . He stood up and turned to face her . He looked , but still hadn 't spoken a word . What upset him more than losing his spring break was the fact that he lost it because he had to wait while Mira was off with some guy . But he 'd never let her know that . And he had to accept that without her knowing that , she didn 't know the whole situation , so it might not be that fair to hold it against her . She would just have to think it was about the trip . Mira smiled . Him turning is progress , at least . " I brought a peace offering , " she said . When he didn 't reply , she pulled her hands from behind her back . In the right hand were two shot glasses . In the left was a bottle of tequila . " Oh , they left about fifteen minutes ago . Mom said they wouldn 't be home until after church tonight . Around nine or ten , so that gives us some time . " Mira sighed , relieved . " Good . Thank you , " she said . " Come on . " She turned and left the doorway , and Brian followed her to the shaded gazebo . They sat down sideways on two of the white , wooden lounge chairs , facing each other across a little table in between them . Mira set the glasses down and poured a shot of Cuervo into each . " To you , " Mira said , raising her shot glass . Brian nodded and held his up too , before they both drank them . " I was serious , Brian , " Mira said , pouring two more . " I 'd pay for gas and everything if you still wanted to go to Dallas . I feel really , really bad that you didn 't get to go . Because of me . " They drank the shots and Mira poured them two more . " Wow . I 'm getting warm , " Mira said , standing up . She pulled her t - shirt off , revealing a baby blue bikini top underneath . It was fairly conservative , tying with strings around the back and around the neck , holding snugly around her perky , slightly - more - than - a - handful , breasts . " Okay . " She kicked her flip - flops off and started to undo her shorts . Brian couldn 't help but watch her as she stood up , her toned body and smooth skin barely a foot or two from his eyes . " Well , " she undid the zipper , " I didn 't know if you were gonna let me stay . " She pushed the small , denim shorts down her legs . " And I wasn 't sure my self - esteem could take it if a guy rejected me when I was half - naked . " She grinned at him as she kicked the shorts under her chair and sat back down . The bottoms were the same blue as the top , and tied at the hips in the same way . " Can I ask you something ? " Mira said . The way she looked up at him , slightly nervous , gave the impression that it wasn 't going to be his favorite color that she was wondering about . Brian looked at the ground . He thought of how to answer that . He wasn 't sure of how she might react to the answer . Some people were weird about things . Brian nodded . Mira let it sink in for a minute . " Why ? " she asked . " Is it because you 're 18 and all those hormones and stuff ? " " I lock the door so nobody walks in . Sometimes I have to get up and get something . I don 't bother covering up if I 'm not leaving my room . " Brian shook his head . " I don 't lock the door for me . I lock it for everyone else . I don 't want to make anyone uncomfortable or anything . Truth is , I wouldn 't find it embarrassing . If I was sure it wouldn 't bother anyone , I 'd probably be naked more often . Out in the open . I just feel more comfortable . Totally get nudists . " Mira was quiet for a while . She set out some more shots . They downed them . " Well , " she said , looking around , " it 's just us here . " Mira shrugged her shoulders . " If you wanted to . I 'm just saying that this is about as safe an environment you 'll get to test out your theory . " Brian looked at Mira for a few moments more . She 's trying to play chicken with me . Well , not this time , Mira . " Fair enough , then . " He grabbed his shot glass and tossed back the shot . " Cheers . " Mira was stunned into silence that her step - brother actually went through with it . She stared at him , particularly the parts that were , five seconds ago , covered by his shorts . Finally , she spoke . " I can see now why you wouldn 't worry about being embarrassed . " Mira looked up at him real quick to see if he was serious , then quickly returned her eyes to his soft member . " Are you serious ? " she asked , her mouth going a little dry . " You 're soft right now , right ? " Mira looked up at him . " It 's like a cock from a fucking porno . I 've never seen one like this in real life . Pretty sure none of my friends have , either . Pretty sure no one I know has . " Mira , standing up in the gazebo and walking towards the water , had reached back and was untying her bikini top . She tossed it back towards the chairs and kept moving closer to the edge of the pond . Now , she was topless . Besides for his step - mother the other night , this was the first time he 'd seen an undressed woman in real life . Mira 's breasts were round and perky , if about half the size of her mother 's globes . They looked to be a good handful , though , and a little more . Her light pink nipples stuck out as the breeze hit them . Underwater , his cock quickly shot to hard . He couldn 't control it . Mira untied the ties that held the bottom of her bikini and she tossed those back towards the gazebo as well . Brian caught a glimpse of the bare , clean shaven skin and the beginning of a slit disappearing between her thighs , before she dove into the water . She popped up right in front of him . Brian was blushing a bit . It was apparent even here in the dim light of dusk and patio string lights . " One time , I felt this girl 's boob . But it was over her shirt and stuff . I didn 't actually touch it . " Mira scooted closer to her brother . " I 'm sorry . " Her thigh brushed against his erection under the water . She knew what it was . He knew that she knew what it was , and he was trying to think of some way to explain it . Before he could though , she asked , " Is this because of me ? " " No , don 't be sorry . I 'm not offended or anything , it 's actually kind of a compliment . It just never occurred to me that I might have that sort of effect on you . " Brian laughed at that . It didn 't help , or maybe it did , that he was pretty drunk at this point . " Really ? Look at you . You have that effect on everyone . " " Helping you out , big brother . I caused the problem . It 's the least I could do , don 't you think ? " She smiled at him . " Yeah , " she said , continuing to masturbate him , " so are you . So are we both . And it 's just us . It 'll be our little secret . " With her other hand she grabbed one of his and brought it up to cup her bare breast . " How does that feel ? " " Ohh , " Brian said in wonder , his mouth getting sticky and his throat going dry . He brought his other hand up to cup her other breast and started kneading them in his hands . " Wonderful . " Mira 's stroking got faster as she jacked him off underwater . She decided she liked how his cock felt . It 's long . Wide . Hard . Maybe it was the tequila . It wasn 't long though between touching tits for the first time ever and having a naked woman standing in front of him jacking him off at the same time that Brian 's body began to jerk and he came , releasing his pent up load out into the water between their bodies . " There , " Mira said , and gave him a kiss on the cheek . He had his eyes closed , and his hands still held their grip on her tits . " Feel better now ? " Mira tip - toed across the hallway . When she came to Brian 's door , she checked the handle just to make sure whether or not it was locked . It was . But this time she had come prepared . She pulled out her student ID card , the closest thing she could think of in a pinch to a credit card , and slipped it into the jam of the door . With a few wiggles , the latch opened and she slowly , and quietly , opened his door and stepped into his dark room . When she closed the door back , she jiggled the handle to make sure it would still be locked . It was . Tip - toeing over to his bed , Mira saw that Brian was sound asleep . She lifted up the sheet that covered him , and , sure enough , he actually was nude under it . Gently she slipped into the bed with him under the sheet and scooted up against his side . The motion of the bed shaking slightly served to wake him up . " Mira ? " He said sleepily , not being able to see really well in the dark with blurry eyes . " Yeah , " she answered rolling over onto her side to face him . " It 's me . " Mira grabbed his hand and moved it to press against her stomach . Then she moved it down , over her panties and slid it in between her thighs . " I want you to help me out . Do you want to ? " Mira giggled a little bit at his eagerness . " Good . " She sat up , throwing the sheet off of them both , uncovering the entirety of the mattress . Brian lay there , completely naked , watching her , wondering what was coming next . He watched as she undid the buttons of her pajama top , one by one , and threw it to the floor . Then she slithered out of her red panties , and got back down beside him in the bed . She grabbed his hand and moved it back between her legs , rubbing it through her already wet and open folds . " Ohhhh , " she moaned softly . Brian couldn 't resist the urge , with his sister there lying naked and flat on her back , to bend his head down and take one of her pointy nipples into his mouth , so he did . " Ah - " Mira gasped at the unexpected sensation . " Oh yeah , good boy . Oh , that feels good . " She brought her free hand up to caress her free breast while her other hand directed Brian in his efforts over her pussy . " Do you feel that ? " she whispered as she felt his fingertips rub over her clit . Brian moved his thumb onto the spot she had pointed out to him . Then he , experimenting , slid his first two fingers downwards until they found somewhere to enter . When they slipped inside her , Mira arched her back up off the bed and started breathing harder . " Now , " she breathed heavily , rolling her hips around on his hand , " in and out . Rub that spot , my clit . And do it hard and fast . " The hand that was on her breast shot out and took hold of Brian 's cock beside her and quickly started stroking it for the second time this night . Mira rolled over , took is face in her hands , and planted a light kiss on his lips . She giggled a little . " Don 't worry about it , big brother , I don 't mind . " She sat up and grabbed her shirt from the foot of the bed and slipped it back on . She only fastened enough buttons to minimally cover her assets . Brian nodded . What else was he going to do ? He didn 't understand , really , anything that had happened between him and Mira this night , other than the fact that he had finally got to see a naked woman , touch her all over , while at the same time getting two hand jobs from her . Even if it was his sister . Well , step - sister . She smiled down at him , leaned over and gave him another light kiss . " Good answer , " she said , grinning . She grabbed her panties from the foot of the bed . " These are for you . Keep them , they smell like me , " and she tossed them over to him . Mira hopped up from the bed and tip - toed back over to the door , her bare ass glowing in the moonlight from the window . She opened the door , peeked out , smiled back at Brian and slipped out into the hall and back to her room .

… In The Second Time Around , Frank Lamonte has dealt with a series of traumatic personal setbacks , and experienced feelings that she has thought of as " the blues " for several months . Frank 's boss is concerned for her well - being . He insists that she get help and places her on an indefinite leave of absence . This action is the impetus for the rest of the book . This is a work of fiction and I did not go into great depth about depression . Frank Lamonte sighed when she completed her last patient 's file and clicked save . Ruger was an adventuresome Yellow Lab , who managed to get out of his kennel and disappear for a few days . When he limped home that morning , his concerned owner had brought him to the clinic . Frank had assessed him before she cleaned his deep lacerations and stitched them . When the dog and his owner left an hour later , she had been confident that Ruger would be as good as new in a few days . Before she left , she decided to check on the new foal they 'd delivered that morning . There had been complications before the mare arrived and the foal was unsteady and sluggish . They 'd decided to keep them both at the clinic over the weekend . All day , Martin Cole , her co - worker and fellow veterinarian , and the receptionist at the clinic , Coleen Nutlatch , had been giddy with anticipation . They were leaving right after work to spend the weekend skiing in Banff . Usually they kept their relationship low - key at work , but today their excitement , their happy , carefree laughter , the little looks and suggestive comments had no restraint , and Frank had to fight to keep her fragile composure intact . She hoped they would be gone when she got back from checking the foal . Then she wouldn 't have to put on a happy face and wish them a good weekend . She lingered with the horses , but she didn 't stay quite long enough . When she came back into the office , she heard Dr . Winters say " Have a great time on the slopes , you two . " As the back door closed , Martin and Coleen 's laughter hit her like a tsunami . Her stomach clenched and her chest tightened . She struggled to keep her composure , but it crumbled in spite of her efforts . Desperate , she slipped into the utility room , confident that she wouldn 't be found there . Her knuckles whitened as she clenched the edge of the stainless steel counter . She leaned forward and rested her head against the cupboard , eyes squeezed closed , trying to force back the tears that wanted to spill down her cheeks . Her breath came in harsh hiccups as she fought to stifle the ragged sobs that threatened to explode from her throat . No , she thought . I can 't do this now . Dr . Winters has to leave first . Then I can cry my eyes out . She listened to her boss 's movements as he drew the slatted blinds in the waiting room . He checked to make sure the front entrance was locked and turned out the lights . He whistled cheerfully as he walked through the operating theater to the stall where the mare and foal were resting . On the way back , he stopped in his office and called his wife to ask if she wanted him to pick up anything on his way home . Then Frank heard his footsteps when he walked passed the utility room to the back entrance . When she heard the door slam shut , she sagged against the counter and gave in to the dark cloud of sadness that had overshadowed her life for the past four months . Her shoulder length auburn hair fell forward , covering her face as anguished sobs shook her body and she let the tears flow . Minutes later she didn 't hear the utility room door open . She wasn 't aware that anyone else was there until Dr . Winters ' fatherly arms enveloped her . He turned her into his chest and held her close . She leaned into his comforting strength and let the storm of emotion run its course . When the sobs subsided , she pushed away ; embarrassed that he 'd witnessed the collapse of the façade that she presented every day , as she valiantly tried to act like her world was still intact . He gently led her into his office . " Sit down . " He pointed to a soft chair . As she sank into it , he walked behind the desk and sat in his office chair . He looked directly at her , but she refused to meet his gaze . He extended an arm across the dark surface of the desktop and reached out to her . He sighed . " Frank , you are not okay . I 've known you since you were knee - high to a grasshopper . I 've watched you grow from a chubby - cheeked princess in your daddy 's arms , into a gangly , adolescent tomboy who was always at his side . I watched you learn to ride and team rope , and I was as proud of you as he was . " Then you started coming here to help me on weekends and school holidays . I watched you grow into a feisty , confident young woman and when you decided to go into veterinary medicine I was damned proud of you . When you graduated and came back here to practice , I couldn 't have been happier if you were my own daughter . " I hired Martin because he came with you . He 's a good vet , but I never felt he was the right man for you . Sadie said I was prejudiced ; I wanted to protect you like I would my own kid . But when he dumped you and hooked up with Coleen while you were staggering from your dad 's accident and the sale of the ranch , I knew I was right . " " It isn 't , Frank . You see them together every day . It has to be like constantly rubbing salt into a raw wound . I 've struggled with it . I know what you 've been through these past nine months . " He shook his head . " And , Martin had no compassion . He dumped you and took up with Coleen , right in the middle of everything that happened . " He picked up a pen and slammed it on the desk in frustration . " I couldn 't believe how insensitive he was . I wanted to tell him what a jackass he was ; I wanted to tell him to leave . But he 's a good vet and what he did to you had nothing to do with his work here at the clinic . Sadie warned me . She told me it was a personal matter between the three of you , and from a business point of view I didn 't have a leg to stand on . " But I 've watched you struggle . I 've seen the light fade out of you . You 've tried to get on top of things , but you haven 't been able to . You 've just kept sliding deeper into a hole of despondency . " He cleared his throat . " I 've meant to talk to you for a while , but I 've put it off because this is hard for me . " I 've thought about this a lot . Martin is a good vet and I have no reason to ask him to leave , except to protect you . If I ask him to leave , I 'll lose Coleen too . I 'd accept both of those things if I thought it would help you , but I don 't think it would . You 'd still be here with all the memories , all the pain . You need to take a break ; you need to get away from Stettler for a while . " He got up and walked around the desk to crouch beside her . " Frank , your mom , and dad are in Arizona for the winter . Your dad still has a lot of healing to do , but so do you . I 'm asking you … no , I 'm telling you , to take a leave of absence . I 'm not a medical doctor , but I know enough to recognize that you are slipping into depression . " " Jeez ! I admit I 've been feeling down and I haven 't exactly been a ray of sunshine lately but don 't you think I might have a few reasons to feel blue ? My dad almost died , we had to sell the ranch I grew up on , the man I 've spent five years with , the man I was engaged to marry , dumped me for the secretary in our office . " Her eyes flashed with anger . " I 'm not sick . I 'm not depressed . I 'm trying to get my feet under me . " " Frank , please listen to me . You are one of the strongest people I know , and people don 't get depressed simply because things don 't go their way . Often , they are strong people who have struggled against the odds for too long : they try to shoulder their burden , no matter how crushing it is . That 's what you 've been doing , and I 'm not surprised that you 're emotionally exhausted and overwhelmed . To be honest , if I was in your place , I couldn 't have dealt with the situation here at the clinic . Given time , I know that you 'll get past all this and the black cloud that is hanging over you will lift . But staying here , in the mire of your hurt , is not conducive to getting better . So , as of now , you are on an indefinite leave of absence . " Frank 's eyes blazed with anger when she stood up . " I can 't believe you 're doing this to me . You 've been like a second father to me , and now you are turning on me too . " He placed his hands on her shoulders . " This is the first real emotion I 've seen you express in months . I hate that it 's taken this , but get mad at me . I 'll bear the brunt of your anger it if it helps to shake you out of the lackluster state you 've been in . " This is tough love , sweetheart . Go to see your doctor and get some medication : then get out of town . Take a few months off . Go to Arizona and spend some time with your folks - or get a job doing something totally different . Go work on a cattle ranch in B . C . , or wait tables in a restaurant in Nova Scotia . But get away from all the painful reminders here in Stettler . " Frank pushed away from him . " You just want to wash your hands of me because you 're uncomfortable with the three of us working here together . If you force me out of the picture , you 'll only lose one member of your staff . " " I can 't believe you 'd do this to me . You know I 'd go nuts in Arizona , and can you see me waiting tables ? I 'm a vet . I work with animals and I that 's what I love doing . " " Frank ! I 'm not washing my hands of you . And , I 'm not forcing you out . " He pulled her against his chest again . " I 'm doing this for your own good . A raw sore won 't heal if it is constantly picked at , and that 's what is happening to you here , in this clinic , in this town . " He held onto her arm . " Frank , do you have any friends in Stettler ? Who do you hang around with ? Who is your support system ? Who do you talk to and share your feelings with ? " " I know you . I 've watched you grow up . You never were a giddy schoolgirl . You spent all of your time with your dad . You were named after his father and you became the son he knew he 'd never have . You worked around the ranch , rode horses , and learned to rope with Clint Roberts . You never hung out with the girls . I doubt if you dated when you were a teenager . You and Clint were best buds and you hung out with him and his friends , just like you were one of the guys . On weekends and holidays , if you weren 't at a rodeo with your dad and Clint , you were here at the clinic . I wondered about it at times , but your family seemed happy . In hindsight , it was a damned selfish way for him to raise you . " " I 'm still one of his best friends , but I 'm not blind either . Maybe if he hadn 't guarded you so closely , maybe if you 'd spent some time being a girl , maybe if you 'd dated when you were younger … maybe you wouldn 't have fallen so hard for Martin . You had no awareness , no experience , no reference points … . " His phone rang . " Damn , " he muttered as he retrieved it from his pants pocket . " It 's Sadie . I have to answer this , but we 're not finished here , Frank . " He gave her a stern look , as he spoke into the phone . " Hi , hon . I got side tracked here . Frank and I have had that long overdue conversation . " He listened for a moment , and then said , " She 's not very happy with me right now . " He was silent as he listened to his wife , and finally said , " I 'll let you talk to her . " " Frank , please come to our place for supper tonight . Going to your apartment to sit alone isn 't a good idea . I know you 're upset , but the three of us need to talk . I know where Jason is coming from and you need to understand that he has your best interests at heart . " Sadie was a registered nurse . After dinner , she sat down with Frank and told her about her own sister , who had become deeply depressed . Like many people , Valerie had refused to admit that she was mentally ill , and she hadn 't gone for help as soon as she should have . The family had watched her languish in depths of despair for years . Half an hour later Jason entered the kitchen . Sadie motioned for him to sit down at the table and join them . " Frank and I have been talking about what 's been happening to her . She says you told her to leave town . " He grinned , ruefully . " I didn 't mean she should leave permanently . I think she needs to get away and give herself a chance to get on top of things . I told her to do something totally different for a while . She doesn 't have to tell anyone that she 's a vet . That could raise expectations and put more pressure on her , and she definitely doesn 't need that . " She says she 'd go crazy in Arizona , and the idea of waiting tables in a restaurant doesn 't appeal to her . But it 's calving time and I 'm sure there must be a ranch looking for a hand that has her experience . It would be a total change of pace for her . " He looked at Frank . " I 'd give you a good reference . You worked with animals for years before you became a vet and you 've always been good with them . You understand animals ; maybe better than you actually do humans . " Frank looked at her sadly . " Headache , heartache , body ache , brain ache … I have it . How do I deal with all of this ? " She sighed . " I love my apartment and I waited so long to get one in that area . But if I go away , I 'll have to give it up . And what would I do with my furniture ? " Dr . Winters leaned back in his chair and stretched out his legs . " Let 's think about this , Frank . The bigger ranches pay decent wages and board and room is usually included . You wouldn 't have a lot of other expenses . You could keep your apartment : you 'll have your job at the clinic when you are well and ready to come back . All I ask is that you take enough time to get back on your feet . I want to see the twinkle in your eyes again and that beautiful smile on your face . I want to see a bounce in your step and hear your laughter . You need to take long enough to get over Martin , and come to terms with what happened to your dad . " Frank chewed her lip . " That 's a tall order . Do you really think that in three or four months , I can get over losing the man I spent five years with ? The man I was going to marry ? " " Then take six months or a year . I think you 'll realize that he wasn 't right for you in the first place . I know you 'll eventually meet a man who will appreciate you ; someone you can count on through thick and thin . " " This is too much for me to absorb right now . I need to go home and think . " She stood up and looked at Sadie . " Thanks for supper … and the talk too . I guess I needed that . " " You 'll find another job . I 'll help you . Tomorrow , I 'll start looking online . Something will come up . The more I think about it , the better I feel about you going to a ranch . You 'll be working with animals , and you 'll be able to use some of your skills . I 'll check out the owner . " He grinned . " I don 't want to send you off to work with some lecherous old man who 'll try to take advantage of you when you 're stuck in the back of beyond . " Dr . Winters smiled . " Things are getting better ; you 've shown real emotion twice in the past four hours . You 're making progress already . " She grieved again for the loss of the ranch that had been her childhood home . That afternoon she went for a drive and was filled with resentment when she saw the new sign at the driveway . It was no longer Lamonte 's Paradise . The new sign read The Holloways . She drove to the vet clinic and parked at the back , where she always had . Despair washed over her . She still couldn 't believe that Dr . Winters had arbitrarily put her on a leave of absence . She stared at the building where she 'd spent a large part of her life . Finally , she put the truck in gear and drove away : she began to accept that there was nothing to keep her in her hometown anymore . She slammed the door when she went into her apartment . She looked around the place she loved . She wouldn 't give it up ! She had money in the bank ; she would continue to pay the rent while she was away . She vowed that it wouldn 't be long until she came back to work at the clinic . She stalked into the kitchen and made herself a cup of coffee . As it brewed , she could hear Dr . Winters voice . Get mad . That 's good . You 're showing some emotion . " Yes ! " she stormed . " I 'm feeling tons of emotion . I 'm damned mad about everything ! Doc was right about Martin . He 's an insensitive jerk . The way he dumped me proved he isn 't the man I thought he was : he can 't be depended on in tough times . He 's not worth the heartache . And , Dad is alive and getting better . I 'm grateful for that . And , as much as I hate to admit it , Dr . Winters did the right thing last night ; I do need to get out of here . I need to get away from the constant reminders , the painful memories . I need to heal . I like the idea of working on a ranch for a while . I 'll put the past behind me , and in no time I 'll be ready to face everything here . " She called Dr . Winters . He was pleased when she told him she was ready to move on . While he hadn 't found anything promising that day , he said he 'd keep looking on Sunday , and reminded her that Monday might bring new opportunities . She felt more content when she woke up Sunday morning . The heavy dark feeling that had enveloped her for months seemed less oppressive . She felt better than she had since Martin had broken off their engagement , saying she wasn 't any fun anymore . She wandered around the apartment , touching things and savoring her good memories , not just the pain . That afternoon she phoned her childhood friend , Becky Freemont and told her what she was doing . Becky was supportive , as she 'd always been , and made her promise she 'd keep in touch . Monday afternoon , Dr . Winters called and told her he 'd found a place in Saskatchewan that was looking for a ranch hand ASAP . He 'd already phoned the number and gotten information about the job . It was at the Belanger Creek Ranch , three - quarters of an hour out of Maple Creek . The owner 's accountant in Swift Current was handling the search for applicants . The owner didn 't live at the ranch ; he had a ranch manager on site and the new employee would work with him . Dr . Winters was excited about the job . He hoped he hadn 't overstepped his bounds , but he informed her that he 'd already sent her resume from his office , along with his recommendation . Frank thanked him for his help , thinking it would be unlikely to find a job on the first try . Frank was shocked at how quickly things had fallen into place . She went to see her doctor first . Then she met with her landlord and explained that although she would be away for a few months , she would continue to maintain the rent with automatic payments from her bank account . Then she packed her personal necessities and a few clothes in her duffle bag , put her guitar in its case and tucked her laptop in its carry case . By evening , the apartment was neat and tidy . She took a quick drive over to Dr . Winters ' place and said goodbye . When she returned home , she put her duffle bag , laptop , guitar and camera by the door . She was ready to leave the next morning . Frank Lamonte 's fingers tapped restlessly on the steering wheel of her Toyota Tacoma . She glanced at her watch for the umpteenth time . Five minutes had passed . An accident involving a semi - truck , a pickup , and a small car , had closed the highway . She 'd been held up in the line of traffic for three excruciating hours and her frustration was running deep . There wasn 't anything she could do , but wait . She checked her watch again and groaned . The owner would be expecting her at the ranch in half an hour . It wasn 't an impressive way to start a new job . She looked out across the fenced fields that stretched on either side of the highway . There wasn 't a lot of snow , certainly not as much as there had been several hundred kilometers to the northwest , at Stettler . She wondered how much there would be at the ranch . It was situated close to the Cypress Hills in south - western Saskatchewan . The Cypress Hills actually straddled the southern Alberta and Saskatchewan borders . During the past five days , everything had happened with numbing swiftness . Last Friday evening , when Dr . Winters had taken her into his office and told her she had to take a prolonged leave of absence , she had felt like her world had collapsed . She 'd felt betrayed and angry . Now she was on her way to a new job at Belanger Creek Ranch . For the first time in months , she felt a sense of optimism . The clearance lights of the semi - trailer in front of her lit up as the driver started the big rig . " Finally ! " she said with exasperation and eased her truck ahead . It took more than half an hour for the lineup to spread out and traffic was moving freely . It was six - thirty in the evening when she drove into Maple Creek . Darkness had already settled over the land . She stopped to take out the email and study the directions to the ranch . They seemed pretty straightforward . Turn south onto Highway 21 and follow the road until you come to the Belanger Creek Ranch sign on your left . Turn left into the driveway and follow it across the creek , past the corrals and barns , to the old ranch house . Colt Thompson set his coffee cup on the table and glanced at the clock on the wall … again . He was irritated . " Four hours late ! I wonder if this guy 's going to show at all . If punctuality is any indicator of his work ethic , he won 't last long around here . " Colt looked at his watch again . " Well , I can 't wait any longer . I 'm two hours late already . Shauna Lee 's going to kill me . " Colt scoffed . " You know the answer to that , Ollie . " He stared at his friend and employee , defying him to judge him . " We 're friends , and that 's all either one of us is looking for . No romantic fantasies , no wedding bells , no promises we can 't keep , no storybook ending crap . And I 'm a damned quick learner ; this way there 's no worry about handing over half of everything I possess when we go our separate ways . For now , we enjoy each other 's company ; we 're compatible in other ways . It works for us . " " Look , you young pup ! My life was totally different from yours . You 've got security , a business . I was a rolling stone until I landed here . I had no prospects , could hardly support myself . But I can tell you from experience ; life is lonely without someone to share it with . " " I speak from experience , too . It can be a whole lot worse than lonely if you get tangled up with the wrong one . I had my heart ripped out and my life turned upside down once already . I won 't be going back for another crack at it . " Ollie shook his head . " You 're wasting your time with that woman . Other than the fringe benefits , you have nothing in common . She has no interest in the life you live . You love this ranch , and you 've been a farmer all your life . That 's definitely not where she 's at . " Colt pushed his chair up to the table and jammed his hat on his head . As he stomped to the door , he spoke over his shoulder . " I 'm not listening to another one of your lectures . I 've made it clear every time you get into one of these spiels ; I 'm definitely not interested in putting my heart and soul on the chopping block again , so put a sock in it , old timer . " He shrugged into his winter coat . " I 'll call in the morning to see if that Lamonte character shows up . If not , I 'll come back out to help you until we find someone else . " He slammed the door when he went outside . Ollie shook his head as he listened to Colt 's diesel pickup roar out of the yard and down the driveway . He poured himself another cup of coffee and sat down at the table . He glanced at the clock again . " Okay , Frank Lamonte , where are you ? " He yawned as he ran his hands along his jaw and up into his hair . " I hope you 're as good as your references . I need some help here . " When the phone rang , he pushed back his chair and hurried to the office . The line was filled with static and breaking up , but he could make out a woman 's voice . " Could I s … to … Thom … son ? " The connection wafted off into a hollow echo and Ollie replaced the receiver . He went back into the living room and sank down on the couch . He didn 't need to check the cows for three - quarters of an hour . He 'd just close his eyes for ten minutes or so . Frank sighed as she shut off her phone . She 'd lost service . Damn ! Thompson has already left . He probably thinks I 'm a lost cause . She turned onto Highway 21 South and followed the road . Fifteen minutes later she met a pickup sliding around a curve . What an Idiot ! Heart in her throat , Frank fought to hold the Tacoma onto the outside edge of the pavement . She lost the battle and the wheels sank into the snow and sucked her into its depth . She put it into reverse and tried to ease the truck back , but the wheels just spun . She turned the dial to engage the four - wheel drive , but the vehicle wouldn 't budge . She leaned her head against the steering wheel . " Damn , damn , double damn , " she cursed . " Can anything else go wrong ? " Colt Thompson handled the big pickup with ease . He 'd driven the road so often , he knew it like the back of his hand and he 'd barely noticed the smaller truck as he 'd drifted through the curve . His mind was focused on the conversation he 'd had with his ranch manager before he 'd left . " Why doesn 't he mind his own business ? " he fumed . " He 's right about Shauna Lee not wanting anything to do with the farm or a ranch , but it 's not like I 'm going to marry her . Why can 't he get that through his thick head ? " He was well out of the curve before the flash of brake lights caught his attention . " Shit , that guy must have gone off the road . " He braked sharply , then backed up and jumped out . A tall slender woman got out of the red pickup . He didn 't get a good look at her , just a vague impression of a messy mass of auburn hair pulled untidily up on top of her head , but he definitely caught the tongue - lashing she threw at him . " Do you drive much , you idiot ? " she yelled . " You hogged my side of the road when you barreled through here . You almost hit me ! " He bit back at her . " Do you drive much ? This isn 't the Trans Canada . It 's a country road . You 're the one who panicked and pulled over so far that you got sucked into the bank . You 're lucky I stopped . " He looked the situation over , then stalked back to his truck and pulled out a short rope . " Look , I 'm in a hurry . Get in your truck while I hook this to your bumper . When I give you a yell , put your truck in reverse and I 'll pull you back onto the road . " Frank glared at his broad back while he hooked the tow rope between the two vehicles . When he walked to the open door of his truck , she jumped into hers . She had barely started it when he yelled for her to shift into reverse . He eased forward , giving her vehicle a gentle pull . When she felt it move she hit the gas pedal and the Toyota flew backward . She braked hard , bringing it to a stop inches before she crashed into the bigger pickup . He got out of the truck , cursing . " You almost hit my damned truck ! " He glared at her in the dim glow of the taillights and shook his head . He was still mumbling while he unhooked both ends of the rope and threw it into the box of his pick - up . Then he turned toward her and brushed his hands together as if he was washing them of her . " I have no idea where you 're headed , lady , but you 're an accident waiting to happen . I 'm just glad I won 't be around for the next disaster . " Then he jumped into his vehicle and sped away . Frank was embarrassed . It had been a long day and she was tired . In hindsight , she realized she had panicked when she saw him careening around the curve , with the rear end of his truck drifting slightly to her side of the road . And then , she 'd let his attitude unnerve her and she 'd lost her cool . She felt like a fool ; she 'd known better than to hit the gas pedal so hard . Fortunately , she 'd been able to stop before she slammed into his truck . She sighed and shifted the pickup into drive . " Well , thank God for small mercies . I 'm sure I 'll never see him again . " Half an hour later , the lights of her pickup shone on the sign she 'd been looking for : Belanger Creek Ranch . She put on her signal light and turned left into the driveway . She drove across the creek and sighed with relief when she saw the lights that flooded a long line of corrals . She kept following the road until she drove past a barn and various outbuildings , and then pulled up in front of an older ranch house . She yawned as she turned the key to shut off the motor , then sat for a moment , staring at the house . There was no sign of life , but a dim light shone inside and she noted a constant flicker of light that could be a TV playing . This has to be it . Let 's hope he 's not so ticked about how late I am , that I 'm fired before I start the job . She opened the truck door and slid out onto the packed snow . " Oh … it feels so good to stand up and stretch . " She walked along the shoveled walkway , stepped up a couple of steps and then knocked on the door . No one came , so she knocked harder and waited . She was getting cold . Finally , she tried the doorknob . It wasn 't locked , so she opened the door and leaned inside . " Mr . Crampton , are you here ? " Maybe he 's out checking calves . I 'll put on my work clothes and walk out to the corrals . I can give him a hand . Frank walked back to her pickup and opened the back door . She took out her insulated overalls and pulled them on over her jeans . Then she slipped into her warm jacket , grabbed her gloves and a toque and headed toward the corals . Most of the cows were lying down and those with calves had them sleeping close by . A few were standing , calves latched onto a teat , tails flicking happily as they sucked . Frank was alert , watching for any animal that might decide to take a run at her . Cows were very protective of their young calves and anyone strange could be interpreted as a threat . She worked her way from the pen to pen and was puzzled when she didn 't find Ollie Crampton there . It looked like the TV was on . Maybe he fell asleep . I should have called him again . She wandered through the rest of the herd , making note of two new births . When she circled back through the pens , she noticed a young cow standing by itself , in the corner . The animal 's back humped as it strained . Frank moved nearer and watched , thinking it must just be starting to go into labor . After a few moments , she realized that the membranes had broken , but there was no sign of feet . As she stepped closer , the animal moved away . Frank herded her against the windbreak that sheltered the corrals on the north side . The animal hunched and pushed again . " Something 's not right here , " she said softly as she reached out to put a hand on the cow 's hip . As soon as she got close , it moved away . " We need to check you out ! " Frank looked around , remembering that she had seen a chute for loading cattle into trucks when she 'd come to the corrals . She walked back and discovered a handling system that was set up under a roof . She climbed over the corral and went to check it out . The cattle squeeze chute was modern and well looked after . She set the automatic headgate and opened the rear gate so the cow could walk in . Then she walked along a high , narrow alley until she came to a swinging gate . She swung it open and followed a wider runway that ran parallel to four handling pens . She continued along it until she reached the end , where she found a gate that swung into the corrals . " This is good , " she said softly to herself . " I can move her alongside the shelter and push her into this runway . She won 't be hard to move until we get to the narrow alley that goes up to the cattle squeeze , but she may be so tired she won 't put up much of a fight . " She opened the gate , then hurried across the corral and turned the cow around , moving her along the wall of the shelter until they reached the open gate into the walkway . As the cow walked through the open space , Frank closed the gate behind them . Frank encouraged the animal to keep moving , stopping occasionally to let her pause for a contraction . They moved slowly , and the animal finally made its way to the squeeze chute . The cow balked at stepping into it . Frank leaned against her back end and pushed until she moved forward . Ollie Crampton stared at the stranger in his corral . The person removed its coat . It pushed up its sleeves in preparation to push aside the cow 's tail and reach in to help deliver a calf . Stunned , he walked back to the loading chute and flipped a switch , flooding the area with light . Frank was concentrating on what she was doing . " Is that you , Mr . Crampton ? I knocked and then I opened the door and called … " She grunted as she pushed against the backside of the calf that the cow was trying to force into the birth canal . " Oh great , " she groaned as the cow heaved with another contraction . " This calf is presenting in a breech position . I have to turn it . If I can 't , I 'll have to do a C - section . " This calf is presenting in a breech position ? What kind of high falutin ' talk is that ? It 's ' coming backward ' in a rancher 's language . And she 's talking about doing a C - section ? He swallowed hard . She ! It 's a woman ? What the … Colt is going to go ballistic . " Who the hell are you ? " he demanded as he approached the cattle squeeze . She kept on working inside the cow , straining as she used her hand and arm to manipulate the calf . " This calf isn 't that big . I 'm sure I can turn it and save them both . " Frank turned her head momentarily and glared at him . " Are you going to help me or not ? This cow wants to lie down . Get in here and keep her on her feet so I can do this . " Ollie mumbled under his breath when he stepped forward to push against the cow 's belly . She grunted , and straightened up . While he helped keep the cow on her feet , Ollie watched how intently the woman focused on what she was doing . Suddenly she smiled . " That 's it , baby ! You 're where you should be now . Let 's get you started on your way . " The cow pushed again , and this time tiny hooves peeked through the opening . " Thatta girl . Keep pushing ; as soon as I can get a grip on that baby , I 'll help you . " The cow gave another heave , and Frank grabbed the legs and held on . She worked gently with each contraction , pulling until the head and then the shoulders came out . She started a gentle continuous downward pull until the calf slipped to the ground . Frank grabbed it by the back legs and lifted it up as high as she could , to facilitate the drainage of mucus and fluids . " Come on , little one . We have to get this stuff out of you so you can start breathing . " She worked , her eyes filled with concern . " Come on baby , you can 't give up now ! " She laid it on the ground , then picked up a straw , kneeled down and tickled the inside of its nostril . The calf 's nose twitched . It sneezed . Mucus flew , and the animal 's side heaved as it sucked in a breath . " Thank you , " Frank whispered as she rubbed the calf 's head . The baby lay there , stretched out , hollow sided , but gulping shallow breaths of air . Frank stood up and looked at Ollie . " Do you have penicillin and boluses for infection ? This was a pretty crude delivery , certainly not as sterile as it would have been in a clinic , but I didn 't have much to work with . Frank looked at the cow . " She 's not out of the woods yet . Ideally she should have had a C - section , but we weren 't prepared for that and she didn 't have time to waste . " Frank sighed as she looked down at her bloody hands , arms and clothing . " Is there an electric water trough where I can wash the worst of this off ? " Ollie pointed across the corral to an orange box . She nodded when she turned and saw it . " I 'll clean up a bit first , and then I 'll finish up here . I 'll give her a shot of penicillin when I 'm done . I 'll need a bottle with a nipple , too . I have to milk the colostrum and feed it to the calf . " Frank walked toward the electric livestock waterer , while Ollie went to the tack room to get the medicine and the nipple - bottle . When he came back , he could see the weariness in her face , but she wasn 't trying to hurry things . She finished checking out the cow and then took the bottle and stripped as much milk as she could get from its teats . Then she coaxed the liquid down the calf 's throat . When she finished , she turned to him . " We should put them in a pen by themselves . Could we use one of those along the alleyway over there ? " He nodded . " We can take them this way . " He motioned to an alleyway to their left . There are gates on this end of those pens too . It 's closer and it 'll be easier . " Frank and Ollie walked back to the house . She grabbed her duffle bag out of her pickup , and once they were inside , Ollie showed her the bathroom . Fifteen minutes later , after she had showered , she came into the kitchen and sat down at the table . She wore a terry cloth robe and her hair was wrapped in a towel . " A drink of water would be great . What I really need is sleep . I 've been up since four o ' clock this morning . I 'm sorry I was so late , but there was an accident on the highway , and I got hung up in the traffic for four hours , with no cell service . " She yawned and rubbed her eyes . " It was frustrating , but I couldn 't do anything about it . I was stuck there until the accident scene was cleared and traffic could move . " And then , after I got onto Highway 21 , I met some idiot who was driving like a bat out of hell and when he came into a curve , his truck drifted into my lane . It was one of those big diesel pickups and I panicked and got too far out on the shoulder . The snow pulled me in and I was stuck . Thank goodness he stopped and pulled me out , but he was so rude I wanted to plant the toe of my boot against his backside when he bent over to hook up the tow rope . " She brushed her hand across her eyes and yawned again . " I hope Mr . Thompson didn 't leave because he 'd given up on me . I tried to phone , but I lost service . I need a better phone . " Ollie handed her a glass of water . He 'd have sent her packing as soon as she introduced herself . What am I going to do ? He sat down and watched her drink it thirstily . I 'll deal with this tomorrow . Frank stooped to pick up her duffle bag where she 'd left it by the bathroom door . Ollie showed her into a comfortable room that had a private bath . The bed looked like heaven . She set her bag on a chair and turned to look at him . " Thanks . " Her expression was weary . " Thanks . I 've done it a few times before , but I cringe when I think about how unsanitary everything was . I hope she doesn 't get an infection . " Frank was awake by five o ' clock . After a quick visit to the bathroom , she dressed in a clean pair of jeans and a warm sweater . The house was quiet , so she went to the entry and put on her coveralls and her work jacket . After she had stuffed her feet into her boots , she grabbed her gloves and slipped out the door . When she arrived at the corral , she went directly to the cow and calf and was pleased to see the cow standing and the calf nursing . She opened the gate and walked into the pen . " Good morning , girls , " she said softly . She looked at their eyes and was happy to note that they were bright and clear . Their noses were moist , which was a good sign . She let out a sigh of relief . " Nature is truly amazing . Give it half a chance and it 'll heal and survive , " she said softly . She grinned . " Good morning to you , too , Mr . Crampton . As far as I know , that 's what ranch hands do during calving season . They take their turn at checking the herd . Can you tell me you weren 't up a couple of times since we went to bed last night ? " He frowned . How am I going to handle this ? Who 'd have guessed that Frank Lamonte was a woman ? Certainly not Colt ! I don 't know how that slipped by on her resume ' , but he 's not going to be happy . He looked toward the corrals . " Did you check all the pens ? " " And my baby is up and doing well . The cow was standing and the calf was nursing when I went into the pen . Mom seems to have lots of milk . So far , so good ; I 'll give her penicillin for the next few days , to help fight infection . " When they went inside , Ollie set up the coffee maker and put two pieces of toast into the toaster . Frank asked if she could put cups and plates on the table and he told her where to get them . She was there at every turn , willing to help where she could and she didn 't sit down to drink her cup of coffee until he did . He looked at the woman across from him . She 's got a good attitude and she 's a hard worker . Colt 's going to blow a gasket when he finds out , but after seeing what she did last night , and finding her up and at it so early this morning , I 'd be crazy to send her packing . Frank Lamonte is staying . Colt doesn 't have to work with her anyway . I do . " A heavy weight seemed to lift off his shoulders and he smiled at her . " Welcome to Belanger Creek Ranch , Frank Lamonte . I 'll be honest , with that moniker I wasn 't expecting a woman , but from what I 've seen in the last twelve hours , I 'm confident you can and will do the job . " Her dark brown eyes sparkled and she brushed back tendrils of auburn hair that glinted with fiery highlights . " Thank you . It feels good to be here . I 've been in a slump and for the first time in months , I feel optimistic . " She sipped her coffee and then frowned . " I never imagined my being a woman would raise an eyebrow . I thought we were past that in this day and age . " " I 'll take care of it . He 's seldom out here anyway . Belanger Creek Ranch is a division of Thompson Holdings . They have a big grain farm near Swift Current and Colt looks after that end of the business . " " Well , thanks for taking care of things , Mr . Crampton . I 've had more than enough drama in my life . I don 't want anymore . " He leaned forward and looked into her eyes . " Let 's get something straight right now . No one calls me Mr . anything . The name is Ollie . " She reached across the table to shake his hand . " Ollie . " She smiled . " You 're probably wondering if I have a nickname , but I was named for my grandpa and I wear it proudly . I 've been called Frank all my life , and that 's what I answer to . " She got up and went to the toaster . She took out the slices that had popped up seconds before and put in two more . She looked at Ollie . " Butter ? " When he nodded , she spread it thinly , then took the plate to the table and set it in front of him . At eight o ' clock , just after he and Frank had finished breakfast , Ollie phoned Colt Thompson . " I thought I should let you know that Lamonte arrived about half an hour after you left . I 'm impressed . We had a backward calf last night and Frank turned it and delivered it . Mom and calf are doing great this morning . This is going to work out fine . " " That 's good , " Colt replied . " Thank goodness he missed the ditsy city slicker I met on the road . She met me on a curve and panicked . She got out too far in the snow and ended up going into the bank and getting stuck . When I stopped to help her out , she lost her cool and blamed me for what happened . I have no idea where she was headed , but I 'm certain she 's either buried in another snow bank , or maybe , she got lucky and managed to make it out of the country . Either way , all I can say is good riddance ! We don 't need that kind hanging around . " The remainder of the calving season passed without serious problems and Frank and Ollie worked together like a well - fitting pair of gloves . March slipped into April , April slipped into May . One evening , Ollie and Frank were discussing plans for branding while they lingered over supper . " I 'll get to meet him then . I 've been here for two and a half months and he 's never come around . It seems weird . " Ollie shook his head . " It 's not unusual . He pretty much leaves the ranch up to me . His accountant and bookkeeper in Swift Current handles payroll , and as you know , she deposits our paychecks directly into our bank accounts . Colt and I talk on the phone regularly , but unless I have a problem , there are times when he doesn 't actually come out here for months . " Right now he 's seeding . It 's been a late spring , so he 's on a big push to get everything done . His heart is here on the ranch and he used to live here until his dad had a serious heart attack a year and a half ago . Then Colt had to go back to the farm . Bob Thompson has been warned to avoid stress , but he 's always worrying about things and trying to stay in control . It 's tough on Colt because it 's a constant battle . At times , the old man resents him and gets pretty owly . And , of course , Bob wants to run the equipment , even though he 's been warned not to push it and get overtired . " Frank nodded . " He sounds like my dad , but when he got hurt , the doctor laid it on the line . He told Dad that he had to sell the ranch . It was a tough thing to accept , but Dad had so much recovery ahead of him , that he knew he had to listen . " " Colt lives with his parents . I feel sorry for him because he 's caught in the middle . He grew up on that farm . He 's an only child and it 's his birthright . Ideally , Bob and Serena would 've moved into town and Colt would have hired a manager to run the farm . But , Bob went ballistic when Colt made that suggestion , so everything stays as it is . " " What a position to be caught in . I feel sorry for him . " Frank picked up the dishes and took them to the sink . " When do you usually brand ? " Colt drove to the edge of the field and parked the tractor . The last few acres had been seeded , and the air seeder was still attached to it . He yawned and glanced at his watch . It was one - thirty in the morning . He scowled as he looked at the truck parked on the approach . That stubborn old man just won 't give up , he thought as he shut off the motor . He groaned when he pushed open the cab door . He stood up and turned to place his foot on the ladder step , then began to ease himself down it . When his feet touched the ground , he stretched his back before he turned toward the pickup . Moonlight bathed the scene and he saw movement in the shadow of the cab . Before he reached the truck , the diesel engine sprang to life and the lights came on . " I know what it 's like keeping the hours you 've been doing . You 're tired . You can bring the tractor home tomorrow , or maybe you 'll let me do it . " " Stress - free ? " The older man put the truck in gear and eased it out onto the gravel road , heading toward home . " Give your head a shake , boy , there 's nothing stress - free about watching everyone else do what I 've done for years , what I still want to be doing . " Colt sat in silence as they made their way down the road . I guess he 's right . It has to be hell for him . He stared out at the moonlight bathed fields . But the doctor made it clear . Part of his heart muscle was damaged by the attack ; we 're lucky he 's still alive . Sure they put stents in his arteries , but he 's still short of breath when he exerts himself . And Mom … she watches him like a hawk . She 'd kill me if I let him on the equipment . He turned his gaze across the cab . " Does Mom know you 're out here ? " Colt slept in the next morning . By the time he came downstairs , breakfast was over and the dishes were done . His mom was working in the backyard ; his dad was sitting in the wicker lounge on the front deck . " Right as rain . I 'm just a little tired , but I can 't let your mom know that . She 'd chain me up , padlock and throw away the keys . " Bob scowled . " Judas Priest man , quit trying to baby me . I can drive you out to the tractor . I 'm tired , not dead . Those two have been working the same shifts as you . They need a break too . " He stood up . " Let 's go . " " Just keep your mouth shut . We 'll be back before she knows we 're gone . No point in riling her up again . She 's still mad about last night . " He walked toward the pickup and got behind the wheel . The two men rode in silence on the way to the field . Bob got out of the truck and watched Colt put the seeder in transport mode . He waited until Colt had pulled out onto the road , then he got into the pickup and followed him home . He should have gone ahead , Colt mused . The poor guy , I feel sorry for him . He 's probably trying to make the drive last as long as he can . He smiled at his mom when he closed the screen door behind him . " Well , that job 's done for another year . " He looked around . " Where is Dad ? " " Don 't go there , Mom . He was up late . I gave him heck , but I can see things from his point of view too . He 's frustrated . He said he feels like an old horse that 's been put out to pasture , waiting to die . " Serena huffed . " He just needs to change his attitude . We can still have a good life ; it will just be different . I wish he 'd agree to move into town and let you put a manager here , so you could go back to the ranch . " " Well , we both know what happened when I brought that subject up before . This isn 't so bad for me Mom . I love the farm and I have my horses here , but it 's true , if I had my druthers , I 'd be at the ranch . " He looked at his watch . " Speaking of the ranch , I have to phone Ollie today and set up a date to start branding . We need to get that job out of the way . It 'll be time to move them out to the lease soon . " Serena let Bob sleep through lunch . She and Colt sat on the wicker lounge where he and his father had sat a few hours earlier . They balanced the cold plate she 'd made on their laps and chatted amiably while they ate . When they were finished , she took the dishes inside and Colt went to the shop and started the tractor . He took the air seeder out of transport mode and looked at every hose and coupling , making sure there was nothing that needed repairs before he put it in the large equipment shed , where it would stay until next spring . He was engrossed in his work and the hours slipped by . After supper , Colt went to the office and phoned the ranch . He listened to Ollie rave about the new hand . It seemed like the guy was the best thing since sliced bread and Colt felt relieved . Colt made arrangements to go out to the ranch two days later to start branding . Then he called Shauna Lee . " What does a guy have to do to get an invitation to your house for the night , " he 'd asked . His voice was low and sexy . He wasn 't interested in marriage , but he had a healthy appetite for female company , and Shauna Lee had happily met those needs during the past four years . A smile played over his lips when he walked into the bedroom and laid his phone on his night table . He took a quick shower , put on clean clothes and shoved his phone in his jeans pocket as he went out the door . He smiled when he saw his parents sitting together on the wicker lounge on the front porch . I guess they made up , he thought . Bob chuckled as he shook his head . " Naw … I had good taste in women . His is deplorable . First he got tangled up with that damned Sharon . She was totally no good for him . Now he 's hooked up with another woman , who has absolutely no interest in the things that are important to him . " Serena looked out across the field . " I always wanted to be a grandmother , " she said thoughtfully . " Colt would be a wonderful father . He 'd have made someone a great husband too , but he 's so gun - shy now , I doubt if that will ever happen . "

Thursday afternoon , Rudy went looking for the Peep . She wasn 't hard to find , as she was in the living room asleep , as usual . " Boy , Peep you sleep a lot , " Rudy said as she woke her up . " I don 't sleep more than any other cat . Cats normally sleep ten to twelve hours per day . That 's how come we have so much energy when we are awake . Now , since you 've interrupted my sleep , what do you want ? " Peep was fuzzy headed , but was awake enough to get Rudy off of a pick - on - Peep session . " Oh , right . I got an email saying that the turnip seeds were shipped the same day we ordered them , and the anticipated delivery date is tomorrow . I think we 'd better start checking today , just in case , and also to figure out how we 're going to open the mailbox . " This was going to be the hard part . The mailbox was right at the street , and on a post . The whole idea would fall apart if the Daddy got the package and not the cats . The two cats walked up the driveway , and stared at the mailbox . Peep thought a minute and said , " You know , it would be easiest if I jumped on top of the mailbox and opened it from there . I don 't know any cat who would be tall enough to open that ! " " Sounds good to me . I 'm glad you don 't mind jumping up there . It looks kind of slippery on top . " Rudy stepped back , in case Peep slid off . She didn 't want Peep to fall on her . Peep backed up a step or two and made a spectacular jump . She hit the mailbox a little low , unfortunately , and although she tried to dig in her claws , she just slid down the side of the box , leaving scratches in the black paint . " Oops . I 'd better jump a little higher next time . " Her second try was perfect . She landed right on top of the box . Once up there , it was a little scary , as it was curved on top and she was perched on the curve . She settled herself and turned to see how she could get the top open . There was a metal tab at the top , and she figured she needed to push it away from her to open it up . " Okay , Rudy . Here I go ! " Peep carefully lay on top of thPosted by The three cats , particularly Rudy , were happy to have Ginger and her kittens stay as long as they wanted . Ginger 's owner had arrived the day after the birth bearing gifts . She had a large shopping bag , and from it she pulled four small ceramic bowls and a wealth of expensive single serving cat food containers . Peep 's wide eyes saw at least four different types of containers , and presumably different flavors of each . " This is just a little thank you for opening your house to Ginger , not that you had much of a choice in the matter . For as long as she 's here , I 'll provide some little treats for the cats ' meals . A mother cat and five kittens must be an imposition on your cats , and anything I can do to make it up to them is good . I figured they would probably like some fancy food to sweeten their dispositions . " Lettie proceeded to stack the cans on the counter and placed the four bowls next to the food . Jay was flabbergasted . " You didn 't have to do anything like this . I 'd have been more than happy to feed Ginger while she 's here . " " Ah , but I 'm not doing it for you , Jay . I 'm doing this for your cats . " Lettie obviously knew that this was an argument he couldn 't discredit and smiled at him . " I 'm a bit of an amateur potter , and these are some of the many cat food dishes I 've made over the years . I never got the hang of throwing large bowls , so I seem to make a lot of cat food dishes . I picked out ones that I thought each of your cats would like . " Peep walked up to Lettie and said , " You are such a nice lady . Ginger is so lucky to have you for a Mommy . Thank you very much . " She rubbed up against Lettie 's leg to show her appreciation . " This cat has such an adorable little voice , and she 's such a dainty little thing . In all the fuss yesterday , I didn 't get her name . " Lettie reached down to scratch Peep 's head . " We call her the Peep , because her voice is a little peeping sound . She 's a very sweet little cat . " Peep looked up at her Daddy in appreciation . She loved it whAnde Noren Although she knew the Mommy would be home soon , Peep missed her a lot today . The Mommy was someone you could count on . She fed you , teased you , scratched your head and sang to you . The Daddy did these things too , but it wasn 't the same coming from him . Peep sighed , and worried that Mommy would go away again to grow turnips . She still didn 't understand this turnip thing . Was Mommy growing turnips ? And what did turnips have to do with math ? She knew the Mommy was doing math down in Virginia - she 'd told her that when she came home for those few days . I doubt she 's just counting the turnips , thought Peep . Anyone could do that ; they wouldn 't need a special math person to count turnips , unless perhaps there were an awful lot of turnips . Peep pondered what the Mommy could be doing with turnips and math as she went through her day . As she ate some delicious crunchies she thought that maybe she was doing math about the best way to grow the turnips . As she groomed herself , Peep thought maybe it had something to do with what you did with turnips . Come to think of it , what did you do with turnips ? Peep figured she 'd ask Rudy or LT - maybe they would know . LT said he 'd heard of turnips , but had never seen one , that he knew of . " Peep , we 're obligate carnivores . Why would I eat turnips or even know about them ? " He was clearly not interested in turnips . His attention was taken up by Ginger and the kittens , and he had no time or patience for Peep . On the other hand , Rudy was willing to talk . " Hmmm , I 've been wondering about turnips since I got that email back from the yarn lady , but I didn 't do anything about it . I know they 're vegetables , but that 's about it . Let 's look it up on the internet . I bet we can find something on Wikipedia . They have articles about everything . " Peep didn 't know Wikipedia from a hole in the wall , but if Rudy was willing to help , she 'd go along with it . " Sounds good , Rudy . Let 's go . " The two cats went into the office , where Rudy booted up the Daddy 's compuPosted by On Monday morning Rudy came in for breakfast . She was enjoying some delicious squishy food when she heard strange sounds coming from the spare room . No one ever used that room for anything that was why it was called the spare room , so therefore it shouldn 't be making noises . She carefully went to the door and peered in . She didn 't immediately see anything , but the sounds , and they sounded like kittens , of all things , seemed to be coming from the closet . Rudy thought maybe she was hallucinating . Had she eaten something that gave auditory hallucinations ? She didn 't think so , but there had been some yummy berry she 'd sampled earlier this morning . Perhaps it was hallucinogenic . She moved stealthily into the room , hugging the wall . As she peered around a piece of furniture , she spotted a blanket on the floor of the closet , all smooshed up , and it appeared to be moving , somewhat . She slinked closer and a voice said , " Please , whoever you are , don 't come any closer . I don 't want to scare the kittens . " Rudy recognized that voice . It was Ginger . What in the world was Ginger doing in Rudy 's house with kittens ? She knew that Ginger was about to have the kittens , but here ? That made no sense at all . She had her own home , her own people . Wouldn 't you want to be with your people when you had your kittens ? Never having had any , it made the most sense to Rudy . She stopped and said , " Ginger , is that you ? It 's Rudy . What are you doing in the closet with kittens ? " " Taking care of them , of course . If LT was going to help me , I had to have them somewhere where he could get to . My owner wouldn 't let him in the house and I did not want to have these kittens outdoors , particularly in the storm we had yesterday ! There were branches flying all over the place , and hail . Can you believe it - hail ! In any case , the kittens won 't be ready for visitors until at least tonight , so please leave us in peace . Oh , and if you see LT , please let him know I need him to take over for a bit soon ? I need to grab a bite to Posted by Late Sunday morning , Ginger arrived in the back yard and announced to LT that she was about to have her kittens . " Let 's go in and find a good place , shall we ? " she asked . LT looked at her with no comprehension . " In where ? " " In your house , of course . You didn 't think I was going to have these kittens outdoors did you ? My owner would never let you in the house to help me , so we need to use your house . Let 's go . These kittens aren 't going to wait much longer . " Ginger ran up on the deck and through the cat door into the house . LT followed her , completely confused . " You mean , you 're going to have the kittens in my house ? What will Jay say ? " " It doesn 't matter . Now find me a closet , or nook or some little place where I can be undisturbed . " Ginger was already looking around on her own , but since she didn 't know the house it would be easier if LT pointed her in the right direction . " Um , there 's a closet in the spare room where Mary Rose keeps her fancy clothes . There are shoes on the floor , but we can move them , and I 'm sure I can find you something soft to lie on . " LT was thinking furiously . What would Daddy say ? What would Rudy and Peep think ? It was one thing to help Ginger with the kittens ; it was totally different for them to move in ! Ginger assessed the closet , shoved the shoes out of the way and plopped on the floor . " This will do just fine , and now , please get out of here . I 'm about to pop a kitten , and I 'd prefer privacy . " She practically growled this last sentence . LT retreated to the kitchen , and began pacing . He heard Ginger panting in the next room , and then a tiny cry . She 'd been right - she had been ready to pop a kitten . Peep emerged from the bedroom , sleepy eyed and yawning . " What 's all the ruckus ? I thought I heard Ginger 's voice , but what would she be doing in our house ? " Peep yawned again when she was done speaking . " Well , what she 's doing here is having kittens . She 's in the closet where Mommy keeps her dresses and she 's having kittens . ShPosted by At the Friday night meeting of the Cat Club it had been obvious to even the oblivious males in the group that Ginger was about to have kittens . She immediately became the focus of the meeting . No one was crass enough to ask who the father was , and Ginger didn 't offer any information . Everyone was interested in how her owner felt about the upcoming litter and her chances of being able to keep all of her kittens with her . Peep and LT felt very strongly that cats should be able to keep their kittens until the parents decided it was time for them to go out into the world . This was usually longer than the people involved thought was reasonable - usually four to five months , rather than the two months at which people began to look for homes to take the kittens . Maybe it was because neither LT nor Peep had had happy kittenhoods , but they felt that all kittens and parents should stay together for as long as they liked . Of the new cats , Ladybug and Snoogums seemed the most interested in the new kittens and suggested names for them . Snoogums particularly wanted the kittens not to be burdened with names like his . " I like simple names , ones that are descriptive of a physical or personality trait . Names like yours , Peep . Your voice sounds like a little Peep , so your name is perfect . Snoogums , on the other hand , sounds like I 'm about to cough up a hairball . " Everyone laughed at that . Rudy sat through most of the meeting basking in LT 's declaration earlier in the day . He loved her . She 'd known that , but for him to say it so clearly was just … . She couldn 't even think of a word to describe it . She was bursting to tell someone , but this wasn 't the type of thing you could say to the whole Cat Club . She didn 't want to tell Peep . Peep either would be jealous , or more likely wouldn 't attach much significance to it . Rudy considered Peep to be a bit emotionally immature . She decided that sometime this weekend she 'd go visit Ladybug and Bunny and tell them . They would appreciate something like this . In the meanwhiPosted by It was Friday , and LT was dreading tonight 's meeting of the Cat Club . He knew he needed to talk to Rudy before the meeting , but he also knew that it wouldn 't be an easy conversation . He sighed and set out to look for her . He found Rudy lying in the sun by the back door . " Oh , LT , isn 't a beautiful day ! " She rolled over on her back , showing her beautiful white belly . " Rudy , you know how much I love you , don 't you ? " LT sat down near Rudy . He wanted to be close , but not too close , in case she got angry with him . Rudy gone him a sharp look " Cats don 't ask that kind of question unless they are about to do something that shows they don 't love you . What is going on , LT ? " Groaning , LT said , " I knew this wasn 't going to go well . " " What isn 't going well , LT ? " " Rudy , I think I fell in love with you the first time Daddy brought you in the house . You were so beautiful and brave . Your legs hurt so much , but you didn 't show it . You were so polite to me and the Peep . I was mad at Daddy for making you go back out in the cold garage . " He shook his head , remembering that day . " And then you came in to live with us for good and I was so happy . You filled an empty place in my heart that I never knew I had . I 've tried to show you that . I 'm not always good with words . You are my love . " Rudy looked at him in amazement . " LT , that was beautiful . I know you love me , silly cat ! " " Good , now remember that . You have to remember that . " LT sighed . " Ginger is going to have kittens soon , and she 's asked me to stand in as their father . " " Of course she 's having kittens . Any ninny could see that . But I know you 're not their father . " Rudy was confused . " Yes , but since they don 't have a father here she wants me to be with her to help with the kittens . Kind of like adopting them . But that has nothing to do with you and me , Rudy . I don 't love Ginger . Just you . " Rudy thought about this . She didn 't think there was anything to be upset about . Ginger just needed help , and a cat wanted a faAnde Noren LT and the Daddy had just finished their breakfasts and were still sitting at the kitchen table . Daddy was reading and absentmindedly caressing LT 's head . Although LT wasn 't much for pats and such , he loved the Daddy and was happy to be sitting on the table , sharing this time with him . As LT lay in a half - drowsy state he thought about what the Peep had said yesterday . He felt about the Daddy the way the Peep felt about the Mommy . He 'd been with the Daddy almost all of his life , and really all of it that he could remember clearly . He was such a little kitten when he came to live with the Daddy , it was hard now for him to figure out if what he remembered was a memory , or what the Daddy had told him about how he was when he was a kitten . The first memory that LT had at all was living on a farm with his cat mommy and daddy . He didn 't think it was a very nice place for them to live , because he remembered that his mommy didn 't really have enough milk for all of the kittens . There had been quite a few others in the litter , he wasn 't sure how many , but his mommy was always hungry . The kittens had fought over her milk , and sometimes he 'd been batted aside , and left hungry himself . When they were old enough to eat real food , there wasn 't enough for all of them , and again he often lost out on the available food . One day as he lay crying from hunger a huge man had come and picked him up . He 'd never been handled by a person before , and was absolutely terrified . The man had spoken to him very softly , and rubbed his fur with one gentle finger . As the man continued to talk , he 'd started to calm down . The man had put him in a box with a very soft towel and made a nest for him to lie in . The man then put the box in his truck and drove away . That ride had been terrifying . Of course , since that time , he 'd had many rides in cars and trucks , but what does a little kitten know from trucks ? It was bumpy and noisy and it seemed like it would never end . The man petted him from time to time , again just with that one bPosted by Peep was worried . This morning when she woke up she realized that she hadn 't thought about the Mommy at all yesterday . When she thought some more , she realized that very often hours went by when she didn 't remember the Mommy wasn 't here , or that she missed her . Was she forgetting about the Mommy ? She hoped not , because she loved the Mommy so much . She sat and thought about the Mommy . She tried to remember her face , and although she kind of remembered it , she didn 't remember it all that well . Panicked , Peep ran to find Rudy or LT . She ran through the house , calling for them , but they weren 't inside . She burst through the cat door , not even looking to see if Fuzzy was around , and called for them again . Not receiving an answer , she ran towards the trees where LT often took his naps . She called his name frantically , and received a sleep answer . " Peep , what 's wrong ? You sound like it 's the end of the world ! " LT tried to simultaneously wake up , find out what was wrong and calm the Peep . He didn 't succeed in calming Peep . " I can 't remember what the Mommy looks like ! I didn 't even think about her yesterday at all . I think I 'm forgetting her . I don 't want to forget the Mommy , I love her so much ! " Peep talked so fast that her words fell over one another , making it difficult for LT to understand . LT tried to come up with a good answer for her from his sleepy brain . He was never at his best when he woke up , but he knew he needed to give Peep a very good answer to keep her from getting completely hysterical . " Peep , other than those few days , we haven 't seen the Mommy in almost two months . It 's hard to picture things in your head that you don 't see all the time . You know you still love her , Peep . " LT spoke in a slow calming voice , but it didn 't seem to have an effect on Peep . " I can 't forget her , LT , I just can 't ! She 's my Mommy . I 've already forgotten my cat mommy , I can 't lose this Mommy ! " Peep couldn 't even sit down . She walked a few steps , sat down , stood back up , walkeAnde Noren Sorry , although I didn 't hit the post button , it somehow posted before I was done . Very strange . . . . Peep looked at the spokesgoose and said , " Would you like me to help you find your way home ? " The four geese looked at each other uncertainly . The spokesgoose said , " If you come outside , you 'll probably eat us . Maybe we should just stay here . Would the people who live here feed us ? " " NO ! You can 't live here . " Peep said this a little more forcefully than she 'd intended and the geese scattered . " What will we do ? " " Oh , I 'm afraid of that cat . " " What if there are more cats ? " " I wish we were home . " To shut them up , Peep called to them , " I promise I won 't eat you . I pledge it by the Higher Cat . " " The Higher Cat would probably like you to eat us . Pledge by the Great Grey Goose ! " " Okay , by the Great Grey Goose , I pledge that I won 't eat you , or even try to eat you . Now , can I come out ? " Peep was sorely frustrated , and was tempted to just chase them away . She did feel sorry for them , though , and that won over her frustration . " Fine . As long as you remember that pledge . " The geese watched her as she jumped down . They looked around in confusion until she appeared around the side of the house . " Why don 't you just sit here for a while and I 'll try to find out if anyone is missing any geese . " Peep had an idea , that the geese were as silly as the new cats ' owners seemed , and maybe they were her geese . " That 's good . Can we eat the lilies in the pond ? They look delicious . " All four geese were eying the lilies . " Please don 't do that . My Daddy went to a lot of trouble to plant those lilies . I 'll be back as soon as I can . " Peep ran off towards her new friends house . She 'd never been there before , but Mr . Snuggles had described how he got to their yard , so she just had to reverse it . Luckily she didn 't meet any other animals along the way , because she really wasn 't a brave little cat . She found Ladybug lounging on the lawn . " Ladybug , are you missing any geese ? " " Geese ? Why would I be missing geese . They 're horrible nasty things that peck at cats . " LaPosted by Tuesday afternoon was shaping up to be very strange . Peep was awoken by the sound of geese honking outside the window . " Geese ? " Peep thought , " We don 't have geese here . " She levered herself off of the floor where she was sprawled to absorb the coolness of the tiles . She jumped up on the trunk and looked out the window . Geese . Several geese . In the yard . Honking . Peep shook her head and wondered if she was dreaming . She padded to the kitchen to see if anyone else was in the house . No cats , no Daddy . It was just her and the geese . She jumped up into the open windows in the computer room and bedroom and looked to see if Rudy or LT were anywhere around . If she was going to confront geese , she 'd rather have reinforcements . Unfortunately , she seemed to be the only cat in the area . She didn 't know if that was because the geese had chased off the other cats , or if they were just off visiting or exploring . Peep went back to the trunk in the living room . As she looked out the window , one of the geese spotted her . " Cat ! ! ! " The goose trumpeted the word to the others , who flapped aimlessly , not knowing what to do . " What 's a cat ? " asked one of the geese . " That 's a cat ! That thing in the window . Cats eat geese , and ducks and everything else they can get their mouths around ! " The first goose seemed to be a bit hysterical , but was standing his or her ground . The other geese stopped and looked at Peep , who had never been stared at by four geese before . The goose who had spoken first said very slowly and carefully , " Hello , cat . We are four geese who are lost and trying to find our way somewhere . We 're really not sure where , but we know it 's not here . Can you understand me ? " Peep got the impression that the goose thought she was not quite bright . She shook her head and said , " Of course I can understand you . How can you find someplace if you don 't know what it is ? " Privately , Peep thought the geese weren 't very bright . " Um . Oh . Well . Yesterday we left our home and today it 's not there . We looked for it , but couldn 't find it , so we decPosted by I , the yarn lady , have two cats . Over the past two months they have become increasingly jealous because I spend so much time writing about someone else 's cats . Therefore , I am dedicating today to my two cats , Sammy and Kenjei . Sammy is almost eight years old , and Kenjei is about six . As you can see from this picture , they are quite good friends . They are asleep in their favorite spot , their daddy 's armchair . Unfortunately , this is the favorite chair of the three humans who also inhabit the house , so there can be a lot of competition for this spot . Sammy , the black and white cat , came to live with us a few months after the death of our long - loved Jeffrey . We were so used to having a cat , we decided that he needed to be replaced , and preferably by two cats , as two cats can entertain each other . We visited our local SPCA , and picked out Sammy and a second cat , Pudgy . Pudgy , unfortunately developed a medical condition after several years and we could not keep him . Sammy 's name at the SPCA was Larry . I couldn 't imagine a cat named Larry , so we came up with Sammy , since it sounded kind of like Larry , and hopefully wouldn 't confuse the cat too much . Since Sammy doesn 't really respond to any name at all ( being very much a cat ) , it has worked out fine . Kenjei was given to us by his cat mother . She was a stray that we had seen in our yard from time to time over the years . On a very hot summer day ( I think it was around 100 degrees ) this stray cat came walking across the patio where I was sitting . This was very odd , since this cat had never before or since come anywhere near that close to me . She stopped and looked me right in the eye , and then kept going . A moment or two later a half - grown kitten came romping after her . He was the most adorable scrawny tiger kitten . He looked like he was probably only two months old . I made little noises at him to attract his attention and he looked at me like I was a giant monster . I promptly put out food and water ( especially water since it was so hot ) and set out to make friends with thePosted by It is too hot today to do anything . Everyone in the household is doing as little as possible , and doing that in the coolest place they can find . Peep and Rudy are both lying on the tile floor in the living room . Peep is sprawled on her stomach , with as much of her as possible making contact with the cool tile floor . Rudy is taking a different approach . She 's lying on her back , exposing as much of her belly to any moving air that might possibly cool her . LT is outside , having cleared a space in the dirt in the deepest shade he could find . He alternates between lying on his back and lying on his side , and occasionally clears a new spot as he finds he 's transferred too much of his body heat to the dirt to be comfortable . The Daddy is in his radio room , which is usually fairly cool , at least if he puts a fan on . Today he 's wondering if he should actually put in the air conditioner , in case it 's too hot to sleep tonight . It 's 90 degrees right now , and feels like 96 . Too hot . He wonders if he needs to go to the grocery store , as at least it would be cool there , but decides the labor of bringing the groceries into the house would negate any cooling effect from the store . Occasionally one of the four inhabitants goes and gets something to drink . It 's too hot to even think of eating , at least right now . Maybe when the sun goes down they 'll feel hungrier . Today is a day to be endured . Hopefully tomorrow will be cooler . Photo courtesy of Pablo Godoy - http : / / www . flickr . com / photos / pabloggodoy / 253500885 / It is very late at night and all of the cats are asleep . LT is asleep outside under the trees . It was still hot when he decided it was bedtime , and so he decided to find a spot where he could sleep directly on the cool dirt . He 's moved away dried leaves and pine needles and cleared himself a nice flat area on which to sleep . His head is pillowed on one front paw , as he is sleeping partially on his right side with his legs stretched out to allow any breeze to cool his belly . What is he dreaming of ? In LT 's dream he is in a large basket in the corner of the living room , surrounded by five kittens . Three of them are tigers and look remarkably like LT , although their fur seems to be longer . They have kittenish ears , that is to say they are very small and close to their heads . One is black and short haired and the other is black and white with long feathery fur . It 's too early to tell easily if they are boy or girl kittens to an outsider , but LT knows that two of the tigers are males and the other three are females . Their mother is out in the kitchen , helping herself to a well - deserved meal , and LT , the proud father is minding his kittens . He rasps his tongue , cleaning one of the males who is sticking very close to his daddy . The other male is the intrepid one of the litter . He 's trying to follow his mother into the kitchen , although he isn 't very steady on his feet yet . He 's made it to the edge of the basket , and if LT doesn 't do something , he is likely to topple out onto the floor . LT quickly reaches out and pulls the kitten back in before he can hurt himself . The little girls are crawling all over him . One is on his back , and one has just fallen off of his head , as she was trying to sit on top of it . The third is gnawing on his toes , possibly trying to nurse . LT looks up as he hears the Mommy come into the room . She tells him what beautiful kittens he has fathered and how proud she will be to have the in the house forever and ever . LT is unfortunately awakened at this point by a passing opossum , who stPosted by LT called the meeting of the Cat Club to order . " Tonight I would like to propose four new members for membership in our Cat Club . Most of you probably have already met them . I know we didn 't get off to a good start , but I think we can all be friends if we try . I propose the following members , Mr . Snuggles , Ladybug , Bunny , and Snoogums . Can I have us show of paws of those cats in favor of accepting them into our club ? " Rudy and Peep immediately raised a paw . Ginger hesitantly raised one and Fuzzy sat with all four paws squarely on the ground . " All those opposed ? " Fuzzy raised a paw defiantly . " Is there any discussion ? " said LT . Fuzzy raised his paw and said , " If you think I 'm gonna be in the same club with those four dips you 're crazy . They beat me up , insulted me for my name and now they want to be friends ? Their names are even stupider than mine . Who in the world would name a cat Snoogums or Mr . Snuggles ? Ladybug and Bunny are just animal names . At least Fuzzy describes me , because I have a fuzzy tail . " Peep raised a paw . " I didn 't think I would like them , because they were mean to you and LT , Fuzzy . But now that I 've had a chance to get to know them I think they 're actually kind of nice . They were afraid that being the new cats in the neighborhood they would get picked on so they decided to pick on everyone else first . It wasn 't right , but I can understand that they were scared . Fuzzy , you attack LT and Rudy and me and we don 't kick you out of the club . Please give them a chance ? " LT sat up straight and said , " The vote to accept Mr . Snuggles , Ladybug , Bunny , and Snoogums into our club is finished . I now declare them members . " LT walked over to the edge of the woods and meowed lovely and then came back to his place . In a few moments the four new cats walked over and sat down with the group . Each member of the group introduced him or herself and told a little bit about their background . The new members told amusing little stories about their owner who was a bit of a batty old lady . She had been known to dress up her cats in doll clothes and arrange them for photographs . Snoogums said , " If we can ever bring you in the house , I 'll show you the photo album that has all those crazy pictures in it . It 's really funny . " When it was Fuzzy 's turned to introduce himself he said , " Yeah , my name is Fuzzy and I was named that because although Peep and I look alike my tail is really fuzzy and hers is really skinny . Unlike Peep , I didn 't get adopted by a nice fancy family . I still live where I was born and have to struggle for food . Sometimes my owners feed me but a lot of the time they don 't . Sometimes they put food out but then throw rocks at me when I go to eat . If I had a better place to go I would but I don 't . I don 't take kindly to being picked upon by pampered house pets and then ridiculed for my name . So you new four just stay out of my way . " Ginger raised her paw . " I am delighted that we have new members , especially since two of them are ladies . We see the same faces day after day and it 's nice to have someone new to talk to . Please accept my welcome to the neighborhood . " Ginger was always so ladylike and everything she said sounded lovely with her beautiful southern accent . Bunny spoke up , " Well , thank you Ginger . I 'm delighted to have such beautiful and handsome new neighbors and such gracious ones . Fuzzy , I can really understand why you 're angry . I 'd be raging mad if someone had done to me what we did to you . Please accept my personal apology . " The other three new cats quickly followed with personal apologies to Fuzzy . " Okay , okay , okay ! I forgive you all . Now , just leave me alone . " Although Fuzzy 's words were impatient , he seemed to be captivated by Bunny . She had batted her eyes at Fuzzy and he was all flustered . No female cat had ever acted like that to him before . These could be interesting neighbors . The rest of the meeting was quite routine but for once after the meeting was over all of the cats did not scatter quickly for their homes . Peep bravely stayed outside to talk to Ladybug while Fuzzy sat down to talk to Bunny . LT huddled in conversation with Ginger and Miss Rudy was monopolized by Snoogums and Mr . Snuggles , who seemed to adore her . It wasn 't until Jay came home that the cats realized how late it was . He walked up to the group and was happy to see them all getting along so well . " Sorry to interrupt this meeting of the Cat Club , folks . I 'm just passing through . " The cats decided that they 'd talked late enough , and everyone headed for home . Photo courtesy of Makoto SATSUKAWA - http : / / www . flickr . com / photos / masatsu / 1808205717 / Hi , Rudy here . I got an email from the yarn lady last night , asking me to write the blog today . She said she 'd had a lump on her tongue cut out on Wednesday and didn 't feel up to writing , so here I am . I thought about having a lump cut out of my tongue , and had Peep stick out her tongue , as I don 't think I 've ever really looked at a tongue before . Tongues are really quite thin , you know . She probably has a hole going right through her tongue . No wonder she doesn 't want to write today . She 's probably just lying around with her tongue hanging out saying " Owww , owww . " I feel bad for her , so I 'll do a nice catch up today for her . Daddy 's feeling much better . He got up today and did things around the house . He ate a really good breakfast ( and fed us bacon while he was at it ) and watched television and read his book . He said he didn 't feel well enough to go to work , though . Mommy was worried about him . She called every day at least twice to make sure he was okay . I don 't know what she could have done from down in Virginia , but it 's nice to know she still cares about us . I thought for a while on Tuesday that I was going to have be like Lassie and go for help for the Daddy . I would have gone to the neighbors and meowed until they came over , or maybe sent an email to the yarn lady , telling her to come over . I know she usually checks her email a lot since she can 't work anymore . I 'm glad the Daddy got better on his own , though . It would have been hard to get the neighbors to come in the house . They 'd just think I was asking to be let in . I probably would have had more luck with the yarn lady . She would have called or come over and taken care of the Daddy . We 're all okay here . It 's a good thing that cats can 't get sick from people germs . We wouldn 't want to have the Daddy 's cold . He was so achy and miserable . Picture three cats lying around in misery . We 're all such drama queens ( and king , I guess ) that the Daddy would have thought we were all dying ! That would have made him very Posted by

Miss Priscilla Hunter [ is ] a maiden lady who has just come here to live . If you have not heard of her before , you will do well to make her acquaintance . I think you will find her a woman after your own heart on the temperance question , as well as on some others . But don 't let Priscilla 's grey hair fool you . She was a woman of high energy and focused activity . It was Priscilla Hunter who almost single - handedly raised the money needed for the church in Miss Priscilla Hunter . Help ! Of course I will . I 'll bring my scissors and snip out things for you in odd hours . Oceans of things can be done in odd hours ; and I 've got a little bundle laid away that will do to make over for somebody ; and Mrs . Jackson has an attic full of trumpery that she will never use . I 'll see that a good load of it gets sent around to the room . You 've got a good room ? It 's Mr . Hoardwell 's , isn 't it ! Of course he 'll let you have it ; I 'll see him if you want me to ; he 's a friend of mine . I 'll slip up there between daylight and dark and see about it . . . . sewed all day in her attic room on clothes for boys too young or too poor to go to the regular clothing establishments . Poor was Miss Hunter ; that is , people looking on called her so . But , after all , I hardly knew of a richer person than Miss Priscilla Hunter . She was intuitive , too . Sometimes she could figure out what someone 's worries were just by looking at them . She noticed everything ; no detail was too small to escape her notice . In " Miss Priscilla Hunter " Priscilla observed : My friend Muriel is the youngest daughter in a large family of busy people . They are in moderate circumstances , and the original breadwinner has been long gone ; so in order to enjoy many of the comforts and a few of the luxuries of life the young people have to be wage - earners . I am sure that they enjoy life just as much as they would if such were not the case , though there are doubtless times when they would like to be less busy . Still , even this condition has its compensations . " Other people do not know how lovely vacations are , " was the way Esther expressed it as she sat one day on the side porch , hands folded lightly in her lap , and an air of delicious idleness about her entire person . It was her week of absolute leisure , which she had earned by a season of hard work . She is a public school teacher , belonging to a section and grade where they work their teachers fourteen hours of the twenty - four . So it was that this large family scattered each morning to their duties in the city ten miles away , and gathered at night , like chickens , to the home nest , which was mothered by the dearest little woman , who gave much of her time and strength to the preparation of favorite dishes with which to greet the wage - earners as they gathered at night around the home table . It is a very happy family , but it was not about any of them that I set out to tell you . In truth , it was Muriel 's apron that I wanted to talk about ; but it seemed necessary to describe the family in order to secure full appreciation of the apron . But about her apron . . . I saw it first one morning when I crossed the street to my neighbor 's side door that opens directly into the large living room , and met Muriel in the doorway , as pretty a picture as a fair - haired , bright - eyed girl of seventeen can make . She was in what she called her uniform , a short dress made of dark print , cut lower in the neck than a street dress . It had elbow sleeves , and a bit of white braid stitched on their bands and around the square neck set off the little costume charmingly . Her apron was of strong dark green denim , wide enough to cover her dress completely . It had a bib waist held in place by shoulder straps ; and the garment fastened behind with a single button , making it adjustable in a second . But its distinctive feature was a row of pockets - or rather several rows of them - extending across the front breadth ; they were of varying sizes , and all bulged out as if well filled . " Haven 't you seen my pockets before ? " she asked . " They astonish you , of course ; everybody laughs at them . But I am proud of them ; they are my own invention . You see , we are such a busy family all day long , and so tired when we get home at night , that we have a bad habit of dropping things just where they happen to land , and leaving them . By the end of the week this big living room is a sight to behold . It used to take half my morning to pick up the thousand and one things that did not belong here , and carry them to their places . You do not know how many journeys I had to make , because I was always overlooking something . So I invented this apron with a pocket in it for every member of the family , and it works like a charm . " Look at this big one with a B on it ; that is for Ben , of course , and it is always full . Ben is a great boy to leave his pencils , and his handkerchiefs , and everything else about . Last night he even discarded his necktie because it felt choky . " This pocket is Esther 's . She leaves her letters and her discarded handkerchiefs , as well as her gloves . And Kate sheds hair ribbons and hatpins wherever she goes . Just think how lovely it is to have a pocket for each , and drop things in as fast as I find them . When I am all through dusting , I have simply to travel once around the house and unpack my load . I cannot tell you how much time and trouble and temper my invention has saved me . " " It is a bright idea , " I said , " and I mean to pass it on . There are other living rooms and busy girls . Whose is that largest pocket , marked M ? " " Why , I made it for mother ; but , do you know , I have found out just in this very way that mothers do not leave things lying around . It is queer , isn 't it , when they have so many cares ? It seems to be natural for mothers to think about other people . So I made the M stand for ' miscellaneous , ' and I put into that pocket articles which will not classify , and that belong to all of us . There are hosts of things for which no particular one seems to be responsible . Is it not a pity that I did not think of pockets last winter , when we all had special cares and were so dreadfully busy ? It is such a simple idea you would have supposed that any person would have thought of it , but it took me two years . I just had to do it this spring , because there simply was not time to run up - and downstairs so much . " " You have proved once more the truth of the old proverb , ' Necessity is the mother of invention , ' " I said . " And , besides , you have given me a new idea . I am going home to work it out . When it is finished , I will show it to you . " Then I went home , and made rows and rows of strong pockets to sew on a folding screen I was making for my work - room . Jean smiled ; Joseph must be almost tired out if he wanted still things . " I 'm sure you can be easily gratified , " she said . " Look at the very first verse for the month . " " Then I don 't want it . I don 't want a bit of doing ; there will be enough of that when school begins . I 'll take the still one . " Exactly two days from that talk , this , which I am going to tell you , happened . Miss Emerson was visiting her sister , who was a pupil in the Fowler School , and did not go home for vacation , for the reason that a large part of her home had gone to Europe . Miss Emerson was an elocutionist , and volunteered to give a little entertainment during her visit , for the benefit of the library in the Fowler School . " Let me see , " she said , speaking to her dog Trust , I suppose , as he was the only one present beside herself , " no , I believe I won 't wear diamonds ; it would not be in good taste for so small a gathering . They will think I am too much dressed as it is , I presume . I haven 't time to lock these up again . Trust , you may stay here and take care of them ; remember , old fellow , you are not to let anybody touch anything of mine until I come back . " She held up her finger at Trust for emphasis , and he gave an intelligent bark in reply ; then she smiled on him and swept away . Five minutes afterwards she was saying in the hall , " Are they waiting ? Well , I am quite ready - oh dear ! I have left my fan in my room . " " Joseph will bring it , " said Mrs . Calland who liked things to begin promptly . " Joseph , bring it to me in the parlor . Miss Emerson , will you come now ? " And Joseph scampered for the fan . It lay on the table behind the jewel case . Joseph sprang in breathless , his hand ready to grasp it , when a low growl arrested him , and the fiery eyes of Trust were upon him . He took in the situation at once ; Trust was in charge , and he would not be allowed to touch the fan . Not so fast , my boy ; Trust not only distrusts you too much to allow you to touch the fan , but he does not mean that you shall escape him . At the first step toward the door , he grasped Joseph 's trousers with his fierce teeth , almost grazing the skin , and held on . It was by no means a pleasant position . Joseph did not understand dogs very well , was a good deal afraid of this one , as was everybody in the house , and had been glad to think of getting away as quickly as possible from his fiery eye , and here he was a prisoner ! For how long ? The entertainment was not yet opened . Two hours at least before he could hope that Miss Emerson would reach her room . If her fan was not forthcoming , some other fan would be handed her , and no one would remember that he had been sent for it . What was to be done ? Clearly nothing but to stand still and endure Trust 's stern gaze . Shall you be surprised if I tell you that Joseph 's heart beat fast ? He did not know how soon Trust might weary of holding on to cloth only , and conclude to try a bit of the flesh underneath it . In point of fact , Trust soon let go with his teeth ; but held on with his eyes . Joseph did not dare to move a muscle , lest it might be taken for resistance , and receive punishment . Was ever a worse dilemma for a good - intentioned boy ? Wasn 't this care ? Had he ever a worse anxiety ? Did not God know all about it ? Could He not protect from this danger , as well as from others ? The loud thuds which Joseph 's heart were giving , began to quiet . It was a trying place , one full of care , certainly , but he began to have a strange sense of security ; a sort of assurance that Trust would do no more than guard his mistress ' property , and that he , Joseph , so long as he stood still , would escape injury . Two hours of standing perfectly still ! Never mind , he could bear it ; and he was beginning not to be afraid . " He is with the scholars , I suppose , " answered Mrs . Calland , a little surprised at the question . Where should Joseph be but in his place ? She had already forgotten that she sent him for a fan . What made Jean anxious ? She couldn 't have told you . Joseph was never in mischief , was almost certain to be where he ought to be , yet his sister fidgeted , stretched her neck up to get a glimpse of her brother , and finally slipped quietly away to investigate . The boys did not know where he was ; the girls had not seen him since supper . Oh , yes , Laura Akers saw him just before the entertainment commenced ; she heard Mrs . Calland send him to Miss Emerson 's room for her fan ; she was passing the hall , and heard her give the direction ; he was to bring it to the parlor ; she presumed he had done so , but she had not seen him come in . Joseph spoke in low , quiet tones , " I 'm all right , Jean . Trust is on guard and won 't let the fan go , nor me either . Don 't make a fuss ; just run and ask little Fanny Emerson to come here a minute ; Trust will obey her . " " I quite forgot that I left him on guard , " she said . " I don 't know how you escaped so easily . Mercy ! If he had bitten you I would never have forgiven myself . " Joseph laughed a little . " Well , I have those things , of course , " he said at last . " Everybody has ; but I can 't very well give them away . " " I don 't see why not . I 'm sure of one thing : it makes very little difference what else you give , so long as you hold on to those . Why don 't you give your heart , out and out , Josey , and be done with it ? " " Oh , Joseph ! Never mind the money . Don 't you suppose He can get it for you whenever He wants you to give any ? I 'm so glad ! " That was the reason it came to him , while he stood talking with merry little Nellie Ayers , as she sat on a bench in the workshop , her great green - eyed cat in her arms . Nellie Ayers was a character in the school ; a homeless orphan to whom Mrs . Fowler was almost a mother , just because her heart was large and she could not help being . Nellie was bright , and warm - hearted , and thoughtless , and in a hundred thoughtless ways gave more trouble than all the other scholars put together . Mrs . Calland even reached the point of sometimes saying , " I really don 't believe we can keep Nellie another year unless she is changed in some way . " Just now , Nellie was putting as much mourning into her words as her merry heart could furnish , as she explained to Joseph , " Why , I haven 't the first thing to put in the special collection for next week . I wish I had ; I 'm the only girl , I guess , who won 't have anything . I wish they 'd let me give my shoes and stockings ; I hate to wear them ; but Mrs . Calland won 't allow that ; I wouldn 't like her to see me this minute sitting here without them . Or I might give Muffy ; she is all I have of my very own ; but she wouldn 't look well in a collection - box ; besides , she would be sure to say ' Meow ' right in the midst of the prayer , maybe , " and then Nellie laughed . It was then that Joseph thought of the verse . Surely none had received more freely than Nellie ; yet what had she to give in return ? This set him to studying . " Why , just because I do . All the girls are going to ; why shouldn 't I want to ? You don 't think I haven 't any heart , do you ? " " The motive ? Why , you ought to know ; one would think you had never heard Mrs . Calland talk . Doesn 't she say a hundred times a week that we must give always for Jesus ' sake ? " " Yes , " said Joseph steadily , though there was a flush on his face which deepened as he went on . " Out and out ; settle this whole business forever . Give your hands , and your feet , and your tongue , and - well , your heart , you know , and that covers all the rest . If folks really want to give for Jesus ' sake , I say , why don 't they give the only thing He wants , instead of hunting around for something that they haven 't got , and he doesn 't want them to give ? " " Yes ; I said so , out and out . Why not ? That is giving the thing He has asked for ; and He doesn 't care for all the money in the country unless we do as He wants us to . " " Yes , I have . " The whole face was rosy red now , but Joseph 's clear eyes looked steadily into the face of the little girl . " I belong to Him ; I 've given to Him all I 've got ; strength and voice and everything . I 'm going to serve Him the best way I know how . " He said not another word at - that time , but turned away , leaving Nellie to her kitten and her thoughts . He had not the least idea how large a harvest would grow from that little seed . It was only a few days afterwards that Nellie came to Mrs . Calland with something hid under her little work apron . " I don 't know whether it will do to put in the collection basket , " she explained , her cheeks rosy , " but I haven 't any money , you know , and I truly mean this . " There were tears in Mrs . Calland 's eyes when she kissed Nellie . " He will certainly understand , " she said . " Give the heart to me ; it is very precious . I will put a silver dollar in the basket in its place , and keep the heart in memory of my little scholar . You have given the only offering which He cares for , Nellie . " It was Jean who helped him choose his verse . She had a private notion that the Fourth of July was a rather dangerous time for a boy , so she hinted that of all the July verses the one which she thought the most helpful was the very last . It made some talk ; Jean was sewing a button on his shirt and he was waiting for it , so there was time for a few pleasant words . Joseph said he remembered the lesson for next Sunday ; he looked it over last Sunday afternoon , and that if a fellow knew as much about the Bible as Jesus did , of course it would help him , but that he , Joseph , would never expect to think of the right verse . He chose the last verse , with a dim notion of putting the thought to the test of experience . There was never a day more full of temptation than that same Fourth of July . Turn which way he would , it seemed to Joseph that the tempter was waiting for him . Where did that verse come from ? Joseph did not know it was stored away in his memory , until someone brought it suddenly before him at that moment . He could not help speaking the words aloud , they fitted so perfectly , and he added , " No , you don 't ! if you fellows want to do behind her back what you would be ashamed to do when her eyes were on you , why , I suppose you will , for all me , but I don 't propose to train in any such company . " The boys " poohed " and " pshawed " a little , but the conclusion of it was that they gave up the plan . He had no trouble the next morning in convincing the boys that it would be mean to put a torpedo under Rettie 's crib and scare her awake . Because she was such a little thing , and was very much afraid , and the old verse " Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself , " came in to do good service . It is true that Will Jenkins said Rettie wasn 't his " neighbor ; " that she roomed two flights of stairs below him ; but he laughed , while he said it , and looked a little ashamed of himself , and no torpedoes were placed under Rettie 's crib . But the next scheme held out strong temptations for a fun - loving boy . It was all very well for little Rettie to be afraid ; but it did seem ridiculous for Sarah , the tall , pretty - faced , good - natured chambermaid to have such a horror of firecrackers that she would run and scream whenever she heard one snap . Joseph did not understand this in the least , and felt disposed to ridicule it . So when the boys hurriedly planned their next bit of mischief , he was on the very verge of joining them . It was such an excellent opportunity : Sarah was out under the gnarled old tree , with Rettie on one side of her , and the little daughter from the next neighbor 's , on the other , and they were having a grand frolic . What unutterable fun it would be to fasten the strings of her long apron to the tree , and then set fire to a bunch of crackers at her feet ; and when she squealed and tried to run , she would find herself tied fast , and would have to stay and see what innocent things firecrackers really were . The boys rolled on the grass and laughed over the thought of how her eyes would look , and how she would squeal ! Yes , Joseph was almost ready to help in this ; because no one could possibly be harmed , and what sense was there in a grown woman being scared with firecrackers ? " Yes , sir , we 'll do it , " said Will Jenkins . " We 'll have one bit of fun this morning , anyhow . Luckily for us there isn 't a Bible verse that will fit it . There 's the Golden Rule , even , encourages us : ' Do to others whatever they do to you . ' Didn 't Sarah sprinkle us with a dipper of water , this very morning ? Tell me it was an accident ! I saw by the twinkle in her eyes that she meant it . " If he hadn 't misquoted that verse I am not sure that Joseph would have stopped to do any thinking ; but the thought which struck him was that Satan had done that very thing at the temptation of Jesus ! Was this a temptation ? Ought he to want help to get out of it ? " Consider them that are bound as bound with them . " Was that Bible ? Yes , he was sure of it ; though when learned , or where found , he did not know . It was absurd for Sarah to be " bound " by such silly fears ; but then she was ; and if the words meant anything , they meant that we must try to put ourselves in other people 's places and see if we should like done to us what we were about to do to them , provided we felt about things just as they did . About their latest scheme he knew nothing . It was no more nor less than to take a pitch - pine stick , dress it in white garments saturated in benzine , set it up in a pine - knot seat on the stone floor of the dairy , and fire it at just the moment that Hannah the cook would visit the dairy for butter for tea . How royally scared she would be to see a woman in white all ablaze ! This precious piece of mischief was planned most carefully , and finally abandoned , for the simple reason that Joseph was the only one of the scholars who could gain access to the dairy . " And there 's no kind of use in applying to him , " said Will Jenkins . " He 's so chock full of Bible that all he will do will be to pitch a verse at a fellow . We 've just got to give it up . " Which , fortunately for them , they did . It was little Dick who helped our Joseph into trouble . The fact is , little Dick was skillful in getting up trouble for other people . He liked apples ; most boys do ; but little Dick liked them so much that he could not help taking them from the tree by the garden wall , before they were ready to pick ; and before the injunction had been taken off that not one of the scholars must so much as touch them . It is quite a long story , how little Dick reached the point where he felt as though he must have just one apple , whatever happened ; and how he stationed his friend and constant companion in mischief , Rufus Miller , to watch that nothing special did happen , while he climbed the wall for just a taste . Something happened . Hannah came to the back door and called John , the coachman . That was all ; but it was enough to frighten little Dick so much that he lost his balance and pitched over the wall with a loud cry , carrying a branch from the apple - tree with him . Rufus , much alarmed , ran away , leaving the sobbing little boy with scratched face and torn trousers to get along the best way he could . You will understand that he was not very badly hurt when I tell you that after he had gotten a little over his fright , he waited to pick every apple from that broken limb and stuff them into his pockets , as many as would go in , and tug the rest home in his hands . He meant to get to his own little corner closet before anybody saw him ; and if he didn 't , it wouldn 't matter ; folks were always giving him apples . So reasoned little Dick ; but the scratched face smarted , and he could not help crying , which made it smart worse . In this plight Joseph found him , pitied him , comforted him , offered to carry some of his burdens , stuffed his own pockets with the , fruit , saying as he did so , " What pretty apples ! Did Farmer Brooks give you these ? " and did not think it at all strange that Dick cried on , without answering . By six o ' clock in the evening , trouble came . Farmer Fowler found the broken limb , guessed that some of the boys knew more about it than he did , told Mrs . Calland , and a search was the result . No trace of that peculiar kind of apple anywhere , except - Oh , dear me ! - in the pocket of our Joseph 's school trousers , which he had changed when he went to drive Mrs . Fowler to town . Can you imagine what anxiety there was in the home after that ? Mrs . Calland declared that it could not be possible Joseph broke the limb , and Farmer Fowler admitted that he would almost as soon have thought of the minister doing it , but , after all , there was the broken limb , and there was the tell - tale apple . When Joseph - returned from town , and Mrs . Calland sent for him and told him the whole story , his face was redder than the little red apple . Joseph 's heart was very sore . Mrs . Calland treated him just as usual , but Farmer Fowler occasionally cross - questioned him - as much as his promise to Mrs . Calland not to make Joseph tell what he suspected would admit - and Joseph felt that when he shook his head , and said : " It is very strange , " Farmer Fowler thought he was in some way to blame . It was hard . There was one evil result of all this , which none but Joseph knew . He could not feel right toward little Dick . As the days passed and the little boy seemed much as usual , but kept his lips tightly closed , Joseph glowered at him often when no one was looking , and could not help feeling that something dreadful ought to happen to him ; and that he certainly could never forgive him . There were times when he wished that Mrs . Calland would command him to tell the whole story , so that he might see Dick brought to shame . But Mrs . Calland seemed to have forgotten about it . She asked no questions , and Farmer Fowler continued to say occasionally that it was very strange . And as often as he thought of something which would displease God 's all - seeing eye , it was found in little Dick 's heart , not his own . But on this evening as he bowed his head with the rest , under pledge to look into his own heart , he started as though a thorn had pierced him . What did he see ? Why , an ugly weed named " Hate . " Yes , actually , he almost hated little Dick ! What a dreadful thing this was ; almost as bad , perhaps to God 's sight just as bad as poor little silly Dick 's unspoken falsehood ! Yet how could he help it ? He could not feel right toward little Dick ! The silent minute was passed , and heads were upraised . I do not know but Joseph in his distress would have begged to be excused and have gotten to his room , if little Dick had not at that moment taken all the attention . He came with a sudden rush to Mrs . Calland 's side , bowed his head in her lap and sobbed : " I oughtn 't to have any trouble in forgiving him , " he said , in answer to a question of Jean 's . " I don 't suppose weeds of hate look much better than weeds made out of lies . When it comes to hearts , I guess maybe little Dick 's looked most as well as mine . " " And he drawls his words , " said Joseph , " and loses his place , and drops his lesson leaf ; and never by any luck or chance asks a question that isn 't right before him on the leaf . Oh , he 's a rare teacher ! I tell you what it is , when I get to be a man I won 't teach Sunday - school unless I have an idea of my own to give out now and then . " Joseph 's sister Jean overheard this ; it made her sad . She knew very well that Joseph 's teacher was one not calculated to win the respect of a bright boy like her brother . He was a good man , but he did not seem to know how to teach a class of wide - awake boys . She talked with Mrs . Calland about it , and wondered if anything could be done . This was the way Mrs . Calland came to have her talk with Joseph . Joseph shrugged his shoulders . " Mrs . Calland , if you should come into the history class and do nothing but put on your spectacles and read from the book , ' What is the name of this lesson ? What did Moses then say ? What did Moses do next ? ' I don 't know what kind of lessons we would get . " " Queer ! " said Joseph aloud . He meant , it seemed queer to him that those words should be there just then . Was it a possible thing that the Lord might mean him , Joseph Holbrook , to consider them as spoken to him , about the Sabbath - school lesson , for instance ? Was there anything he could say which might help ? " Do you think it was a very wise plan which that old king had ? " Joseph asked . Then the boys each described the plan which he would have tried if he had been king ; and altogether , the superintendent 's bell rang before they were half through with the list of printed questions . Joseph thought about it a good deal . He said nothing to the scholars at home . None of them were in his class ; but he had a little talk with Jean , that night . " I forgot my verse , " he said . " Didn 't think of it once till Sunday - school was out ; but I asked lots of questions , and answered some , and had a real good time ; I only did it because I was interested and wanted to . Do you think , Jean , that the Lord might have put into my mind some of the things to ask ? Because the others seemed interested in them right away . " " I haven 't a doubt of it , " said Jean heartily . " He helps us in all sorts of quiet little ways , as well as in great ones . Besides , He promised , you know . You don 't suppose Moses was the only one He was willing to tell what to say ? " Joseph had no answer ready . He sat silent and thoughtful for some time ; it seemed a wonderful thought that the Lord could possibly care what questions he asked in Sunday - school . Yet the " verse " had been chosen by him for the month , and in school as well as out , he was bound to trust the Lord for words to speak . Rettie was seated on the bright rug in the schoolroom . It was Saturday , and it was raining . Joseph had been , for the last half - hour , entertaining Rettie , making a building for her out of spools and buttons , with scissors for the big gate ; now she was absorbed in a lovely red paper heart which he had just cut out for her , and he had time to glance over his verses and decide which to take . " I see . Well , I knew a man once , who in a small matter carried out the rule . He was a poor man and he wanted a certain kind of easy chair for his daughter . A neighbor of his who had lost a great deal of money and was selling his goods , and going to move away , had a chair of the kind wanted , and offered it to this man for five dollars . It was worth a great deal more money than that , but its owner did not expect to get what it was worth , and needed money ; so the poor man bought it for five dollars and was to bring the money for it in the afternoon and take it away . In his shop that morning , he heard a gentleman say he was going to offer ten dollars for that very chair . ' Now , ' said the poor man to himself , here is something for me to think about ; I can 't afford to pay ten dollars for the chair , but this man can , and is willing to do it , and its owner needs the money ; to be sure I have bought the chair and can claim it if I choose , but then , if I were in his place , what would I want done ? ' The end of the matter was , that he went at noon and told the man that he would not take the chair away , because he thought someone was coming to offer ten dollars for it . The other man appeared , just as he said he would , and the owner of the chair got his ten dollars . What do you think of it all ? " " Joseph has discovered that little Dick is his neighbor , " said Mrs . Calland softly . " I hope he doesn 't imagine that I knew anything about the knife . How strange it is that I should have happened to tell him that story ! And how steadily the dear boy grows ! " We 're nearing the end of the story ; only two more installments to go ! Chapters 9 and 10 will post on February 7 . See you then ! It was evening , and Joseph was alone in Mrs . Calland 's classroom ; he had been left there in charge , to receive any messages which might come to Mrs . Calland while she was away attending to other duties . Joseph was often the one chosen for this work ; as a rule , he was proud of the trust . Tonight he was restless and unhappy . A great temptation had beset him . Examination day was drawing very near ; there were reasons why he was especially anxious to appear well in arithmetic . He had worked hard over his lessons , and tonight he looked hard at the little walnut secretary and felt his face flush over the thought which haunted him . He had heard Mrs . Calland when she said with a half - relieved sigh as she folded a large paper , " There ! I have selected the examination problems with as much care as possible . The scholars who can solve those will prove that they have worked faithfully during the term . " Then she had placed the paper in a small box on the third shelf of her secretary , and locked the door . What was there strange about all that ? Nothing , only a very unusual thing had happened . At this moment the secretary was not only unlocked , but the door stood half - way open . During all Joseph 's stay in the house he had never seen the door open before , unless Mrs . Calland stood close to it . Now for his temptation : that paper , he was so near to it - if he could only know just what problems were to be given out on examination day ! Just to see whether any of them needed his special attention . Of course he would not copy any work ; he wouldn 't be so mean as that . All he wanted was a glance at the different pages from which the selections were taken ; then he would work over all those pages , and all the pages near to them on either side . What harm could there be in that ? It would simply be a review , and Mrs . Calland believed in reviews ! Yes ; he reasoned in just this ridiculous way , sensible boy as he generally was . Don 't you know that Satan often makes fools of people ? It is sorrowful to tell , but Joseph 's fingers seemed to ache with the longing to get hold of that paper . It could be done so easily , and replaced , and no one be the wiser . People always knocked who came to that door ; no one but Mrs . Calland herself would enter until he gave the invitation ; and Mrs . Calland , he knew , would be engaged for at least an hour . He moved toward the secretary slowly ; much as though a serpent was seated on the shelf , charming him forward . As he moved , he re - arranged the story in his mind , making it sound better . All he wanted now was to find out whether certain pages which had been especially hard had been selected from , so that he might make himself doubly safe on those pages . He has come nearer ; he is right beside the shelf ! His hand is outstretched ; another moment and he will have the precious paper . Wait ! Look at the door ! Slowly , steadily , as if moved by some unseen hand , it glides by the outstretched arm and closes . Click ! The paper is safe ; the door has a spring lock , and only the tiny key on Mrs . Calland 's watch chain can open it ! Joseph drew a long breath , and his heart beat so hard that it made him feel faint . How came that door to close just at that moment ? Not a breath of air seemed to be stirring in the room ; not a jar that Joseph could imagine , had there been to do the work . At that moment , almost as distinctly as though a voice had spoken them , Joseph seemed to hear the words : Was it possible that God had sent an angel to close the door and so " shield " this new Joseph from his enemy ? The perspiration started on the boy 's face . He felt awed , and frightened , and grateful , all in one . He struggled with the queer feeling in his throat , and almost thought he must cry . How glad he was that that door had locked itself ! What insane feeling had possessed him ? He felt now as though there was nothing in the world great enough to tempt him to touch that paper ! " We shall find him here , " she was saying . " I left him in charge . He is my boy to trust . He knows nothing about it ; it is our surprise for him . " Then the door swung open , and the pleasant voice continued , " Joseph , I have brought you a birthday present . " And there , smiling , radiant , in the doorway was his sister Jean ! They did not know what was in Joseph 's heart ; but all the while he was murmuring : " Oh , what if I had ! I could never have looked Jean in the face again ! And I should have done it , I 'm afraid I should , if - if he hadn 't shut the door . " He had sat with his head in Jean 's lap when he chose the verse . She was passing her hand tenderly over the curly mass and telling him she had always been glad that he was named Joseph , for his good father ; and that if he should grow up to be as good a man as his father , she should be perfectly happy ; and then she had asked if he did not think that first verse would be a good one for him . Had not the Lord been with him in a very wonderful way during these past months ? Only think of the good and pleasant things which had come to him ! And now she , his one sister who loved him so much , instead of being a hundred miles away from him hard at work in a close , warm shop , was to live in this pleasant home , and do work which would be only play , compared with what she had been doing , and have a chance to study a little each day . In his heart Joseph admitted that somehow the Lord had been very good to him ; but , being a foolish boy , he did not say much about it . He chose the verse as a kind of thanksgiving verse , he told Jean with a roguish smile . It was the very first day of April , and before the day was done , something happened to Joseph . For a brave boy , he had one rather foolish fear . He had a horror of toads ; in spite of many resolves not to do so , he was almost sure to scream whenever he saw one . Of course , this was known among the schoolboys , and in planning their mischief for " April fool " two or three of those who were a little out of sorts with Joseph for not joining them in all their pranks , agreed together to send him through the mail a handsome box neatly done up in white paper , and containing the ugliest - looking toad they could find in the country . Over this scheme they giggled a good deal , and were careless in talking it up . The secret leaked out where they would least have wished it ; but this they did not know at the time , and went on with their preparations . The day and hour came ; the boys and girls who had been admitted to the secret , as well as those who knew nothing about it , were gathered in the dining - room awaiting Joseph 's arrival with the evening mail . Mrs . Calland was there also , and Joseph 's sister Jean . At last the door opened , and his bright face appeared . The question was asked of Jean , and his eyes were so bright and glad , that for a moment the three boys who knew what was in the box felt sorry and ashamed . What a pity to frighten that pleasant face , even for the sake of an April fool . But it was too late now . The package was being untied ; letters waited , while the scholars gathered around , full of curiosity . A neat pasteboard box came to light . " I know it , " laughed Joseph . " I half - believe that the box is full of nothing ; but it is a handsome box , anyhow . I 'll keep it for pens , and things . " Then the three boys looked at one another and wished with all their hearts that it was full of nothing . The joke they had planned did not seem half so funny as they had thought it would . They wished Mrs . Calland and the sister would go away ; but they stayed , and the box was open . Soft white tissue paper covered whatever it held . At last there were exclamations of " Oh 's ! " and " Ah 's ! " and the treasure was in Joseph 's hand . A toad ? Yes , a toad , large as life and very natural ; but it was made of silver , and carried in its ugly mouth as pretty a napkin ring as was ever placed on the Fowlers ' table . What delighted excitement there was ! How pleased everybody seemed to be , including three boys whose faces were as red as the roses on the mantel . It was an " awful scrape " they admitted to themselves , and yet they were glad , just as glad as they could be . It was simply splendid in that ugly toad to go and turn into silver . " I don 't believe I 'll ever think a toad is ugly again , " said Joseph , with sparkling eyes . " How I wish I knew who gave it to me ! Every word the card says is ' April Fool , ' and I don 't know the handwriting . " Three boys with very red faces sought a private audience with Mrs . Calland that very evening . They were sure it was she who had helped them out of a scrape which they were sorry they ever went into ; they were so much obliged to her ! - more than they could tell ; and if she would let them pay for the lovely toad , and keep their secret , they would always be grateful . They liked her " April fool " ever so much better than their own , and they would never be guilty of trying to play mean jokes , after this . " Jean , " said Joseph , lingering in her room waiting for the nine o ' clock bell to ring , " I don 't see but the verse is a good one . Did you ever see how it fits in everywhere ? Who would have thought that any of the boys cared enough for me to make me a real splendid silver present for April fool ? I 'm most sure it was the boys ; and - it 's a queer thing to say , but maybe the Lord might have put it into their heads , because the second of April , you know , is my birthday , and he knew I hadn 't any father and mother to make me a present . Don 't you think it might have been ? " Poor Joseph covered his head under many bedclothes and said the words with trembling tongue . He was certainly very much afraid . How the verse could help him he could not imagine , yet it was some comfort that it began with those assuring words , " Fear not . " He had been only amused when he made the selection . His name was not Abram , and he declared to himself that he had done nothing to be rewarded for , nevertheless he chose that verse . " Fear not - " That was just the thing . To be sure he had nothing to be afraid of , and did not believe he ever should have . Now , under the bedclothes , he thought of it and shivered . What was the matter ? The story is quickly told . It was vacation time , and the scholars had all gone home . On the morning of the day just past , the entire Fowler family had gone to spend the day with friends , leaving Joseph in charge of the house . They were to come home on the eight o ' clock train ; but eight o ' clock came , and the train whistled and puffed itself into the depot , and the mail wagon , in the course of another half - hour , rolled by the Fowler gateway . Rolled by , to Joseph 's dismay . There was no other train until nine o ' clock in the morning . After that , for an hour , Joseph sat by the kitchen fire , and did some serious thinking . The day had been lonely enough for a boy who was used to many people about him , but a long night in this great shut - up house all alone , was a good deal of a trial . Still , there was no help for it . Joseph decided that from the first . True there were neighbors a quarter of a mile away where he had once been caught in a storm , and spent the night with the boys . He could scud over there across lots , and he knew they would be glad to see him ; but he did not give that matter a second thought . He had been left in charge of the house , and did not intend to desert it . After some trouble he had gone to sleep . But now he was wide enough awake and trembling in every limb . There were people stepping softly around the house , and at least two windows had been tried . Burglars ! There was little doubt of it . Listening , he heard their voices , not speaking very low . After that , do you wonder that Joseph covered his head with the bedclothes and trembled ? He was in the attic chamber , and the door was locked . The thieves would hardly be likely to trouble him ; they would find treasures enough all over the great old farmhouse . But how dreadful to lie there and listen to things being stolen ! What could he do ? Suddenly his heart began to beat in such great thuds that it seemed to bump against the head - board . He had thought of something to do . What if he should go from room to room and light the bracket lamps all over the house ? Might not the burglars think there were people in charge , and run away ? " Thud ! thud ! thud ! " said his heart ; but Joseph was already out of bed . He said it aloud , while he was drawing on his clothes , " Fear not , Abram , I am thy shield . " If ever a boy needed shielding , he did ; and what if his name wasn 't Abram ? God knew his name , and God could shield him . Joseph did not doubt that . His hand trembled so much that the first and second matches went out ; but the third lighted his lamp . A moment , and the rays from the great hall lamp with the reflector behind it , flamed into the snow - covered street . The noise below had suddenly ceased . From room to room went Joseph , shivering with cold , and with fear , but flaming up the lights until there was certainly an illumination in the Fowler homestead . Now he had done all he could , and might lock himself in the attic room and wait . What would be the result ? Would the burglars be frightened away , or would they suspect the true state of things , and only wait to plan a way to get rid of him ? With his head under the bedclothes he waited , shivering . For how long ? He could not have told . It seemed to him hours and hours ! Every little while he bobbed his head out , and listened ; all was still . However , this did not greatly encourage him ; of course the burglars would know enough to work quietly now . Suddenly there was a sound outside . " Whoa ! " said a strange voice , loudly , almost under his window . Then a loud thumping at the kitchen door . Oh , what should he do now ? They had come back reinforced , and meant to break down the door ! " What does all this mean ? " said the astonished master . And then , when he heard the story , " Well , I do say ! " But what he might have said he kept to himself . " We missed the train , " he explained , in turn , as soon as Joseph 's explanations were over . " The others can 't get here until nine o ' clock ; but I thought you would be a good deal disturbed , so I got the privilege of coming on the three o ' clock freight , and caught a ride out with Barnet and his hens . Well , well , well ! When I saw the house all ablaze with light , I thought first of fire , and then of lunatics . " " It was a brave , wise thing for a boy of his years , " said Farmer Fowler , after he had told the whole story and answered all the questions poured out on him from the excited family . " In fact , it was about the only thing that could have been done . There 's no telling what he saved us by his quick - wittedness and pluck . The snow tracks show that there was quite a party of them . I 'll tell you what it is , mother , let us write to that sister of his this very day , and spread out our plans . My mind is quite made up that it is the thing to do . " About this time , Joseph awoke with a start and a smile . He had been dreaming that he was really Abram . " I was carried through it , anyhow , " he said , as he made all speed with his dressing . " I don 't see but I was shielded as well as Abram could have been ; and as for the reward , why , I don 't want that . " Yet the New Year 's Eve frolic was not over before he found the verse fitted in . They were having a tableau party , and Joseph was dressed in an extraordinary manner - like a youthful musician of the olden time . Mrs . Calland had managed - nobody but she knew how - to arrange for him a most remarkable wig of soft curling hair ; the mustache part was easy ; a little burnt cork settled that . Then there was little Fannie Stuart and her brother Rex dressed surprisingly ! I am not sure that he would have thought of it in just the way he did , had it not been for Mrs . Calland 's remark as she finished arranging Rob Walker 's cloak . Rob Walker was a day scholar who had been invited to the evening 's fun because they were sorry for him ; as he was at his uncle 's , more than a thousand miles away from home , during this holiday time . He was another musician , representing a different style of dress , and Mrs . Calland , as she fastened the wide collar about his neck , had said : Unless you are the sort of boy who can understand it without explanation , I don 't know that I can help you to feel how dreadfully Joseph hated to meddle with this matter . It was so uncomfortable to think of going to Mrs . Calland with tales about another boy ! He knew just how grave she looked when any of the scholars pointed out the faults of others . And such a fault ! Did Rob really mean to steal ? " I don 't care , " said Joseph to himself ; " what business is it of mine , anyhow ? I didn 't take it , and I am not supposed to know anything about it . What is Rob Walker to me ? " It startled Joseph to think the verse seemed to fit what he was planning . If the truth must be told , one grave fault of this boy , Joseph , was to shirk responsibility . Besides , he had the fault common to many good - hearted boys ; he hated to be called a " tell - tale ; " hated it to such a degree that it was hard work for him to tell , even when he felt sure that telling was duty . " I don 't care , I 'm going to tell her . If she thinks it 's mean I can 't help it ; if she thinks I don 't do it with the right feeling , I can 't help that either : I believe I ought to tell . That little old verse of mine will go and choke me if I don 't ; and Rob , maybe , will choke me if I do ; but I can stand his choking better than the other . Who would have thought there would be a place for that verse to fit in ? " What a " scrape " for a boy to get into ! What in the world was he to do ? What would Mrs . Calland do or think ? Would she possibly think he stole it , and then tried to palm the theft off on Rob ? Hark ! What was that she was saying in her quiet voice : " Never mind laughing any more , Robert ; we will not keep the company waiting for the closing tableau ; but by and by you shall tell me why you picked up my pin , carried it in your pocket for nearly an hour , then slipped it slyly into Joseph 's pocket . You must have had some reason for it all ; remember , I saw you do it , " continued Mrs . Calland ; then added , " but we will not keep our guests waiting longer , now . Get your places , girls . " " I don 't believe I could have thought you would steal it , my dear boy , " said Mrs . Calland to Joseph , late that night , when at last she was alone with him for a moment in the kitchen . " I don 't think I could look into your honest eyes and imagine such a thing ; but of course what you told me , put me on my guard and prepared me to watch poor Rob . So , you see , your verse saved yourself , and will be helpful to him in the end . I think the boy means only mischief ; but it is mischief of a very malicious kind , which might have brought trouble upon you . I think you ought to thank sister Jean in your next letter , for suggesting such a shield for her brother . " It gave Joseph a curious sensation to hear his verse sung over and over again by the choir , the great organ rolling out the melody and seeming to him to speak the words almost as distinctly as the voices did . He had chosen that first verse as his motto for the month , with a dim idea that it somehow fitted Christmas , though he couldn 't have told why he thought so . It was sufficiently unpractical not to disturb his conscience , at least ; and of this he thought with satisfaction . It would not do to have to live by so many verses . That last month 's selection , " Feed my lambs , " had perfectly amazed him with its power to keep him busy . It was not only little Rettie , always on hand to be amused , or petted , or helped , in some way , but it was the little neighbor boy who followed his brother when he came for milk ; and the little Irish girl who cried over her spelling lesson ; and the little Dutch boy whom some of them made fun of , in Sunday - school . Many a time during the month , Joseph had sighed a little , and smiled a little , over the bondage in which that verse held him and had got to hold him for a whole year , and he wondered if Jean had known what she was about . At least he must know what he was about ; another verse of that kind would not do to follow soon . This one was grand and majestic , ever so far above him ; it was not to be supposed that he could in any way join that wonderful army who were praising . Joseph listened to it with a curious mixture of awe over the grandeur , and satisfaction that it was his , and did not trouble him . He was seated in the great church , and it was Christmas Eve . The children 's anthem was being sung first by the choir , then by a troop of children who appeared to catch the strain and re - echo it as far as their shrill young voices could reach . This was the closing anthem of the evening . He had answered to his name when called , and received a handsome Bible from his teacher ; altogether he had never spent a happier Christmas Eve . He saw himself writing a letter to his sister to tell all about it ; and just then that anthem burst forth . Then the minister arose to pronounce the benediction . But instead of doing it , he made a little speech . " Children , " he said , " I heard one of you call the anthem a grown - up anthem . I asked what that meant , and the little fellow who said so , told me it wasn 't for boys and girls , but for angels , and such things . That is a mistake . It is for you and me ; you at four , and I at forty , and all the rest of you who are all the way between . ' Blessing and honor ; ' suppose we go no farther than that . Can 't we bless Him ? Can 't we say thank you to the Lord for all his mercies ? And can 't we honor Him ? Don 't you remember that every little thing we do , or keep from doing , because we think it would please Him , is an honor to Him ? " There was more to the talk ; not much , though , for the minister knew better than to make a long talk on Christmas Eve . But , bless you , it was long enough for Joseph ! It came over him with a dismayed sort of feeling , that with all his care he had chosen a verse which was going to hedge him about worse than the other had . " Every little thing we do , or keep from doing . Oh , dear ! " he said , and was startled to discover that he almost said it aloud . " A fellow gets all mixed up with verses and things , and can 't stir . I wish Jean had been asleep when she made me promise . " However , he got through Christmas day beautifully . It happened that every duty of his that day had to do with what he liked , and was no trouble at all . It was mere fun to sweep the light snow from the front walk in the clear sparkling morning . It was simply delight to hitch up the ponies and go to the depot for company who were coming to the farm to dinner . He liked nothing better than to turn pony himself , and give Bettie a ride on her box sled ; and so through the day everything was merry and happy . I am not sure that he thought of his verse more than once ; that was when they were seated at the beautiful dinner table and a sentence of thanksgiving in the blessing reminded him of it . Not unpleasantly ; he found that he felt very thankful indeed , and would just as soon say , " I thank you , " as not . If that was what the verse meant by " blessing " he was more than willing . In the evening the school - tree was to be enjoyed , and none looked forward to it more than Joseph . For the past two days the schoolroom door had been shut against them all , and speculation had run high as to what glories it would reveal when next it opened for them . The time was drawing near ; Joseph came with a bound from across the hall at Farmer Fowler 's bidding , to see if the kitchen doors were closed against the wind which was rising . He had heard the call to open the schoolroom doors ; in ten minutes more all the mysteries hidden therein would be revealed . In the middle of the kitchen he stood still . I am not sure but it would be very near the truth to say that his heart stood still as well as his body . The door leading into the dining - room was open , and in the great dining - room fireplace there crackled , and blazed , and roared a freshly adjusted log , sending up flames which lighted the entire room as with sunlight glory . But the fire did more than glow and sparkle , it snapped - sent out spitefully across the room regular showers of brilliant sparks , lighting , some of them , on the cedar with which the mantel was trimmed . Joseph sprang to them before they did mischief , then stood again as if rooted to the spot . A fresh log , very large , one of the sputtering kind , and it would sputter in that way , sending out its showers of dangerous sparks for a half - hour at least - longer than that - until all the fun in the schoolroom was well over . What of it all ? What concern was it of his ? He didn 't put the log on . He had never been set to watch the dining - room fire . No ; but what was that ? " Blessing , and honor , and glory ! " Well , what of it ? What had blessing , and honor , and glory , to do with a few sparks which might not do a bit of harm if left to themselves ? Sparks almost always died out if left alone . Dear , dear ! Why need the minister have said that ? It wasn 't talk for Christmas Eve ! And was it to be supposed that he , Joseph , who had never belonged to a family Christmas - tree before in his life , could stay out there and watch sparks while all the fun was going on ? He really couldn 't . Hark ! Listen to that shouting ! The fun had begun ; he must go this minute . Wait ! Look at that spark ! It had lighted on the tissue - paper mat on the lamp - stand ; it was going to burn ! It will burn , it will blaze and set the house on fire ! No , it won 't ; the wicked and industrious little sprite has been firmly crushed in Joseph 's fingers , and has died , and left only a sooty fleck on the whiteness to tell of its intentions . But Joseph turned from it , and sat down in the big wooden rocker , near the snapping log , his face sorrowful and determined . There was no help for it . The fun must go on , and the snapping must go on , and he must sit and watch it . " Every little thing we keep from doing . " He could keep from going into the schoolroom , and he knew it would please Him . " Because , " said Joseph scornfully , to the log , " any idiot would know it was the right thing to do . You are not to be trusted , you snapping old thing , and you have got to be watched . " Why , then , he was bound to do it , because he had promised to be led by the verse of his choice . " It 's enough sight worse than the other one , " he told the log mournfully , meaning the other verse ; and then he kept watch in silence . No more sparks made even an attempt to do any harm , which Joseph considered mean in them after having obliged him to stay and watch them . They might at least have given him the excitement of undoing their mischief . He even meditated deserting them as past the dangerous point , but just then a perfect shower blazed out into the room , and though they every one died out before they settled , Joseph told them that was no sign of what they might choose to do next time . " Why , my boy , " he said , as Joseph arose from the rocker , " what in the world does this mean ? Haven 't you been in at the fun , after all ? We didn 't notice until your name was called . Why weren 't you there ? " " Come on in and see it ! " Whereupon the troop vanished with Joseph at their heels . He thought he could safely leave the sparks to Farmer Fowler 's care for awhile . " We 'll wait and see whether you can do better by him than I , " said Farmer Fowler , his eyes twinkling . " I think your mother has plans for him . Well , mother , I don 't know but he saved the old farmhouse for us tonight . That log is uncommon snappy . He is an unusual boy , somehow , and no mistake . " It was that premise that inspired her to write three of her most popular children 's books . In Frank Hudson 's Hedge Fence , Frank ( a boy of about ten or twelve years old ) is constantly getting into trouble . One day an acquaintance convinces him that learning a Bible verse a month will help guide him through the temptations he faces and help him make wise decisions . The story tracks Frank 's progress for several months as he learns the Bible really can help him make good choices in his life . We Twelve Girls is similar to Frank Hudson 's Hedge Fence . In this story , twelve young teenaged girls , all close friends at boarding school , are separated over the summer months ; but they each pledge to learn a new verse every week and find a way to apply the verse to their lives . Over the course of the book , each young lady learns what it means to live a God - centered life according to the Bible . Another example is A Dozen of Them . In this book , twelve - year - old Joseph has many challenges in his life ; but he made a promise to his older sister he would read at least one Bible verse each month and make it a rule to live by . To Joseph it 's a silly promise - how can reading one Bible verse a month make any difference ? But to his astonishment , Joseph begins to see changes in his own life and in the lives of those around him , all because of the verses he reads and memorizes . " A dozen of them ! " he said at last . " Just to think of a fellow making such a silly promise as that ! A verse a month , straight through a whole year . Got to pick ' em out , too . I 'd rather have ' em picked out for me ; less trouble . " How did I happen to promise her I 'd do it ? I don 't know which verse to take . None of ' em fit me , nor have a single thing to do with a boy ! Well , that 'll make it all the easier for me , I s ' pose . I 've got to hurry , anyhow , so here goes ; I 'll take the shortest there is here . " He was twelve years old , and an orphan . The only near relative he had in the world was his sister Jean aged sixteen , who was learning millinery in an establishment in the city . The little family though very poor , had kept together until mother died in the early spring . Now it was November , and during the summer , Joseph had lived where he could ; working a few days for his bread , first at one house , then at another ; never because he was really needed , but just out of pity for his homelessness . Jean could earn her board where she was learning her trade , but not his ; though she tried hard to bring this about . Now for his promise . Jean had studied over it a good deal before she claimed it . Should it be to read a few verses in mother 's Bible every day ? No ; because a boy always forgot to do so , for a week at a time , and then on Sunday afternoon rushed through three or four chapters as a salve to his conscience , not noticing a sentence in them . At last she determined on this : the little green book of golden texts , small enough to carry in his jacket pocket ! Would he promise her to take - should she say each week 's text as a sort of rule to live by ? No ; that wouldn 't do . Joseph would never make so close a promise as that . Well , how would a verse a month do , chosen by himself from the Golden Texts ? On this last she decided ; and this , with some hesitancy , Joseph promised . So here he was , on Thanksgiving morning , picking out his first text . He had chosen the shortest , as you see ; there was another reason for the choice . It pleased him to remember that he had no lambs to feed , and there was hardly a possibility that the verse could fit him in any way during the month . He was only bound by his promise to be guided by the verse if he happened to think of it , and if it suggested any line of action to him . " The poor child will want everything on the table , and it won 't do for her to eat anything but her milk and toast . I am so sorry for her . You know she is weak from her long illness ; and it is so hard for a child to exercise self control about eating . If I had anyone to leave her with I would keep her away from the table ; but everyone is so busy . " " Indeed ! " said the new Joseph , puckering his lips into an indignant sniff and brushing his hair the wrong way , in his excitement ; " I guess I won 't , though . Wait for the second table on Thanksgiving Day , when every scholar in the school is going to sit down to the first ! That would be treating me exactly like one of the family with a caution ! Just you try it , Miss Addie , and see how quick I 'll cut and run . " But Mrs . Calland 's soft voice was replying : " Oh ! I wouldn 't like to do that . Joseph is sensitive , and a stranger , and sitting down to the Thanksgiving feast in its glory , is a great event for him ; it would hurt me to deprive him of it . " In vain did Joseph say " Pho ! " " Pshaw ! " " Botheration ! " or any of the other words with which boys express disgust . In vain did he tell himself that the verse didn 't mean any such thing ; he guessed he wasn 't a born idiot . He even tried to make a joke out of it , and assure himself that this was exactly contrary to the verse ; it was a plan by means of which the " lamb " should not get fed . It was all of no use . The verse and his promise , kept by him the whole morning , actually sent him at last to Mrs . Calland with the proposal that he should take little Rettie to the schoolroom and amuse her , while the grand dinner was being eaten . I will not say that he had not a lingering hope in his heart that Mrs . Calland would refuse his sacrifice . But his hope was vain . Instant relief and gratitude showed in the mother 's eyes and voice . And Joseph carried out his part so well that Rettie , gleeful and happy every minute of the long two hours , did not so much as think of the dinner . Yes , it was warm : but the great fruit pudding was spoiled of its beauty , and the fruit pyramid had fallen , and the workers were scraping dishes and hurrying away the remains of the feast , while he ate , and the girls were out on the lawn playing tennis and croquet , double sets at both , and no room for him , and the glory of everything had departed . The description of it all , which he had meant to write to Jean , would have to be so changed that there would be no pleasure in writing it . What had been the use of spoiling his own day ? No one would ever know it , he couldn 't even tell Jean , because of course the verse didn 't mean any such thing .

I had slipped on my new blue vintage dress , and pulled on my boots before I left for the market . It is such a nice day . No clouds , very sunny , and warm . The perfect day to spend it outside . And that 's what I planned to do . The market isn 't very far from my apartment , and I have to pass hundreds of little shops . I walked by a small coffee shop on the way . It was the cutest thing . Outside has a couple wrought iron tables and chairs . The air smelled delicious . It kind of reminded me of something you 'd see in a French romance movie . I walked inside , and it was so inviting . There were plants everywhere ; on the tables , window sills , and counters . The walls are a very calming chocolate color . All kinds of pastries filled the display cases . " Oh my God . I 'm so , so sorry . " I said , bending down to pick up the cup . He bent down , too and grabbed the cup before I could . " No , no . It 's okay , really . " He stood up , and offered his hand to help me up . I looked up at him and smiled . This guy was way taller than me . He had blonde hair and the clearest blue eyes . He was wearing a plaid shirt and blue jeans , and it made him look really good . Everything about this guy was very attractive . " Well then , let me buy us some , and maybe we can talk ? I mean , you do owe me since you knocked my cup out of my hand . " He smiled at me , and I couldn 't refuse an offer like that . " " Nice to bump into you . I 'm Foster . " We smiled to ourselves , and made our way to the front of the line . " So , what kind of chai would you like ? " " Perfect . That 's my favorite kind . " He smiled and took a hold of my arm , after we had our tea . " Shall we find a place to sit ? " We found a table outside in the sun , and he sat down across from me . He is such a handsome guy . There 's nothing wrong with him as far as I can tell . " Well , Tilly from some small town in New Jersey , I could give you a taste of this big city , Oregon . If you 'd like ? " His eyes lit up , and I nearly melted . " Of course . I would love that very much . " I tried to catch myself before I started staring at him again , but I was too late . He caught onto what I was trying to do , and grinned even wider . " You know , Tilly , you 're a very interesting person . I would like to get to know you more . " He blushed slightly at his bluntness , and so did I . " Do you want to go see a show tonight ? Around say , seven o ' clock ? Don 't worry about dinner either . I 've got that covered , too . " " What kind of show ? " " I 'll meet you here at six - thirty . Don 't be late . " He hugged me , and his scent stayed with me the rest of the night . I woke up to the rain pattering against my bedroom window . It was going on ten in the morning , but the room was a gloomy grey . My little border collie mutt was all spread out on the other side of the bed , enjoying the extra sleeping time . " Come on , Tansy . Let 's get you something to eat , and outside for a walk . Though I think we need the rain boots again . " Tansy looked up at me , and crawled her way to my side , so she could lick my hands and face . " Okay , girl . That 's enough . " I went to the kitchen and put the tea on before I fixed Tansy her breakfast . She was the best dog I ever had . I found her on the streets a couple of weeks after I moved to Portland . Poor little thing was as lost as I was . I don 't know what I would have done without her through the hardships here . Mrs . Beasly was the kindest and gentlest old lady . Her and her husband have been living in these apartments since they were nineteen . They mostly keep to their own business , but Mrs . Beasly and I always find time to have tea and talk . Though it was usually later in the afternoons . " Oh sure , deary . I was just coming over to give you some biscotti 's I baked last night . But , I guess it 's always pleasant to have some company with your morning tea . " She smiled and handed me a plate full of biscotti 's . No one could ever beat Mrs . Beasly 's Italian cooking . She made home cooked meals four times a day . Every day . And she always brought me the leftovers . The window is fairly large , and it 's definitely the main source of natural lighting in the small apartment . On the window sill , there are pots filled with herbs and manageable veggies . It 's the perfect place to sit at night with a cup of hot chocolate and overlook the city . " Tilly , I love coming over here and having talks with you . Your home is so bright and clean . The yellow walls in here just make me the cheeriest person all day . I 'd say you 're quiet the homemaker . " She smiled , and brought the tea cup to her lips . Mrs . Beasly was the ideal old lady in my mind . Her grey , almost white , hair was always up in a tight bun . Every day she wore her dresses , and her make up was perfect . I would love to have her as a grandmother . " Hunny , please call me Edith . You make me feel so old when you call me Missus . And you 're so young ! You have all the time in the world to perfect your cooking skills . I 'll even come over in the noons you don 't waitress and teach you . " " That would be wonderful . Bringing home and eating leftovers from the restaurant isn 't always appetizing . " Mrs . Beasly nodded in argeement , and glanced outside as a bird fluttered out of view . " I know it 's so rude to ask of others ' business , but I 've been very curious . What made you come to the west coast ? You 're so far from your home . " " Oh , well , that 's such a long story . Really , I guess I needed something new . I felt like I would be stuck in my small town forever , and I wanted to explore . " I took a small sip from my cup , and set it down slowly . " My life wasn 't going in a good direction either . It was better for me to leave . " I added softly . Mrs . Beasly looked at me for awhile , and nodded her head . " Well , I 'm glad to have such a strong , beautiful woman living next door to me . Sometimes I wish I could 've been as adventurous as you , Tilly . But , I must be off . Mr . Beasly will be wondering where I wondered off to now . " She hobbled her way to the door , and I followed closely behind , thinking of her words . At the door , she hesitated a few moments , and turned to me . " Tilly , you are a very strong and lucky lady . I know good things will head your way . God has some great things in store for you . I 'll be sure to pray that the bad stays away from you and your home . " She gave me a small hug , and scurried to her apartment . I closed my door as she entered hers . I stood facing the door for a couple more moments to think over everything that she said . " Come on , Roland . Let 's go to the toy store . " Brandon and I decided to take our little four year old shopping . Initially , we had planned on clothes shopping , but I was too curious to see the toys he liked . I watched him as his face filled with wonder at all the toys . He ran over to the Ugly Dolls , and picked up a few . Roland was so easily amused by everything , which to me was a good thing . " Hey Roland , come look at the dinosaurs . " Brandon held onto his hand , and led him to the dinosaur figurines . He picked up a Stegosaurus and handed it to Roland . He paused and looked it over in his tiny hands . I never realized how much Roland resembled Brandon . He had Brandon 's pale skin and extremely blonde hair . Even his personality matched Brandon 's . The only physical thing he got from me was his small figure and brown eyes . But , he did have my curiosity of the world , and artistic skill . He put the dinosaur back down , and seemed to lose interest in it all . I frowned and looked up at Brandon . He didn 't seem to notice Roland 's sudden disinterest . " Come on , hunny . We need to get you a new winter coat . " I said sadly . Roland reached up for my hand , and held it in his small grasp . We led him out of the store , and toward the next one . " Mummy , are there more dinosaurs ? " Roland asked me . I smiled to myself , and my heart filled with joy . Our little boy did like dinosaurs . " Of course , baby . There are pterodactyls and they can fly . " Roland grinned and squeezed my hand tight . I looked up at Brandon and saw him smiling , too . I woke up with sunshine pouring in from the skylight above our bed . Brandon was cuddled up beside me with his head laying on my shoulder . As carefully as I could , I tried to get out of bed without waking him up . Roland was three and a half , and the cutest little boy ever . He has real blonde hair , and blue eyes like his dad . He is almost an exact replica of Brandon . The only thing Roland took from me was his love of zombie movies and his art skills . Well , even most of that came from Brandon . " We need to be quiet , hun . Daddy and Lennox are still sleeping . Don 't wake them up because they 'll be cranky all day . " Roland put his pointer finger to his lips , and started giggling . He crawled onto the couch , and became absorbed into the TV as the theme song started playing . I walked into the kitchen , and pulled out the waffle iron . My favorite part about Saturday mornings are having the time to make waffles for everyone . Roland loves chocolate chips in his waffles . ( Thankfully , another thing he took after his mummy . ) Since Brandon isn 't much of a fan of chocolate , I have to make a separate batch for him . While the waffles were in the iron , I had to take out everyone 's special glasses and plates . Brandon and Roland use their Transformers plates , Lennox has her little monster bowl , and I use one of the many geeky plates we have . All of our spoons , forks , and knives are Star Wars related , so there isn 't any arguing . Brandon came into the kitchen holding Lennox in his arms . Both of their hair was sticking up in random places . He set her down in the high chair , and have her a bottle of milk . Lennox was fourteen months old . Like Roland , she had extremely blonde hair , but had light brown eyes . Her eyes were like mine , since they changed colors with her mood . She was always trying to copy me . If I was trying to paint or clean or anything , she was right behind me . Lennox never failed to entertain us . " It was good . Until Nadia got into bed and started snoring . " I put the last of the waffles on the table , and Brandon took out the syrup and juice . " How was yours ? " " That 's ' cause you were too busy snoring , silly bear . It 's okay though . She was just hungry . " I gave Lennox her bowl of cereal , and sat down beside her chair . " Roland ! Food 's ready ! " " Tunny , please stop pulling on Mummy 's dress . " Tunny , my three year old daughter , was insistent on pulling me around the park with her . Her six year old brother , Zane , was playing on the swings by himself . " Why don 't you play on the swings with Zane first . Then , we 'll go get ice cream . " The biggest smile spread across her face and her light blue eyes lit up . I watched her small figure race toward her brother with her blonde hair flowing behind . Tunny is such an energetic little girl . She 's always trying to keep up with Zane in everything that he does . He 's really good with her , too . Zane has never been mean to her , and always lets her play with him . I wobbled my pregnant self over toward the swings . Tunny was sitting in the mulch , staring up at Zane admiringly . " Come on , Tunny . Let Mummy put you in the swing . " I picked her up , and somehow managed to get her into the baby swing on the first try . " Tunny ! " Zane called for her attention . " Watch me do this trick ! " He waited until he knew he had her full attention . Zane pumped his little legs , and jumped off of the swing . Tunny squealed with excitement , and started to kick her legs . Watching Tunny eat her ice cream is always amusing . I bought her a small vanilla cone with sprinkles , and Zane got a small chocolate with sprinkles . It starts out fine , and then someone has to wipe their ice cream on the other . Usually , it 's Tunny wiping her ice cream because she loves when Zane freaks out . Zane doesn 't do much about it , besides giving her a silly face . But , it makes Tunny giggle like crazy . " Tunny , lick your ice cream before it gets all over the place . " She started licking the bottom of the cone , and got ice cream all over her face . Some of it ended up onto her dress . " You have school tomorrow , dear . Tunny , come here so I can wipe your face . " She shook her head , and tried to hide behind one of the tables . " You 're not going in the car with ice cream all over you . " " Zane , just leave her alone . Tunny , please behave for Mummy . Don 't you wanna go home and watch Madeline ? " She was still crying because Zane grabbed her , and she placed herself in between my legs . " Okay , baby . Zane , can you grab my bag ? " I picked Tunny up , and carried her to the car . Once she was snapped into her car seat , she passed out . " Well , good . I 'm really glad you enjoyed it . Grandma and Pappy are gonna be there next time . " I looked up into the rear - view mirror to see them both sleeping . Tunny 's face and hands were still coated in ice cream . She looked like a little angel . Zane was facing Tunny , and he twitched in his sleep . He squinted his eyes and groaned . Nightmares . " Come on , Lenny . Just light it and throw the damn thing . " I held the bottle a little tighter . One deep , calming breath , and I was able to light the rag . Seth grabbed my arm once I threw it , and we both ran out of harms way . A few seconds later , a great roar filled my ears . I turned around to see a great fire that was now encompassing the whole trailer . " Lenny ! You 're not supposed to look at the explosion . Haven 't you learned anything from Andy Samberg ? Geez . " Joey brought the car around , and we all jumped in . We sped off down the highway , trying to out - run the oncoming sounds of sirens . Joey found a dirt road that led down to an abandoned lake and cabin . He took me down here a few times over the summer to help him fix up the place . Once Bernie found out about the cabin , he asked Joey if he could hide the stolen goods here . Bernie kept everything he 's ever stolen here . There 's robbed money stashed away somewhere in the floorboards , guns and knives , televisions , explosives in the back shed , and any thing else he put his sticky fingers on . " Used to bring the chicks down here . " He winked in the rear - view mirror . We all knew exactly what he meant . Joey was the total sweetheart that girls typically fell for . Only , he never cared for any of them . The small cabin came into view , and I knew this was gonna be it for the rest of the summer . Each one of us has a price on our heads . We 've been robbing and stealing things for the past couple years . But lately , it 's been out of hand . Bernie , my older brother , has been causing trouble since he left our mother 's womb . He 's twenty - seven years old now , and leads our outlawed group . He 's done his best in trying to teach me the ropes , but I 'm just no good . My best friend , Seth , is his star pupil . Seth 's twenty - three , just three years older than me , and he 's been with the gang for less than a year . Those two do most of the dirty work . They rob the stores and plan out all the details of each robbery . The last time I went with them we almost got caught . So now I just get to blow stuff up . Honestly , I wish I never got into this mess . I 'd much rather be out in the country somewhere living a peaceful life . Bernie 's like that , too . Only , me and Seth think he 's too tough to admit it . " I think I 'm the one that 's excited about this . At least a little anyways . " I said , and kicked a stone that was at my feet . " Your dream 's finally coming true . " We walked into the cabin together . It was bigger than it looked from the outside . A tiny kitchen with a wood stove was on the one side , and an old , battered couch was facing the fire place on the other . Joey used to take old furniture from the junk yards or random peoples ' houses and bring them here . Upstairs there was a loft where we kept all of the mattresses , pillows , and blankets . The only problem about this whole place was that there wasn 't any indoor plumbing . Which means I have to go outside to do business . " I 've never been sick . " Bernie turned around to close further arguments . I sighed as I grabbed the buckets , and headed down to the lake . The grass was as tall as my knees , but luckily there was a path that led to the water . I was afraid to step on a poisonous snake or something . I filled the buckets , and stuck them behind the rock that I was sitting on . It was actually a really nice day out . I took off my socks and shoes , and dipped my feet into the cold water . Tiny , little fishes swam away from my feet into the grasses . Times like this reminded me of when Bernie and I were younger . We found this small creek in the woods behind our house when we lived on the outskirts of the city . Bernie stole these two fishing rods from one of our neighbors once , and we went down to the creek to fish . He would always get mad at me because I would never fish with him . Instead , I would climb onto a rock , fix my line , and start daydreaming about the countryside . I guess I was too concerned about daydreams . Sometimes he would get so upset with me , he 'd push me off of the rock I was perched on into the water . I never quite grew out of the " phase " like my mother said I would . The grass to the side of me rustled , and I jumped back in surprise . A white rabbit poked his head out from the grass , saw me , and then ran away . I grabbed the buckets , meaning to go inside , when I heard sirens far off . My heart started pounding in my chest . I dropped the buckets , and ran as fast as I could to the cabin . " Jesus Christ , Lenny , " Joey grabbed a hold of me when I burst through the door . " What 's wrong with you ? You damn near ran me over . " " Shut up , kid . " Bernie told me before I could say any more . He took the cigarette from his mouth , and put it out on the table . No one made a sound . Then we all heard the sirens making their way closer to the cabin . " Joey , Lenny . Start making some barricades against the door and windows . Seth , come with me and get the guns . Dave , help Lenny and Joey . This place needs to be solid . " Bernie ordered us . I was pushing the couch up against the door when I heard cars speeding up the dirt drive . Joey looked over at me with the nails in between his teeth . On the outside he looked pretty calm , but his eyes said he was scared . Really scared . Bernie forced the gun into his hands , and pushed him to his knees . I kneeled down in front of the window when Seth came over with three guns in his arms . He handed one to me , and kneeled down . Dave went up into the loft to take the " surprise shots " there . The cops were at our doorstep now , telling us to come out . It was all too loud and confusing . My brother 's voice mixed with the sound of sirens . And then the shooting began . I grabbed my gun and aimed , but I couldn 't do it . Seth was firing away , and every once in a while , he would wipe his palms on his jeans . Joey was no better . He was pale , sweating , and shooting with no aim at all . My brother was the worst . Bernie looked absolutely terrifying . He loved this ! His face was intent , and he reminded me of a crazy person . Maybe he was just crazy , and we were all playing his games . The window in front of me shattered , and I felt something bite the side of my neck . Seth screamed my name and tried to reach for me . I could feel myself falling backwards , and there was nothing I could do to stop . Everything moved slowly , and the sounds of the fighting were muffled . I looked over to Joey and Bernie . Joey was even more pale now , and he yelled something up to Dave . I closed my eyes for a second . Hands , hundreds of hands were grabbing at me . Someone picked me up . I hope it 's Bernie . I can 't hear anything . My eyes are so tired , I can 't even keep them open . Then , there was nothing , but the fading call of my name by someone far , far away . Posted by The last of my belongings sat packed away in a bag at my feet . I was leaving the only house that I grew up in . The home that my parents thought would be perfect to raise their growing dreams in . I put on the brown sweater that was laying on my bed over the white dress I bought earlier that week . This was the dress that gave me the final push . Yes , a little white dress that was once hanging on a rack in a Christian thrift store downtown gave me the idea to road trip . Alone . No one knew I was leaving yet . Mum and Dad knew half of the truth . They thought I was leaving our small North Carolina home to visit some colleges in New Jersey . What they didn 't know was that I was chasing my own dreams . That I needed to find my path . My reality . I grabbed the bag off the floor and made my way to the kitchen to say goodbye . Mum was sipping her afternoon tea out of her favorite blue mug . She looked up and sighed . " Are you ready to leave for New Jersey ? " I nodded and looked at her . " Your dad just came back from the gas station . He filled up the car for you . " " Why did he do that ? " " I guess he wants to feel like he can still take care of his baby girl . " Mum put down her mug and pushed her oversized reading glasses on her nose . " Do you want anything to eat before you leave ? You 're going to have a long ride , you know . " " I know , Mum . But , I 'm fine thanks . Me and the guys can always stop somewhere and grab a bite . " They also thought I was picking up a couple friends along the way . So they wouldn 't worry about me traveling alone . I tossed my bag in the passenger seat and closed the door . " So , I 'll call you guys when I get to the motel , okay ? " " That 's fine , Tilly . Just be careful and don 't do anything stupid . " Dad squeezed my shoulder and Mum hugged me . " Bye you guys . " I got in the car and drove away , daring myself not to look back . If I looked , I might not be strong enough to keep going . And I had one more stop before I could hit the open road . Caleb . He was my last stop of the old path . I sat outside of the last coffee shop at the edge of town with Caleb . We were recently engaged . But , our relationship really wasn 't going anywhere . How could it ? He gave up on himself , and in turn , gave up on me . Our paths just don 't meet up anymore . I still have dreams that need to be tracked down and lived . He . . . didn 't . " Caleb . . . Are you going to miss me ? " He looked up from his coffee . " Yeah , I 'm going to miss you . But , you 'll be back in a few days , and I 'll be here waiting . " He took my hand and held it up to his lips . He smiled at me , the smile that always kills me , and kissed my hand . I never realized how tiny my hands are compared to his . Shit . This is going to be the last time . Don 't cry . Not now . " Tilly , what are you talking about ? " He let go of my hand . I looked down . " I need to find my path , Caleb . I need to find out what I have to do . " I took the ring off my finger , and slid it across the table to him . He went to reach for it , and bit his lip instead . I looked away from him when I saw a tear escape his eye . " If you 're sure . " He slipped the ring into his pocket , and I had to get up . I had to leave . Now . I nodded and started walking toward my car . " No , Tilly . Take this , please . " He took my hand and put the ring onto my palm . " I want you to know I 'm in love with you . And I 'll be here for whatever you need . Even if it 's just a best friend . I love you . " I hugged him as hard as I could . Don 't let me go . " I love you , too . " I pulled away from the hug , and stared at his loving face . Every feature about him told me how much he really loved me and cared for me . Maybe this will give you a dream to chase . I got behind the steering wheel and started down the road . Before I could stop myself , I looked up in the rear - view mirror . He was still standing on the sidewalk where my car had once been . I was watching myself leave my dream . My path . I found this on a pillow at a festival , and I 've loved this quote ever since . Wish I would 've actually bought the pillow though : ( Oh well , looks like I have a new project .

" Will she be alright ? " Conrad waited anxiously for his mother 's diagnosis . He had brought Izzy to the palace as quickly as he could and , after hearing the situation , the queen took her immediately to one of the many bedrooms and brought her different medicines in different bottles . Conrad was standing outside the room when the queen finally emerged . " She 'll be fine , " she assured him . " The unconsciousness is a defense technique . Her body is just resting after the ordeal . I 've given her something to help with the nasty bump on her head . That could have gotten bad without treatment . She 'll probably sleep most of the day , but she 'll be fine . " Now that everyone was safe and well , Conrad 's mind returned to the subject that had been puzzling him ever since he read Izzy 's book . " Where 's father ? I need to speak with him . " The king was there when he arrived with Izzy , but Conrad hadn 't seen him since . " I already spoke about it . I said ' well done , ' and ' welcome home . ' You saved someone 's life . It seems to me that your quest was successful . " " I discovered so many things . I found out that I was looking for something that was here the whole time . I was headed in the wrong direction . " " I think I have . It 's because greatness isn 't always big . And it starts right here . Or in a cottage . Or in a treehouse . It starts wherever we call home . And the people of Saphir understand that . You taught it to them . Just like you taught it to me . " The king smiled . " Before I began wandering , looking for what the world had for me , I told my father that until I found my future I wanted to be a shadow . I wanted to be someone who would pass through and then be gone without leaving a trace . He told me , ' Son , you will always leave a trace . Choose that trace carefully . ' My father died soon after . But because of my his wisdom , you , the grandson of a poor farmer from a distant land , are heir to this kingdom . " Izzy was still unconscious . The cart was flying down the track faster than anything Conrad had ever ridden in before . There were bright lanterns set at regular intervals along the ceiling of the tunnel , so he could see very well despite being underground . Every few hundred feet there was a small hole in the ceiling that went all the way up to the surface . Conrad noticed the sky growing a bit lighter as dawn approached . Near the holes were the signs that the guard had mentioned . They were mile markers , letting Conrad know how much farther they had to ride before reaching the city . Once there , he just had to get Izzy to the palace . Every few minutes Conrad checked her vital signs . She seemed to be stable , but she wouldn 't wake up . Conrad propped Izzy 's head up under the bag she was carrying with her . Suddenly he remembered the fruit . Izzy ate a lot of fruit . She said that different varieties helped her in different ways . Perhaps she was carrying special fruit in her bag . He carefully removed it from under her and opened it to check . There was no fruit . Only some stems of what had apparently been her lunch and a small book . The book intrigued him . Perhaps he might learn something from it that would help . He looked up at the ceiling , waiting for another sign . One flew past . He still had a good while before they reached their destination . He opened the book to the first page and began reading . The title page read : " Tracer : a Novel by Izzy . " Conrad had never read much fiction , but this book seemed to be one worth reading . It started with a note from the author . The following work is a fictional account of a real person , his adventures , and his love for a beautiful girl . I had the honor of meeting the real - life Tracer when I was young . He was on a quest to do good wherever he went , and he succeeded . He was passing through the forest when he came across the little clearing where I live . I was in the process of building my house and had gotten stuck near the top of my tree . He climbed up and rescued me . It may seem like a little thing , but it saved my life . Enough little things add up to great things . And Tracer had all the signs of greatness . I hope to meet him again someday . Meanwhile , I hope to preserve his story within these pages . Please pardon my humble embellishments . What followed were pages and pages of fantastic adventures , obviously invented by Izzy 's imagination , but all with a hint of truth in them . Many of them revolved around Tracer and his true love Esmeralda . Conrad smiled . " Perhaps ' Izzy ' is a shortened form of ' Esmeralda , ' " he thought . " It must have been a common name a while ago . It 's my mother 's name , too . " After a while , Conrad was so engrossed in the story that he forgot to keep an eye on where he was . He continued reading until he reached the end of the writing . It had stopped in the middle of a sentence . He flipped through the pages , hoping it might pick up later . It didn 't , but he found an epilogue at the very back of the book . Tracer and Esmeralda continued their adventures back down the mountain and eventually found themselves in the capital city . Their care for the common people and their wisdom in making life better for others soon brought them into the company of the old king . Having no heir , he treated Tracer as his own son . When the king died a few years later , he appointed Tracer to take his place . Tracer is still ruling Saphir , blessing us all with his family , his nobles , and his entire country with his gentle wisdom . Conrad couldn 't think for a few moments . His mind was going everywhere at once . He was suddenly brought back to reality when he noticed that he was just passing the final sign before reaching the city . He grabbed the brake lever and pulled it back as quickly as he could . The cart lurched and shook and came screaming to a halt just as it reached a ladder leading to the surface . He was almost home . The next hours were uneventful . Night fell before Conrad reached the bottom of the mountain . The darkness and the added weight of Izzy and the limited use of his hands made the progress much slower than it was on the way up . The rain of the previous night had cleared , though , and there were patches of moonlight to help him along . He stopped and rested a couple times , only for a few moments , then continued on his way . Izzy continued sleeping peacefully . The lump on her head where she had hit it against the side of the cliff looked bad , though , and Conrad knew that every moment was important . Hours passed and Conrad was certain that morning couldn 't be far off before he finally stumbled into a small and familiar clearing . He set Izzy under a nearby tree and began to search the dark ground for the hole that led to the underground tunnel , his arms sweeping back and forth across the forest floor . It took him a while , as the hole was expertly hidden , but eventually his hands sunk beneath the leaves and he found himself reaching deep into the ground . He pushed the leaves away reveal the entrance . He hollered into the blackness . Conrad quickly explained his situation . The voice 's owner pushed his above ground and took a look at Conrad and Izzy and instantly invited them down . After Conrad had lowered Izzy down to the man , he hopped down the hole himself and found himself in a familiar tunnel . Before he left the city in the forest , Clayton had directed him to a cart that ran along the city 's rail system . It took him down this tunnel to the foot of the mountain . " You 're in luck , " said the man . " There 's a cart ready to head back to city right now . " He pointed to a wooden cart much like the one Conrad had ridden here . " But of course , we usually go to the capital city for medical emergencies . We have many things here , but the best doctors are still the ones who live around the palace . We have another set of tracks that runs express from here to the outskirts of the capital if you want to go there instead . " Conrad was very relieved to hear this . If he could get near the palace quickly , then there still might be time for him to take Izzy to his mother . She would know exactly how to treat her . Besides , Conrad wanted very much to be back home . The man led them down a tunnel that branched off of the main . A few yards down the tunnel was another cart sitting on a track . Conrad laid Izzy one on the seats , then climbed in and waited . The man pulled a large lever near the back of the cart . " It 'll move pretty fast , " he explained , " but it 's still far . Watch the signs above your head . They 'll let you know how close you are . When you 're almost there , pull this lever here . " He pointed to a small lever sticking out of the floor . " That 'll make you stop . Otherwise you 'll keep going and end up on the other side of the country . " There was a sound of heavy machinery beginning to turn somewhere beneath them . Suddenly the cart jumped to life . It rolled slowly at first , then began to speed up little by little . Within a few minutes they were flying through the dark tunnel . " Apples ? You need apples ? " Conrad felt around the pack on his back . Sure enough , he had one apple left . It was a bit soft from the long journey , but it was an apple nonetheless . " I have one here . " The creature looked up with a sudden burst of hope . " Oh , please toss it down ! Carefully . I don 't want to move too quickly . I don 't know how strong this root is . " Conrad quickly but carefully held the apple over her free hand and lightly dropped it . She grabbed at it , but she wasn 't able to grip it before it bounced off her fingers and continued downwards . Conrad 's heart jumped a bit as the little creature nimbly swung her leg up , knocking the apple with her knee . It bounced again , rolled along her ankle , and came to a stop on the top her foot where she skillfully balanced it . " That was close , " she said , a bit out of breath . She slowly brought her foot up to her hand , keeping the apple steady . With a sigh , she finally grabbed in the apple in a sturdy grip and took a bite . She closed her eyes for a few seconds , as if waiting for something marvelous to happen . Slowly , slowly her grip on the root tightened and she began to pull herself up . Soon she was high enough to reach Conrad 's outstretched hand and he grabbed onto her . Before long they were both safely on the solid ground near the cliff 's edge , breathing heavily . Conrad sat up and looked at the small creature beside him . She had a large bump on her head . He shook her gently . She refused to stir . Suddenly everything about the quest and Tracer seemed unimportant . All he could think was that this little Izzy creature could be seriously injured . " Don 't worry , " he told her . " We 're going to find help . If only we were closer to the palace . I 'd take you to my mother . She 's good with things like this . Perhaps the city in the forest will be best . " He picked her up and began to carry her back down the mountain . Step after step , the hours seemed to pass slower than they did on the way up . But Conrad kept moving . He might have failed his quest , but he wasn 't going to fail this small creature . It was getting to be mid afternoon when Conrad was finally nearing the top of the mountain . There had been a vague path leading through the forest up to this point , but it was beginning to grow even fainter . Just before it disappeared completely , it emptied into a small clearing . In the middle of the clearing was a very large tree . It was surrounded by a tangle of huge roots weaving in and out of the ground . Conrad slowly made his way around the tree , keeping his eyes alert for signs of life other than the normal forest creatures . A path appeared again on the other side of the clearing , continuing to the top of the mountain . He began to walk along it , turning back for a last look at the impressive tree . Something about it caught his eye . He walked back into the clearing and stopped right in front of the tree . He ran his hand over the bark . There were dozens , perhaps hundreds of tiny knife marks covering this side of the trunk . Some were little more than scars ; they had obviously been there a long time . Further down they seemed much more recent , perhaps even just a few hours old . Somebody lived near here . Conrad felt a surge of excitement . " Tracer can 't be far from here ! " he declared to himself . He hurried to the path leading up the mountain , running as fast as he could uphill after a long day of hiking . Before long he saw that the path was leading to the edge of a cliff . He slowed to a stop and began to look around . He was at the highest point he could see ; the top of the mountain . The view of the lands beyond Saphir was spectacular . He turned around and looked back down the mountain . The view was equally brilliant . But even from this vantage point there was no sign of anyone besides himself and miles and miles of forest . He had reached the farthest point that he had set out to reach , and it was just a beautiful dead end . " Don 't lose heart , " he thought to himself . " Someone makes a habit of coming to that tree . I 'll just go back there and wait . " He said out loud to reassure himself , " Just need to hold on a bit longer . " " Is someone there ? " he asked , slowly leaning out over the edge . A few feet down the face of the cliff was what appeared to be a small person . One of her hands was gripping a tree root sticking several inches out of the cliff , and the rest of her was dangling quite helplessly . " How long have you been there ? " Conrad asked before the urgency of the situation suddely struck him . " Never mind , I 'll try to pull you up . " He stretched out on his stomach and hung as much of him as he could over the cliff . His hand was still a few inches from hers . " You 'll need to pull yourself up just a little bit . " She tried . " It 's no use , " she sighed . " I 'm not strong enough after all of this hanging . Oh , if only I 'd packed them . " " Well , I didn 't think I 'd need my fruit for strength . I was only going to … oh , I 'm starting to feel dizzy . I bumped my head on the way down here . This may not end well . " For the first time her face showed a bit of concern as she looked down . " Yes , I certainly could use a bit of strength . Why didn 't I pack my apples ? " It was mid - morning , and Izzy was making her way up the mountain toward the cliff just a few miles from her large tree . She hadn 't been out there for ages . She used to climb up the mountain all the time when she was younger and sit near the cliff 's edge and look out over the land . But recently she had gone down the mountain whenever she went out . There was more food down the mountain . Things were just so busy now . If she wasn 't writing or sleeping she was finding food . " This is good for me , " she noted to herself . " It 's really been far too long . A trip up the mountain is overdue . And this is a very necessary trip . If I don 't know what the view looks like from the cliff , then I 'll just be guessing at what Tracer saw . And readers of books are the ones who should be guessing , not the authors . " Her legs began to feel the strain of pulling her body , small though it was , upwards for so many steps . She reached into the knitted bag hanging over her shoulder and pulled out a peach . Peaches were for fighting fatigue and building stamina . She bit into the fruit and within a couple seconds she was rejuvenated and ready to continue for a good long while . As she neared her destination she replayed her story in her mind . She knew how every part would play out . " I 've introduced the characters , built the conflict , and I 've nearly brought it to its climax . Tracer must save the day and then take Esmerelda back with him to where he came from . " She remembered how much Tracer had spoken of Esmeralda . Most of the details of her story were made up , but she couldn 't change anything about how much Tracer loved Esmeralda . " Perhaps when he comes through here again he 'll bring her with him , " she hoped . " Then I can know firsthand what she 's like . " Izzy was so wrapped up in the details of her plot that she soon forgot to pay much attention to the climb . " Soon I 'll have only the final plot twist . And , oh , what a twist it will be . No one will see it coming . " Fortunately she 'd eaten her mango slices before leaving . Mango was for fast reflexes and it lasted a long time . Her mind jumped back to reality and she caught herself a few inches from the cliff 's edge . Once her heart calmed down she was nearly swept away by the view that met her . She could see for miles over the rich and beautiful land just on the other side of the mountain from Saphir . She stood for a long time just staring out . She could live forever in the spectacle of the rivers and hills and valleys that stretched out across the land far , far beneath her feet . She was so mesmerized by it all that she didn 't notice the low growl coming from the ground below her . She didn 't notice the soft earth beginning to shift beneath her feet . She didn 't notice the small crack forming in the dirt a few feet behind her . Before she noticed anything , in a heart - stopping moment , a small shelf of land broke off of the cliff 's edge and plummeted downward , taking a terrified Izzy down with it . It was midmorning , and the city in the forest was far behind him . Conrad walked on through the woods , noting how the terrain was becoming steeper and he neared the mountain range . His characteristic triumphant gait had shriveled to more of a slow trudge . He was tired , and his quest was seeming more and more pointless . Everything that had happened from the beginning of his journey to this point had made him feel farther from his goal than before . His only consolation was the continual feeling that finding Tracer would make everything make sense . Even if Conrad turned out a failure , perhaps finding Tracer and hearing him speak would at least make it clear why he failed . Tired of speculating on the foggy future , Conrad 's mind turned to the more recent past . He recalled the conversation he had had with his mother the day before he received his quest . " Saphir is a perfect kingdom , but perhaps it is too perfect , " he had said . " It seems as if nothing we do is of much importance . " He could hardly believe that those words had come from his own mouth . Things looked different way out here . Important didn 't look like slaying dragons or making aliances with other countries or fighting battles . Perhaps it was the thinning mountain atmosphere that had changed his perception , but suddenly important looked like a man finding the right woman to be his wife . It looked like a traveler befriending a band of outcasts in the woods when no one else would go near them . It looked like a father comforting a child who had a bad dream . Important looked like the faces of the people Conrad had met over the last few days . Important looked like everything Tracer had done . " He 's saved my life twice now , " Conrad thought . " If it wasn 't for him , I 'd still be in that ditch , or in the belly of that bear . I should find him to thank him if nothing else . " And so he walked on . He pulled out the second to last apple and tried to enjoy a midmorning snack as he climbed the ever - steepening ground . He tried not to entertain the thought that Tracer might not even be at the top of the mountain . He had to be there . After this last bit of effort , his work would pay off . A quick swim at the end of a long day had tamed Izzy 's hair into a smaller and slightly more organized tangle . It was late night now , nearly the next morning . She was still awake . Most people would have collapsed into a snoring heap after a full day of food - gathering in the woods , but Izzy wasn 't quite human and she could keep herself energized if she had to . And right now she had to . She was sitting in her room inside the hollowed - out tree , writing feverishly in a small leather - bound book . Sometimes she struggled to find the right words to push the plot along , but tonight the words spilled out of her pen . And that is why she had to stay up tonight . When her fingers were ready to write , she knew it was best to let them have their way . Tracer rode on his magnificent horse through the dark forest . He dodged trees and limbs and vines as he rode ever closer to the beautiful Princess Esmeralda . Suddenly an arrow flew by , missing his face by a few inches . Startled , he failed to notice a low - hanging branch in front of him . He felt a sudden pain in his head . Before he knew what had happened , he was no longer on his horse . He was laying on his back on the forest floor , staring at the night sky through the dark and sinister trees . Izzy liked how this was sounding . She knew that it was only a story and that all the characters but one were made up out of her own head , but it still felt true to her . Her brain was getting sleepy , but she had to figure out what happened next . She felt around the small wooden bins around her bed until she found the one with the blueberries . She ate a couple and was instantly wide awake . She continued with the story . " Come , Tracer , this is no time for a nap , " he told himself sternly . He rose to his feet and continued running through the forest on foot . Finally , he came to the cliff at the top of the mountain . " Yes , " replied the Princess . " I am here , my brave rescuer . " She was hanging from a tree root sticking out of the side of the cliff , and her hand was beginning to lose its grip . " Please , save me ! " Suddenly Izzy stopped . What did Tracer see ? " Oh , dear , I 've forgotten what the view from that cliff looks like . I suppose I shall have to go out there tomorrow and take some notes . " And so she turned down her lamp and snuggled under her many blankets . " Even if it 's fiction , it doesn 't have to be inaccurate . " She felt around for the bin with the bananas . After a couple bites she drifted straight off into a deep and contented sleep . Conrad 's mind didn 't want to sleep that night . It kept racing around and around , going over the events of the last few days . His quest was turning out to be anything other than what he 'd planned . So far he hadn 't achieved anything remotely great . Every time he set out he got into some kind of trouble and had to be bailed out by a stranger . The only goal he had was to find an allegedly great man who apparently hadn 't done much other than introducing a man to his future wife and befriending some robbers in the woods . His consciousness was just beginning to drift off amidst these thoughts when he was pulled back into reality by the cry of a small child , slightly muffled through the wood of the treehouse . He was about to get out of bed to investigate when he heard the sound of a door opening followed by small feet pattering across the wooden floor outside the guest room that he was sleeping in . It seems one of Clayton 's children had woken from a scary dream . The sound of the little feet and the sleepy sobs continued down the hall until they reached the safety of the master bedroom . Another door opened and closed and the crying soon subsided . Conrad thought about his parents . He remembered being a child and running down the cold , dark , tiled halls of the palace , his bare feet echoing through the night as he escaped the clutches of some imaginary monster or dragon . He remembered the comfort of reaching his parents and the feeling of security feeling them near . He hadn 't done that in many years , but several moments of his quest so far seemed like bad dreams . Even now he had a longed to run back to the safety of his palace and into the arms of his mother and father . He thought about his mother . She always knew exacly what words to use to make a child of any age feel better about any problems . She was strong but soft , refined but deeply caring , elegant but with a friendly twinkle in her blue eyes . He thought about his father . He had so much wisdom , as was fitting for a king . But that wisdom wasn 't just geared towards running a country ; it was geared towards living life , helping people , and being a father . Conrad had never stopped the think about it before , but everything he had came from his father . Not only the material belongings that he had , but even the desire to be the best that he could be . Despite any disagreements that he may have had with his father about how to be a great king , Conrad slowly found a new respect for him . The king was a man who knew what his priorities were and he stuck by them with joy . He loved people , and he especially loved his family . Conrad realized as he finally slipped into a sound sleep , " He really is a great man . " Clayton led Conrad onto one of the rail carts . It took them up a ways and then through the city . It weaved around the trees and over and under buildings . It was still night , but there were thousands of lights in the buildings and trees filling the world with a warm and beautiful glow . The size and the spectacle of such an organized city so intricately built around a thick forest left Conrad breathless . After a few minutes the cart stopped near a collection houses built in trees . This was apparently a residential area . " Tomorrow we 'll point you in the right direction and send you along your way , " said Clayton . " We 'd be glad to have you stay with us tonight . Are you hungry ? " Conrad hadn 't thought about his stomach for a while , but it was certainly feeling empty . " I 'd appreciate that very much . Thank you . " Clayton led him along a sturdy rope brige strung between the trees . It led to one of the tree houses . " This is my wooden castle , " he announced proudly . " All the comforts of home . " It was a very impressive tree house . It was bigger than most normal houses , and everything on the inside was made of beautifully hand - carved wood . " We 'll have to be quiet , " Clayton whispered . " My family 's sleeping . I 'd normally be sleeping at this time , too , if I hadn 't been on border patrol tonight . You 're lucky I decided to check the tunnel before ending my shift . You 'd be bear food . " They walked through a few rooms and ended up in what appeared to be a kitchen . " And speaking of food , there should be some leftovers from dinner around here somewhere . " Soon they were enjoying some ham sandwiches and a fruit salad . Conrad donated a couple apples to the feast . Once he was filling a bit less famished , Conrad was curious for more information about the city . " So how many people did Tracer recruit to build this city ? You 're one of them I gather . " " Yes , there were fifty of us to start with . Tracer didn 't really recruit us . It 's more like he inspired us . He 's a great man , but he 's not an architect . He helped get the work force organized once we had the idea in mind , and then we were in control of the rest of the project . We did most of the work . He just made it possible . If not for him , you 'd be inside that bear . Would you like some water ? " " The fifty of us who started this city . We were the robbers . Misfits , tossed out of society . Tracer didn 't kill us ; he reformed us . "

Disclaimer : I wish I owned them but I don 't . Summary : 1 . Liz and Max 's parents reactions to all the trouble they have been causing . This picks up at the end of " Sexual Healing " when they are walking toward the café ; I took a little liberty with the timing at the very end . " If you know so much , then tell me , Max . . . what 's my destiny ? " Liz said . " I only know the part I 'm hoping for . " Max replied intertwining his fingers with Liz 's . " Maria 's right , we should go see our parent 's first . How about we meet at school early tomorrow morning , 8 : 00 in the parking lot then we can go somewhere private . " Max said . Max and Liz entered the café and all of their parents stood up and gave them the stare ( and you all know the stare I am talking aboutJ ) . Max and Liz met their Parents stare and did not look down and for a while all was quiet . Alex , Isabel , Michael and Maria all took up positions outside of the doors so they could hear and lend support if it was needed . Liz walked to the back of the restaurant to get some breakfast for her and Max , she grabbed his favorite without having to ask him and came back to the middle of the restaurant where their parents are waiting . Liz and Max sat down next to each other and started to eat . Liz 's mom broke the silence and asked the question that everyone was dying to know . " Liz , Max , we will not be angry , only a little upset , but we need to know , are you two having sex ? " Max choked on his food and started coughing ; Liz just stared at her Mom with her mouth hanging open . Liz was the first to recover and replied , " No we haven 't had sex yet . " That sent Max into another coughing fit and he could no longer look Liz 's parents in the eyes anymore . Liz 's Dad upon hearing that his little girl was preparing to have sex saw red and started to yell " Elizabeth Parker , what are you thinking ? ! You are just a child ! You are only 16 and you are not having sex yet . Period . I also don 't want you seeing that boy anymore . Ever since you met him you have changed . He is a bad influence and that is final . I don 't even know who you are becoming anymore Liz . " This set Maxs ' parents off who started to argue but before they could get a word out Liz was out of her seat yelling back at her parent 's defending Max . " NO ! I will not follow those rules ! You don 't know anything about Max and you are right , you don 't know anything about me . I have changed , I have grown up , and I am not your little girl anymore . I am a woman and I have found the man I love and want to spend the rest of my life with . " ( At this Max stood up and moved behind her to lend her support but he knew better than to try to stop her from yelling . " Max is the most amazing person I know , He saved my life . " ( This caused Max , Michael , Isabel , Alex and Maria to all pays attention to what she was saying . Max grabbed her hand and squeezed it to ask her what she was doing but she just squeezed it back and Max knew it would be okay . ) " After Max thought I was shot he came back to see if I was okay and he was so worried about me , he looked like he had almost lost his best friend . Then he ran after those guys to try and bring them to justice . I never knew before then that he even thought about me like that . Then I realized that he loved me and he had been waiting since third grade to be with me . I have never felt more safe and protected then when I am in his arms . And you do not know anything about him ; Max is the kindest , gentlest person I know . With Alex and Maria he welcomed them into his group and we have always worked together . In the fifth grade , Max would always pick Maria and Alex to be on his team because he did not want them to be left out and picked last even though they couldn 't play the games . With Michael , Max is like his big brother , they protect each other and keep each other in line and with Isabel . Well I have never known anyone who was best friends with their siblings and they are best friends they share almost everything . ( Liz was almost sobbing now and trying to talk through her tears . ) Max is the best person I know , he is the other half of me and I am not going to let you take him away from me , I don 't care what rules you make , I would do anything for Max , even die for him . " Liz was so upset she couldn 't face her parents anymore so she ran through " Stop , She 's right . You don 't know her or me and neither do you " Max said looking at his parent 's . " Liz is the best thing that happened to me . When I first stepped off the bus in the third grade and saw her I knew that she was the one for me . I have loved Liz for the past 7 years and now that I have her I will not let you take her away from me . I love Liz with all my heart . " " You are too young to know what love is Max . You are only 16 . " Said Max 's Dad . " I don 't know what love is … . Love is knowing the worst thing about the other person and still respecting , trusting and doing anything for that person . Liz and I have shared everything about each other and we still respect each other and we are working together to overcome what we have done in the past . I would do anything for her , give her anything and everything I can . That is how much I love her . " Max explained with tears running down his face unashamed . Max turned back to Liz 's Parents and said " Don 't go after her , you will only upset her more , I 'll go . " Max walked toward the back of the restaurant leaving their parents just staring after them . Liz 's Mom turned and looked at the other adults , " They really love each other . " Liz 's Dad got up and started to walk back to follow Max . " Where are you going ? " asked Liz 's Mom . " I am going to follow them but I am not going to face them . I want to see how they interact together , I have never really seen them together . " He replied . " I am coming to " " Me too " " Me three " all the parents said as they started to follow Liz 's dad to the rear of the restaurant . Liz and Max 's parents walk up the stairs and see Max just walking into Liz 's room . They took positions outside of her door out of sight of both Liz and Max . Liz had flung herself on her bed and she was weeping into the pillow facing away from the door . Max walked quietly into the room , around to the side of the bed so she could see him and , looking into her eyes , he immediately lay down beside her and gathered her in his arms . They just cried in each other 's arms for a little while , then Liz started to kiss Max 's neck . Slowly Liz started to kiss her way down Max 's shirt unbuttoning it as she went . Liz was halfway down Max 's chest when he let out his first groan . " Oh , Liz . Liz . That feels so good , you know what you are doing but that is not going to help us right now . We need to deal with this , honey . " " I know Max , this is just a lot more fun . " Liz sighed . " I know , Hon , I know . " Max comforted her . " Well what are we going to do ? " Liz said thinking out loud . " Well the problem is our parents don 't know either of us . They are not comfortable with our dating and they don 't think we really love each other like we do . " Max just smiled at Liz and listen to her calculate things like the scientist she wanted to become . " How do we make them understand ? Max , are you listening ? " Liz asked . " Yes , I was just thinking how much I love you . But you are right back to the topic . " Max replied . They held each other and thought quietly for a while . Just when the parents were about to barge in again they heard them start to talk again . " Well our friends know we love each other , they understand us . Why do they understand us ? " Max observed . " I 've got it ! They are always around us they know how we act and stuff . " Liz said . " Are you suggesting we start to party with our parents ? " Max teased Liz even though he could see where she was headed . " No silly , I mean kind of . We need to show them what we are like together , like , Oh , we could have like some family meals or something and everyone could get together so they could watch us and we could all get to know each other ! " " That sounds great , Liz . " Max replied and gave her a gentle kiss on the lips . " So where were we before this became serious . " Liz smiled secretly at Max before she resumed kissing her way down his chest . Max groaned again and pulled her up and under him and started to nibble on her neck . This led into a full - blown make out session , which left their parents dazed and to surprised to do anything . Max 's shirt got removed and Liz rolled him over so she was again on top of Max . Both Liz and Max just looked at each other after an especially mind blowing kiss . " We should go talk to our parents , they were pretty upset after I left . " Max suggested . " Yeah let 's go talk to them , I am sure the rest of the gang is going to want to talk too . " " Well I am not sure about the rest of the gang but your plan for the get togethers sounded really good to me . " Liz 's mom answered as she entered her daughter 's room . Max and Liz just looked at each other stunned . Liz was straddling Max and Max didn 't have his shirt on . The rest of the parents walked in the room looking sheepish to find them in this position and Max again could not look Liz 's dad in the eyes . " How long have you guys been there . " Liz ventured . " We heard everything honey , and we think it is a very good idea . " Liz 's mom replied . " Okay we are going to have to set some rules first if this is going to work out peacefully . " Liz commented as she got off of Max and handed him his shirt . " Lets go get some breakfast and talk " Max 's Mom said . Everyone headed down to the café and they let in Alex , Maria , Michael and Isabel so they could join the breakfast club . Everyone was sitting around a couple tables they had grouped together in the center of the restaurant . They were lucky that the café was closed that morning so their breakfast was not interrupted by any customers or friends . Everyone had their plates and Max and Liz were sitting together acting like newly weds almost . Their parents were joking with them until suddenly Liz 's mom cussed . " Oh shit , Liz you are going to kill me . " " Yeah , he is a junior and he is going to be starting at your school on Monday , His father is an acquaintance from college . He recognized me and we started talking about our kids , and it just kind of happened . I am so sorry Liz , it won 't happen again , just please do it for me this one time . " Liz 's Mom whined . " Um , Hi are you Liz Parker ? " " Yeah . " Liz answered and turned to the deep voice behind her . " Hi , My name is Josh Mallory . I 'm new here . My Dad knows your Mom … " Josh trailed off as he looked at the gorgeous girl in front of him . She was young , fresh and beautiful . " Oh right , my Mom told me to look for you . Welcome to Roswell , how do you like the school and town and stuff ? " Liz asked . " Oh it 's okay I haven 't seen much of it yet . " Josh answered . " Yeah , right . Oh by the way . These are my friends , Max , Isabel , Alex , Maria and Michael . " Liz said as she pointed to the rest of the people sitting around the picnic table . " Why don 't you grab a seat " " Thanks . " " So Josh " Isabel started , " Where are you from ? " " My Dad , He travels for his business a lot and he knew Liz 's Mom back in high school or college or something , so when his business decided they wanted to branch into New Mexico , specifically Roswell . He remembered that Liz 's Mom had moved here and so he looked her up and here I am , just tagging along . My dad is in the hotel business , he helps companies organize themselves better and stuff like that . " Bell rang . " Well I better get to class . It was nice to meet you Liz , I 'll see you around . " " Yeah , bye . " " Ohhhh , Liz I think he has the hots for you ! " Maria squealed . " Maria ! I can 't believe you just said that , no way . " Liz responded . " I know , I am just teasing you guys . I didn 't mean it Max . " Maria quickly cleared the air . " I know . " Max said as he smiled and leaned in for a kiss from his girl who willingly obliged . " Hey Liz . " " Hey Josh . Hey my Mom wanted me to take you out on the town one night , you know show you around , introduce you and stuff , if you want to go , I have Friday night off . We could go dancing or something . " Liz offered Friday night rolled around , Josh picked up Liz who was looking fabulous in a short , slinky black dress , which he commented on as they got in the car and drove to UFOnics , the hottest dance club in Roswell and the only one . Both Liz and Josh were having a great time , tearing up the dance floor and making all the rest of the people there jealous of them for being such a good looking couple . The Dance floor was getting crowded as Josh pulled Liz to the edge and they took their seats at their private table . Earlier that night Michael had sneaked into Max 's room and was teasing him about Liz being out on a date with another guy , which turned into the guys wrestling on the floor and waking up Isabel next door who was very unpleased to have her beauty sleep disturbed . Max and Michael settled in for the night , Max on the bed and Michael in the sleeping bag reserved specially for him . Max fell asleep very quickly and Michael was left staring at the ceiling . As Michael started to drift off , he started to see flashes of something , someone in danger , and a hand coming forward covering the person 's mouth , the sound of ripping cloth . Then suddenly Michael 's head was filled with pain and he was jolted out of sleep to find Max leaning over him looking at him curiously . " Oh , I am sorry it didn 't work out . " Liz responded and put her hand on Josh 's arm . " So there is not much to Roswell , " Liz started , trying to change the subject . " The best hangout for students is the Crashdown , and you have already found that . There is the UFO Museum , this real nut , Milton runs the place , I don 't recommend it unless you are a " true believer , " as Milton would say . Finally we have a mall and some other small touristy things . The best place out here is the desert . It is great for sunsets , stargazing and being alone , it is huge . " " How about we head to the desert then if it is so great ? " Josh suggested as he put his arm around her shoulders . " Um … Okay for a short ride , then I should be getting home soon , I think I have an early shift tomorrow . " Liz lied , getting a little uncomfortable with his proximity . " Well I just thought we could use some time alone together you know just you … . and me . " Josh smiled very big at her . " I don 't think so , I think I need to be getting home right now . Please take me home . " " Oh come on baby , I am just trying to have some fun , you said you wanted to introduce me or stuff , and do something . That is all I am asking for here . " Josh whined . " Well that is not what I meant . I am sorry you misinterpreted what I said . So lets get this next sentence straight . Take me home now . " Liz tried to scoot as far away from him as she could . Liz spotted the door handle and she was just about to reach for it and get out of the car when she hear the door locks click shut and a small deep voice say , " I don 't think so . " Liz looked back in terror as a large hand came forward and covered her mouth . Liz can hear the sound of clothes ripping and she feels a breeze blow across her exposed chest and she realizes that it was her clothes that were being ripped and this was actually happening to her , Elizabeth Parker . Liz finally snapped out of her shock and started to fight with everything she had in her realizing that if she didn 't do something soon , her body would be possessed by someone other than Max . " I am not sure . You know how they are fuzzy and don 't make themselves clear until a few days later . I could also have just been a bad dream . " Michael replied not wanting Max to be worried and not quite sure himself . " Um … I am okay but I think I am going to go back to my apartment for tonight . " Michael said distractedly as he rolled the sleeping bag up again . Liz lookd around and saw Josh still on top of her but obviously done hurting her . She froze and didn 't know what to do , if she moved he might wake up and hurt her again but if she didn 't how could she not throw up with him still on her after what he had done to her . Liz 's thoughts then flashed to Max and what this was going to do to him . Josh starting to move and get off of her jerked Liz back to the present . Liz still couldn 't move from fright and Josh laughed down at her , " Geez , I didn 't think you would still be a virgin , that little tidbit just doubled my pleasure and fun . " Liz started to turn green at this statement and also when she looked down and saw the bruises and blood , her blood all over her now naked body . Josh seeing she was about to be sick opened her car door and pushed her from it . Liz fell to the ground and was sick right then and there . Josh knowing he had to finish the job so no one would know what happened grabbed Liz by her hair and started to drag her far into the desert and started to beat on her more hoping she would die . Also warning her that if by some chance she did live if she talked to anyone else , not only would this happen to her again but she would not be able to protect her friends either . Michael climbed out Max 's window and started to walk to his apartment , wanting the exercise to clear his head . ' What the hell was that ? A hand , a ripping of something and that pain , damn I still have the headache from it . I think I need to get home , but I think I am going to walk for a little bit first . ' Michael climbed the stairs to his apartment and started to feel that something was different about it . Cautiously , he approached his door and saw that everything was just the way it was supposed to be . He opened the door and did a quick search of his apartment and found that everything was normal . ' Oh shit , oh shit , oh shit . ' Michael thought as he neared the door , but it never opened , the handle just turned and turned . Michael never the one with patience flung open the door and raised his baseball bat high ready to face the enemy . Only there was no one facing him … then he heard it something quiet . " Please don 't hit me , please don 't hit me . " Over and over the voice was saying it quietly from the shadows outside of the door . Michael listened closer and recognized … Liz 's voice . " Please don 't hit me , please don 't hit me , please don 't … " Liz just kept repeating . Then Michael spotted her , sitting on the ground with her legs pulled up to her chin , in red clothes . " Please don 't hit me , please don 't hit me … " " Liz , I 'm not going to hit you , what happened , it 's like 4 in the morning or something . Is Max okay ? Isabel ? Maria ? ! ? Liz look at me . " Michael commanded as he grabbed her arms and forced her to look at him . It was then that he saw the bruises and cuts on her face and as he pulled away his hands he realized that Liz was not dressed in red , she was dressed in blood , her blood . Liz just stared at Michael as he pulled away from her . " Oh my god Liz , What happened to you ? I have to call Max ! " Michael said as he started to head back to his apartment to place the call . " NO ! " Liz said as she tried to stand up . " Please don 't call him , please Michael don 't call him . " Liz started to cry hysterically . Michael just stared at her when he saw that she was naked and covered in blood and she could hardly stand . Next he realized that she was shivering from the chill in the night and she could hardly stand let alone walk to his apartment . Michael slowly approached Liz who was still crying and asking him not to call Max or Maria and picked her up gently , trying not to touch or look at anything he shouldn 't be looking at . Michael carried her into his apartment and laid her on his couch and covered her with a couple of his blankets . Then seeing that her crying was not slowing down he pulled her and the blankets into his lap and just held her until she settled down . " Michael can you please heal me ? " Michael heard after thinking she had cried herself to sleep . " What ? You want me to heal you , Liz you have to go to the police . Now , and the hospital . " Michael looked at her tear stained face . " I … I can 't do it , I don 't want to . Please just heal me so I can go back and don 't tell anyone . I can 't tell anyone this it … it is just too bad . " " You know what happened . I was raped and beaten . " Liz finally choked out , " and as for you . I … You don 't put me on a pedestal or judge me . " " Huh , I don 't judge you , Liz I read your journal I do too judge you . I didn 't trust you or even like you . " Michael responded to the broken girl sitting in his lap . " No not like the others . I couldn 't go to them they judge me to hard . This is too bad I couldn 't go to them . I don 't want them to ever find out what happened tonight . Please heal me now Michael so I can get on with my life . " Liz responded flatly . " What ? ! ? Yes you can you are an alien , Max healed a bullet , you can fix a few bruises , just fix my face I can take care of the rest , Michael do it you can . I know it . " Liz cried hysterically . " Liz … . I don 't know what you want to do next but … what ever you want to do I will help you . You helped Max so I owe you . Oh god , are you still bleeding anywhere ? " Michael suddenly realized she could be bleeding to death right there in his lap . " Um no I don 't think so but I am covered in … . " Michael looked back at Liz 's face to see that she had fainted from the sight of her own blood that she just then realized she was covered in . Michael quickly carried her into his room and laid her on his bed . After he saw that she was comfortable he hurried to gather bandages and towels and water to clean her up some . Starting with her face Michael as gently as he could wiped the blood and dirt way from her skin . After he had cleaned her face her arms and lower legs quickly followed , as those were safe and uncovered . Liz slowly regained conscience as she felt her legs being moved . " Ahhhh … Don 't hurt me . Don 't hurt me . " She screamed as she sat straight up in bed , the blankets falling away from her . Michael quickly pulled her in to his embrace and started telling her , " shhh it is just Michael . You are safe . You are in my apartment . " " Shhhh … you are going to be okay I will take care of you . I was just washing away some of the blood and dirt . " Michael explained . Michael falling prey to her tears succumbed " Shh … it is okay I will help you . Just lay back , close your eyes and relax , I will try not to hurt you anymore . " Liz laid back but when she closed her eyes all she could see was the hand coming down over her mouth and his awful face sneering at her . " Michael will you please talk to me . " Liz asked then explained what she was seeing . Michael finished cleaning and bandaging Liz . He even found a pad that Maria must have left at his apartment because Liz was still bleeding a little . Michael then found Liz a clean pair of his boxers , and a shirt to cover her nakedness . " Is there anything else I can do for you Liz ? " Michael asked tentatively . " Max ? Hi , it 's Maria , is Liz there , she was supposed to come to my house last night and she didn 't show up so I am really worried because she is not answering her phone at home or her cell phone and I am starting to panic and I need some cedar oil . " Maria rambled off in one breath . " She was supposed to but she never showed . I am really worried about her Max ; she always lets me know what she is doing , especially after you two made your little get away . She tells me everything and calms me down always , she is never the source of panic . " Maria started again . " Calm down . Let me wake up Isabel and you call Alex and see if she is with him . If she is there call me back then we will come pick you guys up and go to Michael 's . Maria it is okay we will find her . " Max slowly enunciated for Maria . Michael woke to find a warm body wrapped around him and someone knocking non - stop at the door . Michael just laid there for a second remembering everything that had happened the night before and wishing that who ever it was would just go away . When the knocking didn 't stop Michael untangled himself from Liz whose oversized shirt had slipped off of her shoulders in the night . Without waking her pulled the covers up to hide most of her from the cold air in the apartment . Michael opened the front door in his sweat pants , obviously just roused from his sleep to find Max , Isabel , Alex and a flighty Maria standing there . " What ? " He asked not letting them in . Maria took care of that for them , just walking in and circling the coffee table as she tried to work off some of her nervous energy . " Have you seen Liz , we can 't find her and we need your help . " She started but Max cut her off . Michael made a quick decision to honor Liz 's request to not tell anyone her secret , since she was the one in the most pain right now . He did not say anything as he crossed to his bedroom door and closed it so Liz could still sleep . Michael braced his feet in front of the door so that no one would try to disturb her . " So , Liz , um , why again did you come to me of all of our friends . " Michael tentatively asked . " You don 't expect a lot from me . You expect me to make trouble for you , so I am just fulfilling your expectations . " Liz whispered . " That was everyone this morning wasn 't it ? " " Yeah , Liz what are you going to do , you can 't keep this a secret . Liz I … I want to be … with Maria . She … I … what are you going to do . How can I help . " Michael stuttered . " Please just don 't say anything yet , I will figure something out . I … it will be okay . " Liz assured him , " Please just don 't say anything , Michael , Please . " Liz swung around at the sound of his voice only to find herself trapped between him and a wall of lockers . " Just leave me alone , please , I am not going to say anything . " Liz pleaded . " What was Liz doing at your apartment Michael ? What happened ? I thought you were MY friend ? How could you do this to me ? " Max rambled on . " Are you listening to me ? Michael ? " Max continued to question Michael when suddenly Michael doubled over in pain right in front of him . " Michael ! " " Noooooooooooooo " Michael cried as he made his way to his feet and around the corner to the Eraser room . With all of the adrenaline running through his veins , the door and lock , were no barriers against him , even without his powers . Michael ripped the door from its hinges and it flew across the hall as Michael stared at the ugly scene before him . " Noooooooooooooo , " was cried again , however this time the voice was that of Max , as he saw what was happening from behind Michael . Michael , seeing red , grabbed Josh and threw him across the hall where he hit the lockers and was knocked unconscious . The force Michael used to pull Josh off Liz also pulled her somewhat into the hall and all of the students gathered were able to see the damage Josh had inflicted on Liz , who was unconscious also . Michael gathered Liz in his arms apologizing profusely for leaving her and letting this happen again . Michael looked up with tears running down his face and the first people he saw were Kyle and a couple of his friends . " Tommy , call an ambulance , NOW ! " Michael yelled at Kyle 's friend , who ran off to do as he was told . Max , who was at first stunned to see what had happened to his love kneeled in front of Liz . Maria , Isabel and Alex , who had also heard the commotion , were gathered behind Max , with tears running down their faces . Alex was trying to comfort Isabel and hold up Maria , who was so upset , she couldn 't stand up on her own . Michael , realizing what their presence would do to Liz when she woke up , gathered himself together again and yelled at them all to leave . " No , No , No , No way , am I leaving her . I 'm her boyfriend . I love her , I 'm not leaving her . Michael felt Liz starting to stir and seeing there was no way he would be able to get Max and the gang to leave and still be there for her called in a larger gun , " Kyle , get them out of here now , she doesn 't want them here . Do it NOW ! " Michael yelled which got not only Kyle but also Tommy who had returned , but also a few more of his football buddies moving into forcibly pulling Max away and escorting Isabel , Maria and Alex around the corner away from Liz . Liz 's eyes opened to find not just Michael but also Max leaning over her , because he had gotten away from Kyle and his friends and was back in front of her . Seeing the one person she didn 't want to know what had happened to her sent Liz into panic . " No , No , No , Michael you promised , No , go away , No , No , MICHAELLLLLlllllllllllllllll . " Liz yelled through her tears as Michael tried to quiet and calm her . " Max leave , I can 't help her when you are here . Please . " Michael pleaded with Max to leave . Seeing what his presence was doing to her , Max allowed Kyle and his friends to drag him around the corner where Isabel held him . They all listened to Liz and Michael who they could still hear . With Max out of the picture , Michael got Liz to focus on him and he held her as she calmed down and they waited for the ambulance . " Liz , Liz , you just need to calm down . Look at my eyes Liz , don 't look away just concentrate on my eyes . Oh , Liz , I am so sorry , I wasn 't there … . " Michael started . " No , No , Michael , please just hold me , don 't let me go . I want to go to your apartment Michael . Please take me away from here . " Liz pleaded . " Liz , I can 't . You can 't hide this anymore ; you need to go to the hospital and the police . They are already on their way . " Michael explained . Liz terrified at this turn of events started crying again , " No , no , please no . I want to go to your apartment … Oh Michael , owwwwww . Oh owwwwwww . Michael make it stop . " Liz wailed as she was suddenly overcome with pain . Michael breaking eye contact so he could see what was the problem found his answer covering his legs . Liz was still bleeding . Michael pulled off his shirt in an attempt to stop the blood flow and yelled again for the ambulance , which was pulling up just outside the school as Liz once again lost consciousness . " Nooooooooooooooooooo , Michael , Michael . " Liz sobbed thrashing about on the stretcher . Michael seeing the problem forced his way into the ambulance and into Liz 's view , which calmed her down almost immediately . The paramedics , seeing that Liz wouldn 't go without Michael , climbed in too and left for the hospital . The ambulance arrived at the hospital and Liz was rushed into an emergency room , where again she became agitated when they tried to keep Michael from coming with her . Again Michael forced his way into the hospital room , where he took up position at Liz 's head , keeping her focused on his eyes , and talking to her as the doctors worked . Liz started to breathe faster as she prepared to panic over the lost of Michael 's eye contact and the prospect of surgery . Michael immediately made eye contact with Liz again and started to talk to her to calm her down again . " Liz , look at me . Okay . Um … You are going to be just fine , I promise you . Okay , now I want you to close your eyes and concentrate on my voice , okay , you will be okay , just close your eyes " Michael told her . " Okay , now I want you to imagine we are back in my apartment , we are sitting on the couch , and I am holding you . We are safe and no one is going to bother us . Okay ? Now we are um … we are going to watch a movie , just the two of us okay ; we are going to watch Titanic , okay . I just started it and we are going to sit on the couch and watch the entire thing , and when the movie is over , then you are going to be out of surgery and you are going to be just fine . Do you see the beginning of the movie ? " Michael asked Liz was wheeled away to surgery , leaving Michael and a nurse , Alice , in the emergency room . " Why Titanic ? " Alice asked as she gave Michael back his bloody shirt . Michael pulled on his shirt with out thinking about the blood as he answered , " it was the longest movie I could think of and it is one of her favorites . " Michael walked into the waiting room and was amazed by what he saw . Not only were Max , Maria , Isabel and Alex waiting for him , but also so were the Evans 's , Amy Deluca , the Sheriff , Kyle , and half the school . They were also surprised by what they saw . Standing in front of them was not the school rebel anymore , this was a young man who had had to grow up way to soon . Who had spent all of his life dealing with pain . Only this time he couldn 't hide how it was affecting him . He was standing there covered in their classmates ' blood , the only link into the trauma that had rocked their small community . Michael was the first to react and passed the entire crowd to the elevators , were he pressed the number for the floor in ICU where Liz would be taken after she got out of surgery . Everyone was not far behind Michael , wanting to find out what was happening to their friend . By this time Liz 's parents had also showed up at the hospital and were going crazy trying to find out what had happened to their beloved daughter . Michael commandeered a corner of the room , which was were Max , Maria , Isabel and Alex found him , when their elevator doors opened . " Michael , " Max asked , " What happened , what is going on ? That 's why Liz was at your house wasn 't it ? Michael answer me please . " " I don 't have to tell you anything . Liz doesn 't want you involved , just leave her alone for now . " Michael answered . " Michael please , why didn 't she call us " Liz 's parents pleaded . " She doesn 't want you involved . Period . " Michael replied then turned away so no one would continue to bother him while they all waited for an update on Liz . I couldn 't protect her . She went to Michael , why him ? They don 't like each other that much . I could kill Josh . She is so hurt , how can she get through this ? I will help her . I will . I won 't leave her alone . Why did she go to him and not Maria or I or even Isabel or Alex for that matter , why him ? My best friend and my sometimes boyfriend . She went to him . Not me . Or even Max . Why my spaceboy ? How can she break through his wall but I can 't ? Do I even know him ? Do I have to be raped to get through to him that I love him ? …… I love him . Mr . Parker 's POV My baby . My little girl . Some man has hurt my baby . I always thought it would eventually be Max that would … how can this happen to MY baby ? My brother is unraveling before my very eyes and there is nothing I can do about it . My first real friend is laying in a hospital bed somewhere being operated on and there is nothing I can do about it . My other brother won 't talk to me and I don 't know how to help him or my other friends . I have powers but how can I be so helpless . All I can do is try to hold the pieces of my brother together ; I will just hold him . Liz once told me that she could come to me with anything even with her biggest problem she came to me , come to think of it that problem happened at this hospital too . I can 't do anything this time though . Maria is so quiet . I wonder what she is thinking . She is never quiet , why now ? Max is falling apart . I wish I could go to Isabel . I know she needs me . Max and Michael can 't do anything . The last time I saw her this distraught was when Michael was sick , but then she had Max to hold onto now she has no one . I wish I had enough arms to comfort her , Maria , Liz , and even Michael and Max . She trusted me . She depended on me and I still couldn 't protect her . She is so hurt . God , I hope she is going to be okay . Everyone is hurt . I wish … I … I wish I could go to Maria . I hurt her though , I betrayed her with her best friend , she probably hates me again . Maybe Liz can help her understand . Why am I thinking about myself , Liz is the one that got hurt and I put her there ? She trusted me . She depended on me … . " Mr . and Mrs . Parker , " the Doctor started interrupting them from their thoughts , " Liz was rolled out of surgery and into her own room in the Intensive Care Unit . There was some damage from the beating however we were able to stop the bleeding and she will be just fine eventually . She will still have a lot of pain and work to get back to her top form again though . For the next couple weeks she will be sore and she needs to take it easy . We are going to keep her in the hospital for the next couple days to be sure she doesn 't open her stitches . You can go see her now , but only a few people at a time . " " Mr . and Mrs . Parker , I should be there when she wakes up , " Michael informed Liz 's parents . I promised her I would be there … " Michael trailed off . Liz saw them and started to breathe heavy and tear up as she tried to hide in Michael 's shirt . " Michael not yet , please . " Liz cried not seeing the pained expressions on her parents faces . " Their gone now Liz . It 's going to be okay . The sheriff needs to take our statements Liz . " Michael said as he spied Valenti standing in the doorframe . " Liz we need to speak to him , can you do that ? " " Josh and I went to UFOnics and danced then we left and I was going to point out some other spots in town then I showed him some of the desert . He stopped and he , um , he hit me and I fought against him but then I guess I lost consciousness because the next thing I remember I woke up and he was done . He pushed me from the car and started to hit me again and he told me if I told anyone he would hurt Maria or Isabel . I was just so scared . " Liz whimpered clinging to Michael , " He left and I didn 't know what to do . I started walking and I went to Michael . He helped me get cleaned up and he gave me clothes and he helped me keep it a secret . Today I was walking and he came up and grabbed me and dragged me into the Eraser Room and banged my head against the wall . The next thing I saw was Michael and M … Max leaning over me . " Liz finished . " Um . Liz , I am , uh , I need to see Maria , will you be okay . " After Michael got an affirmative nod from Liz 's head , he got up and headed for the door . " Oh , Sheriff , I kept the towels and wash clothes that I used to clean up Liz . If you need them , they are at my house . " Michael surveyed the crowd in the waiting room before walking over to where Alex was holding Maria . " Hey Alex , could you do me a favor ? " Michael asked . " Yeah , Yeah , name it . Is Liz going to be okay ? " Alex asked in a rush . " Yeah , she will be fine eventually . Listen there is some evidence , the towels I helped clean Liz up with at my apartment . Here 's the key . Could you go get them for the sheriff ? I um … yeah " Michael trailed off looking at Maria . " Michael , shh . " Maria cut him off as she crawled into his lap and kissed him . " Michael thank you for being there for her . I don 't know what all happened but thank you . " Sheriff Valenti was greeted with silence when he entered the waiting room again . " Jeff , Nancy , Michael , Liz is asleep . Oh Alex , thanks for getting these . " The Sheriff said as Alex reentered the waiting room and moved to sit by Isabel offering a hand to hold , which she shyly accepted . " No prob . " He replied . " yeah " " Liz " " yeah , Michael , yeah I will talk to them soon . " " Alright , I 'll go talk to them . " Michael said as he left the room . He entered the waiting room and headed straight for Liz 's Parents . " Mr . and Mrs . Parker , Liz wants to stay with me after she gets out of the hospital tomorrow . I have tried to talk to her to get her to open up to you guys but , I don 't know , she just won 't . Michael explained confused by Liz 's behavior . " Wait , just wait a second . No . I don 't think so Michael . I am trying to be understanding to both you and Liz , but I want my daughter back . She is coming home with her mother and I . " Mr . Parker said getting upset . " Why is that Michael . Why doesn 't our daughter want to talk to us or any of her friends ? Why ? Why did she go to you ? " Mr . Parker yelled back making his wife break out in tears again . " Because I don 't like her . You all , you all put her on this big pedestal and she knows it and she feels like she has fallen off of it . " Michael shouted back as he gave in to them all . " Fine , FINE . " Michael said as he stood back up and started to pace the waiting room . " Isabel , well obviously you would tell Max and you are always calling her Miss Perfect . Alex , other than when Max was in the hospital , has Liz ever come to you with a problem . Like a big one . Never . She has always been the supportive one , especially with you , Maria . You are so flighty and full of energy . She is what grounds you , who do you complain to when you complain about me . To Liz , and she supports you . Max . You think she is perfect , Jeez , you have been in love with her since the third grade . She loves you too and you were supposed to be her first . Now you can 't be . She can 't live up to those expectations right now . And you two , " Michael said pointing at Liz 's Parents , " other than this last week Liz has never given you cause to worry . She gets straight A 's is involved in school , will go to Harvard , and is very responsible . She just is tired and she feels like she fell of that pedestal you all put her on . She is afraid of how you all will react to her . That 's it . She is afraid . " Michael said as he sat down next to Maria , exhausted after this outburst . " She came to me because she doesn 't think I have those expectations of her . " Michael was met with silence as his words trailed off . As everyone thought about what he had said . Mr . and Mrs . Parker entered Liz 's room and crossed to her bed . Liz seeing her parents suddenly started to get nervous . " um . Mom , Dad , I um , please … " " Liz , we love you so much . " They cut her off . " We want you to come home with us . Michael told us why you are so scared . Liz no matter what happens or what you choose to do . We will always love you and you will always be our daughter . " They finished both of them crying . " You once said you could come to me with every problem . When you are ready to talk Liz , I will be here . I love you . " He finished as he kissed her on the forehead and left the room . Isabel entered next already crying for her friend . " Liz , Max may be my brother , but you are my first real friend and I am sure one day you will be my sister . I was so worried and if you want to talk I am here for you . Also if you , um , want a girl to " Isabel waived her fingers in a motions similar to healing , " I will , just ask . " She finished and gave Liz a quick hug as Maria came barreling into the room . Maria grabbed Liz into a gentle bear hug before saying " Liz you are my girl , my sister and I love you and if you need anything I got your back babe . and if I every catch you in bed with my boyfriend again I will skin you alive . " She added in an attempt to lighten the mood , which is exactly what it did . Maria and Liz shared one more quick hug as Max waited by the door for Maria to leave so he could talk to Liz . " Liz , I love you . You are my heart and soul . Look at me Liz " He demanded as her eyes dropped in shame . " Liz , I don 't love you because I imaging one day making love to you and that 's it . I love your smile , your eyes , the way you look at me . I love the way you think and how you treat everyone . I love YOU , Liz . And as for when that day comes when we will give ourselves to each other for the first time , I guarantee you that we will both be virgins . Liz , you were raped . You are still a virgin until you Give yourself to someone . Give , Liz . I just hope that that someone is me . " Max finished looking her straight in the eyes . " Oh Max , I love you too . I guess I just needed to hear that . And I can assure you it will definitely be you . " Liz replied matching his stare . " Um Max , could you please send in Michael , I need to talk to him . " " sure love , " Max answered and left after giving Liz a light kiss on her mouth . " Thank you Michael . I couldn 't have gotten through all this without you . I owe you . " Liz smiled at him and waved for him to come closer . The weeks passes and the six grew even closer together as they helped Liz recover and get thought the emotional turmoil surrounding her return home , to school and having to testify for the jury at Josh 's trial . In the end , Josh was sentenced to 70 years in prison with no chance at parole , Liz was able to make a remarkable recovery with help from Max and Isabel . The family meals nights even continued and gradually came to include Amy Deluca and Mr . and Mrs . Whitman as Isabel and Alex became more than friends and Michael and Maria committed themselves to each other .

Disclaimer : I wish I owned them but I don 't . Summary : 1 . Liz and Max 's parents reactions to all the trouble they have been causing . This picks up at the end of " Sexual Healing " when they are walking toward the café ; I took a little liberty with the timing at the very end . " If you know so much , then tell me , Max . . . what 's my destiny ? " Liz said . " I only know the part I 'm hoping for . " Max replied intertwining his fingers with Liz 's . " Maria 's right , we should go see our parent 's first . How about we meet at school early tomorrow morning , 8 : 00 in the parking lot then we can go somewhere private . " Max said . Max and Liz entered the café and all of their parents stood up and gave them the stare ( and you all know the stare I am talking aboutJ ) . Max and Liz met their Parents stare and did not look down and for a while all was quiet . Alex , Isabel , Michael and Maria all took up positions outside of the doors so they could hear and lend support if it was needed . Liz walked to the back of the restaurant to get some breakfast for her and Max , she grabbed his favorite without having to ask him and came back to the middle of the restaurant where their parents are waiting . Liz and Max sat down next to each other and started to eat . Liz 's mom broke the silence and asked the question that everyone was dying to know . " Liz , Max , we will not be angry , only a little upset , but we need to know , are you two having sex ? " Max choked on his food and started coughing ; Liz just stared at her Mom with her mouth hanging open . Liz was the first to recover and replied , " No we haven 't had sex yet . " That sent Max into another coughing fit and he could no longer look Liz 's parents in the eyes anymore . Liz 's Dad upon hearing that his little girl was preparing to have sex saw red and started to yell " Elizabeth Parker , what are you thinking ? ! You are just a child ! You are only 16 and you are not having sex yet . Period . I also don 't want you seeing that boy anymore . Ever since you met him you have changed . He is a bad influence and that is final . I don 't even know who you are becoming anymore Liz . " This set Maxs ' parents off who started to argue but before they could get a word out Liz was out of her seat yelling back at her parent 's defending Max . " NO ! I will not follow those rules ! You don 't know anything about Max and you are right , you don 't know anything about me . I have changed , I have grown up , and I am not your little girl anymore . I am a woman and I have found the man I love and want to spend the rest of my life with . " ( At this Max stood up and moved behind her to lend her support but he knew better than to try to stop her from yelling . " Max is the most amazing person I know , He saved my life . " ( This caused Max , Michael , Isabel , Alex and Maria to all pays attention to what she was saying . Max grabbed her hand and squeezed it to ask her what she was doing but she just squeezed it back and Max knew it would be okay . ) " After Max thought I was shot he came back to see if I was okay and he was so worried about me , he looked like he had almost lost his best friend . Then he ran after those guys to try and bring them to justice . I never knew before then that he even thought about me like that . Then I realized that he loved me and he had been waiting since third grade to be with me . I have never felt more safe and protected then when I am in his arms . And you do not know anything about him ; Max is the kindest , gentlest person I know . With Alex and Maria he welcomed them into his group and we have always worked together . In the fifth grade , Max would always pick Maria and Alex to be on his team because he did not want them to be left out and picked last even though they couldn 't play the games . With Michael , Max is like his big brother , they protect each other and keep each other in line and with Isabel . Well I have never known anyone who was best friends with their siblings and they are best friends they share almost everything . ( Liz was almost sobbing now and trying to talk through her tears . ) Max is the best person I know , he is the other half of me and I am not going to let you take him away from me , I don 't care what rules you make , I would do anything for Max , even die for him . " Liz was so upset she couldn 't face her parents anymore so she ran through " Stop , She 's right . You don 't know her or me and neither do you " Max said looking at his parent 's . " Liz is the best thing that happened to me . When I first stepped off the bus in the third grade and saw her I knew that she was the one for me . I have loved Liz for the past 7 years and now that I have her I will not let you take her away from me . I love Liz with all my heart . " " You are too young to know what love is Max . You are only 16 . " Said Max 's Dad . " I don 't know what love is … . Love is knowing the worst thing about the other person and still respecting , trusting and doing anything for that person . Liz and I have shared everything about each other and we still respect each other and we are working together to overcome what we have done in the past . I would do anything for her , give her anything and everything I can . That is how much I love her . " Max explained with tears running down his face unashamed . Max turned back to Liz 's Parents and said " Don 't go after her , you will only upset her more , I 'll go . " Max walked toward the back of the restaurant leaving their parents just staring after them . Liz 's Mom turned and looked at the other adults , " They really love each other . " Liz 's Dad got up and started to walk back to follow Max . " Where are you going ? " asked Liz 's Mom . " I am going to follow them but I am not going to face them . I want to see how they interact together , I have never really seen them together . " He replied . " I am coming to " " Me too " " Me three " all the parents said as they started to follow Liz 's dad to the rear of the restaurant . Liz and Max 's parents walk up the stairs and see Max just walking into Liz 's room . They took positions outside of her door out of sight of both Liz and Max . Liz had flung herself on her bed and she was weeping into the pillow facing away from the door . Max walked quietly into the room , around to the side of the bed so she could see him and , looking into her eyes , he immediately lay down beside her and gathered her in his arms . They just cried in each other 's arms for a little while , then Liz started to kiss Max 's neck . Slowly Liz started to kiss her way down Max 's shirt unbuttoning it as she went . Liz was halfway down Max 's chest when he let out his first groan . " Oh , Liz . Liz . That feels so good , you know what you are doing but that is not going to help us right now . We need to deal with this , honey . " " I know Max , this is just a lot more fun . " Liz sighed . " I know , Hon , I know . " Max comforted her . " Well what are we going to do ? " Liz said thinking out loud . " Well the problem is our parents don 't know either of us . They are not comfortable with our dating and they don 't think we really love each other like we do . " Max just smiled at Liz and listen to her calculate things like the scientist she wanted to become . " How do we make them understand ? Max , are you listening ? " Liz asked . " Yes , I was just thinking how much I love you . But you are right back to the topic . " Max replied . They held each other and thought quietly for a while . Just when the parents were about to barge in again they heard them start to talk again . " Well our friends know we love each other , they understand us . Why do they understand us ? " Max observed . " I 've got it ! They are always around us they know how we act and stuff . " Liz said . " Are you suggesting we start to party with our parents ? " Max teased Liz even though he could see where she was headed . " No silly , I mean kind of . We need to show them what we are like together , like , Oh , we could have like some family meals or something and everyone could get together so they could watch us and we could all get to know each other ! " " That sounds great , Liz . " Max replied and gave her a gentle kiss on the lips . " So where were we before this became serious . " Liz smiled secretly at Max before she resumed kissing her way down his chest . Max groaned again and pulled her up and under him and started to nibble on her neck . This led into a full - blown make out session , which left their parents dazed and to surprised to do anything . Max 's shirt got removed and Liz rolled him over so she was again on top of Max . Both Liz and Max just looked at each other after an especially mind blowing kiss . " We should go talk to our parents , they were pretty upset after I left . " Max suggested . " Yeah let 's go talk to them , I am sure the rest of the gang is going to want to talk too . " " Well I am not sure about the rest of the gang but your plan for the get togethers sounded really good to me . " Liz 's mom answered as she entered her daughter 's room . Max and Liz just looked at each other stunned . Liz was straddling Max and Max didn 't have his shirt on . The rest of the parents walked in the room looking sheepish to find them in this position and Max again could not look Liz 's dad in the eyes . " How long have you guys been there . " Liz ventured . " We heard everything honey , and we think it is a very good idea . " Liz 's mom replied . " Okay we are going to have to set some rules first if this is going to work out peacefully . " Liz commented as she got off of Max and handed him his shirt . " Lets go get some breakfast and talk " Max 's Mom said . Everyone headed down to the café and they let in Alex , Maria , Michael and Isabel so they could join the breakfast club . Everyone was sitting around a couple tables they had grouped together in the center of the restaurant . They were lucky that the café was closed that morning so their breakfast was not interrupted by any customers or friends . Everyone had their plates and Max and Liz were sitting together acting like newly weds almost . Their parents were joking with them until suddenly Liz 's mom cussed . " Oh shit , Liz you are going to kill me . " " Yeah , he is a junior and he is going to be starting at your school on Monday , His father is an acquaintance from college . He recognized me and we started talking about our kids , and it just kind of happened . I am so sorry Liz , it won 't happen again , just please do it for me this one time . " Liz 's Mom whined . " Um , Hi are you Liz Parker ? " " Yeah . " Liz answered and turned to the deep voice behind her . " Hi , My name is Josh Mallory . I 'm new here . My Dad knows your Mom … " Josh trailed off as he looked at the gorgeous girl in front of him . She was young , fresh and beautiful . " Oh right , my Mom told me to look for you . Welcome to Roswell , how do you like the school and town and stuff ? " Liz asked . " Oh it 's okay I haven 't seen much of it yet . " Josh answered . " Yeah , right . Oh by the way . These are my friends , Max , Isabel , Alex , Maria and Michael . " Liz said as she pointed to the rest of the people sitting around the picnic table . " Why don 't you grab a seat " " Thanks . " " So Josh " Isabel started , " Where are you from ? " " My Dad , He travels for his business a lot and he knew Liz 's Mom back in high school or college or something , so when his business decided they wanted to branch into New Mexico , specifically Roswell . He remembered that Liz 's Mom had moved here and so he looked her up and here I am , just tagging along . My dad is in the hotel business , he helps companies organize themselves better and stuff like that . " Bell rang . " Well I better get to class . It was nice to meet you Liz , I 'll see you around . " " Yeah , bye . " " Ohhhh , Liz I think he has the hots for you ! " Maria squealed . " Maria ! I can 't believe you just said that , no way . " Liz responded . " I know , I am just teasing you guys . I didn 't mean it Max . " Maria quickly cleared the air . " I know . " Max said as he smiled and leaned in for a kiss from his girl who willingly obliged . " Hey Liz . " " Hey Josh . Hey my Mom wanted me to take you out on the town one night , you know show you around , introduce you and stuff , if you want to go , I have Friday night off . We could go dancing or something . " Liz offered Friday night rolled around , Josh picked up Liz who was looking fabulous in a short , slinky black dress , which he commented on as they got in the car and drove to UFOnics , the hottest dance club in Roswell and the only one . Both Liz and Josh were having a great time , tearing up the dance floor and making all the rest of the people there jealous of them for being such a good looking couple . The Dance floor was getting crowded as Josh pulled Liz to the edge and they took their seats at their private table . Earlier that night Michael had sneaked into Max 's room and was teasing him about Liz being out on a date with another guy , which turned into the guys wrestling on the floor and waking up Isabel next door who was very unpleased to have her beauty sleep disturbed . Max and Michael settled in for the night , Max on the bed and Michael in the sleeping bag reserved specially for him . Max fell asleep very quickly and Michael was left staring at the ceiling . As Michael started to drift off , he started to see flashes of something , someone in danger , and a hand coming forward covering the person 's mouth , the sound of ripping cloth . Then suddenly Michael 's head was filled with pain and he was jolted out of sleep to find Max leaning over him looking at him curiously . " Oh , I am sorry it didn 't work out . " Liz responded and put her hand on Josh 's arm . " So there is not much to Roswell , " Liz started , trying to change the subject . " The best hangout for students is the Crashdown , and you have already found that . There is the UFO Museum , this real nut , Milton runs the place , I don 't recommend it unless you are a " true believer , " as Milton would say . Finally we have a mall and some other small touristy things . The best place out here is the desert . It is great for sunsets , stargazing and being alone , it is huge . " " How about we head to the desert then if it is so great ? " Josh suggested as he put his arm around her shoulders . " Um … Okay for a short ride , then I should be getting home soon , I think I have an early shift tomorrow . " Liz lied , getting a little uncomfortable with his proximity . " Well I just thought we could use some time alone together you know just you … . and me . " Josh smiled very big at her . " I don 't think so , I think I need to be getting home right now . Please take me home . " " Oh come on baby , I am just trying to have some fun , you said you wanted to introduce me or stuff , and do something . That is all I am asking for here . " Josh whined . " Well that is not what I meant . I am sorry you misinterpreted what I said . So lets get this next sentence straight . Take me home now . " Liz tried to scoot as far away from him as she could . Liz spotted the door handle and she was just about to reach for it and get out of the car when she hear the door locks click shut and a small deep voice say , " I don 't think so . " Liz looked back in terror as a large hand came forward and covered her mouth . Liz can hear the sound of clothes ripping and she feels a breeze blow across her exposed chest and she realizes that it was her clothes that were being ripped and this was actually happening to her , Elizabeth Parker . Liz finally snapped out of her shock and started to fight with everything she had in her realizing that if she didn 't do something soon , her body would be possessed by someone other than Max . " I am not sure . You know how they are fuzzy and don 't make themselves clear until a few days later . I could also have just been a bad dream . " Michael replied not wanting Max to be worried and not quite sure himself . " Um … I am okay but I think I am going to go back to my apartment for tonight . " Michael said distractedly as he rolled the sleeping bag up again . Liz lookd around and saw Josh still on top of her but obviously done hurting her . She froze and didn 't know what to do , if she moved he might wake up and hurt her again but if she didn 't how could she not throw up with him still on her after what he had done to her . Liz 's thoughts then flashed to Max and what this was going to do to him . Josh starting to move and get off of her jerked Liz back to the present . Liz still couldn 't move from fright and Josh laughed down at her , " Geez , I didn 't think you would still be a virgin , that little tidbit just doubled my pleasure and fun . " Liz started to turn green at this statement and also when she looked down and saw the bruises and blood , her blood all over her now naked body . Josh seeing she was about to be sick opened her car door and pushed her from it . Liz fell to the ground and was sick right then and there . Josh knowing he had to finish the job so no one would know what happened grabbed Liz by her hair and started to drag her far into the desert and started to beat on her more hoping she would die . Also warning her that if by some chance she did live if she talked to anyone else , not only would this happen to her again but she would not be able to protect her friends either . Michael climbed out Max 's window and started to walk to his apartment , wanting the exercise to clear his head . ' What the hell was that ? A hand , a ripping of something and that pain , damn I still have the headache from it . I think I need to get home , but I think I am going to walk for a little bit first . ' Michael climbed the stairs to his apartment and started to feel that something was different about it . Cautiously , he approached his door and saw that everything was just the way it was supposed to be . He opened the door and did a quick search of his apartment and found that everything was normal . ' Oh shit , oh shit , oh shit . ' Michael thought as he neared the door , but it never opened , the handle just turned and turned . Michael never the one with patience flung open the door and raised his baseball bat high ready to face the enemy . Only there was no one facing him … then he heard it something quiet . " Please don 't hit me , please don 't hit me . " Over and over the voice was saying it quietly from the shadows outside of the door . Michael listened closer and recognized … Liz 's voice . " Please don 't hit me , please don 't hit me , please don 't … " Liz just kept repeating . Then Michael spotted her , sitting on the ground with her legs pulled up to her chin , in red clothes . " Please don 't hit me , please don 't hit me … " " Liz , I 'm not going to hit you , what happened , it 's like 4 in the morning or something . Is Max okay ? Isabel ? Maria ? ! ? Liz look at me . " Michael commanded as he grabbed her arms and forced her to look at him . It was then that he saw the bruises and cuts on her face and as he pulled away his hands he realized that Liz was not dressed in red , she was dressed in blood , her blood . Liz just stared at Michael as he pulled away from her . " Oh my god Liz , What happened to you ? I have to call Max ! " Michael said as he started to head back to his apartment to place the call . " NO ! " Liz said as she tried to stand up . " Please don 't call him , please Michael don 't call him . " Liz started to cry hysterically . Michael just stared at her when he saw that she was naked and covered in blood and she could hardly stand . Next he realized that she was shivering from the chill in the night and she could hardly stand let alone walk to his apartment . Michael slowly approached Liz who was still crying and asking him not to call Max or Maria and picked her up gently , trying not to touch or look at anything he shouldn 't be looking at . Michael carried her into his apartment and laid her on his couch and covered her with a couple of his blankets . Then seeing that her crying was not slowing down he pulled her and the blankets into his lap and just held her until she settled down . " Michael can you please heal me ? " Michael heard after thinking she had cried herself to sleep . " What ? You want me to heal you , Liz you have to go to the police . Now , and the hospital . " Michael looked at her tear stained face . " I … I can 't do it , I don 't want to . Please just heal me so I can go back and don 't tell anyone . I can 't tell anyone this it … it is just too bad . " " You know what happened . I was raped and beaten . " Liz finally choked out , " and as for you . I … You don 't put me on a pedestal or judge me . " " Huh , I don 't judge you , Liz I read your journal I do too judge you . I didn 't trust you or even like you . " Michael responded to the broken girl sitting in his lap . " No not like the others . I couldn 't go to them they judge me to hard . This is too bad I couldn 't go to them . I don 't want them to ever find out what happened tonight . Please heal me now Michael so I can get on with my life . " Liz responded flatly . " What ? ! ? Yes you can you are an alien , Max healed a bullet , you can fix a few bruises , just fix my face I can take care of the rest , Michael do it you can . I know it . " Liz cried hysterically . " Liz … . I don 't know what you want to do next but … what ever you want to do I will help you . You helped Max so I owe you . Oh god , are you still bleeding anywhere ? " Michael suddenly realized she could be bleeding to death right there in his lap . " Um no I don 't think so but I am covered in … . " Michael looked back at Liz 's face to see that she had fainted from the sight of her own blood that she just then realized she was covered in . Michael quickly carried her into his room and laid her on his bed . After he saw that she was comfortable he hurried to gather bandages and towels and water to clean her up some . Starting with her face Michael as gently as he could wiped the blood and dirt way from her skin . After he had cleaned her face her arms and lower legs quickly followed , as those were safe and uncovered . Liz slowly regained conscience as she felt her legs being moved . " Ahhhh … Don 't hurt me . Don 't hurt me . " She screamed as she sat straight up in bed , the blankets falling away from her . Michael quickly pulled her in to his embrace and started telling her , " shhh it is just Michael . You are safe . You are in my apartment . " " Shhhh … you are going to be okay I will take care of you . I was just washing away some of the blood and dirt . " Michael explained . Michael falling prey to her tears succumbed " Shh … it is okay I will help you . Just lay back , close your eyes and relax , I will try not to hurt you anymore . " Liz laid back but when she closed her eyes all she could see was the hand coming down over her mouth and his awful face sneering at her . " Michael will you please talk to me . " Liz asked then explained what she was seeing . Michael finished cleaning and bandaging Liz . He even found a pad that Maria must have left at his apartment because Liz was still bleeding a little . Michael then found Liz a clean pair of his boxers , and a shirt to cover her nakedness . " Is there anything else I can do for you Liz ? " Michael asked tentatively . " Max ? Hi , it 's Maria , is Liz there , she was supposed to come to my house last night and she didn 't show up so I am really worried because she is not answering her phone at home or her cell phone and I am starting to panic and I need some cedar oil . " Maria rambled off in one breath . " She was supposed to but she never showed . I am really worried about her Max ; she always lets me know what she is doing , especially after you two made your little get away . She tells me everything and calms me down always , she is never the source of panic . " Maria started again . " Calm down . Let me wake up Isabel and you call Alex and see if she is with him . If she is there call me back then we will come pick you guys up and go to Michael 's . Maria it is okay we will find her . " Max slowly enunciated for Maria . Michael woke to find a warm body wrapped around him and someone knocking non - stop at the door . Michael just laid there for a second remembering everything that had happened the night before and wishing that who ever it was would just go away . When the knocking didn 't stop Michael untangled himself from Liz whose oversized shirt had slipped off of her shoulders in the night . Without waking her pulled the covers up to hide most of her from the cold air in the apartment . Michael opened the front door in his sweat pants , obviously just roused from his sleep to find Max , Isabel , Alex and a flighty Maria standing there . " What ? " He asked not letting them in . Maria took care of that for them , just walking in and circling the coffee table as she tried to work off some of her nervous energy . " Have you seen Liz , we can 't find her and we need your help . " She started but Max cut her off . Michael made a quick decision to honor Liz 's request to not tell anyone her secret , since she was the one in the most pain right now . He did not say anything as he crossed to his bedroom door and closed it so Liz could still sleep . Michael braced his feet in front of the door so that no one would try to disturb her . " So , Liz , um , why again did you come to me of all of our friends . " Michael tentatively asked . " You don 't expect a lot from me . You expect me to make trouble for you , so I am just fulfilling your expectations . " Liz whispered . " That was everyone this morning wasn 't it ? " " Yeah , Liz what are you going to do , you can 't keep this a secret . Liz I … I want to be … with Maria . She … I … what are you going to do . How can I help . " Michael stuttered . " Please just don 't say anything yet , I will figure something out . I … it will be okay . " Liz assured him , " Please just don 't say anything , Michael , Please . " Liz swung around at the sound of his voice only to find herself trapped between him and a wall of lockers . " Just leave me alone , please , I am not going to say anything . " Liz pleaded . " What was Liz doing at your apartment Michael ? What happened ? I thought you were MY friend ? How could you do this to me ? " Max rambled on . " Are you listening to me ? Michael ? " Max continued to question Michael when suddenly Michael doubled over in pain right in front of him . " Michael ! " " Noooooooooooooo " Michael cried as he made his way to his feet and around the corner to the Eraser room . With all of the adrenaline running through his veins , the door and lock , were no barriers against him , even without his powers . Michael ripped the door from its hinges and it flew across the hall as Michael stared at the ugly scene before him . " Noooooooooooooo , " was cried again , however this time the voice was that of Max , as he saw what was happening from behind Michael . Michael , seeing red , grabbed Josh and threw him across the hall where he hit the lockers and was knocked unconscious . The force Michael used to pull Josh off Liz also pulled her somewhat into the hall and all of the students gathered were able to see the damage Josh had inflicted on Liz , who was unconscious also . Michael gathered Liz in his arms apologizing profusely for leaving her and letting this happen again . Michael looked up with tears running down his face and the first people he saw were Kyle and a couple of his friends . " Tommy , call an ambulance , NOW ! " Michael yelled at Kyle 's friend , who ran off to do as he was told . Max , who was at first stunned to see what had happened to his love kneeled in front of Liz . Maria , Isabel and Alex , who had also heard the commotion , were gathered behind Max , with tears running down their faces . Alex was trying to comfort Isabel and hold up Maria , who was so upset , she couldn 't stand up on her own . Michael , realizing what their presence would do to Liz when she woke up , gathered himself together again and yelled at them all to leave . " No , No , No , No way , am I leaving her . I 'm her boyfriend . I love her , I 'm not leaving her . Michael felt Liz starting to stir and seeing there was no way he would be able to get Max and the gang to leave and still be there for her called in a larger gun , " Kyle , get them out of here now , she doesn 't want them here . Do it NOW ! " Michael yelled which got not only Kyle but also Tommy who had returned , but also a few more of his football buddies moving into forcibly pulling Max away and escorting Isabel , Maria and Alex around the corner away from Liz . Liz 's eyes opened to find not just Michael but also Max leaning over her , because he had gotten away from Kyle and his friends and was back in front of her . Seeing the one person she didn 't want to know what had happened to her sent Liz into panic . " No , No , No , Michael you promised , No , go away , No , No , MICHAELLLLLlllllllllllllllll . " Liz yelled through her tears as Michael tried to quiet and calm her . " Max leave , I can 't help her when you are here . Please . " Michael pleaded with Max to leave . Seeing what his presence was doing to her , Max allowed Kyle and his friends to drag him around the corner where Isabel held him . They all listened to Liz and Michael who they could still hear . With Max out of the picture , Michael got Liz to focus on him and he held her as she calmed down and they waited for the ambulance . " Liz , Liz , you just need to calm down . Look at my eyes Liz , don 't look away just concentrate on my eyes . Oh , Liz , I am so sorry , I wasn 't there … . " Michael started . " No , No , Michael , please just hold me , don 't let me go . I want to go to your apartment Michael . Please take me away from here . " Liz pleaded . " Liz , I can 't . You can 't hide this anymore ; you need to go to the hospital and the police . They are already on their way . " Michael explained . Liz terrified at this turn of events started crying again , " No , no , please no . I want to go to your apartment … Oh Michael , owwwwww . Oh owwwwwww . Michael make it stop . " Liz wailed as she was suddenly overcome with pain . Michael breaking eye contact so he could see what was the problem found his answer covering his legs . Liz was still bleeding . Michael pulled off his shirt in an attempt to stop the blood flow and yelled again for the ambulance , which was pulling up just outside the school as Liz once again lost consciousness . " Nooooooooooooooooooo , Michael , Michael . " Liz sobbed thrashing about on the stretcher . Michael seeing the problem forced his way into the ambulance and into Liz 's view , which calmed her down almost immediately . The paramedics , seeing that Liz wouldn 't go without Michael , climbed in too and left for the hospital . The ambulance arrived at the hospital and Liz was rushed into an emergency room , where again she became agitated when they tried to keep Michael from coming with her . Again Michael forced his way into the hospital room , where he took up position at Liz 's head , keeping her focused on his eyes , and talking to her as the doctors worked . Liz started to breathe faster as she prepared to panic over the lost of Michael 's eye contact and the prospect of surgery . Michael immediately made eye contact with Liz again and started to talk to her to calm her down again . " Liz , look at me . Okay . Um … You are going to be just fine , I promise you . Okay , now I want you to close your eyes and concentrate on my voice , okay , you will be okay , just close your eyes " Michael told her . " Okay , now I want you to imagine we are back in my apartment , we are sitting on the couch , and I am holding you . We are safe and no one is going to bother us . Okay ? Now we are um … we are going to watch a movie , just the two of us okay ; we are going to watch Titanic , okay . I just started it and we are going to sit on the couch and watch the entire thing , and when the movie is over , then you are going to be out of surgery and you are going to be just fine . Do you see the beginning of the movie ? " Michael asked Liz was wheeled away to surgery , leaving Michael and a nurse , Alice , in the emergency room . " Why Titanic ? " Alice asked as she gave Michael back his bloody shirt . Michael pulled on his shirt with out thinking about the blood as he answered , " it was the longest movie I could think of and it is one of her favorites . " Michael walked into the waiting room and was amazed by what he saw . Not only were Max , Maria , Isabel and Alex waiting for him , but also so were the Evans 's , Amy Deluca , the Sheriff , Kyle , and half the school . They were also surprised by what they saw . Standing in front of them was not the school rebel anymore , this was a young man who had had to grow up way to soon . Who had spent all of his life dealing with pain . Only this time he couldn 't hide how it was affecting him . He was standing there covered in their classmates ' blood , the only link into the trauma that had rocked their small community . Michael was the first to react and passed the entire crowd to the elevators , were he pressed the number for the floor in ICU where Liz would be taken after she got out of surgery . Everyone was not far behind Michael , wanting to find out what was happening to their friend . By this time Liz 's parents had also showed up at the hospital and were going crazy trying to find out what had happened to their beloved daughter . Michael commandeered a corner of the room , which was were Max , Maria , Isabel and Alex found him , when their elevator doors opened . " Michael , " Max asked , " What happened , what is going on ? That 's why Liz was at your house wasn 't it ? Michael answer me please . " " I don 't have to tell you anything . Liz doesn 't want you involved , just leave her alone for now . " Michael answered . " Michael please , why didn 't she call us " Liz 's parents pleaded . " She doesn 't want you involved . Period . " Michael replied then turned away so no one would continue to bother him while they all waited for an update on Liz . I couldn 't protect her . She went to Michael , why him ? They don 't like each other that much . I could kill Josh . She is so hurt , how can she get through this ? I will help her . I will . I won 't leave her alone . Why did she go to him and not Maria or I or even Isabel or Alex for that matter , why him ? My best friend and my sometimes boyfriend . She went to him . Not me . Or even Max . Why my spaceboy ? How can she break through his wall but I can 't ? Do I even know him ? Do I have to be raped to get through to him that I love him ? …… I love him . Mr . Parker 's POV My baby . My little girl . Some man has hurt my baby . I always thought it would eventually be Max that would … how can this happen to MY baby ? My brother is unraveling before my very eyes and there is nothing I can do about it . My first real friend is laying in a hospital bed somewhere being operated on and there is nothing I can do about it . My other brother won 't talk to me and I don 't know how to help him or my other friends . I have powers but how can I be so helpless . All I can do is try to hold the pieces of my brother together ; I will just hold him . Liz once told me that she could come to me with anything even with her biggest problem she came to me , come to think of it that problem happened at this hospital too . I can 't do anything this time though . Maria is so quiet . I wonder what she is thinking . She is never quiet , why now ? Max is falling apart . I wish I could go to Isabel . I know she needs me . Max and Michael can 't do anything . The last time I saw her this distraught was when Michael was sick , but then she had Max to hold onto now she has no one . I wish I had enough arms to comfort her , Maria , Liz , and even Michael and Max . She trusted me . She depended on me and I still couldn 't protect her . She is so hurt . God , I hope she is going to be okay . Everyone is hurt . I wish … I … I wish I could go to Maria . I hurt her though , I betrayed her with her best friend , she probably hates me again . Maybe Liz can help her understand . Why am I thinking about myself , Liz is the one that got hurt and I put her there ? She trusted me . She depended on me … . " Mr . and Mrs . Parker , " the Doctor started interrupting them from their thoughts , " Liz was rolled out of surgery and into her own room in the Intensive Care Unit . There was some damage from the beating however we were able to stop the bleeding and she will be just fine eventually . She will still have a lot of pain and work to get back to her top form again though . For the next couple weeks she will be sore and she needs to take it easy . We are going to keep her in the hospital for the next couple days to be sure she doesn 't open her stitches . You can go see her now , but only a few people at a time . " " Mr . and Mrs . Parker , I should be there when she wakes up , " Michael informed Liz 's parents . I promised her I would be there … " Michael trailed off . Liz saw them and started to breathe heavy and tear up as she tried to hide in Michael 's shirt . " Michael not yet , please . " Liz cried not seeing the pained expressions on her parents faces . " Their gone now Liz . It 's going to be okay . The sheriff needs to take our statements Liz . " Michael said as he spied Valenti standing in the doorframe . " Liz we need to speak to him , can you do that ? " " Josh and I went to UFOnics and danced then we left and I was going to point out some other spots in town then I showed him some of the desert . He stopped and he , um , he hit me and I fought against him but then I guess I lost consciousness because the next thing I remember I woke up and he was done . He pushed me from the car and started to hit me again and he told me if I told anyone he would hurt Maria or Isabel . I was just so scared . " Liz whimpered clinging to Michael , " He left and I didn 't know what to do . I started walking and I went to Michael . He helped me get cleaned up and he gave me clothes and he helped me keep it a secret . Today I was walking and he came up and grabbed me and dragged me into the Eraser Room and banged my head against the wall . The next thing I saw was Michael and M … Max leaning over me . " Liz finished . " Um . Liz , I am , uh , I need to see Maria , will you be okay . " After Michael got an affirmative nod from Liz 's head , he got up and headed for the door . " Oh , Sheriff , I kept the towels and wash clothes that I used to clean up Liz . If you need them , they are at my house . " Michael surveyed the crowd in the waiting room before walking over to where Alex was holding Maria . " Hey Alex , could you do me a favor ? " Michael asked . " Yeah , Yeah , name it . Is Liz going to be okay ? " Alex asked in a rush . " Yeah , she will be fine eventually . Listen there is some evidence , the towels I helped clean Liz up with at my apartment . Here 's the key . Could you go get them for the sheriff ? I um … yeah " Michael trailed off looking at Maria . " Michael , shh . " Maria cut him off as she crawled into his lap and kissed him . " Michael thank you for being there for her . I don 't know what all happened but thank you . " Sheriff Valenti was greeted with silence when he entered the waiting room again . " Jeff , Nancy , Michael , Liz is asleep . Oh Alex , thanks for getting these . " The Sheriff said as Alex reentered the waiting room and moved to sit by Isabel offering a hand to hold , which she shyly accepted . " No prob . " He replied . " yeah " " Liz " " yeah , Michael , yeah I will talk to them soon . " " Alright , I 'll go talk to them . " Michael said as he left the room . He entered the waiting room and headed straight for Liz 's Parents . " Mr . and Mrs . Parker , Liz wants to stay with me after she gets out of the hospital tomorrow . I have tried to talk to her to get her to open up to you guys but , I don 't know , she just won 't . Michael explained confused by Liz 's behavior . " Wait , just wait a second . No . I don 't think so Michael . I am trying to be understanding to both you and Liz , but I want my daughter back . She is coming home with her mother and I . " Mr . Parker said getting upset . " Why is that Michael . Why doesn 't our daughter want to talk to us or any of her friends ? Why ? Why did she go to you ? " Mr . Parker yelled back making his wife break out in tears again . " Because I don 't like her . You all , you all put her on this big pedestal and she knows it and she feels like she has fallen off of it . " Michael shouted back as he gave in to them all . " Fine , FINE . " Michael said as he stood back up and started to pace the waiting room . " Isabel , well obviously you would tell Max and you are always calling her Miss Perfect . Alex , other than when Max was in the hospital , has Liz ever come to you with a problem . Like a big one . Never . She has always been the supportive one , especially with you , Maria . You are so flighty and full of energy . She is what grounds you , who do you complain to when you complain about me . To Liz , and she supports you . Max . You think she is perfect , Jeez , you have been in love with her since the third grade . She loves you too and you were supposed to be her first . Now you can 't be . She can 't live up to those expectations right now . And you two , " Michael said pointing at Liz 's Parents , " other than this last week Liz has never given you cause to worry . She gets straight A 's is involved in school , will go to Harvard , and is very responsible . She just is tired and she feels like she fell of that pedestal you all put her on . She is afraid of how you all will react to her . That 's it . She is afraid . " Michael said as he sat down next to Maria , exhausted after this outburst . " She came to me because she doesn 't think I have those expectations of her . " Michael was met with silence as his words trailed off . As everyone thought about what he had said . Mr . and Mrs . Parker entered Liz 's room and crossed to her bed . Liz seeing her parents suddenly started to get nervous . " um . Mom , Dad , I um , please … " " Liz , we love you so much . " They cut her off . " We want you to come home with us . Michael told us why you are so scared . Liz no matter what happens or what you choose to do . We will always love you and you will always be our daughter . " They finished both of them crying . " You once said you could come to me with every problem . When you are ready to talk Liz , I will be here . I love you . " He finished as he kissed her on the forehead and left the room . Isabel entered next already crying for her friend . " Liz , Max may be my brother , but you are my first real friend and I am sure one day you will be my sister . I was so worried and if you want to talk I am here for you . Also if you , um , want a girl to " Isabel waived her fingers in a motions similar to healing , " I will , just ask . " She finished and gave Liz a quick hug as Maria came barreling into the room . Maria grabbed Liz into a gentle bear hug before saying " Liz you are my girl , my sister and I love you and if you need anything I got your back babe . and if I every catch you in bed with my boyfriend again I will skin you alive . " She added in an attempt to lighten the mood , which is exactly what it did . Maria and Liz shared one more quick hug as Max waited by the door for Maria to leave so he could talk to Liz . " Liz , I love you . You are my heart and soul . Look at me Liz " He demanded as her eyes dropped in shame . " Liz , I don 't love you because I imaging one day making love to you and that 's it . I love your smile , your eyes , the way you look at me . I love the way you think and how you treat everyone . I love YOU , Liz . And as for when that day comes when we will give ourselves to each other for the first time , I guarantee you that we will both be virgins . Liz , you were raped . You are still a virgin until you Give yourself to someone . Give , Liz . I just hope that that someone is me . " Max finished looking her straight in the eyes . " Oh Max , I love you too . I guess I just needed to hear that . And I can assure you it will definitely be you . " Liz replied matching his stare . " Um Max , could you please send in Michael , I need to talk to him . " " sure love , " Max answered and left after giving Liz a light kiss on her mouth . " Thank you Michael . I couldn 't have gotten through all this without you . I owe you . " Liz smiled at him and waved for him to come closer . The weeks passes and the six grew even closer together as they helped Liz recover and get thought the emotional turmoil surrounding her return home , to school and having to testify for the jury at Josh 's trial . In the end , Josh was sentenced to 70 years in prison with no chance at parole , Liz was able to make a remarkable recovery with help from Max and Isabel . The family meals nights even continued and gradually came to include Amy Deluca and Mr . and Mrs . Whitman as Isabel and Alex became more than friends and Michael and Maria committed themselves to each other .

Posted on March 19 , 2013 by pir8chickk Summer session was in full swing . We were training almost all day . The odd time there 'd be a night training session . Me and the guys had plans to go around town and hang out . I was working in the kitchen for the morning , I always did as request of the general . He said he never minded having anyone as strong and determined as I , but he did suggest I pick up a few ' woman skills ' , as he calls them , when I can . No one other than Alex knew about it though . But after a little while I told Shawn too . I had him promise not to tell anyone . Someone found out it 's just one more reason why I shouldn 't be here . One more thing for them to comment on about me being girl . I hated it with a passion , but Shawn actually liked me more for it . We nodded in agreement . This place belonged to the civilians , not us . We were borrowing it for a while until we were excepted into the army , navy , air force , and marines . We all knew that . " We 're waiting . " Shawn cooed almost evilly to us , he was sitting next to me . At this moment his hand was lightly on my knee . I stopped and looked at him , " We don 't talk about it ' cause before I didn 't know you guys well enough . And we wont know because you 'd kill Alex if you knew half the stuff we did . " I then turned my attention back to my drink . It was huge and I barely made a dent in it . I giggled and nodded in agreement with that . We did a lot of crazy things before this . Even before we were at this point right now . He found out about any of them , any of the more embarrassing , humiliating , messy things . One bad thing , Shawn 's just . . . . . . . . . . . protective and slightly possessive . " She skipped a grade and we got in detention a lot together . We beat up a bunch of kids that we didn 't like and ran around the forest near our town every summer . We 're best friends , what else is there you wanna know ? " He asked annoyed . I nodded , " I skipped kinder garden and went straight into first grade . I was in advanced programs because I refused to skip another grade . On the bright side , Alex and I raised all kinds of hell on the playground together . " I slammed my fist down on the snooze button of my alarm clock . I was exhausted . I pulled the covers off of my head , I blinked adjusting my eyes to the bright sunlight coming through me window . I stretched out a little then rolled out of bed . Today was the last day of classes , tomorrow we had the commencement day and the senior dance . I yawned again and grabbed clean cloths , a towel , and toiletries . I quietly made my way down the corridor and down the stairs to the bathroom . I was always the first one up . I had to if I wanted to shower in the morning . I did my morning routine and put on the official Bunker Hill cadet uniform . After this summer session we 'd be in our fourth year . Things had started looking up for me . My mom finally got the restraining order put through for me from my father , so he wasn 't aloud anywhere near me . Shawn and I were going strong . I had even better relationships with the guys then I could have asked for at the beginning . And I really think Alex has come to except Shawn as my boyfriend . I heard pounding on my door . The new seniors came in , the old ones left . The ceremony went well , no problems with the dance . Shawn and I managed to sneak away during the end of it . We made out a little and talked mostly . He was such a great guy too . First day of the summer recess , after everyone left . I was walking with Brian and Eddy . We were talking about random stuff . Nothing really holding a topic . All of us heard a loud . . . . smash . That would be the best way to describe it . I had a weird feeling about it , so did they apparently . All three of us ran to the spot where it came from . There they were . Alex and Shawn , going at it . No fists being thrown . But something happened . They were chewing each other out . " You don 't even deserve ! " Alex hissed . " Alex is my best friend . " I started slowly , " He 's like the brother I never had . Of course we 're going to be close . He knows I 'm with you , and let me tell you we have no attraction between us at all . And it 's idiotic for you to think that . No matter what , Alex and I will always be close , but I 'll always love you . " " You love him . Not , like him . " He explained slowly , " I thought you said that you 'd only ever give your heart to one man as long as you live , and that one man would be the best man . " " CONSERNED ! " He yelled , " I think that 's an understatement , Chris ! And no not later ! Now ! I wanna know what I 'm missing . " Alex has always been taller then me . All the guys have . I was about as muscular as anyone of them , the exception being Hulk . I could just never argue with Alex . I sighed , " Fair warning , I 'm about to rant on like a little girl . " " He 's protective of me , not like you , like a brother , but like a boyfriend . " I started , " He never tries to hurt me no matter what , and if he does , which he hasn 't , he makes up for it by taking me out to a Tom Cruise movie without me even dropping any hints I wanna go . He picks me flowers , and even he 's not like it when you guys are around , he 's real sweat , Alex . I know you don 't like him , but what I 'm saying is that he 's a good guy . He treats me right . " I shifted slightly . Should I tell ? Shawn 'd be even more gentile with me , and I like it when he 's a little rough . But if I don 't Alex will know . I sighed , I knew what I had to do . I motioned for Alex to come down to my level . He did and I whispered in his ear ; It was physical training right now . I was in an advanced class with this , mainly because of my strength , stamina , and endurance . I liked it . The only bad thing was I didn 't have any friends . Michel Nasker , who at the beginning of my time here said he was going to make my life a living hell . I told him , by Christmas break , he 'd be my bitch . And I made that come true . I will admit I got hit a few times in the process but , it was worth it . And with that we started to run . Five hundred yards wasn 't all that much when you think about it . On an average weekend me and Alex would run more than that around the track in the parade field . I usually enjoyed doing this , but today , I couldn 't wait for this class to be over . Today was Friday , a new movie was coming out and I managed to convince both Alex , and Shawn to join me . It ' gonna be fun . Shawn 's eyes looked like he could kill in a second . Alex didn 't show anything on his face , but his eyes were showing that he wished that Shawn would get hit by a car on the way . And I 'm not sure if it was from the hatred towards him , or the fact he didn 't want to sit through another movie with me . I figured jeans , a t - shirt that read ' Buncker Hill ' on it would be good enough . I brushed my teeth too . That was just me after dinner . " Come on you two . " I said as I practically dragged them away from the school , " I never ask much of you guys . I never say if you get to know each other you 'll like each other . But can you two please humor me and try not to fight when I 'm around ? " I told everyone we were dating after he told me he loved me . They all burst out laughing , but stopped about ten minutes after they realized I was series . It was kinda strange ' cause they encouraged us to be together . I really thought they were gonna tease us . Day after Shawn and I got together , he gave an engraved necklace . It was on a silver chain , it was in the shape of a heart , the heart was pink , it had stitches on it , the stitches and colour was mounted on a silver back , the engagement was on the back , it read , ' Christina , I will always protect you . - David Shawn ' . It was adorable . I wear it everywhere now . It helps me realize that I am loved by more than just one or two people , but I am loved . I shrugged , " That 's always been me , I guess . I always get a bunch of popcorn , soda , and candy . But once the movie stats plying I get so into it , I forget completely about it . Kinda why I need someone to come with me all the time . " Shawn still didn 't let go of my hand as we walked to my room . We lived in separate halls . Brian , Rusty , West , Hulk , Bug , J . C . , Alex , and Shawn all lived in the hall closer to the gates . I lived in the one further away . This was rare and happy moment for me . He was hardly ever soft and sensitive . He was usually rough , rowdy , loud , aggressive , and a little of a jerk . He smiled and leaned down slightly . I leaned up a little . And with that we kissed . His lips fit mine perfectly , he moved his so slowly , and softly . He was always so gentile with me , probably because he 's seen what my dad has done to me . But I kinda liked it . I never felt pain from anyone else since I was about seven or eight . When we fought last year , about me leaving for the summer , every punch he threw , every time he threw me against the wall , I felt it . I felt the pain corse through me . Almost like a drug . And I loved that feeling . I hadn 't felt it in so long , I think I became addicted . but just the way that he 'd treat me so delicately , it was so nice . He did love me . And that 's why I felt the pain when I did . That 's why he 's always so gentile with me everyday . And the fact that I could feel the pain he gave me . . . . I nodded , " I do , Shawn . I really had to think about it , but I do . Or at least , I think I do . I mean , I feel so different towards you than all the other guys . I - I really think I do , so . I love you . " I went in my room and closed the door . I slid down my door , like I did the first day I heard him say it to me . The day we had our brawl . He loves me , he loves me . And no longer did I have to a pull a flower form a ground and ask , does he love me ? , does he love me not ? Some lady just moved in next door to me . My dad told me to be nice , that lady was one of his old war friends . I didn 't get it . Only guys were supposed to be soldiers . She came over for dinner that night . She seemed nice enough . I was still wondering why she was in the army and why she moved in next door alone . A woman around her age has to be married and have kids . I didn 't ask about it though . I didn 't want my dad to back hand me again . " It 's David , John . " She began , " I found he 's abusive . My daughter mainly , but he 's not afraid to hurt me . The only reason why she 's not with me right now is because of the contract from the divorce . " " I never thought so either . " Marria continued , " But I found some bruises on Christina and asked her about them . It broke my heart to see her cry as she answered . She 's so sweet too . An awfully nice girl . Hardly five . And now she 's in that house getting thrown around by the man I called my husband . " She nodded , " I 've tried numerous times . Honestly . But he 's the one with the power and money and connections . He says to everyone that she 's mentally ill too . She isn 't . Christina is gifted . Her art work is breath - taking . " " Christina 's only a year younger than you are Alex . " Marria told me , " But her birthday is in September . So she 's not five yet . And if I may tell you , her favorite games consist of chess and make - believe war games . Where you run around shooting each other . " I couldn 't fall asleep that night . Why do I need to be nice to a girl ? Why do I need to play with one ? I was dreading the end of the week , and the summer . Father drove me to mama 's new house . When I stepped out , it was a decent sized house . Light yellow , lot 's of windows , so there was lots of light . I nice garden , a small porch . It had a homey feel that was lacking at Father 's house . She smiled warmly and wrapped me in a motherly hug . I missed her so much . But I knew why she left , and what was going on . I knew , and I wanted to be with my mama , not my father . " Do you like it ? " She asked , " I got it because it had a nice kitchen , I figured the basement we could turn into a playroom for you . Your room 's upstairs , I painted it lavender for you . I set it up too . Once your settled in come outside and see the back yard , it 's beautiful . Christina , are you hurt anywhere ? " She said all at once . " I love it mama . Thank you . And I 'm fine , he didn 't mark me up very much this time . " I told her with a reassuring smile . " I 'll make you something . Your room 's upstairs , down the hall on your right , third door on your left . " She told me and kissed my temple . My room was a lavender colour , white trim . I had a double bed with light blue checkered sheets and comforter . A small desk in front of the window , white , lacy curtains on it . There were two doors in my room . I opened the first and saw that it was a large walk in closet . I put my suite case and back pack in there and left the door open as I left and opened the other door . It was my own personal bathroom . A large soalker tub with move able shower head . Toilet , and a sink with lots of counter space and cabinets underneath . The walls were pale blue . I loved my room . I went back to the closet and started to unpack . When I was happy with the placement of everything I left and closed the door behind me . Mama had set up a bookshelf with some books and pictures . I wanted to be just like her . A brave solider with honor . I opened the curtains to see what my view was like . I think it was a bad idea . When I pulled them apart a blond haired boy was sitting at his desk , which was right in front of his window , staring out the window . And now at me . We held a staring contest for a minute or two before I was broken from the trance of his blue eyes by mama calling me . I closed the curtains and went back downstairs . Then out of no where a little girl opened the curtains of the window parallel to mine . We held a staring contest for a moment . I was captivated by her hypnotizing green eyes . She closed the curtains and I guess she left . I think that was Marria 's daughter . I wasn 't sure . But she did have the same brown hair as she did , but her eyes . They were completely different . Maybe she inherited her father 's eyes . No , it wasn 't the colour of the eyes that threw me off . It was what they showed . She was so sad , like she was abused . Like she 'd never be happy in a million years . I wondered what man could do something so bad to a little girl that makes her look like that . I happily ate my cut green apple , peanut butter and jelly sandwich , and glass of chocolate milk . My mother wasn 't the best cook in the world . In fact , she can 't really cook at all . In the army she was a field doctor . I never had a nac for medicine . But she made a good sandwich . " Honey , I have something I want to tell you . " She said , I looked at her my mouth full , " I have an old friend who lives next door . He has a son . And what we were thinking is maybe you and him could play together tomorrow . Does that sound good ? " It was the day after she came . My parents told me to be nice and well - behaved . Also to be gentle . ' Girls are fragile ' , that 's what my mom told be as the door rang . My older sister already left . I looked right at her . Our eyes locked again in a staring contest . My blue eyes staring into her sad green ones , and her green ones staring into my determined blue ones . We were brought out of this by my dad . I motioned for her to follow me and she did . I closed the door behind her . I sat on my bed and she sat on the floor next to my bed . She took out this string thing and started wrapping it around her fingers to create shapes . " A white blanket of snow covers everything . Everything is white and clean , the air is still . Looking out the window , the world looks so peaceful . And the the chill of the wind it 's refreshing . " " I appreciate your gesture to try and get to know me a little because our parents are forcing us to play together . Honestly . Not a lot of people talk to me , or even look at me . But I think it 's best we remain as we were before . " She told me . " I 'm abused at home . " She said staring me dead in the eye not flinching at all , " No one wants to associate with me once they see a couple of bruises and a busted lip . No one wants to talk to you when you 're a girl but you act like a boy . And why would I want a friend when my father got so drunk one night , that he burst into my room smacked me around so hard there are dents in my walls . And ripped to pieces the only thing I considered my friend . I can 't risk having a person as a friend when I couldn 't protect a toy . " I just sat there staring at her for a minute . She didn 't look away . She didn 't flinch . But instead she let me look deep into her eyes and see all the pain and suffering and hate she had . I couldn 't understand how so much negativity could exist in one person . Let alone one little girl . Christina looked away and continued with her cat 's - cradle . I just kept looking at the back of her head . There was no way that she could be going through this . I was up in Alex 's room for about an hour or so before we were called downstairs by Mr . Dwyer . I stood up and Alex followed . He led the way down stairs and I followed silently . I sat in a corner on the porch and continued with my game . Alex walked around a little like he was pacing . Then he sat down and stared at me again . I was aware of it the first time around . I just didn 't want to say anything . " They 're giving away free ice cream a couple blocks away ! Come on man ! If we don 't go now it 'll be all gone ! " Nick said out of breath . " Are you kidding that 's awesome ! " I exclaimed as I started to run off the porch , " That 's amazing ! We have to - I - I . I can 't . " The guys were talking about the flavors they 'd get . I wasn 't paying any attention . I think Christina was shaking . I grabbed her hand and held it as we crossed the streets . I don 't know why . But I felt like I had to . She wasn 't even five yet . A mint chocolate chip and a chocolate and vanilla swirl was pushed into my hands . Alex motioned for me to follow him . I did as best I could . " Daughter of a friend of my dad 's that moved in next door . " I told him , " She isn 't really a problem . She doesn 't really say much . A little weird . But I guess it 's to be expected . " She looked at me a second and replied , " It 's your conversation , I have no part in it unless you ask my opinion . What you 're saying doesn 't concern me , because it 's not for me to decide . You 're the ones talking amongst yourselves , you 're not talking to me . " I was playing base - ball with Max , Nick , and Johnny . My parents and Marria asked if I could take Christina to the park . I held her hand the entire way here and walked her to the place she wanted to start at . I don 't know why , but I 'm starting to look at her like she 's my little sister now . The night after we went to get ice cream , we were going to bed at the same time . I picked up a note pad and a marker and wrote on it ' sweet dreams ' , she smiled slightly but sadly . Then she wrote on another pad she had and it read , ' you 2 goodnight ' . After that I felt like I had to look out for her . I got her to play with me a little but not a lot . She was abused and was scared to get close to me after all . I couldn 't really blame her . I left her at the swing set where she wanted to be . Told her where I was going to be . Sweet little Christina , quiet , innocent , smart . Abused to the point where she can 't hurt a fly . Was beating the living shit out of the toughest guy in the neighbourhood right now . Tommy Williamson , was ten . Four years older than I am . And then a little girl , who 's six years younger than him has successfully knocked his front teeth out . All of them got up and took off running . Christina didn 't have a scratch on her . She was a little dirty , but she was fine . " I 'm fine don 't worry . " She told me smiling . Well her mouth didn 't move from neutral , but her eyes showed a lot of happiness . " He came over here telling me to get off , and tell him his name and everything . I refused and he got mad . I decided it was best for me to teach him and his friends a few manors . " Christina said unfazed . " What the hell are you ? " Johnny repeated , " Your four , your abused , and you 're a little girl ! What the hell are you that fights , that wears jeans , that never says anything , and that is too freaking polite ? " " I am Christina May Rose Ebenthein . " She told them , " I 'm one of a kind . And I apologize that you do not like me . But if you 'd prefer me to die or disappear , then I 'm afraid that you 'll have to take a number and get in line . " If they didn 't want to be near Christina then that was their problem . Not mine . I would keep her safe and be her only friend then . I 'd do anything for her now . I was sitting on the front steps waiting for Christina to be dropped off . Her father was doing it again . But on the bright side , I got to see her again . Over the summer her and I became extremely good friends . She 's really nice , and smart , and sweet , and funny , and everything . She 's like the little sister I never had . I even got her to smile , better than that I think I 'm the only one who can make her laugh . I still the hurt and sadness in her eyes though . I try to keep that away by keeping her intreaged and happy . I found it amusing that even though we were raised to be proper and lady or gentlemen - like , she was still a slut . If dad ever saw what she really wears to school or out with friends , he would kill her . His little special girl . He would kill . See , she does her own laundry . So that 's part of the reason why no one has found out yet . She wears mini skirts or short - shorts under her decent lengthen skirt , and a tight shirt or one that 's too revealing under her blouse . It made me sick to know that was my sister . Christina thought any girl who was like that was the most unholy thing that ever walked this earth next to the devil . I saw a black corvet pull up to the side of the road . Christina got out , so did her father . I only knew what he looked like because of a picture that she had before she tore it up . She waited patiently by the side as he pulled out two suitcases and a back pack . He said something to her and she nodded . He got back into the car and drove off . The second he was out of sight I was at her side . " We 're going to go fishing , and camping . My uncle owns a ranch just outside of town so we go horse back ridding and help out with animals . I remember you saying that you like them . " We got into her room , " My dad 's coming home so maybe he 'll tell us stories about where he was and how it was and everything . My mom 's also got a friend who owns a berry farm , and she said that if we help pick them then we get some for free . I know you like razzberries so I thought about you immediately . Isn 't it cool ? " " It 's okay honey . " I told her , " He 's not going to hurt you anymore . I promise . So long as your here , nothing will hurt you . " We scrambled around both yards saying what was good and bad about each tree for the fort . We decided on the large oak that was in his yard but it 's branches reached out and brought shade to my yard . It was perfect . " Honey . " Mama said , " I 'm not going to do that to you again . He 's a very nice man . He 's actually the lawyer that 's helping me get you full - time and show everyone David isn 't a good father . " Mama just told me that she had a boyfriend and she wanted to introduce me to him . I haven 't really trusted any guys , Nother than Alex , because of my father . I hate him . And I 'm always scared that it 'll be just like that again and again . We pulled up to our house and got out . She helped me with my suitcases and unpacked for me as I sat on my bed . She was telling me about him . " His name 's Michel . " She said , " He 's an amazing lawyer . He 's actually quite active . He enjoys camping , fishing , hunting , and he 's really handy around the house as well . I thought maybe he could help you and Alex build that tree house this summer . " " I 've told him a lot about you , Christina . " She told me , " He really wants to meet you . And after I told him you were coming for the summer he 's even more dedicated to winning you full time . He knows your abused . And if he could I know he 'd kill your father . " I just stared at her . Why would she tell him about me ? Why does he care so much about me even though we 've never spoken a word ? Mama came over and sat next to me . She put her arm around me and said , " Michel is like your father , Christina . He can 't have children , and if can it 'll be hard . He came from an abusive house too . And he doesn 't want someone so sweet like yourself to go through wheat he did . Michel , he wants to be you father honey . He wants you to be his little girl . " I had given up long ago about arguing with her that Christina wasn 't my girlfriend . She was a girl and she was my friend . I guess she is then . The check out line and the drive home seemed to take forever . Finally we were home . I jumped out of the car and was about to rush up to Christina 's room knowing she 'd be there when I was stopped . I grumbled as I picked out a few bags from the trunk , brought them inside , sorted out my cloths from the few that Tracey picked out , brought them upstairs to my room , folded and neatly put them away . When I closed my drawer for the last time I took off running down stairs . I yelled to my mom : She wasn 't there . So went up to the back door and opened it stepping in . We had this open door thing . We could walk in and yell ' hi ' or whatever and it would be fine . But this was only in effect when Christina was here . We sorta helped turn it into a play room . It was really cool in the summer , and warm in the winter . We had a lot of sleep overs in here . " Yeah I did . " I told her , " She wanted me to , too see if you 'd like him . I really think you would given the chance . " " He 's nothing like your father Christina . " I told her , " He 's really nice . He 's smart , he has a lot of ways to have fun , and he can cook . " " Yeah I know . I did the same thing , but it 's true . " I told her , " He 's a great guy . He 's fighting to have you here all the time . " I faintly heard a car pull up and the slam of the door . Footsteps leading up to the front door . I had sensitive hearing , it was good when I had a father like mine . I could hear exactly where he is at all times . It was like my own adaptation . The door bell rang , mama went to answer it . I held Alex 's hand under the table . I was starting to get the same feeling I get when my father is about to beat me again . " Hello Alex . " A man about fourty - ish said coming in . He had a weathered face and hands . He was dressed in kahki shorts and a hawiian shirt . Everything about him said kind , strong , and reliable . And then there was this air about him I felt when he came in the room , I couldn 't put my finger on what . But I liked it . I never felt it at my father 's house . " She also told about your lack of trust in everyone . " He told me , " I understand you being uncomfortable with me . And I know your mother has tried to express my good qualities , and tell you how I will never harm you like your father . " I was trying not to cry as my father flew down the road to drop me off . He was verbaly abusing me right now . He was finished with smacking me around , throwing me against things , punching and kicking me . He roughly pulled up to the side of the house . He opened my door and threw me out . He had already gotten my bags for me , he was beyond pissed . I tried to stand up with little luck . Alex , was at a school camp for a couple more days . I was in too much pain to care right now . He carried me in and sat me on the couch . Making sure I was alright until mama got home . When she did , she first off had a freak out attack running around wondering what to do . Then she finally calmed down enough to look me over . She bathed me , put medicen on the cuts and bruises that I had . She had me take some orally in case I had some internal bleeding or something . Put me to bed , and said that in the morning she 'd take me to the doctor . When I woke up the next morning I felt awful . It hurt to move . I began to cry again . It hurt too much . I couldn 't stop crying . I looked through the white lacey curtains that hung over my window . Alex still wasn 't here yet . Tomorrow afternoon some time he would be . I just hope that I 'd be okay by then . I was on the bus ride home from camp . I didn 't know why Christina didn 't want to go . She got to skip a grade so she 's with me . But I couldn 't force her . I knew she was home for a couple days before I came home . But I wanted to surprise her . I made her an anklet while I was there . " Marria and Michel brought her to the hospital and it turns out she has so much internal bleeding . " She was trying to to cry . As this explanation progressed my heart kept falling . Christina was my best friend . She never judged , she was always polite , she was smart , so sweet . How her father could do something like that . " They had to give her a couple operations to stop the bleeding . " Mom continued , " Right now she 's in recovery . But we don 't know . " " We don 't know son . " My dad told me , " The thing is Christina 's a lot smaller then a seven year old girl should be . Acording to the doctors there was so much blood that poured into her body . The medicen that her mom gave her helped slow it down a little . But as of right now she 's recovering . The doctor 's say it doesn 't look too good . " " That 's not possible . " I croaked , my voice way cracking as I remembered that bubbly , happy , sweet , and energetice seven year old I called my best friend . She was strong . She always said it hurt , but when ever she cried it was never for long . She was so strong . " Did I raise a man or did I raise a wimp ? " My dad asked , " Wipe those tears away son . She would want you to cry for her . " He was right . But I couldn 't help it . I wiped them away regardless . The doctors said that 's what it looks like . They don 't know her . She 's going to make it . She was hooked up to everything . A heart monitor , and iv , a breathing thing , everything . I think I just glided across the floor over to her bed side . I don 't remember moving from my spot from in between my parents . But the next thing I knew I was her side holding her hand . " Your gonna be okay , Christa . " I told her , " You have to be . We got plans . We 're going to go to school when we 're twelve to become soldiers like our parents . We - we 're going to become lutenints , captains , majors , or colonels even . We 're gonna grow up and get married . Have kids , name each other the God parents . You still got life , Christa . You can 't die , and you wont . You - you gotta prove to you father that no matter what he does to you he can 't hurt you . This isn 't gonna keep you down long , Chris . It can 't . I can 't live without you , Chris . Your my best friend . What am I supposed to do ? " " I can feel every part of my body . I can feel your hand in mine . " I explained , " But I can 't feel the pain that I was in when my father dropped me off . " It would be a mirricla if I ever felt anything again . I was perfectly healthy though . The only thing that would be noticable would be the extreamly faint lines that covered my body . He said that that was my nervuse system . It aparently , after years of so much pain , imploded then expanded . And somehow , although faint , they became pressed right up against my skin . He said I 'd have it forever . I had to stay here a week or so but then I 'd be fine . I was a little sad . I 'd have to be quarenteaned for about a week . Then I 'd have to take it easy . We were in our tree fort talking . We were going to be attending Bunker Hill Acadamey at the end of the summer . We were on our way to becoming soldiers . Daddy somehow managed to make my father pull a few strings so I could attend as well . It just meant that My tuition was about twice as high . Bunker Hill was ahead of us now . We have no idea what was to come from it . It might make our friendship stronger , it might test our bounderies , it might even make us fight . But we promised . We 'd always be best friends . I was finally back at bunker hill . Man did I love this place . I unloaded my stuff and said good bye to my mama and daddy . I loved them to no end , but I was really glad to be back . The only reason why I left was because I had too . I laughed lightly and began , " Well , when I first got home my ma had a talk with me about woman things I should be aware of and stuff . " They nodded politely even though non of them were interested in it , " Then my daddy took me out fishing that weekend . I caught a lot more fish then he did one was this big . " I extended my arms a little wider than my shoulders , they seemed sorta impressed , " We also went camping . It was me , my daddy , and a few of his old friends . One of them was a war veteran . I learned a lot about his experience in battle . It was really cool . " all of them looked really interested in that , " I went swimming a lot . And I went to the zoo . My daddy was doing a case for the owner so I spent the day looking at the animals as he took care of legal work . " " Hold on . " Brian interrupted , " I hear you say a lot about you ' daddy ' . But I thought you hated him , and what exactly does he do ? " " Oh . " It just dawned on me that I never told them , " Well see . I do hate my biological father . But I love my step - daddy . You 'll always know the difference with me because I 'll always call my step - dad daddy , and my biological father , father . You 'll also notice venom in my tone when I talk about my father . " They nodded , " As for occupation . My daddy is a lawyer . My father runs a company that makes him travel and get a bunch of different kinds of alcohol . I hate the guy . " " It was really fun actually . I got to hold a bunny and feed a tiger and help collect chicken eggs . " All of them ooh 'd , " I volunteered at the retirement home for a while with mama . I also got some target practice in . " " You actually went horse back riding ? " He exclaimed like he couldn 't believe it . He probably couldn 't . He tried to get me on a horse first year . It didn 't go so well . I was nervous to begin with . And he didn 't know that the horse was harder to handle . It kicked me off and I wound up in the hospital for about a week with a couple broken ribs . " Well , " I admitted , " It was a sweet pony , and I technically just sat on it and braided it 's main . But it still counts . Right ? " I giggled again . I knew he would . That was my whole point of doing it . I figured leave him words like that and think if ' absence makes the heart grow fonder ' is real . " I need to talk to him , and I 'll let you know if he is my boyfriend after . " I told him getting up unfazed by anything . I was always like that . They stared at me like I was crazy . I shrugged it off and started out . I caught Alex 's eye . His face read , ' if he does anything I want to know ' , and ' if he does anything I 'm going to kill him ' , and we can 't forget ' I can 't believe you like that guy . You can do so much better ' . Of course I just shrugged this off and went to look for him . I found Shawn on the basketball court making failed attempts at shots . The ball bounced my way . I picked it up and made a swish shot . Shawn turned around and saw me smiling at him . I looked at him like he was crazy , " I only left for one summer Shawn . Besides , I promised you I 'd be back . Didn 't I ? " He smiled at me too , then he leaned in and our lips barely touched each other . He did this a couple of times before he fully put his soft , yet slightly chapped lips on mine . It was perfect . I swear if I wasn 't already , that kiss made me numb . " No you don 't Shawn . " I told him , " What your feeling is an attraction and interest in me . There for having your brain stimulated to the illusion of love . You don 't love me , Shawn . Even if you do it 's not real . But , I have a strong attraction towards you . " " Why do you have to make things complicated . And more importantly , why do you say I don 't love you when I do ? " Shawn asked seeming to get mad . " All around me , Shawn . Ever since I was little , there was never any love . Only abuse . I figured that , that was what it was always like . There is no love , and even if there is then I have right to it . I don 't deserve it . All I am is a crazy girl with the loss of pain . What use am I to anyone ? What love does anyone hold for me ? Shawn , all your feeling is interest and attraction . Nothing more . " " I don 't care how you want to put it , Christina . " He said when we pulled away , " I don 't care if you can 't say it back to me . I love you , and because I love you I 'm going to show you love and make you see this isn 't just attraction and interest . I love you , Christina and I will always protect you from everything . So , I was wondering , would you want to be my girl friend ? " I looked at him for a second , then replied , " Only to see if you can really love me and show me what it is . But , yes , Shawn . I 'd love to be your girlfriend . " Posted on January 9 , 2013 by pir8chickk It 's been a year since I realized I loved Christina . I was in my second here at the academy . It was about the summer time . I was staying for the summer training session . I knew Dwyer , Brian , West , and all the others were . I was still wondering about Christina . I asked her and she said she wasn 't sure yet . The only time she wasn 't here for anything was during Christmas break last year . She 's always been here . Then again , I 've only known her for about two years . After she was healed and everything from her father we got to sit down with her and ask her about it . She said that was the reason why she couldn 't have too many friends . She didn 't want her father to hurt them . She 's actually really sweet , get to know her . She 's just still got this mysteriuse air to her . I think now all the guys in our year are crushing on her . And not just because she beat Martin Lax in chess ten times . And Lax is the best chess player Bunker Hills has seen . Course she did get a hit when he didn 't win one of them . Christina didn 't even look fazed when he did that . I asked and she said it didn 't hurt . He father smacked her harder then that . It was one of those days I didn 't have anything better to do , so I figured I hang out with Christina . She always had something to do . I knocked on her door before Brian opened it . He closed the door behind me . I understood why he and all the rest of our friends were there . Christina was packing her things . We had the graduates dance tonight . and then tomorrow we would leave for summer recess if we wanted to . " I need to get away for a little while . " She told me , " It 's just getting a little too hard to deal with all the time . I figure one summer at home couldn 't hurt . Right ? " " Your just using and excuse to leave and go in another direction . " I told her fuming , " We get all excited for you coming back , and you never do . What then , Christina ? What then ? " " Shawn , I love it here . Why would you think I 'm not coming back . It 's like a second home to me . " She said calmly . I heard Christina sigh , " Shawn , I 'm coming back . I promise you that . And I never go back on my promises . I 'll be back at the end of the summer . I just want to go home for a while . " " I was going to try and introduce you guys to them . I know they 'd love you , and I 'm pretty sure your going to love them . " She said . " And your nothing more than a slutty bitch ! " I didn 't know why I just said that , but I was glad with what she did next . I more than deserved it . She lunged forward and tackled me to the floor sending both of us flying into the hall . It was opened by an older cadet . We were rolling around throwing punches and bashing each other into the wall . For someone who was so small she was strong . She threw me into a wall with her bare hands and started pounding me like there was no tomorrow . I finally got the high ground and had he pined under me . " Why the hell do you want to leave anyway ? I thought you said this was your home ? " I had to yell because a bunch of guys had gathered around to see what was going on . Everything stopped . The cheering went silent . My heart was still . Everyone was staring at me with wide eyes . I didn 't really pay attention to any of the spectators or anything . My focus was Christina . Her green eyes were wide . Shock was clearly evident on her face . Her grip was loosening on my shirt collar from where she held . She opened her mouth a couple of times to say something , but nothing came out . It was just like she was looking for the right words to say . Come on . I thought . If your going to reject me and my feelings , or laugh in my face , or nicely turn me down then do it now . Now while it wont hurt as much . A couple seconds after I had this thought , her hands loosened completely from my shirt . She had a small sweet smile on her face . Her eyes were happy . And even though her hair was a mess , and she had a couple of bruises and a little blood on her face , she was beautiful . I stood there a good few minutes trying to figure out what had just happened . I wasn 't alone in that either . Why ? You maybe asking , because when I finally came to grips with what just happened , me and every other guy who was still there trying to figure it out ( which was everyone ) what Christina had just said and meant , there were about forty or so people who joined me in a " What ? " At the same time . I was glad I wasn 't the only one who was lost . Girls were impossible to figure out . And Christina was the most impossible to figure out out of them all . I stared at her from across the class room . She was the only girl in the entire school . Her rich daddy pulled a few strings so she could come here and become a solder . I was curious about her . But she was always hanging out with that Dwyer . I couldn 't stand him and he felt the same way . Worst part was we were roomies along with Brian Moreland and Edward West . What I wouldn 't give to know a little more about that girl other then her name . It was beautiful too . Christina Waywater . She had beautiful dark brown hair , green eyes , she was sorta small too , but from what I heard she 's brilliant . I think she pushes herself more than anyone else in this school . I know the teachers cut her a couple of points because they don 't her . Class and school was finally over . I headed straight to the library on campus because we had a test coming up and I didn 't want to flunk . My dad would not be happy in the least . " Because I know you , Chrisa . I know the kind of people that you 'll feel comfortable enough with to play dungeons and dragons with . They 're all good guys . Well , except for Shawn , but he doesn 't have to play . All the guys really wanted to have this game with you . " He said . " Lire . " She told him , " All the guys hate me . They want nothing more than for me to leave and go to some girly boarding school and learn how to be a lady . Alex , they chew me out and push me around . I don 't want to play . " " Come on , Christina . " He was begging , " I 'm trying to give you a chance to change that fact and get a couple more friends . I talked my room mates and their other friends into letting you come over to our room to play . Now can you please do your best friend a favor and say yes ? " " Nothing directly . " He told me as we headed to out room , " She 's just so cold , never talks to anyone , and one time me and a couple other of us asked her to play basket ball with them . She didn 't even reply . She stood up , shook her head , and walked away with out saying anything . " He nodded . We turned into our room . The guys were setting things up . The game , some snacks , and a few chairs . " Hey . " They called continuing with what they were doing . When we were fully set up there was a quiet knock at the door . Alex practicly jumped up and ran over to answer it . Dork , I thought . He was sitting furthest away from the door . He moved aside and let , Christina in . She didn 't have on her over coat , non of us did . Her hair was in a pony - tail instead of the usual bun . " I brought chips . " She almost whispered . We started the game and it turns out , Christina was winning . She was really good at it . by the end of it she won , non of were happy about that . But we all got along pretty well through it . I learned a bit about her too , she didn 't really tell very much about herself . Her voice came out calm and strong , " I took a big risk with , Alex . " She began , " If I get to close to some one , especially more than one , I don 't want to be responsible for when they get hurt and it 's my fault . I don 't want that to happen . " We kept staring at her like she was insane . Then again , she did have to go to counselor regularly . According to the higher up cadets , she 's mentally ill . She just never shows it . " Thank you for inviting me over for the game . " She said sounding almost sweet , " I had fun . Maybe we could get together and do it again sometime . Now if you wouldn 't mind excusing me . " She left quietly . As she shut the door something dawned on me . I 've only really talked to this girl a handful of times , most of it was to ask her to pass the salt or something . One game of D and D , a few snacks , and a little small talk during the game : I 'm in love with her . It was a few days after the D and D game . Saturday to be exact . We were a loud off campus every weekend so long as we represented our school with respect . Alex was going to hang out with Christina , he said we could join if we wanted . Christina wouldn 't mind . Naturally I wanted to go . But not if it were just me , Alex , and Christina . For a few reasons . 1 : It would show that even though I hate Alex , I want to get close to his friend . 2 : It shows I have nothing better to do . Thankfully Brian and West wanted to spend a little more time with Christina too . But , on the morning of the day we were going to go out a really big and expensive car pulled into the school . We were all curious so we went to see . The man that came out was fat and well dressed . He had a woman with him who was dressed completely in appropriately . She was showing off everything . And I think she was only about half his age . He went to General Bache 's office . When he came back , the General was with them leading them to one of the cadet 's rooms . I figured it was one of the other 's parents . He stopped at Christina 's door and knocked . He was a gentle man after all , he respected a woman 's privacy . She opened the door and let them in . I didn 't know what was going on so I just waited . The general , the man , and the slut all came out of the room and down the stairs . All of us went back to our rooms as an order form the general . Something slipped under our door as we were playing cards and a soft knock . Alex got to it . I 'm sorry , but I can 't come today . My ' father ' is here to take me out for and ' daddy - daughter day ' , as he calls them . I 'm really sorry . I was looking forward to spending time with you guys as a group again . It was so much fun the first time . I should have trusted you earlier about them . But I don 't think your right about Shawn . I 'll try and make it up to you some other time I promise . I really am so sorry . Please tell the others I can 't come today . " Okay . " I said to the room as they were staring at Alex , " She 's with her dad , so what ? We 'll hang out tomorrow or something . " " Her dad hates her ! That wasn 't ever her mom with him ! Do you have any idea what 's going to happen now that she 's out there with him ! ? " He hissed . " Christina is my best friend . We 've known each other since we were six . She trusts me with everything , she even said . I return the favor with her as well . I know this for a fact . Christina is going to go out with her father , and he 's going to smack her around like a rag doll . When he drops her back off , she 'll have bruises , cracked ribs , and possibly a limp and a black eye . She 's her daughter , yet he 's practically killing her . Why do you even care ? " " Well excuse me for thinking she 's worth while to have as a friend . And is there anything we can do about it ? " I asked mad at him . " Nothing we can ever do ! " He yelled starting to pace around the room , " Her father 's loaded and has a lot of power . We could say what ever we want about him , he 'll deny it and we 'll look like we 've lost it ! Christina isn 't mentally ill ya ' know . Her father says she is so when she says what he did to her , he can claim the truth is that she didn 't take her medication and fell . The only thing that shows any sign of being disturbed with her is her drawings . But there actually really cool . Her father can do whatever he want 's with her and no one can do anything about it . Her mom 's still fighting to keep her full time . I only new her because when her parents got the divorce her mom moved into the house next mine . Every summer she 'd be there and every Christmas break because her father wouldn 't want her to come vacationing with them . Bastard makes me sick . " We all went out figuring that it would be the best way to kill time . Dwyer picked up some fresh razz berries . I don 't know why . I was still worried about Christina . We came back about twenty minutes before curfew . Being early is on time , being on time is late , and being late is never acceptable . It was an hour past curfew when the same car from earlier came back up . Dwyer rushed out of the room . Christina stumbled out and headed towards the door . When the rest of us got to the foray . Dwyer was helping her up the stairs . Her head was down , her hair cascaded down hiding her face . She was limping . And I was pretty sure I was a couple bruises . She faced him . He moved the hair from her face gently . He was right again , the right side of her face was pretty much purple . From her temple to below her cheek bone anyway . " I swear to God I 'm going to kill him one of these days . " Dwyer hissed and started checking other places . " It 's okay , Alex . Really . " She told him when he was trying to clean a small cut on her fore arm , " It 's not that bad . " " I 'll be fine . Why don 't you go get some sleep ? " She told him , even though it was painfully obvious that she was about to crash . " Hey , honey . " Dwyer said softly to the hurt girl , " Guess what I got for you today . Razz berries honey . I thought they 'd make you feel better . " She nodded . We left . All the night I couldn 't help but think about what was going on with that girl . Was she really only portrayed as crazy by an abusive father ? Was she just scared about close to anyone with fear of her dad hurting them ? Why did he pull all those strings just so she could come here then ? And what did she mean when she said , ' I think your wrong about Shawn ' ? I didn 't get to answer any of these , I fell asleep . I nodded not believing her . I wanted to ask her a lot more , but I couldn 't find the words . Instead I just watched her limp out of the bathroom , up the stairs , and down the corridor until I couldn 't see her anymore .

VLOG for 8 - 28 - 15 Re : Manikin , Fabric and Hancock 's Since some of you ask me a lot for videos , I did another VLOG for today . My mouth just starts up , and I never know what is going to come out . Today , I talk about clothes that are too big - - how I messed up my duck tape manikin - - and the lovely Hancock 's store here in Edmond , OK . I returned to that Hancock 's a few hours ago to buy more of that skirt fabric and something to match it for a top . Rudy was there putting on her " I couldn 't care less about the customers " act , and not only that , she was chewing gum . In my opinion , that is rude . There was one lady cutting fabric behind the FOUR cutting tables . Two other clerks - - one being Rudy , were playing like they did not notice all the extra customers waiting to have fabric cut . I looked across the room at Rudy , and I made eye contact with her letting her know we ladies needed help . She turned and walked off . I looked at the other lady too . The other lady was actually putting fabric back where it went , but Rudy was doing NOTHING but hiding and chewing her bubble gum . Finally , the one lady who was cutting fabric called for help from the other girls . Rudy had hidden herself sufficiently that the other lady had to quit what she was doing and come over to cut . The first clerk lady who had a lovely hairdo of half her head shaved , and the other half having long hair , looked up to direct the several ladies who HAD BEEN standing there . They were all gone but me . No wonder ! The clerk that came to help me was quite nice , although it was obvious she was very new . The scissors she was using could barely cut butter , and she struggled cutting my fabric . She said , " One of these days I 'm going to have to invest in some scissors that cut . " I asked if she had to buy them herself . She said she would if she wanted good ones . After I got my three pieces of fabric cut , I went to the cash register . UNLUCKY for me - - for sure ! - - Rudy arrived to check me out . She asked me for my phone number . I said " 4 0 5 " , but she ignored me . She looked away and around and did NOTHING with my phone number , so I didn 't even say the rest of it . She then started messing with my fabric . She started scanning my fabric , and I put my cell phone on the counter where she could see it , and I showed her the Hancock 's coupons . There were three of them . She said , " We can 't use those . " I asked her IF I couldn 't use them , WHY did Hancock 's send them to me ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? " She ignored me . I asked her again about the coupons because I wanted to use them . She said , " I can 't scan those . " ( I go to Hancock 's OFTEN when I 'm here , and they have always scanned them in the past , but I gave her the benefit of the doubt . ) She continued looking anywhere but at me as she kept blowing bubbles with her bubble gum . She was fiddling with flyers and brochures . I GUESS she was looking for coupons to scan . I asked her AGAIN if she needed my phone number . NO ANSWER . Finally , I had my fill of this rude clerk . I told her , " You are the RUDEST clerk who has EVER waited on me . You don 't answer me when I ask you a question , and you are blowing bubbles with your gum ! I would like to know your name . " ( She should have been wearing it , but wasn 't . ) She said , " I 'm not blowing the bubbles AT YOU ! " I asked her again for her name as I was writing down times and dates and location on a piece of paper . She just ignored me and stared across the room . I told her I would have to snap her picture then . She said that was NOT allowed . She came up with a total that was WRONG because she had not applied any coupons . After much arguing over that , she finally figured out how to use the coupons and came up with a total . She then motioned for me to slide my credit card . I then met Gaynelle who also had no identification on , but turned out to be the store manager . She was very embarrassed at Candice 's ( I now knew her name ) behavior , and she apologized profusely . I explained that I had shopped at this store for 20 years , and I really loved it at one time . I told her the names of the previous managers that I had a great relationship with . I also explained that I was very sad to see the store in such ill repair , such as the lighting . She then told me that the light bulb guy had just been there the day before to count the burned out lights . ( Remember I had said something about that two days ago . I bet she heard me . ) She said that when he called headquarters to tell them how many lights he needed , THEY DID NOT BELIEVE HIM ! Over HALF of the lights in the store were burned out ! They sent some other guy to come out and verify it . I told Gaynelle I really appreciated her taking charge like that . She apologized for not having her I . D . on and told me they were all supposed to wear it . She , of course , was glad I was complimenting her after being so unhappy with Rudy . She wasn 't happy with Rudy either , believe me . She promised me she would talk to her . I doubt that will do any good with a personality like that , but I 'm glad she offered to try to fix the problem . Some of you probably think I am a wicked witch for confronting Rudy like that , but tell me this : WHAT good did it do for the other ladies to just drop their goods and walk out of the store ? I own a business , as you know , and I am a stickler for excellent customer service . If a customer is treated rudely in my store , I - - the owner - - want to know about it . Had my last doctor appointment today , and it was LESS FUN than yesterday . Found out I have to have the vein procedure done for the THIRD TIME ! My legs look fine , but something is going on inside , I guess . So here is the little video I made this morning before I went to see Dr . Padulla , who wasn 't even going to see me after I got there . I asked the girl how many visits you had to have before you finally met the doctor . This was my second visit . She looked at me like I was going to be " a case " , and she left the room . When she came back , she said that the doctor would be able to see me AFTER ALL . My first impression was that the building the doctor was in was REALLY OLD and not attractive . When I walked inside the front door , I was shocked at the disrepair of the place . I tried to walk into what I thought was the door , and it had a big sign taped on it to go to a different door . It didn 't say WHICH door , however . A lady noticed my confusion , and she pointed to the door I was supposed to go in . The waiting room was not very nice . Old chairs and a small TV and just not what I expected for a Plastic Surgeon 's offices . The girls behind the window were all very pretty and nicely dressed . There were boxes on the floor around their desks with things in disarray . I thought it was very strange , and I thought about just sneaking back out and leaving , but I didn 't . In a few minutes , Vanessa appeared at the window and asked me to come back . I walked into her exam room and noticed it wasn 't in the greatest shape either . The front of one of the drawers was hanging by a thread . One of the cupboard doors would not close all the way . The exam room did have a very clean bed with white linens on it , and I was ready to jump on it and get started . She said , " Oh , you need to sit over there . " So I sat " over there " , and she asked me to tell her about myself . Was she KIDDING ! ? That could take hours . I asked what she wanted to know . She said she wanted to know what I wanted done and what I had already had done . Well , I had just filled out FOUR PAGES with all that information on it . I suppose it was to feed the shredder breakfast . Nobody actually READ it ? While I was filling out the papers in the waiting room , there was a looooooooong program playing on the TV about some kind of new thing they do to your face . I THINK it was called Ultherapy , but I could be wrong . A lot of movie stars have it done according to the blurb on the TV . So , I asked Vanessa about the procedure they were playing on the TV . She explained that it was something another person did - - the P . A . to the surgeon maybe - - and it was expensive . I asked HOW expensive . She said it started at $ 1 , 600 for the lower part of your cheeks . If you do under your chin , it is another $ 1 , 000 and if you did below that down onto your chest it was another $ 1 , 400 . I asked her if it was painful and if they put you to sleep . NO , they don 't put you to sleep . They give you a Valium . She said the procedure felt like someone was snapping you with stretched rubber bands deep in your skin . Well , THAT certainly sounds pleasant ! ! ! I asked her HOW LONG one must endure this treatment . She said three hours . I thought maybe I might look good with a lot of wrinkles all over my face after all ! When I left , I asked where the ladie 's room was . I went into the ladies ' room , and as I always do , I reached for the tp roll to cover the toilet seat with tissue . As I started to unroll the tissue , the whole thing came FLYING off of the holder and landed across the room ! The round thing fell behind the toilet . I thought to myself , " Good Heavens ! This Plastic Surgeon must not make much money , or he spends it everywhere but here . " I was praying the toilet wouldn 't explode when I flushed it ! Vanessa was putting some samples and some flyers into a small bag for me just before I left . I noticed more messes around where she was , and I mentioned that the building wasn 't very nice . She said , " Oh , we KNOW ! It is HORRIBLE ! " I was kind of low when I left there thinking I would just live with the usual aging issues and quit trying to fix them . I called my husband and told him . He was thrilled , of course , because he doesn 't want me to have anything done . I told him that I had just saved him so much money , that I had to go buy something . He laughed . Other than that , I have made a new blouse , and I 'm going to cut out a couple more . I need some tops that FIT ME since I 've lost weight . Everything I put on just HANGS on me or poofs open at the top . Be back soon . Hope all of you are having a wonderful week . I am missing my hubby , and he is missing me . How WONDERFUL to still be in love after 40 years of marriage . I hear of horrible marriages so often , and I am so very thankful for mine . Today , he talked about horse # 2 : The RED horse . NUCLEAR war ! This is all from The Revelation in the Bible , of course , and it is an exact description of everything going on in the world today . Our preacher in Durant , OK , Duane Sheriff , says that the schools teach our kids : " YOU CAME FROM GOO - - WENT TO THE ZOO - - and BECAME YOU . Thank God that my generation was taught about the Bible and actual American History . Otherwise , there wouldn 't be anyone left to tell the kids the TRUTH . I think it is wonderful that Mike Huckabee is writing history books with actual facts in them for children to read . I don 't know how anyone with any sense at all can truly believe that stuff . There is only one way to be a great nation and to STAY a great nation , and that is when Almighty God is the leader of it . And WHY does anyone OBJECT to that ? And if a person REALLY doesn 't believe there is a God , WHY do they hate Him so much ? ? ? Pray with me dear ones that a miracle happens in our government , and there will be enough votes to veto - proof a rejection of that Iran joke of an agreement . The Bible calls it " a contract with death " . Otherwise , all that we love and cherish will be gone . What is happening in Syria will be happening here . Even if we escape due to our age , we have children and grandchildren that will have to live through the horror . Pastor Hagee and a lot of other preachers believe the church will be raptured before the worst happens . We better make sure we are ready , and we don 't get left behind . My Mother , who is 87 years old , has told everyone she speaks to that she is going in the rapture . She has driven me nearly nuts pushing me away every time I try to make plans for her care . She insists the rapture is happening in September , and she doesn 't need help from anyone - - ever . I sure do hope she is right ! I have told you before that we have wonderfully SPEEDY upload speed at our house here in Edmond , unlike the snail 's pace speed we have at our Kingston home . Therefore , I could talk to you all day on my video camera , and it would upload in less than 30 minutes . Today 's video uploaded in 12 minutes ! The weather was divine today ! I can 't believe I cancelled an appointment because some weather guy said it was 90 % chance of rain all day . I HATE to drive in the rain . Here is the owl quilt . There is one owl that is really strange looking . Third one down on the far left side . I 'll have to look him up in the book . Notice the leaves falling here and there . They are REALLY nice and make the quilt for me . This one will probably get hung up at my store . ALSO , there are only 20 birds - - not 25 . The ladies told me I needed backgrounds for 25 birds . Oh , well . You can 't have too much fabric ! You would think from the small front entrance that all this stuff could NEVER fit inside . It takes a really talented person to fit all of it in there and make it so attractive . The store doesn 't seem crowded or cluttered at all . You KNOW how I get all excited and impressed any time I 'm around CLEAN and ORGANIZED at the same time ! I could have easily stayed all day long if it hadn 't been for the perfume lady . I may have to go back while I 'm here . Maybe I could drag my sister there and tell them she has a birthday in August too ! ! ! I have a feeling she would have to be a current customer . You can see on the left part of a black leather couch . There were SO MANY BOOKS , but I did not DARE look at them . I did enough damage just one step inside the front door ! See the baby crib ? It has cute baby quilts in it . I snapped a pic of this quilt for Terry because she likes big block quilts . She didn 't seem to be the least bit interested however . I love that it is red , black and white . I already have a box full of black and white fabrics , so I moved away from this . The pattern was called Disappearing Nine Patch if anyone is interested . And , yes , that is the LOVELIEST picture of me that Youtube chose to put on the video . It probably doesn 't help that I am wearing my Mother - in - Law 's blouse that isn 't really my color , BUT it is a Size 10 , and it fits me ! So many of my tops are too big these days . Be back soon with a new quilt to show you . I 'm kind of stuck at the moment as to what fabric to choose for the borders . This one is real different . The day finally came for Jerry to have the colonoscopy that his cancer doctor told him he needed to have . His doctor told me to have one too because we are both over 50 and have never had one . I decided right away I wasn 't having one . I don 't like most doctors , and they don 't like me . I 've been FIRED by them because I refused to take hormone replacement therapy - - or the anxiety drugs - - or have a hysterectomy ( which I had later ) . The vein doctor was mean and he hurt me a lot . I had another lady - type surgical procedure when I was in my early 20 's . I was home having breakfast the next morning when something tore or broke or whatever , and I started hemorrhaging all over the kitchen floor . Because I was eating my breakfast when that happened , the surgeon at ER would not sedate me as he cauterized the torn area . It was terribly painful . I went to pick Jerry up at Mercy Hospital ( which I LOVE ) , and I was led back to the recovery area where Jerry was still sawing logs . I talked with the nurse for a long time . She was SO complimentary of me . She liked my blouse . She liked my smile . She EVEN said I had gorgeous veins . That one was a REAL SURPRISE to me because I have always hated the way my veins show so much in my hands . He was NOT AT ALL what you would expect a doctor to look like . He looked like one of those bearded guys in the Mountain Men shows . Gray scraggly beard . He was probably as old as we are , or older . He walked right up to me and put his hand out to me . He shook my hand very sweetly . He pulled out a picture from an envelope and showed it to me . It was Jerry 's " pictures " . He said Jerry was in fabulous shape for his age , and he didn 't need to come back for ten years . I told him I wasn 't surprised at all . I told him Jerry had never had any problems in that area , however , I was a different story . He told me that I needed to come in and have it done because of my age . I told him what I just told you about my bad luck with doctors and procedures . He took my hand in both of his hands , and he looked me straight in the eyes . He said , " I will treat you the exact same way I would treat my wife or my daughter . You don 't have to worry about anything . I promise I will take excellent care of you , and you will have good memories and sweet dreams afterward . " Jerry was VERY HUNGRY after two days of only liquid and the nasty stuff you have to drink for two days . I don 't know if I could get past that part . We went to Longhorn 's and had a great steak dinner with all the trimmings . Jerry feels just fine . He is supposed to be RESTING . The only way that will happen is if I get some more of whatever they knocked him out with at the hospital . PRAISE GOD for the excellent results of the exam . I need to go do something , although I really can 't think of what . I just feel guilty sitting in this recliner with my laptop when Jerry is working after just having that procedure done . I have finally arrived at my other house . My husband never can figure out WHY I think I need to come up here before he does , or why I come at all . I asked him if he thought magical fairies came in the house while I was gone for six weeks and cleaned it . Men ! It isn 't near as much fun to come here anymore since I lost my play day friend . I was in my sewing room starting my next quilt when I got a few text messages from Terry who is still in Colorado . Then I suddenly got a great idea ! I asked her if she wanted to come . She said she would love to , BUT . . . . . Of course , the " BUT " part has to do with her husband . He is retired and other than all their church activities , he doesn 't have much to do , so Terry is his hobby . I hope he will let her come though . We would have a ball ! She is used to sewing in a laundry room , so my small sewing room here would suit her just fine . I met Margaret tonight - - finally - - for our birthday " lunch " which turned out to be dinner . We both had steaks and caught each other up on the weeks we have been apart . Margaret says she feels like she is getting more clumsy by the day . She spilled some nail polish on her carpet today , but her cleaning lady was able to get it all up . She said she feels like she could fall when she is walking on steep surfaces . I was fixing dinner in my Kingston kitchen . I like to be in my bare feet a lot until my feet get cold . I have socks in my sewing cabinet upstairs so I can put them on when my toes turn to ice cubes . I had put my black and white short socks on before I went down to fix supper . We have one of those stainless steel trash cans that is about mid - thigh high and has a pop - up lid on it . There is a little pedal that you step on to make the top pop open so you can put trash in it . I walked over to it and stepped on the pedal with my left foot . The top popped open and I dropped in whatever was in my hand . The lid closed and I started to walk away . As I took a step and then another , the TRASH CAN CAME WITH ME ! It was STUCK to the sock on my left foot ! I almost fell over backward into the kitchen sink . I could imagine the evening news with a report of the Kingston woman who was killed by her trash can ! My Etsy store is very strange . Fortunately , one of you figured out how to find it and bought my cat quilt . Thank you ! I will mail it tomorrow . Etsy is so new to me , I don 't understand the lingo . It says I haven 't been paid yet ; but in another place , it says the buyer has paid . I 'm getting ready to list the Route 66 quilt patterns . There are 8 of them . I 'm never going to make that quilt again , and it is no longer available . I thought someone might like to make it . I love mine . I made copies of all the applique pages , so the original pages are all still in the packets . I have some of the fabrics left over too . I didn 't use the border fabric at all . I made up my own . Here is a video I made of the completed Route 66 blocks BEFORE they were quilted if anyone is interested in seeing what the patterns are for . I changed a lot of the blocks with my Artista embroidery software , so they won 't be in the pattern like they are in my quilt . ( This video has appeared before in one of my blog posts . ) I have also listed four of the CUTEST paper - pieced horses . I found them in a box while organizing yesterday . I love them , but again , I have no child to finish a horse quilt for . Plenty of fabric left to make some more . This is a hard paper piecing project IN MY OPINION . So pretty though . I suppose everyone does . It just doesn 't seem fair that a person - - or persons - - would have such animosity toward me when I don 't have it toward them - - other than what they IMAGINE . This has nothing to do with a friend , just to be clear . Anyway , I made a tiny step toward communicating today , and I got hit with a huge clap of thunder in return . Honestly ! All I did was ask for an address so I could send a small surprise I found while organizing my attic space today . It shall RETURN to the attic for another hundred years . I think we have to accept the fact that some relationships just can 't be fixed . Or do we ! What about all those sermons I hear ? Especially , from Joel Osteen . I 'll just have to put that painful issue back into God 's hands and leave it there . Wish the hurt would go away while I 'm waiting . I 'm also sad because my daughter didn 't make it today . She got as far as the gas station , and her car started acting up . She was afraid to drive it , and I certainly didn 't want her driving a car that wasn 't working right . Later today , she and her husband realized that it is their wedding anniversary ! How CRAZY this day is ! I had bought a roast to fix tonight since my daughter and her husband were supposed to be here . I went ahead and fixed it with all the trimmings . Jerry got home from work and sat down to eat . He barely touched his dinner . It could have been boiled string for all he noticed . I fed his to the dogs . He said he was tired . He changed his clothes and has been asleep on our bed ever since . This is VERY unusual , and I 'm kind of stressed over that too . Tomorrow will be a GREAT DAY , I 'm sure - - for me and for you too ! I don 't know if I ever told you before , but I have tried since 2009 to open an Etsy Shop . My husband is always wanting me to sell what I make so he can deduct something or other . I never really wanted to sell anything I make , but it happens that I have a quilt I want to sell at the moment . My problem with Etsy was that I could not seem to find an appropriate NAME for my shop . As of about an hour ago , I am NOW an official shop owner on Etsy . My name is crazy because Etsy decided to just make my user name my shop name . So my shop name is " FrammaJoy " . Certainly not by choice . I guess nobody felt like using that name , so Etsy decided I could . My granddaughter , Lindy , used to call me " Framma " because she couldn 't say " Grandma " right . The cat quilt was actually supposed to be hers when she was younger . She grew up SO FAST ! And , no , she doesn 't want it now . I 'm selling the Krazy Kats quilt I finished several months ago . It is really cute , but I don 't need it . I don 't have any little ones around these days to give it to . If time is worth anything , it cost me more than what I am asking , but I 'll be surprised if I can get that for it . At least , I can tell Jerry that I have a quilt for sale . He will be ECSTATIC ! I think I will make some earrings to sell also , but I can 't imagine why someone would want to buy jewelry that they could make themselves . I guess a lot of people don 't know they could do that . I 'm going to start with Christmas earrings as I think the ones available in the stores are usually cheap and not very nice . And since the God - hating side of humanity seems to think Christmas is not politically correct anymore , we may not find Christmas earrings at all in the future . I may put some in our medical equipment store to sell at Christmas time . And for the lady who asked about my quilt called " Strawberry Sundae " . It is from the following book and is on the cover . That one is called " Butterscotch Sundae " . Here is mine . I have always loved it . I 'm sure there is something I need to be doing at 1 : 30 in the afternoon . My daughter and her husband are supposed to visit tomorrow . I probably need to go to the grocery store as I am still drinking shakes twice a day . Be back soon . I 'm talking about the AMAZING sermon from a preacher we usually aren 't that crazy about , but he hit the ball out of the park this morning . Jerry and I were both very impressed and moved by a comment he made . Funny how you ' hear " things sometimes that you probably heard before , but the way it was said made an impact . He was preaching about money , in part , this morning , and he made some very good points about it to those who think that preachers should be poor . My MIL was one of those . She told me one time that she quit giving to her church because the preacher came to visit her in a brand new car . So , if the preacher had been driving an old beat up wreck , any money she gave to " the Lord " would have to go to buy him a better car instead of going to the church for spreading the Gospel or helping the poor . How does a poor preacher make anybody want to know his God ? If God can 't even bless the preacher , how is he going to bless me ? Philippians 4 : 19 Jesse talked about how he likes to WALK THE MALL while his wife shops in the stores . He and his wife decided to go walk the mall one Christmas Eve . She went into some store , and Jesse walked the entire length of one side of the mall . By the time he got to the end of his walk , he had been given $ 14 , 000 by strangers that recognized him and stopped him to give him money in varying amounts . I love it ! I REALLY love it that Jerry heard that , because I am the type of person that loves to do that . I don 't want people to know it was me though , unless I am a stranger to them , and I will never see them again . Jerry gets upset with me for leaving a $ 20 tip , for instance , for a $ 5 meal . I keep $ 20 bills in my purse for that purpose , although I would LOVE to keep $ 100 bills . I 'm afraid Jerry would pass out if I ever did that . Now , don 't get me wrong . Jerry is very , very , very generous , and he gives thousands , but it would be for a church building project or to a missionary or something like that . He isn 't one to give to strangers . Of course , to each his own . Nothing at all wrong with either method . We just gave a large gift together to a project the Hagee 's are starting that has to do with building a huge beautiful home for unwed Mothers so they don 't have to have an abortion and an orphanage to put the babies in if it should happen that nobody wanted them . They are also going to build a place for students to live if you want your kids to go to their fabulous Christian schools but don 't live in San Antonio . A boarding house . The idea is that we can 't keep complaining at the millions of abortions if we don 't offer an alternative . I told Jerry if I was there , I would probably adopt every single baby nobody wanted . If you would like to hear a great sermon , visit www . GETV . org in a few days , and the sermon will be in the archives . If you get a chance to hear Vern ( Laverne ) sing , please do . She is AWESOME ! ! ! Not only can she sing , she wears the most awesome clothes that I wonder if she makes or has made . Sometimes I will draw what she is wearing so I can try to design it with my Sure - fit Designs . She had on a really pretty top this morning . Be back soon . I imagine you are all sick to death of my turtles by now , but I have to show you one more thing my sweet hubby did for me today . He brought his humongous ladder inside the house and up the stairs to help me hang up the 3 T 's . Just in case anyone would ever want to do this in their home , I took a few pics and I made a little video . The NUMBER ONE way my house stays clean is that I don 't mess it up ! I have dozens of old towels in every bathroom cupboard that we can grab for jobs like this . The carpet on those stairs - - as in the rest of the house - - is 18 years old . There is not a single spot on it anywhere . Another thing that really helps is RUGS at every entrance . I go through lots of throw rugs , but that sure beats changing carpet every few years . All the paint on the walls is 18 years old too . Even our builder couldn 't believe it when he was at our house a couple years ago . And we had the two furry supervisors watching the whole thing . They KNOW that if they dare step one paw outside that room , they will go directly back outside . Josie has almost caught up with Jackie in size . She has the most gorgeous soft , black hair . Jackie is mostly gray / black , but we love her anyway . After all , I 'm probably ALL gray myself ! Here is a little video , if anyone is interested . I 've got a bathing suit on - - believe it or not - - and I am going back outside to sweep up the sidewalks after Jerry trimmed the hedges . Decided my legs and arms could use a bit more color . I was out earlier doing that , and I nearly MELTED in the sun ! No kidding . I had streams running down my forehead into my eyes . It is hotter than a firecracker today . Terry and Doug went to Tulsa for an OUTDOOR birthday party . I feel sorry for them ! Hopefully , Jerry will help me mount it at the top of the stair case that has no floor underneath it . Maybe Saturday . He is feeling better , so I may be heading to Edmond next week . Terry is going to be in Colorado all next week helping our church at a healing conference at Andrew Wommack 's college , so it would be a good time for me to be gone too . It is Saturday evening already ! The weeks sure do fly by . I was supposed to leave for Edmond yesterday , but I couldn 't make myself go without Jerry . He wasn 't feeling good , and he still isn 't feeling good , so I didn 't want to leave him home alone . I have to go tomorrow though , because I have 3 appointments next week . PLUS , Margaret and I have to have our birthday lunch on Monday . My husband always wants to get me something for my birthday , but there is never anything I really need or want . He said he would take me out for a nice dinner tonight , but that offer turned into a nice lunch at my request . I thought it would get him back home earlier . After our Mooyah burger and sweet potato fries , Jerry wanted to go to Home Depot . While we were there I JUST HAPPENED to see something I wanted . It was a tall shelving unit that didn 't look too horrible , and it was only $ 29 . 00 . I asked him if I could have it for my birthday . He not only bought it for me , he came upstairs and set it up for me . It now holds all my boxes of beads . I like it so much , I am going to buy two more of them to put in my attic . Let me run upstairs and snap a quick pic for you . HOLD ON . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Here are my new shelves . OOPS ! I see I forgot to remove a piece of green masking tape that has a level line on it . Until today , all of those boxes were on the rolling metal cart . I still have it full as you can see . It takes a LOT of stuff to make jewelry ! Someone asked me how I organize my jewelry . You are looking at it ! All the boxes are labeled with my labeler machine . All the seed beads are on the top shelf . The rest are just there . I go through them so much , they don 't stay in much of any kind of order . I just recently began hanging my new style of beads on the wall BECAUSE , you can 't return things unless they are in the original packaging . You can return things to Fire Mountain FOREVER , so I need to keep them returnable . But how nice is my birthday shelf for only $ 29 ? I love it ! My birthday is actually August 4th , but I 'm supposed to be away from Jerry on that day . I want to stay and finish organizing my beads now , so I may decide to cancel all appointments and just stay here . Besides , Jerry isn 't feeling good , and I want to be here to baby him . I better start by going down to fix him some supper ! I am a semi - retired business owner - secretary - bookkeeper . My husband still works all the time . I spend a lot of time sewing these days and reading blogs of others who sew . Underneath each day 's post you will see the word " Comments " . It may have a number in front of it like this " 2 Comments " . Click on that , and it will take you to a comment box . If the choices of accounts don 't make sense , choose " Anonymous " . Just put your first name in the post please so I 'll know who you are .

VLOG for 8 - 28 - 15 Re : Manikin , Fabric and Hancock 's Since some of you ask me a lot for videos , I did another VLOG for today . My mouth just starts up , and I never know what is going to come out . Today , I talk about clothes that are too big - - how I messed up my duck tape manikin - - and the lovely Hancock 's store here in Edmond , OK . I returned to that Hancock 's a few hours ago to buy more of that skirt fabric and something to match it for a top . Rudy was there putting on her " I couldn 't care less about the customers " act , and not only that , she was chewing gum . In my opinion , that is rude . There was one lady cutting fabric behind the FOUR cutting tables . Two other clerks - - one being Rudy , were playing like they did not notice all the extra customers waiting to have fabric cut . I looked across the room at Rudy , and I made eye contact with her letting her know we ladies needed help . She turned and walked off . I looked at the other lady too . The other lady was actually putting fabric back where it went , but Rudy was doing NOTHING but hiding and chewing her bubble gum . Finally , the one lady who was cutting fabric called for help from the other girls . Rudy had hidden herself sufficiently that the other lady had to quit what she was doing and come over to cut . The first clerk lady who had a lovely hairdo of half her head shaved , and the other half having long hair , looked up to direct the several ladies who HAD BEEN standing there . They were all gone but me . No wonder ! The clerk that came to help me was quite nice , although it was obvious she was very new . The scissors she was using could barely cut butter , and she struggled cutting my fabric . She said , " One of these days I 'm going to have to invest in some scissors that cut . " I asked if she had to buy them herself . She said she would if she wanted good ones . After I got my three pieces of fabric cut , I went to the cash register . UNLUCKY for me - - for sure ! - - Rudy arrived to check me out . She asked me for my phone number . I said " 4 0 5 " , but she ignored me . She looked away and around and did NOTHING with my phone number , so I didn 't even say the rest of it . She then started messing with my fabric . She started scanning my fabric , and I put my cell phone on the counter where she could see it , and I showed her the Hancock 's coupons . There were three of them . She said , " We can 't use those . " I asked her IF I couldn 't use them , WHY did Hancock 's send them to me ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? " She ignored me . I asked her again about the coupons because I wanted to use them . She said , " I can 't scan those . " ( I go to Hancock 's OFTEN when I 'm here , and they have always scanned them in the past , but I gave her the benefit of the doubt . ) She continued looking anywhere but at me as she kept blowing bubbles with her bubble gum . She was fiddling with flyers and brochures . I GUESS she was looking for coupons to scan . I asked her AGAIN if she needed my phone number . NO ANSWER . Finally , I had my fill of this rude clerk . I told her , " You are the RUDEST clerk who has EVER waited on me . You don 't answer me when I ask you a question , and you are blowing bubbles with your gum ! I would like to know your name . " ( She should have been wearing it , but wasn 't . ) She said , " I 'm not blowing the bubbles AT YOU ! " I asked her again for her name as I was writing down times and dates and location on a piece of paper . She just ignored me and stared across the room . I told her I would have to snap her picture then . She said that was NOT allowed . She came up with a total that was WRONG because she had not applied any coupons . After much arguing over that , she finally figured out how to use the coupons and came up with a total . She then motioned for me to slide my credit card . I then met Gaynelle who also had no identification on , but turned out to be the store manager . She was very embarrassed at Candice 's ( I now knew her name ) behavior , and she apologized profusely . I explained that I had shopped at this store for 20 years , and I really loved it at one time . I told her the names of the previous managers that I had a great relationship with . I also explained that I was very sad to see the store in such ill repair , such as the lighting . She then told me that the light bulb guy had just been there the day before to count the burned out lights . ( Remember I had said something about that two days ago . I bet she heard me . ) She said that when he called headquarters to tell them how many lights he needed , THEY DID NOT BELIEVE HIM ! Over HALF of the lights in the store were burned out ! They sent some other guy to come out and verify it . I told Gaynelle I really appreciated her taking charge like that . She apologized for not having her I . D . on and told me they were all supposed to wear it . She , of course , was glad I was complimenting her after being so unhappy with Rudy . She wasn 't happy with Rudy either , believe me . She promised me she would talk to her . I doubt that will do any good with a personality like that , but I 'm glad she offered to try to fix the problem . Some of you probably think I am a wicked witch for confronting Rudy like that , but tell me this : WHAT good did it do for the other ladies to just drop their goods and walk out of the store ? I own a business , as you know , and I am a stickler for excellent customer service . If a customer is treated rudely in my store , I - - the owner - - want to know about it . Had my last doctor appointment today , and it was LESS FUN than yesterday . Found out I have to have the vein procedure done for the THIRD TIME ! My legs look fine , but something is going on inside , I guess . So here is the little video I made this morning before I went to see Dr . Padulla , who wasn 't even going to see me after I got there . I asked the girl how many visits you had to have before you finally met the doctor . This was my second visit . She looked at me like I was going to be " a case " , and she left the room . When she came back , she said that the doctor would be able to see me AFTER ALL . My first impression was that the building the doctor was in was REALLY OLD and not attractive . When I walked inside the front door , I was shocked at the disrepair of the place . I tried to walk into what I thought was the door , and it had a big sign taped on it to go to a different door . It didn 't say WHICH door , however . A lady noticed my confusion , and she pointed to the door I was supposed to go in . The waiting room was not very nice . Old chairs and a small TV and just not what I expected for a Plastic Surgeon 's offices . The girls behind the window were all very pretty and nicely dressed . There were boxes on the floor around their desks with things in disarray . I thought it was very strange , and I thought about just sneaking back out and leaving , but I didn 't . In a few minutes , Vanessa appeared at the window and asked me to come back . I walked into her exam room and noticed it wasn 't in the greatest shape either . The front of one of the drawers was hanging by a thread . One of the cupboard doors would not close all the way . The exam room did have a very clean bed with white linens on it , and I was ready to jump on it and get started . She said , " Oh , you need to sit over there . " So I sat " over there " , and she asked me to tell her about myself . Was she KIDDING ! ? That could take hours . I asked what she wanted to know . She said she wanted to know what I wanted done and what I had already had done . Well , I had just filled out FOUR PAGES with all that information on it . I suppose it was to feed the shredder breakfast . Nobody actually READ it ? While I was filling out the papers in the waiting room , there was a looooooooong program playing on the TV about some kind of new thing they do to your face . I THINK it was called Ultherapy , but I could be wrong . A lot of movie stars have it done according to the blurb on the TV . So , I asked Vanessa about the procedure they were playing on the TV . She explained that it was something another person did - - the P . A . to the surgeon maybe - - and it was expensive . I asked HOW expensive . She said it started at $ 1 , 600 for the lower part of your cheeks . If you do under your chin , it is another $ 1 , 000 and if you did below that down onto your chest it was another $ 1 , 400 . I asked her if it was painful and if they put you to sleep . NO , they don 't put you to sleep . They give you a Valium . She said the procedure felt like someone was snapping you with stretched rubber bands deep in your skin . Well , THAT certainly sounds pleasant ! ! ! I asked her HOW LONG one must endure this treatment . She said three hours . I thought maybe I might look good with a lot of wrinkles all over my face after all ! When I left , I asked where the ladie 's room was . I went into the ladies ' room , and as I always do , I reached for the tp roll to cover the toilet seat with tissue . As I started to unroll the tissue , the whole thing came FLYING off of the holder and landed across the room ! The round thing fell behind the toilet . I thought to myself , " Good Heavens ! This Plastic Surgeon must not make much money , or he spends it everywhere but here . " I was praying the toilet wouldn 't explode when I flushed it ! Vanessa was putting some samples and some flyers into a small bag for me just before I left . I noticed more messes around where she was , and I mentioned that the building wasn 't very nice . She said , " Oh , we KNOW ! It is HORRIBLE ! " I was kind of low when I left there thinking I would just live with the usual aging issues and quit trying to fix them . I called my husband and told him . He was thrilled , of course , because he doesn 't want me to have anything done . I told him that I had just saved him so much money , that I had to go buy something . He laughed . Other than that , I have made a new blouse , and I 'm going to cut out a couple more . I need some tops that FIT ME since I 've lost weight . Everything I put on just HANGS on me or poofs open at the top . Be back soon . Hope all of you are having a wonderful week . I am missing my hubby , and he is missing me . How WONDERFUL to still be in love after 40 years of marriage . I hear of horrible marriages so often , and I am so very thankful for mine . Today , he talked about horse # 2 : The RED horse . NUCLEAR war ! This is all from The Revelation in the Bible , of course , and it is an exact description of everything going on in the world today . Our preacher in Durant , OK , Duane Sheriff , says that the schools teach our kids : " YOU CAME FROM GOO - - WENT TO THE ZOO - - and BECAME YOU . Thank God that my generation was taught about the Bible and actual American History . Otherwise , there wouldn 't be anyone left to tell the kids the TRUTH . I think it is wonderful that Mike Huckabee is writing history books with actual facts in them for children to read . I don 't know how anyone with any sense at all can truly believe that stuff . There is only one way to be a great nation and to STAY a great nation , and that is when Almighty God is the leader of it . And WHY does anyone OBJECT to that ? And if a person REALLY doesn 't believe there is a God , WHY do they hate Him so much ? ? ? Pray with me dear ones that a miracle happens in our government , and there will be enough votes to veto - proof a rejection of that Iran joke of an agreement . The Bible calls it " a contract with death " . Otherwise , all that we love and cherish will be gone . What is happening in Syria will be happening here . Even if we escape due to our age , we have children and grandchildren that will have to live through the horror . Pastor Hagee and a lot of other preachers believe the church will be raptured before the worst happens . We better make sure we are ready , and we don 't get left behind . My Mother , who is 87 years old , has told everyone she speaks to that she is going in the rapture . She has driven me nearly nuts pushing me away every time I try to make plans for her care . She insists the rapture is happening in September , and she doesn 't need help from anyone - - ever . I sure do hope she is right ! I have told you before that we have wonderfully SPEEDY upload speed at our house here in Edmond , unlike the snail 's pace speed we have at our Kingston home . Therefore , I could talk to you all day on my video camera , and it would upload in less than 30 minutes . Today 's video uploaded in 12 minutes ! The weather was divine today ! I can 't believe I cancelled an appointment because some weather guy said it was 90 % chance of rain all day . I HATE to drive in the rain . Here is the owl quilt . There is one owl that is really strange looking . Third one down on the far left side . I 'll have to look him up in the book . Notice the leaves falling here and there . They are REALLY nice and make the quilt for me . This one will probably get hung up at my store . ALSO , there are only 20 birds - - not 25 . The ladies told me I needed backgrounds for 25 birds . Oh , well . You can 't have too much fabric ! You would think from the small front entrance that all this stuff could NEVER fit inside . It takes a really talented person to fit all of it in there and make it so attractive . The store doesn 't seem crowded or cluttered at all . You KNOW how I get all excited and impressed any time I 'm around CLEAN and ORGANIZED at the same time ! I could have easily stayed all day long if it hadn 't been for the perfume lady . I may have to go back while I 'm here . Maybe I could drag my sister there and tell them she has a birthday in August too ! ! ! I have a feeling she would have to be a current customer . You can see on the left part of a black leather couch . There were SO MANY BOOKS , but I did not DARE look at them . I did enough damage just one step inside the front door ! See the baby crib ? It has cute baby quilts in it . I snapped a pic of this quilt for Terry because she likes big block quilts . She didn 't seem to be the least bit interested however . I love that it is red , black and white . I already have a box full of black and white fabrics , so I moved away from this . The pattern was called Disappearing Nine Patch if anyone is interested . And , yes , that is the LOVELIEST picture of me that Youtube chose to put on the video . It probably doesn 't help that I am wearing my Mother - in - Law 's blouse that isn 't really my color , BUT it is a Size 10 , and it fits me ! So many of my tops are too big these days . Be back soon with a new quilt to show you . I 'm kind of stuck at the moment as to what fabric to choose for the borders . This one is real different . The day finally came for Jerry to have the colonoscopy that his cancer doctor told him he needed to have . His doctor told me to have one too because we are both over 50 and have never had one . I decided right away I wasn 't having one . I don 't like most doctors , and they don 't like me . I 've been FIRED by them because I refused to take hormone replacement therapy - - or the anxiety drugs - - or have a hysterectomy ( which I had later ) . The vein doctor was mean and he hurt me a lot . I had another lady - type surgical procedure when I was in my early 20 's . I was home having breakfast the next morning when something tore or broke or whatever , and I started hemorrhaging all over the kitchen floor . Because I was eating my breakfast when that happened , the surgeon at ER would not sedate me as he cauterized the torn area . It was terribly painful . I went to pick Jerry up at Mercy Hospital ( which I LOVE ) , and I was led back to the recovery area where Jerry was still sawing logs . I talked with the nurse for a long time . She was SO complimentary of me . She liked my blouse . She liked my smile . She EVEN said I had gorgeous veins . That one was a REAL SURPRISE to me because I have always hated the way my veins show so much in my hands . He was NOT AT ALL what you would expect a doctor to look like . He looked like one of those bearded guys in the Mountain Men shows . Gray scraggly beard . He was probably as old as we are , or older . He walked right up to me and put his hand out to me . He shook my hand very sweetly . He pulled out a picture from an envelope and showed it to me . It was Jerry 's " pictures " . He said Jerry was in fabulous shape for his age , and he didn 't need to come back for ten years . I told him I wasn 't surprised at all . I told him Jerry had never had any problems in that area , however , I was a different story . He told me that I needed to come in and have it done because of my age . I told him what I just told you about my bad luck with doctors and procedures . He took my hand in both of his hands , and he looked me straight in the eyes . He said , " I will treat you the exact same way I would treat my wife or my daughter . You don 't have to worry about anything . I promise I will take excellent care of you , and you will have good memories and sweet dreams afterward . " Jerry was VERY HUNGRY after two days of only liquid and the nasty stuff you have to drink for two days . I don 't know if I could get past that part . We went to Longhorn 's and had a great steak dinner with all the trimmings . Jerry feels just fine . He is supposed to be RESTING . The only way that will happen is if I get some more of whatever they knocked him out with at the hospital . PRAISE GOD for the excellent results of the exam . I need to go do something , although I really can 't think of what . I just feel guilty sitting in this recliner with my laptop when Jerry is working after just having that procedure done . I have finally arrived at my other house . My husband never can figure out WHY I think I need to come up here before he does , or why I come at all . I asked him if he thought magical fairies came in the house while I was gone for six weeks and cleaned it . Men ! It isn 't near as much fun to come here anymore since I lost my play day friend . I was in my sewing room starting my next quilt when I got a few text messages from Terry who is still in Colorado . Then I suddenly got a great idea ! I asked her if she wanted to come . She said she would love to , BUT . . . . . Of course , the " BUT " part has to do with her husband . He is retired and other than all their church activities , he doesn 't have much to do , so Terry is his hobby . I hope he will let her come though . We would have a ball ! She is used to sewing in a laundry room , so my small sewing room here would suit her just fine . I met Margaret tonight - - finally - - for our birthday " lunch " which turned out to be dinner . We both had steaks and caught each other up on the weeks we have been apart . Margaret says she feels like she is getting more clumsy by the day . She spilled some nail polish on her carpet today , but her cleaning lady was able to get it all up . She said she feels like she could fall when she is walking on steep surfaces . I was fixing dinner in my Kingston kitchen . I like to be in my bare feet a lot until my feet get cold . I have socks in my sewing cabinet upstairs so I can put them on when my toes turn to ice cubes . I had put my black and white short socks on before I went down to fix supper . We have one of those stainless steel trash cans that is about mid - thigh high and has a pop - up lid on it . There is a little pedal that you step on to make the top pop open so you can put trash in it . I walked over to it and stepped on the pedal with my left foot . The top popped open and I dropped in whatever was in my hand . The lid closed and I started to walk away . As I took a step and then another , the TRASH CAN CAME WITH ME ! It was STUCK to the sock on my left foot ! I almost fell over backward into the kitchen sink . I could imagine the evening news with a report of the Kingston woman who was killed by her trash can ! My Etsy store is very strange . Fortunately , one of you figured out how to find it and bought my cat quilt . Thank you ! I will mail it tomorrow . Etsy is so new to me , I don 't understand the lingo . It says I haven 't been paid yet ; but in another place , it says the buyer has paid . I 'm getting ready to list the Route 66 quilt patterns . There are 8 of them . I 'm never going to make that quilt again , and it is no longer available . I thought someone might like to make it . I love mine . I made copies of all the applique pages , so the original pages are all still in the packets . I have some of the fabrics left over too . I didn 't use the border fabric at all . I made up my own . Here is a video I made of the completed Route 66 blocks BEFORE they were quilted if anyone is interested in seeing what the patterns are for . I changed a lot of the blocks with my Artista embroidery software , so they won 't be in the pattern like they are in my quilt . ( This video has appeared before in one of my blog posts . ) I have also listed four of the CUTEST paper - pieced horses . I found them in a box while organizing yesterday . I love them , but again , I have no child to finish a horse quilt for . Plenty of fabric left to make some more . This is a hard paper piecing project IN MY OPINION . So pretty though . I suppose everyone does . It just doesn 't seem fair that a person - - or persons - - would have such animosity toward me when I don 't have it toward them - - other than what they IMAGINE . This has nothing to do with a friend , just to be clear . Anyway , I made a tiny step toward communicating today , and I got hit with a huge clap of thunder in return . Honestly ! All I did was ask for an address so I could send a small surprise I found while organizing my attic space today . It shall RETURN to the attic for another hundred years . I think we have to accept the fact that some relationships just can 't be fixed . Or do we ! What about all those sermons I hear ? Especially , from Joel Osteen . I 'll just have to put that painful issue back into God 's hands and leave it there . Wish the hurt would go away while I 'm waiting . I 'm also sad because my daughter didn 't make it today . She got as far as the gas station , and her car started acting up . She was afraid to drive it , and I certainly didn 't want her driving a car that wasn 't working right . Later today , she and her husband realized that it is their wedding anniversary ! How CRAZY this day is ! I had bought a roast to fix tonight since my daughter and her husband were supposed to be here . I went ahead and fixed it with all the trimmings . Jerry got home from work and sat down to eat . He barely touched his dinner . It could have been boiled string for all he noticed . I fed his to the dogs . He said he was tired . He changed his clothes and has been asleep on our bed ever since . This is VERY unusual , and I 'm kind of stressed over that too . Tomorrow will be a GREAT DAY , I 'm sure - - for me and for you too ! I don 't know if I ever told you before , but I have tried since 2009 to open an Etsy Shop . My husband is always wanting me to sell what I make so he can deduct something or other . I never really wanted to sell anything I make , but it happens that I have a quilt I want to sell at the moment . My problem with Etsy was that I could not seem to find an appropriate NAME for my shop . As of about an hour ago , I am NOW an official shop owner on Etsy . My name is crazy because Etsy decided to just make my user name my shop name . So my shop name is " FrammaJoy " . Certainly not by choice . I guess nobody felt like using that name , so Etsy decided I could . My granddaughter , Lindy , used to call me " Framma " because she couldn 't say " Grandma " right . The cat quilt was actually supposed to be hers when she was younger . She grew up SO FAST ! And , no , she doesn 't want it now . I 'm selling the Krazy Kats quilt I finished several months ago . It is really cute , but I don 't need it . I don 't have any little ones around these days to give it to . If time is worth anything , it cost me more than what I am asking , but I 'll be surprised if I can get that for it . At least , I can tell Jerry that I have a quilt for sale . He will be ECSTATIC ! I think I will make some earrings to sell also , but I can 't imagine why someone would want to buy jewelry that they could make themselves . I guess a lot of people don 't know they could do that . I 'm going to start with Christmas earrings as I think the ones available in the stores are usually cheap and not very nice . And since the God - hating side of humanity seems to think Christmas is not politically correct anymore , we may not find Christmas earrings at all in the future . I may put some in our medical equipment store to sell at Christmas time . And for the lady who asked about my quilt called " Strawberry Sundae " . It is from the following book and is on the cover . That one is called " Butterscotch Sundae " . Here is mine . I have always loved it . I 'm sure there is something I need to be doing at 1 : 30 in the afternoon . My daughter and her husband are supposed to visit tomorrow . I probably need to go to the grocery store as I am still drinking shakes twice a day . Be back soon . I 'm talking about the AMAZING sermon from a preacher we usually aren 't that crazy about , but he hit the ball out of the park this morning . Jerry and I were both very impressed and moved by a comment he made . Funny how you ' hear " things sometimes that you probably heard before , but the way it was said made an impact . He was preaching about money , in part , this morning , and he made some very good points about it to those who think that preachers should be poor . My MIL was one of those . She told me one time that she quit giving to her church because the preacher came to visit her in a brand new car . So , if the preacher had been driving an old beat up wreck , any money she gave to " the Lord " would have to go to buy him a better car instead of going to the church for spreading the Gospel or helping the poor . How does a poor preacher make anybody want to know his God ? If God can 't even bless the preacher , how is he going to bless me ? Philippians 4 : 19 Jesse talked about how he likes to WALK THE MALL while his wife shops in the stores . He and his wife decided to go walk the mall one Christmas Eve . She went into some store , and Jesse walked the entire length of one side of the mall . By the time he got to the end of his walk , he had been given $ 14 , 000 by strangers that recognized him and stopped him to give him money in varying amounts . I love it ! I REALLY love it that Jerry heard that , because I am the type of person that loves to do that . I don 't want people to know it was me though , unless I am a stranger to them , and I will never see them again . Jerry gets upset with me for leaving a $ 20 tip , for instance , for a $ 5 meal . I keep $ 20 bills in my purse for that purpose , although I would LOVE to keep $ 100 bills . I 'm afraid Jerry would pass out if I ever did that . Now , don 't get me wrong . Jerry is very , very , very generous , and he gives thousands , but it would be for a church building project or to a missionary or something like that . He isn 't one to give to strangers . Of course , to each his own . Nothing at all wrong with either method . We just gave a large gift together to a project the Hagee 's are starting that has to do with building a huge beautiful home for unwed Mothers so they don 't have to have an abortion and an orphanage to put the babies in if it should happen that nobody wanted them . They are also going to build a place for students to live if you want your kids to go to their fabulous Christian schools but don 't live in San Antonio . A boarding house . The idea is that we can 't keep complaining at the millions of abortions if we don 't offer an alternative . I told Jerry if I was there , I would probably adopt every single baby nobody wanted . If you would like to hear a great sermon , visit www . GETV . org in a few days , and the sermon will be in the archives . If you get a chance to hear Vern ( Laverne ) sing , please do . She is AWESOME ! ! ! Not only can she sing , she wears the most awesome clothes that I wonder if she makes or has made . Sometimes I will draw what she is wearing so I can try to design it with my Sure - fit Designs . She had on a really pretty top this morning . Be back soon . I imagine you are all sick to death of my turtles by now , but I have to show you one more thing my sweet hubby did for me today . He brought his humongous ladder inside the house and up the stairs to help me hang up the 3 T 's . Just in case anyone would ever want to do this in their home , I took a few pics and I made a little video . The NUMBER ONE way my house stays clean is that I don 't mess it up ! I have dozens of old towels in every bathroom cupboard that we can grab for jobs like this . The carpet on those stairs - - as in the rest of the house - - is 18 years old . There is not a single spot on it anywhere . Another thing that really helps is RUGS at every entrance . I go through lots of throw rugs , but that sure beats changing carpet every few years . All the paint on the walls is 18 years old too . Even our builder couldn 't believe it when he was at our house a couple years ago . And we had the two furry supervisors watching the whole thing . They KNOW that if they dare step one paw outside that room , they will go directly back outside . Josie has almost caught up with Jackie in size . She has the most gorgeous soft , black hair . Jackie is mostly gray / black , but we love her anyway . After all , I 'm probably ALL gray myself ! Here is a little video , if anyone is interested . I 've got a bathing suit on - - believe it or not - - and I am going back outside to sweep up the sidewalks after Jerry trimmed the hedges . Decided my legs and arms could use a bit more color . I was out earlier doing that , and I nearly MELTED in the sun ! No kidding . I had streams running down my forehead into my eyes . It is hotter than a firecracker today . Terry and Doug went to Tulsa for an OUTDOOR birthday party . I feel sorry for them ! Hopefully , Jerry will help me mount it at the top of the stair case that has no floor underneath it . Maybe Saturday . He is feeling better , so I may be heading to Edmond next week . Terry is going to be in Colorado all next week helping our church at a healing conference at Andrew Wommack 's college , so it would be a good time for me to be gone too . It is Saturday evening already ! The weeks sure do fly by . I was supposed to leave for Edmond yesterday , but I couldn 't make myself go without Jerry . He wasn 't feeling good , and he still isn 't feeling good , so I didn 't want to leave him home alone . I have to go tomorrow though , because I have 3 appointments next week . PLUS , Margaret and I have to have our birthday lunch on Monday . My husband always wants to get me something for my birthday , but there is never anything I really need or want . He said he would take me out for a nice dinner tonight , but that offer turned into a nice lunch at my request . I thought it would get him back home earlier . After our Mooyah burger and sweet potato fries , Jerry wanted to go to Home Depot . While we were there I JUST HAPPENED to see something I wanted . It was a tall shelving unit that didn 't look too horrible , and it was only $ 29 . 00 . I asked him if I could have it for my birthday . He not only bought it for me , he came upstairs and set it up for me . It now holds all my boxes of beads . I like it so much , I am going to buy two more of them to put in my attic . Let me run upstairs and snap a quick pic for you . HOLD ON . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Here are my new shelves . OOPS ! I see I forgot to remove a piece of green masking tape that has a level line on it . Until today , all of those boxes were on the rolling metal cart . I still have it full as you can see . It takes a LOT of stuff to make jewelry ! Someone asked me how I organize my jewelry . You are looking at it ! All the boxes are labeled with my labeler machine . All the seed beads are on the top shelf . The rest are just there . I go through them so much , they don 't stay in much of any kind of order . I just recently began hanging my new style of beads on the wall BECAUSE , you can 't return things unless they are in the original packaging . You can return things to Fire Mountain FOREVER , so I need to keep them returnable . But how nice is my birthday shelf for only $ 29 ? I love it ! My birthday is actually August 4th , but I 'm supposed to be away from Jerry on that day . I want to stay and finish organizing my beads now , so I may decide to cancel all appointments and just stay here . Besides , Jerry isn 't feeling good , and I want to be here to baby him . I better start by going down to fix him some supper ! I am a semi - retired business owner - secretary - bookkeeper . My husband still works all the time . I spend a lot of time sewing these days and reading blogs of others who sew . Underneath each day 's post you will see the word " Comments " . It may have a number in front of it like this " 2 Comments " . Click on that , and it will take you to a comment box . If the choices of accounts don 't make sense , choose " Anonymous " . Just put your first name in the post please so I 'll know who you are .

Dante pulled up her head , sniffed and tried to wipe her eyes . She looked around the cave , wondering how long she 'd been gone . Were people looking for her ? She recognized Becky 's voice , but didn 't really want her to come in and see her crying . She heard footsteps and looked around as Becky 's face came into view . She looked scared but determined . " Hi there , " she said coming into the cave . Dante started to turn away , but then remembered the face in the pool . She looked up at Becky and said a small hi . She even tried to smile . " I 'm fine , " she said , in a bored voice . And then shook her head . This was going to be hard , but she needed to share her true self . She looked Becky in the eye . The other girl 's blue eyes looked kind , and concerned . " I 'm sorry , " Becky said . She came over and sat next to Dante , putting her hand on her shoulder . " I bet it 's really hard to move away and leave friends behind . I 've never had to move , and I think I 'd just die if my parents made me leave . " " Dante , " she said , " I 'm sorry about Carol . She just gets mean like that sometimes . I don 't know why , and I wish she didn 't . " " That 's o . k . , " Dante said , and realized that she really meant it . " I really am bad at sports and stuff , and it must have been frustrating for her when I just let the ball hit me . The least I could have done was gotten out of the way . Or put a mitt on my head ! " At that both girls laughed . " How did you know I was here ? " Dante asked . It didn 't seem like she 'd been gone long , or that anyone thought she had been missing . Time on Endolye must be different than time here . " I saw you come in here , and I couldn 't believe you were brave enough to do that . So I decided to follow you . I 'd like to be braver , so maybe if we become friends , I could learn that . " She smiled shyly . Dante looked at it for a moment , and then quickly opened her backpack and pushed it in . " Yeah , it 's just something I was working on , " she said . " It 's nothing , really . " " You know , " Becky said , " I 've always loved your house . I mean , I know people said it was haunted and all , but I just thought it was sad and lonely . I was so happy when they started working on it , and was glad to see that a real family moved in . " Dante felt a stab of suspicion . " You can come over and see the inside if you want , " she said , " but my brother won 't be there . And he never likes any of my friends . " Becky looked at her , puzzled , " Who cares ? I generally don 't like anyone 's brother ! But I would love to see the inside of the house . Who has the room in the tower part in front ? " Dante thought hard , but then decided to take the risk . She showed Becky her drawings , and Becky was impressed with them . They two girls agreed that Dante would try to teach Becky to draw , and Becky would try to teach Dante to play sports . Becky stayed for most of the afternoon . After Becky left , Dante sat on the bed in her room , thinking about the last couple of hours . She might actually have a friend here ! Endolye already seemed far away , and she wondered if maybe she had dreamed the whole thing . She pulled her backpack from the corner and opened it to get out her journal . She pulled the drawing of the feet from the top , and then opened the bag wider . A small gasp escaped her . Inside the backpack was a crumpled brown paper bag , an empty baggie with a few crumbs , and a small , tightly woven basket , a grooming set , and a pipe . She pulled out the pipe and blew a few notes . She felt her eyes tearing up . Back in the cave , the surface of the pool stirred slightly . Addis poked his head into the cave and looked around for a moment . Satisfied , he smiled before disappearing back into the water . Share this : TwitterFacebookGoogleLike this : Like Loading . . . Posted on May 29 , 2016May 30 , 2016Categories endolye , UncategorizedTags creative writing , endolye , fantasy , fiction , girls , young adultLeave a comment on Endolye Chapter 15 : Someplace like Home Endolye Chapter 14 : Rubbed Out Dante had curled up in a corner of the cave . There was enough light from the fire for her to see and write in her journal . She paused for a moment and saw movement close to the mouth of the cave . She looked up and saw Cory standing there , smiling , his hand outstretched . " I said , what is that ? " Lyria growled , and reached behind Dante to grab the journal out of her hand . She began flipping through the pages . " Isn 't this odd ? " she murmured , half to herself . As she was looking through the journal , a page fluttered to the floor . She reached out to pick it up . It was the picture of the monster from Dante 's dreams . She held it out to Dante . " Is this supposed to be me ? " she asked quietly . Dante shrugged , not wanting Lyria to know she was scared . Lyria leaned in so she could look directly into Dante 's face ; Dante tried not to cringe . " This is nothing like me , " Lyria said slowly . " This was just a stupid reflection in the water . A reflection - not even real ! I want you to fix this , and to make it look like me ! " Dante picked up the drawing and put in on the open page of her journal . She looked at the drawing and then at Lyria and realized she would need to erase the whole thing and start over . She looked at her pencil ; only a nub of the eraser was left . She sighed and start to slowly erase one of the claws . Without warning , Lyria screamed . Dante looked up and saw Lyria holding up her arm , looking at it in horror . Her hand was missing . Dante 's mouth dropped open . Dante looked down at her drawing . The claw that she had erased was indeed the hand that was missing . As quickly as she could Dante erased the other hand and started up the arm . Lyria screamed again and when Dante looked up she could see it was working ! Lyria now had no hands . She rushed at Dante who jumped up and began running around the fire in the cave . Although it was hard to do while she was running , she kept erasing the drawing . Soon Lyria had no arms , but she continued to run after Dante . Dante decided to make a break for the mouth of the cave , but as she ran toward it Lyria headed her off and bumped her , hard . The drawing and the pencil fell to the ground and Lyria dropped on top of them . Dante began pushing at Lyria , trying to reach under her , but Lyria was putting up a fight kicking and biting . Using all her weight Dante shoved Lyria aside and grabbed the drawing and her pencil . Lyria howled in rage but Dante was up and erasing as fast as she could . She began erasing the monster 's head , thinking she could stop Lyria faster that way . When Lyria realized what she was doing she tried to shout " No ! " but wasn 't quite able to get the word out before her head was gone . Dante kept erasing frantically , and Lyria kept disappearing . Dante 's eraser was almost gone , and starting to scratch the paper . She managed to erase the legs just down to the knees before she couldn 't erase any more . All that was left on the page were the monster 's feet and ankles . Dante looked up to where Lyria had last been standing . Two beautiful feet in beautiful shoes sat by the opening of the cave . Dante sat down heavily on the floor of the cave and stared at them in wonder . " Well , no , of course not , " she said . " I mean , normally , when you erase … . Oh well , never mind . My eraser is gone anyway , " she said , showing him the end of her pencil . Addis looked at it warily , as if it were a terrible weapon . " Look ! " Dante shouted . While they were talking they hadn 't noticed the feet slowly making their way to the mouth of the cave . They now made a dash for it , and although Dante and Addis rushed after them , they could see the feet disappearing into the woods . " Well , " Addis said , " I wouldn 't worry about it . They 're just feet . " They watched for a moment and then turned and looked at each other . " What ! " Dante couldn 't believe it . " You mean all this time we 've had the Khee with us ! Why didn 't you say anything ? " " I didn 't know . It was the pendant . You see Lyria came to ProGress some time ago , and we tried to help her . She had the power you 've seen over water , as well as other powers , and wanted to use them to take over Endolye . We tried to stop her , but she got away and used her power over the Wumpus . She was able to convince them to help her . " " Without Addis , our powers were lost , " the leader said . " We are the soul of Endolye , but if even one of our members is not with us , we are not whole and cannot function . By separating Addis from us , Lyria was able to start to control Endolye . The last thing we were able to do was make the portals vanish , so at least Lyria couldn 't start any wars between the tribes . It was only when you arrived Dante that the portals appeared . " She had so many questions , but was anxious to see her friends and make sure they were o . k . , so she nodded . Addis led her to a portal on the far side of the pool and she went through . When she was on the other side , she realized Addis hadn 't come with her . She panicked for a moment , and rushed back through the portal . Addis was there , smiling at her . " He 's a hero " Ori said softly , still looking down at Greff . " He swam down to the cave to get us , and helped us all escape . " Seeya didn 't say anything , but just laid his head back against the ground . " He got hit on the head very hard , " Ori answered , " and he hasn 't regained consciousness yet . We were all trying so desperately to protect Addis . Lyria wanted him . " " It 's a long story , but Lyria put that pendant around his neck , and he couldn 't remember who he was . She had convinced him never to take it off , and then sent him home with the Oralian Council member . She somehow interfered with the Council , so they didn 't know what they were supposed to do . Anyway , the Khee sent me back to help you . " Dante looked down at the lake . " The Khee said the Wumpus could help . Now that Lyria is gone , they shouldn 't be under her influence . " Dante just nodded and said , " It 's a long story . " She looked back toward the lake . " I need to go for help , " she said . " I 'll be back , " and she headed for the lake . When she got there , Pirrin and the others were standing on the bank . They seemed confused and dazed , but recognized Dante . When she told them Lyria was gone and she needed help for her friends , they quickly agreed to help . She led them back into the woods where her friends were waiting . It turned out that the Wumpus had healing skills , which Lyria made sure they didn 't use on anyone but themselves . Now that she was gone , they quickly helped the Non - Council members , treating Greff 's head , and straightening and splinting Seeya 's wing . They assured Dante that everyone would be fine , and that they would take care of her friends until they had completely recovered . They spent a few days with the Wumpus , which were completely different from any of the previous days they had spent . The Wumpus took wonderful care of them , and in a few days they were all feeling almost completely recovered . Addis hadn 't returned , and Dante thought about what Ori had said about the Khee not traveling . She knew they needed to return to ProGress , and hoped the portal was still there . They agreed , and she led her friends back into the woods . The portal was still there . They thanked their hosts for the care they had received . Pirrin and some of the others had accompanied them , and they brushed off Dante 's thanks . " I can 't tell you how sorry we are we caused all that trouble , " Pirrin said . " Usually our games are harmless . I 'd like to come with you and see if I can somehow help the damage I 've done . " Dante nodded and stepped through the portal , followed by Greff , Ori and Seeya . When they were all on the other side , they waited , but Pirrin never came through . After a few moments , Mirch emerged . She said simply , " I was the only one that could go through . The others just walked through to the other side . " The group looked at each and nodded their heads . They headed into the woods where Dante had first seen Cory / Lyria . Addis stopped , and then motioned for Seeya to follow him . One by the one the Non - Council members went with Addis toward the pool . When they came back they seemed to be the same , but Dante could tell something was a little different with each one . Addis didn 't respond , he simply motioned for her to follow him to the pool . She sat down her backpack and followed him . When they got there , he motioned for her to go out onto the walkway . She watched as he walked away from the pool . She stepped out onto the walkway and looked down into the water , expecting to see her reflection . What she saw shocked her . " But I am you . " The reflection spoke to her and she jumped back . She stepped forward again and looked into the pool . The reflection smiled at her . She stared into the pool , eyes wide . " I know . But everyone 's confused . That 's the part you don 't get . You seem to think that everyone else is sure of themselves , and knows what they 're doing . But they aren 't . They 're just not as honest as you are . " " Yes . This is who you are on the inside . Not many people see the reflection of their true self , and even fewer are able to show it to the rest of the world . " " First , learn to be true to yourself . Don 't worry about what others are thinking , and don 't get too hung up on what you see in the mirror . That 's the least true reflection of who you are . " " See , she didn 't think it looked like her , so I started erasing it . It 's kind of hard to explain … . " She paused and a gust of wind caught the paper and blew it out of her hand . " Oh no , I 've got it , " Dante said . The paper had blown into the pool , and she went out on the walkway . She leaned over the water but it was just out of her reach . She tried to reach just a little farther , and at that moment her backpack shifted and dropped in front of her . She lost her balance and fell into the pool . She expected to hear a splash and feel water , but landed with a thump on her back , her backpack hung up on her elbow and the drawing in her hand . " Oh no , " she whispered , feeling completely bereft . She was back in her special place in the rocks at home , with the pool of water next to her . She quickly stuck her hand in the pool , but the water went up just above her elbow and she could feel the hard , rocky bottom . " Dante ? " he asked , and then took a few steps forward . He walked all around the last spot she had been , but couldn 't detect a portal , or hole , or any other way she could have suddenly vanished . He wondered if somehow Lyria had taken her , or if there was something else going on they still didn 't know about . He went back to sit on one of the couches and put his head in his hands . Before the others could respond , the Wumpus were suddenly upon them without warning . Seeya shrieked and zipped off , and Ori and Greff were quickly captured . The Wumpus carried them , struggling , back to the cave . " Addis , " Ori said , sounding relieved . " I 'm so glad to see you 're o . k . " Addis opened his mouth to speak , but Greff interrupted before he could say anything . " What do you mean she just wasn 't ? " Greff asked , but Addis just looked at him helplessly . He snorted . " It must have been Lyria . " Ori shook his head thoughtfully . " I don 't think so . If Lyria had been able to summon us at any time , wouldn 't she have done it already ? " Pirrin walked over to him and shook him . " What do you mean you don 't know ? Lyria won 't be very happy she 's gone . You 'd better tell us where she went . " " No , " Ori said calmly , walking over and blocking the entrance to the tunnel that led out of the cave . " She just disappeared . Think about it . You 've had the cave sealed all this time , how could she have left ? " He turned to the Wumpus behind him . " O . k . , let 's go and find Lyria ! " He led them whooping out of the cave , and the opening froze solid behind them . Addis still sat on the sofa staring at his hands . Greff began pacing and Ori quietly sat down . " You are no fun at all , " Pirrin said , throwing himself down onto a couch between Greff and Addis . " You know what you guys need ? A party ! " Because they had been in the cave all day without food or water , they gratefully accepted what the Wumpus gave them . As they finished their meal the Wumpus began dancing around them . Ori looked over and noticed that Addis was nodding off , which seemed odd because the Wumpus were making a lot of noise . He went over to check on his friend . " So sleepy , " murmured Greff . And despite all the movement and noise , he lay down and was sound asleep . Ori looked at their empty plates and cups , and came to the terrible realization that they had been drugged . Why did the Wumpus want them asleep , and more importantly , why hadn 't whatever they put into the food and drink affected him ? He decided he might find out more if the Wumpus thought he was asleep too , so he curled up next to Greff , closed his eyes and made his breathing even . After a few minutes , he heard the Wumpus start to quiet down , and footsteps walking over to where he lay . A foot nudged him roughly , but he just relaxed and pretended he was sleeping . He heard Pirrin chuckle . They rest of the Wumpus laughed and Mirch replied , " Well , I had to do something . It 's been so boring not being able to swim , and Lyria won 't let me play anything but the fog game , so I had to do something so we could have some fun . Come on , let 's go ! " Once it was completely silent , he opened his eyes . If they were going swimming , there was a chance to escape . He looked at Greff and Addis , who were both in a deep sleep , and realized he had no hope of getting all three of them out of the cave . And he was starting to feel so tired . He just needed to lie down for a moment , just to get a little rest . He dropped back down next to Greff , and surrendered himself to sleep " Well , " he said , hands on his hips . " What 's all that about ? Certainly they can 't have left the others in the cave while they go swimming . " He began to feel frantic . He zipped back and forth , wondering what to do . The Wumpus had all gone to the far side of the lake , and were playing some kind of game in the shallow water . They were completely involved in what they were doing , and Seeya was sure they wouldn 't notice if he slipped down and back into the cave . He decided to take the risk to make sure his friends were o . k . He flew to the edge of the woods and hesitated a moment , realizing if the Wumpus saw him it would be all over . So he did something he hated to do - he walked . He made it to the edge of the lake unseen , and realized the water was much higher than it had been before . The only way to reach the cave would be to swim . " Oh dear , " he said , looking down at himself . " That water will absolutely ruin my ensemble . Not to mention my hair . I would look a fright . " He sat down on the sand and thought about what to do . He remembered Dante talking about her freckles , and all the times Addis had listened to him complain . He remembered Greff saying goodbye to Turra , and how Ori had always encouraged him along the way when they were making their journey across the valley . When the Bastahl still didn 't wake up he tried Greff and then Addis , but none of them even twitched a muscle . He zipped around the room in confusion . Should he stay ? Should he try to hide ? Or should he go ? And then he realized something else that worried him . Dante wasn 't in the cave . Why ? Perhaps she had escaped ? But that didn 't make sense , because she would have gone back to the woods and he 'd have seen her . Had the Wumpus done something with her ? Had Lyria ? He hovered above the sleeping figures and looked around the cave , hands on his hips . How in beauty 's name would he wake them ? He saw Greff 's basket lying on the floor . He grabbed it and zipped to the opening of the cave . He dipped it in the lake and had to walk back , lugging the full basket with him . It was quite heavy , and he had to drag it , grunting and pushing over to Greff , who he doused with the water . " Well , I just dragged that basket of water over here ! It was heavy and I couldn 't fly so I had to walk ! Never mind that now - I need help ! " Greff took the basket , went up the tunnel to the lake and filled it with water . He easily brought it back and revived Ori , and then Addis . They all sat for a minute looking at Seeya , who was so tired he was sitting on the floor of the cave . Addis simply stared , speechless . " Fine , fine , " the Oralian snapped . " I 'm a mess , o . k . ? Get over it ! I had to swim to get in here , and then I had to lug that heavy basket to get water in here to wake up Greff . I 'd like to see any of you do that and look any better . And yes , " he said , folding his arms across his chest , " I 'm frowning ! " Pirrin cowered as she raised her arms . He wasn 't sure what she might do , but he was afraid of her . She dropped her arms and said quietly . " All of them ? " When Pirrin nodded she turned her head and sighed . Then she looked back at the Wumpus . " I don 't care about the others , " she said , " I can take care of them . But you must find Addis - he cannot escape ! " Once they were safely back in the woods Greff began building another barricade . Ori began working on some traps they could put in the trees to help keep the Wumpus from capturing them . He couldn 't stand the thought of actually hurting anyone , so he made sure when the traps were sprung the vines wouldn 't be too tight or constraining . At that moment the Wumpus tried rushing the barricade , but several got caught up in Ori 's traps . Unfortunately , because the Bastahl couldn 't tolerate violence , it didn 't take the athletic Wumpus long to work their way out of them . When the first Wumpus head showed at the top of the barricade , Greff gave a great cry and grabbed four of the biggest branches he had and just began swinging . The Wumpus flew back with a howl . Ori hesitantly picked up a branch and stood ready . When the next Wumpus head showed over the barricade , he used the branch like a ramrod , quickly punching it into the Wumpus ' face . The creature howled and dropped immediately . Greff looked at Ori appreciatively . The front wall of the barricade came down and there was an army of Wumpus behind it , led by Pirrin . Ori shoved Addis behind his back and crouched down , his branch ready . With a shout Greff pushed into the crowd , swinging four arms at once . Wumpus flew both left and right with howls , but there were too many . Out of the corner of his eye Ori could see Seeya on the ground , one wing bent at a sickening angle . There were six Wumpus on Greff , and they were slowly bringing him down . Two of them wrestled one of the branches out of his hand , and began hitting him with it . The blows just bounced off the Brox 's back . " His head ! " Pirrin shouted , and before Greff could move , Pirrin brought one of the largest branches down with tremendous force on Greff ' head . The Brox crumpled . Ori was now trying to back out of the barricade , his head swinging from back to front to make sure the Wumpus didn 't come from behind , a branch in one hand , his other hand protectively on Addis . " It 's no use Ori ! " Addis shouted . " I 'm not going to have you all killed because she wants me ! " and he tried to step out from behind the Bastahl . Distracted , Ori looked down for an instant , and that 's when the Wumpus made their move . Dula made a grab for him , and Ori instinctively jumped . He landed lightly on a tree branch , but the trees in these woods weren 't strong enough . With a crack the branch broke and he fell on top of two Wumpus , knocking them out cold . Pirrin began to advance on Addis , who stood his ground . As Pirrin reached out to grab him , Addis tried to jump backward . The motion swung the pendant forward , and that was all Pirrin got in his hand . " Lyria will have to wait , " Addis replied , and fixed Pirrin with a stare so intense that the Wumpus froze in confusion . Then Addis took two steps forward , and the surprised Pirrin leaned back slightly . Addis then took one step backward . And vanished . " If she could do that , she would have done it before , " Pirrin snapped . He paused a moment . " Maybe there 's someone else here who can make people disappear ! " The Wumpus all began to look uneasy . Seeya groaned slightly , and Ori , still tied up in vines , was relieved that he was still alive . The other Wumpus began to whimper . He looked wildly at Ori tied up and at Gress and Seeya on the ground , and then said , " Stupid tribes ! We should have drowned you and iced you in and steamed you out of existence when we had the chance ! But no , Lyria wanted to come in and save you all and rule you all . Now what ! " " Greff ? " he called . No answer . He sighed . " O . k . , Ori , there must be a way out of this . Just think . And do it quickly before anyone else shows up . " Share this : TwitterFacebookGoogleLike this : Like Loading . . . Posted on May 9 , 2016May 11 , 2016Categories endolye , UncategorizedTags creative writing , fantasy , fiction , girls , young adultLeave a comment on Endolye Chapter 13 : The Battle Endolye Chapter 12 : Making ProGress Dante was standing on the shore of a beautiful island . The turquoise water made a soothing sound as it rolled up the soft , white sand of the shore . She stood looking around in wonder . There were large , leafy trees further up the shore and a soft , sweet smelling breeze ruffled her hair . She thought she must have passed through a portal , but was confused by the fact she hadn 't seen an arch and that Addis wasn 't with her . She sat down facing the water and ran the soft sand through her fingers while she tried to figure things out . She was also hoping that Addis and others would suddenly appear , and was fighting off her fear at being alone . It felt good to be on the warm beach , but she was worried about what was happening to the others , and that Lyria had found Addis . She hoped they were all o . k . After a few minutes of sifting the sand , she accepted the fact that no one else was coming . She stood up , brushed the sand off her hands and decided to look around . It seemed like a better idea than sitting and doing nothing . She looked back toward the trees and saw a path leading into the forest ; she didn 't remember seeing it before . There was something about it that made her want to head into the trees . She started walking and after a few steps turned and looked back toward the water . She wanted to stay and wait for the others , but she also wanted to know where the path led . She finally decided that if the others hadn 't come by now there was no point in waiting . The path led away from the shore and into the trees , which were very much like the trees in the forest where she had first met Seeya and Addis . The path twisted around the trunk of a very large tree and through two large rocks . On the other side of the rocks the landscape changed suddenly to a series of large boulders like those surrounding the pod where the Brox lived . She walked through the rocks until the path turned around a large boulder and she found herself surrounded by Bulu bushes . The path led through the Bulus and soon twas barely visible through the thick trees and undergrowth . The damp smell and feel of the jungle reminded her of the Bastahl , and she felt a little sad remembering everything that had happened and that she was alone without her friends . As she walked , a gentle breeze began blowing across the path . It lifted her hair and as it blew , she could hear a sound , almost like a voice whispering . Suddenly , the path ended . She stood , not knowing what to do , staring at the thick growth in front of her . She felt the hairs on her arms raise , and stood completely still . Again the breeze blew and she heard the faint whisper of her name . " Dante . " She drew in a sharp breath . It couldn 't be ! She didn 't trust this ; it was too easy . Maybe it was really Lyria trying to trap her . " Where are you ? " She kept looking into the forest , but couldn 't see anything . There was no answer . She waited and then tried again . She stood a moment , wondering what to do next . She turned , thinking she would walk back to the shore , but the path behind her had disappeared . She felt a moment of panic and said , " What do I do now ? " " But , " she began , and then saw off to her right a path leading through the growth . She was sure it hadn 't been there before . As she looked down the path she could see it led to a small clearing . She could hear the soft sound of water splashing , and walked slowly toward the sound . When she reached the clearing she could see a small pool in the center , into which a gentle waterfall spilled . It was round and surrounded by smooth , round stones . The ground around the pool was clear as though it had been swept . She walked slowly toward the pool , and when she reached the edge of it she could see a small slate walkway heading out over the water . She felt drawn toward it and was walking toward the edge of the walkway when a movement from the other side caught her eye . He just shook his head and tried to lead her away . But there was something about the pool , something she felt she needed to do . She pulled her hand away from his and walked into the clearing . She stepped on the walkway that went over the water . Cory quickly followed her , and before she could take a step he put his hands on her shoulders and turned her to face him . He bent forward as if to kiss her . Dante was so confused by what was happening , and so nervous at being close to Cory , she ducked her head so he couldn 't see her face . She looked down into the pool and saw her reflection in the water . And froze in horror . Because it wasn 't Cory 's reflection she saw next to her in the pool , it was the monster from her nightmare . With a cry she pulled away from its grip and tried to run . She kicked and screamed , but just like her dreams she was no match for the monster . It carried her easily into the woods , until they came to a cave . Dante kept hoping this was another nightmare and she would wake up , but when the monster set her down in the cave she knew it was all too real . The cave was lit from the inside by a small fire , and the monster rolled a stone across the opening . Dante cowered on the far side of the fire , sure she was going to be killed . But once the monster had rolled the stone over the opening , it turned to face her and she saw that it was really Lyria . " Dante , don 't be frightened , I don 't want to hurt you . I 'm just so disappointed that you ran away . Didn 't you like my house ? " Dante just stared at her . " What are you , really ? Why did you look like that outside , but now you look the way you did when we were with the Wumpus ? " " Well , " Lyria said , " it 's the Khee . They 've put a curse on me , and whenever I 'm on ProGress I appear like a horrible monster . But I 'm not ! This is who I really am , truly . " She took a step toward Dante , smiling , her arms open . " Ah , " Lyria smiled as she realized that Dante knew the truth . " Well , you just don 't understand . You see , the Khee kept helping the tribes govern themselves . But they made so many mistakes ! Think how much easier it will be for the them when they just have one leader guiding them , making decisions on how things needs to run . " " How would they know ? You see what 's been happening - they can 't solve their own problems . They can 't even really exist completely without each other . I 'm just going to help them become whole . " " Anyway , it doesn 't matter . Soon the tribes will all be in my control , and they will all do my bidding . And if they don 't , they 'll suffer for it . Besides , I 'm going to show up and save them all . I 'll stop the rain , the fog , the steam . " " What others ? You mean that silly Non - Council of yours ? No , I 'll be making sure they 're out of the way . " She smiled at Dante , and suddenly Dante was more afraid for her friends than she was for herself . Dante thought about her friends , and realized suddenly how much she cared about them . No matter what , she cared about them . Without knowing why , she said , " Well , then , you can 't destroy love . " At that Lyria gave her a strange look . " Love ? They 'll all love me . That 's who they 'll love , " and with that she vanished . Dante was alone in the dim cave , with an impossibly heavy stone blocking the only way out .

The first Sunday in December we always do a family picture day . This usually gets some of the family members of our church members out for a service . This year Stu added backgrounds to out pictures and they turned out really good ! Here is ours . If anyone is interested in a special Christmas project ( you can take advantage of those after Christmas sales ! ) , we have a few small needs for our church that I thought I would share . We need kids scissors for our S . S . classes . We are also needing some puzzles and games that could be used at the end of a class to give the kids something quiet to do until the adults get done . They would be fore ages 5 - 10 . The games would have to either be simple games that I could write out the instructions in Spanish or some that were already in Spanish . Posted by We have been doing a lot of catching up since we got home from the hospital so I have not had time to post anything . Stu was released from the hospital on the evening of October 22nd . We didn 't have our car there , so we were going to call a taxi . BUT GOD . . . . sent an angel . : ) Our neighbor showed up just as we finished getting everything together and he drove us home . What a blessing it was not to have to ride in a taxi . Stu had to stay at home for a week , taking it easy until his follow up visits . It was hard to keep him still ! He answered the phone one day and it was for me . I was outside taking care of something and he called out the window of the office that it was for me . I picked up the phone as he was walking back to the bedroom ( I was downstairs and he was upstairs ) and heard a crash ! Well , I was very jumpy still because of the accident so I threw the phone down and took off running upstairs ( stubbed my pinky toe on the way ) . I found him laying on the floor in the hall . He had tripped and was not able to catch himself . I got him up and back into bed and told him for my heart 's sake to please stay there ! The next morning I was in the kitchen with Juls and I was looking at something on her back when her head went down on the microwave . I asked her what she was doing and then her head went up and banged back down on the microwave so I grabbed her arms to turn her around to see what was going on and she went limp . Thankfully I was able to lay her down on the floor . At first I thought she was having a seizure but quickly realized she had passed out . As I was telling Stu about it a little bit later , I finally lost it and started crying . I guess the stress of everything had finally gotten to me . I did take her to the doctor and her heart rate was slower than normal and a bit off but the doctor thinks it was post traumatic stress since she had helped me take Stu to the clinic after the accident . She seems ok now . Stu was cleared by all the doctors and is doing better but is still having a few problems . He is still Please keep praying that these things will get better quickly , especially since his load is about to double . The Wessons are leaving for a 6 month furlough on Tuesday . Please keep me in your prayers to as I will have to start driving the Wednesday night route and it is not a safe time of the year to be out on the roads after dark . Seth took up the offering in church for the first time ever . When Bro . Josh called him name , he looked up with such surprise on his face and all the people went , " ahhhh " . : ) Stu was up front in a classroom with a sick headache , trying to get ready for his class , so he missed it . We have also been fighting a war the last month . We have been overrun by biting ants . They are everywhere ! ! ! They have even been in our beds . For some reason they like to bite Jesse 's eyelids , so he wakes up with swollen eyes for a few days . We have sprayed and put out every kind of poison possible but we still have them . They disappear from one room and show up in another . Then we realized that we have rats again too . Stu got one with his hockey stick and we got two more with poison . I just want to be able to go in my kitchen to cook and not have ants or rats joining me ! Jesse is scared to go downstairs by himself because of the rats . If anyone has any suggestions for me , I would love to hear them ! This is the whole story of Stu 's accident . It is as much for us to have a record of as it is to inform anyone who may not have heard . Friday , October 18th , we were at the beach and Stu was heading out in the water with another guy to surf . On the way out a wave came and the other guy lost control of his board and it hit Stu in the face and knocked him out , the problem is that none of us saw it happen . We are not sure how long he was under the water . I had looked out and saw Stu 's back , it looked like he was bending over with his head under the water . I thought maybe he was fixing the strap on his ankle . Finally the other guy realized that Stu wasn 't there and went looking for him . I saw him pull him up out the the water and realized that something was wrong and took off into the water ( I don 't swim ) . On my way out , I yelled to Juls that something was wrong with daddy and to go the the restaurant and get help . I also yelled to Delayna to watch the boys and yelled to them to get out of the water . There was only one other person on the beach so I yelled for him to help . I got to Stu and we started carrying him out of the water . We were able to get Stu into the shore , but the time I got there I was so exhausted that I could hardly stand up . He had come to and was yelling , but had no idea where he was or what happened . He had a hole in his cheek with blood going everywhere , we got a towel on that and he started coughing / vomiting up water . Juls brought two guys from the restaurant and they helped me get Stu into the van and the one guy led me to the clinic . I took Juls with me to help and left Delayna and the boys at the beach . He coughed up water the whole way there and asked about every 2 minutes where he was and what happened . We got him to the clinic , a small 2 room clinic with no back up power , and they started hooking him up to an IV and oxygen . They had me ask him some specific questions to see what he remembered . He knew who we were and where he lived but he didn 't know what town we were in or why we were therePosted by We survived VBS ! Before the week started we kept talking about VBS and the boys asked if they got to go . We said yes and they got very excited , " yay , we get to go to VBS ! " Then Jesse asked Seth , " What 's VBS ? " and Seth said , " I don 't know ! " . We had from 100 - 150 kids each day . We only planned for 100 , so I had to scramble to come up with extra crafts each day . We had several saved and we had half of the kids and some of their parents come to church on Sunday . It was a good week but I am glad it is over . : ) My girls made it safely to Toronto today , although without their suitcases . : ) They are hoping to get them tonight or tomorrow . I guess the suitcases took a different flight . This is the picture I received of them enjoying Tim Hortons and of course I noticed the Walmart bag right away ! ! ! Their adventure has begun . The girls are going on a trip . They leave on Wednesday ( please pray for them as they travel alone ) to go to Canada to spend 2 weeks at camp and then they are going to the States to visit both sets of grandparents . They have worked to raise their money for the tickets . Thanks to many of you buying her paintings , Delayna was able to raise all of her money . They are very excited . I think Jesse wants to go to because he was hiding in Delayna 's suitcase . : ) We have a church group here this week . There are 29 total , but 8 of them are sleeping at our house . The first morning when Seth came downstairs and they were sitting in the living / dining room eating breakfast , he kept hiding behind me . He is not normally like that so I asked him why he was hiding . He told me that he was embarrassed because we have never had that many white people in our house ! : ) He is used to the Dominicans coming over but those gringos startled him ! Please keep us in your prayers ! Besides the whole driving situation , : ) , we have had many things " go wrong " . We feel that we are under attack right now . Some of the things have been " big deals " and others have been small irritants ! Just when we think it 's over , something else happens . Last night while my husband was out visiting , someone busted out the back window of our jeep . I don 't know if they were trying to rob us or just being mean ! I was just thankful that he wasn 't in it at the time . It was a minor thing , compared to other things , but it is getting discouraging . Over the next few months , I am going to try to post some pictures of our life . It probably won 't be every day , but I will try to do it often . If you want to see a specific picture of some aspect of our life or ministry , just let me know ! Enjoy ! A friend of mine just posted an article from the Washington Post that I found very interesting ! Just one of the many reasons your prayers are so important to us . : ) I 've copied part of it below , to read the whole article you can go to . . . http : / / www . washingtonpost . com / blogs / worldviews / wp / 2013 / 06 / 07 / a - map - of - the - countries - with - the - most - dangerous - roads / Lots of people think that their home town has the worst traffic , the most aggressive drivers , the craziest cabbies . Sometimes they have strong anecdotal evidence . Russian drivers often employ dashboard cameras to record seemingly inevitable collisions with reckless motorists . In the United Arab Emirates city of Abu Dhabi , a three - day Blackberry phone outage coincided with a 40 percent drop in traffic accidents . When I visited Cairo , where just crossing the street is a sort of art form in itself , I presumed no roads could be more dangerous until a friend who had just returned from Indonesia assured me that Jakarta 's are far worse . The Caribbean island nation ( it shares the island of Hispanolia with Haiti ) reports a staggering 41 . 7 driving deaths per 100 , 000 people per year . That means that , in any given year , a Dominican person has a one in 2 , 398 chance of being killed by a car . That 's not so bad until you extrapolate out by 70 years and find that , over a lifetime , a Dominican 's odds of dying in a car - related accident are one in 480 . The WHO report notes that the Dominican Republic has weak helmet and speed laws and even weaker drunk driving laws . More than half of driving related deaths , 58 percent , are of occupants or drivers of two - or three - wheeled vehicles . In other words , motorcycles . Most of you know that my husband grew up in Canada so therefore grew up playing hockey . Well , since we have ben here in the DR , he doesn 't get to play much hockey . He keeps his stick handy in case the opportunity arises . Yesterday morning that opportunity came . I went down to the kitchen to get him some more Sprite , we have both been sick the last several days , and when I walked in the kitchen , something moved on top of my stove . You guessed it , another rat ! I called for Stu to come down to help me and the first thing he asked for was his hockey stick . After several minutes of trying to get the rat to come out from behind the stove , it finally did . Stu started practicing his slapshots . He smacked that rat against the door over and over until it stopped moving . I was laughing so hard and wishing I had a video camera . When it was all over , I told the girls that they better marry a man who knows how to use a hockey stick . : ) Is it really June already ? ? ? May seemed to fly by . It probably helped that my sister and her family were here . We sure enjoyed getting to know my niece . She turned 1 year old while she was here . The poor thing got smothered by all of us wanting to hug and kiss her ! May 26th was Mother 's Day here . On the Friday night before , the men put on a Mother / Daughter banquet for us . They did a really good job . On the way home that night it was me , Joy , my girls , her daughter and my sister . There were lots of police out ( they have upped the patrols due to more violence ) and as we passed through a road block they stopped us . They looked in the van and said " oh , a van full of beautiful women . You must not be Dominican , you are too pretty . " then they let us go . : ) We were glad not to have nay problems . It has been raining a lot here the past couple of weeks , which has been nice ! After it rains here a bunch of flying ants come out . We don 't notice them as much when we are at home because we have screens , but at the church they can be a bother ! One Wednesday night it had rained quite a bit and as Josh started preaching the flying ants started coming out . As they would fly under a ceiling fan it would push them down onto the people . There were so many of them that we were being swarmed with them . People started swinging and swatting , waving and picking them out of other peoples hair . It was very distracting ! Then one flew into my sisters mouth and she started gagging . At that point , Stu was chuckling and I was having a hard time holding it together but I was doing ok . Then one flew into Josh 's eye and we all lost it . The whole church was laughing . After Josh saying it was a good thing they were ants and not roaches we got back to business . After the services there were so many dead ants all over the floor , you could tell it had been bad . We have had a special evangelistic campaign going on since Thursday . The devil has really been fighting , there have been so many complications . On Thursday morning we were informed we could not use the building that we had secured several months in advance because the Catholics were going to use it . We ended up having the meeting outside on a basketball court . In the middle of the service , between the two preachers , while they were singing , it started pouring ! Everyone started running . Joy spread herself over the keyboard until someone came to help her , she was drenched by then ! Then last night in the kids service , Stu was about to pass out a few prizes to some of the kids who had won and a riot broke out . As soon as the first kid held up their prize everyone rushed forward . They broke the sound system , trampled people and then started throwing rocks and eggs . Because the sound system wouldn 't work , they had a hard time getting it back under control . Needless to say , some of them were nervous about what would happen tonight ! I do know they have had a good attendance and at least 18 saved so far . Seth and Jesse are done with school for the year ( YAY ! ) and the girls are getting close . We are working extra hard to try to finish on time . We are looking forward to summer break this year , especially me ! So , if you don 't hear from me this summer it will be because I am laying out back in the pool trying to stay cool and enjoying my break . : ) Not really ! I am going to be taking two Spanish classes a week through the summer . I am nervous and excited all at once . Please pray that my Spanish will improve greatly during this time . When I came home yesterday Seth looked like he had been in a fight ! Him and Jesse had been in the pool and while Seth was looking down into the water and Jesse came up out of the water right into Seth 's eye . He immediately had a huge knot . Today it was black and swollen . When I told him he looked like a fighter , he said , " I don 't want to be a fighter " . That makes me happy ! : ) Praise the Lord all went well today . I know it was due to your prayers ! We got there this morning and as we suspected the other guy didn 't show up . You would think that would be a good thing for me , but the other accidents where one party didn 't show up , had to go back next week and try again . After we heard the people in front of us saying that , we were thinking that we would be taking another trip down there next week . Well , when it was my turn , the lady asked about the other guy and we explained that he wasn 't there and we couldn 't reach him on the phone . She tried to call him and couldn 't get through so she said well , I guess I 'll give you your license and documents back and you can go . What a surprise , but a huge blessing ! Now we get to start the insurance process of trying to get the jeep fixed . That could take a while . Thanks for all of your prayers ! Well , I had to make my first trip to the police station today ! It all started with a quiet afternoon . The girls were gone with friends and Stu had taken the boys out . After working on my to do list for a bit , I decided to run a quick errand that was just a couple of blocks away . As I was leaving the entrance of our neighborhood , I had to cross traffic to turn left . I waited until it was clear except for a motorcycle that was quite a ways down the road and I headed toward the center to wait for one car to pass the other way . Instead of passing he stopped right in front of me and I couldn 't move . The next thing I know I heard screeching tires and saw the motorcycle fishtailing his way towards me . He smacked right into my car right at my side view mirror . He busted my front windshield , broke off my mirror , dented the front side panel and knocked my bumper loose . I think I just sat there staring at him , I couldn 't believe he hit me . He had plenty of room to go around behind me , which is the lane that he had been in . He picked his bike up and I backed back into the entrance of my neighborhood . There is a police compound across from our entrance and a couple of them had been pulling out , so they came right over . They were very nice and agreed that it was not my fault and that I shouldn 't be upset , but I was very upset . After realizing that I did not have any minutes on my cell phone , one of the police used his phone to call Joy for me . She called Stu ( who was out with Josh and the boys ) and then she walked up to the entrance to help me out . We ended up having to go to the police station to file a report . When we got there the guy suddenly gave a whole different story than mine . We also found out he didn 't have a license , but they didn 't do anything about it ! So , because he was hurt ( he only had a couple of scratches on his stomach from my mirror ) they kept my license . And , because our stories didn 't match up , we have to go back Thursday morning at 8am ( I think for some kind of a hearing to sort it out ) . It is so frustrJust so I can end this on a good note , I am adding a photo of my handsome men on their way to the driving range . We have a group of women and children that we pick up from a very poor area . Some of them have been coming faithfully for a while now . One family is the mother and three children that we took a Christmas box to this year , some of you may have seen the photos on my Facebook page . She is always bringing visitors with her . Many of the ones she brings are mothers with babies . Because they are so poor , many of them don 't get to eat three meals a day like we do . In fact , on Sunday mornings in our Jr . Church , I have started serving a snack because so many of them haven 't had breakfast . They seem to pay attention a bit better when they have food in their tummies ! One of the girls that had been coming , named Francesca ( who is not saved yet ) , was pregnant , we found out recently that she is only 16 . I don 't know a lot about her , but I do know she is living with a grandpa or grandma , not sure which . Anyways , she had been coming regularly and then we didn 't see her for a month . When she came back a few weeks ago , she had her new , month old baby with her . Over the last two weeks , we found out some of the things that have happened with her in the last month . We found out that she almost died while giving birth ( some of you may remember my story about the deaf lady from our church who had given birth and how bad the clinics are here ) . It is a very common thing here for girls that age to die while giving birth . They had to give her two units of blood afterwards and the first one poured right out her nose and mouth . While she was fighting for her life in the clinic they had to give her baby formula . The reason that is a bad thing is because now that she is home , ( because she is so poor ) she can 't buy formula for her baby or food for herself . We found out that she has begged a little food here and there from her neighbors . We also found out that she is giving her baby carrot juice , because that is all she can get . We were able to get her a box of food and a bit of formula . We are currently in the process of trying to talk to a compDeuteronomy 15 : 11 - For the poor shall never cease out of the land : therefore I command thee , saying , Thou shalt open thine hand wide unto thy brother , to thy poor , and to thy needy , in thy land . It 's hard sometimes to remember that when we are constantly bombarded with people begging . It 's easy to become calloused to it . I noticed Wednesday night that one of the little boys who comes was having problems getting his shoes on . When I bent down to help him I discovered that his shoes were too tight and were cutting into the back of his foot . I traced his foot on a piece of paper and when I got home I searched through my boys shoes and was able to find a pair of sandals that I think will fit him , it 's not tennis shoes ( which is what he was wearing , pink ones at that ) but it will work . I love giving to others . I love putting a smile on someone 's face by taking them a little treat ! And I also love to receive gifts but I have such a hard time receiving gifts from people who hardly have anything ! There are two people , who are among the poorest in our church , that have been bringing me " gifts " . One is an older lady from a very poor area and she has been bringing me a little bag of veggies every Sunday . I feel so guilty taking it from her but I can 't hurt her feeling either ! The other is a blind and deaf man in our church . He started giving me little bags of flavored peanuts and then the other day gave me a bag full of them . I feel so humbled when they do that ! There is so much that we could learn from them . They have so little but have such a giving spirit ! If only we were all so willing to give of what we had . I pray that God will bless them richly ! Why did I tell you all of this ? Is it because I am hoping to bring tears to your eyes ? Is it because I want you to consider helping us with donations ? Is it because I want you to see how good you have it ? No , none of this . I just wanted to share what been on my heart lately . To share a bit more of our ministry with you . To show you how you can pray for our ministry . Maybe to personalize our ministry a little more . Thank you for your interest in our ministry . As many of you know Delayna has been taking art classes for a few years now . I posted some pictures of her paintings recently that she is trying to sell to raise money for a trip to go to Camp YES in Canada this summer . She normally has class on Friday afternoons from 2 : 30 - 6 : 30 , but sometimes she has to leave a little early for a church activity . This past week , due to Semana Santa , they had class on Wednesday since Friday was a holiday . When she arrived to class , she informed her teacher that she would have to leave early because of church that night . Her teacher then told her , " you need to choose between art and church ! " At first Delayna thought she was kidding with her , but after a minute she realized that she was serious . At that point all kinds of things were going through Delayna 's mind . One of which was that maybe she could stay a little later to please her teacher and still have enough time to get ready for church . Then she made her decision . She paid her teacher for the past month , packed up her stuff and walked out ! We are so proud of her for taking that stand ! But then , I believe , God blessed her for that decision . She was well on her way home and her teacher came running after her and told her , " if your faith means that much to you , you can come back " . That night at church during our prayer meeting , Delayna requested prayer for her salvation . Sometimes we wonder about kids that are raised in church and don 't have a choice about going . What will they do when they are tested ? When they have to make a choice without us , what will it be ? It was such a blessing to see her make the right choice when faced with a test like that . We had Pastor Ken Shaver and his wife here with us the beginning of March . He preached a family conference for us and our church 's 6th anniversary . We had 225 on Sunday morning and a couple saved . We really enjoyed having them stay with us . They sure spoiled us rotten . They brought a suitcase full of goodies for us and the Wessons . My kids immediately adopted them as grandparents . : ) We were sad to see them leave . On March 7th Jesse turned 6 years old . He was so excited for March to get here because he knew he was going to get a box of presents from his Nanny , one to open each day of the month . He had watched Seth do it in January and he was ready for his turn . He has loved it . He lays it out each night before he goes to bed so he can pick it up on his way downstairs in the morning . One Saturday , Stu was out passing out flyers for the family conference . He had given one to a lady that was in her yard and when he was done telling her about it she asked him if he wanted a girlfriend . He told her no , he was happily married but she acted like , so what , do you want a girlfriend ? ! I 'm glad he said no . : ) It is very common in this Country for the men to have both a wife and a girlfriend and they both know about each other . We 've had to deal with those situations a few times . We live on a cul d sac and the kids love going out on " the circle " to play . Most evening our kids and the Wesson 's kids are all out there playing along with some neighbor kids . The other night Seth came in from playing and said " Mom , I need to tell you something bad that I did . " . I asked what it was and he told me that he had pulled a branch off of one of the trees . The neighbors like to keep the circle looking nice , so there are a couple of trees the kids can climb and the rest they are to leave alone . I told him that he knew he wasn 't suppose to touch them . He said , " but it wasn 't me , Ashlyn ( Wesson ) forced me to . " I told him that she couldn 't force him to do anything , that it was his choice to obey or disobey . He then said , " but mom , she looked at me with that face and I had to do it ! " . It took all I had to keep from busting out laughing . Delayna has been taking art lessons for a few years now and is an excellent painter now . She is trying to raise some money to take a trip to Canada this summer to go to Camp YES and visit friends and family . Because of where we live , there is not a lot she can do to work to earn money so she is trying to sell some paintings . I am posting some pictures of some that are done , but she also takes requests . You can either give her an idea of what you want or find a picture for her to look at . It usually takes her approximately 1 - 2 months to paint one . They cost around $ 30 - $ 50 , depending on the size and the paints used . That is not framed , but if you are interested in having it framed here ( I don 't know how much it costs in the States , but I don 't think it is too much here ) before we sent it , we could check on that price for you . If you are interested or if you have any questions , just let me know . Thanks ! Today is my husband 's 40th birthday ! I am so thankful to still have him ! He has had a few close calls lately ! In fact , last Wednesday night on his way home from church he was attacked ( at least it was attempted ) . He was taking people home and his last stop is down a long dark road . On the way down he heard something crash into the side of the van , even made his deaf passenger jump ! He was slowing down to check it out and he saw some guys hiding in the ditch , so he decided to floor it and keep going ! He assumed they threw something at the van trying to get him to stop so they could rob him and that was confirmed later after talking to the police . Our van had a huge dent and the paint is gone , but thankfully Stu and his passengers were safe ! We had a surprise party for him yesterday . He was surprised , he didn 't suspect anything ! I about made myself sick with the anxiety of planning it and keeping it from him ! I had fun , but I am glad it 's over . He got plenty of Coke and chocolate to last him . . . a few days , maybe . Everyone here has learned that he loves those two things . We had lots of old pictures , a skit to make fun of him and some fun games , like pin the toupee on the bald guy . Jesse told me this morning , after seeing my dress laid out for church , " I like all of your dresses , even your black spy girl dresses " . I guess he had been watching to many spy movies . : ) I figured that I had better hurry up and post something before January ended so it wouldn 't seem as long since I last posted . Even though it has technically been 2 months . Ooops ! I am not a good writer to begin with and when I get so busy it is hard to make myself sit down and write . I would rather go organize something ! Well , we are all healthy at the moment , which is so nice ! I did finally go to the dentist and ended up having a root canal done . I go tomorrow to get my filling . I had to go to one dentist to be dagnosed , then to another for the root canal and back to the first dentist for the filling . I am not in pain anymore but will be glad when it is finished . I hope this doesn 't become a yearly thing for me , since this has happened two years in a row now . We had a wonderful Christmas . After all the church activities were done , we were able to have a couple of weeks to just take it easy . The only thing that would have made it better would have been to have some family here . We were happy to at least have the Wessons . We spent Christmas eve together and had a great time eating and playing games . On New Years Eve we had our church teens over for the night . I was fine with it until about 3 in the morning when I had been trying to go to sleep but couldn 't because they were outside of my window yelling . : ) Seth turned 7 on the 17th . He is really growing up ! He 's not my buddha baby anymore . My mom sent him a box of presents , one for each day in January . He loves getting up each morning and opening his present . He had a lego birthday party and was so excited to find several new lego " guys " on his cake . Now Jesse is already planning his party . : ) Seth has lost two more teeth , so that makes three . I gave him some money for his most recent one and he said , " so , you 're the tooth fairy " I said , " no , she just gave me the money to give to you . " : ) He knows it 's really me though . We have been having a problem with thieves in our neighborhood lately . It always gets bad around Christmas but it hasn 't calmed down yet . One day , close to Christmas , I was in the living room and saw someone walk by the front gate . When I walked closer to look I saw that he was down on the curb half hiding under our car . I saw another guy walking around our circle and at first thought they were playing around . Then when I saw a police motorcycle pull onto our circle , I knew it was something else . I stood up on my wall and pointed down so they would know where he was . One of the police came over and grabbed him and told me thank you . I later found out that he had stabbed a woman and had run into our neighborhood to hide . Yesterday someone tried to break into the house behind us and then climbed up onto our wall to escape . He must have ran on the walls until he got to the street . Anyways through all of this we were talking to our neighbor ( a professional baseball player ) who has a friend who is a sargent in the national police . He called him to come over and he gave us his cell number and said to call him personally if we ever had any problems . It 's actually good for me when this stuff happens because it reminds me that where I live and to be careful . I get too comfortable here sometimes . My husband Stewart and I are missionaries in the Dominican Republic . We are working with The Wessons in the city of Santo Domingo . We have 4 children , Delayna 16 , Julianna 14 , Seth 7 , and Jesse 6 .

There was another girl my age living near us in Navy housing . Her name was Lisa and she was married with a little boy . She was a pretty girl , with bleached blond hair , a good figure and good personality . She was from New York . Her husband was also in the Navy . She told me she was very unhappy in her marriage and was considering getting divorced . I never knew why she was so unhappy with her marriage , just that she was looking for a way out . One evening I went out on my back porch and looked over toward Lisa 's place . There were about four guys out in the yard drinking beer and Lisa was holding court in the middle of the group . When they spotted me , they all called me to come over and join the party . I wandered over and was introduced to the guys . They were sailors and one of the guys was a former school mate . The guys wanted me to have a beer with them and when I explained that I didn 't like the taste of beer , one of the guys suggested I mix some tomato juice with the beer . They just happened to have some tomato juice and one of the guys was already drinking the mix . They convinced me to take a taste , which I did . I liked it ! In no time at all , I had a drink in my hand . I was 18 , not quite drinking age , but most of the guys were probably just barely 21 . The rest of the evening was a party . Lisa didn 't have to worry about her husband coming home , he had duty . Her little boy was asleep in the bedroom . There were several guys for each of us girls , but after awhile , we each paired up with certain guys and the other guys left . Lisa disappeared with one of the guys , I kept my relationship more innocent . I was just talking to my former school mate . We were getting along fairly well until he mentioned that he had seen me in the car with a couple of black girls earlier that summer . He questioned why I would get in a car with black girls ( he used a word I will not repeat here ) . I replied that I was in the car with them because they were my friends . The conversation became somewhat profane after that , and I was being verbally abused . So I didn 't have a choice . I went home . The friendship with my former school mate was over . As for Lisa , her marriage fell apart a short time later . She was only in the area a short time . She decided to go home to New York . Life was different in 1960 . For the most part , most people didn 't lock their front door , and there was much more trust among people than there is now . Accepting a ride from a stranger wasn 't the danger that it is now . The idea of a serial killer hadn 't even been formed at that time . Generally , people trusted one another . I would often accept rides from friends and strangers alike . I couldn 't drive , so I had to depend on the bus . So when waiting at the bus stop , if someone came by and offered a ride , if they seemed safe I would accept a ride . One day a girl I knew slightly was waiting at the bus stop with me . We were headed into Memphis and both of us were tired of waiting for the bus . When a car pulled up with a good looking guy driving , we checked him out , glanced at one another , and decided to accept the ride . We both climbed into the back seat of the car . We both believed because there were two of us , we 'd be okay if the driver got out of hand . And he did get out of hand . At first he seemed to be a nice guy , he made small talk as he drove . The other girl and I were sitting in the back seat so he couldn 't get too fresh with us . But after a little while , he began to make some remarks that were inappropriate , and suggested the other girl and I have a threesome with him . We asked the guy to pull over the car and let us out . He refused . At this point , the other girl and I were getting worried . We worked in unison , attempting to talk ourselves out of the situation . It didn 't seem to be working . The guy turned the car off of the main road and headed off into the country . We were really worried at this point . Finally , when the car came to a stop sign , we hastily opened the car door and jumped out . The guy yelled profanities at us , but didn 't try to follow us as we marched back towards the main highway where we went back to waiting for a bus . There were several girls my age who resided in our neighborhood . The difference between us was our marital status . I was single , the girls in the neighborhood were married ; they were Navy wives . Navy housing in Millington was like a group of small tri - plexes or four - plexes . In a nearby four - plex was a girl who was actually slightly younger than I . Her name was Janie , and she formed a friendship with my Mother . Janie had a young son who was about a year and a half years old . The babies name was Stevie . Stevie was a darling little boy with blond curly hair and blue eyes . When she was quite young Janie had found herself pregnant and unwed . The babies father left and didn 't want to have anything to do with Janie and Stevie . While she was pregnant , Janie met a young sailor who offered to marry her and raise Stevie . Janie jumped at the opportunity of having a father for her baby . Even in 1960 , unwed mothers were thought of as tramps and were outcasts of society . Janie had been rescued from that prospect by marrying Ed , the sailor . The problem was , Ed treated Janie like his personal slave . He demanded Janie wait on him every day when he came home from work . He didn 't allow Janie to have a car , or any independence . He did allow Janie to come over to our house and visit with my Mother , probably thinking she might learn some housekeeping skills from my Mother . Janie wasn 't even allowed to go grocery shopping on her own . Ed would take Janie to the commissary and give her money and she was expected to buy groceries . I think her budget was about $ 15 . 00 per week . One time I was with Janie when she went grocery shopping . She went slightly over her allowance and walked out to the car to get some more money from Ed . Ed refused to give her additional money and told her to put some items back on the shelf . Little Stevie was ignored by Ed . He treated the baby like he didn 't exist . Janie made up for any attention Stevie missed by doting on him . She would bring Stevie over to our house and he would play with my younger brother , William . My Mother noticed something strange about Stevie , and one day Mom told me she thought Stevie was deaf and she was going to find out . Janie had gone shopping with her husband and my Mother was watching Stevie . Stevie was playing on a blanket on the floor . My Mother called to Stevie . He didn 't respond . My Mother then made some other noises behind Stevie . He still didn 't respond . Finally , my Mother took a phone book and dropped it right in back of Stevie . Stevie didn 't react . My Mother turned to me and told me : " I knew he couldn 't hear . He 's deaf " . Janie was very upset when my Mother told her about Stevie . She went home and told Ed , but Ed convinced her my Mother was wrong . Denial thrived and Stevie wasn 't officially diagnosed for several more years . As time went by , Mr . L . became bolder in his touching , and Mrs . L . became more of an eagle eye , watching me as often as possible . I became more and more discouraged and just wanted a way out of the job . My dream was to return to California , get my own apartment and go to college . California had community colleges , and I realized if I were working I could attend a community college part time . After a short time , when I arrived at work , Mrs . L . handed me the employment wanted section of the local paper . She told me what a wonderful PBX operator I was and that she had circled some job opportunities that might be good for me . I could see the handwriting on the wall . Several days later , Mrs . L . gave me my walking papers . I was fired . I was never so glad to lose a job in my life . I went home and informed my parents that I 'd been fired . I had never confided to them that I was being sexually harassed . So when I told them that I had been fired , they both were angry at me and wanted to know why I was fired . I could only answer : " I don 't know " . My parents were not a bit happy with me . My job had lasted less than two months . I really liked the night clerk . He was a young , single guy , probably in his mid - thirties . I am not sure if he knew what was going on with the sexual harassment from Mr . L . , but he always treated me with kindness and there appeared to be compassion in his eyes . The night clerk , Ralph , always came in before I completed my shift , so we would cross paths for about an hour each day . While conversing one day , I mentioned that I was an Elvis fan . That seemed to impress Ralph . " I have friends who know Elvis , you know . " , he told me . Ralph then told me a few Elvis stories and I was very impressed and oohed and aahed at the appropriate moments during our conversation . Several days later , Ralph came to work and announced that he had brought me a gift . He handed me a postcard from Germany , with a photograph of Elvis on one side and German writing on the other side . When I looked closely , I realized the postcard was autographed by Elvis . I was so excited , I couldn 't thank Ralph enough . I thanked him repeatedly and told him I would treasure the postcard forever . I was so thrilled with the postcard that I wanted to show it to everyone I knew . I couldn 't carry it around though , unless I folded it in half . So I folded it , creating a permanent crease . When I was older , I realized that it was probably fairly valuable and framed the postcard . However , it will always be permanently creased . The price I paid for showing off . After several weeks of working in the office , Mrs . L . informed me that she needed me to help out cleaning the rooms . In retrospect , I think Mrs . L . was trying to get me to quit my job . All of the maids were black girls and in the segregated south , a white girl would never co - mingle with black girls . What Mrs . L . didn 't realize , though , was that I was from California and it just didn 't occur to me that I wasn 't supposed to be friendly to the black girls . I was just so thrilled to be out of the office , and Mr . L . 's grabbing . So I went out to work with the maids , and all of the girls were wonderful to me . We all became fast friends , and joked around with one another . There were two or three girls and they had a car and offered to give me a ride home after work . I climbed into the back seat with several other girls and off we went . Unfortunately , we needed gas , and pulled into a gas station . When we stopped at the gas station there was a guy I knew from school . When he saw me in a car with black girls he began shouting obscenities at me . Then other guys in the gas station also began chanting the obscenities . I glared at them , but didn 't get out of the car . We got our gas as quickly as possible and left . I wasn 't afraid for me but I was afraid for the girls . They didn 't offer me a ride after that . I did run into the girls on the local bus one day . They couldn 't come up to the front of the bus to talk to me , so I went to the back of the bus and sat with them . We joked around while we traveled . When I exited the bus the driver made a nasty remark as he spit some " snuff " in my direction . There was one time when I was doing the maid detail when a young guy from New York saw me and introduced himself . He was a guest at the motel and very good looking . As I made the bed , with the door to the room wide open , we talked and joked . Within a few minutes Mr . L . came running into the room , telling the boy to leave immediately and informing me I was acting like a " floozy " . I was shocked and embarrassed . That was my last day as a maid . I was officially told to report to the office on the following day . I continued to be sexually harassed at my job . I dreaded being left alone with Mr . L . in the office . Mrs . L . was entering the office more often , unexpectedly , with a close eye on me and what I was doing . It was bad enough that when I was needed to work on unscheduled days , Mr . L . would show up at my front door instead of calling me on the telephone . Fortunately , my Mother usually answered the door , so he was unable to get to me in my home . But I wasn 't the only one being harassed by Mr . L . There was going to be an Air Show in Millington , and the Blue Angels were the stars of the show . They arrived and checked into the Rip Van Winkle Motel . Unfortunately , they brought women with them . After they checked in , Mr . L . watched their room closely . He became quite agitated that the Blue Angel pilots had girls in there rooms whom he believed were not their wives . After watching for several hours , he and Mrs . L . talked it over and they decided they wanted to find out if the women were wives or girl toys . I was ordered to go and knock on the door and find out if the women were married to the Blue Angel pilots . I was a very naive 18 year old , but I dutifully marched over to the motel room of the pilots , dreading what I was supposed to do . I knocked loudly on the door . There was silence . I knocked again , still silence . I knocked a third time , and finally the door opened slightly , and a man peeped his head out from the slight opening . " Yes ? " , he inquired . " The management wants to know if the lady you are with is your wife ? " , I asked , fidgeting as the words left my mouth . " Yes , we 're married . " , the Blue Angel stated . I said " Thank you " , and turned around and marched back to the office . " They 're married . " , I exclaimed when I returned to the office . " Did you ask for identification from both of them ? " , Mr . L . asked . I was horrified . " No . " , I replied . " Then go back and ask to see some identification to make sure they are married ! " , Mr . L . shouted at me . I slowly walked back to the room and reluctantly knocked on the door again . This time the Angel pilot answered after the first knock . When he opened the door , he was buttoning the top button on his pants , his shirt was on , but still unbuttoned . " The management asked to me to check both of your identification cards to verify you are actually married . " , I informed him . He asked me to wait a minute , and closed the door . After a minute , he came back and showed me two identification cards . I glanced at them both without seeing either . I was very embarrassed . " Thank you . " , I told him , and headed back to the office . Once I arrived back at the office I informed Mr . L . that they were married . I hadn 't seen the ID cards , I was so embarrassed , but I didn 't want to have to go back to that room and say anything more . Mr . and Mrs . L . didn 't seem to believe me , but they didn 't say too much except " I can 't believe they are married " . Within 15 minutes , all of the Blue Angels checked out of their rooms . Mr . and Mrs . L . were very smug . They thought they had prevented promiscuity in their motel . Posted at 05 : 00 AM in 1960 Millington | Permalink I began my new job at the Rip Van Winkle Motel with high hopes , anxious to do well and learn . When I first was hired , Mr . and Mrs . L . were very pleased at how quickly I learned the job and how well I was doing . Unfortunately , things changed . It was very subtle in the beginning . When I was alone with Mr . L . in the office , he would brush a little too close to me or his hand would " accidentally " rub over by breasts or buttocks . Other times he would approach me and tickle me right under my breasts . I was only 18 and didn 't know how to handle this situation . One time Mrs . L . walked in as Mr . L . was tickling me . He had walked up from behind me and reached around to tickle me under my breasts from behind . Mrs . L . thought I was to blame and yelled at me . The term " sexual harassment " was unheard of in 1960 . In those days women tolerated the situation or quit their job . Those were the only options . There was no one to go to , no way to report the situation and if a girl or woman tried to report the situation legally , they were usually not believed . Most women only worked to find a husband , anyway . Work for women at that time was a transition time between school and marriage , and once married , few women worked again until the children were grown . For awhile I tried to accept the situation and just stay away from Mr . L . as much as possible . When I was alone with Mr . L . , I would try to place myself in a position difficult for him to grab at me . My great new job wasn 't so great anymore . I started my new job with all of the enthusiasm I could muster . I was very excited and wanted to do well and learn . My job was to assign rooms to guests , work the switchboard and make reservations . I also had to make sure the rooms had been cleaned before assignment . The motel owners lived on the premises . A large apartment was attached to the motel and there was a private entrance into the office . I worked part - time during the day and a young man worked nights . The owners , whom I will refer to as Mr . and Mrs . L . , were probably in their late fifties or early sixties . Mr . L . was about 5 ' 11 " , thin and balding and talked with an Eastern European accent . Mrs . L . was about 5 ' 4 " , plump , and had short gray hair curled loosely . Her accent was pure American with a southern twang . Mrs . L . didn 't come into the front office very often , she was usually back in her home . Mr . L . would come out and instruct me how to do the different tasks . He would usually follow me around , watching what I did . Neither Mr . or Mrs . L . did the office tasks anymore . They were interested in keeping the motel and having hired help run the place . Both Mr . and Mrs . L . seemed very happy with how quickly I learned the business and was able to do things on my own . I , too , was happy and thought I had found a great job . I would have loved to go to college after graduation but my family couldn 't afford to send me . My Mother always said we had had some ancestor who had begun a college and if only she could remember who it was , maybe I could go for free . She never did remember who that relative was . My parents had always told me as soon as I graduated I had to get a job or continue going to school . Since school was out of the question , I knew I had to find a job . I had begun looking right before I graduated high school . I first applied at the geedunk on the base . I had to take a test and a physical , which I passed . Finally , I was told I had passed everything and that as soon as there was an opening , I would be hired . I had seriously considered joining the WAVES , which was the way women served in the Navy at that time . After considering all aspects I decided that I wasn 't ready to be recruited . I began actively looking for work after graduation . I tried the local telephone company , but learned that they weren 't hiring . Then I heard that the local motel , The Rip Van Winkle Motel , was looking for a desk clerk . I went down and spoke with the owners , an older couple . I was hired part - time for the summer , at fifty cents per hour . The national minimum wage was one dollar an hour , but in the south , it was fifty cents an hour . I accepted . Beggars cannot be choosy as the old saying goes . He had been born in St . Louis , Missouri in 1863 , the fourth of five children . His father had been a plumber and a professional violinist , who came to Missouri from Massachusetts and married a young Missouri girl . When my grandfather was still very young , his father passed away and his mother remarried . My grandfather had an intense dislike for his new stepfather , and ran away from home when he was only thirteen years old . He had gone to school only through the third grade . My Grandpa somehow ended up in the southwest , living as an American Indian on the reservation . He stayed on the reservation for several years and then joined the Marine Corps . Unfortunately , he was underage , and when the Marine Corps . learned of this , they discharged him . It is said that he was a mercenary for a short time , and that he went down to Mexico and fought for Pancho Villa . He had grown up with guns and had a love for them , and was a sharp shooter . During World War I , he went north to Canada and joined the Royal Canadian Regiment . He was sent to France to fight the Great War . He was shot in the thigh , and sent to a hospital in Liverpool , England to recover . It was there he met my grandmother , a young English girl working as a nurses aide . They would marry and he would bring her back , first to Canada and then to the United States . Initially they went to St . Louis and stayed with his mother . While they were there , my Uncle Tim was born . Both my Grandmother and Grandpa had friends and relatives in Los Angeles , and so they headed west . My Mother and another daughter were both born in Los Angeles . During the depression my Grandmother became ill . A goiter was getting larger and larger on my Grandmother 's neck . There was no money for medical care . My Grandfather 's mother was quite wealthy , but she refused to lend my Grandfather the money for the medical care my Grandmother required . When my Grandmother finally received medical care , it was too late . The poison from the goiter had spread throughout her body , and she died from heart failure . My Grandfather was broken hearted . My Mother , who was eleven at the time , and her siblings went to live with relatives until my Grandfather could conquer his grief . Eventually , the family was together again . My Grandfather married again and seemed happy . Then , right after her high school graduation , my Mother 's younger sister was killed in a street drag race . She was thrown from the car and hit a telephone pole , killing her instantly . The story is that my Grandfather 's hair turned white overnight . The remainder of my Grandfather 's life was as a father , grandfather and husband . He loved horse racing and spent many hours at the track , especially Santa Anita . He searched for gold throughout his life , and would travel throughout the southwest in search of precious metals . The Lost Dutchman 's Mine was his dream discovery . He had a walk - in closet full of guns , many of them antiques , that he had collected over the years . He was a remarkable man , and I adored him . After he died , my Grandmother ( his second wife ) , was so broken hearted that she allowed the neighbors to just come into her home and take his possessions , especially his gun collection . They also took his rock collection , many of them valuable minerals . Everything was gone . We were in Tennessee and there was nothing my Mother could do . Fortunately , we had our memories . One of my high school girl friends came from a very very religious family . They were from a Christian sect that didn 't allow dancing , rock music and many other things that were considered extreme by their religion . One day I was invited to go to church with my friend . I had no idea what that would entail . Church was every afternoon and my friend arrived to pick me up to go to the meeting . Her mother was driving a large pick - up truck and we all climbed into the truck bed . It was then that my friend informed me that we were going to drive around the base and try to get military personnel to get into the back of the truck with us . Then it was our job to convince the guys that they should come to church and be saved . So we drove around the base and around town and when we saw a guy on the street we would yell : " You wanna come with us ? " . Of course most men would jump at the chance to ride around with a group of pretty young girls , and they always agreed to head over to the church with us . Once the back of the truck was filled with guys , we would head over to the church . When we arrived at the church , all of the girls were separated from the guys and it became apparent to the guys that they were there to " save their souls " . Most guys would make as quick an exit as possible but they were usually trapped until after the service . This went on for about two weeks before I decided it was not my cup of tea . It became more and more uncomfortable for me until finally , I told my friend I no longer wanted to participate in her recruiting process . I was through with church for awhile . The next event before graduation was " Senior Sneak Day " , where all the seniors skipped school for an outing . We took a bus to a lake in Kentucky where we would spend the day . There was a lodge for us to stay in and the plan was to spend the day swimming in the lake . Unfortunately , it rained , so we were unable to swim and ended up spending the day inside the lodge . The bus trip home was a bus drivers nightmare . Kids were throwing food , jockey straps and anything else they could find around the bus . The night before graduation I drove around with Guy and another school friend . We drove over the bridge to West Memphis and then came back to Memphis and drove by Graceland . We had pooled our money to buy twenty - five cents worth of gas . That gave us over a gallon of gas . In late May , 1960 , I graduated from high school . The ceremony was light and humorous . The school band played Pomp and Circumstance , but didn 't play very well , so all eyes were rolling and there was a sigh of relief when it finally ended . My dress stayed in one piece , it didn 't fall off of me as my Mother had implied . And Guy became very excited when he opened the diploma folder to find an actual diploma inside . I celebrated my graduation quietly because I had caught a cold and didn 't feel well . As the graduation date from Millington Central High School approached , I found myself engrossed in sewing . Actually , I really disliked sewing , but I did it because it was required . I did enjoy the outfits I made after they were completed . It was getting them completed that was always a problem for me . I disliked sewing so much that I would use whatever short cut I could think of when making something , including pinning my unfinished article of clothing together . My Home Economics teacher had told me she wasn 't going to allow me to graduate unless I completed the hand made baby dress that I thought was a stupid project . Everything about the dress had to be hand made , we weren 't allowed to use a sewing machine . It had to be smocked and the edges had to be scalloped . All by hand . I was also making my graduation dress at the same time . My dress was an organdy white dress with small blue flowers on the fabric . It was sleeveless with a scoop neck and full skirt . It had a blue cummerbund which I sewed with a matching blue fabric . In order to graduate , I had to rush the baby dress and make sure I handed it in before the actual graduation day . I finally completed it the day before graduation . The baby dress was far from perfect , but it allowed me to graduate with my class . And besides , I planned on buying all of my baby clothes from a department store . The graduation dress was looking good , but I didn 't have time to sew the snaps onto the cummerbund . So I was creative and pinned the cummerbund . I also had to pin a few seams . I used safety pins and pinned myself together . My Mother was appalled , scolding me for a half - ass job . I didn 't care , I thought I looked good and I didn 't think anyone would be the wiser about me pinning myself together . I always had many guys around me , but my younger sister , Linda , was more of a boy magnet than I . Linda was 13 years old , and had long brown hair and brown eyes . Linda was one of those girls that just attracted boys . She had boys proposing to her when she was in grade school . Boys were always bringing her flowers , candy and jewelry . One day at the geedunk a young boy approached me asking me if I would help him by telling my sister Linda nice things about him . He was about fifteen years old , thin and gangling . He had brown hair and was usually dressed in jeans and a tee - shirt . I checked him out carefully , then told him I would help him with my sister if he would do things for me when asked . He agreed , and I put him to work . Every time we both were in the geedunk I would ask him to do chores for me . Usually it was getting me small items like silverware and napkins , or returning my tray when I finished eating . He always willingly did whatever I asked him to do without complaints . I quickly decided on the nickname " Slave Boy " as a name for this young man . Whenever I saw him I 'd call out : " Hi Slave Boy ! " Soon , other people were calling him " Slave Boy " . He would blush but never said he didn 't want to be called Slave Boy . I did my best to get Linda interested in Slave Boy , after all , I wanted him to continue doing chores for me . But Linda wasn 't taking the bait . She was too young to date , but even if she 'd been old enough to date , Linda wasn 't interested . Slave Boy remained my " errand boy " for the entire year and even though I set up several meetings with Linda , nothing happened between the two of them . Slowly , Slave Boy and I lost touch with one another . Posted at 05 : 00 AM in 1960 Millington | Permalink I had such hope for the new decade , but there was a lingering cloud hovering over 1960 . First there was the disappearance of Tom , then the death of my friend Sally 's father . Now I was receiving news from California that was very disheartening . My Grandpa T . had been in remission from his cancer , but there was a recurrence . He had been doing well for so long , but once the cancer had returned , he began going downhill very quickly . Apparently it was a very aggressive cancer and doctors did not give my grandfather much hope . The other persons going through difficult times back home if California were my cousin Michael and my Aunt Avis . My cousin Michael had been released from the boys camp and had received a new Corvette from my Aunt and Uncle , his parents . He quickly totaled it in a wreck on the freeway . Rumors were that Michael was doing drugs . My Aunt Avis hadn 't been happy in her marriage to my Uncle for many years . My Uncle Tim ruled the roost , dominating the marriage in ways that were common in those days . My Aunt was not allowed to do anything on her own without permission from my Uncle . My Uncle chose the furniture in their home , chose my Aunt 's clothing and told her what to wear , told her what to cook , and expected a spotless home . My Aunt had taken to alcohol . She hid it everywhere and drank from a coffee cup so that my Uncle wouldn 't know she was drinking . My Aunt was very unhappy with the marriage and repeatedly attempted suicide . She had overdosed on pills , stabbed herself in the stomach and most recently , thrown herself out of a moving car that my Uncle had been driving . By some miracle , my Aunt continued to survive . It was the night before our college testing , a test comparable to today 's SAT 's , that I learned of my Aunts latest suicide attempt . I adored my Aunt Avis , and thought she was one of the nicest people in the world . I went into school very depressed on the day of college testing . I usually got very good grades , I was considered very smart , but I was so upset that I didn 't do as well as I wanted . Not that it mattered much , I knew my parents couldn 't afford to send me to college .

My house is gone . Burned to the ground . I left to get groceries and when I got back . . . it was too late to save anything . I don 't think anyone called the fire department , they were only alerted when the fire alarms went off . That bastard he did this didn 't he ? But why ? Isn 't it easier to get someone when they 're staying in place ? This doesn 't make sense , why did he do this ? ! . . . I 'm currently staying with my ex - husband 's parents . As soon as I called them from the station , they drove over to pick me up . I cried like a baby when I saw them - things have just been so stressful and the house was the last straw . They told me I could stay as long as I needed . I think I 'm going to be here for a little bit . Right now I feel very numb , like I 'm in shock . The only good thing that came out of this is the fact that my laptop survived . I had gotten in the habit of carrying it around with me everywhere , or at least leaving it in my car . The notebook did not make it out . I had left it in a drawer in my living room and everything inside the house was burned to a crisp . At least I uploaded those pictures so I have something to show for all of this . I 'm . . . going to go sleep for a bit . I feel exhausted . The parents still haven 't woken up yet - turns out they 're late sleepers . I already told Ava this in my comment section last post , but I 'll repeat what I said . I decided to look in Cynthia 's room to see if I could find anything that would help me know why she left or where she went . Up to this point I had avoided her bedroom and really going upstairs in general . I 've been sleeping on the couch and just doing everything I could to stay downstairs . But she might have left me something to hint at what I could do , so I went to check . Carefully examining every inch of her room for several hours payed off - there was a loose floorboard . I think she pried it up somehow to use it as a secret area for what I found : her diary . For the most part it was uneventful . Just normal life and the latest guy she had a crush on . It was . . . hard to read these parts because less than a week ago things had been normal . A little over halfway through it began to catch up to the date and the entries began to get darker . My suspicions were correct in assuming that Rachel had something to do with this . Apparently Rachel had been followed by this thing for a while and panicked and told Cynthia because she didn 't want to deal with it alone anymore . She showed her everything she could - videos , blogs , forums . And because of her Cynthia became aware of the monster that lurks in the shadows . And today I called Rachel 's parents due to that last entry . Rachel had been missing for a few hours but her parents . . . they hadn 't even noticed until they realized that no one was making them dinner . Yes , they were those kind of parents . The type who don 't care about their kid at all unless they 're doing what they tell them to do . Police might not have been able to find Cynthia , but they did find Rachel . Her body was recovered in the woods next to the school 's field . It had been hung on a tree and her organs had been put in plastic baggies . When I found out . . . let 's just say I was sick for a while . I 'm going to change the subject because this is too much to think about right now . The pictures - the first one looks like a bunch of lines , maybe ones ? There 's an eleven in the corner , so I guess that 's what it could be . The second one . . . I think that 's supposed to be Cynthia and I with that thing . I 'm not sure who is lying there , but I hope that no one else is actually going to be killed . The third and fourth one have to do with this delusion that she believes . And the fifth . . . God , that poor girl . I 'm going to end this entry here . I know it may sound like I 'm pretty much emotionless at this point , but I 'm just trying to stay calm . In truth my nerves are shot and I feel like I 'm constantly going to be sick , I 'm so nervous . I 've been keeping track of the neighbors and no one has ventured over to my house thus far . It does look like everyone has suddenly decided to take up gardening at angles where they can watch my house . Haven 't seen him . Whether that 's good or bad , I don 't know . I think that 's it for now . Stay safe and take care of yourselves . Remember to brush your teeth and take showers and everything ( let me be a mom , please . It helps with the anxiety . ) The symbol , the x in the circle , it was the same thing that Cynthia carved into her arm yesterday . But I 'm confused , does it hurt him or draw him closer ? I 'm not sure what to think anymore . ( And , ironically , I looked at my user picture I had before and it had the exact same damn symbol . On pies no less . It 's deleted now , but I can 't believe I was using that . ) Ava , I checked out the blogs on that TV Tropes page and looked at them . I . . . Cynthia had posted on The Tutorial . I never even knew . She went to a stranger for help instead of me . I must be a really bad mother if she thought she needed to go to someone else . Enough moping around . Sorry you guys , it 's just hard to stay optimistic in this situation . The police called back and they haven 't found anything . My neighbors are still going back and forth between houses or keeping their windows wide open . I 've long since pulled the shades , but every once and a while I peek outside to take a look at what 's happening . They 're watching me , I think . This doesn 't make sense , because in all the accounts I read today , there 's maybe one or two people who might follow a victim . Not a whole neighborhood ( albeit a small one , but a neighborhood nonetheless ) . I haven 't seen even a glimpse of him ever since the dream , so I guess that 's a good sign . I know I 'm in danger . Apparently staying in place is the wrong thing to do . But she might come back and I need to be here if she does . I 'm only going to run if I absolutely have to , which means nothing short than being attacked by these . . . " proxies " . And before anyone decides to tell me I 'm being stupid , I do have ways to defend myself . I may be a thirty five year old mom , but hell if I don 't know how to swing a baseball bat or cut quickly and efficiently with a knife . I don 't want to have to resort to violence , but I 'm not going to let myself get taken , or whatever it was that Cynthia was saying would happen . I have to wonder why it is he 's so interested in Cynthia and I . Apparently some of these people saw this monster when they were younger , and Cynthia never even mentioned any kind of imaginary friend or something of the like when she was a little girl . It seems odd that he would suddenly come for her now , when she wasn 't even aware of him before . Hell , I didn 't even know about him until now . . . I . . . I woke up this morning in the middle of her school 's field . I don 't know how I got there . I can 't remember anything from yesterday after typing up the blog entry . When I got home I called the police . They 're investigating right now to see if they can find her , but I don 't think they will this time . To all of you who tried to warn me and I refused to believe , well , I 'm believing now . Sometime during yesterday and this morning I had a dream and I saw this tall . . . thing in it . I think it knows me . You all mentioned that it was the thing after us the whole time . I want to know everything . Please . I thought I saw something behind her but when I blinked the shadow was gone . I stopped her from hurting herself and cleaned her up , but when I tried to call the hospital , police , someone the phones were dead . I don 't know why the internet is working . Cynthia is in the fetal position and mumbling about it being time to go and she doesn 't want to leave without me . I . . . when I tried to leave the house to take her myself , I blacked out . Cynthia apparently pulled me back inside because I collapsed on the front steps . Every single time I go near the front or back door , or even a window , my head starts to hurt so much it feels like I 'm going to start bleeding from my ears . I know you all will say I should have listened or something . But what was I supposed to believe ? It 's been less than a week and I 'm trapped in my own house with a daughter who may try to hurt herself or me , and apparently some psycho - something is coming to kill us both or take my daughter away . I don 't think . . . I 'm not sure if I 'm going to be alive by tomorrow . God I 'm starting to cry , wonderful . What a great mom I am . If I die , I need you all . . . I think that Cynthia might live . She made it back the first time from whatever happened and I think she can do it again . So if I die , please promise me to look for her . Find her , help her , take her away from whatever this person or thing is . They reviewed the tapes . The police , I mean . Apparently everything looks normal , they even see Cynthia leave her classroom and head to her locker to put her backpack inside . She . . . turns and smiles at the camera like she knew where it was and holds out her hand . They noticed that there 's this shadow that emerges when she does this and then the tape just goes crazy for two whole minutes . Every single camera in the school broke . The office ladies don 't remember who came to pick Cynthia up , and her teacher said that they called her to come to the front desk to check out . They didn 't even remember her leaving . It gets worse . Apparently while they watched this tape , the television it was played on made these horrible noises , even though there 's no audio on security cameras . At the end of the tape , it flickers just enough to show her opening the back doors that lead to the playground and then the television broke . When they managed to get the tape out , the footage was apparently wiped clean - when they reviewed it again , the distortion didn 't even play . It just ends right as the shadow starts to appear . I took Cynthia to the doctor 's and she acted fine . When the man asked how she had injured herself , she said her finger slipped while she was washing dishes . I couldn 't tell him otherwise . When I tried , the words caught in my throat . She even joked about how clumsy she was . She didn 't need stitches , luckily , it just needed to be cleaned and she got a batman bandaid for her trouble . She 's watching television again . I don 't think I 'm going to sleep tonight . I tried calling the neighbors . No one picked up . I feel so alone right now . I wish my husband was still alive so that I could have someone to help me through this . I 'm going to watch a movie with Cynthia now . She 's calling for me . She says she wants to talk to you all . Okay . I think . . . I think that Cynthia saw something when she went missing . She keeps looking out the windows as if she 's trying to spot someone - I think it 's the stalker but I never saw anyone . Even so , I called the police to tell them , but I did it while Cynthia wasn 't around . She 's not herself right now and I don 't think she wants the police involved in this mess , but I need some kind of authority nearby to ensure that this won 't happen again . Today when I walked into the kitchen Cynthia was . . . staring out the window over the sink and running her finger along the blade of the biggest knife we own to cut fruit up . She had cut herself deeply and I think she might need stitches . I 'm going to try and convince her to come with me to doctor 's , but when I first mentioned it she told me , " No . No doctor 's . No police . Just me and you , Mommy . " Her eyes looked frantic and so I agreed , but if I have to drag her to the car , I will . The neighbors haven 't come around to see what 's going on , which bothers me a little as well . Usually when something happens in this area , even small things , everyone wants to know what 's going on . I don 't think I 've even seen anyone since yesterday morning other than the cops . It makes me uneasy - I feel like something big is about to happen but I don 't know what . Nevermind . Currently I 'm sitting in the living room with Cynthia and writing this up on the laptop while we watch sci - fi . They 're playing some low budget movie , but she wanted to watch it , so I let her . I just want her to act normal again . She keeps glancing over at me and I get this horrible queasy feeling , like I 'm doing something she doesn 't want and it scares me . This is my eleven year old daughter , I should not be afraid of her . She 's probably traumatized by what happened and can 't find the words to talk about it . I 've been unable to sleep lately too . Ever since about Sunday , I had these vivid dream - it 's the same one every time . So I 've been opting to sleep as little as possible and watch Cynthia instead . I accidentally passed out earlier , but I woke up a little while after and she was watching the television . The police are going to call me and tell me what they found later today . I had to call the person who offered me a job and cancel my interview . They understood and agreed to let me try again whenever all of this blew past , so at least that 's one good thing that 's happened . she wore herself out last night , didn 't she ? i love my Mommy . she 's always been there for me when daddy wasn 't . i hate daddy . but it 's okay because He promised me that Mommy and i will be together forever once She remembers . all of you are saying that He is mean , i don 't understand . He 's my friend , He says He loves me . He says he loves Mommy . He 's sad that Mommy doesn 't know who He is but said not to worry . She Will Remember Soon . I 'm going to try and make this quick . The police found her sitting in the park and swinging on one of the swings . Apparently she was singing rock - a - bye - baby or something similar and acting as though she hadn 't been missing for several hours . When they tried to ask her where the man was that took her she didn 't answer . Just laughed . But they brought my baby home and she 's okay . I was . . . I had looked around the entire neighborhood because it 's so small , lapped it twice in fact . And when I circled back to my house again I just . . . broke . Started to cry like a baby on my front lawn in the dark , curled up into a ball and pleaded to the Lord to bring her back . What I was feeling was something along the lines of my whole world falling apart . My daughter , my little girl , my flesh and blood , had been taken by a stranger for several hours . That that CREEP might have hurt her - hell , we don 't know yet if everything is alright because she won 't answer any questions about what happened during that time . I know I should be happy that she 's back , and I am . I feel exhausted , I need to go curl up on the sofa with her , make her favorite food and watch a movie . But she 's acting so odd . After the police left ( promising to come back tomorrow and see if she was feeling better enough to talk ) she just went up to her room . She left the door open , but still . . . Thank you to those of you who posted , I 'll try and reply later tonight . It 's nice to see people banding together when someone is in trouble , and it touches my heart , I promise . - Cathy Cynthia didn 't come home from school . Or rather , I went to go pick her up and the ladies in the office told me that she had another adult come and get her . Jesus - they can 't remember who came to pick her up ! They let her walk off with some stranger without making any kind of fuss and no one has any recollection of seeing her walk out ! I called the police as soon as I heard that . They 're looking for her right now and they 've been looking since four o ' clock . They told me to stay home in case she came back , but I need to go look for her . Okay . No . I 'm calming down . I 'm going to go look around the neighborhood and see if I can find anything . I 'm going to find her . The police are going to find her . Everything is going to be okay . I go in for my job interview tomorrow , but somehow that doesn 't look very nice anymore . Cynthia . . . she wrote that post last night when I fell asleep . I didn 't mean to , but the night before , when she woke up screaming , I didn 't sleep a wink and I was just so exhausted . There is something wrong with my daughter , something she hasn 't told me . Today I let her stay home from school when she asked me because of a conversation we had this morning . She was acting like everything was fine and that there was nothing wrong in the world , and yet she was so pale and shaking the entire time . I 'm scared and I 'm tempted to call the police , but there isn 't enough evidence yet to prove that there might actually be someone following her around . Oh God , what if it 's the same man who was stalking Rachel ? I 'm so scared - apparently he was outside our house last night if her last post is telling the truth . And that 's not even the worst part . Cynthia has been acting . . . strange , for lack of better words . After I talked to her this morning , she avoided me for the most part . That is , until I turned around from doing laundry and she was standing right behind me and just staring . When I asked her what she was doing , she didn 't answer , just continued to stare for a few more seconds before walking off . I would 've let it go , if I hadn 't noticed after that that she would position herself in opposite rooms or perches to watch me . Never said a word , and she was half hidden for most of her positions . Like she didn 't want me to be able to notice she was watching me . I hate to say it , but I 'm getting scared . It 's not normal for her to be acting this way . And she has these huge bags under her eyes - I don 't know how they formed so quickly ! She 's . . . not herself . And I think this has something to do with that man who 's been following her . I 'm going to try and figure out who it is , so I can end this without things getting worse . i . . . my mom thinks that i had a nightmare last night . i wish it was one . it would totally make life easier , and i 'd probably be okay right now . i don 't wanna go to school . i don 't wanna see rachel . she 's the one who ruined everything . i hate her . He was in my room . watching me sleep . in the corner right next to the door just watching . i 'm so scared . god now i 'm crying . mom is in bed . i told her i would be fine , and if anything happened i would come and get her . i know i can 't tell her anything . she wouldn 't understand and i don 't want her to . It was pretty rough . I . . . don 't really know what to think . Cynthia had a nightmare . It wasn 't one of the normal wake up sweating in bed ones either . I was woken up around two in the morning to her screaming at the top of her lungs . I panicked and rushed into her room to find her curled in a ball , pressed into the corner of her bed furthest from the doorway and crying . It took me a few minutes to calm her down enough to ask her what happened . At first she didn 't make sense . She was mixing her words up and kept looking around as though she was expecting something to happen . Then she finally managed to speak clearly . I don 't know what to think . I 've chalked it all up to being a nightmare because I checked the whole room from top to bottom with Cynthia watching me , and there was no sign of anyone besides her and I being in the small bedroom . The window was still locked , and the door had been closed before I came inside . I don 't know what would 've caused such a vivid dream , but hopefully it won 't happen again . I ended up staying with Cynthia the rest of the night . She begged me not to leave the room , and I wasn 't about to make her stay alone in her room after what just happened . Because of this we ended up skipping church too . When I suggested it this morning , Cynthia looked like she was going to throw up . She 's not running a fever , but it 's likely that the stress of the situation last night really got to her . Currently she 's sitting downstairs with me , watching the television with a blanket wrapped around her . Only her face is visible . What could have caused her to act in such an extreme manner ? With all of these kids going missing I 'm worried that maybe Cynthia saw something but didn 't say anything until now . It 's a crazy notion , but it 's the only one I can think of besides school stress . And I really don 't think school makes you scream at the top of your lungs about some tall man watching her while she slept . I 'm exhausted but hanging in there . I 'm hoping that Cynthia will be okay by tomorrow so she can go to school . I don 't want her missing too many classes . Before I start let me just say : wow ! I have two followers now ! Nice to meet you , erm , xnoameix . Hope we get along and hope I can keep this blog from being boring . Now back the reason for my title . As all of you ( all two and whomever may be peeking in ) know , Cynthia logged onto my account last night and posted a message after I went to bed . I would be upset , but it doesn 't really matter to me . Because of that , I don 't think I 'm going to change the password . It might even be good for her to log onto this account and rant about the day - it sure makes me feel better to get everything out , and as a teenager I remember life seemed unbearable most of the time . Cynthia is a nice girl , so I think you 'll like her . Well , an update on the animal killer . The police found some kind of big cat roaming through the streets and managed to capture it , and are planning to release it back into the wild . The beast probably accidentally wandered into society and lashed out at anything that scared it ( the pets ) . I 'm not quite sure if I feel bad for it , because it did kill three dogs , but at the same time if I was in that situation ( and only ran on primal instinct ) I 'm guessing I would react about the same way . Hopefully there won 't be any more problems in this area for a while . The only big crime that 's being researched as of now is the disappearances , which I think I mentioned in an earlier post . Some kids - ages ranging from child to older teen - have gone missing . Every time they were last seen in an area where family and at the very least people were , which makes this even more frightening . Cynthia and I have both agreed to lie low and not go anywhere alone , and I 've been driving her to and from school for the last couple days . Oh ! One of the jobs I applied to called back yesterday ! They said that there was almost a guarantee of me nabbing a spot on their staff ! I 'm so happy ! Cynthia and I celebrated by driving out to Olive Garden and eating some expensive but delicious noodles and bread sticks . I was so full and in such a good mood I ended up going to bed earlier than usual ( hence why Cynthia managed to get on my blog without me knowing ) . So I guess the long version short of this post is that even though the city is in a state of chaos , things are starting to look up for Cynthia and I . It 's weird because I 'm happy and worried at the same time . But , I suppose that 's life , isn 't it ? She worries too much u guys , it 's unbeleivable . lol , but i love her for it . ; ) She 's gonna b so mad when she finds out i made a post ! ! I don 't know who would do something like this , but so far three pets have been murdered in their backyards . It 's . . . horrible . The poor things were ripped to shreds . Police are on the lookout , but right now the biggest thought is that there 's some kind of a bear or something similar hunting around the area . It 's scary , but we 'll be okay . People are making the necessary precautions to ensure that they 're safe . I told Cynthia what I wrote last night . We had a " moment " and there were tears . Honestly I think we were both just stressed out and taking it out on each other , and I 'm glad things are okay now . We ended up watching a movie together and eating a bunch of snacks instead of real food . Some cook I am , haha ! She wouldn 't explain what she meant by that . Just brushed it off by saying that everything is fine and that Rachel was bad news , but she was trying to help her . Obviously I 'm worried by this ( what exactly is wrong with this girl ? ) but I 've promised to back off and quit hanging over her shoulder , analyzing everything she does . I bet my parents were like that and I bet it drove me crazy . So I 'm trying to respect her . I tried to contact one of my friends the other day , but it seems her phone number has changed . It 's a bit of a bummer because I don 't have any other way of talking to her and I don 't have many people I can confide in . Oh well , I 'll try some of the others later today , I think . I had lunch with my neighbor who I 've been pretty good friends with since I moved into this area . She was in a bit of a hurry today though , so I had to leave rather quickly . Since then I 've come home and cleaned the bathrooms ( haha , oh the dreaded toilet ! ) . I wish there was something else for me to do , but at the moment it seems that most of the neighborhood is busy and no one really has time to spare . I hardly ever see the kids playing outside anymore either . Though , that may have to do with some children having gone missing over the past few weeks . It 's scary to think that some kids can be snatched up right under their parents noses , isn 't it ? I know I 'm too paranoid to loose Cynthia , but some parents take their eyes off of their kids for too long and then they 're gone . It 's horrible ( which is an understatement ) . Crime has always been pretty bad in the city I live though , so this isn 't anything unusual . People here just learn to deal with it and move on . Most of the time a person can live a perfectly normal , happy life as long as they stay away from the shadier areas . ( Which Cynthia and I do , thankfully ) Oh well . Today has been pretty average as most days go . I 'll update if I hear back from anyone . Hope everyone is enjoying their day ! Oh my , I have a follower ! Amazing , I 'm not simply talking to air anymore ! Nice to meet you , Chase ! I 'll try not to sound as boring as I have been lately , haha . Switching topics , I wanted to mention that I 've been thinking and I 've come to the conclusion that I 've been too hard on Cynthia and Rachel . I was reminiscing , and while I can 't remember most of my childhood , I can remember how I was when I was a teenager . I was influenced by all sorts of " bad kids " and did some things that I 'm not proud of . I remember this one time that my friends and I got , well , drunk pretty bad one night ( and of course we were underage and also couldn 't hold our alcohol at all ) . One of my friend 's suggested truth or dare and everyone had been more or less up for dares at this point . When it got to me , they told me to sneak into this abandoned house that was only a car ride away . Of course I told them I wasn 't going to go alone - I was the baby of the group , I guess you could say and this building was in the middle of the woods - so they agreed to go with me . The house was where a kindly old man had lived before he had been murdered in his room . No one went near that place because it was rumored to be haunted . Well , when we arrived , we began to spray paint the inside , coating the walls with alcohol - induced pictures and giggling like school girls the whole time . I suppose we thought we were the baddest , most dangerous people alive at that moment . Of course it wasn 't true , and as soon as we began to hear " odd noises " ( AKA - animals , the wind blowing through the trees , and old wood creaking ) we high tailed it out of there . We were so stupid that night , I 'm almost disappointed the police never found out who did it . The point of this is that Cynthia is sort of like me when I was younger . I was also very shy and did whatever I could to gain friends . I know she just wants people to accept her , and I 've been where she is now . I just don 't want her to make the same mistakes I did , because trust me , I made a lot of them . Does it make me a bad mom to push so hard on her ? I can see Rachel making her do things she doesn 't really want to do , which reminds me of my old friends ( whom I haven 't heard from in a while ) . But I think Cynthia has been getting better , and I don 't think there was ever really much of a problem in the first place . Just two pre - teen girls hanging out and trying to enjoy life , with an overly paranoid mother analyzing every move too hard . Changing subjects again because this post is starting to become rather depressing . You can look back at how stupid I was and laugh though ! I tend to do the same thing , haha . Oh yes , I have another recipe ! This one is also complex , but I have faith that anyone can make this if they try ! After all , soup isn 't that hard to prepare . Today went well . I slept fine and the normal routine went without any disruptions . Cynthia told me that she 's been avoiding Rachel , so that 's a definite plus as well . Not to be rude to the girl , but , well , you already know my feelings on this subject . I was busy today though , a couple of the places I applied to responded and there were no openings . This means I only have a few left that could possibly take me , which is a tad daunting , but hopefully it 'll work out . My fingers are crossed ! I had the best night 's sleep I 've had in a very long time and woke up extremely refreshed ! I had the nicest dream - it was something like being a kid again and I was playing with my mom and dad back when they were alive . Cynthia was feeling nice this morning too and she looked much better . When I sent her off to school we were both in a good mood , so I think things are looking up . While she was out I was able to clean and cook dinner while watching some television ( so many shows these days are crude , aren 't they ? ) . By the time Cynthia came home most everything was done . She did her homework , I checked it , and we sat down to watch a movie and eat . Which reminds me that I have another recipe for you guys ! ( And this time I 'll just write it here . ) 2 . Place salmon fillet on top of one piece of foil . Sprinkle salmon with salt , pepper , garlic and chopped dill . Arrange lemon slices on top of fillet and place a sprig of dill on top of each lemon slice . Sprinkle fillet with chopped scallions . And , speaking of cooking , does anyone ( oh imaginary viewers of mine ) have any favorite cooks ? I enjoy Anthony Bourdain - I would marry that man . . . well , not really . A bad marriage can attest to that , I suppose . Anyway , didn 't mean to derail the subject but my mind kind of goes everywhere at once , haha ! Cynthia is going to bed and I 'm probably going to sleep soon as well . Maybe I can get another amazing night of rest to make this week absolutely perfect . Cynthia and I had a sort of argument last night over ( you guessed it ) Rachel . It involved my daughter losing her temper for the first time in a while , and storming up to her bedroom . The rest of the night was spent alone . But it seems she 's fine this morning . I talked to her when she finally came out of her room and she apologized for yelling at me . She said that she 's simply been under a lot of pressure these days . When I asked her what she meant ( because school can be very frustrating a good portion of the time and I thought that maybe she 'd been dropping behind in a class and not told me ) she replied that she was figuring out what to do . So I suppose she might of worked out a solution to either a school - related issue or the Rachel problem . Maybe she 'll ask the girl the behave a little bit more nicely ? Well , whatever the case , we had breakfast together , which was pizza that we never ate last night . It feels nice to have her talking to me again and I hope we never fight that hard for a long time . I don 't like losing my temper with my child . I am a bit worried though . I 'm not sure if Cynthia slept last night - she 's acting like she never went to bed and the bags under her eyes are darker than normal . Perhaps the fight bothered her more than I thought ? Cynthia , on the other hand , seems to suffer from being extremely anti - social . She 's painfully shy and very critical of herself , trying hard to please others so that they 'll like her . I 've seen the way she acts around other kids her age , and it worries me because I 'm not sure how to encourage her to branch out and socialize . . . I 'm not sure if she even wants to . And this is all because of Cynthia 's new best friend , Rachel . Rachel , to put it bluntly , is allowed to dress like some punk - gothic - rocker . I don 't know why her parents are okay with this , seeing as she went the whole nine yards with not only clothes , but make - up and " jewelery " as well . Spiked collars , multi - colored dyed hair , black nails and lipstick - all of this seems to make her believe she is better than most everyone else . And I don 't mean I gathered this just from her appearance . The way she acts around adults and other kids is appalling . She treats them like they 're beneath her , she 's rude and cusses . How she learned to act this way makes me wonder if her parents are similar , but I 've never seen them . I 'm not sure why Rachel decided to only stick around with Cynthia - though it 's more like Cynthia adores Rachel - but I wish she would stay away . I feel like Rachel does something behind everyone 's backs because every time I see her she has these dark bags under her eyes that grow between visits and she often looks like she 's going to pass out . I think she 's been forcing herself to not sleep . Lord knows why , but for some reason this girl doesn 't want to close her eyes and even take a nap . One day , when Cynthia brought her over for a visit , I decided to try and offer for her to have some shut eye in our guest bedroom , but she declined saying that if she fell asleep for even a second that , " He would get her " . I don 't know what she meant , but that made me even more certain that something is wrong with this girl and that Cynthia needs to find a new friend . But no matter how much I try and explain my reasoning , Cynthia doesn 't seem to want to listen . She seems to think that Rachel is going through something she can help with . I asked her what was wrong with Rachel , and she said some tall man had been stalking her . Okay , sorry , end rant / mother worrying post . Though , I don 't think anyone reads this . Sorry to suddenly burst out with this , it 's just been bothering me for a couple weeks now and yesterday Cynthia came home late from Rachel 's house and she didn 't even tell me she was going over there . Anyway , because I 've been up for so long simply cleaning the house and running out to get groceries ( my one exercise method that I 'll ever need ) , my day has been clearing up to be fantastically open for the rest of the evening . Of course I 'll still have to cook dinner . . . but then maybe I 'll order take out because I 'm just really not looking forward to making a pot roast for several hours . I 'm sure Cynthia wouldn 't mind - she enjoys pizza - and I could bake some cookies instead . Which reminds me - ever since I was a little girl I 've always wanted something to happen , you know ? Something that would burst into my life and change it , allow me to go on fantastic adventures , I suppose . I don 't know . . . it 's a childhood fantasy that I 've always kept with me . My mom used to complain that I lived in my daydreams too much , playing more with my imaginary friend than actual people . I guess that that 's still somewhat true . If I wanted to , I sometimes think that I should pursue the life of an artist , but then again I can 't draw . Let me tell you , kiddies , life doesn 't get any easier as you get older . It stays harsh and hard to handle , but there will be things to help you move along and survive . You 'll look back on your younger years and wonder what the hell you were thinking , and wishing that you had done more . It sounds depressing , but then the best thing to remember in that moment is that there 's still so much you can do and to look forward instead of back . You can 't change the past , trust me . I had to learn that the hard way . . . . . Actually , scratch that , the how - to is rather long so instead I 'll link you guys , okay ? ( Haha , simply talking to my imaginary friend again , aren 't I ? ) If you don 't know what a treacle tart is , my user picture ( hopefully it 's working ) shows a few of them in the making ! Nice to meet you all ( though I doubt that anyone is reading this . . . and maybe no one ever will . ) . I suppose this is where I say that my daughter showed me the wonders of the internet and made me make this blog . But honestly , I have kept up with the times and know enough to make an online diary ! And it feels nice to have somewhere to come and rant to / talk about my day . Now , a little about me . . . my name is Cathy Delmont , and I love to bake ( I honestly wish that I could work for a bakery or some sort of restaurant ) . I 'm currently searching for a job . I 'm crossing my fingers that one of the places that I sent applications out to will respond positively , but not many are willing to take a woman who doesn 't exactly have a nice resume . Well , whatever the case , I have enough money saved up to last for a little while at least . Oops , the oven timer just went off , time for me to end this first post and finish preparing dinner . And for those of you who say that a thirty something year old woman is too old for the internet , I beg to differ ! No matter how old you get , you always need an outlet , somewhere to unload so that you can keep real life together .

Happy Birthday Jason ! Jason turned 32 years old today , and it was a wonderful day for all of us . We woke up to the sound of Kojak winning and waking everybody up . Apparently Jason was keeping him in his kennel for a little while and Kojak didn 't like it , and Kojak can " sing " pretty loud . Linda went down stairs to see what was going on and helped Jason by taking Kojak out to the backyard . He was happy again and in a few minutes they were back inside and Linda was coming back up to the room . After all , it wasn 't quite 05 : 00 yet , and she wanted to get back to sleep . Funny part is , it gave her a chance to be the first one to wish Jason a Happy Birthday . We did manage to get back to sleep and slept for almost an hour and woke up again . Shortly after that we had a visit from Jackie , and she was full of energy . After about 15 minutes we realized we were going to have to be getting up , so we did . Jackie bounded back down the stairs to go see what Daddy was doing , and she wanted to wish him a Happy Birthday , too . As it turned out , Stacy was also in with Daddy , and they were all playing in the bed . Shortly after all this crazy fun , we managed to get the girls dressed and eat some breakfast . It was starting to get a little later in the morning and didn 't want to be late to church . Jason wasn 't going with us this time , as he wanted to just stay down , and I was totally happy with that . The girls always look forward to Sunday School , and today was no exception - just wish we could take them every Sunday . We came home and the rest of the day was pretty " normal " and relaxed . We had lunch and the girls went down for their " brain - rest " - that 's what they like to say instead of , " Nap . " The only other thing I did was to go to Costco and pick up a few things and take the Fusion to the car wash , since they indicated that today was to be the last day for the Free car wash . I was hoping to get the van back over , and vacuum it out one more time , but I 'm not sure if that is going to happen now , without having to pay for a wash that it doesn 't need . Dinner tonight was grilled New York Steaks , and they came out very nice . We had bake potatoes and salad , along with some vegetables and Hawaiian Sweet Bread . Then for dessert we had a chocolate cake - or I guess I should say , they had the chocolate cake , and I just had ice cream . The girls gave him their gift ( a framed photo ) and they wrapped it themselves . They used plain paper and drew on it for decorations . It was really very nice . By now it is getting pretty late so Linda took the girls up to the bath and I cleaned the kitchen ( I think I got the easier task ) . They went to bed after Grandma read them a story and the rest of us aren 't far behind . Thank you , for all the continued support and prayers . Take care and stay positive . Kind of a busy day today , with the morning starting out with me taking Jason 's truck over to the new car wash that just opened up . I wanted to go there for a couple of reasons , with the biggest one being related to the fact that they have excellent vacuum stations for the cars and trucks , and because of the dogs , Jason 's truck really needed vacuuming . Another big factor is the fact that the car wash is FREE ! I 'm guessing they are wanting to let people know they 're there and are giving away washes this first few days and hope to build a base . The quality of the wash is good , and like I said , the vacuum stations are very good . The only down I see is their wheel cleaning ability , and that is not very good at all . Still , that is a minor thing , considering the cost , and they do have you in and out relatively quickly - they advertise a 3 - minute car wash ( doesn 't include the vacuum , and you have to do that yourself ) . After the car wash I came back to the house and helped Linda with some of the cleaning she was doing . Actually I was entertaining the kids mostly while she cleaned , and that lasted for a little while . She had made breakfast earlier , so I was able to sit down and eat before I had to head off , back up to Anthony 's " old " house to finish picking up the stuff he was storing for us , and also to give him a hand at loading some things into his truck . I ended up staying there and working a little longer than I had originally planned , though I think the help was seriously needed since Anthony has some physical limitations and the only other person there was Angelica 's son , George . George and I carried the remaining heavy stuff and put it in the trailer or the bed of the truck ; I helped tie it down and moved a few other things ; and , then I had to get going so I could unload the van . I had gone up in the van and it was now full . By the time I was done putting all the stuff in our storage it was about 14 : 30 ( 2 : 30pm ) and I was getting a little hungry . I was also getting to be a bit tired now , and just wanted to sit down and take a little rest . Basically , my day was over except that I was going to be cooking dinner later . The girls were napping at this point and Linda wanted to get out and take care of some of her errands . Dinner was simple and nice , as I fixed some fish sticks with rice and vegetables . Not sure how we have been so lucky , but the girls actually asked for vegetables for dinner , and as far as we 're concerned we 'll provide that every time . This evening was nice as I was getting the blog written I saw a notice that the " Free " MLB game of the week was the Giants game , so I get to see a Giants home game , and its free . I truly enjoy watching Timmy pitch . Thank you , for all the continued support and prayers . Take care and stay positive . Kind of a different day for us , as we came into our Friday , with the girls . Jason had an appointment at Balboa Hospital and was to home by 11 : 00 . I picked up Jackie at about 10 : 30 for her speech therapy and then Linda picked up Stacy at about 10 : 45 . Both girls were on a minimum school day today , and when we all got home we left to Camp Pendleton to see some of Jason 's buddies at their EOD site . One of the senior guys , a MGySgt , was retiring after 25 years with the Marines , and it was officially a send off for him , and a Family Day for everyone else . When Gavin ( the retiring Marine ) and I spoke on the phone he said it would be great to have all of us there , and I mentioned that Jason 's birthday is actually on the 31st . He said , " That 's great ! We can get him a cake and present it to him after all the other presentations are done . " As it turned out there were several guys who were being presented with plaques , and I said we will be there , sometime after noon . . . we arrived at about 13 : 00 ( 1pm ) . The presentations were fun and very interesting , as it is always interesting to see how a bunch of EOD Marines are going to honor each other , and a great deal of it is with humor . Most of the humor is very related to the type work they do ( EOD techs have about the most dangerous job in the military ) , so I figure they have earned the right to be a little different with their humor , and they all seemed to like it . Jason 's cake presentation was the last thing and like the rest of it he took it in stride and had a great time with the rest of them . Funny part is , he thought he was being brought up for an entirely different reason . One of the traditions they have is that if you 're on TV , for any reason at all , you have to buy the company a round of drinks , and Jason had been on TV several times over the past several months , sometimes without even knowing it . When it turned out to be about his birthday he was very surprised , and that 's what we wanted . We all had a great time and the girls even got to play in a jumpy house , for just about as long as they wanted . We finally had to get going home , and we had to get them out of the jumpy house . The drive home was pretty slow , as I think everybody decided to get out on the road , and be going away from San Diego , or towards , so both sides were kind of packed . It is about a 40 minute drive to get up to Pendleton and it was about a 90 minute drive home . I guess the good part is that the girls fell asleep on the way home , and this gave them some time to nap . You could tell Jason had a good time there , as he was talking a bit more on the way home , and this is when he was tired , and usually pretty quiet . Then finally , once we did get back home and settled back down I received a phone call from my brother Charlie - I hadn 't heard from him in a few years , so it was another nice surprise . We talked for a little more than half an hour and then he had to get going - with the promise of him coming to a visit , in another 6 - weeks or so . It will be good to see him again . Over the past few days I have said I would get some pictures up on the blog , so tonight I 'm gong to post a few of the house and let you see how it is coming along . Also some of the pictures of the Rolling Stones concert , and I think that 's about all we have for right now . Thank you , for all the continued support and prayers . Take care and stay positive . I did get up for a short and fast 10 miles on the bike - I say " fast " as a reflection on my speed , as it was a little faster than I usually go . At one point , while circling Fiesta Island ( which isn 't really an island ) , I was at the last part of the four mile loop . I was feeling pretty good and had a good pace of about 17 . 5 mph going . Then I looked to my left and here came this lady ( at least I think it was a lady ) and she blew my doors off . I didn 't let it get me down though , and just kept on going . The head wind was minimal and there were things to do , so I simply headed back home and kept the ride down to the 10 miles I had planned . Jason had an appointment today , and also stopped in to see a couple of folks we know . It was a very nice visit for him , for a couple of reasons , and mostly because he simply went on his own . He didn 't even take Gracie with him . This tells me that his confidence level is getting very strong and he doesn 't mind getting out by himself . Linda and I stayed at home with the dogs , and did some planning and strategic work . We need to get some mirrors for the house , and Linda has requested that she be given the control of what actually goes into the bathrooms . The contractors were more than happy to allow her to do this , as were Jason and I , and I think it made her feel more useful with the overall project . Anyway , she has found some and already purchased some and now all we need to do is get them to the house when they 're ready to be installed . The other big thing that went on today was that Anthony and Angelica are moving out of their rented house and moving into their own house . This is great , except that Linda and I have ( had ? ) some items stored at their place , in their garage . The house is just about ready to be handed over , so we need to get all our things out , so we went up there today , after stopping off at Jason 's place in Fallbrook . We went up to Fallbrook to check on some of the mirrors I was talking about earlier . We got up to the house , in Fallbrook and the tile work is probably 85 % completed and it really looks good . I think Jason is going to love the way his bath and shower turned out , as he wanted it to look sort of cave - ish , and they did a great job of getting it there . From the Fallbrook house we went over to Anthony 's and picked up a bunch of our stuff , though not all of it . We have a storage unit , so we can move it there until we need to get it to the new house . The moving of the boxes and things went smoothly enough , though I have to admit , my back was getting a little tired by the end of the day . I don 't twist and turn as easily as I used too , I guess . Besides moving our things , I was also assisting Anthony with moving some of his things , and it is all good now . We finally went to our storage unit and pulled everything out of the van and put it in to the storage unit . That really didn 't take too long , and I was glad , since I was running out of steam , and I felt pretty much like we had been moving pretty hard all day . Linda was moving almost as many of the boxes as I was , so I know she was getting a bit worn down too . I think we 'll both sleep soundly tonight . Thank you , for the continued support and prayers . Take care and stay positive . Today was a very nice day for me , personally , and I think a good day for Jason and Linda , too . The girls got off to school , this morning , and a couple of hours later I took Jackie to an appointment , while Linda took care of a couple of other errands . Jason had an appointment of his own , so our morning was pretty full of activities . Since the two of them were going to be out for a couple of hours , I decided that it would be good to get out and go for another bike ride , and so I did . The weather down here is still a bit unsettled , and very cloudy , with the biggest impact to a bike ride being the wind . Probably no more than a 5 mph breeze with some gusts , yet riding 20 + miles against it and with cross winds , tended to make it a little more of a challenge . I managed to get the ride in and back home just before Jason returned . Linda was going to be out with her friend until almost 17 : 00 ( 5pm ) , so we really didn 't expect to see her any sooner than that . Those few hours of just laying around and relaxing felt great . I don 't get many days where there are that many hours of nothing scheduled . Jason and I had lunch and the animals were taken care of , but for the most part I just kicked back and relaxed . After Linda came home we had a few things to do , as she bought some things for the new house , and they had to be taken care of , but it was still kind of nice and easy . Linda and I later walked over to the local strip mall , and walked around a bit , with the best part being that we didn 't buy anything . The entire day felt like a vacation day or something . Tomorrow we have some work to do , and we 'll be busy for most of it , so I don 't know if I 'll be able to get a ride in , but that 's okay . Thank you , for all the continued support and prayers . Take care and stay positive . A very nice day for us today , though very full . It began with the girls getting up and getting ready for school , and with that Grandma ( Linda ) and Grandpa ( me ) were busy getting them up and dressed , while also getting their breakfast and lunches ready . We 've actually gotten it down to a pretty good routine , and it runs pretty smooth - which is good since the school year is ending ( that 's sarcasm , for those that couldn 't tell ) . Once the new year gets started it will be starting all over again , and you know what . . . we wouldn 't change it for the world . Once the girls were at school , Jason and Linda had some running around to take care of , and that lasted for a little over an hour . This gave me a chance to take care of a couple tasks at the house , and to do some catch up on some of my emails and FB posts . Well , we also had a chance to get some exercising in , though not what we normally do . I look forward to getting back into a more regular routine of riding my bike , and right now it just doesn 't seem to work . While Jason and Linda were at Balboa Hospital they picked up Tae Harris , Wounded Warrior Recovery Coordinator and brought her back to the house . After a short visit , Linda , Tae and I went to lunch . For the past couple of months we have been wanting to go to lunch with Tae , and each time something comes up . Unfortunately she is moving to Texas , to be closer to family , and she is going to be missed , though she has promised to come back for visits . The lunch with Tae was great , and right after that we took off to go up to Fallbrook , to see Linda 's parents . Linda 's parents were traveling back from Arizona and wanted to get a chance to see Jason 's house . They were already on their way , yet we managed to get to the property only a short time after they did - and no , I didn 't drive excessively fast , we just had a great tail wind . We toured the house and we were very pleased at all the progress : the tile work and granite counters are really looking great . About the only down aspect for today is that we found out that our son David , apparently had to have a surgery today . Fortunately is wasn 't a major operation , but I still don 't like to hear that any of our sons has to go through these kinds of things . David is doing fine and is expected to be back up and moving around in a matter of a short period of time . We got back home and Joselyn had already gotten our Taco Tuesday meal going , and actually just about finished - our timing was really good . The girls were happy to see us , and it was nice to get a chance to sit back down and relax for a little bit . Tomorrow isn 't going to be as busy , and who knows , I might even get a bike ride in . Thanks , for all the continued support and prayers . Take care and stay positive . Today is a day of honoring the men and women who have served the country and especially a time to remember those that gave paid the ultimate sacrifice . This weekend is seen by a large number of people as a chance to get out and go to the beach or have a picnic , and yet a large number of them don 't take the time to think about all the blood that was spent , so they could do those things . I am continuing to hope that we , as a country , can continue to grow and survive , as this great experiment is still needed in the world . God bless America is needed more than ever . On Sunday , Jason and I spoke at both services of the Point Loma Presbyterian Church , and had a wonderful reception from the congregation . We were invited to be a part of their Memorial Day worship service and it went very well . Linda was recognized as a strong member of the team and was sitting in the front pew , while we had participated in a " dialogue sermon " with Pastor John Powell . We greeted people , as they were leaving the church , and so many of them thanked us and made the comment that we were inspirational , with most of that coming from Jason . He talked about how he was injured and how he has been able to survive with his strong determination and wanting to be there for his girls . I spoke how our lives have changed , and how our faith in God has sustained us . Over all , I think it was as good for us , as it was for the congregation . Last night Jason , Linda and I went to the Rolling Stones concert , via a gift of tickets from the City Council of San Diego , or at least that is what I was led to believe . We had a great time and saw some things we had never seen before , like a bunch of really old guys jumping around and looking kind of silly , not caring what anyone else thought about them . And those were just the people in the audience . The " Stones " were just about as good as you 'd expect them to be , as they are professional , and it was impressive how much noise they can still generate . Actually , the level of noise was a major factor in why we had to leave a little early . Jason can not tolerate the decibels , like he did before and unfortunately his discomfort got to him - and he really wanted to see the entire show . We 're all glad to have had the chance to go , and will remember it . The other great thing , this weekend was that we took the girls up to the house in Fallbrook , and found it has come along way with the roof being completed , and the stucco almost finished ; the interior is also coming along very nicely with a large portion of the tile work being completed , and it looking very much like a house . The girls were very excited to see what their rooms look like and Jackie in particular was dancing around the great room and dinning area . We are all becoming more excited and looking forward to the dedication , coming up in August . What we 're doing now is trying to figure out just what we 're bringing to the new house , and where it is all going to go . These are the kinds of puzzles we like to work on . . . ; - ) I guess this would be a good opportunity to simply say , " thank you ! " to the Gary Sinise Foundation , as without them , this would not have been possible . They have shown Jason , and our family , that they really care and are willing to go out that extra mile to help us . Please remember to keep them in your prayers . Otherwise these past couple of days have been busy with things to do , or places to go ( like the concert ) and we 've been getting to bed later than usual . Even today , working on catching up on email , Facebook , and my blog - my computer started acting up and for some reason it was not allowing me to get anything posted , or entered . My guess is that it was a network issue , and the bandwidth just wasn 't great enough . I do recall hearing that the cable companies were going to start slowing data speeds down , so perhaps that is what has happened , and it makes it more of a challenge to do things , unless you want to pay for premium service . But that is just what I heard . Tomorrow the girls go back to school , after a long weekend , and we get back to a regular routine . We have been experiencing significant moisture in the atmosphere , and that is a good thing . I just wish it would rain , and stop with the drizzle . Thank you , for all the continued support and prayers . Take care and stay positive . Coming into Memorial Day weekend our attention turns to the Military and all those who have paid the ultimate price for our freedom . We are a nation of people who have shown a tremendous ability to fight with ourselves over some very petty issues ; as well as some very tough issues . There are those among us who feel they have all the right ideas and that anyone who thinks differently should be taken away and given a mental reworking to get their thinking straight . We have some very patriotic people and we have some who really don 't like our government , yet don 't know how to cast a vote at election time . Our country is made up of a vast mix of different types and attitudes and we still manage to keep our country and this great experiment going . Most of it because of the ability of this great nation to create men and women who will defend the Constitution . Yesterday we went up to Fallbrook and got a chance to see the house and all the progress that has continued on it . We now have a full roof , and it really looks good . It has been raining quite a bit lately , so I 'm glad to see it there . There is also a great deal of progress with some of the interior work that has to be done before the " finishing " work can get started . Linda took some pictures ( I am so glad that she remembers to take pictures - I would tend to just walk around with the camera and never use it ) . The ground was trenched because of the utility work that is going on , so we went up and brought the paramobile with us . Jason 's wheelchair would not have been able to make it around . The main topic of discussion for this visit was landscaping and what we should expect , as well as some of the thoughts as to what we wanted . Personally , I think it was a good meeting up there , and more will be seen , as it progresses . It was a busy day with the girls yesterday and by the end of the day I was just a little tired out , so I didn 't post anything . One of the things we did last night was to have a family movie night and we let the girls stay up until almost 20 : 45 ( 8 : 45pm ) to watch The Velveteen Rabbit ( there was no school the next day ) . They had not seen it and it is a great story , especially just before going to bed . I made a bunch of popcorn ( and a mess in the kitchen ) and everybody had a great time . After getting them to bed I worked on the kitchen and Linda worked on some laundry . As it was , we still didn 't get to bed until almost 23 : 00 ( 11pm ) , and we were happy though tired . Today , we got to deal with more rain , though , like yesterday , it wasn 't much , just enough to be a bother . Towards the later parts of the day it started to clear up and was better , so we still had a good time . I took the girls to the park , a new destination for us . There really wasn 't much there , and in fact , less than what we have seen at other parks . The girls , however , felt that it was a " new " park and had a great time running around and playing on the play structures . We stayed there for about 90 minutes and then we needed to get back home , as I needed to make a trip to Costco . Linda and I went to Costco , while the girls napped . Joselyn and Jason were at the house , so we knew they would be okay , if they should wake up ( they didn 't ) while we were gone . Linda is becoming a champ at finding very cool stuff , as she found a copy of Sound of Music , while at Costco , so we had to purchase it . Our old VHS copy just doesn 't cut it , nor do we have a player to play it . The rest of the day was pretty relaxed , then Jason received a phone call . Jason had been selected to receive tickets to go see the Rolling Stones concert , on this coming Sunday . Actually , there were three guys to get two tickets each , and when they were attempting to distribute the tickets only two of the guys took advantage of the tickets . I felt sorry for the one guy who lost out on his tickets , but on the other hand it made it possible for all three of us to go now . What they did was to take those two last ticket and gave one to Jason and one to the other guy , so that they now had three each . Prior to that third ticket Linda had already said Jason and I should go , so we were so very happy when we found out that she could come with us . The end of the day was nice and everyone got to bed at a reasonable hour - sort of . I tend to stay up a little later because of the blog and Linda stays up to help edit . Tomorrow I am hoping to get a chance to get a short ride in , but that remains to be seen . Thank you , for all the continued support and prayers . Take care and stay positive . A very nice couple of days for us , as yesterday brought us some nice clear weather , and the temperature stayed around 70 degrees . The girls had a great time at school and with the family at home , and Jason made a little more progress with both Gracie and Kojak . The progress is in Kojak 's socialization ( getting more used to people and other surroundings ) and in Gracie just getting used to the fact that Kojak is now a part of the family . Gracie is kind of an interesting study , in that she is very laid back and yet likes to do whatever she can to please Jason . With Kojak introduced to the picture you can see a little jealous streak , but nothing serious , as they seem to get along and play often . That was pretty much the day yesterday , and it was also why there was no post yesterday - it was quiet and comfortable , and not much to write about . Today was also a nice day , though much busier in the morning and into the afternoon . We got up and the girls off to school , as we usually do , then Jason and I needed to get over to Balboa Hospital . About a month ago Jason was scheduled to have surgery on the 19th , and that was postponed due to a few conflicting things . The surgery is probably going to be in June , though we need to get a solid date from the doctors , when we meet with them again on June 1 . In the mean time Jason is reasonably comfortable and this extra time allows him to be able to work more with Kojak and get him used to working with the rest of the family , as well as Gracie . Jason and I had to get over to Balboa because of a regular Wound Care visit , and we brought both dogs with us . As expected Kojak was all over the place and that made travel through the courtyard just a little bit of a challenge . The folks there were really happy to see Kojak , as they had heard about him for weeks , and finally seeing him was really nice . The visit went well , and though they were not pleased with how the wounds have opened up some , I did explain to them that they were beginning to close back down again , and Jason has said he will spend less time in the chair , and that will help greatly . After Wound Care we went over to the airport to pick up our friend Anthony Netto , and then got Jason back over to the house to get him back down . Linda and I took Anthony back up to his home in Oceanside , and Jason relaxed . Anthony and Angelica are purchasing a home up in Vista , so they will be much closer to us , after we 're all moved to our new homes . The down side is that any trips to the airport are going to be much longer ( we 're only about 10 minutes from the airport now ) . After dropping Anthony off , and visiting with Angelica for a little bit , we turned around and headed back to our home in San Diego ( where we live now ) . It was now about 12 : 30 and we didn 't have any more trips to make , other than to go do some shopping . We had a chance to relax before going to pick up the girls from school . We have the girls the entire week , so that is a little bit of a change , and those are the kinds of changes we like . I did make a quick trip over to Target , and shortly after that Linda and I started dinner . Dinner was simple and the girls did an amazing job of eating everything on their plates . Then we went outside to the patio and they played . They also drew on the concrete and played some games , then we all came back in to read and finally get ready for bed . Linda read some stories to them and then I went in to say good night , of course all this after they went to say good night to Daddy . These are the kinds of days I really do enjoy , and it seems we all do around here . Thank you , for all the continued support and prayers . Take care and stay positive . Quite a nice day here , with lite clouds and blue skies . It didn 't get much beyond 70 degrees so it was just comfortable for most of the day . The girls got up without a problem or any difficulty and we were all ready to go with time to spare . Part of that is the fact that the sun seems to show up a little earlier each day , and just seeing the light tends to give us more energy . I got a nice bike ride in , and am hoping to get another one in tomorrow , or maybe on Thursday . I already know that Wednesday is out , due to some medical appointments for Jason , and that 's okay , as I have some questions I would like to go over with the doctors . Then again , now that I think about it , Thursday we will be heading up to Fallbrook for a meeting about landscaping . Really not much to write about for today , and maybe that 's a good thing . We continue to get closer to the new house , yet it is still several months out . Jason is putting forth a concerted effort to not be up in his chair any more than he has to be , and we 're all happy about that one . I need to get in touch with a few people , so I have to remember to take a look at my dry - erase board , that has all my notes on it . I 've completely erased the board a couple of times , and then in a matter of just a couple of weeks it is back , full of information . Thank you , for all the continued support and prayers . Take care and stay positive . Not sure what it is , but time is just flying by , and we 're going to be at the half way point in this year in just a matter of a few more weeks - okay about six weeks . Days just seem to fold into each other and we wonder where all the time went . The good news is that we 're all doing well and watching the girls and watching our grandsons grow is so very rewarding . Just taking the time to think about what we 've been through these past few years makes this all so much more rewarding . Today I got up and out on the bike before 07 : 30 . I think it would have been nice to have gotten out even earlier , but sometimes it takes me a bit to get going , and I generally need something in my tummy before I get out ( I ate an orange ) . I had thought I was going to get out before the girls got up , but Jackie made sure she saw me , and that was also another reason I was delayed a bit . Linda was still in bed and I took the time to help her with some things she needed . She then went in to see Jason and they got to watch cartoons together . My ride was rather nice , and it was just a little over 12 . 5 miles , and I managed to get it all in , in under an hour . When I got back home , Linda was not only up , she was just about done fixing breakfast , so my timing was really good . We had pancakes and eggs and it was delicious . We had plenty of time , since church wasn 't until after 10 : 00 , and all of us were going today . Jason and I needed to meet with the Senior Paster , Dr . John Powell , and discuss with him next Sundays services . Jason and I will be very much involved with the sermon and we needed to be sure we had all our thoughts coordinated . It is a special Memorial Day Service , and John asked us to be a part of it . Linda will be up with us as well , and if the opportunity happens she 'll get to speak also . I 'm looking forward to it , and I think it is going to be kind of fun . The rest of the day , after church was pretty laid back . We had a visit from Serving Spoons , as they brought us dinner today , and Stacy had a birthday party to go to . Otherwise we simply enjoyed each other 's company and relaxed , for the most part . Linda did work with Jackie , on a school project , that is focused on Jackie . Through the year , each of the students gets to put together a poster , " All About Me " and it was Jackie 's turn to do so . This isn 't the first one Linda has done , as she also did Stacy 's poster , back a couple years ago . The girls are going to be with us for this next week , so we are looking for a fun week to keep us busy . Thank you , for all the continued support and prayers . Take care and stay positive . I 'll start with the bike repair - I got up and had it in my head that I needed to take the time , since I now had some , to see how badly the tire had been damaged . First the girls were up and were in bed with Daddy ( Jason ) , watching some cartoons . I 'm not sure who enjoys this more , Jason or the girls , I just know I think it is good for all of them . I pulled the bike in and began working on the tire and found that the damage to the tire , itself , wasn 't as bad as I first thought . I replaced the tube ( it was totally shot ) and remounted the tire and it looked great . I needed to get out on it , and take it for a short ride , so that is what I wanted to do . By this time Linda had been up for about an hour or so and was looking at getting ready for her Blue Star Mother 's Luncheon , and I told her I wanted to take the bike for a short ride to make sure it was working okay . Now you have to appreciate her reaction , because I have said in the past that I was going to go for a short ride , and it turned into about 17 - 20 mile ride , so when I said " short ride " you can imagine the thought going through her head . She wanted to be sure to let Jason know I was going and that he might be left with the girls for about 1 / 2 an hour , so I told him that was a possibility . He was totally comfortable with that , as the girls listen to him pretty well , and they would probably spend most of the time in bed with him , anyway . As it turned out , I did get a " short " ride in , about 7 . 5 miles , and I was back rather quickly . The two things that happened while I was out ; 1 , the tire held up fine and I was even able to sustain a pace of about 20 mph for several minutes ; and 2 , it started to rain a little so I really didn 't want to be out any longer than I needed anyway . When I got back to the house , Linda was still getting ready and so I said I would be happy to take her , if she could wait until I cooled down and showered . There was time so she was happy to have me drive her . As it was , the location of her meeting was on part of one of my regular rides , up Linda Vista Road , so I had an idea of where it was . The girls were up and running around the house now , so I asked them if they 'd like to go along and both of them did . We made it to the Luncheon with a little time to spare . She had a good time at the Luncheon and even helped out with the next meeting ( the one following the Blue Star Mother 's ) , as they needed some assistance . She met some new folks and had some great conversations . Loretta , the President of the Northern San Diego Blue Star Mother 's , gave Linda a ride home . For the rest of the day we had a pretty relaxed afternoon and evening . The one thing that came along , that kind of surprised us , was that we were asked to keep the girls until next weekend . This was a bit of a surprise , as most of these requests are , and we really do enjoy having the girls with us , we just wish we had a little more notice before hand . Both Linda and I had alternate plans for parts of the week , coming up , and this kind of puts a bit of a challenge we didn 't have before . I think we can still have the girls with us , and still get everything done , so it won 't be too much of a challenge . We 're just trying to get things ready for the up coming move . I am still counting on August as a move in date ( probably late August ) , and the time from now until then is going to go by quickly . Tomorrow we will be going in to church , and Jason and I will be meeting with Rev . John Powell , to discuss the Memorial Day service . John has asked us to be a part of that service and we need to make sure we have all our responsibilities understood and we can truly help make it successful . The rest of the day is very dependent on the weather , so I am hopeful that it will be a great day . Thank you , for all the continued support and prayers . Take care and stay positive . These last couple of days have been very wet for us , down here in San Diego . We must have gotten well over an inch of rain , and probably more than 2 inches . Considering the amount of rain that normally falls here , that 's a lot . With that much rain coming down , I was not about to attempt to get out on my bike , though I wouldn 't have anyway as I blew out my tire a few days ago , and have not yet gotten it repaired . For those that don 't know , I ran over something that had a significant screw in it and it pretty well chewed up the tire , as well as the tube . Anyway , I wouldn 't have been riding these last couple of days , mostly because of the rain fall . On the bright side , it did knock off a bunch of dust and dirt the vehicles had collected . . . ; - ) Kojak and Jason are getting along very well now , with Kojak wanting to be sure he is with Jason , or at least being able to see him at all times . A couple of times we had to put him back in his kennel and within a few minutes he was yelping and barking , wanting to just see Jason . He really doesn 't mind being in the kennel , as long as he knows Jason is near by - he is definitely Jason 's dog . The concern I have is that it is causing Jason to be up more than he should be , and it is having a negative affect on the healing of his wounds . I told him today that we need to get in to see the Wound Care folks next week , because I didn 't like what I was seeing . On the positive side , Jason hasn 't noticed any additional discomfort , or pain , so I 'm grateful for that . The house is coming along and the good thing about where they are right now is that this recent rain isn 't going to have too much affect on its progress . Most of the work now is inside the house , and aside from a couple of small places , it is pretty well water tight now . Well , the garage doors are still not installed yet , but the rest of the house is looking pretty good . Also , we have been given a date window for the completion of the house , and it looks to be around the end of August . This is good as that is also about the time when the girls will be going back to school , and that was a big concern of ours . That should make the transition a bit easier . One of the other aspects of the house is that we are working with all of the finishing suppliers and it feels very close to being a finished product . We are meeting with a Fallbrook landscaper next week and Jason has had a good discussion with our new neighbor , Dan , about a shared fence as well as some ideas about how to fence the rest of the yard . There are so many more details that I don 't think Jason ever thought about , and that just makes it all the more fun . Thank you , for all the continued support and prayers . Take care and stay positive . Linda and I went up to the house today and did some measurements for some of the furniture we already have , and to just check out what was going on . We were pleased to see the continued progress , even from just yesterday . Linda found some places where she was happy with how the furniture is going to fit , and how we can make different things fit . As a result of that visit we came back down to San Diego and I went over to our storage unit and began moving some things around so that we could get a better idea of just what we actually had . Now , I also have to say I didn 't do this alone - Bobbie Bryan offered to give me a hand , and because I had his help we were able to get through more than I expected . Tomorrow Linda and I will be going back to storage and going through the unit to identify just what we are going to be keeping , selling and donating . We do have a bunch of stuff , and most of it will not be coming to the new house , simply because it won 't work , or fit . Now , we 're not talking about dishes and clothes , we 're talking about furniture . When Linda moved down from Livermore she went through what I kind of think of as stage - 1 of our new environment . She sold and got rid of a bunch of stuff . Now we are approaching stage - 2 , where we don 't have as much , yet we still need to reduce so that moving into the new house will be easier and more comfortable . The hard part is that some of the items have emotional value , as well as the intrinsic value of the dollar . I think Jason is beginning to get the excitement " bug " about moving to a new home / house . He is always so cool and calm , and now he is showing signs like when he talks with the contractors and gets more involved with any of the design aspects . For example they recently got the cabinets installed and Jason was able to test out some of them . He was very pleased with how they worked , and so were the cabinet installers . We will continue to go back and forth between the house in Fallbrook and San Diego , and I will do my best to keep you all informed of how it is coming along . Also , I will be posting pictures , just as soon as I figure out why my latest pictures are not being loaded to the computer . Thank you , for all the continued support and prayers . Take care and stay positive . We had a very good day today , mostly because just about everything that we did today , went smoothly , and without any problems . The girls got up and off to school ; we were able to get up to Jason 's new house build site ; we had a great family dinner , with Jason at the table this time ; and , we seem to be working towards an organized effort to get our stuff in order , so that we can move when we need to . On top of that , Kojak seems to be getting more used to the family , and is showing some signs that he is learning his name . There is one other things , as I said earlier , " . . . just about everything . . . " There was one item that hasn 't gone too smoothly , and it is rather puzzling . I attempted to load some pictures from my camera on to the computer and the computer just doesn 't seem to want them . I have hooked it up , same as I have done many times before , and there is more than adequate disk space , and both devices indicate there is communication going on . Just that when I attempt to down load the pictures the system just sits . Heck , I 'd be happy if I 'd at least get an error or something , but it doesn 't do anything . I guess this is going to be another one of those things I 'm going to have to trouble shoot . Jason and I will be heading out to Balboa Naval Hospital tomorrow morning , after the girls get off to school . I don 't suspect the visit will take too long , as I think it is a regular Wound Care Visit . Then we have to take the dogs to the vet , and get them to their regularly scheduled office visit . Joselyn 's son , Robert , will be coming over to help me move some heavy items , and I don 't believe there is much else to get done . Thank you , for all the continued support and prayers . Take care and stay positive . Got up early and Jason and I headed in to Balboa to take care of getting the surgery schedule corrected . Originally it was supposed to be on May 19 , but that was changed to June 9 and now , due to other issues , it is being pushed again . I specifically asked that it get pushed one week , but they were not able to provide us any update - the doctors were all out . In fact they might not be able to let us know until June 1 , when Jason has to go back in for another visit . One of the challenges of dealing with Military Medicine . Once we finished there and headed over to the pet store ( Jason needed a few things , and also to pick up some food for the dogs ) , and then we came back home . So far it has been a pretty good day , and it is still relatively early in the morning . I told Jason that I would be getting out on my bike and riding down town , to take care of a quick banking issue and then continue on , on Harbor Blvd . I also told him and Linda that I should be able to get back by noon , or at least close to it . The ride out was fine and traffic was actually a little on the lite side . This made me feel pretty good , as I was at about 10 miles by the time I got to the bank . They have recently installed new bike racks , so I had a place to lock up the bike , while I went into the bank . Once completed there I headed back out on the streets to head on down to Harbor , and all was going smooth , even if it was mostly up hill . I got to Harbor and road on through the pedestrian traffic , as well as some bicycles and made the turn to head on back home . I was feeling pretty good , going up the last uphill section when I heard this sound like I 'd just run over something , only I didn 't see anything . Well , in about two seconds , maybe less , I heard a small snap , or bang and my rear tire was flat . Apparently I had run over something that had a good sized screw in it , and it was now penetrating through my tire and tube . I stopped . I quickly decided that it would be faster to just walk home , rather than attempt to change the tube , and besides the tire looked damaged . I thought about calling Linda and again , thought that just walking was the fastest way home , so that 's what I did . Actually , I felt like attempting to run some and got in about 1 / 2 a mile then decided it was just a bit too awkward trying to run while pushing a bike and wearing a backpack ( I always ride with my backpack ) . The total ride was about 17 . 5 miles and I was still able to get home at a reasonable time , only about 15 minutes later than first thought . I now have to figure out how I can repair the tire . We next had to get over and pick up Stacy , from school , as they get out at 14 : 00 ( 2pm ) on Monday , and then take her off to another appointment , just a half an hour later . After that , Jackie has to be picked up at 15 : 00 ( 3pm ) , and this time Linda did that as I was taking Stacy to her appointment . Now I need to bring you up on something , as I am working on a project for a friend . While Stacy was at the appointment I felt I had time to work on the project , and made some progress . After the appointment Stacy and I headed back home and within just a few minutes of leaving she was asleep in the back seat - one of those times when I really appreciate how car seats are made , and help to keep her head up . We were back at the house in about 45 minutes , and part of that is because I was tired of fighting the traffic and jumped off the freeway to drive surface streets . Fortunately I am pretty familiar with those streets , as I frequently ride over in those areas . I carried Stacy into the house and within about five seconds she was wide awake and ready to play . Unfortunately , though , she had some homework so the play time would just have to wait . Linda made dinner , a little while after our arrival , and we all sat down to eat , except for Jason who remained in his bed . That pretty much brought us to the end of the day , and the girls got to play a little before heading off to bed . I read them a story and we all told them good night , and then I helped Jason with his shower . With all this done I kind of just collapsed back on to the couch and thought , where did this day go ? Not sure what it is about Mondays , but they sure do seem busy . Thank you , for all the continued support and prayers . Take care and stay positive . Mother 's Day is a day to reflect on what your mother has done for you in your life , and why she is so important to you . We are fortunate to have Linda 's mom , Jess , still around , she provides some advice and she usually sees things from a perspective that we hadn 't thought about . I guess that 's where Linda gets it , and I do take advantage of that . A funnier aspect of the day was that Jason offered to take Mom out to breakfast , and instead Linda said she would rather go shopping , and so he took her to the store , where they purchased a vacuum cleaner . This made Linda happy , as it was something she has been wanting , and it made Jason happy , because he made Mom happy . David sent flowers , and she also heard from Sean today ( George called yesterday ) . I hope you all had a great Mother 's Day , and that your day was as nice as ours . Thank you , for all the continued support and prayers . Take care and stay positive . We woke up this morning , up in Los Angeles , to the sounds of two little boys running around having a great time . It is such an amazing contrast to our two granddaughters , and we love every moment of it . Then , again , boys are supposed to be different from girls and it all definitely shows , as they continue to grow . We really do enjoy having all the time we do with the girls , but it sure would be nice to have more time with Dylan and Ethan . Perhaps , once we move up to Fallbrook it will be a little easier to spend time with them . David made breakfast this morning , with the help of Miriam and the boys . David made scratch pancakes , with both blue berries or strawberries , and some times a mix of the two . They were really good , and I probably ate more than I should have . We had planned on leaving late morning and in hind sight we might have been able to stay a little longer , but we don 't like leaving Jason on his own for too long , especially with a new puppy . We finished breakfast , packed and out the door by 09 : 45 . We got traveling down the road and well on our way when David called . We had left a bag at the house , so we turned around and went back . Traffic was wonderfully lite , so it took up a little less time than it could have , and we were back at the house by 10 : 30 . Again , we were back out the door and on our way , only this time it was closer to 10 : 45 ( what was that about leaving later in the morning ? ) . The traffic was a little heavier this time , but still moved pretty well , and we made some pretty reasonable time . We would have gotten home by about 14 : 00 ( 2pm ) except that we decided to stop by the new house , and see the progress . Actually , we had called Jason and asked how he was doing and determined we had the time to take a look , since it was going to be a fast visit . As it was , we got home to San Diego just before 15 : 00 ( 3pm ) . There were some flowers sitting on the table for Linda 's Mother 's Day , and they looked very nice . Linda was honestly a little surprised , while at the same time happy . I took off to go shopping at Costco , while Linda stayed home , and I also had a little side errand to do , that was another surprise for Linda . David had asked me to go to a specific flower shop and pick up some flowers he had purchased , also for Mother 's Day . When I got home Linda was again surprised , and now there are even more flowers . The house is going to smell nice for a few days . The rest of the day was a little more relaxed , and I was able to help Jason with his shower , a little earlier than previously . We had a nice simple dinner and then , after I took Kojak outside for another little walk around the yard , to take care of business , we decided it was enough for the day . Thank you , for all the continued support and prayers . Take care and stay positive . Full day at David and Miriam 's place , and had a very enjoyable time , being able to get up and do all the different things we did . The morning began with me getting up at 05 : 30 and going for a run with David . It was a relatively short run , of just a couple of miles , and we were walking back in to the house in about 1 / 2 an hour . It was the first real run I 've been on in quite a long time , and it felt pretty good . I did have to walk a portion of it , though still did better than I expected . The next thing was to get ready to go to Dylan 's school with him , as today is Grandparents Day , for the school . David drove us over and a comment he made was that there was a lot less traffic than he would normally have expected . As a result , we were able to arrive a little earlier than first planned . David and Dylan walked us over to Dylan 's class / preschool and we met his teachers . This took all of about 5 minutes , then we were directed to the breakfast and reception ; we would be coming back to the room afterward . The breakfast was quite good , and on top of that Miriam was involved with a big portion of the preparation . We were entertained at the breakfast , by the older kids of the school and had a key note presenter , who spoke on the value and importance of a good foundation for education . This took well over an hour , though it only seemed like it was about 30 minutes , and then we were directed to go to the class rooms . Once there Dylan showed us around his school and we went to their play structures and had a bunch of fun for several minutes , and then we were able to sign him out , at which point he was able to escort us around the school . We saw all they had to offer and some of the activities they were all involved with , such as art and some science aspects of their education . By noon we were finished with the visit and Miriam came and picked us up , to take us to lunch . It was particularly fun to get to meet several of the other grand parents . Miriam took us to lunch , and apparently just about everyone else in the close vicinity also wanted to go to this restaurant . Now , it also has to be understood that it has been raining off and on since last night , and it was raining now . this restaurant specializes in noodle soups , so that could explain some of the popularity . After lunch we headed back to the house and simply relaxed for a while . The boys had a party to go to , so later in the afternoon , after their naps , Miriam took them to their party , and Linda and I found ourselves just quietly relaxing in the house . . . we both took a nap . Tonight , after they came back from the party , Linda and I played with the boys for a short while , and had the honor of getting them to bed . David and Miriam were out ( one of the benefits of having us there ) . It was a nice change for us , instead of having two girls we had two boys , to get to bed . I told them a couple of stories and Linda sang them one of their favorite songs , and then they went to sleep , pretty quickly actually . As far as Jason , and how he was doing , we heard from him , that he was doing well , and that even Kojak was doing a little better . We will be heading back down tomorrow , and we are both glad to hear that he did okay without us being there . Of course we had Joselyn coming in to check on him , and that made this weekend possible . Thank you , for all the continued support and prayers . Take care and stay positive . Today was a good day , all around - though I didn 't get my bike ride in . We had a minor impact to our schedule with a visit from the housing folks , for where we are living right now . Apparently they decided it was time to make a change to the air conditioning , and a general cleaning of the system . Now I 'm not opposed to that type of cleaning , I just wish it could have been delayed by a week or so , when we weren 't planning on coming up to visit with Linda 's folks and then on up to Los Angeles to see David and his family . The drive up was WAY better than I had anticipated , and the first stop up to see Joe and Jess was accomplished much faster than I had thought it would . Then Jess fed us a very nice lunch of a soup and sandwich combination . Now , normally one might expect that " soup and sandwich " was pretty regular and not special at all , but Jess made a soup by just putting some things together that was excellent . And the sandwiches are always far superior to most that you can get anywhere else . My biggest challenge is that I tend to want to eat too much whenever I go there . After lunch and a nice visit we headed on up to see David and Miriam , and their two sons Dylan and Ethan , our Grandsons . We were invited to attend the school 's Grandparents Day , where Dylan goes to school . We went last year and it was really fun , so we were very happy to go again . The drive up I5 was amazingly easy , for the most part . There were a couple of spots where it got sluggish , and it didn 't take too long to get through those areas . We ended up arriving at their house more than an hour sooner than I thought we would . Once there the boys were very happy to see us and we had a great time playing for a couple of hours , while Miriam finished preparing dinner . Ralph , Miriam 's dad , showed up a little while before dinner , so he was going to be joining us as well , and we were very pleased to have that happen . It seems like we hadn 't seen Ralph in over a year . The only down side was that Holly , his wife , was out of town , so we didn 't get to see her . Dinner was excellent , as Miriam is also a good cook , and on top of that she made this great bread that I don 't know the name of , but it seemed like a carrot - nut bread , and everyone at the table liked it . There wasn 't much left by the time we were all done . Ralph was able to stay and visit for a short while and the boys loved having us all there . The boys were put to bed and then Linda offered to finish cleaning up the kitchen . While she was doing that I was busy trying to get on the local network , and get started on this blog . Their cat , Luna , came over to visit me a few times , while I was typing , and likes to walk across the keyboard , and amazingly without compressing any of the keys . Still , it does make it a challenge sometimes to type a continuous sentence , without getting cat hair in the face , from a swishing tail . I did check in with Jason , and he is doing fine . We did our best to make sure he had plenty of food and Linda communicated with Joselyn prior to us coming up here . I guess that is always going to be one of those things that we , as parents , will continue to do . . . worry about our kids , in this case Jason . Thank you , for all the continued support and prayers . Take care and stay positive . We had a very good day and other than get a good bike ride in , and a visit by Brian McMillan , the VA caregiver coordinator , it has been a rather ordinary day - and I like it that way . Oh , it was still Taco Tuesday and we all had fun at dinner , but not much else happened . There was the Giants game , against the Padres , and that turned out pretty good , but not much else . Okay , maybe something did happen - Kojak is back home with us . Jason and I went to the doctor 's office and picked him up today , and Jason and Kojak were both very happy for that to happen . It is good to see Kojak acting more like what one would expect a puppy to act like . Prior to the hospital stay he was lethargic and very subdued . My guess is that over the next few days he will get used to his new home and the people who live here , and he will be a happy puppy . Tomorrow we will be heading out to the paint dealer , to select paints for Jason 's new home , and it should be kind of a fun activity . My guess is that it won 't take more than an hour , but then , I could be totally wrong . Jason also has expressed an desire to get out and see the new Avenger movie , so we might get that in tomorrow as well . Otherwise , not much planned , and I hope that we can have a nice relaxed day . Thank you , for all the continued support and prayers . Take care and stay positive . We had a good start to the day today , though the girls sure didn 't want to get out of bed . Linda and I were up a little early , actually , with the idea that an easier and slower start to the day might be better . We were in error with that kind of thinking . The girls wanted to just stay in bed and we finally got them going about 10 minutes later than our normal time . This meant that the time window for breakfast was just a little bit tighter , and we went from a relaxed slow day to a more hurried " got ' a get going " kinda day . As it turned out , we still made it to school with a little time to spare , and the girls were , or at least seemed to be , totally unaware of Grandma and Grandpa encouraging to get them going . Sometimes I wish I was six years old again - - - Not ! Once we were done with that aspect of the day , and back at the house , I got ready for a much needed bike ride . The idea was that I was going to go for a nice 20 mile ride and be back in time to head over to the hospital at Balboa , with Jason . Linda had some errands she wanted to get done in the morning and take Jackie to her speech and occupational therapy . When I got back home at close to 11 : 00 I didn 't think anything about no vehicles being there . Jason had said he was going to be going over to check on Kojak ( he 's doing much better and we 'll probably have him home tomorrow ) , and then I thought he was coming home so we could both go in for the appointment . Jason , apparently , decided that I needed a rest and that he could take care of the appointment on his own , so that 's what happened . I would have liked to have been able to speak with the doctor ( s ) directly , but that was in the plan this time . When Jason did get back home , this is also after Linda had returned , he informed us that he had pushed the date for the surgery out to June 9 . It is meant to give us a better transition with Kojak , but my personal feeling is that we would have worked out better with the 19th of this month . It does allow more flexibility with a couple of other things we have simmering on the back burners , so - to - speak , so I guess that 's the silver lining . It has been done , and so we will just have to go with what we now have , I would have just liked it better to get the issue taken care of . The rest of the day was still pretty good , and we had a simple hamburgers kind of meal , that the girls really enjoyed . They like when Grandpa cooks hamburgers , and actually , I think Jason does , too . Not sure about what is going to be happening tomorrow , other than Linda and I heading over to our storage units to begin doing some needed rearranging and sorting . With the up coming move we have to decide what is going and what is not . We have a couple of months to get it figured out , and our feeling is that the sooner we get this done , the better we 'll be . Thank you , for all the continued support and prayers . Take care and stay positive . Sunday has been a nice day , though Linda wasn 't feeling well , for most of the day . I was hoping that Jason would spend most , if not all the day in bed , but he had other plans . He went to go visit Kojak , and I can see that it was probably a good thing for the puppy ( when Jason comes in there is a distinct attitude improvement with Kojak , and he wants to stay with Jason ) , I just wish he 'd stay down a bit more , for the next several days . He has been up a bit too much , on too many days and the wounds are showing signs of the wear it is causing . I 'm doing my best to keep them padded and covered , though the biggest issue is that he simply up on his chair and the extra pressure causes some problems , and the wounds start to open up again . I guess until they do come up with a reasonable seating solution for him , this is simply the way it is going to be . As a solid plus for the visit with Kojak - it looks like the puppy will be coming home on Monday , tomorrow . The girls and I had a great day together , though I would have liked to have had a little more time to get them out side . We discovered more fun things to do at Balboa Park , and they were disappointed that we couldn 't stay and play , and explore . I told them that the next time we were together on a weekend I would do my best to get them back over to Balboa and we would have some fun there . Not much else going on - as I fixed a simple chicken and rice dinner , with vegetables , and then got the girls up to take their bath . Linda is starting to feel a little better , so I am hopeful that she will be back up close to 100 % tomorrow and be her normal happy self . I am also hoping that I can get another bike ride in , since Jason and I don 't have to head over to the hospital until almost noon . This is the pre - visit for the surgery coming up on the 19th . I 'm really not sure what they are going to be doing , but I suspect that the visit won 't go too long . Thank you , for all the continued support and prayers . Take care and stay positive . Yesterday was a special day , as we picked up the girls from school at about 12 : 30 ( it was an early release day ) and then we got all packed up to head up to the Pala Mesa Resort in Fallbrook . We had been given tickets to the Gabriel " Fluffy " Iglesias show at the Pala Casino / Hotel & Spa ( found out the two are not connected ) . The show was great and we had a wonderful time . The tickets to the show were as a result of the Gary Sinise Foundation contacting the Casino / Hotel and getting tickets - and since the show was already sold out , it was especially cool that they made them available . We had four seats , being me , Linda , Jason and Cristin , our friend from the Gary Sinise Foundation ( Cristin and Jason really get along well ) . We were given VIP treatment and escorted to our seats , and as the show was ending we were given some gifts from Fluffy . The hospitality shown to us was above and beyond or expectations , and we 'll keep our eyes open to see if there is any other shows we might want to go see . Now , on the other hand , at the Pala Mesa Resort , about 15 minutes away , in Fallbrook , and our stay there was not quite so good . The room we were given , for Jason was ADA , by definition , but some of the accommodations were challenging , at best . Jason normally gets into his bed from the side , as it is easier for him to maneuver and get comfortable . With this room he could only get on at the foot of the bed , as his chair would not fit along the side . I attempted to move the bed and found it was secured in place , so no moving . The roll - in shower had just enough room for his chair for him to get to the shower , and then he was unable to maneuver to get to the bench , without some serious reaching on his part . Fortunately he has big and strong arms . Also , with the shower , the water pressure was low , very low , and it was again another challenge to effectively get clean . Now , the bed it self was less than wonderfully comfortable , and finally the A / C of the room remained on all the time and the room remained moderately warm . The temperature wouldn 't have been much of an issue for most of us , but for Jason it is a bigger issue , since he still has challenges moderating body temperature . This morning I asked him how he slept and he said he thinks he might have gotten four hours . I took this to the hotel staff and they effectively didn 't seem to care and only said that next year they were going to be renovating the hotel . I even attempted to draw them a picture of how a minor change would make a big difference , and they just smiled and said thank you , as I walked away with that drawing . I seriously doubt that we will be ever staying there again , or recommending them to any of our friends who might come up to visit us , in Fallbrook . Yes , it isn 't very far from Jason 's new house . I did mention it to the Casino / Hotel , via email today , though I don 't know if they are connected . We left at about 09 : 00 this morning , feeling tired and hungry . Fortunately the girls were spending the evening with Anthony and Angelica , so we didn 't have to worry about them , through all of this . We went directly to Anthony and Angelica 's house , in Ocean Side , and they were having a great time and everyone seemed in good spirits . The van was again loaded up and we headed for Point Loma . Traffic wasn 't bad and we got back down here in just a little over 30 minutes . We got the van unloaded and parked and then Jason took off to go visit Kojak . The good news is that Kojak is doing much better , and will probably be coming home on Monday . Kojak has really started to connect with Jason , and each of the visits by Jason has shown that Kojak likes to be with him , and today 's visit he showed the most activity so far , also a good sign that he is feeling better . We have gone through and did a major cleaning of the environment and made sure all his bedding is new and clean . We are all anxious to have him back home . The rest of the day has been relaxed and calm . Linda and I ( and even Jason ) got to take a nap , about the same time the girls took their naps . It was very refreshing to have the short nap , as I got up before the girls did . A little while later , while I was finishing the Giants baseball game , Jackie came out and wanted to play with me ( I hope some , or all , of you got to see the Giants game , as it ended in a very unusual way , so if you haven 't seen it , check it out ) . After about 30 minutes Jackie wanted to go up to see Grandma , so I let her , and she headed up stairs and woke Grandma . Not much else happened tonight , other than some good old fashion relaxing , Tomorrow we will be attempting to get back into our regular Sunday routine , and then cruse into another great week . I hope you all have a wonderful Sunday , and that your week , next week , is a great one . Thank you , for all the continued support and prayers . Take care and stay positive .

Happy Birthday Jason ! Jason turned 32 years old today , and it was a wonderful day for all of us . We woke up to the sound of Kojak winning and waking everybody up . Apparently Jason was keeping him in his kennel for a little while and Kojak didn 't like it , and Kojak can " sing " pretty loud . Linda went down stairs to see what was going on and helped Jason by taking Kojak out to the backyard . He was happy again and in a few minutes they were back inside and Linda was coming back up to the room . After all , it wasn 't quite 05 : 00 yet , and she wanted to get back to sleep . Funny part is , it gave her a chance to be the first one to wish Jason a Happy Birthday . We did manage to get back to sleep and slept for almost an hour and woke up again . Shortly after that we had a visit from Jackie , and she was full of energy . After about 15 minutes we realized we were going to have to be getting up , so we did . Jackie bounded back down the stairs to go see what Daddy was doing , and she wanted to wish him a Happy Birthday , too . As it turned out , Stacy was also in with Daddy , and they were all playing in the bed . Shortly after all this crazy fun , we managed to get the girls dressed and eat some breakfast . It was starting to get a little later in the morning and didn 't want to be late to church . Jason wasn 't going with us this time , as he wanted to just stay down , and I was totally happy with that . The girls always look forward to Sunday School , and today was no exception - just wish we could take them every Sunday . We came home and the rest of the day was pretty " normal " and relaxed . We had lunch and the girls went down for their " brain - rest " - that 's what they like to say instead of , " Nap . " The only other thing I did was to go to Costco and pick up a few things and take the Fusion to the car wash , since they indicated that today was to be the last day for the Free car wash . I was hoping to get the van back over , and vacuum it out one more time , but I 'm not sure if that is going to happen now , without having to pay for a wash that it doesn 't need . Dinner tonight was grilled New York Steaks , and they came out very nice . We had bake potatoes and salad , along with some vegetables and Hawaiian Sweet Bread . Then for dessert we had a chocolate cake - or I guess I should say , they had the chocolate cake , and I just had ice cream . The girls gave him their gift ( a framed photo ) and they wrapped it themselves . They used plain paper and drew on it for decorations . It was really very nice . By now it is getting pretty late so Linda took the girls up to the bath and I cleaned the kitchen ( I think I got the easier task ) . They went to bed after Grandma read them a story and the rest of us aren 't far behind . Thank you , for all the continued support and prayers . Take care and stay positive . Kind of a busy day today , with the morning starting out with me taking Jason 's truck over to the new car wash that just opened up . I wanted to go there for a couple of reasons , with the biggest one being related to the fact that they have excellent vacuum stations for the cars and trucks , and because of the dogs , Jason 's truck really needed vacuuming . Another big factor is the fact that the car wash is FREE ! I 'm guessing they are wanting to let people know they 're there and are giving away washes this first few days and hope to build a base . The quality of the wash is good , and like I said , the vacuum stations are very good . The only down I see is their wheel cleaning ability , and that is not very good at all . Still , that is a minor thing , considering the cost , and they do have you in and out relatively quickly - they advertise a 3 - minute car wash ( doesn 't include the vacuum , and you have to do that yourself ) . After the car wash I came back to the house and helped Linda with some of the cleaning she was doing . Actually I was entertaining the kids mostly while she cleaned , and that lasted for a little while . She had made breakfast earlier , so I was able to sit down and eat before I had to head off , back up to Anthony 's " old " house to finish picking up the stuff he was storing for us , and also to give him a hand at loading some things into his truck . I ended up staying there and working a little longer than I had originally planned , though I think the help was seriously needed since Anthony has some physical limitations and the only other person there was Angelica 's son , George . George and I carried the remaining heavy stuff and put it in the trailer or the bed of the truck ; I helped tie it down and moved a few other things ; and , then I had to get going so I could unload the van . I had gone up in the van and it was now full . By the time I was done putting all the stuff in our storage it was about 14 : 30 ( 2 : 30pm ) and I was getting a little hungry . I was also getting to be a bit tired now , and just wanted to sit down and take a little rest . Basically , my day was over except that I was going to be cooking dinner later . The girls were napping at this point and Linda wanted to get out and take care of some of her errands . Dinner was simple and nice , as I fixed some fish sticks with rice and vegetables . Not sure how we have been so lucky , but the girls actually asked for vegetables for dinner , and as far as we 're concerned we 'll provide that every time . This evening was nice as I was getting the blog written I saw a notice that the " Free " MLB game of the week was the Giants game , so I get to see a Giants home game , and its free . I truly enjoy watching Timmy pitch . Thank you , for all the continued support and prayers . Take care and stay positive . Kind of a different day for us , as we came into our Friday , with the girls . Jason had an appointment at Balboa Hospital and was to home by 11 : 00 . I picked up Jackie at about 10 : 30 for her speech therapy and then Linda picked up Stacy at about 10 : 45 . Both girls were on a minimum school day today , and when we all got home we left to Camp Pendleton to see some of Jason 's buddies at their EOD site . One of the senior guys , a MGySgt , was retiring after 25 years with the Marines , and it was officially a send off for him , and a Family Day for everyone else . When Gavin ( the retiring Marine ) and I spoke on the phone he said it would be great to have all of us there , and I mentioned that Jason 's birthday is actually on the 31st . He said , " That 's great ! We can get him a cake and present it to him after all the other presentations are done . " As it turned out there were several guys who were being presented with plaques , and I said we will be there , sometime after noon . . . we arrived at about 13 : 00 ( 1pm ) . The presentations were fun and very interesting , as it is always interesting to see how a bunch of EOD Marines are going to honor each other , and a great deal of it is with humor . Most of the humor is very related to the type work they do ( EOD techs have about the most dangerous job in the military ) , so I figure they have earned the right to be a little different with their humor , and they all seemed to like it . Jason 's cake presentation was the last thing and like the rest of it he took it in stride and had a great time with the rest of them . Funny part is , he thought he was being brought up for an entirely different reason . One of the traditions they have is that if you 're on TV , for any reason at all , you have to buy the company a round of drinks , and Jason had been on TV several times over the past several months , sometimes without even knowing it . When it turned out to be about his birthday he was very surprised , and that 's what we wanted . We all had a great time and the girls even got to play in a jumpy house , for just about as long as they wanted . We finally had to get going home , and we had to get them out of the jumpy house . The drive home was pretty slow , as I think everybody decided to get out on the road , and be going away from San Diego , or towards , so both sides were kind of packed . It is about a 40 minute drive to get up to Pendleton and it was about a 90 minute drive home . I guess the good part is that the girls fell asleep on the way home , and this gave them some time to nap . You could tell Jason had a good time there , as he was talking a bit more on the way home , and this is when he was tired , and usually pretty quiet . Then finally , once we did get back home and settled back down I received a phone call from my brother Charlie - I hadn 't heard from him in a few years , so it was another nice surprise . We talked for a little more than half an hour and then he had to get going - with the promise of him coming to a visit , in another 6 - weeks or so . It will be good to see him again . Over the past few days I have said I would get some pictures up on the blog , so tonight I 'm gong to post a few of the house and let you see how it is coming along . Also some of the pictures of the Rolling Stones concert , and I think that 's about all we have for right now . Thank you , for all the continued support and prayers . Take care and stay positive . I did get up for a short and fast 10 miles on the bike - I say " fast " as a reflection on my speed , as it was a little faster than I usually go . At one point , while circling Fiesta Island ( which isn 't really an island ) , I was at the last part of the four mile loop . I was feeling pretty good and had a good pace of about 17 . 5 mph going . Then I looked to my left and here came this lady ( at least I think it was a lady ) and she blew my doors off . I didn 't let it get me down though , and just kept on going . The head wind was minimal and there were things to do , so I simply headed back home and kept the ride down to the 10 miles I had planned . Jason had an appointment today , and also stopped in to see a couple of folks we know . It was a very nice visit for him , for a couple of reasons , and mostly because he simply went on his own . He didn 't even take Gracie with him . This tells me that his confidence level is getting very strong and he doesn 't mind getting out by himself . Linda and I stayed at home with the dogs , and did some planning and strategic work . We need to get some mirrors for the house , and Linda has requested that she be given the control of what actually goes into the bathrooms . The contractors were more than happy to allow her to do this , as were Jason and I , and I think it made her feel more useful with the overall project . Anyway , she has found some and already purchased some and now all we need to do is get them to the house when they 're ready to be installed . The other big thing that went on today was that Anthony and Angelica are moving out of their rented house and moving into their own house . This is great , except that Linda and I have ( had ? ) some items stored at their place , in their garage . The house is just about ready to be handed over , so we need to get all our things out , so we went up there today , after stopping off at Jason 's place in Fallbrook . We went up to Fallbrook to check on some of the mirrors I was talking about earlier . We got up to the house , in Fallbrook and the tile work is probably 85 % completed and it really looks good . I think Jason is going to love the way his bath and shower turned out , as he wanted it to look sort of cave - ish , and they did a great job of getting it there . From the Fallbrook house we went over to Anthony 's and picked up a bunch of our stuff , though not all of it . We have a storage unit , so we can move it there until we need to get it to the new house . The moving of the boxes and things went smoothly enough , though I have to admit , my back was getting a little tired by the end of the day . I don 't twist and turn as easily as I used too , I guess . Besides moving our things , I was also assisting Anthony with moving some of his things , and it is all good now . We finally went to our storage unit and pulled everything out of the van and put it in to the storage unit . That really didn 't take too long , and I was glad , since I was running out of steam , and I felt pretty much like we had been moving pretty hard all day . Linda was moving almost as many of the boxes as I was , so I know she was getting a bit worn down too . I think we 'll both sleep soundly tonight . Thank you , for the continued support and prayers . Take care and stay positive . Today was a very nice day for me , personally , and I think a good day for Jason and Linda , too . The girls got off to school , this morning , and a couple of hours later I took Jackie to an appointment , while Linda took care of a couple of other errands . Jason had an appointment of his own , so our morning was pretty full of activities . Since the two of them were going to be out for a couple of hours , I decided that it would be good to get out and go for another bike ride , and so I did . The weather down here is still a bit unsettled , and very cloudy , with the biggest impact to a bike ride being the wind . Probably no more than a 5 mph breeze with some gusts , yet riding 20 + miles against it and with cross winds , tended to make it a little more of a challenge . I managed to get the ride in and back home just before Jason returned . Linda was going to be out with her friend until almost 17 : 00 ( 5pm ) , so we really didn 't expect to see her any sooner than that . Those few hours of just laying around and relaxing felt great . I don 't get many days where there are that many hours of nothing scheduled . Jason and I had lunch and the animals were taken care of , but for the most part I just kicked back and relaxed . After Linda came home we had a few things to do , as she bought some things for the new house , and they had to be taken care of , but it was still kind of nice and easy . Linda and I later walked over to the local strip mall , and walked around a bit , with the best part being that we didn 't buy anything . The entire day felt like a vacation day or something . Tomorrow we have some work to do , and we 'll be busy for most of it , so I don 't know if I 'll be able to get a ride in , but that 's okay . Thank you , for all the continued support and prayers . Take care and stay positive . A very nice day for us today , though very full . It began with the girls getting up and getting ready for school , and with that Grandma ( Linda ) and Grandpa ( me ) were busy getting them up and dressed , while also getting their breakfast and lunches ready . We 've actually gotten it down to a pretty good routine , and it runs pretty smooth - which is good since the school year is ending ( that 's sarcasm , for those that couldn 't tell ) . Once the new year gets started it will be starting all over again , and you know what . . . we wouldn 't change it for the world . Once the girls were at school , Jason and Linda had some running around to take care of , and that lasted for a little over an hour . This gave me a chance to take care of a couple tasks at the house , and to do some catch up on some of my emails and FB posts . Well , we also had a chance to get some exercising in , though not what we normally do . I look forward to getting back into a more regular routine of riding my bike , and right now it just doesn 't seem to work . While Jason and Linda were at Balboa Hospital they picked up Tae Harris , Wounded Warrior Recovery Coordinator and brought her back to the house . After a short visit , Linda , Tae and I went to lunch . For the past couple of months we have been wanting to go to lunch with Tae , and each time something comes up . Unfortunately she is moving to Texas , to be closer to family , and she is going to be missed , though she has promised to come back for visits . The lunch with Tae was great , and right after that we took off to go up to Fallbrook , to see Linda 's parents . Linda 's parents were traveling back from Arizona and wanted to get a chance to see Jason 's house . They were already on their way , yet we managed to get to the property only a short time after they did - and no , I didn 't drive excessively fast , we just had a great tail wind . We toured the house and we were very pleased at all the progress : the tile work and granite counters are really looking great . About the only down aspect for today is that we found out that our son David , apparently had to have a surgery today . Fortunately is wasn 't a major operation , but I still don 't like to hear that any of our sons has to go through these kinds of things . David is doing fine and is expected to be back up and moving around in a matter of a short period of time . We got back home and Joselyn had already gotten our Taco Tuesday meal going , and actually just about finished - our timing was really good . The girls were happy to see us , and it was nice to get a chance to sit back down and relax for a little bit . Tomorrow isn 't going to be as busy , and who knows , I might even get a bike ride in . Thanks , for all the continued support and prayers . Take care and stay positive . Today is a day of honoring the men and women who have served the country and especially a time to remember those that gave paid the ultimate sacrifice . This weekend is seen by a large number of people as a chance to get out and go to the beach or have a picnic , and yet a large number of them don 't take the time to think about all the blood that was spent , so they could do those things . I am continuing to hope that we , as a country , can continue to grow and survive , as this great experiment is still needed in the world . God bless America is needed more than ever . On Sunday , Jason and I spoke at both services of the Point Loma Presbyterian Church , and had a wonderful reception from the congregation . We were invited to be a part of their Memorial Day worship service and it went very well . Linda was recognized as a strong member of the team and was sitting in the front pew , while we had participated in a " dialogue sermon " with Pastor John Powell . We greeted people , as they were leaving the church , and so many of them thanked us and made the comment that we were inspirational , with most of that coming from Jason . He talked about how he was injured and how he has been able to survive with his strong determination and wanting to be there for his girls . I spoke how our lives have changed , and how our faith in God has sustained us . Over all , I think it was as good for us , as it was for the congregation . Last night Jason , Linda and I went to the Rolling Stones concert , via a gift of tickets from the City Council of San Diego , or at least that is what I was led to believe . We had a great time and saw some things we had never seen before , like a bunch of really old guys jumping around and looking kind of silly , not caring what anyone else thought about them . And those were just the people in the audience . The " Stones " were just about as good as you 'd expect them to be , as they are professional , and it was impressive how much noise they can still generate . Actually , the level of noise was a major factor in why we had to leave a little early . Jason can not tolerate the decibels , like he did before and unfortunately his discomfort got to him - and he really wanted to see the entire show . We 're all glad to have had the chance to go , and will remember it . The other great thing , this weekend was that we took the girls up to the house in Fallbrook , and found it has come along way with the roof being completed , and the stucco almost finished ; the interior is also coming along very nicely with a large portion of the tile work being completed , and it looking very much like a house . The girls were very excited to see what their rooms look like and Jackie in particular was dancing around the great room and dinning area . We are all becoming more excited and looking forward to the dedication , coming up in August . What we 're doing now is trying to figure out just what we 're bringing to the new house , and where it is all going to go . These are the kinds of puzzles we like to work on . . . ; - ) I guess this would be a good opportunity to simply say , " thank you ! " to the Gary Sinise Foundation , as without them , this would not have been possible . They have shown Jason , and our family , that they really care and are willing to go out that extra mile to help us . Please remember to keep them in your prayers . Otherwise these past couple of days have been busy with things to do , or places to go ( like the concert ) and we 've been getting to bed later than usual . Even today , working on catching up on email , Facebook , and my blog - my computer started acting up and for some reason it was not allowing me to get anything posted , or entered . My guess is that it was a network issue , and the bandwidth just wasn 't great enough . I do recall hearing that the cable companies were going to start slowing data speeds down , so perhaps that is what has happened , and it makes it more of a challenge to do things , unless you want to pay for premium service . But that is just what I heard . Tomorrow the girls go back to school , after a long weekend , and we get back to a regular routine . We have been experiencing significant moisture in the atmosphere , and that is a good thing . I just wish it would rain , and stop with the drizzle . Thank you , for all the continued support and prayers . Take care and stay positive . Coming into Memorial Day weekend our attention turns to the Military and all those who have paid the ultimate price for our freedom . We are a nation of people who have shown a tremendous ability to fight with ourselves over some very petty issues ; as well as some very tough issues . There are those among us who feel they have all the right ideas and that anyone who thinks differently should be taken away and given a mental reworking to get their thinking straight . We have some very patriotic people and we have some who really don 't like our government , yet don 't know how to cast a vote at election time . Our country is made up of a vast mix of different types and attitudes and we still manage to keep our country and this great experiment going . Most of it because of the ability of this great nation to create men and women who will defend the Constitution . Yesterday we went up to Fallbrook and got a chance to see the house and all the progress that has continued on it . We now have a full roof , and it really looks good . It has been raining quite a bit lately , so I 'm glad to see it there . There is also a great deal of progress with some of the interior work that has to be done before the " finishing " work can get started . Linda took some pictures ( I am so glad that she remembers to take pictures - I would tend to just walk around with the camera and never use it ) . The ground was trenched because of the utility work that is going on , so we went up and brought the paramobile with us . Jason 's wheelchair would not have been able to make it around . The main topic of discussion for this visit was landscaping and what we should expect , as well as some of the thoughts as to what we wanted . Personally , I think it was a good meeting up there , and more will be seen , as it progresses . It was a busy day with the girls yesterday and by the end of the day I was just a little tired out , so I didn 't post anything . One of the things we did last night was to have a family movie night and we let the girls stay up until almost 20 : 45 ( 8 : 45pm ) to watch The Velveteen Rabbit ( there was no school the next day ) . They had not seen it and it is a great story , especially just before going to bed . I made a bunch of popcorn ( and a mess in the kitchen ) and everybody had a great time . After getting them to bed I worked on the kitchen and Linda worked on some laundry . As it was , we still didn 't get to bed until almost 23 : 00 ( 11pm ) , and we were happy though tired . Today , we got to deal with more rain , though , like yesterday , it wasn 't much , just enough to be a bother . Towards the later parts of the day it started to clear up and was better , so we still had a good time . I took the girls to the park , a new destination for us . There really wasn 't much there , and in fact , less than what we have seen at other parks . The girls , however , felt that it was a " new " park and had a great time running around and playing on the play structures . We stayed there for about 90 minutes and then we needed to get back home , as I needed to make a trip to Costco . Linda and I went to Costco , while the girls napped . Joselyn and Jason were at the house , so we knew they would be okay , if they should wake up ( they didn 't ) while we were gone . Linda is becoming a champ at finding very cool stuff , as she found a copy of Sound of Music , while at Costco , so we had to purchase it . Our old VHS copy just doesn 't cut it , nor do we have a player to play it . The rest of the day was pretty relaxed , then Jason received a phone call . Jason had been selected to receive tickets to go see the Rolling Stones concert , on this coming Sunday . Actually , there were three guys to get two tickets each , and when they were attempting to distribute the tickets only two of the guys took advantage of the tickets . I felt sorry for the one guy who lost out on his tickets , but on the other hand it made it possible for all three of us to go now . What they did was to take those two last ticket and gave one to Jason and one to the other guy , so that they now had three each . Prior to that third ticket Linda had already said Jason and I should go , so we were so very happy when we found out that she could come with us . The end of the day was nice and everyone got to bed at a reasonable hour - sort of . I tend to stay up a little later because of the blog and Linda stays up to help edit . Tomorrow I am hoping to get a chance to get a short ride in , but that remains to be seen . Thank you , for all the continued support and prayers . Take care and stay positive . A very nice couple of days for us , as yesterday brought us some nice clear weather , and the temperature stayed around 70 degrees . The girls had a great time at school and with the family at home , and Jason made a little more progress with both Gracie and Kojak . The progress is in Kojak 's socialization ( getting more used to people and other surroundings ) and in Gracie just getting used to the fact that Kojak is now a part of the family . Gracie is kind of an interesting study , in that she is very laid back and yet likes to do whatever she can to please Jason . With Kojak introduced to the picture you can see a little jealous streak , but nothing serious , as they seem to get along and play often . That was pretty much the day yesterday , and it was also why there was no post yesterday - it was quiet and comfortable , and not much to write about . Today was also a nice day , though much busier in the morning and into the afternoon . We got up and the girls off to school , as we usually do , then Jason and I needed to get over to Balboa Hospital . About a month ago Jason was scheduled to have surgery on the 19th , and that was postponed due to a few conflicting things . The surgery is probably going to be in June , though we need to get a solid date from the doctors , when we meet with them again on June 1 . In the mean time Jason is reasonably comfortable and this extra time allows him to be able to work more with Kojak and get him used to working with the rest of the family , as well as Gracie . Jason and I had to get over to Balboa because of a regular Wound Care visit , and we brought both dogs with us . As expected Kojak was all over the place and that made travel through the courtyard just a little bit of a challenge . The folks there were really happy to see Kojak , as they had heard about him for weeks , and finally seeing him was really nice . The visit went well , and though they were not pleased with how the wounds have opened up some , I did explain to them that they were beginning to close back down again , and Jason has said he will spend less time in the chair , and that will help greatly . After Wound Care we went over to the airport to pick up our friend Anthony Netto , and then got Jason back over to the house to get him back down . Linda and I took Anthony back up to his home in Oceanside , and Jason relaxed . Anthony and Angelica are purchasing a home up in Vista , so they will be much closer to us , after we 're all moved to our new homes . The down side is that any trips to the airport are going to be much longer ( we 're only about 10 minutes from the airport now ) . After dropping Anthony off , and visiting with Angelica for a little bit , we turned around and headed back to our home in San Diego ( where we live now ) . It was now about 12 : 30 and we didn 't have any more trips to make , other than to go do some shopping . We had a chance to relax before going to pick up the girls from school . We have the girls the entire week , so that is a little bit of a change , and those are the kinds of changes we like . I did make a quick trip over to Target , and shortly after that Linda and I started dinner . Dinner was simple and the girls did an amazing job of eating everything on their plates . Then we went outside to the patio and they played . They also drew on the concrete and played some games , then we all came back in to read and finally get ready for bed . Linda read some stories to them and then I went in to say good night , of course all this after they went to say good night to Daddy . These are the kinds of days I really do enjoy , and it seems we all do around here . Thank you , for all the continued support and prayers . Take care and stay positive . Quite a nice day here , with lite clouds and blue skies . It didn 't get much beyond 70 degrees so it was just comfortable for most of the day . The girls got up without a problem or any difficulty and we were all ready to go with time to spare . Part of that is the fact that the sun seems to show up a little earlier each day , and just seeing the light tends to give us more energy . I got a nice bike ride in , and am hoping to get another one in tomorrow , or maybe on Thursday . I already know that Wednesday is out , due to some medical appointments for Jason , and that 's okay , as I have some questions I would like to go over with the doctors . Then again , now that I think about it , Thursday we will be heading up to Fallbrook for a meeting about landscaping . Really not much to write about for today , and maybe that 's a good thing . We continue to get closer to the new house , yet it is still several months out . Jason is putting forth a concerted effort to not be up in his chair any more than he has to be , and we 're all happy about that one . I need to get in touch with a few people , so I have to remember to take a look at my dry - erase board , that has all my notes on it . I 've completely erased the board a couple of times , and then in a matter of just a couple of weeks it is back , full of information . Thank you , for all the continued support and prayers . Take care and stay positive . Not sure what it is , but time is just flying by , and we 're going to be at the half way point in this year in just a matter of a few more weeks - okay about six weeks . Days just seem to fold into each other and we wonder where all the time went . The good news is that we 're all doing well and watching the girls and watching our grandsons grow is so very rewarding . Just taking the time to think about what we 've been through these past few years makes this all so much more rewarding . Today I got up and out on the bike before 07 : 30 . I think it would have been nice to have gotten out even earlier , but sometimes it takes me a bit to get going , and I generally need something in my tummy before I get out ( I ate an orange ) . I had thought I was going to get out before the girls got up , but Jackie made sure she saw me , and that was also another reason I was delayed a bit . Linda was still in bed and I took the time to help her with some things she needed . She then went in to see Jason and they got to watch cartoons together . My ride was rather nice , and it was just a little over 12 . 5 miles , and I managed to get it all in , in under an hour . When I got back home , Linda was not only up , she was just about done fixing breakfast , so my timing was really good . We had pancakes and eggs and it was delicious . We had plenty of time , since church wasn 't until after 10 : 00 , and all of us were going today . Jason and I needed to meet with the Senior Paster , Dr . John Powell , and discuss with him next Sundays services . Jason and I will be very much involved with the sermon and we needed to be sure we had all our thoughts coordinated . It is a special Memorial Day Service , and John asked us to be a part of it . Linda will be up with us as well , and if the opportunity happens she 'll get to speak also . I 'm looking forward to it , and I think it is going to be kind of fun . The rest of the day , after church was pretty laid back . We had a visit from Serving Spoons , as they brought us dinner today , and Stacy had a birthday party to go to . Otherwise we simply enjoyed each other 's company and relaxed , for the most part . Linda did work with Jackie , on a school project , that is focused on Jackie . Through the year , each of the students gets to put together a poster , " All About Me " and it was Jackie 's turn to do so . This isn 't the first one Linda has done , as she also did Stacy 's poster , back a couple years ago . The girls are going to be with us for this next week , so we are looking for a fun week to keep us busy . Thank you , for all the continued support and prayers . Take care and stay positive . I 'll start with the bike repair - I got up and had it in my head that I needed to take the time , since I now had some , to see how badly the tire had been damaged . First the girls were up and were in bed with Daddy ( Jason ) , watching some cartoons . I 'm not sure who enjoys this more , Jason or the girls , I just know I think it is good for all of them . I pulled the bike in and began working on the tire and found that the damage to the tire , itself , wasn 't as bad as I first thought . I replaced the tube ( it was totally shot ) and remounted the tire and it looked great . I needed to get out on it , and take it for a short ride , so that is what I wanted to do . By this time Linda had been up for about an hour or so and was looking at getting ready for her Blue Star Mother 's Luncheon , and I told her I wanted to take the bike for a short ride to make sure it was working okay . Now you have to appreciate her reaction , because I have said in the past that I was going to go for a short ride , and it turned into about 17 - 20 mile ride , so when I said " short ride " you can imagine the thought going through her head . She wanted to be sure to let Jason know I was going and that he might be left with the girls for about 1 / 2 an hour , so I told him that was a possibility . He was totally comfortable with that , as the girls listen to him pretty well , and they would probably spend most of the time in bed with him , anyway . As it turned out , I did get a " short " ride in , about 7 . 5 miles , and I was back rather quickly . The two things that happened while I was out ; 1 , the tire held up fine and I was even able to sustain a pace of about 20 mph for several minutes ; and 2 , it started to rain a little so I really didn 't want to be out any longer than I needed anyway . When I got back to the house , Linda was still getting ready and so I said I would be happy to take her , if she could wait until I cooled down and showered . There was time so she was happy to have me drive her . As it was , the location of her meeting was on part of one of my regular rides , up Linda Vista Road , so I had an idea of where it was . The girls were up and running around the house now , so I asked them if they 'd like to go along and both of them did . We made it to the Luncheon with a little time to spare . She had a good time at the Luncheon and even helped out with the next meeting ( the one following the Blue Star Mother 's ) , as they needed some assistance . She met some new folks and had some great conversations . Loretta , the President of the Northern San Diego Blue Star Mother 's , gave Linda a ride home . For the rest of the day we had a pretty relaxed afternoon and evening . The one thing that came along , that kind of surprised us , was that we were asked to keep the girls until next weekend . This was a bit of a surprise , as most of these requests are , and we really do enjoy having the girls with us , we just wish we had a little more notice before hand . Both Linda and I had alternate plans for parts of the week , coming up , and this kind of puts a bit of a challenge we didn 't have before . I think we can still have the girls with us , and still get everything done , so it won 't be too much of a challenge . We 're just trying to get things ready for the up coming move . I am still counting on August as a move in date ( probably late August ) , and the time from now until then is going to go by quickly . Tomorrow we will be going in to church , and Jason and I will be meeting with Rev . John Powell , to discuss the Memorial Day service . John has asked us to be a part of that service and we need to make sure we have all our responsibilities understood and we can truly help make it successful . The rest of the day is very dependent on the weather , so I am hopeful that it will be a great day . Thank you , for all the continued support and prayers . Take care and stay positive . These last couple of days have been very wet for us , down here in San Diego . We must have gotten well over an inch of rain , and probably more than 2 inches . Considering the amount of rain that normally falls here , that 's a lot . With that much rain coming down , I was not about to attempt to get out on my bike , though I wouldn 't have anyway as I blew out my tire a few days ago , and have not yet gotten it repaired . For those that don 't know , I ran over something that had a significant screw in it and it pretty well chewed up the tire , as well as the tube . Anyway , I wouldn 't have been riding these last couple of days , mostly because of the rain fall . On the bright side , it did knock off a bunch of dust and dirt the vehicles had collected . . . ; - ) Kojak and Jason are getting along very well now , with Kojak wanting to be sure he is with Jason , or at least being able to see him at all times . A couple of times we had to put him back in his kennel and within a few minutes he was yelping and barking , wanting to just see Jason . He really doesn 't mind being in the kennel , as long as he knows Jason is near by - he is definitely Jason 's dog . The concern I have is that it is causing Jason to be up more than he should be , and it is having a negative affect on the healing of his wounds . I told him today that we need to get in to see the Wound Care folks next week , because I didn 't like what I was seeing . On the positive side , Jason hasn 't noticed any additional discomfort , or pain , so I 'm grateful for that . The house is coming along and the good thing about where they are right now is that this recent rain isn 't going to have too much affect on its progress . Most of the work now is inside the house , and aside from a couple of small places , it is pretty well water tight now . Well , the garage doors are still not installed yet , but the rest of the house is looking pretty good . Also , we have been given a date window for the completion of the house , and it looks to be around the end of August . This is good as that is also about the time when the girls will be going back to school , and that was a big concern of ours . That should make the transition a bit easier . One of the other aspects of the house is that we are working with all of the finishing suppliers and it feels very close to being a finished product . We are meeting with a Fallbrook landscaper next week and Jason has had a good discussion with our new neighbor , Dan , about a shared fence as well as some ideas about how to fence the rest of the yard . There are so many more details that I don 't think Jason ever thought about , and that just makes it all the more fun . Thank you , for all the continued support and prayers . Take care and stay positive . Linda and I went up to the house today and did some measurements for some of the furniture we already have , and to just check out what was going on . We were pleased to see the continued progress , even from just yesterday . Linda found some places where she was happy with how the furniture is going to fit , and how we can make different things fit . As a result of that visit we came back down to San Diego and I went over to our storage unit and began moving some things around so that we could get a better idea of just what we actually had . Now , I also have to say I didn 't do this alone - Bobbie Bryan offered to give me a hand , and because I had his help we were able to get through more than I expected . Tomorrow Linda and I will be going back to storage and going through the unit to identify just what we are going to be keeping , selling and donating . We do have a bunch of stuff , and most of it will not be coming to the new house , simply because it won 't work , or fit . Now , we 're not talking about dishes and clothes , we 're talking about furniture . When Linda moved down from Livermore she went through what I kind of think of as stage - 1 of our new environment . She sold and got rid of a bunch of stuff . Now we are approaching stage - 2 , where we don 't have as much , yet we still need to reduce so that moving into the new house will be easier and more comfortable . The hard part is that some of the items have emotional value , as well as the intrinsic value of the dollar . I think Jason is beginning to get the excitement " bug " about moving to a new home / house . He is always so cool and calm , and now he is showing signs like when he talks with the contractors and gets more involved with any of the design aspects . For example they recently got the cabinets installed and Jason was able to test out some of them . He was very pleased with how they worked , and so were the cabinet installers . We will continue to go back and forth between the house in Fallbrook and San Diego , and I will do my best to keep you all informed of how it is coming along . Also , I will be posting pictures , just as soon as I figure out why my latest pictures are not being loaded to the computer . Thank you , for all the continued support and prayers . Take care and stay positive . We had a very good day today , mostly because just about everything that we did today , went smoothly , and without any problems . The girls got up and off to school ; we were able to get up to Jason 's new house build site ; we had a great family dinner , with Jason at the table this time ; and , we seem to be working towards an organized effort to get our stuff in order , so that we can move when we need to . On top of that , Kojak seems to be getting more used to the family , and is showing some signs that he is learning his name . There is one other things , as I said earlier , " . . . just about everything . . . " There was one item that hasn 't gone too smoothly , and it is rather puzzling . I attempted to load some pictures from my camera on to the computer and the computer just doesn 't seem to want them . I have hooked it up , same as I have done many times before , and there is more than adequate disk space , and both devices indicate there is communication going on . Just that when I attempt to down load the pictures the system just sits . Heck , I 'd be happy if I 'd at least get an error or something , but it doesn 't do anything . I guess this is going to be another one of those things I 'm going to have to trouble shoot . Jason and I will be heading out to Balboa Naval Hospital tomorrow morning , after the girls get off to school . I don 't suspect the visit will take too long , as I think it is a regular Wound Care Visit . Then we have to take the dogs to the vet , and get them to their regularly scheduled office visit . Joselyn 's son , Robert , will be coming over to help me move some heavy items , and I don 't believe there is much else to get done . Thank you , for all the continued support and prayers . Take care and stay positive . Got up early and Jason and I headed in to Balboa to take care of getting the surgery schedule corrected . Originally it was supposed to be on May 19 , but that was changed to June 9 and now , due to other issues , it is being pushed again . I specifically asked that it get pushed one week , but they were not able to provide us any update - the doctors were all out . In fact they might not be able to let us know until June 1 , when Jason has to go back in for another visit . One of the challenges of dealing with Military Medicine . Once we finished there and headed over to the pet store ( Jason needed a few things , and also to pick up some food for the dogs ) , and then we came back home . So far it has been a pretty good day , and it is still relatively early in the morning . I told Jason that I would be getting out on my bike and riding down town , to take care of a quick banking issue and then continue on , on Harbor Blvd . I also told him and Linda that I should be able to get back by noon , or at least close to it . The ride out was fine and traffic was actually a little on the lite side . This made me feel pretty good , as I was at about 10 miles by the time I got to the bank . They have recently installed new bike racks , so I had a place to lock up the bike , while I went into the bank . Once completed there I headed back out on the streets to head on down to Harbor , and all was going smooth , even if it was mostly up hill . I got to Harbor and road on through the pedestrian traffic , as well as some bicycles and made the turn to head on back home . I was feeling pretty good , going up the last uphill section when I heard this sound like I 'd just run over something , only I didn 't see anything . Well , in about two seconds , maybe less , I heard a small snap , or bang and my rear tire was flat . Apparently I had run over something that had a good sized screw in it , and it was now penetrating through my tire and tube . I stopped . I quickly decided that it would be faster to just walk home , rather than attempt to change the tube , and besides the tire looked damaged . I thought about calling Linda and again , thought that just walking was the fastest way home , so that 's what I did . Actually , I felt like attempting to run some and got in about 1 / 2 a mile then decided it was just a bit too awkward trying to run while pushing a bike and wearing a backpack ( I always ride with my backpack ) . The total ride was about 17 . 5 miles and I was still able to get home at a reasonable time , only about 15 minutes later than first thought . I now have to figure out how I can repair the tire . We next had to get over and pick up Stacy , from school , as they get out at 14 : 00 ( 2pm ) on Monday , and then take her off to another appointment , just a half an hour later . After that , Jackie has to be picked up at 15 : 00 ( 3pm ) , and this time Linda did that as I was taking Stacy to her appointment . Now I need to bring you up on something , as I am working on a project for a friend . While Stacy was at the appointment I felt I had time to work on the project , and made some progress . After the appointment Stacy and I headed back home and within just a few minutes of leaving she was asleep in the back seat - one of those times when I really appreciate how car seats are made , and help to keep her head up . We were back at the house in about 45 minutes , and part of that is because I was tired of fighting the traffic and jumped off the freeway to drive surface streets . Fortunately I am pretty familiar with those streets , as I frequently ride over in those areas . I carried Stacy into the house and within about five seconds she was wide awake and ready to play . Unfortunately , though , she had some homework so the play time would just have to wait . Linda made dinner , a little while after our arrival , and we all sat down to eat , except for Jason who remained in his bed . That pretty much brought us to the end of the day , and the girls got to play a little before heading off to bed . I read them a story and we all told them good night , and then I helped Jason with his shower . With all this done I kind of just collapsed back on to the couch and thought , where did this day go ? Not sure what it is about Mondays , but they sure do seem busy . Thank you , for all the continued support and prayers . Take care and stay positive . Mother 's Day is a day to reflect on what your mother has done for you in your life , and why she is so important to you . We are fortunate to have Linda 's mom , Jess , still around , she provides some advice and she usually sees things from a perspective that we hadn 't thought about . I guess that 's where Linda gets it , and I do take advantage of that . A funnier aspect of the day was that Jason offered to take Mom out to breakfast , and instead Linda said she would rather go shopping , and so he took her to the store , where they purchased a vacuum cleaner . This made Linda happy , as it was something she has been wanting , and it made Jason happy , because he made Mom happy . David sent flowers , and she also heard from Sean today ( George called yesterday ) . I hope you all had a great Mother 's Day , and that your day was as nice as ours . Thank you , for all the continued support and prayers . Take care and stay positive . We woke up this morning , up in Los Angeles , to the sounds of two little boys running around having a great time . It is such an amazing contrast to our two granddaughters , and we love every moment of it . Then , again , boys are supposed to be different from girls and it all definitely shows , as they continue to grow . We really do enjoy having all the time we do with the girls , but it sure would be nice to have more time with Dylan and Ethan . Perhaps , once we move up to Fallbrook it will be a little easier to spend time with them . David made breakfast this morning , with the help of Miriam and the boys . David made scratch pancakes , with both blue berries or strawberries , and some times a mix of the two . They were really good , and I probably ate more than I should have . We had planned on leaving late morning and in hind sight we might have been able to stay a little longer , but we don 't like leaving Jason on his own for too long , especially with a new puppy . We finished breakfast , packed and out the door by 09 : 45 . We got traveling down the road and well on our way when David called . We had left a bag at the house , so we turned around and went back . Traffic was wonderfully lite , so it took up a little less time than it could have , and we were back at the house by 10 : 30 . Again , we were back out the door and on our way , only this time it was closer to 10 : 45 ( what was that about leaving later in the morning ? ) . The traffic was a little heavier this time , but still moved pretty well , and we made some pretty reasonable time . We would have gotten home by about 14 : 00 ( 2pm ) except that we decided to stop by the new house , and see the progress . Actually , we had called Jason and asked how he was doing and determined we had the time to take a look , since it was going to be a fast visit . As it was , we got home to San Diego just before 15 : 00 ( 3pm ) . There were some flowers sitting on the table for Linda 's Mother 's Day , and they looked very nice . Linda was honestly a little surprised , while at the same time happy . I took off to go shopping at Costco , while Linda stayed home , and I also had a little side errand to do , that was another surprise for Linda . David had asked me to go to a specific flower shop and pick up some flowers he had purchased , also for Mother 's Day . When I got home Linda was again surprised , and now there are even more flowers . The house is going to smell nice for a few days . The rest of the day was a little more relaxed , and I was able to help Jason with his shower , a little earlier than previously . We had a nice simple dinner and then , after I took Kojak outside for another little walk around the yard , to take care of business , we decided it was enough for the day . Thank you , for all the continued support and prayers . Take care and stay positive . Full day at David and Miriam 's place , and had a very enjoyable time , being able to get up and do all the different things we did . The morning began with me getting up at 05 : 30 and going for a run with David . It was a relatively short run , of just a couple of miles , and we were walking back in to the house in about 1 / 2 an hour . It was the first real run I 've been on in quite a long time , and it felt pretty good . I did have to walk a portion of it , though still did better than I expected . The next thing was to get ready to go to Dylan 's school with him , as today is Grandparents Day , for the school . David drove us over and a comment he made was that there was a lot less traffic than he would normally have expected . As a result , we were able to arrive a little earlier than first planned . David and Dylan walked us over to Dylan 's class / preschool and we met his teachers . This took all of about 5 minutes , then we were directed to the breakfast and reception ; we would be coming back to the room afterward . The breakfast was quite good , and on top of that Miriam was involved with a big portion of the preparation . We were entertained at the breakfast , by the older kids of the school and had a key note presenter , who spoke on the value and importance of a good foundation for education . This took well over an hour , though it only seemed like it was about 30 minutes , and then we were directed to go to the class rooms . Once there Dylan showed us around his school and we went to their play structures and had a bunch of fun for several minutes , and then we were able to sign him out , at which point he was able to escort us around the school . We saw all they had to offer and some of the activities they were all involved with , such as art and some science aspects of their education . By noon we were finished with the visit and Miriam came and picked us up , to take us to lunch . It was particularly fun to get to meet several of the other grand parents . Miriam took us to lunch , and apparently just about everyone else in the close vicinity also wanted to go to this restaurant . Now , it also has to be understood that it has been raining off and on since last night , and it was raining now . this restaurant specializes in noodle soups , so that could explain some of the popularity . After lunch we headed back to the house and simply relaxed for a while . The boys had a party to go to , so later in the afternoon , after their naps , Miriam took them to their party , and Linda and I found ourselves just quietly relaxing in the house . . . we both took a nap . Tonight , after they came back from the party , Linda and I played with the boys for a short while , and had the honor of getting them to bed . David and Miriam were out ( one of the benefits of having us there ) . It was a nice change for us , instead of having two girls we had two boys , to get to bed . I told them a couple of stories and Linda sang them one of their favorite songs , and then they went to sleep , pretty quickly actually . As far as Jason , and how he was doing , we heard from him , that he was doing well , and that even Kojak was doing a little better . We will be heading back down tomorrow , and we are both glad to hear that he did okay without us being there . Of course we had Joselyn coming in to check on him , and that made this weekend possible . Thank you , for all the continued support and prayers . Take care and stay positive . Today was a good day , all around - though I didn 't get my bike ride in . We had a minor impact to our schedule with a visit from the housing folks , for where we are living right now . Apparently they decided it was time to make a change to the air conditioning , and a general cleaning of the system . Now I 'm not opposed to that type of cleaning , I just wish it could have been delayed by a week or so , when we weren 't planning on coming up to visit with Linda 's folks and then on up to Los Angeles to see David and his family . The drive up was WAY better than I had anticipated , and the first stop up to see Joe and Jess was accomplished much faster than I had thought it would . Then Jess fed us a very nice lunch of a soup and sandwich combination . Now , normally one might expect that " soup and sandwich " was pretty regular and not special at all , but Jess made a soup by just putting some things together that was excellent . And the sandwiches are always far superior to most that you can get anywhere else . My biggest challenge is that I tend to want to eat too much whenever I go there . After lunch and a nice visit we headed on up to see David and Miriam , and their two sons Dylan and Ethan , our Grandsons . We were invited to attend the school 's Grandparents Day , where Dylan goes to school . We went last year and it was really fun , so we were very happy to go again . The drive up I5 was amazingly easy , for the most part . There were a couple of spots where it got sluggish , and it didn 't take too long to get through those areas . We ended up arriving at their house more than an hour sooner than I thought we would . Once there the boys were very happy to see us and we had a great time playing for a couple of hours , while Miriam finished preparing dinner . Ralph , Miriam 's dad , showed up a little while before dinner , so he was going to be joining us as well , and we were very pleased to have that happen . It seems like we hadn 't seen Ralph in over a year . The only down side was that Holly , his wife , was out of town , so we didn 't get to see her . Dinner was excellent , as Miriam is also a good cook , and on top of that she made this great bread that I don 't know the name of , but it seemed like a carrot - nut bread , and everyone at the table liked it . There wasn 't much left by the time we were all done . Ralph was able to stay and visit for a short while and the boys loved having us all there . The boys were put to bed and then Linda offered to finish cleaning up the kitchen . While she was doing that I was busy trying to get on the local network , and get started on this blog . Their cat , Luna , came over to visit me a few times , while I was typing , and likes to walk across the keyboard , and amazingly without compressing any of the keys . Still , it does make it a challenge sometimes to type a continuous sentence , without getting cat hair in the face , from a swishing tail . I did check in with Jason , and he is doing fine . We did our best to make sure he had plenty of food and Linda communicated with Joselyn prior to us coming up here . I guess that is always going to be one of those things that we , as parents , will continue to do . . . worry about our kids , in this case Jason . Thank you , for all the continued support and prayers . Take care and stay positive . We had a very good day and other than get a good bike ride in , and a visit by Brian McMillan , the VA caregiver coordinator , it has been a rather ordinary day - and I like it that way . Oh , it was still Taco Tuesday and we all had fun at dinner , but not much else happened . There was the Giants game , against the Padres , and that turned out pretty good , but not much else . Okay , maybe something did happen - Kojak is back home with us . Jason and I went to the doctor 's office and picked him up today , and Jason and Kojak were both very happy for that to happen . It is good to see Kojak acting more like what one would expect a puppy to act like . Prior to the hospital stay he was lethargic and very subdued . My guess is that over the next few days he will get used to his new home and the people who live here , and he will be a happy puppy . Tomorrow we will be heading out to the paint dealer , to select paints for Jason 's new home , and it should be kind of a fun activity . My guess is that it won 't take more than an hour , but then , I could be totally wrong . Jason also has expressed an desire to get out and see the new Avenger movie , so we might get that in tomorrow as well . Otherwise , not much planned , and I hope that we can have a nice relaxed day . Thank you , for all the continued support and prayers . Take care and stay positive . We had a good start to the day today , though the girls sure didn 't want to get out of bed . Linda and I were up a little early , actually , with the idea that an easier and slower start to the day might be better . We were in error with that kind of thinking . The girls wanted to just stay in bed and we finally got them going about 10 minutes later than our normal time . This meant that the time window for breakfast was just a little bit tighter , and we went from a relaxed slow day to a more hurried " got ' a get going " kinda day . As it turned out , we still made it to school with a little time to spare , and the girls were , or at least seemed to be , totally unaware of Grandma and Grandpa encouraging to get them going . Sometimes I wish I was six years old again - - - Not ! Once we were done with that aspect of the day , and back at the house , I got ready for a much needed bike ride . The idea was that I was going to go for a nice 20 mile ride and be back in time to head over to the hospital at Balboa , with Jason . Linda had some errands she wanted to get done in the morning and take Jackie to her speech and occupational therapy . When I got back home at close to 11 : 00 I didn 't think anything about no vehicles being there . Jason had said he was going to be going over to check on Kojak ( he 's doing much better and we 'll probably have him home tomorrow ) , and then I thought he was coming home so we could both go in for the appointment . Jason , apparently , decided that I needed a rest and that he could take care of the appointment on his own , so that 's what happened . I would have liked to have been able to speak with the doctor ( s ) directly , but that was in the plan this time . When Jason did get back home , this is also after Linda had returned , he informed us that he had pushed the date for the surgery out to June 9 . It is meant to give us a better transition with Kojak , but my personal feeling is that we would have worked out better with the 19th of this month . It does allow more flexibility with a couple of other things we have simmering on the back burners , so - to - speak , so I guess that 's the silver lining . It has been done , and so we will just have to go with what we now have , I would have just liked it better to get the issue taken care of . The rest of the day was still pretty good , and we had a simple hamburgers kind of meal , that the girls really enjoyed . They like when Grandpa cooks hamburgers , and actually , I think Jason does , too . Not sure about what is going to be happening tomorrow , other than Linda and I heading over to our storage units to begin doing some needed rearranging and sorting . With the up coming move we have to decide what is going and what is not . We have a couple of months to get it figured out , and our feeling is that the sooner we get this done , the better we 'll be . Thank you , for all the continued support and prayers . Take care and stay positive . Sunday has been a nice day , though Linda wasn 't feeling well , for most of the day . I was hoping that Jason would spend most , if not all the day in bed , but he had other plans . He went to go visit Kojak , and I can see that it was probably a good thing for the puppy ( when Jason comes in there is a distinct attitude improvement with Kojak , and he wants to stay with Jason ) , I just wish he 'd stay down a bit more , for the next several days . He has been up a bit too much , on too many days and the wounds are showing signs of the wear it is causing . I 'm doing my best to keep them padded and covered , though the biggest issue is that he simply up on his chair and the extra pressure causes some problems , and the wounds start to open up again . I guess until they do come up with a reasonable seating solution for him , this is simply the way it is going to be . As a solid plus for the visit with Kojak - it looks like the puppy will be coming home on Monday , tomorrow . The girls and I had a great day together , though I would have liked to have had a little more time to get them out side . We discovered more fun things to do at Balboa Park , and they were disappointed that we couldn 't stay and play , and explore . I told them that the next time we were together on a weekend I would do my best to get them back over to Balboa and we would have some fun there . Not much else going on - as I fixed a simple chicken and rice dinner , with vegetables , and then got the girls up to take their bath . Linda is starting to feel a little better , so I am hopeful that she will be back up close to 100 % tomorrow and be her normal happy self . I am also hoping that I can get another bike ride in , since Jason and I don 't have to head over to the hospital until almost noon . This is the pre - visit for the surgery coming up on the 19th . I 'm really not sure what they are going to be doing , but I suspect that the visit won 't go too long . Thank you , for all the continued support and prayers . Take care and stay positive . Yesterday was a special day , as we picked up the girls from school at about 12 : 30 ( it was an early release day ) and then we got all packed up to head up to the Pala Mesa Resort in Fallbrook . We had been given tickets to the Gabriel " Fluffy " Iglesias show at the Pala Casino / Hotel & Spa ( found out the two are not connected ) . The show was great and we had a wonderful time . The tickets to the show were as a result of the Gary Sinise Foundation contacting the Casino / Hotel and getting tickets - and since the show was already sold out , it was especially cool that they made them available . We had four seats , being me , Linda , Jason and Cristin , our friend from the Gary Sinise Foundation ( Cristin and Jason really get along well ) . We were given VIP treatment and escorted to our seats , and as the show was ending we were given some gifts from Fluffy . The hospitality shown to us was above and beyond or expectations , and we 'll keep our eyes open to see if there is any other shows we might want to go see . Now , on the other hand , at the Pala Mesa Resort , about 15 minutes away , in Fallbrook , and our stay there was not quite so good . The room we were given , for Jason was ADA , by definition , but some of the accommodations were challenging , at best . Jason normally gets into his bed from the side , as it is easier for him to maneuver and get comfortable . With this room he could only get on at the foot of the bed , as his chair would not fit along the side . I attempted to move the bed and found it was secured in place , so no moving . The roll - in shower had just enough room for his chair for him to get to the shower , and then he was unable to maneuver to get to the bench , without some serious reaching on his part . Fortunately he has big and strong arms . Also , with the shower , the water pressure was low , very low , and it was again another challenge to effectively get clean . Now , the bed it self was less than wonderfully comfortable , and finally the A / C of the room remained on all the time and the room remained moderately warm . The temperature wouldn 't have been much of an issue for most of us , but for Jason it is a bigger issue , since he still has challenges moderating body temperature . This morning I asked him how he slept and he said he thinks he might have gotten four hours . I took this to the hotel staff and they effectively didn 't seem to care and only said that next year they were going to be renovating the hotel . I even attempted to draw them a picture of how a minor change would make a big difference , and they just smiled and said thank you , as I walked away with that drawing . I seriously doubt that we will be ever staying there again , or recommending them to any of our friends who might come up to visit us , in Fallbrook . Yes , it isn 't very far from Jason 's new house . I did mention it to the Casino / Hotel , via email today , though I don 't know if they are connected . We left at about 09 : 00 this morning , feeling tired and hungry . Fortunately the girls were spending the evening with Anthony and Angelica , so we didn 't have to worry about them , through all of this . We went directly to Anthony and Angelica 's house , in Ocean Side , and they were having a great time and everyone seemed in good spirits . The van was again loaded up and we headed for Point Loma . Traffic wasn 't bad and we got back down here in just a little over 30 minutes . We got the van unloaded and parked and then Jason took off to go visit Kojak . The good news is that Kojak is doing much better , and will probably be coming home on Monday . Kojak has really started to connect with Jason , and each of the visits by Jason has shown that Kojak likes to be with him , and today 's visit he showed the most activity so far , also a good sign that he is feeling better . We have gone through and did a major cleaning of the environment and made sure all his bedding is new and clean . We are all anxious to have him back home . The rest of the day has been relaxed and calm . Linda and I ( and even Jason ) got to take a nap , about the same time the girls took their naps . It was very refreshing to have the short nap , as I got up before the girls did . A little while later , while I was finishing the Giants baseball game , Jackie came out and wanted to play with me ( I hope some , or all , of you got to see the Giants game , as it ended in a very unusual way , so if you haven 't seen it , check it out ) . After about 30 minutes Jackie wanted to go up to see Grandma , so I let her , and she headed up stairs and woke Grandma . Not much else happened tonight , other than some good old fashion relaxing , Tomorrow we will be attempting to get back into our regular Sunday routine , and then cruse into another great week . I hope you all have a wonderful Sunday , and that your week , next week , is a great one . Thank you , for all the continued support and prayers . Take care and stay positive .

This is the final chapter of the preview of my work - in - progress , the novel " Your Pal Al . " The previous four chapters are here on my blog . If you want to start at the beginning , here 's Chapter One . I 'd love to hear what you think . Please comment . " We been running through trenches for weeks . It was raining hard , Burty , kinda like a hurricane , but it was too cold - way too cold . We got all turned around and had no idea where we was and to make matters worse , we got pinned down real good by a machine gunner . Being stuck there was bad , but the rain and the mud was much worse . We couldn 't get dry no matter what we did . You know how your hands and feets wrinkle up if you stays in the bath too long , Burty ? Well , what do you think they 'd look like if theys in the there for more than a week ? " Albert shrugged but not because he was bored or not interested . It was the only thing he could do . The stories from the War were his favorite and while Mr . Sam did seem to tell the same ones over and over , this was one he had never heard - not even the corners or edges of this story . " Not a pretty picture , eh Burty ? " Mr . Sam smiled just a bit and stared hard at him . It wasn 't a nice smile . It didn 't make Albert feel any better . It actually made him squirm just a bit . The squirming was just enough for him to see that Miss Lottie had stopped her ironing and was doing a bit of staring herself . " Please , Mr . Sam . " Albert said in a very small voice . " Tell me what happened . " The smile warmed up , but the edge was still there hiding in his eyes . " Well Burty , while we ' uhs pinned down , we didn 't seem to be in too much danger . As long as we stayed down there in the trench , we ' uhs safe . But our food was running low and we ' uhs getting to acting like rats down there . People ain 't s ' posed to stay in small , wet places like that Burty . It makes ' em do crazy things . A few of the fellas got into fights … mostly over silly things . Steppin ' on someone 's boots , laughin ' at someone 's song … things like that . " The smile was back and so was the far away look in his eyes . Then they started rolling all around … it was the remembering look , the one that made him slip , but it didn 't last . " We 'd been up past our knees in mud , water and worse for over a week and peoples was fussin ' about someone steppin ' on they boots ! Like they could get any more messed up ! Heh , Heh , Heh … " Albert noticed it was his old laugh and he repaid Mr . Sam with a big smile of his own . Then Mr . Sam just licked his lips and took a sip of his iced tea . He slapped both hands down on his knees and he took a deep breath . " So , Burty . Things is about to get pretty bad , son . Are you sure you still wanting to hear this ? " " Alright then . You listen up real good and you remember this . " Mr . Sam leaned in and gave him a look like no other - if it had hands , Albert was sure it could have reached down into his very soul . But it didn 't - even so , it certainly made his insides feel all runny . " You might think what I 'm sharing with you is a great tale , but it 's real . And it happened . And I was there . " " So Burty , we been down there for over a week and we hadn 't eaten for two mornings before that . With all the rain , we had plenty of water to drink . We 'd catch it up in our helmets but it had a bad taste to it . Cap ' n Day figured that something had best be done and done quickly . And the Cap ' n … well , he was a good man … a good officer too , mostly ' cause he never would ask a man to do something that he wouldn 't do hisself . But he should have this time , Burty , oh yes . This time it was just too dangerous for our only officer to be risking his life . But he didn 't see it that way . So once it got dark he slipped out of the trench and started to make his way across the field with only one thing in his mind . He was gonna stop that gunner so we could get out of that trench and get some food . " " You know what 's comin ' don 't cha Burty ? " It wasn 't really a question but Mr . Sam answered himself , just the same . " Course you do . And it didn 't take long neither . If it hadn 't been raining and if the lightening hadn 't flashed he might have made it , too . But the lightening did flash and it was followed by thunder . And that thunder went on much longer than normal thunder 'd do . And that 's ' cause the gunner must have seen Cap ' n in the light and turned his gun on and damn near cut Cap ' n in half . I don 't think he knew what hit him , thank the Lord . Well , we didn 't know that at the time , so the next time that lightening flashed we all had to see if the Cap ' n made it . But we knew the answer before we looked . There was nothing there . It was still dark , see , and the rain was still coming down so hard that we couldn 't see much even if it were full daylight . We musta ' had our heads out of that trench for too long ' cause that gunner sprayed us with another burst . None of us was hit , or so we thought and all of us fell back in the trench . We just sat there in the mud real quiet like for a long time just listening … hoping that we might hear something that would tell us Cap ' n Day was alive . But the thunder and rain was all we could hear . No one knew what to do so we just sat there staring into the darkness . " " I think I was the first to wake up . I can 't believe I fell asleep but I wasn 't the only one . The whole ragtag bunch of us had been asleep . It was probably shock and the lack of food and I might have believed it was something normal if everyone hadn 't gone to sleep . But we all did . They ' uhs something about that morning that just wasn 't right , Burty . " " We didn 't know what it was , but somehow the day just seemed like no other day . All the fellas felt it . It was like someone pulled the curtains off the wall and let the sun shine in a dark room after you been sick and now was feelin ' better . Only no one was felling better . Like I said it was still raining hard but we had to look up to the sky anyway , just to make sure , ' cause something sure was different . And you know what ? We heard singing , and from real close , too . So some of us climbed a bit up out of that trench , just a bit and that 's when we we saw him . It was Jim standing up there starin ' up into the sky . At first I thought he ' uhs up there so 's the rain could wash away all he mud . He had his arms stretched high . " Mr . Sam began to slow down and spoke in a soft dreamy way and stretched his arms high for emphasis before he just stopped . Albert had seen Mr . Sam stop like this so many times before that he would have been scared that he wouldn 't get the end of the story , if Mr . Sam hadn 't slammed both of his outstretched hands down on his knees with a dazzling quickness that let out two sharp pops . " Then I realized that he was the one doing the singing . And it hit me . " A snap of his fingers . " Jim had gone crazy ! " He made the same swirling finger sign at the side of his head that Papa Jack made when Grandmother said something that just didn 't make sense . But only when she couldn 't see . And it was always followed by a wink . Mr . Sam didn 't wink . " He was lucky that he hadn 't been killed by that German gunner yet . ' Jim ! ' I yelled . ' Get back down here now you crazy Injun ! ' Now I know I shouldn 't have called him that but in the heat of the moment I just blurted out whatever was down in my mouth ! ' Jim ! ' I yelled again . We all was . All of us but Alvin . He was still at the bottom of the trench with a bullet hole just above his left eye . He must have been hit the night before when we ' uhs all lookin ' for the Cap ' n . " " So like I said , we ' uhs all yellin ' at Jim to take cover but Jim , he just stood there . " Again he stretched his arms wide and looked up . Albert steeled himself for another quick jolt but all Mr . Sam did was slowly turn to him and say , " Now , I wasn 't about to let my friend die like the Cap ' n did so I started up and out of that trench myself . But not too much . He was right by the edge so I didn 't have to get all the way out , ya ' see ? I just grabbed at his ankles and started pullin ' . He didn 't budge and he didn 't say nothin ' neither . Not at first . But then , real slow like he looked down at me and said ' Samson , the last thing you want to do right now is pull me back into that hole . It might make me angry . ' Something dark was crawling around his words that had power so I stopped the pulling . " Mr . Sam licked his lips . Albert had never seen the old man so animated or agitated . " I tried tellin ' him that he needed to get back here in the trench so 's he wouldn 't get shot . Then he looked down at me and extended his hand . ' It 's all right Sam . I made sure that we wouldn 't be troubled by those gunners no more . ' And I knew it was so , Albert . I reached up and took his hand . He pulled me up out of that trench . He was a strong one , my friend Jim . He then turned his gaze skyward and just stared up into the rain . I was drawn to do the same and for what seemed like the longest time the two of us just stood there holding hands and staring up into the sky . It sounds kinda silly , don 't it Burty ? But that 's what we did . Then it got all quiet . None of the fellas could figure out what was happenin ' but something took ahold of them too ! And finally , the rain just stopped and we - uhs greeted by the sweetest ray of sunshine that I ever did see . It came beamin ' down at us like somethin ' from heaven ! And I guess it was too ! " " When that sun come out , the magic was gone . And you know what Burty ? We realized that we was still holdin ' each others hands . " Heh . Heh . Heh . " Now that was something that it took a long time for the fellas to forget ! " Heh . Heh . Heh . He laughed long and hard and laughed himself into quite the coughing fit . Miss Lottie was on him like a shot handing him his Nestea and gently patting his back . When the coughing let up , she took the glass from his hand and gently kissed him on the forehead . Then she turned towards Albert . On him was more like it because she now had fury in her eyes . " I 'm heading into that house to fetch my Samson another glass of tea . While I 'm gone the two of you had best sit there quietly . No talking ! " She pointed a chubby , well - worn finger at Albert and held it there for emphasis . Albert wanted to say that he had said maybe five words in the last fifteen minutes and that Mr . Sam had been doing all the talking … and that he was just being polite by being a good listener … but he knew better , especially when Miss Lottie said , " And if I catch either one of you not minding me , them words will be the last ones the two of you will ever share ! " She didn 't wait for an answer . She didn 't have to . The two of them were just as she left them when she returned five minutes later with Mr . Sam 's Nestea . The surprising thing for Albert was that she handed him his own sweaty glass and headed back to her ironing board . " I know you have your concerns Burty , but my Lottie really is an angel . " Mr . Sam said in barely audible words . " I heard that ! " Miss Lottie roared and Mr . Sam smiled , then turned towards Albert . " Right . So , one by one , the whole company emerged from the trench . The fellas sure was a sight ! Heh , heh , heh . They sure was … all covered in mud … filthy . Heh , heh , heh . " He rocked his chair lightly , then brushed at his overalls and continued , “… but we was still alive and now the sun was shining . Shinin ' Burty ! And for the first time we could see the lay of the land . " He leaned forward and looked hard at Albert then spoke matter - of - factly . " You see , when we was forced to take refuge from that gunner in that ol ' trench , it was night time and it was raining , and we ' uhs all turned around . We really did stumble into that trench and it saved our lives . So we didn 't know that there were buildings nearby . And they weren 't too far away either . Just across an old field … an old vineyard , to be sure . But we had to cross that field before we got to them buildings . Not that we was worried about getting shot … if that was gonna happen Burty , we 'd have been shot dead already . No suh , that field was where the Cap ' n was cut down . And after our initial joys of getting out of that trench and the rain stopping , we remembered our Cap ' n Day and started to look for him . We could only hope … but I already told you what happened to him . " He took a deep inward breath and went on . " We found him almost halfway to the farmhouse . We only stopped for a minute to pay respect . Some of us said a few words . ' Course some had words for the Lord and some of those weren 't too good , neither . Well , we figured that we might find an old board or something in that house to get the Captain and Alvin back and hopefully find some food in there , too . So we quickly made our way to the house . And besides , we had to make sure that machine gunner was dead , so we left him there for a time … not alone , mind you , Jim stayed with him . Later he told me he he stayed with the Captain because he couldn 't ever go in that house . And because he told me after we 'd already been in there , I thought I knew why . " " That house was full of surprises Burty , and when we opened that front door we got the first one . And it was a doozy . " He had that far away look in his eyes again and grew quiet . " Please , Mr . Sam ! " Still nothing so Albert settled in against the wall , his feet up pulled tight and his head between his knees . Quietly , he said to no one in particular " It just isn 't fair … " That brought about a faint " heh heh heh " and a little nudge from Mr . Sam 's dusty boot . " Burty , you ain 't gonna take a nap on me now are ya ? This is just getting to the good part . " He winked at Albert . So , lucky for Albert it was only Mr . Sam having a little fun with him . It was also another break for tea . Albert was engrossed in this story . It certainly was a new one . And while he had come for the Shadow he was now quite happy with this tale . He couldn 't help but start wonder what the surprises where and how it would end . And that 's when Miss Lottie appeared out of nowhere . She usually did that when she blamed Albert for something he 'd done . This time it was different . What he hadn 't seen before was the huge wooden spoon that she had in her fist … never seen anything like it . All of a sudden he was thinking about a cottage in the woods , very much like the Browne 's … far away from everyone like the Browne 's … and witch and huge black cauldron … maybe not a cauldron but Albert was certain that there was a witch … SMACK ! It was Miss Lottie herself that brought him back to reality when she slapped that spoon into her hand … SMACK ! " Samson , I know where you headin ' with this story and you best stick to what you told me . " SMACK ! Mr . Sam actually jumped a little at that one . And with that , she turned and walked back to her ironing . Mr . Sam took a breath breath and continued . " We could see that the front door stood wide open and as we got closer we could make out a big wooden farm table just inside . And you just cain 't guess what we found on that table , Burty . " " Well o ' course they ' uhs food , Burty ! But they 's also a note . It read , ' Eat up and don 't worry about the gunner , I took care of him . ' It was signed ' Your pal , Jim . ' He must have been up all night preparin ' that feast . There was plenty of wine and roast chicken and fresh bread and cheese and olives and … well , I think you get the idea . We ate ' til we couldn 't eat no more . The wine was making all of us sleepy but then we realized that we hadn 't gone to go see about that gunner . " " At this point we knew there was no danger from Jerry , but opening that door at the top of the stairs was something that none of us wanted to do . Still … someone had to , and since the Captain was gone and Jim wasn 't with us , the fellas gave me the honor . " " I 'll tell ya Burty , my insides ran like iced water . And look here … " He held out a very shaky hand for Albert to inspect . " Why , I can still remember just how I felt to this day . " " We stood to the sides of the door as much as we could just in case . We had Jim 's note after all , telling us that everything was taken care of but there was something about that day that just didn 't seem right . " Miss Lottie coughed and then cleared her throat . Mr . Sam just kept right on talking . " When you face these types of situations Burty , the best way to deal with them is to deal with them quickly , d ' ya understand , son ? " Albert nodded because he thought he did . Miss Lottie had come back over and now stood by her husband . She placed her hand on his shoulder and nodded . Then Mr . Sam nodded as well . " So I grabbed the latch on the door , lifted it and threw the door open . It slammed back against the wall revealing something that I just cain 't explain , Burty . And won 't . But I will tell you this , there was blood everywhere . It looked like a buzz saw went through that room . It took us quite some time to put all the pieces together and when we did , we found that there had been eleven German soldiers in that room . " " We couldn 't leave them like that . It was war Burty , but even in war , there are lines you don 't cross . We spent the rest of the day collecting their remains . We took them downstairs and made a big fire and burned them and then we buried what was left . " No one understood how Jim pulled it all off . And none of us ever spoke of it again . " is just before dawn and everyone is still asleep . A shadowy figure slips into the hallway and floats towards the heart of the house . It approaches the closed door at the end of the hall and waits . Until this moment , not a sound has been made , and then , ever so softly , a very small whisper can be heard . Albert can barely hear himself over the pounding of his heart . " Your mission , Jim , should you decide to accept it , is to make yourself breakfast , leave a note explaining where you will be , and sneak out of the house without being caught . Your objective , to obtain information about the Shadow . Make contact with Samson Browne . He is the double agent , but be careful . The evil Carlotta He pauses and listens again . If anyone is awake , they will be in the kitchen . The door swings open slowly , just a crack at first , and then , just enough to allow Albert to slip into the kitchen . skills . He quickly cracks the code on the refrigerator . It is just one of his specialties . The safe is full but he does not get distracted . He sees the milk and grabs it . He takes his prize over to the kitchen table and pours himself a big glass . Next , he grabs the last package of Pop Tarts . He always knew about Colonel McGrath 's secret stash in the back of the pantry but the time was never right . This morning it is . Oh yes ! Today was his most important mission for the Impossible Missions Force and he is going to be successful . He didn 't bother to heat them up . He didn 't want to get caught . He hastily scrawled a note to his commander , the leader of the IMF , telling her that he was already out to play and that he and Bruiser were going to be gone all day . He leaves it on the counter and opens the screen door . He made it . It took all of his espionage skills but he made it and the day was now his . They were shooting at him . He couldn 't believe it . Not to worry . No one had ever successfully hit him . He was far too good . He runs to Bruiser 's His mother had been in awake in her bedroom and quickly heads for the kitchen . But no one is there . Then she sees Albert and Bruiser heading down the dirt driveway . She finds the note that Albert left on the counter . She reads it quickly and smiles . When she looks up , Albert is talking to Bruiser but she can 't quite hear what he is saying . He is quite animated . She smiles again . " Albert ? " she called after him . This time a little louder . " Albert ? " But he must have been out of earshot . That was OK . He was growing up fast . He was going to be fine . She loves the fact that he seemed to be having a good time . She wasn 't sure how he would like staying with his grandparents . It was the biggest concern she had when she and Leland discussed his plans to be gone all summer . The photo shoot in New Guinea was an enormous break for him but he wouldn 't leave her and Albert alone in Jacksonville all summer . He would only take the assignment if she would take Albert up to her parents and spend the summer with them . It was a difficult choice but the assignment for National Geographic would make her husband a respectable photographer . No more weddings or portraits of whiney kids . The job could also be an end to their financial concerns . They might even get to move to Washington D . C . Happy thoughts were running through her head when her mother made her presence known to her . off the porch , even for a minute , I bet I could get Mr . Sam started . And then … " Albert snapped his fingers . Bruiser looked up . Albert wasn 't sure , but he thought his body guard was smiling . " I bet it has to do with the CIA or the FBI or something . And Miss Lottie just thinks I ain 't big enough for it to concern me . She doesn 't know that I 'm a real secret agent myself and can handle it . And I 'm strong . Mr . Sam said so himself . " " Maybe it isn 't spy stuff at all . Maybe it 's like something like The Twilight Zone or Scooby Doo … something creepy like that . " Bruiser gave a snort . " Scooby isn 't real Bruiser . He 's just a dog on TV and he 's not even a real dog . He 's just a cartoon dog ! " Albert walked on in silence for a few minutes thinking about what he just told his dog . And while he " So , tell me Bruiser , how can we get Mr . Sam to tell us ? That Miss Lottie is a tough one . She doesn 't EVER leave Mr . Sam alone on that porch for more than a minute or two . " It was near eight o ' clock when Albert and Bruiser came up on the Browne place . Albert couldn 't wait and took off running ! Bruiser let him go . He " Hi Mr . Sam ! Good morning Miss Lottie . " He launched himself onto the porch and hurried to get settled in his usual spot at Mr . Sam 's feet . " Well … " he had to think fast although the words were coming out real slow . " Today is cleaning day , Miss Lottie … " He rolled his eyes , cocked his head and rubbed his chin . “… and Grandmother likes an early start . " There . It wasn 't entirely a lie . Saturday was wash day and Grandmother did like an early start . This is the third chapter of " Your Pal Al " , my first novel . It is still under construction . Chapters one and two have been published here previously . I 'd love to hear what you think . Please comment . The walk home was excruciating . It had been two days since Mr . Sam had first mentioned the Shadow and he still had no idea of what it was or why it was important . And it being important made him itch all the more to get at that story . Albert stopped walking for a minute to think and the huge gray dog at his side just plopped right down at his feet . " So Belvedere . I 've been thinking a lot on this and I just can 't keep it up any longer . If you are going to come with me everyday - and I certainly welcome your company - we just have to do something about that name of yours . It just don 't fit your personality at all . Is that al ' right with you ? " " Good boy . So I know Belvedere is the name Papa Jack gave you but it sure does sound more like something Grandmother would have done . And it ain 't right . So from now one , I 'm gonna call you … " Albert paused and thought and scratched his head . " This naming business is right hard Belve … er , ol ' boy , and I want to get it right . You don 't mind waitin ' just a bit so I can think on it , do ya ? " Belvedere was a Neapolitan Mastiff and easily outweighed Albert by fifty pounds or more . And he was all Papa Jack 's dog . Bringing that pup home had caused quite a stir with Grandmother . Normally she got her way , but he put his foot down on this . It was only a few weeks old when he just showed up on the porch . Papa Jack found him there and because they lived so far from town and there weren 't any dogs like him living nearby - let alone any mastiffs - he just figured that the dog was something special - ' a gift from heaven ' was what he had told Albert . The two of them headed off down the old road . The shortcut would get them home far too quickly for Albert 's mind . There might be chores to do and he needed time think . There were just so many unanswered questions . " So , how in the world am I gonna get Mr . Sam to tell me more about this shadow thing ? And why its so important ? Now , I don 't think Miss Lottie is gonna let him tell me much . Do you ? Seems every time we men get to talkin ' about it she storms across the porch . What d ' ya think I should do ? " The two made their way slowly home in the hot afternoon . Dappled light from a few ancient live oaks now their only escape from the sun . The road ran by farms mostly , a few reclaimed by nature - choked by tall weeds - but most were huge fields of green made up by sugar cane , corn , tobacco and cotton . Albert didn 't like the corn fields much , especially when the the stalks were dried up and left to rot after harvest . He imagined all kinds of things in there - things that would try to get him - things with scythes and pitch forks . Sometimes , he would cut through the fields , but never the corn . From time to time Albert would stop to think about something important only to a nine - year - old and continue on . " So , we still need a name for you . I always did like the names Striker and Ranger but you don 't seem much like a Ranger . What do you think about Brutus ? " He looked hard at the dog and for such a big , slow moving creature he perked up quite quickly and cocked his head to the side , the way dogs do when they almost seem to understand what you are saying . " You really like that one , do ya boy ? " His head rolled to the other side and wobbled just a bit and then , just for a minute , Albert thought he was actually going to get a real answer . He leaned in real close just in case he didn 't want to speak too loudly . Afterall , dogs weren 't supposed to be talking . Belvedere wrinkled up his nose and sneezed . And then shook his head violently coating Albert with long , gooey tendrils . " Yuck . Dog germs ! " But he laughed and reached out and scratched him behind his ears - his favorite place . " You 're right . That 's no good . He 's a bad guy … always after Popeye . " With that he took off running . " Catch me if you can ! Catch me if you can ! " The laughter trailing behind just like the dog . Belvedere wasn 't known for being energetic and was content to let the boy run . Then Albert picked up a stick from the road and tossed it . " Get the stick . Get the stick , boy ! " And he just couldn 't help himself . He was a dog after all and so he was off … huffing and puffing … " You sure are fast ! " Albert lied . " That Mr . Sam sure is something , ain 't he ? I 'll bet he killed a bunch of them Jerries . Ratta - atta - atta - atta - tat ! " And he drove in the tall grass at the side of the road . Belvedere dove in after him . " Geez Louise ! Whatta ya tryin ' to do ? Kill me ? You are some kind of bruiser . I don 't think the Americans or the French would have taken you in … too big and too dumb … " He laughed it out . Belvedere looked offended . Albert jumped up and took off again . " Big ol ' bruiser dumb as a brick … Big ol ' bruiser can 't do a trick … " Albert turned and wagged his backside at the dog . For a minute Belvedere just sat there then Albert spanked himself and the dog pounced … all 153 pounds of him . He knocked Albert to the ground and held him there . The wrinkles on his head slid forward as he moved his head down towards Alberts face . Albert shrieked . And was rewarded with a very sloppy mastiff kiss … but he didn 't let him up . Even though they hadn 't been friends for long and Belvedere towered over him . Albert was 't scared . " I give . I give . Uncle ! Uncle ! " He started gigling and reached up , started tickling the dog . He was certain that it was one of Belvedere 's favorite games and to sweeten the pot he would always throw a liitle scratching into the mix . It didn 't last long . Soon they were back on the road heading for home . " Boy , ain 't that Grandmother a tough one ? How ever do you manage to live with her ? Now , don 't go tellin ' her I said anything , but she seems somehow … harder than she used to be . Does that make any sense ? " Albert grew quiet then and the two continued their walk . Every so often Albert would look over at the dog and almost say something , but Belvedere didn 't look back as he normally would have . " I 'm sorry I called you dumb . I know you ain 't no meathead " Albert finally managed . Then they walked together for a while in silence . But silence was not one of Albert 's friends and soon enough he was back to questions . " Why do you suppose Mr . Sam lives all the way out there in the woods by himself ? Do you think he ever gets up out of that rocking chair ? Why won 't you ever come up on the porch with us ? You seem to like Mr . Sam well enough . Is it that Miss Lottie ? She doesn 't much like either one of us , does she ? Luckily she mostly keeps to her ironing . " And so it went for the rest of the walk back to his Grandparents house . Papa Jack was sitting in his rocker on the front porch as usual . Albert figured that all old men spent their most of their days in a rocking chair on a porch . He figured that one day he would have to ask his grandfather about this . Albert had just turned down to drive when Papa Jack boomed , " Hi there , kiddo ! " There was still quite some distance from the road to the house and when Papa Jack spied Albert and called out and Albert couldn 't help but head to him running . Of course , Belvedere trailed after him . " Lookee here ! It 's my favorite Grandson ! " " I 'm your ONLY grandson , Papa Jack . " " Still my favorite " he said with a smile . " Well , your my favorite Grandfather and I got two of them ! " The two laughed as they always did when this particular conversation came up - and it did come up often . Albert noticed that old people had a way about coming back to the same stories time and time again , but this was one of the ones that Albert loved so he did not mind so much . " So , Albert , tell me about your day . What is it that you and Belvedere all day . " " You know Papa , a little of this and a little of that …” “… but mostly that ! " The two finished together and laughed . " You really like Belvedere don 't you , Albert ? " " Is that so ? " " Yes sir . It is . When the bullets started flying we took cover in the tall grass . " " I see . Then what happened ? " " We walked home . " " It sure was . " Albert liked these games with Papa Jack but figured that he had better get right to it . " So walking home I figured that I 'd call him Uncle Bruiser . " " Uncle Bruiser ? " Papa Jack was downright close to busting a gut but somehow managed to stifle the laughter . He knew Albert was serious . " Why Uncle ? " " Well , he 's far too big and old to be just Bruiser and he watches over me kinda like you or my Daddy . And , well … I already got ya 'll . And since I got an Uncle Toomey and Uncle Hank who ain 't really my uncles … " Albert fell silent . His gaze lost in the distance . " I suppose that 'll be just fine … it 's a mouthful , but if you can handle it … " " Maybe you 're right , Papa . It is a bit of a mouthful . Maybe it should just be Bruiser . I suspect I 'll have to ask him if it 'd be OK . " " They called me ' Bean ' for a spell during the training . I s ' pose it was because I was so tall . I didn 't mind it much … but later , when we was in France , some of the fellas started calling me ' Mean Mr . Bean ' . " A small laugh escaped Miss Lottie and she eyed Albert . Most times when she eyed him like that , he knew he was in trouble . This time though , he cracked a big grin and gave her a wink to boot , just like Mr . Sam would do . This time Mr . Sam got the eye . And there was no smiling or winking . He just stopped and took a deep breath and closed his eyes for a minute . Then , he let out a long sigh and continued . " Well , what I can tell you Burty , is that some of them other fellas were the mean ones and the War only made them meaner . " " Well , the War was something more than ' us against them ' , especially for us . Oh , we fought the Germans al ' right , and we ' uhs glad to do it . Not so much because we hated them or what they was doin ' . It was more a way for us to prove ourselves as men . " " You remember looking in that old wooden box Burty ? The one with all those newspaper clippings ? Do you know where they all came from ? Well , I 'll tell you . When I was away , my Mama saved every single clipping she could get her hands on . She was so proud of her Samson . When I come home , she give me that box . And to me , those scraps of paper are the medals I never received from these here United States of America … " He stretched his long arms wide and gave Albert a sad smile . " I used to read through them news stories … " Mr . Sam trailed off . " … the newspaper men , they was doing they part … reporting the war … and I think we darn near surprised everybody with our heroics , but even when they was praisin ' us they was keepin ' us us in our place . Quick to point out that the heroes in they stories was just porters , elevator boys and whatnot … but at least they was writin ' ' bout us , Burty ! Heh heh heh ! Yep , things didn 't change much but I sure had . " Albert took this pause to chance a look at Miss Lottie . She was still ironing . He had never seen Mr . Sam , nor Miss Lottie for that matter , ever wear anything but what they had on now and she was always ironing . And Mr . Sam was always sitting in his chair in his worn , blue overalls . Albert thought that they must have enough cleaned and ironed clothes inside their house to last them a lifetime . Miss Lottie was a big woman . Almost as big as Mr . Sam was tall . And Mr . Sam was the tallest man that Albert had ever seen . At least he thought he would be the tallest . He had never really seen Mr . Sam get up out of his chair . His mind had begun to stray from his intended prize . Another quick glance and then , with the quietest whisper he thought he could use for Mr . Sam , said " The shadow , Mr . Sam . You said it was important . " And it obviously was by the way Mr . Sam 's eyes got real big and round . He shot a glance at Miss Lottie , then gave Albert a small nod . " Not today Burty . Soon . " Then he buttoned his lips as he eyed his wife again . End of Chapter When did it become the government 's responsibility to create jobs ? I always thought that the government was supposed to be there to uphold the Constitution - basically to protect our rights . What the government should be doing is creating an environment in which job creation can occur - livable , safe cities with an educated work force ; safe , sound and responsive infrastructure ; being a good , responsible steward of public lands for this , and future generations ; and doing all of this on a level playing field for all . Posted by Advice ? I don 't have advice . Stop aspiring and start writing . If you 're writing , you 're a writer . Write like you 're a goddamn death row inmate and the governor is out of the country and there 's no chance for a pardon . Write like you 're clinging to the edge of a cliff , white knuckles , on your last breath , and you 've got just one last thing to say , like you 're a bird flying over us and you can see everything , and please , for God 's sake , tell us something that will save us from ourselves . Take a deep breath and tell us your deepest , darkest secret , so we can wipe our brow and know that we 're not alone . Write like you have a message from the king . Or don 't . Who knows , maybe you 're one of the lucky ones who doesn 't have to . Alan Watts ( 1915 - 1973 ) Below is the first draft of chapter one from my first novel , " Your Pal Al " . One morning , I was out on my normal routine walking my dog . A song that I cannot remember got me thinking and I had it . I held on to the thought until I got back home where I sat at my desk and got it down for safe keeping - - although I didn 't stop there . That morning I was late for work . I also had about 500 words written . If you like it , please let me know . If you don 't , tell me that , too , , but please tell me why . Thanks for reading . Chapter 1 : Mr . Sunshine " The sun is mighty powerful . It causes the wind and the rain . And it makes things grow ! But … " Mr . Sam paused here before going on and lowered his voice . " … it also makes shadows . " He drew out that last word and then he stopped for what seemed like forever . Albert waited and wondered . Something had to be wrong with Mr . Sam . His eyes were still open , but he wasn 't moving much . He thought maybe he should reach out and give him a little poke , just to make sure he was still breathing . As Albert extended his finger to do just that , Mr . Sam quickly snatched him by the wrist . That startled Albert even more than the near dead Mr . Sam . He was much quicker than he supposed an old man should be . " The good news is that when the sun goes down for the day , he takes all those all shadows with him . " Another pause . " Well … almost all of them . " He stopped again and looked around as if searching for something . Albert looked around as well , but just to be polite . He really didn 't see much . Miss Lottie was still at the end of the porch doing her ironing . The sun was still shining and making the wind blow around a bit . And his dog was still chewing on his leg or scratching his ear out in the yard by the old hickory tree . He tried to do both but couldn 't quite figure out how to manage it . Belvedere did that a lot , but then , he was a dog and that 's what dogs did . Mr . Sam was still looking around and he still had Albert 's wrist . His eyes were rolling all about , just like the marbles did in the Mason jar back home on Albert 's dresser . Finally , Mr . Sam started moving again and pulled him in real close and whispered in his ear . " Listen to me Burty , this is important , real important . D ' you understand ? Sometimes … " and before he could finish a blue jay flew straight into the closed window right behind Mr . Sam 's head . It hit hard , too , and almost hit him ! It probably would have if he hadn 't leaned in to get a little closer . Of course Albert couldn 't resist and desperately wanted to see if the poor jay needed his expert help but Mr . Sam hadn 't quite said his peace . " Burty ! " He gave him a small but firm shake . " I said this is important ! " Mr . Sam barked but all the excitement had drawn Miss Lottie 's attention and when Miss Lottie 's ironing got interrupted … look out ! " Burty , come here boy . " She slapped her leg like she was calling a dog . " Don 't you pay him no mind . He thinks he is heppin ' with all those old tales , but they just stories that folks use to get their kids to do what needs doin ' . Now you run on home . " She stared at him real hard then cocked her head to the side . " Ain 't that ' cho Momma callin ' ? " Albert instantly froze to listen but was certain that he hadn 't heard his mother . Besides , he was quite interested in what Mr . Sam had been telling him , especially now that Miss Lottie didn 't want him to hear it . " Miss Lottie , please … I don 't have to be home until dinner time ! " Albert pleaded . " That must be hours from now . " He knew that when Miss Lottie made up her mind , that was that , but he still had to try . Who knew when he could get Mr . Sam back to that story again . Mr . Sam was old . Real old . Albert 's mother told him that Mr . Sam had fought in the first World War . He had heard a lot about " Old Days " . His grandmother and grandfather called them the " Good Ole Days " and while much of the stories were similar , Albert liked Mr . Sam 's stories better . Maybe because his stories were older and more colorful . " Please Miss Lottie , I want to stay ! " By this time Mr . Sam was just sitting there staring out into the yard again . Albert knew it was going to take some kind of coaxing to bring him back so he played the sure ace . " Mr . Sam , tell me a story about the the ' Old Days ' ! " Most times when he asked him about " the way it was " Mr . Sam would perk right up , but not today . Today something had ahold of him and it was going to take a bit more craftiness on his part . " Tell me about the War , Mr . Sam ! " The second ace was on the table and Albert was quite confident he 'd get his story now , but still Mr . Sam sat immobile , his gazed fixed on the old tree in the front yard . He tugged at Mr . Sam 's sleeve and begged him as only a ten - year - old can do . And still nothing . " Please ! " It was certainly a tricky situation that he found himself in that all too warm summer afternoon and Albert desperately wanted to hear more about the shadow . He thought if he could just get Mr . Sam talking again he could eventually get the story to come back around . But nothing had changed . He had tried not one , but two sure fired ways to bring Mr . Sam back but he was still staring at that tree and now … well , now he was almost out of ideas . Albert plopped himself down and folded his legs up under himself - " Indian - style " was what his first grade teacher Mrs . Eaves called it . And then it came to him . He stood up and placed himself squarely between Mr . Sam and the tree . " Mr . Sam … tell me about your best friend Jim ! " His third ace was on the table and he was now out of cards . Surely that one had to work . But Samson Browne just sat there - the steady moving of his chest the only proof that he was still alive . " Mr . Sam … you promised ! Please Mr . Sam ! Oh pleeeeease ! " And with that Albert once again took his place at Mr . Sam 's feet and waited . So it went for what seemed like an eternity to Albert . He stared at Mr . Sam and Mr . Sam stared at the old hickory . Belvedere even lent Albert a hand alternating his watchful eye between the three of them . And every so often Albert would tug lightly at the old man 's pant leg to see if anything had changed . " Oh , I cain 't take this a minute longer ! Samson , you mind me now . Young Burty here been waitin ' just as patient as you please . It hain 't right that you should sit there and not give him that story … after all you did promise him … " She put the iron down for the second time that day and went over , placed her big , callused hands on each of his shoulders and stared directly in his eyes . She put some words in his ear that only he could hear . Then more loudly she continued , " but you best just stick to the story ' bout Jim … you hear me Samson . " " Alright Burty . He gonna tell that story now . " And slowly , like an autumn stream , Mr . Sam did come back around . He licked his lips once and scratched the back of his head and slowly began . " My Daddy was one of the few black men in Charlton County who could say that he owned his farm . It was a small farm , Burty , only 19 acres or so but we were able to provide for ourselves and still have enough left over to sell at market . Most often , everything was alright and people let us be . Then the War started . A lot of my friends saw it as an opportunity to show everyone that we was just as good as they was . " He smiled at that and continued . " But then they got the draft going … and then they 's a lot of us . Some folks didn 't want black men serving alongside whites . And some saw it as a chance to get rid of some of us ' troublesome ' black folk . ' Mr . Sam stopped talking . He often did that and Albert didn 't always understand . This time though , he was pretty sure he knew . He had been told the stories about the the burnt crops and the lynchings . Miss Lottie had shushed her husband then too . Albert took this chance to sit down and get comfortable against the wall . And then he waited . The silence didn 't last long . " My Daddy made his ' Declaration of Loyalty ' just like all the other farmers . Momma even planted herself one of them Liberty Gardens right in front of the house up by the road , but Daddy didn 't feel that was gonna be enough to keep his family safe . We could tell he was scared and that , Burty , was the first and only time I ever did see my Daddy scared of anything . " He stared hard into Albert 's eyes for a long minute then he gave him a big smile with teeth that looked like corn and he continued . " Well , as I said , the War brought the draft and that meant that all the men over a certain age was needed to go fight for our country and help them folks over in Europe . You know what the funny thing is ? I enlisted . " " No Burty … remember I told you that some white folks didn 't like the idea that blacks were going at all ? " He stopped here and looked at Albert and waited . Normally , Mr . Sam stopped and didn 't expect anything and either kept right on talking or was pretty much finished for the day . " All the men I fought with were part of the 369th regiment and all of them men was Black . Well all of them ' cept for my best friend Jim and most folks wouldn 't 've known he wasn 't a Negro . D ' ya wanna hear something funny Burty ? Now I know you study real hard in school so you should see the humor in this . His full name was James Laughing Crow … y ' see ? Jim Crow ! Heh ! I 'm sure his Daddy had no idea ! Heh heh heh … no ' suh ! Course Jim thought it was kind ' a funny and I guess I did too . Ain 't that a hoot Burty ? Jim Crow serving real proud in an all Black regiment . Well Jim was a Choctaw Injun . And at that time , Injuns wasn 't even allowed to be American citizens . But that didn 't stop Jim . He enlisted … how and why he made it to the New York National Guard I never did ask … never thought to . But he did so because he wanted to serve as a member of the Army 's Signal Corps . Nowadays they call them ' code talkers ' . Do ya know what a code talker is Burty ? " Mr . Sam just kept on talking . But Albert knew alright . He had heard all about them from his Uncle Toomey . Uncle Toomey wasn 't really his uncle . But he was a Navaho and that was just one of the many stories he had told him . Mr . Sam pressed on . " Well they 's Injuns that used their own language to bedevil the enemy . Ya ' see , when Jerry tried to listen in and find out where a supply drop was gonna be made or were our soldiers was being moved , they couldn 't understand a word . It was so successful that they used them again in the War to End All Wars . That 's what they were calling the Second World War at the time . And they used Navahos mostly then . " Albert felt a sense of pride at that . " Anyway , some of the other fellas from his tribe had already been asked to help out and he wanted to do his part . So he went down to enlist and signed up . There weren 't many Choctaws left in Georgia at that time . Most of them being run off their own lands years before . Well , Burty , old Jim signed his papers and the fellas at the recruiting station didn 't know quite what to do with him . They must have figured since he was so dark , they 'd put him in our regiment ' cause they didn 't want no " Dirty Injuns " fightin ' alongside all those fine white boys . ' Course him being from Georgia and the rest of the tribe now in Oklahoma meant that there weren 't too many of his folks signing up from our parts and that probably had something to do with it too . At first some of the fellas didn 't want him in our regiment either but they did come ' round . " " Now Jim was a good man and a strong man … probably the strongest man I ever did know next to my Daddy . " Mr . Sam paused here for a minute and licked his lips . " Now this is important Burty . He was strong . D ' ya understand ? " Albert nodded and was rewarded with a small smile before Mr . Sam continued . The atta boy kind of smile you get from your coach or your dad when he 's teaching you to ride your bike or throw a football . " No , Jim wasn 't strong just physically … Its important because of what happened to him when he come back … but the story started long before then . It started back in the trenches . " Mr . Sam stopped again reached for his ever present iced tea . He took a long sip and let out a deep breath and cocked his head . " Ada ? " " Mr . Sam , what happened to Jim ? What about the trenches ? " Albert tried hard to bring his friend back but he was old and Albert didn 't have the magic that Miss Lottie had . I admit the web people screwed up and , ultimately , FSU is responsible for what gets posted but I 'm pretty certain that Fanatics , our local billion dollar company , runs the Seminole online store . If you look at the CEO of the company , Alan Trager , you 'll see that he is a UF grad , as is his brother , Brent , the COO . The president is also an SEC grad . And I don 't think it is a coincidence or a conspiracy theory .

I promised myself I 'd write about this someday , and I 've got a couple hours to kill , so I guess this is a good time to do it . I 'm writing to you , Mom , because you 're gone , and I still miss you terribly in spite of all the bad stuff that happened with Dad towards the end . I 've forgiven you both ; I hope you know that . And I know I 'll probably never share this with a living soul , so I may as well share it with you . I never knew his real name - - at least not at the time . I mean , I 'm sure I saw it written down , on his door or around the building , but it never stuck in my head . Most of the residents we addressed by name , usually pretty formally because they were from an era when you didn 't call older people by their first names . So it was Mrs . Brown in 12A or Mr . Johnson in 18B . But the ones we didn 't know that well , and the ones we didn 't like - - those we 'd always call by their room numbers , behind their backs . 30B was about the most disagreeable human being that I have ever had the displeasure of meeting , and knowing our family , that 's saying something . Most of the other teenage volunteers were afraid of him . He didn 't scare me , mainly because my folks were worse , so I was used to it . Please don 't be offended , Mom . You did the best you could , we all did , and unlike the little ones , I 'm old enough to remember that things were better before Dad had his accident and couldn 't work . Then the drinking got bad and . . . well . Yeah . You were there . You know what it was like . We had good days and bad days , but really more of the bad days , especially after you died . Some of the residents had reasons for acting the way they did . They were going senile or had major medical problems . I could deal with 28A yelling cuss words at us volunteers , or 14B forgetting how to use the bathroom . They didn 't know any better . But 30B was just a mean , disagreeable old man and that 's all there was to it . Nothing was ever good enough for him . He complained about the food , he complained about the room , he complained about the heat pipes making noise ( they didn 't ) and the mold in the shower ( there wasn 't ) and the way we all stomped around when he was trying to nap just to wake him up ( we didn 't - - trust me , waking him up was the last thing we ever wanted to do ) . He 'd say the room was too cold , so we 'd turn up the heat , and then it was too hot . The curtains were letting in too much light , so we shut them , and then it was too dark . And , when I say that he complained , I don 't just mean that he voiced his complaints in the normal way . No . . . 30B was the most colorful complainer that I ever met . If he didn 't like the food - - which was basically every day - - he 'd start ranting that the entire kitchen staff was deliberately trying to poison him and that the cook was a hack who should go work at McDonalds because it was all she was qualified for . And he 'd yell it , too . Loudly . Sometimes he 'd work himself into a coughing fit with all the ranting . We kept hoping he 'd choke himself to death , but we were never that lucky . I swear he made a game out of torturing the volunteers , especially the new girls . He 'd call to have something brought to his room at least twenty times a day , and then you 'd get there with a cup of water or a pillow , and he 'd start in on you . First it was all about how you were lazy and slow , and should have been there the minute he pressed the call button . Then he 'd make sure you knew that after dragging your lazy ass up to his room , you 'd brought him the wrong thing . That was the wrong kind of pillow , it was bad for his back . This water was supposed to have ice in it . That water had too much ice in it . He couldn 't drink water at all because of his prostate . He had to drink more water because of his prostate and we were all trying to kill him by withholding it . And so forth . Although I couldn 't really fathom it , there were people who came to see him . It always kind of bugged me to see the nice , sweet old people who just sat in their rooms and never made a fuss while their worthless grandchildren never visited them , while this old bastard - - er , sorry , Mom - - had someone come to see him nearly every day , and then proceeded to insult them the whole time they were there . The less frequent of his two visitors was a nice blond lady . I figured she was probably his daughter or granddaughter , although obviously the niceness genes had skipped a generation . She always had a smile for everyone at the nurse 's station , and I heard her mention one time that she wished she lived closer so she could visit more often - - Yeah , right , thought I ; she probably moved across the country to get away from the old coot . And then there was the other guy , the one I never did really figure out , although I think I started getting warmer , towards the end . He was retired military . I could tell by looking . You know I get the career military from both sides , Mom , what with Grandpa on Dad 's side and then your brother , Uncle Frank , in the Navy . So I know the look . This guy didn 't carry himself ramrod - straight like Grandpa , instead he did this kind of slouching thing where he looked slow and lazy , but you could tell that he was neither . I tell you that I wouldn 't have wanted to tangle with him in a dark alley , even though he must have been like seventy - five or something . I 'm not into old guys , but some of the nurses had a thing for him , and I could kind of see why , because even though he was old there was something about him . He still had all his hair - - it was kind of this silver color - - and loads of , well , charisma ? You could tell he 'd probably broken a lot of girls ' hearts when he was younger . I don 't mean that he was a jerk , though . He just had this way about him - - this way of talking to you like you were the only person in the room . Even though he wasn 't really my kind of thing , I could see why some of the nurses started checking their hairdos when he showed up on the floor . It was actually quite entertaining , and once we got used to it , we 'd look forward to his visits as a nice change from the usual monotony . Most people , visiting their infirm and elderly relatives , walked softly and talked even more softly , rambling about safe and boring topics like the kids ' braces , while avoiding the slightest mention of anything upsetting or remotely entertaining . But not Mr . Military . On a good day , he 'd do this when 30B was in the middle of something embarrassing , like having one of us hapless volunteers spoon - feed him Jello - - which , by the way , he was perfectly capable of doing himself , but he liked to have us do it so that he could insult us the whole time . The spoon flew one way , the Jello the other , and the volunteer ( me ) in a third direction ( trying to contain the mess ) , while 30B scrabbled around trying to recover . " No thanks to you ! What are you trying to do , kill me with a heart attack , Colonel ? I could have been in the middle of a sponge bath , you know ! " " Then I 'd be the one having the heart attack , or possibly just go blind , " he informed 30B brightly , leaning against the doorframe in that loose and lazy way that made some of the more susceptible nurses swoon . " Oh , you 're simply full of wit today , or what passes for it with you . " 30B snapped his fingers in my direction without even looking at me . " Hey - - you - - clumsy girl , clean me up ! I 'll probably catch a cold and die from it . I 'm very susceptible . " If only we would all be so lucky , I thought , going into the bathroom to wet down a cloth . Behind me I heard the military guy say , " You can 't catch a cold from spilling Jello on yourself . Even you aren 't that susceptible . " I rolled my eyes again and took my time wringing out the washcloth . When I marched out of the bathroom , Military Guy was sitting on the edge of the bed and had dabbed off the spilled Jello with a napkin wet down in 30B 's cup of water . Well , that was fine ; it wasn 't as if I wanted to get that close to him anyway . Not saying a word , I started scrubbing splattered Jello off the chair by the bed and the wall . As I worked on a particularly stubborn Jello stain , I saw , out of the corner of my eye , 30B cast a glance in my direction as he lowered his voice . " So how 's the - - you know - - coming along ? " " Same , " Military Guy said , also sotto voce . I wondered whose prostate they were talking about this time . Or maybe this was a colon - centric discussion . Really , when old folks get together , the conversations become very predictable . With the sideways half - stare that I 've perfected in order to watch people without being noticed , I could see 30B 's shoulders slump just a bit . Guess the prognosis for the colon wasn 't that great . " They 're still trying , " Military Guy added quickly . " They 'll keep trying until they get him . You know that . " So , yeah , we let the Colonel , whoever he was , argue with 30B so that we didn 't have to . The funny thing was that the argumentative old cuss actually seemed to get it out of his system , and he was a lot easier to be around for a few hours after the military guy left . I wondered if we could get Colonel Sanders or whatever his name was to move in here permanently . Then maybe we could get some peace without 30B running us ragged . Sometimes after the Colonel had visited him , you could actually have a civil conversation with him . Well , I could , anyway . Most of the others had given up on trying . They just smiled all sugary - sweet to his face , and then complained about him behind his back . Me . . . I made sure and complained to his face , too . Hey , I figure that if I 'm going to insult someone when they 're not around , it 's sort of hypocritical to be nice to them when they are there . At first I 'd tried the " don 't say anything if you can 't say something nice " approach , Mom , really I did - - but this guy just had this way of getting under my skin . And after taking it from Dad at home , and from my boss at my worthless job , having to put up with it as a volunteer , too . . . well , it just got to be too much , and I started telling him what I really thought of him - - when none of the supervisors were around , of course . The crazy thing was , it actually worked . Being pleasant to him did nothing at all except make him more disagreeable , but telling him that he was an obnoxious old jerk and refusing to get him a third pillow actually made him grin . He had this nice , sort - of - crooked smile - - I mean , not " nice " in that way , of course , Mom ; the guy was ninety , after all . It was just . . . nice to see . I got the impression that he didn 't smile very much and never really had . Well , I don 't smile all that much either , so we had something in common . Many of the residents surrounded themselves with personal items - - drawings their grandchildren made for them , a million pictures of kids and grandkids and long - dead pets . Anything to make their room seem more like a home and less like the place where they were probably going to die - - even though it was very little of the first and much more of the second . Not Mr . 30B , though . Aside from the seascape on the wall , the only other personal touches in his room were a laptop computer , which he refused to let us look at , and a pile of notepads from the nurse 's station . He was always scribbling on them , even though his hands shook so hard with age that I could never read anything he wrote . At least , I think that 's why I couldn 't read it . Most of it seemed to be equations , though , and I don 't get along very well with math . The military guy would often look at the notepads and he 'd usually take a few with him when he 'd leave - - with 30B 's blessing , I presume , because whenever any of us tried to throw them away or even take a peek , he 'd fly totally off the handle . I don 't know if you remember this , Mom , but I had to drop out of school in the tenth grade , while you were so sick before you died . There was just nobody else in the household who was willing or able to earn money . But I always meant to get my diploma , and I kept taking classes by correspondence . For some reason I was determined to get the actual diploma and not a GED . It was tough doing that and working and volunteering too , but I was finally pretty darn close . It helped that the supervisors didn 't mind me studying in the nursing home during quiet times as long as I stayed on call . I 'd sit at one of the tables in the third - floor lounge and spread out my books . The old people liked seeing me do it ; I guess they figured I was being a studious , responsible young person , or something . A lot of times they 'd wander by and strike up a conversation about how they 'd been a teacher in their younger years or how I reminded them of some grandchild or other who was especially bright . It was kind of flattering and kind of annoying , because I really did want to read the books rather than talk , and my study periods were all too often cut short by someone ringing the call button or needing help with something in the lounge . I nearly jumped out of my skin when he leaned over my shoulder and plunked a shaky , liver - spotted finger down on my calculus homework . " That equation 's wrong , and that one . So 's that . Good God , girl , with such a pathetic grasp of the underlying concepts , you 'll never pass that class . " " Just annoyed by idiocy . If I were you , I 'd go back and review the basics of integral equations before you embarrass yourself further . " With that , he stumped off to continue spreading the joy of his company . " Please , " I muttered . But I did open the book and flip back to the section on integrals , and after staring at it for a while , I finally got that I was applying the concepts wrong . I just couldn 't figure out how to do it right . I was still staring at it when he came stumping back the other way and lifted the pencil right out of my fingers . " How much hand - holding do you require ? " he demanded , and proceeded to start scribbling in the margins of my book . My book ! I was planning to sell that book back ! I opened my mouth to tell him what I thought about him , when I realized that suddenly , seeing the equations done before my eyes , they made sense . I guess I made a sound like , " Oh " , and grabbed the homework sheets and started fixing my mistakes . When I looked up to thank him or yell at him - - I 'm not quite sure which - - he was gone . It kept happening , though . I 'm still not sure why . The obvious answer was that he was more of a soft touch than he let on , but I think there was at least as much truth to what he 'd said - - that he was just annoyed by people getting math wrong . After a while it started to spill over into other subjects . He 'd mosey past while I was doing a physics test and inform me , in a voice audible to everyone in the lounge , that if the human race had to rely on my measly knowledge of science , we 'd all still be banging rocks together in caves . Then he 'd show me how to fix whatever I 'd , in his words , screwed up . The really funny thing about all of this is that it started spreading into the rest of the lounge . Now , like I said , the other folks in the lounge had always noticed me studying , but nobody had ever actually tried to help me out before - - and , honestly , I 'd never even thought to ask . Maybe they were all sort of guilted into it by the fact that the most obnoxious and antisocial person on the whole floor was kinda tutoring me in math . In any case , the retired teachers all started ganging up on my English grammar , and the old ladies helped me out with home - ec while the old guys tutored me on this class I was taking for automotive repair . It was neat and kind of creepy at the same time . You know what , though : I got straight A 's for the first time ever that semester . I 'm not a dumb person , no matter what Dad or 30B try to tell me , but I never really had time to learn the stuff , what with working so much of the time . I started off high school with pretty good grades and then they just went straight downhill . So I guess you can understand , Mom , that when I got my report card , I just kinda sat at the table in the lounge and stared at it for a while . If I could finish out high school with grades like these , it was possible that I might be able to get into a decent school . I might actually be able to do pre - med . Even then , even though I knew I wasn 't well - suited for it , it was still what I want to do . I just kinda shrugged . It 's dumb , but I always feel weird about getting compliments , especially from people I don 't know very well . " I had help . " " I know . " He dragged up a chair to the table , and I saw him start to do that straddling - a - chair - backwards thing that some people do , stop with a wince as his hips or back gave him trouble , and sit down the right way . For a guy his age , he was in really good shape , and I sometimes got the impression from watching him that he kept forgetting he couldn 't do the things he used to do when he was younger . Age sneaks up on some people . I think Military Guy was one of those . This was the first time I 'd ever had one - on - one time with him . Usually it was just me being a fly on the wall for one of his bickering sessions with 30B . It would be the perfect time to ask him just how exactly he and 30B knew each other , but I couldn 't think of how to lead into it . Instead I said something dumb , as usual . " What do you want ? " It probably sounded kind of hostile . I didn 't mean it that way . People often think I 'm cold , but I 'm really not - - I 'm just kind of clumsy with words . That was part of why I believed I wasn 't cut out for a medical career , where you have to act comforting and say the polite platitudes that I somehow couldn 't ever bring myself to say . " Yeah , that 's why no one will tell me anything , and Rodney sure as hell won 't . But you 're not a doctor , " he pointed out , reasonably . " And of everybody in this place , I figured you 'd be the most likely to shoot straight with me . " Great . Word had obviously got around about me , if even the visitors thought I was an insensitive clod . But you know , he was right . Why not tell him ? It wasn 't like I kept tabs on the health of every resident in the place , but you know , I did help them swallow their medications , and cleaned up after them , and took away the half - eaten trays of food when they were only able to swallow a few bites . I knew how most of them were doing . And , when it mattered , I remembered . Military Guy let out a long , slow breath . I could tell this didn 't come as a great surprise to him , but I could see a quick flash of pain before he slapped on the mask again . The depth of that pain startled me . He looked down at his hands . I didn 't want to look at him . Of all the questions that relatives ask - - if their loved ones are happy , if they 're eating well , if they 're taken care of - - this one is the worst . It 's made even worse because no one really knows , not even the doctors . " I don 't think I can tell you that - - " He reached out quickly , grasping my hand in his lean , strong one . He didn 't grip me hard enough to cause me pain , but I could feel the strain in his fingers . " I 'm just looking for some kind of ballpark figure . He won 't tell me anything . No one will . I need to know how long we have to - - " He broke off , fumbled , recovered . " How long he has . " He 'd come to me for honesty . His friend or whatever was dying , and I couldn 't do anything about that , so I figured I owed him what little I could give . " I don 't think he 'll last until fall . " Feeling his hand tighten convulsively around mine , I added quickly , " I mean , I 'm not a doctor or anything . . . " " No , no . . . that 's about what I thought , too . " He let go of my hand , gave it an awkward pat , and retreated to his side of the table . " Thank you . For being honest , y ' know . " When he looked back up at me , his strange little sideways smile was back in place and he probably thought everything was hidden , but his eyes , oh , his eyes . . . " I can 't believe that you 're hitting on the nurse 's aides . That 's a new low , Colonel , even for you . Especially given present circumstances . " 30B didn 't come into the lounge hardly ever anymore ; he was starting to have a lot of trouble getting around . But there he was , leaning heavily on the wall with an expression of pure irritation . The Colonel practically jumped to his feet , then winced as his stiffening joints caught up with him . " You know what they say about people who ass - ume , Rodney - - " " - - Makes an ass out of U and ME , yes , which means you just called yourself an ass , and I quite agree . Trust you to sneak off and hit on co - eds while I 'm asleep . You disgust me . " I just sat there , still a little stunned , because I 'd never realized that they , well - - I mean , obviously they meant something to each other , because the Colonel came and visited him a lot , but I guess I 'd sort of figured it was some kind of obligation thing , especially given the way that they argued . But the look in his eyes . . . that had been terrible . I 'm getting a little teary sitting here thinking about it , Mom , because it was the way my brothers ' eyes looked when we lost you . And as I watched them arguing , and the Colonel trying to help him back to his room while 30B was having none of it , the thought occurred to me that there was a possibility that I hadn 't thought of . They really did remind me of my little brothers . Between the way they bickered , and the look on the Colonel 's face that day . . . well , yeah , there was a pretty huge age difference , like about fifteen or twenty years , but that wasn 't impossible , was it ? I kinda wished my words about 30B not making it to fall hadn 't been quite so accurate . As the summer wore on , he got steadily weaker . It wasn 't anything specific , like cancer or something . It was just age . All his organs were shutting down and starting to fail , one by one . There was another visitor one day , a different one - - a fast - moving , abrupt woman dressed in red , with dark hair bobbed off at her shoulders . She kind of scared me a little , although I couldn 't say why . I was puttering around 30B 's room , arranging stuff - - it 's not like I looked for excuses to stop by , of course ; it 's just that it was a slow day and I didn 't have any classes , so I had nothing else to do . The woman stood in the doorway for a moment before I noticed her . When I finally looked up , she was staring at 30B with the oddest look on her face , a painful mixture of affection and dismay and pity . I delivered the coffee and then peeked into Room 30B as I went back the other way . The curtains were closed , the lights dim , and I figured that he was asleep . I tiptoed into the room to check his bedside table and make sure he had water and stuff for when he woke up . I nearly hit the ceiling when he spoke . " If anybody ever tries to draft you , kid ? Shoot them and run the other way . It 's not worth it . Better a live coward than a dead hero . " And that was all he seemed to have to say . I hung around for a little while , in case he wanted to talk or something , but while he didn 't say anything rude to me , I got a definitely " want to be left alone " vibe off of him . So I went away and left him alone . The last real conversation that I had with 30B was on a nice day in early fall . The weather was gorgeous and the leaves were just starting to turn on the trees outside . Most of the old people were bundled up and complaining about the cold . Naturally , being the contrary types that they were , 30B and the Colonel had wandered off somewhere outside . I was attempting to study when one of the nurses hailed me over . " Hey , Annie , 30B is late for his meds . He 's not supposed to skip a dose . You 'd better take them to him . " So I went off into the autumn sunshine , looking for 30B and his brother or friend or war buddy or whatever they were . By this point , 30B could barely shuffle around , and he had to drag an oxygen tank everywhere he went , so I was really surprised at how far they 'd managed to go . They were all the way down by the duck pond , sitting together on a bench by the water 's edge . I don 't know what they were doing - - talking , feeding the ducks , maybe just sitting there in the morning sun . The lawn in front of the building is wide and open , so I could see them from a long way off , long before they were aware of me . As I slogged towards them through the dew - damp grass , the military guy did something that really surprised me . . . at first . He turned , and hooked his hand around the back of 30B 's neck , and pulled him forward , so their foreheads rested against each other . And then they just stayed that way for a while , not moving , as I walked quietly towards them over the grass , feeling increasingly out of place . Writing about it now , I guess it must sound kind of weird to see two guys doing something like that , especially two old guys , but if you could have seen them , Mom - - I mean , it was pretty much one of the most intimate things I 've ever seen , but not in a sexual way , you know ? You just got this feeling from them , like they knew each other so well that personal space didn 't matter anymore . I felt like a trespasser . I really didn 't want to interrupt them , but the nurse had said that 30B needed his meds and , as sick as he was , I was afraid of the consequences if he missed a dose . The two of them were so wrapped up in their own , private silence that they hadn 't even heard me approach . I cleared my throat softly . " Um , I 'm here to give you . . . " I said , or started to say , but neither one of them was paying attention to me . They were looking at each other , and Military Guy 's eyes were kind of reddish and soft and sad . I couldn 't see 30B 's face from where I stood , and I was glad of that . The military guy turned , hard and fast . He strode past me , across the lawn and away . I watched him go , hurting for him , and by the time I turned around , 30B was staring out at the duck pond with his usual condescending mask firmly in place . He didn 't glance at me as I sat awkwardly down on the end of the bench . I thought he might knock them out of my hands . He had that look about him , and it wouldn 't be the first time . But instead , he just took them shakily in his palsied old man 's hands . I helped him tip the cup to his mouth . After he swallowed the pills , we sat in the sun for a few minutes in silence , staring at the glistening surface of the pond . I kinda wanted to get back inside , but I also didn 't want to leave him alone , especially since I knew he 'd need help getting back . And this might be the last time that he 'd be well enough to be outside . Ever . " I don 't believe in miracles , Annie , " he said at last . I think it was the first time he 'd ever used my name . In fact , up until that point I wasn 't absolutely sure that he even knew my name . 30B waved a shaky hand over his shoulder , in the direction the Colonel had gone . " He does . He thinks he can make it better , get back what we 've lost . " I had kinda gotten that impression . It 's denial , I guess . I 've seen it a lot from family members of dying old people . Seen it in my own family , too . The Colonel never seemed like a guy who 'd give in to it , but I guess that when you 're faced with the loss of someone you care about - - well , like I 'd told 30B just then , I don 't believe in miracles , and I don 't believe in God either , but that doesn 't mean I didn 't pray and pray hard when you were dying , Mom . " He just wishes he could help you , " I said , kind of lamely . Here I went with the platitudes I 'd promised myself I 'd never say . At least I hadn 't said You 'll be okay or some such stupid crud . I was fully expecting some sort of biting comment , and I would have deserved it . But 30B just stared out at the sun 's reflection off the water . Finally he said , " So what are you going to be when you grow up , anyway ? " It surprised me that he really wanted to know . I guess he wanted to see if the tutoring had been worthwhile or not . " I dunno . It 's stupid , but I want to go to medical school . Be a doctor . " I had no idea who Carson was - - probably someone he 'd known in his youth . I hadn 't mean to talk about this to anyone , but the words just came pouring out in a rush . " It 's stupid because I can 't afford it and I 'm not really smart enough anyway . I 'm not in high school , you know - - I had to drop out . That 's why I was studying in the lounge . I 'm just trying to get my diploma . But there 's hardly time for it . My mom 's dead and my dad doesn 't work , so I have to work to support my family . I wouldn 't be able to find time for college , even if we had the money . " Would you believe , I 'd never asked myself that question ? Not even once . Not even with Dad insulting me nearly every day about wasting my time coddling old people . My surprise must have shown on my face , because I saw that familiar , crooked smile appear - - the smile that was so much nicer than he ever seemed to realize . He just kind of made a hmph noise and started struggling . It took me a minute to realize that he was trying to get up , and I moved quickly to help him . Neither one of us spoke as we made our slow way back to the building . It wasn 't until I had got him settled in bed and was turning to leave that he said , suddenly , " You 're good at this , Annie . No matter what anyone says . " I stopped . " Astounded " doesn 't begin to cover it . I don 't think I 'd ever heard him say anything complimentary to anybody , the whole time he 'd been here . I didn 't say anything , didn 't turn around . I really wanted to know what else he had to say , but I was afraid to look at him for fear of embarrassing him back into his usual behavior . He died not long after that . I wasn 't there . I 'd had to work a lot of overtime and missed a week of volunteering , and when I came back , his room was empty . It happens that way a lot , in that place - - one day a person 's there , and the next day their bed is made up and all their personal things are gone . I remember that I stood in the doorway of the empty room for a few minutes and , weirdly , felt like crying . But they come and go , they live and die . Nothing you can do about it . He was real old , after all . I finally found a nurse who 'd been on duty when it happened . It was at night , she said , and an ambulance took him off , and that was it . Sometimes they come back from the hospital , sometimes they don 't . This time he hadn 't . I asked her if she knew where he was buried , but she said she didn 't . It happened about three months or so after 30B died . Room 30B had long since got a new resident , a nice little Asian lady who talked a lot about how much she missed her cats . But I guess I still thought of it as " his " room , and every once in a while I 'd go by there . I don 't even really know why ; I mean , it 's not like I thought he was going to show up or something . He had been a disagreeable old man and now he was dead , and even though I 'd seen a little bit more to him , there at the end , he was still gone and dead and that was that . Besides , I was a little bit mad at him for having got my hopes up about college and all . I had talked to Dad ' till I was blue in the face , and that was pretty much that . We couldn 't afford it and we needed me to stay home and work . Even though I finally had my diploma , it didn 't change a thing . That was weighing on my mind quite a lot , needless to say , and I was thinking about it as I wandered by Room 30B on that particular day . Then I looked up and saw somebody standing outside the door of 30B , just kind of gazing down the hall . And for a minute , even though I knew it was silly , something about him really made me think of Resident 30B . The resemblance wasn 't really physical , but it was still uncanny - - I think it was something about the way he was standing . He was a lot younger , though , way too young to be a resident . I guess he was about Dad 's age , maybe a little younger . He kinda jumped in this guilty sort of way , and he turned and looked at me , and dang me if he didn 't still remind me of Resident 30B . The eyes were just the same . Even though he 'd never come to visit 30B during the whole time the guy was here , I figure he had to be related somehow . Like a son or something . And I guess I got kind of mad , because all the time the old guy had been here , this jerk never once came and visited him . But now that the old man was dead , here he was , wandering around in the halls . " No , no , I 'm not lost , " he said quickly , still kind of flustered . His eyes slid away like he didn 't want to look at me . Maybe he could tell I was mad at him and just wanted him to leave . Then he freaked me out by reaching inside his brown leather coat . I took a step backwards . His eyebrows shot up , and he grinned a sort of shy , lopsided grin . That was just like 30B , too - - creepily so . " No , no , no , you 've got the wrong idea , " he told me , and he took out an envelope and held it up . " See ? " " You , " he said , and held it out , then paused with a surprised , guilty look , like somebody who 's been caught in a lie . " Ah , if your name is Ann Kent , that is ? Someone downstairs , um , said you might be up here . " He was a really pathetic liar , but I was so confused that I took the envelope anyway . He stood there for a moment after he let go , and he just looked at me like he wanted to say something else , but didn 't know what . Then he shook his head and walked quickly away . " Yeah , see yourself out ! " I called after him , because I had to say something . Then I looked down at the envelope . My name was written on it , and my heart started beating faster , because I 'd seen that handwriting enough times to recognize it - - scribbled on my term papers , correcting my equations . Except it wasn 't all shaky , the way I was used to ; it was firm and clear . I slipped my finger under the flap on the envelope and tore it open . Inside was a piece of paper , folded around a check made out to me . The piece of paper was a letter of recommendation from an " M . Rodney McKay , PhD " . And the check , well . . . I know it wasn 't really a whole lot , but I 'd never seen so much money in one place before . There was a Post - It note stuck to it , in that same familiar - yet - different handwriting . It said , " This is for college . Nowhere to spend it where I 'm going . " After I stopped hyperventilating , I ran to the window and looked down . The stranger who looked so much like 30B was just walking down the path that led from the grounds to the street . Next to the curb , a car was waiting for him and another guy was leaning on the roof in a lazy , relaxed kind of way . I would have said it was the Colonel , except that I could see even from here that he wasn 't old at all . He was wearing a black leather jacket , and he straightened up when the other guy got close to the car . I could see him say something and laugh , and the other guy cocked his head to the side in this annoyed kind of way that just sent a little shiver up my spine , it was so like 30B . And they got in the car and drove away . So , here I am , Mom . 30B 's check didn 't go nearly as far as I thought it might , but it did pay off the mortgage on the trailer and got me through my first year of pre - med . And now that my brothers are old enough to have jobs , they don 't need me quite as much as they used to . I 'd like to help them out later , help give them the hand up that 30B gave me . But right now , just for now , I 'm making something out of myself , just like I always promised myself I would . And , in some of my classes . . . I 've heard stories . Rumors . I don 't think I 'll write them down here , Mom , just in case they 're true , but I guess it 's okay to say that I 've learned there 's this top - secret government program that recruits medical and scientific people . Some of the instructors in my classes know about it , and even though they don 't talk about the particulars , I 've had a couple of them tell me that it might be worth looking into when I get done with my residency . They don 't take most people who apply , but my instructors think I might be good enough to get in , especially after seeing that letter of recommendation . And if half the rumors I 've heard are true . . . then , wow . Author 's Note : One of my favorite mental images is John and Rodney , 40 years down the road , basically being the Grumpy Old Men of the Pegasus Galaxy - - still snarking and driving everyone around them up the wall . Obviously in this case , it wasn 't really true . But I 've still always wanted to write a story using that idea . I did go out on a limb guessing that only the Wraith who takes a life can return it . My best guess for how it 's actually supposed to work in canon , based on what we saw of how the whole process works in " Common Ground " , is that it probably CAN be any Wraith . But I liked the idea of Ronon and Teyla being out there trying to do an impossible , needle - in - a - haystack search for the sake of their friends - - at which , apparently , they did manage to succeed . And TPTB have never specifically said it doesn 't work that way ; canon could support either interpretation at this point . I dithered on whether or not to make this an actual deathfic - - or , at least , to leave the ending much more open as to whether or not their friends succeeded . Ultimately I had to write the ending the way I did because I , personally , needed it that way . I wanted a sweet and wistful tone for the story , not one that makes you want to slash your wrists . I think it would have been a very powerful story if they hadn 't succeeded , but also a very sad one , and that 's not really what I wanted to get from this idea .

An older man ( still moving on in his fifties ) sat on the edge of Lake George , his fishing pole propped up with one wrinkled but strong hand . The water was placid , save for a light breeze blowing across the water , causing a very light stir . In the heat , it felt quite good . The man did not like to think about it , but could not help it . He had been sitting in this very place when it had all occurred . The most terrible thing he had ever lived through in his life . It seemed so calm right now , but he could not help but think about it … It was only two years past when it happened . Charlie had been sitting in the exact spot , as he always did , when a policeman abruptly showed up at his cabin and told him the news . George now sat in the same spot , not worried , for he had an idea who was at the heart of these disappearances . " There 's a girl missing , alright ? Tabatha Tysick . She goes by Tabi . Twelve years old . She 's from the village . We need to investigate . " George packed his gear , and stuffed if into the jeep . As he lifted the gray tarp , he abruptly noticed a new , very expensive assault shotgun was missing . He was still a little perplexed as to the problems . " Like I said , she 's missing . Twelve - year - old Tabi Tysick . We need to figure things out . In the meantime , everyone needs to leave the lake . Even you , George . I know the lake was named after you and the road , but I have to do it . " " It 's ok . I have all the time in the world . Whoever it is , they stole my new shotgun . Watch out , that thing is a killer . " George shook his head . " I was talking about the gun , Constable . Anyway , can I join in on the search ? I 'd be happy to . " Yes , it was true ; George was a true dinosaur of the lake . When he moved here for peace and quiet , and perhaps write one more book ; nothing had a name . Some of the town 's people got together and decided that George was the best name for the lake , since he spent so much time there . He was the town hero , and had even written a book about the town . He was the only one from these parts that had gone to war . It had been two years since Charlie had vanished , and now a young girl . The Constable was looking in the wrong place , George was sure of it - he had gone to the small library and studied the history of Lake George . It had a long history of disappearances , that all went back around twenty years . Those cases were cold now , closed . This was the Appalachian Mountain Range , and news like this did not reverberate long ; it was , in fact left for local law enforcement . But now , well , George wasn 't sure what to think . In fact , many were afraid to frequent the lake , but the younger ones showed no fear ( of course , many went out to the lake to party at night ) , and often went swimming and fishing there . But with this new development less would be making the sojourn to the lake . George had never run into any problems ; in fact he loved the lake and the surrounding woods . He would return as soon as possible . It was difficult not to return , for his cabin was just a short walk up a well - worn path through the woods . There was also the smaller road , really only big enough for one vehicle . There were many abandoned cabins scattered around this area , and he knew they were hiding out in one of them . It was in one of these cabins that he had found all the evidence he needed to draw his own conclusions . Regardless of that , he found no people . He recalled thinking that he should never underestimate the enemy . He had learned this before in a difficult and painful way . In the meantime , flyers were posted all over town , and the local TV stations did not hesitate to bring yet another disappearance to light . Constable Minor organized search parties . Most locals showed up , and although the Constable was not too pleased that most of them carried hunting rifles , he simply told them to be as careful as possible . The first day revealed nothing except a lot of angry people bent on stopping this once and for all . They had no idea what they were up against . It was twenty years ago when the first if them migrated to this part of the forest . George knew they had come , but did not want to panic the town . George had no fear - his fear had died in a minefield somewhere in the ' Nam . It had been around ten years when he began to sense another presence in the woods . Finally , the day came , but George had been expecting it . Charlie was gone , but it wasn 't so easy for George . He sat on the banks of Lake George , listening to the tell - tale footfalls behind him . George abruptly jumped up and ran to the nearest tree . He climbed and disappeared . The mutant stopped and gazed around . From his position George studied ; the face and body were mutated , saliva running down his chin . His head was misshapen , two huge lumps on either side of his head . He was slumped over because of the hump on his back . They had no choice but to cross the mine field if they wanted to drop the sniper . Four men had already fallen from the sniper 's bullets . Lieutenant George Mayfield kept going , watching for tell - tale signs of mines . His troop followed single rowed , firing up into the tree tops on the other side of the minefield . George finally left the field , and he glanced back at his company . They were scared shitless The smell of death and body parts scattered around them was quite enough as they staggered quickly through the mud . A shot rang out , and George panicked . One of the last in line , Garcia fell over sideways directly onto a mine . George winced . The rest of his platoon made the cross , but by then they had another problem . Many trees demarcated the boundary on that side of the mines . Very quietly , George said , " You men find a nice , cozy hiding place , and keep looking up . Spafford , you 're with me . " " You 're fucking right I am - but we need to stay calm , and keep scanning these trees . He 's the one who 's really scared . What do you say we go and get this asshole ? " George waved his hand , and the two of them started following the tree line . They approached a rather large tree , and Spafford said , " This is the tree , Lieutenant . The one we thought the shots were coming from . " As he spoke , a North Viet Cong dropped from the lower branches of the tree . He wore a small woven hat , and black pajamas . He called out some gibberish , and then ran his bayonet into Spafford 's chest . The enemy turned toward George just in time to have a machete split his head in half . He stood there , each side of his head now laying on his shoulders . George kicked the dead man in the chest , watched him fall , brain matter oozing out onto the ground . He ran over to Spafford . " Spafford ! Spafford ! " There was no response , no pulse . George went to the spot where they had exited the mine field , and called his men together . " The sniper is dead . " " He 's gone , " George said . All the men lowered their heads in silent reverence . " Let 's get him and get out of here . We should hit a drop zone soon . But keep in mind there may be more on their way back now . I 'll take point - don 't follow until I give the signal . " In silence the men followed George back to where Spafford lie dead . Some of their eyes widened when they looked at the thing in the black pajamas . They looked at George 's hardened features , and then went about the business of putting Spafford in a body back . " I was fishing , and it was really quiet . And then I heard footsteps . I turned my head and there was one of those mutants . He had an axe in one hand - not the full size , but enough to kill a person . He came at me with the axe , and I had just enough time to draw my machete and fight back . " " I hope you are watching me in case I get in trouble , " George said . He suddenly noticed the tarp in the truck bed was pulled back . He had fishing poles , a cross bow , an axe - the shot gun was gone . He went into the cab of his truck and grabbed the Glock under the seat . He dashed for a tree . He grunted and pointed the gun at the Constable . The Constable heard a discharge , like a pop ! , and a hole appeared in the forehead of the mountain man ; his body went limp and seemed to fold to the ground . Several times , blood rose from the bullet hole like a geyser and then altogether stopped . And the trees above emptied their birds into the clear sky . Constable Minor could only stand and gawk at the figure lying on the ground . He cautiously approached the dead man , staring disbelievingly at how mutated he was ; and he was wearing ragged jeans and a black tee shirt , which abruptly brought to him the stories he 'd heard since being at Treadwell . At the time , he put little credence in the tales , but now … " I suggest you finish your ride around the lake , and I 'll look around a little , and then we had better take these bodies back into town . If there are more of the mountain men around , we don 't want them to find the bodies . It will only piss them off . Meet me back here , " George said . " All right George . You know , normally I would be a little angered because of your weapons . I warned you . But , in this case , I 'll make an exception . Thanks , George . You saved my life . " Minor climbed into his vehicle and took off slowly down Lake George Road . The road provided easy access to all the fishing spots and camp site around the lake . After Minor left , George thought about the very names of the lake and the road ; it was only because he had been decorated for saving a few lives while overseas , but if had been important to the people of Treadwell . They would not have known had it not been for Charlie , the only person George kept in close contact with during his time away . They had been followed down the thin trail through the jungle , And George remembered thinking that he could actually hear the frantic voices of the Viet Cong . Several shots rang out , followed by the painful cries of the two that had been following up at the rear . " Get ahead at fast as you can and get ready , " he said to his sergeant . " Do what I said ! Now ! " And then George was gone . He had abruptly become a part of the jungle . He crept back to the bend in the narrow trail , using the jungle as cover . He reached the men just about the same time the enemy had ; he realized there were seven in the patrol . Difficult , but not impossible . One of them gave one of the fallen men a good swift kick in the slats . That was just before George put a bullet through his head with his sniper rifle . Without hesitation he dropped the next man as well . The other four soldiers scattered for the cover of the jungle , two on each side . One of them yelled out a command , and all four abruptly fired into the jungle on both sides of the trail . He crept up behind one of the enemy soldiers , who were too busy frantically watching the path . As George grew close he could smell the rancid odor of sweat and body odor ; and then his left arm was wrapped around the man 's neck , a human vice clamp . All the soldier could do was gag , and it was exactly what George needed , to keep the man quiet so as not to alert the other soldier . George reached down and pulled his K - bar from its sheath and pushed it into the back of the gook 's neck . The man went silent , and George carefully laid the dead man down before working his way back into the jungle . The two Americans on the path were still groaning in pain . George could not stand to hear it ; he took care of the other Viet Cong soldier more swiftly than the first time . The enemy could have easily shot the soldiers lying on the path - regardless , George knew why they didn 't . They were using the men to draw the enemy out . They knew the Americans would try to return for the wounded men . Thank God they 're still alive , George thought . Farther up the trail , George moved closed in and tried to spot the two remaining enemy soldiers . And spot one he did . The gook was down the trail a ways , but not that far . Success would count on him crossing over to the other side . He saw the other soldier join his partner . It was perfect . George was hidden about twenty feet behind the enemy . They had not seen him cross over , did not hear him as he moved swiftly and quietly to a spot behind the two , at first allowing a wide berth between he and the enemy . Once in position , he stealthily worked his way up to his current position . It was time to put an end to this bullshit . George aimed his rifle and fired . The two Viet Cong tried standing , their bodies twisting back and forth with each impact . He managed a shot directly into the face of one of them ; and the back of the man 's head sprayed blood and brain matter from the gaping hole in the ruined skull . " Lock and load , " he said quietly to the others . They found cover behind some thick foliage , and waited for what could be a firefight . Instead , the heard the Lieutenant 's voice . " Give me a hand , quick ! " George said , as he entered the clearing nearly carrying one of the wounded soldiers . " Medic , where 's the medic ? " The medic scurried out from the thick jungle growth . " Take care of this soldier . " " They got scared and ran away when they saw me comin ' , " George said , a smile crossing his dirty face . Sergeant Wilson nodded . Finally , they reached the other man , and the two of them lifted him up and started back down the path . The soldier 's name was Cole . He was drenched with sweat , and winced with every step ; regardless he said , " Thanks , Lieutenant , you saved my life . " The two wounded soldiers received Purple Hearts . George had been decorated as well , the third time since his tour of duty . Lieutenant George Taylor thrived on being one of the best - a man in which ruled confidence and duty . He had no room for fear . Nonetheless , he was a humble man ; perhaps that was why everyone automatically liked him , and showed him respect . George certainly enjoyed it , but never got too wound up in it . When he returned to Treadwell , he was treated as a hero . They even named the lake after him , and the road surrounding the lake . His eyes had grown moist as he gave a short speech to the town 's folk before leaving for his cabin . The cabin had been in his family for years , his property reaching all the way to the lake . It was the perfect place to heal . After all , no matter how brave he had been , Vietnam had had an effect on him . He needed the time to get used to the idea that the enemy was gone . And he didn 't hurt for money , for his parents had left insurance policies for him . So , there was one thing he just had to do first chance he got ; he needed to go fishing . Minor pulled up at George 's fishing spot and got out of the truck . " Didn 't see anything out of the ordinary , " he said . They both stared across the lake a few moments . " Just who are these people , George ? " I 'm not sure . But I am sure they are responsible for all the disappearances over the years . They are mountain men , inbred . Thus , the deformities . It also means there has to be at least one female . I think they move from place to place like animals . When the food supply runs out , for animals , that is , they migrate . " George pulled the first body from the bushes . With its head slit open , the face was indiscernible . They drove down to the next fishing spot ; the body was still lying on the dirt . They took no time to examine it . Instead , they loaded it in the back of George 's truck and covered both bodies with a canvas tarp . That being done , they headed for town . In some of the thickets along the way , and in at least one tree top , bloodshot eyes trained their empty gazes upon them . The two trucks pulled up at the curb in front of the police station , and both men approached the bodies . Treadwell was not that small , and there were people window shopping all along Center Street . " We need to be discreet about this , George . I 'll go and fetch the Chief . You stay out here and watch over … them . " " Hurry , cover ' em up . Let 's go to the funeral home . It 's probably the only place we 'll have some privacy , " Chief Smith said . He glanced at George doubtfully , recalling when Charlie had disappeared , and George had discovered the cabin hidden in the woods . " Look , George , " Constable Minor said . " I just discovered this . The reason I called you is because you 're his best friend , and I thought he might be up at your place . " George stared at the huge blood stain soaking into the soil next to the fishing pole . " I 'll find him myself . I didn 't come back here to be terrorized . I 'll find him . " Minor pursed his lips together . " George , you can 't do that . Leave it up to us - we 're the law . We 'll do what we can to find him . In the meantime , I suggest you stay in your cabin , just to be safe . " George walked toward his cabin , frowning all the way . When he arrived , he instantly climbed the stairs to his loft and went straight to his closet . And then he was holding his sniper rifle ; just seeing it brought back cursed black and white memories from Vietnam . How many men had he killed with this gun ? He wasn 't sure . It would be no problem if it meant saving Charlie 's life . George was too far from the lake to see Minor , but he couldn 't take any chances . He crept through the trees gradually until he could clearly see his spot . Minor was gone , so George rushed over and began to examine the area . He noticed a footprint on the edge of the blood , and another near some brush . Small leaves and branches were bent or broken - this is where he started his search . Eventually , he caught sight of a small cabin . He hid in the underbrush for a while , watching for any activity . Small wisps of smoke drifted from the crude chimney . The windows were covered with sheets and blankets . He would have to move closer . He crept nearer the cabin , and ran to position himself under a window . There he squatted down and listened for any noises that might reveal there was someone inside the decrepit cabin . He heard nothing , however , and scanned the woods for any movement . It reminded him of Vietnam - his unit would come up to a camp , the fire still smoking as if they had been there only minutes before the Americans arrived . There was always a good chance the camp was booby trapped . As for the cabin , he had a feeling that there were no traps . Fuck it , he thought . He went to the door and kicked it in , pointing his shotgun at anything that might move . It was a one room cabin , very old . In the center of the room was a large table stained with blood . The warped floorboards were also stained , everywhere . " What in the fuck was going on here ? " he said out loud . George approached , and shook his head . He suddenly noticed something lying in a bundle in a corner of the room . It was a tan goose - down vest , and George immediately recognized it . It was Charlie 's vest . Now it was blood - stained on a small heap of other clothing . He searched the pockets of a pair of jeans , and yanked out a wallet . Opening the walled saddened him - it was Charlie 's . He stood contemplating the clothing for a while , and started yanking the clothes from the pile and tossing them haphazardly around the room . When he was nearly finished , he suddenly saw hair smeared with blood , and he jumped back . It was a head ! Someone 's fucking head ! George slowly reached down and moved the head with the back of his hand until a face was showing . " Oh , God ! " he said , as he stared into Charlie 's face . " What have they done to you ? " Leaving the head , George went to the door . He poked his head out and again looked through the woods for any movement . With Charlie 's vest and wallet , George took flight through the woods . " Actually , Chief , I have , " Lewis said . " At least photographs . There have been cases of bands of mountain men living in some of the mountain ranges , surviving off the land . Many have reputed to be cannibals . " " Good God , cannibals ? " Minor said . Now there was one more aspect of the twisted bodies that truly sickened the Chief and his Constable . They both stood there grimacing . George seemed to be studying the bodies closely , moving closer and picking at the clothing . " Jeans and tee shirts . Now just where do you suppose they got these ? " George asked . The others said nothing . " They stole them , Chief . After all , they wouldn 't need them when they were dead . Maybe they 're getting two for one - clothing and food . " The bodies on the table were unnatural . One of them had a head with a bulbous growth on one side , which caused one eye to look smaller than the other . It had a back that protruded out , not allowing it to lay perfectly flat . The second corpse had a face that looked as if it had been stretched down on one side , as if its face was made of putty . Both bodies had scant hair , mere strands hanging down on the sides of their heads . " That 's exactly what I 'm saying . From my perspective , it isn 't that crazy . Mountain men , moving from place to place , wherever the food is . Who knows how many different locations they have ? They know the woods , and can travel indiscreetly . I think they have some kind of intelligence , and we shouldn 't rule that out . Look at these weapons . " George motioned to a small table where they had inventoried everything the mountain men had been carrying . " Look at this - it 's the largest hatchet I 've ever seen . Their knives are crude . They made them themselves . They may even have guns stashed at wherever they 're holed up . " George spoke up . " I want to help . I know these are the same freaks that have been coming here for a long time . They killed Charlie , and now they have a young girl . " " I 'll tell you what , George . Although I 'm not big on the idea , grab your shotgun and join the party . I imagine a lot of men from town will be carrying their hunting rifles . Just remember our little talk - don 't take the law into your hands . I understand you 're train in this kind of thing , but we have to do it by the book . Is that clear ? " Chief Smith asked . " Certainly , Chief . I only want to help because of my experience . It may take a few days , but we 'll find that girl , and the rest of these freaks . " George drove slowly down Main Street - the town seemed to have grown quite a bit . " I need to get out more , " he said . Several people on the sidewalks waved to him as they walked along , window shopping or just visiting the various shops . They were friendly folks , and George was tired of watching them live in fear . The villagers were innocent and unarmed . They were only trying to live their lives ; and so many from other villages had already died . George knew that many of his men would have been happy just torching the village , but he was usually able to keep them under control . And now , he faced a new threat . He was alone , for he did not think the Chief and Constable could deal with these people . In his mind , he saw mutated men running and leaping through the woods , climbing up trees in the blink of an eye . No , he did not think anyone else was ready . He would not rest easy until the threat was gone . The Chief of Police told him not to take the law into his own hands - well , he wouldn 't , but someone would , and only a few would truly know who this stranger was that took care of the threat in the woods surrounding Lake George . Regardless , there would be no evidence . George arrived at his fishing spot ( he was sure the Chief would direct the search party there ) and parked his truck near the lake . He examined the blood spot on the ground . Small bits of brain and skull matter were scatter across the spot , becoming more evident as the blood soaked into the ground . He grabbed his shotgun and walked to the edge of the lake , eyes scanning the perimeter for any movement . George heard an engine , and tires rolling across the dirt and gravel of the road . He turned and waited , shotgun ready . Chief Smith pulled up , blocking the entrance to the fishing spot . " Can 't have the rest of the town blocking you in , " he said , as he and Constable Minor climbed out of the truck . " You look like you 're ready to go . " " I am , " said George . Luckily , he already had his boots on and fatigue pants . The early morning had been cool , but it was warming up considerably now , and his tee shirt would serve him just fine . " How many people did you get ? " Chief Smith gave him a doubtful glance . Finally he said , " Alright George . " The vehicles began to show up rather quickly , parking alongside Lake George Road wherever there was room . It was mostly men , some with their wives , and most armed . They gathered around Smith and waited for instructions . George stood off to the side , returning the amiable nods from most of the men . " What I want to stress first and foremost is safety . We may be dealing with someone dangerous , and we don 't want anyone to get hurt . I appreciate all of you volunteering . Now listen - George 's spot is the meet - up point . I don 't want anyone going too far and getting lost . If you run into a cabin , just mark its location , and don 't try to investigate . I am going to put all of your names down before we head off , and I want everyone to meet back here in two hours . Is that straight ? " Smith continued . " Ok , you know what we 're looking for . If you see or find anything , please don 't touch it . And please , be careful ! " Chief Smith began to note all the names down , and group the men into pairs . All the rifles jutting up into the air reminded George of old memories . They were here to hunt , and not deer . George turned to Constable Minor . " I 'm taking off . I 'll see you in a while . " Most watched as George hefted his shotgun over his shoulder and walked off into the woods . Everyone knew what the man was capable of , and they were secure knowing that he was around . They did not truly comprehend that the man was slowly falling back into his war day 's mentality . George only wanted to get a feel for the land again , as it had been a while since he had explored too far into the woods . He did recall the cabin where he had found their hideout the first time . Although he was unsure if they would return to the same location , he had to consider that it would be easy territory for them to navigate . These mountain people didn 't dig tunnels to hide in , but they knew the woods better than anyone . They spent their entire lives there . George was determined to discover where they were first , for he did not want anyone else getting hurt . He presumed the girl was already dead , but he said nothing to the Chief . George only wanted to find some signs that someone had traversed a particular part of the woods , and he would return on his own . George had left the others behind ; he was sure they would not come this far , and with his age catching up with him , he was a little surprised that he had traveled so far so quickly . He hunkered down behind some brush and studied the cabin . It was not a pleasant feeling , knowing that Charlie had died there . The location was all he needed to know . The cabin 's front door squeaked upon , and a mutated figure stepped outside . There were several animalistic grunts from inside , and the man ( as far as he could tell it was a man ) grunted irritably over his shoulder , which was humped higher than the other . He walked out to the decrepit shed next to the cabin , opened one of the double doors , and went in . It was too dark inside discern anything , but George had seen all he had needed to see . He waited for the figure to go back inside the cabin , and quietly crept away through the brush . He worked his way back to his cabin , careful not to draw too much attention . He encountered different groups , and the questions were always the same : Did you see anything up ahead ? Any sign of the freaks ? The answers were always the same as well : No , I haven 't seen anything . I don 't think they 're up that direction - they must be hiding out on the other side of the lake . " I didn 't see anything , Chief . Feels like I walked forever , " he said , sighing heavily . " I 'm sorry I didn 't come up with something . " He waited for Smith to move , and then backed his truck out before turning up the small entrance to his cabin . When darkness fell , and the moon waxed on the lower horizon , George crept down the rendezvous site . From behind the bushes he watched everyone stumbled in weary and disappointed at not finding anything to clue them in as to the whereabouts of the young girl . The Chief and Constable were waiting , and among the din , Constable Minor stepped forward with a clipboard . " Ok , I 'm going to call out your name , and just like in school , say " here " loud and clear . We just want to make sure no one is missing . " George hunkered down and listened to the roll call . He was fearful that someone had perhaps run into trouble while navigating the woods . He knew these mountain men could have been anywhere , moving through the woods quickly and silently , just like … The Chief broke in . " Folks , it 's getting too dark . I want you all to go home now ! Lock your doors and stay inside . Watch over your families . We 'll stick around here and wait for Jacob , and if he doesn 't show , we 'll look around . It 's just too dangerous for everyone to be running around in the dark . Now clear out , and we 'll meet back here early in the morning around six . " Mumbling among themselves , the crowd dispersed . George watched as one by one the cars and trucks formed a line and rumbled away down Lake George Road toward town . Most were dismayed - this had been a search party for a young girl , and now another person was gone . Eventually , the area emptied itself out , leaving only the cloud of dust settling slowly down onto the road . George stayed his position , watching the Chief and Constable standing in the road , eyeing the woods . He decided it was time to go and prepare . George 's cabin sat a short way up into the woods on a slight rise from the lake . It was larger than most of the cabins surrounding the lake , and yet it was simple and pleasing to the eye . The interior was equally as simple , consisting of the large living area with an open kitchen against the south wall , the stairs against the north wall to the loft , which served as his bedroom . The bathroom he had built conveniently under the wooden staircase . George had hired a man from Treadwell to do the mortar work for the fireplace against the west wall , the back wall of the cabin . Surrounding it was a black leather sofa and love seat , and a recliner coupled with an end table and lamp . The centerpiece was a coffee table fashioned from a tree stump , lacquered to a fine sheen . There was a twenty - seven inch television near the fireplace ( but at a safe distance ) , but George did not watch it much . When he did , it was always news . That and his cell phone were his only ties to the outside world . If there had not been a tower standing close enough to Treadwell and his home , he would not even have his phone . After he left town for his cabin , he thought about those that were missing . The lake was void of any people now , which saddened George . It reminded him of his own personal losses and of course the loss of others . The old empathy he had felt during his two tours of duty overseas had returned - the army had changed him , made him angry and strong . Deep within him , he could not help himself . Perhaps unconsciously it was why he had chosen this place to spend the rest of his life . He needed peace and tranquility to truly contain him , but the seeds had already been planted with the death of Charlie , and his discovery at the cabin . In light of everything that had happened , past and present , George was determined to end it now . In the cabin , he sought out one item in particular , something he had had for years - a long wooden trunk in the loft that served as a nightstand . It had a long cloth draped over the top , and a small lamp surrounded by old framed photos of his old buddies from the war . George removed everything from the top of the trunk and opened it . Many different odors emanated from within , none of them particularly pleasant , but each scent invoked dusty memories from his past . He paused , letting those odors remind him of who he had been , and what he must once again be . A tattered blanket covered the trunks contents , and this he removed and set to the side on the hardwood floor . The first thing he saw was his uniform . He had had it cleaned and pressed before storing it away for what he presumed would be a much longer time . George gently lifted up the uniform and placed it on the bed . He unfolded the shirt and pants , laid them out for him to reflect . All the medals were off the shirt now , as he had removed them and stored them in a small black box somewhere inside the trunk . Another blanket covered what was left in the trunk . It was another green army issued blanket . Knowing what lie beneath it , he slowly and gingerly lifted the blanket , folding it up before setting it on the bed . The items inside took his attention away momentarily . He could hear gunfire and the battle cries of men from both sides , and then the cries of pain and agony of those on the ground bleeding to death . If they were lucky , a Vietcong would find them and end the misery . To be taken prisoner would have been much worse . As George stared inside the trunk , the old feelings did come back . He was becoming a soldier again , and his face went serious , just as it used to do when he knew out in the field that he would soon be killing someone . Inside the trunk were two grenades , two Claymore mines , all positioned around his pride and joy - his sniper rifle . There was an ammo belt that strapped on around the stock . The belt was already filled with ammo , and he knew it was plenty for his mission . He picked up the rifle and held it close - it was his , alright . He gazed at the stock and saw the notches he had carved into it all those years ago . Tonight , there may be more . The gun felt good in his hands . He pointed it out the loft window toward his fishing spot . He eyed through the scope and saw Minor and Smith in a deep conversation . It was growing dark , so George removed the day scope , replacing it with the night scope . He again looked at the two standing near the lake . They were green , but clear . He could have picked them off one by one , for neither would have heard a sound - the silencer took care of that . George disrobed and got into his uniform . It was a little tight , but nonetheless would do the job right . Next were his boots . They were somewhat worn out , as was his uniform , but both were useable . It fact , it heightened the change he was experiencing . He was a US Marine , and a bunch of freaks weren 't going to stop him . He found a small jar of face paint , and rubbed it across his cheeks and forehead , and chin . Far into the woods , but near the cabin , George hid his duffel bag and crept closer , carrying his rifle . He stuck to the surrounding trees and brush where he would not be noticed . A window at the side of the cabin was lit , and he lifted his rifle to peak through the scope . He saw three males , and what looked like a female standing around a naked body on a wooden table . One of the males took out a knife and sliced a strip of meat from one of the legs . He took a large bite and began chewing , while the woman snatched the rest from his knife and nearly stuffed the entire piece into her mouth . The other two men followed suit , slicing off pieces and chewing on the raw meat . George moved up to the shed and pulled open a door . He saw figures hanging in the darkness , and when he pulled out his small high beam light he saw two bodies hanging by hooks planted in the back of their skulls . He didn 't recognize either of them , only that strips of meat had been sliced from them as well . He closed the door quietly . George didn 't know the missing man from the search party , but he presumed that the body was his . He worked his way to the rear of the cabin , and found only one window lit up , flickering with what seemed to be candlelight . The curtains were too thick to see through his scope , so he snuck up and peaked ; he saw the young girl huddled in a corner , hands and legs tied . The bedroom door was closed , which gave him an advantage . He tried to lift the window , but it was stuck . He drew his Kbar and jammed it under the window and pried until it came loose . The girl had already noticed the noise and huddled against the corner , tears streaming down her face . George grabbed the bottom of the window and slowly lifted it , cringing slightly at the squeaking . Finally , it was up far enough , and George stuck his head in , putting a finger to his mouth . George slowly crawled through the window , rifle in hand . Not wasting any time , he cut the ropes around the girl 's feet and wrists , and removed the gag from her mouth . He whispered in her ear , " It 's George . I 'm gonna get you outta here . " She threw her arms around his neck , and he gently pushed her back . " Don 't make a sound . Go out the window and wait . " George followed her through , took her hand , and began to lead her through the woods to the trail where he had stashed his duffel bag . He dug a flashlight from his bag and handed it to her . " It 's a long walk , but you 'll end up at my fishing spot , and the Chief should be there . If not , go to my cabin and stay there . Do not stray from this trail ! Understand , dear ? " " What should have been done a long time ago . Oh , if you run into the Chief , you didn 't see me . You escaped through a window . You never saw me . Promise me . " She took off down the trail , and soon George saw the flashlight flicker on . Now it was time to take care of business . He carefully attached the Claymore to a tree , and ran some fishing line across the path . He stepped over the line and moved closer to the cabin . It didn 't take long for him to spot the mutant creeping down the path . It wasn 't the large man , but one he had apparently sent . George moved farther down the trail , and cleared his throat . The mutant immediately assumed he would kill this man , and bring home more food . Holding his hatchet high , he walked through the fishing line , and then the mine exploded . What was left of the mutant fell to the ground . " Ok , now that he 's gone , you can tell me the truth . Don 't bullshit me , girl ! George was there , wasn 't he ? " The apparent leader of the group was pissed off - he growled at one of the men to go outside . He hesitated , and the leader knocked him down . He growled again and the mutant stood up and opened the door . George had his night vision scope trained on the man and fired one shot into his head . He fell back into the cabin , a pool of blood growing beneath his head . The leader screamed , pulling the dead man in far enough to shut the door . He already had a sheath of arrows on his back , and a bow strung across his shoulder . He also had a large knife in a sheath hanging from his pants . A double blade axe leaned in one corner , and this he grabbed also . He looked at the other two , a man and woman , and then headed for the door . George had his rifle trained on the door , but he was nonetheless surprised when the figure yanked the door open and dashed into the woods . This changed everything . There were still two more in the cabin , however , and George rushed forward , pulling a grenade from his belt . He hurled it through a window and ran back the way he came . He heard the explosion and stopped to watch . The cabin would burn down . And as soon as that thought entered his mind , an arrow pierced his shoulder . " Fuck ! " he cried and kept moving down the trail . " John , I 'm sure . So is George . Lake George Road is the perfect hunting ground for these creeps . George feels he has an obligation to this town . I don 't blame him , but I don 't want him to get killed . " Hidden behind some tall brush , George reached around to his back to find out what kind of tip was on the arrow . He winced in pain as he moved , but was relieved to find that the arrow had a small point . Now George had an enigma : to pull the arrow out and possibly bleed to death , or leave it in for the time being . And for the time being he did not plan on dying . He chose the latter - he pulled his Kbar from its sheath and held it against his skin where it had entered . He gritted his teeth as he used the jagged side of the knife to cut off the arrow protruding from the front . He felt like screaming , but he had already changed into someone he used to be . He sat still , feeling the pain spread from the wound . Nevertheless , he could not wait for too long . He reached back with his left hand and grasped the arrow . With his right , he sawed the end off , grimacing as if being tortured . Once done , he lay on the ground and took the pain . George didn 't wait long ; he wasn 't dead , and the enemy was hunting for him . He stood and sheathed his Kbar , strapped his gun over his left shoulder . Using the right was out of the question . He stumbled at first , but gained more strength as he moved through the trees . He was a soldier , and the enemy could be anywhere . He reached the trail , but stopped just outside it . He felt his wounds . They were bleeding , but not nearly enough if he had removed the arrow . At first , George felt helpless . Regardless , all the old feelings , the knowledge , took control of him as it did during the war . He felt renewed strength , determination , and the pain was a catalyst that brought all of these feeling together . They wrestled on the ground , and the mountain man jammed a knife into George 's left thigh . He felt the pain , and yet it seemed to strengthen his anger , that determination . Suddenly , George was on top of his enemy , his knife drawn . Firstly , he sliced through the bow strings . Enough of that . And then he forced the Kbar into the mutant 's stomach . He struggled back just in time to run into the Chief and Constable . " Take cover ! " he said . " Down ! " The three of them flattened themselves onto the ground just in time to hear the blast . " What in the hell was that ? " Smith asked . The Chief shined his flashlight on George . " You 're in shit poor shape , my friend . We 're getting you to a hospital . Can you handle the walk back to our vehicle ? " George awoke from a drug induced sleep . The first thing he saw was the flowers on the night stand , and a young girl in a chair , reading a book . She looked up and smiled . " You 're awake . Good . How are you feeling ? " " Listen , you mentioned that there were two more in the cabin , but we didn 't find any bodies . We searched everywhere . Nothing . Are you sure about that ? " " Alright , George , " Smith said . " They must have escaped . I know you 're not stupid . If they were there , they were there . " " I can 't imagine what you went through , but in a way I can . You 're not going to jail - hell , we don 't know what happened up there . " Smith smiled . " You 'll be back fishing in no time . " The couple finally reached the summit of the mountain . They were breathing heavily , and sat down to catch their breaths . She clutched her stomach , and the man followed suit . The baby had moved . He looked up at her face , and tried to smile . The right side of her mouth nearly reached her eye , that was lower than her left eye . The bulbs on her head were less evident because she had more hair . In turn , she gazed at him . He was almost hairless , with thin strands dangling down over a bulbous head . As she watched , one of the bulbs cracked open and puss ran down the side of his head . She wiped it off with her hand , and grunted . Ohio State University has nearly 65 , 000 Students ( among the three biggest in the country ) . Their paper and website , where our ad appears in September and October , averages more than 100K unique visitors , and nearly 300K pageviews / month during their school year . Ads have been placed in The University of California Los Angeles ( UCLA ) with a Student population of 37 , 000 . We are looking forward to see some of the fine work that these Universities , and their students , can produce . For more information on this program have your college , or University , contact us through this site . Contact information is available on the top left hand corner of the Homepage . The Eerie Digest does not stand behind any advertising or promotions made by sponsors for their products or services . These advertisements and promotions are by , and for , the sponsor 's sole benefit alone . This also goes for any advertisements or promotions represented within interviews , or other aspects in the magazine that are offered for the readers interest . Anyone responding to ads or promotions should verify their content 's genuine offer before doing so .

I 've always thought that Christmas was a holiday best spent with family and loved ones . It 's a time to be together and share in the warmth and love of family and celebrate the company and joys of friendship . And since leaving home after high school , I can honestly say that living on my own , I 've spent more Christmases by myself , usually working , than being with family . I don 't mind . I really don 't . I actually swap work days with coworkers who want to be home with their families for Christmas ; and in return , they work for me on New Year 's Eve and New Year 's Day . I figured , well , it would be nice for these parents to spend Christmas with their children . Especially since I so fondly remember how wonderful it was to spend those Christmases a long time ago with my parents and my family . Some of my best memories growing up are from Christmases so many years ago , when I was just a little boy , so full of joy and smiles , playing with my two young brothers , and helping my mother and father put up Christmas decorations . We would play holiday music and hang colorful lights and shiny ornaments on our plastic green tree . The three of us youngest boys , my two brothers and I , put the decorations on the lower branches , while my parents and older brothers and sisters put the decorations on the higher branches beyond our reach . Some years , we had an angel top the tree ; other years , we used a star . Angel or star , it didn 't matter . The tree was always so beautiful , especially when we turned on those sparkling colorful lights . Every year , the first night we put up the Christmas tree and turned on the lights , my two brothers and I would beg our parents to let us sleep in the living room to be near the beautiful Christmas tree all decked out with bright , colorful ornaments and magical , dazzling lights . And every time , my dad would pretend to think really long and hard about it , while we eagerly waited and pleaded . And every time , my dad would smile and say , " Okay , just for tonight , " and my brothers and I would cheer and squeal with joy and laughter , hug our parents , then rush to our room to grab our pillows and blankets and start setting up our sleeping area / pillow fort in the living room , close to the twinkling , fantastic Christmas tree . I loved the holiday season when I was growing up . I relished the beautiful bright colors and the happy holiday music . I enjoyed munching down on the holiday treats with my two brothers and being surrounded by the cheerful atmosphere . And truth be told , I liked getting presents , all wrapped up in spectacularly colorful paper and topped with shiny ribbons . But more important than anything else , I loved being around my family , being close to my parents and watching my mother and father laughing , singing , and dancing to holiday music while my brothers and I played in the living room . I clearly remember being overwhelmed with a sense of happiness , of pure love . I was surrounded by warmth , and joy , and I truly felt safe , knowing that I had a loving family and a wonderful home . I belonged . I was with the people that I loved and those people loved me in return . It was a wonderful , amazing , utterly joyful experience . Everything felt right and I truly felt happy . But life isn 't always happy . And in a very short while after those few happy Christmases , I learned just how cruel and terrible life could be . My father passed away the spring I turned 8 . The rest of the year was just awful and painful to live through . That first Christmas after my father passed away was the hardest one to get through . It was also the last one where I felt like a child . Somehow , that sense of bliss and carefree existence I once had as a young child was gone forever . It was a life changing realization to know that death happens , and we can never tell when it comes , only know that it comes for us all in the end . Nothing forces a child to grow up faster than tragedy and trauma . And the loss of my father was a truly terrible and traumatic experience . One that I 've never gotten over . One that I 've learned to live with and grieve for the rest of my life . And as sad and terrible it was to lose my father , I was very fortunate to still have my mother . And those Christmases I had with her were wonderful and special in their own way . Watching her that first Christmas after my father passed away was very hard for me . Because I could see that underneath her cheerful spirit and efforts to keep us happy and carry on our holiday traditions , there were these brief moments of sadness in her eyes when she was by herself , lost in thoughts . I would watch her , while hiding around the corner , somehow sensing that she needed to be alone for now , not knowing how I could comfort her and feeling like I was intruding on a private moment at the same time . She would be sad , and that made me sad , and I felt helpless , because I didn 't know what to do . Sometimes , I 'd see my mother crying , when she thought she was all alone , the only one still up so late at night . And those were the hardest moments to deal with , because then I 'd cry , too . I would stay out of sight , tears running down my face and trying to sob as quietly as possible , so I wouldn 't disturb my mom , even though I just wanted to hug her and have her comfort me , only I didn 't know how to deal with her sadness . It felt selfish to want comfort from her , when she was hurting and needed comfort herself , and I didn 't know what to do , or if there was anything I could do . Most nights , I 'd wake up , suddenly thinking of my dad , that he 'd be home soon , after working late nights as he sometimes did during the busy season . I 'd get up and be halfway down the hallway towards the front door , waiting to greet him , only to remember that he was gone . And I 'd go back to bed and cry myself to sleep , wondering why God hated me and why he was so cruel to my family . Watching my mother get us through the holidays was a revelation . My eyes were opened ; the death of my father was a terrible and life altering awakening ; I was seeing the dark and tragic side of life , the suffering and the dying ; but I was also seeing the true nature of things and became more aware of the people and the world around me . I learned what it meant to have true strength , what it meant to sacrifice , and what it meant to truly love and find a way not just to survive , but to thrive and keep on living and hoping , even if the world had become a dark and unforgiving place . I learned to cherish life and live every day to the fullest . And while we mourned the loss of my father , we also celebrated the good things in our lives , that we still had each other , and our mother made us feel loved and happy . We still had a home and a wonderful , loving family . And as hard and tough life became after my father passed away , my mother somehow found a way to make sure that we would always be safe and have a good life . She even took the time to help out others who were less fortunate than us , giving them a place to stay til they were able to get their own home , feeding those who had nothing , and helping others get back on their feet when life knocked them down . People always said that my mother was very kind . I always thought that she was very strong and had unbelievable strength of character and will . I 'd be lucky to have just an ounce of her spirit and strength . In my darkest hours , when it all becomes too much , and I feel as if I 've nothing left to give and no way out of an overwhelming and hopeless situation , I 'd think of my mother , and I 'd ask myself , ' What would she do ? ' , and somehow , I 'd find the strength and the will to go on and overcome whatever obstacles and challenges that stood in my way . In the midst of my lowest point and deepest desperation , she has been my salvation and my reason to keep on going , to never give up , to find a way and keep moving forward . If she could survive the terrible tragedies that destroyed her life , and if she could find the strength and will and wisdom to move on and keep on living a full life , then so could I . And I 've never forgotten the sacrifices she made and the life lessons she taught us , and I 've told her how much I loved her and appreciated all she had done to give me the tools and skills I would need to survive and succeed in life . I learned from my mother the joys of giving and sharing . To me , it was a miracle and magic to see her make other people happy , by doing small acts of kindness and helping those in need . It really did make me feel good to see others smile because I had given them an unexpected present , a kind word , or thanks in appreciation for all that they 've done . I started saving my money and started working odd jobs to make money so that I 'd have enough to buy presents for family and friends . It didn 't have to be a big expensive gift ; it just had to be something to remind that person that I cared for them and wanted them to have a good holiday season . I remember the very first gift that I ever bought for someone out of money that I 'd earned . I was 9 , and I 'd collected enough aluminum cans for recycling to earn 50 cents . It was enough to buy one can of 7UP soda , and I gave that to my mother as a birthday present that night . It was the only thing I could afford with the money I had made . It wasn 't as expensive as the fancy birthday dinner my older siblings had given my mother ; it wasn 't as priceless as some of the presents she had gotten over the years ; but to my mother , at that moment , it was just as valuable and precious as any jewel she had ever been given in her entire life . The look of surprise and disbelief on her face was only outmatched by the sincere gratitude and appreciation she gave me in return . It was just a can of soda , but to my mother , it was the greatest birthday gift she could 've gotten that night , and she made sure to tell me how much she loved me and thanked me for thinking of her and getting her a gift . And for me , that was all that I needed to embrace and find joy in giving to others . Sure the world can be a tough and harsh place , but it can also be a kind and wonderful place when we take the time and effort to tell people and show them that we care . I heartily cherish and lovingly think of the last Christmas that I spent at home . I was 17 , in my last year of high school , and I had a plan to leave home and be on my own . I was excited and eager to start living life on my own , to be independent , and to follow my own dreams and seek out my own adventures and fortune . But I was also a little sad because in a few months , I would be leaving my family behind , and I wouldn 't be around my mother anymore . While some teenagers experienced growing pains and arguments and conflict with their parents , I wasn 't one of them . I was actually very close to my mother , and we kept the lines of communication opened and showed respect to each other . Because I had lost my father at such a young age , I held on to my mother and cherished her as much as I could , because I learned how truly terrible and painful and awful it was to lose a loved one without warning and never get a chance to say goodbye or tell them how much you love them . Yeah , I was moody and angsty and volatile at times , but what teenager isn 't ? Thankfully , I was given space to sort out my thoughts and emotions , and I was always made aware that my mother would be there if I needed anything or just wanted to talk . And while she didn 't always agree with some of my choices , she did offer guidance and let me try things my way , learn from my own mistakes , failures , and successes . She would be there to help me back up if I fell or got lost ; and she would be there to cheer me on as I reached a goal or earned an achievement . Sometimes , my older brothers and sisters would tease me for being such a brat and pain to them . They 'd call me a mama 's boy , and I 'd gladly acknowledge it and proudly say , " I sure am a mama 's boy , because I love my mama ! " , and sometimes , my mother would add , " And your mama loves you ! " , just for laughs , and that would usually put a stop to the teasing from the older siblings . What else could they do after being confronted with the plain and simple truth ? My mother had a great sense of humor , and everyone loved to hang around her , whether it was at church or the PTA or at work . Sometimes , in our front yard , she 'd be surrounded by people who enjoyed her sense of humor and loved to hear her make conversation and make them laugh . I fondly remember that last holiday season I spent with my family . It was the Friday after the delicious and fun and festive Thanksgiving feast we had on Thursday . We were recovering from gorging ourselves on the amazing , tasty , rich food and the chaotic company of the entire large , loud , and lively family crammed into one house . It was a bright , sunny day as we sat in the living room , just me and my mother , listening to holiday music and reading - - me , a travel magazine and my mother , a book . My brothers were out with friends . My visiting nephews and nieces , my older siblings children , were asleep in the bedrooms , while their parents were out shopping and socializing . My mother asked me what I wanted for Christmas . She 'd asked me this every holiday season since my father passed away . And I answered like I always did , " Nothing , " the same answer I 'd given since after that first Christmas after my father died . And I really did mean it . I couldn 't think of anything that I wanted for Christmas . My mother kept asking me , telling me that she really wanted to get me something special for holidays . And I told her , " Mom , I can 't think of anything that I want or need for the holidays . I have everything that I want or need to make me happy . I have a good life because you gave it to me , and I have a safe , loving home because you worked hard to make it so . I can 't think of anything better than the love and life you 've given us . " And I meant it . I could see the tears well up in my mother 's eyes . But she didn 't cry . She just smiled at me , like I had done something to make her proud , and she was beaming with joy . And I thought that I had done a good job of telling my mother what I felt , and that I really couldn 't think of anything that I wanted for Christmas that would make me any happier . But my mother found a way . My mother knew that I wanted to leave home and strike out on my own . I wanted to travel . It was a wanderlust I had inherited from my father . In his younger days , he travelled across oceans and continents , living in different countries and roaming the world for adventures . Then he met my mother and he happily settled down , far away from the place where he was born and raised . My mother recognized this wanderlust in me , and she prepared me as best she could , teaching me life skills that I would need and sharing wisdom that came from experience . She even surprised me by buying me nice new luggage for my birthday that year . I remember spending most of my last year in high school having these conversations with my mother ; conversations where I told her how much I loved her and how much I appreciated all that she had done for me . And she 'd listen and offer me advice on life , and I tried my best to remember her counsel and listen to her . It was as if that whole year was one long farewell . And I 'm really glad that I had that time to really talk with her and thank her and share that time with her . It made me feel good to know that I had her support and her love , and that in some ways , we had said everything that needed to be said . And I will always be grateful for that time and those conversations . That last Christmas with my family , I remember my nieces and nephews playing with their new toys , wrapping paper and ribbons scattered on the floor . Holiday music was playing on the radio . The house was alive with noise , laughter , and the smell of food wafted in the air . Cheerful holiday decorations hung on the walls and windows , and the Christmas tree looked beautiful as always , decked out with shiny ornaments and twinkling colored lights . My two brothers , the ones I was closest to in age and relationship , were enjoying their gifts and playing with my nieces and nephews ; my older brothers and sisters and their spouses were in the background , laughing , eating , talking . My mother sat in her chair , holding my youngest niece at the time , just a few months old ; my mom was singing a holiday tune to her ; it was a tune my father and mother liked to sing . I tried to commit this very moment to memory , taking in all the joy and warmth surrounding this occasion . I soon found myself lost in thought , thinking about Christmases past and wondering what the future held for me and my family . I was woken out of my reverie by my mother , still holding the baby in one hand and handing me a good sized gift box in the other hand . I was surprised at the size of the box , since I usually expected clothes this time of year , especially since I never told anyone what I wanted for Christmas . And while this box was in the shape of a clothes box , it was much bigger than what I was used to . Maybe it was a whole bunch of clothes ! I didn 't have any expectations about the box when I took off the wrapping . I was just happy to have new clothes . But it wasn 't new clothes . It was something more precious and more valuable than I could ever have imagined . I did not think that I could ever a receive a present that would make me feel any more happier than I was . But I was wrong . My mother found a way . I held my breath and tuned out everyone as I stared at my gift . It was as if time had stopped and I found myself humbled and surprised at such a wonderful , I immediately flashed back to memories of my father wearing his jacket when he was leaving the house for work or to run errands . I remember him coming home from work and we 'd run up to him when he came through the door . He 'd get down to hug us and I remember the feel of the jacket and the scent of Old Spice coming off my father and his jacket . He always had a smile and hug for us , and he always felt so solid , so strong , and so warm whenever he embraced us . It made me feel happy , feel safe , feel loved . I remember him wearing his jacket when we drove around town or when he was picking us up from school . I remember my two brothers and I trying on Dad 's jacket when he left it hanging on a dining room chair . It was so big and heavy and warm and soft on the inside and it smelled of my dad . Now , that jacket was in my hands . It still felt warm and soft and strong . I couldn 't believe that my mother would give me my father 's jacket . The last time I saw it , it was in a steamer trunk where my mother kept her wedding dress and other important items . I suddenly realized that my two brothers were next to me , touching the jacket , asking about the jacket . I looked at my mother , and she smiled and said , " I thought you might need something to keep you warm and dry if it ever gets cold and rainy on your travels . " Suddenly , I was overwhelmed with long buried memories and deeper , hidden emotions . I wanted to cry then and there . But I held it together for the sake of the children . I didn 't want them to worry and I wasn 't going to bring up sad memories at this time . For crying out loud , it was Christmas ! It was supposed to be a happy time for all . I felt a lump in my chest , it was all I could do to keep myself from bursting into tears ; that wouldn 't be cool . At 17 , you think you have to be strong , to be stoic to be cool ; at 17 , you 're still an idiot ; at least I was . But at 17 , I also knew that I had been given an important gift , one that signified that I was old enough now to appreciate what I had , and that I was loved and had the support of my loved ones . I stood up and hugged my mother , thanked her for the priceless gift and returned to the sofa where my two brothers were waiting . My brother who was a year older asked if this was our father 's jacket . And I said yes , it was . He became quiet , lost in thought as he stroked the jacket . I don 't think he was jealous ; not my brother . After all , for his 18th birthday , my mother had given him my father 's watch . My youngest brother , however , had a confused look on his face . He needed confirmation that it was our father 's jacket . I let him try it on . And my other brother and I told him of how we used to try it on when we were younger . My young brother put it on and treated it very reverently . After a while , he said he remembers how heavy but warm and soft this jacket was , and he did remember clinging to it when Dad lifted him up and carried him around . And suddenly I remembered it , too ; my little brother as a baby , laughing and squealing and clinging on tightly to my dad as my father scooped him up and swung him up in the air a few times before hugging him close to his chest and kissing him and carrying him in his arms for a while . I remember my baby brother 's tiny fingers as they gripped on that jacket ; I remember his lively smile as he clung to our father ; and I remember the times when I 'd see his tiny head falling asleep upon the jacket on my father 's shoulder , his little face so content , so at peace while my father rocked him to sleep , sometimes singing or humming a song to help my baby brother fall asleep . That jacket was a part of my father 's identity . So many of brothers ' and my memories of our father involved him wearing his jacket . Not that he wore it all the time , but for us , his youngest three boys , our best memories of our father were the ones when he spent time hugging us before leaving for work wearing his jacket , or of us eagerly waiting for him to come home after work , hanging out on the porch in the evening , restlessly keeping watch for dad to come home . And when we 'd see his truck coming up the road towards our home , we 'd jump and scream with joy , yelling out loud to everyone in the house that dad was home . We 'd wave excitedly at his truck and eagerly waited for him stop the truck by the house , get out of the truck , and we 'd rush into his arms as he bent down to scoop us up against his chest , our faces rubbing against that soft jacket that covered his strong , warm body that held us in a big hug . I remember my two brothers and me feeling so happy and so safe and so glad to have our dad home . Every child just wants to be happy and be loved ; and nothing makes a child happier or safer or truly feel loved like a good hug from loving parent . I remember my father wearing that jacket when we 'd work outside the house doing chores , working in the garden or tending to the animals on the farm , raking leaves or doing maintenance on our home . He 'd wear it when we 'd all go for a ride in the truck for ice cream to treat ourselves after a long day 's hard work or just to celebrate . Sometimes , he 'd play with my brothers and I outside after work , still wearing his jacket . A few times , I remember falling asleep at an outdoors community or family gathering , or maybe after a day spent at the beach or park or out in the woods , and I 'd wake to find that jacket covering me like a warm protective blanket ; other times , it was a pillow to cradle our heads when we passed out for an afternoon nap . I remember old fotos of my father when he was a young , single man out and about in the world , wearing his jacket . He 'd had it on his adventures long before he met our mother . And it was one of the few things that belonged to him that my mother kept after he passed on . That jacket was an iconic part of my father 's identity . Superman had his red cape ; my father had his bomber jacket . And now , that jacket was mine . Of all the gifts that I 've ever been lucky enough to receive , this was one of the most precious and most important that I 've ever gotten in my life . When you 're 17 , you think you 're invincible and so sure that you know everything there is to know about the world ; at 17 , my mother showed me that there was still so much that I had to learn , and after all these years , I 'm realizing that I know absolutely nothing at all . 17 year olds are stupid . Actually , anyone at any age can be pretty stupid . But even 17 year olds can have moments of clarity . And when I was given that jacket as a gift that Christmas , I had a moment of clarity . I knew that I had been given a tremendous gift , a great honor , a blessing and a symbol of trust and hope and love . Later on that night after everyone had gone to sleep - - the adults , mostly from gorging themselves on the holiday food and spirits , and the kids , from staying up so late and worn out after playing with their new toys - - I put on that jacket and took a walk under the stars and moonlight . It wasn 't unusual for me take a midnight stroll . I 've been doing it for a few years since I turned 14 and couldn 't just lay in bed awake all night . I was a night person . It was another trait that I had inherited from my father . He was a night owl , too . When I was younger , I 'd stay up late , pretend to be asleep when my brothers and I were sent to our room for bedtime . I 'd be up til just before 10 pm , waiting for my father to return home from those long days at work during the busy season . I 'd sit at the window , under the night skies , dark when overcast with clouds , and rich with stars like diamonds on black velvet with a pearl moon on clear nights . I 'd be lost in daydreams while I watched for the headlights of my dad 's truck to shine through the dark woods as the pickup would come along slowly on the dirt road that led to our house . As soon as I saw those headlights , I 'd run out of the room and right out to the living room to wait by the front door to greet my dad . My mother had gotten used to me staying up late , waiting for my father to come home those late nights . She 'd given up on sending me back to bed for being up at such a late hour . She 'd come to the realization that I was a night person like my father . And as long as I 'd be quiet and not wake anyone else up , I 'd be allowed to stay up late . And as long as I still got up on time the next day for school or chores or church , I could stay up a little late . I had no problems with getting up early back then ; but it was a whole different story in high school however , when I just wanted to sleep in late after staying up all night . I enjoyed waiting up for my dad to come home those late nights . He 'd come through the door and hug me before he 'd greet my mother . We 'd go in the kitchen and sit at the table where my mother would fix him a plate of food to eat and a beer to drink . My parents would talk for a little bit . Most times , my mother would leave afterwards , kissing me goodnight before she went to bed . That just left my father and me . And when you come from a big family with many siblings , any one to one time with a parent is an amazing and most sought after opportunity . And I loved spending those late nights talking to my dad . He 'd eat and ask me questions . I wasn 't hungry , having had dinner earlier with the rest of the family , but I loved answering my dad 's questions about my day . And he seemed to enjoy listening to me to go on and on about what I and my brothers did that day ; what we saw ; who we talked to or played with ; what chores we did , like feeding the animals and weeding the garden or picking up leaves or gathering firewood ; what things we had planned for tomorrow ; how we were doing at school or at community functions and events ; whether we were listening to our mother ; and he 'd remind us to be safe when we explored our surroundings , which included the great woods that surrounded our farm and fields . I 'd ask him a few questions about his day ; and he kept his answers short and simple . Mostly , he just wanted to listen to how my day was with my brothers ; and I loved sharing my day and my thoughts with him . It didn 't matter if we had spent the day climbing trees or playing tag or hide and seek , or pretending to be pirates looking for treasure , or spacemen battling hostile aliens , or ninjas on a secret mission ; my dad wanted to hear it all . He 'd laugh at our adventures ; he 'd smile ; sometimes , he 'd raise an eyebrow if we did something that seemed a little risky or daring or borderline pushing the limits . But mostly , he let me drone on and on about my day . He had a way of listening that made me feel like I could ask him anything and telAnd as I headed out of the house in the dark hours of that Christmas night , I needed to sort out my thoughts , to help work out the competing and complex emotions and thinking that had stirred up chaos and questions in my heart and my mind . Some nights , I become overwhelmed with the need to go for a walk to sort things out . This was one of those nights . And lately , these restless nights were becoming more and more frequent . It was a quiet night and I felt as if I were the only person awake in the world . The stars were out and the air was chilly , but that jacket kept me nice and warm . A little while later , I found myself by my father 's grave . Suddenly , I was overwhelmed with emotion and memories that I could not help but cry . It was just too much for me to bear . I was a small child again , waking up from a bad dream in the middle of the night , wandering down the hallway to find my father to comfort me , only to realize painfully that the nightmare was real , that my father really was gone , and I 'd go back to bed and cry myself to sleep , silently sobbing to keep anyone from waking , to see me crying , alone and miserable til exhaustion and sorrow lulled me to sleep . My heart ached and my soul was still mourning the devastating and painful loss of my father after all these years . I thought about my Dad and how much I missed him and wished he was still here with us . I thought about my Mom and I cried because I wanted so much for her . I wanted her to be happy . I was so moved by her giving me my father 's jacket and showing how much she loved me . She wished me well and supported me in my plans to leave home and be on my own . I had this need inside to get out and see the world beyond our borders , to leave my small town behind and see the big cities and places I 've read about so many times in books and seen on tv . There was a fire inside of me that was burning to see the world ; a drive to see what 's out there . I thought about my two brothers and how I was leaving them behind ; I was going to miss them ; I was really going to miss my family . But I knew that I had their love and support and I would be fine . I stayed at my father 's grave til I stopped crying . I told him of my plans after high school , how I wanted to see the world and live on my own . I told him how much I missed him and how much I loved him and how much I wanted to make him and my mother proud . And how I would never , ever forget him . And whatever happened or wherever I went , I would alI loved my jacket . It was one of the most precious gifts that I have ever received . That last year living at home , I wore it everywhere - - to school , to work , and when I was going out and it was chilly or rainy . I thought it made me look cool ; my friends certainly said so , as did a few strangers . I certainly felt cool . That vintage sleek look gave me an extra boost of confidence and just enough cockiness to flirt with girls and have a good time , not really caring what the world thought of me . My already flourishing social life exploded exponentially as I ventured out to try new things and hang out with new people and make new friends . That jacket made me feel just a little bolder and a little more adventurous . I loved that jacket and took very good care of it . It was becoming a part of my identity , and I was making new memories and having wonderful new experiences with it . A few times , when I would leave it hanging on the back of a dining chair , I would catch my nephews and nieces trying it on , and I 'd smile and think back to when my two brothers and I did the same thing . Six months later , I had graduated high school and found a way to make a living far away from home . I remember packing only a carry on bag and my backpack . I wanted to travel light and take only the essentials . Anything of value I left at home ; except for that jacket . I was taking it with me on my new life . The day before I was to leave home , I was hanging out with my two brothers , just sitting on the porch , and talking about everything and nothing . I was really going to miss this , hanging out with them . The 3 of us had been together for as long as I could remember . We stuck up for each other and looked out for each other ; part of it comes from being only 1 year apart in age ; the other comes from being so many years younger than our much older siblings . We were friends and brothers . We had shared many adventures together . We shared our tragedies and sorrows ; our fortunes and our joys . We shared a bond unlike any other , and we shared a connection that was closer than to any of the others . We could just sit in silence and speak volumes without ever saying a word . And as we sat there on the porch and watched the sun start to set , it finally hit us that this would be our last time hanging out together , for a long while , possibly forever . I felt an overwhelming sense of melancholy , that I was leaving behind not just my closest brothers , but my friends and fellow adventurers and explorers , my true band of brothers . And as the sun sunk lower across the horizon , I couldn 't help but think that this was the metaphor of my life . The sun had set upon the days of my brothers and I hanging out together , and I was the one who was ending it . As the skies changed from orange to lavender , the stars started appearing along the darkening heavens . A chill started rising with the soft evening breeze . I felt a sense of sadness and I was conflicted between my desire to leave and see the world or stay and enjoy the company and friendship of my brothers . I wished that there was a way I could 've taken my brothers with me , but life had laid out different paths for all of us . And we had chosen to take those different paths to find our own way into the world . It was the end of an era , and I mourned the loss , because now , we were truly no longer children , but young men on the cusp of manhood , poised to venture out into the unknown ; independent , free , absolutely terrified and excited at the same time . Life had shown just how cruel and vicious it could be when it suddenly took away my father . It shattered my family and my childhood in so many ways . But I had my mother and my brothers and we rebuilt our lives and we still had each other , we still had a home . So long as we had each other , we were going to be all right . Except now , I had chosen to leave , and it would once again change the family in ways that I could not imagine . But this time , it was by choice that I had decided to leave , and I had always known since I first became aware of the world outside that I was going to leave home and see that world . My family sensed this , and they 've always supported this . That 's what family does : It supports and protects . Still , it was very sad to realize that I was leaving behind a home and a loving family . And sitting on that porch with my brothers , a small part of me was ready to give up and stay home , where it was safe and I felt loved and be with the familiar and comforting . But I knew that deep down inside , I had to go . It was in my nature and I cannot change who I am . But I still mourned leaving behind my family , my brothers , and my home . I looked at my older brother , sitting there , looking out at the night sky , quiet , contemplative . He never cried , unless it was a truly terrible and tragic event , like the passing of our father . Most times , he kept his feelings inside , to keep others from seeing him cry . I did the same thing . We never cried in front of other people , except at funerals . We tried to keep it together for the sake of everyone else , and held focus and got things done , handled our business , and when the crisis was over , we 'd find a private place to be alone and grieve . I think that seeing our mother devastated by the passing of our father had changed us . We had never seen our mother cry and grieve like that , to be in so much pain , to suffer so , and we didn 't ever want to see her like that again . We never cried because we didn 't want her to suffer , so we kept it together , like she did , when she had to pull herself together to take care of her family and raise her youngest three boys alone . My youngest brother , however , was always a gentle soul . He cried when he was sad , when he was hurt , whenever he felt overwhelmed with emotion . In a way , he was the most honest and bravest of the three of us . He was my mother 's baby , our baby brother . And though there were times when my older brother and I were mean to him , those times were very few and far in between . Rather , we were always overprotective and always looked out for our baby brother . And looking at him staring out at the horizon , I could just make out the tears shimmering in his eyes , and I almost broke down and cried , because I did not want to see him cry , and I realized that he was sad because I was leaving , that I had made him sad . In trying to follow my own heart and chasing my dreams , I had inadverdently hurt the ones I loved . I was a selfish person ; I was a terrible person ; because I couldn 't change who I was and what I wanted , and I was going to follow this path , even if it meant hurting the ones I loved . I took off my jacket - - my father 's jacket , my most precious possession . The night chill gave me goosebumps . But it also invigorated me . I handed it to my youngest brother , surprising him out of his thoughts . " Here , " I said , " Put this on . " My youngest brother took the jacket and put it on . My older brother was watching us silently . I told my baby brother , " I want you to keep this for me . I don 't want to take it with me and risk losing it . " My youngest brother looked surprised . I continued , " This way , you 'll have something to keep you warm and dry , " the look of awe and gratitude in his face was almost enough to make me cry . I struggled to keep my voice from shaking , to keep myself from crying as I continued , " This jacket once belonged to Dad . It kept him warm and dry . And when I wore it , it kept me warm and dry . Now , you 'll have a piece of Dad with you , and a little piece of me with it . " I could only meet my youngest brother 's eyes briefly , which shone with such reverence and pride and humility and gratefulness that I looked way before I could cry . I caught my older brother 's glance quickly , his eyes were shimmering , but he had a grin and nodded . We looked away to the horizon again , before the tears threatened to overcome us all . Our baby brother was very young when our father died . He barely remembers him ; and he frequently looks at old pictures of our father to remind himself of what dad looked like . He has these few memories of our father , but those few are so full of love and warmth . I wished that our father was around much longer , to give my baby brother more memories of him at least . And my older brother and I had told our baby brother all we could remember of our father ; but it was never enough . He could never get enough stories about our father from our mother and older siblings and other people who knew our father . Truth was , we never could get enough , because nothing could replace the loss of our father from our lives . At least with this jacket , my baby brother had something physical to hold on to . Something solid and real . Something that would keep him warm and dry . Something to remind him that our father loved him dearly , and that I did , too . Later that night , I told my mother what I had done with my jacket . And she had that look again , where her eyes welled up , but she didn 't cry , rather she smiled , she nodded , and told me that I had done the right thing , a wonderful thing . And I certainly hoped so . Over the past few months , I had relied on that jacket to give me warmth and comfort . In a way , I had begun to think of it as my armor , my protection against the outside world . It would keep me safe when I ventured out into the unknown . But that night , I realized that I didn 't need that jacket as my armor . My mother had taught me life skills to survive and thrive , and growing up with my two brothers had given me the strength , the wisdom , and the experience that I needed to overcome any challenges life threw at me . I was going to be fine . My family was going to be fine . And my baby brother would have a piece of Dad and a little bit of me to keep him warm and dry , and remind him that he was loved by his family . I admit that in the years since I left home , there were times when I wished I had that jacket with me . Those were the times when life almost overwhelmed me . But I survived and kept moving forward . Then there were times when it was cold and I forgot to take something to keep me warm and dry , and then I really wished I had that jacket . But that 's due to poor planning and unpreparedness on my part . Now , I travel with a warm jacket and keep a spare in the car . Still , there are times when I 'm alone and I think of my family , my father , my mother , my brothers , and I wish I had that jacket , if only as physical proof that I was loved and grew up in a loving home and had a wonderful father , a loving mother , and great brothers . But those times are very rare and brief . The last time I saw that jacket was a few years ago . I had finally returned home after so many years of being away . It was the first time that the whole family , including my older siblings were together again . We were standing under the roof of the hospital , watching the heavy rainfall , trying to decide if we should wait for it to ease up or run to the car and go home late that night . It was me , my two brothers , my eldest niece , my closest nephew , and my eldest sister - - these were the people I was closest to in all of my family . We had just left the ICU , where our mother had just passed away , peacefully , surrounded by those who loved her . Everyone had tears in their eyes ; except for me . The heavens cried for me that night . I was relieved that my mother had found peace , that she was finally free from suffering . And I was glad that I was able to come home and spend what little time we had left together . And I was so grateful that she was free of pain and suffering , and that she had laughed and smiled and her eyes twinkled with joy during her last hour with us . When my father died , it was a sudden tragedy that destroyed my life and childhood . But with my mother 's passing , I found a sense of peace and tranquility , of relief knowing that she was no longer in pain , and that she left us surrounded by love and happiness . Then it struck me , that I had no father , and now I had no mother . I was now an orphan , and I was all alone in the world . And it was a strange and undefinable feeling . I was woken out of my thoughts by my youngest brother , asking me , if I wanted my jacket back . He had been wearing it all this time and after all these years . I looked at his tear stained face and shook my head no , and told him that he should keep that jacket a little while longer . Before my mother got sick , she had given my youngest brother my father 's wedding ring . And when she was rushed to the hospital , it was my baby brother who took her wedding ring to keep it safe . I thought it right that he should keep both . Looking at my brother standing next to me wearing that jacket , I couldn 't help but think back to that last Christmas I spent with my family so many years ago . I was 17 and thought that I knew everything , when I really didn 't . I was just an optimistic fool full of hopes and dreams . I still am , only I 'm a lot more wiser now . Some things in life you can only learn by experience , and sometimes , experience hurts . I stood there looking out at the rain , wishing that I had more time with my mother . I wished that I had come home more often and spent more holidays at home . I wish that I could 've spent one more day listening to her talk , listening to her laugh , and listening to her sing and just say whatever , just so I could hear her voice once more . Just one more day . What I wouldn 't give for just one more day . Oh , how my heart ached for just one more day with my mom . But those are the thoughts of a grieving person . And what 's done is done ; no going back . And the truth was , though I loved my family , my life was far from the place were I was born and raised . The last time I did come back home so many years before , I was struck with the realization that I really didn 't belong here anymore , that my life truly did belong to the world outside , far away from here . Christmas at home was never the same after I left . My older siblings started having holiday gatherings at their own homes , and my mother and baby brother started traveling to these different homes for the holidays . Sure , my mother 's house was decked out for the holidays , and there were a few more holidays held at my mother 's house , but by then , not everyone was able to make it , either because they were celebrating elsewhere or were far from home . As for me , instead of flying home , I sent that money for the cost of a ticket to my mom . That money funded her trips with my baby brother to other places to see family and friends and enjoy long vacations . She and my baby brother rather enjoyed doing that , and often times they took some of my nieces and nephews with them on their travels . Looking at the jacket that kept my youngest brother warm and dry and comforted , I thought of my father , and how he wore that same jacket when he hugged us and picked us up , how sad we were when he left the house for work , and how happy we were when he came back home . It was a part of him , and it kept him warm and safe and dry . I thought back to that last Christmas with my family , thinking of how moved I was that my mother thought I was worthy enough and needed that jacket to keep me safe and warm and dry . I realized that jacket did give me what I needed : The courage to move forward , knowing that I had the support and love of my loved ones . That jacket had given my baby brother something to hold on to , to remind him that he had a father who loved him , even if he could barely remember him . And it reminded him that he had a mother and a whole family who loved him , too . I realized now why that jacket was so important to me . It represented love and home . It made me realize that I was loved by my family and I had a home full of love and support . Every child should have that . And I was lucky and blessed to have that growing up . And I 'm still lucky because I have friends that I count as family . Family is , after all , the people you love and hold most dear . And friends are the family you get to choose . A good jacket is a lot like family : strong , dependable , and able to help you weather any storm . Of course , there are times when a crazy family can feel like a strait jacket . But a good family is like a good jacket . It keeps you safe and warm . It protects you and keeps you dry when the weather gets rough . And at times when that jacket makes you feel a little hot , you can take it off for a while and cool off ; and if you find that you don 't need that jacket for now , you can put it up somewhere safe , knowing that it 'll always be there for you when you need it . And if you take the time and care for that jacket , that jacket will last a long time , and in turn , it will take very good care of you when you need it and protect the ones you love and hold most dear . So for this holiday season , I hope you are among loved ones , friends and family , and if you have children , I hope you take the time to tell them how much you love them and spend time with them . Do this for all your friends and loved ones . It 's the most important gift you can give them this holiday . I hope that you are in a place where you are safe and sound , in contact with friends and loved ones , and count your blessings , and know that your actions and intentions do have a great influence on the ones you love and the world around you . I hope you find kindness and warmth and a sense of home . I hope you are safe and happy . And I hope that you have a good jacket to keep you warm and dry . This blog undergoes construction from time to time . The author likes to experiment with changes and design . During the ongoing construction , blog posts may not be available . Apologies for that . Please be patient as blog posts will return as soon as possible . Thank you .

I 've always thought that Christmas was a holiday best spent with family and loved ones . It 's a time to be together and share in the warmth and love of family and celebrate the company and joys of friendship . And since leaving home after high school , I can honestly say that living on my own , I 've spent more Christmases by myself , usually working , than being with family . I don 't mind . I really don 't . I actually swap work days with coworkers who want to be home with their families for Christmas ; and in return , they work for me on New Year 's Eve and New Year 's Day . I figured , well , it would be nice for these parents to spend Christmas with their children . Especially since I so fondly remember how wonderful it was to spend those Christmases a long time ago with my parents and my family . Some of my best memories growing up are from Christmases so many years ago , when I was just a little boy , so full of joy and smiles , playing with my two young brothers , and helping my mother and father put up Christmas decorations . We would play holiday music and hang colorful lights and shiny ornaments on our plastic green tree . The three of us youngest boys , my two brothers and I , put the decorations on the lower branches , while my parents and older brothers and sisters put the decorations on the higher branches beyond our reach . Some years , we had an angel top the tree ; other years , we used a star . Angel or star , it didn 't matter . The tree was always so beautiful , especially when we turned on those sparkling colorful lights . Every year , the first night we put up the Christmas tree and turned on the lights , my two brothers and I would beg our parents to let us sleep in the living room to be near the beautiful Christmas tree all decked out with bright , colorful ornaments and magical , dazzling lights . And every time , my dad would pretend to think really long and hard about it , while we eagerly waited and pleaded . And every time , my dad would smile and say , " Okay , just for tonight , " and my brothers and I would cheer and squeal with joy and laughter , hug our parents , then rush to our room to grab our pillows and blankets and start setting up our sleeping area / pillow fort in the living room , close to the twinkling , fantastic Christmas tree . I loved the holiday season when I was growing up . I relished the beautiful bright colors and the happy holiday music . I enjoyed munching down on the holiday treats with my two brothers and being surrounded by the cheerful atmosphere . And truth be told , I liked getting presents , all wrapped up in spectacularly colorful paper and topped with shiny ribbons . But more important than anything else , I loved being around my family , being close to my parents and watching my mother and father laughing , singing , and dancing to holiday music while my brothers and I played in the living room . I clearly remember being overwhelmed with a sense of happiness , of pure love . I was surrounded by warmth , and joy , and I truly felt safe , knowing that I had a loving family and a wonderful home . I belonged . I was with the people that I loved and those people loved me in return . It was a wonderful , amazing , utterly joyful experience . Everything felt right and I truly felt happy . But life isn 't always happy . And in a very short while after those few happy Christmases , I learned just how cruel and terrible life could be . My father passed away the spring I turned 8 . The rest of the year was just awful and painful to live through . That first Christmas after my father passed away was the hardest one to get through . It was also the last one where I felt like a child . Somehow , that sense of bliss and carefree existence I once had as a young child was gone forever . It was a life changing realization to know that death happens , and we can never tell when it comes , only know that it comes for us all in the end . Nothing forces a child to grow up faster than tragedy and trauma . And the loss of my father was a truly terrible and traumatic experience . One that I 've never gotten over . One that I 've learned to live with and grieve for the rest of my life . And as sad and terrible it was to lose my father , I was very fortunate to still have my mother . And those Christmases I had with her were wonderful and special in their own way . Watching her that first Christmas after my father passed away was very hard for me . Because I could see that underneath her cheerful spirit and efforts to keep us happy and carry on our holiday traditions , there were these brief moments of sadness in her eyes when she was by herself , lost in thoughts . I would watch her , while hiding around the corner , somehow sensing that she needed to be alone for now , not knowing how I could comfort her and feeling like I was intruding on a private moment at the same time . She would be sad , and that made me sad , and I felt helpless , because I didn 't know what to do . Sometimes , I 'd see my mother crying , when she thought she was all alone , the only one still up so late at night . And those were the hardest moments to deal with , because then I 'd cry , too . I would stay out of sight , tears running down my face and trying to sob as quietly as possible , so I wouldn 't disturb my mom , even though I just wanted to hug her and have her comfort me , only I didn 't know how to deal with her sadness . It felt selfish to want comfort from her , when she was hurting and needed comfort herself , and I didn 't know what to do , or if there was anything I could do . Most nights , I 'd wake up , suddenly thinking of my dad , that he 'd be home soon , after working late nights as he sometimes did during the busy season . I 'd get up and be halfway down the hallway towards the front door , waiting to greet him , only to remember that he was gone . And I 'd go back to bed and cry myself to sleep , wondering why God hated me and why he was so cruel to my family . Watching my mother get us through the holidays was a revelation . My eyes were opened ; the death of my father was a terrible and life altering awakening ; I was seeing the dark and tragic side of life , the suffering and the dying ; but I was also seeing the true nature of things and became more aware of the people and the world around me . I learned what it meant to have true strength , what it meant to sacrifice , and what it meant to truly love and find a way not just to survive , but to thrive and keep on living and hoping , even if the world had become a dark and unforgiving place . I learned to cherish life and live every day to the fullest . And while we mourned the loss of my father , we also celebrated the good things in our lives , that we still had each other , and our mother made us feel loved and happy . We still had a home and a wonderful , loving family . And as hard and tough life became after my father passed away , my mother somehow found a way to make sure that we would always be safe and have a good life . She even took the time to help out others who were less fortunate than us , giving them a place to stay til they were able to get their own home , feeding those who had nothing , and helping others get back on their feet when life knocked them down . People always said that my mother was very kind . I always thought that she was very strong and had unbelievable strength of character and will . I 'd be lucky to have just an ounce of her spirit and strength . In my darkest hours , when it all becomes too much , and I feel as if I 've nothing left to give and no way out of an overwhelming and hopeless situation , I 'd think of my mother , and I 'd ask myself , ' What would she do ? ' , and somehow , I 'd find the strength and the will to go on and overcome whatever obstacles and challenges that stood in my way . In the midst of my lowest point and deepest desperation , she has been my salvation and my reason to keep on going , to never give up , to find a way and keep moving forward . If she could survive the terrible tragedies that destroyed her life , and if she could find the strength and will and wisdom to move on and keep on living a full life , then so could I . And I 've never forgotten the sacrifices she made and the life lessons she taught us , and I 've told her how much I loved her and appreciated all she had done to give me the tools and skills I would need to survive and succeed in life . I learned from my mother the joys of giving and sharing . To me , it was a miracle and magic to see her make other people happy , by doing small acts of kindness and helping those in need . It really did make me feel good to see others smile because I had given them an unexpected present , a kind word , or thanks in appreciation for all that they 've done . I started saving my money and started working odd jobs to make money so that I 'd have enough to buy presents for family and friends . It didn 't have to be a big expensive gift ; it just had to be something to remind that person that I cared for them and wanted them to have a good holiday season . I remember the very first gift that I ever bought for someone out of money that I 'd earned . I was 9 , and I 'd collected enough aluminum cans for recycling to earn 50 cents . It was enough to buy one can of 7UP soda , and I gave that to my mother as a birthday present that night . It was the only thing I could afford with the money I had made . It wasn 't as expensive as the fancy birthday dinner my older siblings had given my mother ; it wasn 't as priceless as some of the presents she had gotten over the years ; but to my mother , at that moment , it was just as valuable and precious as any jewel she had ever been given in her entire life . The look of surprise and disbelief on her face was only outmatched by the sincere gratitude and appreciation she gave me in return . It was just a can of soda , but to my mother , it was the greatest birthday gift she could 've gotten that night , and she made sure to tell me how much she loved me and thanked me for thinking of her and getting her a gift . And for me , that was all that I needed to embrace and find joy in giving to others . Sure the world can be a tough and harsh place , but it can also be a kind and wonderful place when we take the time and effort to tell people and show them that we care . I heartily cherish and lovingly think of the last Christmas that I spent at home . I was 17 , in my last year of high school , and I had a plan to leave home and be on my own . I was excited and eager to start living life on my own , to be independent , and to follow my own dreams and seek out my own adventures and fortune . But I was also a little sad because in a few months , I would be leaving my family behind , and I wouldn 't be around my mother anymore . While some teenagers experienced growing pains and arguments and conflict with their parents , I wasn 't one of them . I was actually very close to my mother , and we kept the lines of communication opened and showed respect to each other . Because I had lost my father at such a young age , I held on to my mother and cherished her as much as I could , because I learned how truly terrible and painful and awful it was to lose a loved one without warning and never get a chance to say goodbye or tell them how much you love them . Yeah , I was moody and angsty and volatile at times , but what teenager isn 't ? Thankfully , I was given space to sort out my thoughts and emotions , and I was always made aware that my mother would be there if I needed anything or just wanted to talk . And while she didn 't always agree with some of my choices , she did offer guidance and let me try things my way , learn from my own mistakes , failures , and successes . She would be there to help me back up if I fell or got lost ; and she would be there to cheer me on as I reached a goal or earned an achievement . Sometimes , my older brothers and sisters would tease me for being such a brat and pain to them . They 'd call me a mama 's boy , and I 'd gladly acknowledge it and proudly say , " I sure am a mama 's boy , because I love my mama ! " , and sometimes , my mother would add , " And your mama loves you ! " , just for laughs , and that would usually put a stop to the teasing from the older siblings . What else could they do after being confronted with the plain and simple truth ? My mother had a great sense of humor , and everyone loved to hang around her , whether it was at church or the PTA or at work . Sometimes , in our front yard , she 'd be surrounded by people who enjoyed her sense of humor and loved to hear her make conversation and make them laugh . I fondly remember that last holiday season I spent with my family . It was the Friday after the delicious and fun and festive Thanksgiving feast we had on Thursday . We were recovering from gorging ourselves on the amazing , tasty , rich food and the chaotic company of the entire large , loud , and lively family crammed into one house . It was a bright , sunny day as we sat in the living room , just me and my mother , listening to holiday music and reading - - me , a travel magazine and my mother , a book . My brothers were out with friends . My visiting nephews and nieces , my older siblings children , were asleep in the bedrooms , while their parents were out shopping and socializing . My mother asked me what I wanted for Christmas . She 'd asked me this every holiday season since my father passed away . And I answered like I always did , " Nothing , " the same answer I 'd given since after that first Christmas after my father died . And I really did mean it . I couldn 't think of anything that I wanted for Christmas . My mother kept asking me , telling me that she really wanted to get me something special for holidays . And I told her , " Mom , I can 't think of anything that I want or need for the holidays . I have everything that I want or need to make me happy . I have a good life because you gave it to me , and I have a safe , loving home because you worked hard to make it so . I can 't think of anything better than the love and life you 've given us . " And I meant it . I could see the tears well up in my mother 's eyes . But she didn 't cry . She just smiled at me , like I had done something to make her proud , and she was beaming with joy . And I thought that I had done a good job of telling my mother what I felt , and that I really couldn 't think of anything that I wanted for Christmas that would make me any happier . But my mother found a way . My mother knew that I wanted to leave home and strike out on my own . I wanted to travel . It was a wanderlust I had inherited from my father . In his younger days , he travelled across oceans and continents , living in different countries and roaming the world for adventures . Then he met my mother and he happily settled down , far away from the place where he was born and raised . My mother recognized this wanderlust in me , and she prepared me as best she could , teaching me life skills that I would need and sharing wisdom that came from experience . She even surprised me by buying me nice new luggage for my birthday that year . I remember spending most of my last year in high school having these conversations with my mother ; conversations where I told her how much I loved her and how much I appreciated all that she had done for me . And she 'd listen and offer me advice on life , and I tried my best to remember her counsel and listen to her . It was as if that whole year was one long farewell . And I 'm really glad that I had that time to really talk with her and thank her and share that time with her . It made me feel good to know that I had her support and her love , and that in some ways , we had said everything that needed to be said . And I will always be grateful for that time and those conversations . That last Christmas with my family , I remember my nieces and nephews playing with their new toys , wrapping paper and ribbons scattered on the floor . Holiday music was playing on the radio . The house was alive with noise , laughter , and the smell of food wafted in the air . Cheerful holiday decorations hung on the walls and windows , and the Christmas tree looked beautiful as always , decked out with shiny ornaments and twinkling colored lights . My two brothers , the ones I was closest to in age and relationship , were enjoying their gifts and playing with my nieces and nephews ; my older brothers and sisters and their spouses were in the background , laughing , eating , talking . My mother sat in her chair , holding my youngest niece at the time , just a few months old ; my mom was singing a holiday tune to her ; it was a tune my father and mother liked to sing . I tried to commit this very moment to memory , taking in all the joy and warmth surrounding this occasion . I soon found myself lost in thought , thinking about Christmases past and wondering what the future held for me and my family . I was woken out of my reverie by my mother , still holding the baby in one hand and handing me a good sized gift box in the other hand . I was surprised at the size of the box , since I usually expected clothes this time of year , especially since I never told anyone what I wanted for Christmas . And while this box was in the shape of a clothes box , it was much bigger than what I was used to . Maybe it was a whole bunch of clothes ! I didn 't have any expectations about the box when I took off the wrapping . I was just happy to have new clothes . But it wasn 't new clothes . It was something more precious and more valuable than I could ever have imagined . I did not think that I could ever a receive a present that would make me feel any more happier than I was . But I was wrong . My mother found a way . I held my breath and tuned out everyone as I stared at my gift . It was as if time had stopped and I found myself humbled and surprised at such a wonderful , I immediately flashed back to memories of my father wearing his jacket when he was leaving the house for work or to run errands . I remember him coming home from work and we 'd run up to him when he came through the door . He 'd get down to hug us and I remember the feel of the jacket and the scent of Old Spice coming off my father and his jacket . He always had a smile and hug for us , and he always felt so solid , so strong , and so warm whenever he embraced us . It made me feel happy , feel safe , feel loved . I remember him wearing his jacket when we drove around town or when he was picking us up from school . I remember my two brothers and I trying on Dad 's jacket when he left it hanging on a dining room chair . It was so big and heavy and warm and soft on the inside and it smelled of my dad . Now , that jacket was in my hands . It still felt warm and soft and strong . I couldn 't believe that my mother would give me my father 's jacket . The last time I saw it , it was in a steamer trunk where my mother kept her wedding dress and other important items . I suddenly realized that my two brothers were next to me , touching the jacket , asking about the jacket . I looked at my mother , and she smiled and said , " I thought you might need something to keep you warm and dry if it ever gets cold and rainy on your travels . " Suddenly , I was overwhelmed with long buried memories and deeper , hidden emotions . I wanted to cry then and there . But I held it together for the sake of the children . I didn 't want them to worry and I wasn 't going to bring up sad memories at this time . For crying out loud , it was Christmas ! It was supposed to be a happy time for all . I felt a lump in my chest , it was all I could do to keep myself from bursting into tears ; that wouldn 't be cool . At 17 , you think you have to be strong , to be stoic to be cool ; at 17 , you 're still an idiot ; at least I was . But at 17 , I also knew that I had been given an important gift , one that signified that I was old enough now to appreciate what I had , and that I was loved and had the support of my loved ones . I stood up and hugged my mother , thanked her for the priceless gift and returned to the sofa where my two brothers were waiting . My brother who was a year older asked if this was our father 's jacket . And I said yes , it was . He became quiet , lost in thought as he stroked the jacket . I don 't think he was jealous ; not my brother . After all , for his 18th birthday , my mother had given him my father 's watch . My youngest brother , however , had a confused look on his face . He needed confirmation that it was our father 's jacket . I let him try it on . And my other brother and I told him of how we used to try it on when we were younger . My young brother put it on and treated it very reverently . After a while , he said he remembers how heavy but warm and soft this jacket was , and he did remember clinging to it when Dad lifted him up and carried him around . And suddenly I remembered it , too ; my little brother as a baby , laughing and squealing and clinging on tightly to my dad as my father scooped him up and swung him up in the air a few times before hugging him close to his chest and kissing him and carrying him in his arms for a while . I remember my baby brother 's tiny fingers as they gripped on that jacket ; I remember his lively smile as he clung to our father ; and I remember the times when I 'd see his tiny head falling asleep upon the jacket on my father 's shoulder , his little face so content , so at peace while my father rocked him to sleep , sometimes singing or humming a song to help my baby brother fall asleep . That jacket was a part of my father 's identity . So many of brothers ' and my memories of our father involved him wearing his jacket . Not that he wore it all the time , but for us , his youngest three boys , our best memories of our father were the ones when he spent time hugging us before leaving for work wearing his jacket , or of us eagerly waiting for him to come home after work , hanging out on the porch in the evening , restlessly keeping watch for dad to come home . And when we 'd see his truck coming up the road towards our home , we 'd jump and scream with joy , yelling out loud to everyone in the house that dad was home . We 'd wave excitedly at his truck and eagerly waited for him stop the truck by the house , get out of the truck , and we 'd rush into his arms as he bent down to scoop us up against his chest , our faces rubbing against that soft jacket that covered his strong , warm body that held us in a big hug . I remember my two brothers and me feeling so happy and so safe and so glad to have our dad home . Every child just wants to be happy and be loved ; and nothing makes a child happier or safer or truly feel loved like a good hug from loving parent . I remember my father wearing that jacket when we 'd work outside the house doing chores , working in the garden or tending to the animals on the farm , raking leaves or doing maintenance on our home . He 'd wear it when we 'd all go for a ride in the truck for ice cream to treat ourselves after a long day 's hard work or just to celebrate . Sometimes , he 'd play with my brothers and I outside after work , still wearing his jacket . A few times , I remember falling asleep at an outdoors community or family gathering , or maybe after a day spent at the beach or park or out in the woods , and I 'd wake to find that jacket covering me like a warm protective blanket ; other times , it was a pillow to cradle our heads when we passed out for an afternoon nap . I remember old fotos of my father when he was a young , single man out and about in the world , wearing his jacket . He 'd had it on his adventures long before he met our mother . And it was one of the few things that belonged to him that my mother kept after he passed on . That jacket was an iconic part of my father 's identity . Superman had his red cape ; my father had his bomber jacket . And now , that jacket was mine . Of all the gifts that I 've ever been lucky enough to receive , this was one of the most precious and most important that I 've ever gotten in my life . When you 're 17 , you think you 're invincible and so sure that you know everything there is to know about the world ; at 17 , my mother showed me that there was still so much that I had to learn , and after all these years , I 'm realizing that I know absolutely nothing at all . 17 year olds are stupid . Actually , anyone at any age can be pretty stupid . But even 17 year olds can have moments of clarity . And when I was given that jacket as a gift that Christmas , I had a moment of clarity . I knew that I had been given a tremendous gift , a great honor , a blessing and a symbol of trust and hope and love . Later on that night after everyone had gone to sleep - - the adults , mostly from gorging themselves on the holiday food and spirits , and the kids , from staying up so late and worn out after playing with their new toys - - I put on that jacket and took a walk under the stars and moonlight . It wasn 't unusual for me take a midnight stroll . I 've been doing it for a few years since I turned 14 and couldn 't just lay in bed awake all night . I was a night person . It was another trait that I had inherited from my father . He was a night owl , too . When I was younger , I 'd stay up late , pretend to be asleep when my brothers and I were sent to our room for bedtime . I 'd be up til just before 10 pm , waiting for my father to return home from those long days at work during the busy season . I 'd sit at the window , under the night skies , dark when overcast with clouds , and rich with stars like diamonds on black velvet with a pearl moon on clear nights . I 'd be lost in daydreams while I watched for the headlights of my dad 's truck to shine through the dark woods as the pickup would come along slowly on the dirt road that led to our house . As soon as I saw those headlights , I 'd run out of the room and right out to the living room to wait by the front door to greet my dad . My mother had gotten used to me staying up late , waiting for my father to come home those late nights . She 'd given up on sending me back to bed for being up at such a late hour . She 'd come to the realization that I was a night person like my father . And as long as I 'd be quiet and not wake anyone else up , I 'd be allowed to stay up late . And as long as I still got up on time the next day for school or chores or church , I could stay up a little late . I had no problems with getting up early back then ; but it was a whole different story in high school however , when I just wanted to sleep in late after staying up all night . I enjoyed waiting up for my dad to come home those late nights . He 'd come through the door and hug me before he 'd greet my mother . We 'd go in the kitchen and sit at the table where my mother would fix him a plate of food to eat and a beer to drink . My parents would talk for a little bit . Most times , my mother would leave afterwards , kissing me goodnight before she went to bed . That just left my father and me . And when you come from a big family with many siblings , any one to one time with a parent is an amazing and most sought after opportunity . And I loved spending those late nights talking to my dad . He 'd eat and ask me questions . I wasn 't hungry , having had dinner earlier with the rest of the family , but I loved answering my dad 's questions about my day . And he seemed to enjoy listening to me to go on and on about what I and my brothers did that day ; what we saw ; who we talked to or played with ; what chores we did , like feeding the animals and weeding the garden or picking up leaves or gathering firewood ; what things we had planned for tomorrow ; how we were doing at school or at community functions and events ; whether we were listening to our mother ; and he 'd remind us to be safe when we explored our surroundings , which included the great woods that surrounded our farm and fields . I 'd ask him a few questions about his day ; and he kept his answers short and simple . Mostly , he just wanted to listen to how my day was with my brothers ; and I loved sharing my day and my thoughts with him . It didn 't matter if we had spent the day climbing trees or playing tag or hide and seek , or pretending to be pirates looking for treasure , or spacemen battling hostile aliens , or ninjas on a secret mission ; my dad wanted to hear it all . He 'd laugh at our adventures ; he 'd smile ; sometimes , he 'd raise an eyebrow if we did something that seemed a little risky or daring or borderline pushing the limits . But mostly , he let me drone on and on about my day . He had a way of listening that made me feel like I could ask him anything and telAnd as I headed out of the house in the dark hours of that Christmas night , I needed to sort out my thoughts , to help work out the competing and complex emotions and thinking that had stirred up chaos and questions in my heart and my mind . Some nights , I become overwhelmed with the need to go for a walk to sort things out . This was one of those nights . And lately , these restless nights were becoming more and more frequent . It was a quiet night and I felt as if I were the only person awake in the world . The stars were out and the air was chilly , but that jacket kept me nice and warm . A little while later , I found myself by my father 's grave . Suddenly , I was overwhelmed with emotion and memories that I could not help but cry . It was just too much for me to bear . I was a small child again , waking up from a bad dream in the middle of the night , wandering down the hallway to find my father to comfort me , only to realize painfully that the nightmare was real , that my father really was gone , and I 'd go back to bed and cry myself to sleep , silently sobbing to keep anyone from waking , to see me crying , alone and miserable til exhaustion and sorrow lulled me to sleep . My heart ached and my soul was still mourning the devastating and painful loss of my father after all these years . I thought about my Dad and how much I missed him and wished he was still here with us . I thought about my Mom and I cried because I wanted so much for her . I wanted her to be happy . I was so moved by her giving me my father 's jacket and showing how much she loved me . She wished me well and supported me in my plans to leave home and be on my own . I had this need inside to get out and see the world beyond our borders , to leave my small town behind and see the big cities and places I 've read about so many times in books and seen on tv . There was a fire inside of me that was burning to see the world ; a drive to see what 's out there . I thought about my two brothers and how I was leaving them behind ; I was going to miss them ; I was really going to miss my family . But I knew that I had their love and support and I would be fine . I stayed at my father 's grave til I stopped crying . I told him of my plans after high school , how I wanted to see the world and live on my own . I told him how much I missed him and how much I loved him and how much I wanted to make him and my mother proud . And how I would never , ever forget him . And whatever happened or wherever I went , I would alI loved my jacket . It was one of the most precious gifts that I have ever received . That last year living at home , I wore it everywhere - - to school , to work , and when I was going out and it was chilly or rainy . I thought it made me look cool ; my friends certainly said so , as did a few strangers . I certainly felt cool . That vintage sleek look gave me an extra boost of confidence and just enough cockiness to flirt with girls and have a good time , not really caring what the world thought of me . My already flourishing social life exploded exponentially as I ventured out to try new things and hang out with new people and make new friends . That jacket made me feel just a little bolder and a little more adventurous . I loved that jacket and took very good care of it . It was becoming a part of my identity , and I was making new memories and having wonderful new experiences with it . A few times , when I would leave it hanging on the back of a dining chair , I would catch my nephews and nieces trying it on , and I 'd smile and think back to when my two brothers and I did the same thing . Six months later , I had graduated high school and found a way to make a living far away from home . I remember packing only a carry on bag and my backpack . I wanted to travel light and take only the essentials . Anything of value I left at home ; except for that jacket . I was taking it with me on my new life . The day before I was to leave home , I was hanging out with my two brothers , just sitting on the porch , and talking about everything and nothing . I was really going to miss this , hanging out with them . The 3 of us had been together for as long as I could remember . We stuck up for each other and looked out for each other ; part of it comes from being only 1 year apart in age ; the other comes from being so many years younger than our much older siblings . We were friends and brothers . We had shared many adventures together . We shared our tragedies and sorrows ; our fortunes and our joys . We shared a bond unlike any other , and we shared a connection that was closer than to any of the others . We could just sit in silence and speak volumes without ever saying a word . And as we sat there on the porch and watched the sun start to set , it finally hit us that this would be our last time hanging out together , for a long while , possibly forever . I felt an overwhelming sense of melancholy , that I was leaving behind not just my closest brothers , but my friends and fellow adventurers and explorers , my true band of brothers . And as the sun sunk lower across the horizon , I couldn 't help but think that this was the metaphor of my life . The sun had set upon the days of my brothers and I hanging out together , and I was the one who was ending it . As the skies changed from orange to lavender , the stars started appearing along the darkening heavens . A chill started rising with the soft evening breeze . I felt a sense of sadness and I was conflicted between my desire to leave and see the world or stay and enjoy the company and friendship of my brothers . I wished that there was a way I could 've taken my brothers with me , but life had laid out different paths for all of us . And we had chosen to take those different paths to find our own way into the world . It was the end of an era , and I mourned the loss , because now , we were truly no longer children , but young men on the cusp of manhood , poised to venture out into the unknown ; independent , free , absolutely terrified and excited at the same time . Life had shown just how cruel and vicious it could be when it suddenly took away my father . It shattered my family and my childhood in so many ways . But I had my mother and my brothers and we rebuilt our lives and we still had each other , we still had a home . So long as we had each other , we were going to be all right . Except now , I had chosen to leave , and it would once again change the family in ways that I could not imagine . But this time , it was by choice that I had decided to leave , and I had always known since I first became aware of the world outside that I was going to leave home and see that world . My family sensed this , and they 've always supported this . That 's what family does : It supports and protects . Still , it was very sad to realize that I was leaving behind a home and a loving family . And sitting on that porch with my brothers , a small part of me was ready to give up and stay home , where it was safe and I felt loved and be with the familiar and comforting . But I knew that deep down inside , I had to go . It was in my nature and I cannot change who I am . But I still mourned leaving behind my family , my brothers , and my home . I looked at my older brother , sitting there , looking out at the night sky , quiet , contemplative . He never cried , unless it was a truly terrible and tragic event , like the passing of our father . Most times , he kept his feelings inside , to keep others from seeing him cry . I did the same thing . We never cried in front of other people , except at funerals . We tried to keep it together for the sake of everyone else , and held focus and got things done , handled our business , and when the crisis was over , we 'd find a private place to be alone and grieve . I think that seeing our mother devastated by the passing of our father had changed us . We had never seen our mother cry and grieve like that , to be in so much pain , to suffer so , and we didn 't ever want to see her like that again . We never cried because we didn 't want her to suffer , so we kept it together , like she did , when she had to pull herself together to take care of her family and raise her youngest three boys alone . My youngest brother , however , was always a gentle soul . He cried when he was sad , when he was hurt , whenever he felt overwhelmed with emotion . In a way , he was the most honest and bravest of the three of us . He was my mother 's baby , our baby brother . And though there were times when my older brother and I were mean to him , those times were very few and far in between . Rather , we were always overprotective and always looked out for our baby brother . And looking at him staring out at the horizon , I could just make out the tears shimmering in his eyes , and I almost broke down and cried , because I did not want to see him cry , and I realized that he was sad because I was leaving , that I had made him sad . In trying to follow my own heart and chasing my dreams , I had inadverdently hurt the ones I loved . I was a selfish person ; I was a terrible person ; because I couldn 't change who I was and what I wanted , and I was going to follow this path , even if it meant hurting the ones I loved . I took off my jacket - - my father 's jacket , my most precious possession . The night chill gave me goosebumps . But it also invigorated me . I handed it to my youngest brother , surprising him out of his thoughts . " Here , " I said , " Put this on . " My youngest brother took the jacket and put it on . My older brother was watching us silently . I told my baby brother , " I want you to keep this for me . I don 't want to take it with me and risk losing it . " My youngest brother looked surprised . I continued , " This way , you 'll have something to keep you warm and dry , " the look of awe and gratitude in his face was almost enough to make me cry . I struggled to keep my voice from shaking , to keep myself from crying as I continued , " This jacket once belonged to Dad . It kept him warm and dry . And when I wore it , it kept me warm and dry . Now , you 'll have a piece of Dad with you , and a little piece of me with it . " I could only meet my youngest brother 's eyes briefly , which shone with such reverence and pride and humility and gratefulness that I looked way before I could cry . I caught my older brother 's glance quickly , his eyes were shimmering , but he had a grin and nodded . We looked away to the horizon again , before the tears threatened to overcome us all . Our baby brother was very young when our father died . He barely remembers him ; and he frequently looks at old pictures of our father to remind himself of what dad looked like . He has these few memories of our father , but those few are so full of love and warmth . I wished that our father was around much longer , to give my baby brother more memories of him at least . And my older brother and I had told our baby brother all we could remember of our father ; but it was never enough . He could never get enough stories about our father from our mother and older siblings and other people who knew our father . Truth was , we never could get enough , because nothing could replace the loss of our father from our lives . At least with this jacket , my baby brother had something physical to hold on to . Something solid and real . Something that would keep him warm and dry . Something to remind him that our father loved him dearly , and that I did , too . Later that night , I told my mother what I had done with my jacket . And she had that look again , where her eyes welled up , but she didn 't cry , rather she smiled , she nodded , and told me that I had done the right thing , a wonderful thing . And I certainly hoped so . Over the past few months , I had relied on that jacket to give me warmth and comfort . In a way , I had begun to think of it as my armor , my protection against the outside world . It would keep me safe when I ventured out into the unknown . But that night , I realized that I didn 't need that jacket as my armor . My mother had taught me life skills to survive and thrive , and growing up with my two brothers had given me the strength , the wisdom , and the experience that I needed to overcome any challenges life threw at me . I was going to be fine . My family was going to be fine . And my baby brother would have a piece of Dad and a little bit of me to keep him warm and dry , and remind him that he was loved by his family . I admit that in the years since I left home , there were times when I wished I had that jacket with me . Those were the times when life almost overwhelmed me . But I survived and kept moving forward . Then there were times when it was cold and I forgot to take something to keep me warm and dry , and then I really wished I had that jacket . But that 's due to poor planning and unpreparedness on my part . Now , I travel with a warm jacket and keep a spare in the car . Still , there are times when I 'm alone and I think of my family , my father , my mother , my brothers , and I wish I had that jacket , if only as physical proof that I was loved and grew up in a loving home and had a wonderful father , a loving mother , and great brothers . But those times are very rare and brief . The last time I saw that jacket was a few years ago . I had finally returned home after so many years of being away . It was the first time that the whole family , including my older siblings were together again . We were standing under the roof of the hospital , watching the heavy rainfall , trying to decide if we should wait for it to ease up or run to the car and go home late that night . It was me , my two brothers , my eldest niece , my closest nephew , and my eldest sister - - these were the people I was closest to in all of my family . We had just left the ICU , where our mother had just passed away , peacefully , surrounded by those who loved her . Everyone had tears in their eyes ; except for me . The heavens cried for me that night . I was relieved that my mother had found peace , that she was finally free from suffering . And I was glad that I was able to come home and spend what little time we had left together . And I was so grateful that she was free of pain and suffering , and that she had laughed and smiled and her eyes twinkled with joy during her last hour with us . When my father died , it was a sudden tragedy that destroyed my life and childhood . But with my mother 's passing , I found a sense of peace and tranquility , of relief knowing that she was no longer in pain , and that she left us surrounded by love and happiness . Then it struck me , that I had no father , and now I had no mother . I was now an orphan , and I was all alone in the world . And it was a strange and undefinable feeling . I was woken out of my thoughts by my youngest brother , asking me , if I wanted my jacket back . He had been wearing it all this time and after all these years . I looked at his tear stained face and shook my head no , and told him that he should keep that jacket a little while longer . Before my mother got sick , she had given my youngest brother my father 's wedding ring . And when she was rushed to the hospital , it was my baby brother who took her wedding ring to keep it safe . I thought it right that he should keep both . Looking at my brother standing next to me wearing that jacket , I couldn 't help but think back to that last Christmas I spent with my family so many years ago . I was 17 and thought that I knew everything , when I really didn 't . I was just an optimistic fool full of hopes and dreams . I still am , only I 'm a lot more wiser now . Some things in life you can only learn by experience , and sometimes , experience hurts . I stood there looking out at the rain , wishing that I had more time with my mother . I wished that I had come home more often and spent more holidays at home . I wish that I could 've spent one more day listening to her talk , listening to her laugh , and listening to her sing and just say whatever , just so I could hear her voice once more . Just one more day . What I wouldn 't give for just one more day . Oh , how my heart ached for just one more day with my mom . But those are the thoughts of a grieving person . And what 's done is done ; no going back . And the truth was , though I loved my family , my life was far from the place were I was born and raised . The last time I did come back home so many years before , I was struck with the realization that I really didn 't belong here anymore , that my life truly did belong to the world outside , far away from here . Christmas at home was never the same after I left . My older siblings started having holiday gatherings at their own homes , and my mother and baby brother started traveling to these different homes for the holidays . Sure , my mother 's house was decked out for the holidays , and there were a few more holidays held at my mother 's house , but by then , not everyone was able to make it , either because they were celebrating elsewhere or were far from home . As for me , instead of flying home , I sent that money for the cost of a ticket to my mom . That money funded her trips with my baby brother to other places to see family and friends and enjoy long vacations . She and my baby brother rather enjoyed doing that , and often times they took some of my nieces and nephews with them on their travels . Looking at the jacket that kept my youngest brother warm and dry and comforted , I thought of my father , and how he wore that same jacket when he hugged us and picked us up , how sad we were when he left the house for work , and how happy we were when he came back home . It was a part of him , and it kept him warm and safe and dry . I thought back to that last Christmas with my family , thinking of how moved I was that my mother thought I was worthy enough and needed that jacket to keep me safe and warm and dry . I realized that jacket did give me what I needed : The courage to move forward , knowing that I had the support and love of my loved ones . That jacket had given my baby brother something to hold on to , to remind him that he had a father who loved him , even if he could barely remember him . And it reminded him that he had a mother and a whole family who loved him , too . I realized now why that jacket was so important to me . It represented love and home . It made me realize that I was loved by my family and I had a home full of love and support . Every child should have that . And I was lucky and blessed to have that growing up . And I 'm still lucky because I have friends that I count as family . Family is , after all , the people you love and hold most dear . And friends are the family you get to choose . A good jacket is a lot like family : strong , dependable , and able to help you weather any storm . Of course , there are times when a crazy family can feel like a strait jacket . But a good family is like a good jacket . It keeps you safe and warm . It protects you and keeps you dry when the weather gets rough . And at times when that jacket makes you feel a little hot , you can take it off for a while and cool off ; and if you find that you don 't need that jacket for now , you can put it up somewhere safe , knowing that it 'll always be there for you when you need it . And if you take the time and care for that jacket , that jacket will last a long time , and in turn , it will take very good care of you when you need it and protect the ones you love and hold most dear . So for this holiday season , I hope you are among loved ones , friends and family , and if you have children , I hope you take the time to tell them how much you love them and spend time with them . Do this for all your friends and loved ones . It 's the most important gift you can give them this holiday . I hope that you are in a place where you are safe and sound , in contact with friends and loved ones , and count your blessings , and know that your actions and intentions do have a great influence on the ones you love and the world around you . I hope you find kindness and warmth and a sense of home . I hope you are safe and happy . And I hope that you have a good jacket to keep you warm and dry . This blog undergoes construction from time to time . The author likes to experiment with changes and design . During the ongoing construction , blog posts may not be available . Apologies for that . Please be patient as blog posts will return as soon as possible . Thank you .

It was a wonderful day yesterday . The wedding was just lovely . James looked so happy . They started the ceremony in a way that I 'd never seen before . The minister read a piece from James ' parents about how much they loved Rosalind , and then he read a piece from Rosalind 's family about how much they loved James . Families are a big part of a couple 's new life , and I thought that it was a nice touch . I 've got pictures , including a great one of William playing with balloons . He loved them . The shoes that I got worked well . They were soft as slippers . My sister , who is a dancing fool , dragged me out on the dance floor to do the Electric Slide . I suppose , ( dear God ! ) that there are pictures . There is nothing that screams ' wedding reception ' louder than old women on the dance floor . Rosalind 's family is Filipino , and there was a lovely array of traditional foods at the reception in addition to the nicely catered meal of chicken breasts and porkchops . Just as we were about to leave the house , we got a call from Cara . She 'd been rousted out of her bed in the middle of the night and told to " Go , go , go right now ! " It is monsoon season there , and there has been great flooding w / mudslides . Loss of life . Travel restrictions . To complicate things , the crash of the Asianic cargo plane was fodder for rumor . Cara never says that she is afraid . She admits to stressed . She 's been traveling for 12 hours now . Getting anywhere by ground travel was difficult and crowded . She was able to skype from the bus terminal . She was able to skype again from the airport . She was able to skype just before boarding for Beijing . She made it . She is currently in the air and on her way home . How do I spell relief ? A - S - I - A - N - I - C flight . I am almost done with the last question of my homework . ( Sounds like a minor detail , but it is not . . . that assignment had 30 questions and some of those questions took a half hour to answer . ) I got interrupted by events out of my control . It was a great day . When I finally got to bed last night , my feet and legs were killing Posted by A guy came into the store looking hot and bedraggled and with a bloody nose . " Gees , " I said , looking at him , " what ' dya do ? Snot off to the wrong person ? " He looked at me surprised . " Why ? " I looked back at him , just as surprised . " Well , to start with your nose is bleeding . . . " He looked a little dazed . " Is it ? " " Uh - huh , " I said . He tells me that he was mowing his lawn , and a rock came up and hit him in the face . He did not realize that his nose was bleeding . I said , " My friend , you fought the lawn , and the lawn won . " He said , wearily , " I need a shower . . . " and he dragged out the door with his chicken feed . Poor guy . I went shopping . I 'm having the most excruciating time with my feet . Tim and I are going to my nephew 's wedding tomorrow ( James and Rosalind ) . I had to find a pair of flat shoes . I found a pair of shoes that look like ballet flats . I think they will work with my dress . I found myself looking at sexy bras and really longing to wear something like that . I can 't . I 'm lopsided . Flopsy and Notsy . I contemplated stuffing one side . I don 't know . I guess that I have to work up to that . I dread the thought that my husband might find me ' hot ' , only to get me home and watch me pull the stuffing out of one side . That would be a real turn on , hey ? * winces * But anyway , I have a nice pair of shoes to wear that hopefully , will allow me to even get a couple dances in with my husband . I will spend most of the day with Buddy and Brianna and wee William . I 'm looking forward to that too . I came home and I worked on my homework for three hours . The good news is that I only have three more questions . I will work on them after the wedding and the reception tomorrow , and turn them in ( hopefully ) Saturday night . It is due Monday , but I will be driving to pick up my Cara . I have not seen her since March , and that is the longest we have gone without seeing each other . I am excited about that reunion too . So that 's it really . Good night all . I had surgery last month , and I received the billings for it . Different departments have their own billing system , which is confusing . I have four bills for four different departments within the same hospital . The bills are not yet due . Not one of them . Imagine my surprise to answer the phone two or three days ago , and find an that it was an automated call . The hospital ' needed to speak with me about my open account . ' I waited patiently , and pushing the appropriate buttons to be connected to the proper department . After waiting , I was told that they were experiencing a higher number of calls that usual , and the nice automated machine suggested that I leave a number where I could be reached , which I did . Remember : these are not overdue . These bills are not yet even thirty days old . The call was returned , but of course , it came in while I was at work . I came home from work to discover the call . They needed to speak with me about my account . I called this morning and spoke with ' Melissa ' who explained to me that I had multiple accounts open with the hospital . " Yes , " I explained . " I know . I 've got the bills in front of me now . " She wondered if I planned on paying these bills . ( WHAT ? ? ? ? ! ! ! ! ! ! ) Remember : these are not overdue bills . They have a due date on them , but they are not yet due . I was starting to become angry . " Yes . We will pay these bills . We always pay our bills . " She chirpily tells me that if I would like to pay these bills , right now , I could make that payment with her , FOR FREE . " I wasn 't aware that the hospital charged you for making a payment . " She is getting a little impatient . " I just said the payment was free . " " I heard you , " I said . " But it would be free when I go down to make the payments next week . It 's always free to make the payments . " She determined that I would not be making payment this day . I remind you , once again , not one of these four bills are overdue . They are not even due . Not until next week . After speaking with her , I called the hospital to complain about being dunned for payment for a bill not yPosted by Feet and legs are better today . I 'm still working on homework . I 'm about halfway done . Due by Aug . 1 . Problem is August 1 is when I 'm picking up Cara , and I do NOT want to worried about homework on that day , so am trying to get it done early , so as not to be concerned . I have a B + in the class so far , and have learned a valuable life lesson . Do not try to take an online test when you are busy , and not ready to give it your full attention . I had plenty of time to go back and check it over , but I was in a hurry , thought ' that 's good enough . . . ' I ended up with a shocking 70 % in that , which nearly gave me fits . I will never do that again . Totally threw my ' A ' away with that one exam . Other exciting news ? The heat has broken . We have reasonable temperatures again . It was windy last night , and I hoped it would rain , but it didn 't . I took my aching bones to bed early last night , slept like a rock , probably a combination of the cooler temperatures . Maybe the large glass of wine had something to do with it as well . ( Disclaimer : I took the pain killer before noon , and waited to drink the wine until after 7 , as the effects of the painkiller began to wane . I did not mix the two . ) I saw this online , and it made me laugh . Passing it along for your laugh of the day as well . Dog Rules1 . The dog is NOT allowed in the house . 2 . Okay , the dog is allowed in the house , but ONLY in certain rooms . 3 . The dog is allowed in all rooms , but has to stay OFF the furniture . 4 . The dog can get on the OLD furniture only . 5 . Fine , the dog is allowed on all the furniture , but is not allowed to sleep with the humans on the bed . 6 . Okay , the dog is allowed on the bed , but only by invitation . 7 . The dog can sleep on the bed whenever he wants , but not under the covers . 8 . The dog can sleep under the covers by invitation only . 9 . The dog can sleep under the covers every night . 10 . Humans must ask permission to sleep under the covers with the dog . Today , after work , I could barely walk . It felt like every bone in my feet had been broken . I was detoured by some road work , and nearly cried with the frustration . I took my shoes off , and it helped a little , which makes me wonder if my feet were actually swollen . By the time I got home , I was hobbling and nauseated with the pain . I took a pain killer . I have spent the afternoon in a drugged haze . I couldn 't even work on my homework . My thinking was too muddled . Nothing made sense to me . This blog post probably does not make sense either . Yesterday we went to hold the new nephew . He is adorable , the image of his big brother , who is adorable as well . We visited with my sister - in - law , and then headed for home . Tim has been taken with a huge house that a prominent family lived in when he was growing up in his small town . He stopped on the way home to look at it . We looked at it , with all of its structural details and the extensive stone work . We peeked in the big bay window and saw beautiful molding and wall paper , a gorgeous fireplace . Window seats on both sides of the big room . But the fact of it is that the house is decrepit and crumbling . Tim 's right . It WAS a beautiful house in its day , but it has been left to molder and decay . " No , " I said , and I meant it . Too much work . That husband of mine will work himself into an early grave . My vote was no . We did not need this house . No . He did not need yet another project . Tim seemed a little cross at me . I couldn 't understand it , not really . We generally decide these things jointly , although Tim will discuss things until I am just tired of hearing about it and tell him to ' just get on and do what he 's going to do , but for the love of God , PLEASE stop talking about it . ' It wasn 't like that this time . He didn 't talk the thing to death . He snapped a little . " I just wanted to look at it . If it 's not a good deal , it 's not a good deal . I just wanted to look at it . " I tried to figure out what was happening here . Sounded like he 'd come to the realization that the house was not something he 'd want to tackle . Evidently , we were of one opinion there . There was something else niggling at him . I rode along on the passenger side , looking out the window , pondering this . I wondered what it was like to be Tim , as a boy , looking , oh , not enviously , I don 't suppose , because he is a preacher 's son , and he doesn 't envy , but looking at ' the haves ' from the position of ' the have nots , ' maybe wondering what it was like to have that big house , to live in a house like that . . . Suddenly , I thought I had it all figured out . I looked over . Posted by Tim and I rarely argue . We disagree on stuff , but generally speaking , it works out fairly quickly . But Tim does have one habit that aggravates me , and we had quite a scrap about it . By the time we are done , this scrap will be a $ 5000 scrap . A big deal . See , Tim has a habit of collecting cars . Cars that no one else wants . He tows them home . He tells me , " There 's a lot of good parts on this car . . . " Sometimes he 'll use the parts . Sometimes he sells the parts . Sometimes , he gives the parts away , because , really , despite everything , he really is a very nice person . A generous soul . Sometimes I 'll say to him , " Honestly , Tim , someday , I 'm going to count cars , and I 'm going to be pretty upset at you . " He laughs . He doesn 't believe me . Even if he did , I don 't think it would much matter . However now someone wants to buy our house . The cars have got to go . And his piles of scrap ? They gotta go too . Let the scrapping begin ! Our truck and the car we 're towing in has just been driven off the scale . It is big enough to drive on to . It says that we are are 9240 lbs . This car belonged to a young friend of ours who crashed it . She was a college student . Tim felt sorry for her and gave her a car in exchange for her crashed vehicle . The car is picked up off our car dolly . Tim has just unloosed the straps . It is carefully set off to the side . Back on the ground again , so that Tim and I can remove all four lugnuts from the tires . Once removed , the crane comes back down . And once again , the car is picked up . The car is shook until the loosened rims and tires fall off . and then it is lifted up and out of the way . Tim is scooting back in to pick up the wheels and tires . They 'll take the car with the tires on , but they deduct an extra $ 25 per tire . We 'll bring those tires home , cut them off the rim , take the tires to be recycled , and bring back up another truckload of nothing but rims . And then car is raised to the top of the already massive pile . . . . and dropped at the top of the heap . Catalytic converters : did you know they contain platinumDebby I want you all to pray for a little boy today . I am not sure what started it , but as I was running checkout , a couple scum bags were there with a young boy . The one snarled at the child , " You wanna do pushups ? ' Cause I 'm about there . . . I 'll beat your & ) ^(*%^ $ a & ^ . I was a little shocked and stared . The man went on , " And let somebody call the cops and when they show up I 'll smash their * & % $ * & % faces in . . . " People were beginning to stare . The store was crowded . " Hey , " I said . " That 's enough . " Quietly , but firm . We don 't talk like that in the Tractor Supply . He started popping off big time then . He wasn 't coming back to the Tractor Supply . Not any of ' em , unless he had some C4 , he tells us . I was in the Army . I understood that he was threatening to blow up the store . I wasn 't scared . I didn 't believe it , but you don 't threaten . Not in this day and age . You don 't talk like that . " That 's enough , " I said . " Get out of my store . " ( where 'd that come from ? ) He started mouthing again , and I told him , " Get out of my store , right now , or I 'm calling the police myself . " He mouthed off a bit more . Foul mouthed egotistical pseudo - military idiot . " I 'm claiming my first amendment rights , " he said loudly . I yelled right back , " I 'm claiming my own first amendment rights : Get out of my store because I will call the police . " I heard the little boy say " I 'm sorry , " to his father , and it stopped me cold in my tracks . The confrontation attracted a lot of attention , and many customers came up to tell me how well I 'd handled it . " Good for you , by God ! " they said . " That was a good thing to see , " another said . " Excellent . " Over and over , I heard people telling me that I 'd done a good job . I didn 't . I did not do a good job . A little boy went out that door with a lunatic , and I can tell you exactly who 's going to pay the price for that confrontation . Pray for that little boy . I should have called the police . It was hot . Blistering hot . Over a hundred degrees hot . The kind of hot that slaps you in the face when you walk out the door . Now compared to Mikey , or Painted Promise , it is not a big deal , probably . They live in the desert , and are used to stuff like this . Me ? Not so used to it . The temps were up over 100 degrees ( 40 celcius ) , and it was a bit humid . Last night I dragged to bed . It was so hot , I couldn 't even sleep . I thought about going down to the other house . It is shaded and cooler there than it is up here . But it was so hot that I couldn 't even make myself move . So I lay there miserable and sweating . Tim came home from his second shift job about midnight , and when he came upstairs , we talked about ( what else ? ) the heat . I said that I 'd thought about just heading over to the other house after work , but I was not sure that he 'd be up to the extra driving . He said , " No . Let 's go , " and so we went . It was so hot that I just went in my cotton nightgown . Did not even get dressed . Carried my clothes in a bundle . It was a lot cooler in the new house , probably a good 10 degrees . With a sigh , I headed for bed . Tim , though ? Tims have got to putz before they go to bed . He was somewhere upstairs , I was drifting off to sleep , and I heard a scream . A scream , I 'm telling you . Tim is not much of a screamer . I also heard a string of cussing . Tim is not much of a cusser . I leapt from bed , and ran for the stairs calling , " Tim , Tim , are you okay ? What happened ? " just as he was coming down the stairs . " Get me a paper towel , " he gasped . I did , relieved that whatever had happened was not causing him to lose obvious amounts of blood . " What happened ? " I asked once again . He was opening a window , a loose one that did not stay up . It dropped . On his finger . Yep . That finger . This morning , I said " Tim , I think that you need to go see a doctor . " He won 't go . He claims that the doctor will just send him over to get an x - ray , which will cost $ 170 , and the insurance company will only pay $ 40 , and he doesn 't need to spend that much money to telPosted by Well , I started out this morning with a few hours of work . Then I headed home to feed Tim . Then I headed down to the house to work for the afternoon . This probably makes it a little clearer why every room in that 13 room house needed to be scrubbed . The house really was dirty . I 'm glad to say that I 've done all the rooms on the first floor . I 've got one room left on the second , and then the two rooms on the third floor . I will then , finally , be done scrubbing . Remember this ? By the time that I was done , today , it looked like this . This . . . . . . . now looks like this . Terrible picture , but you can see the gleaming woodwork , right ? Just say yes . I worked hard . The old cast iron plumbing has been knocked out and replaced . One new commode is in place , the other will go in tomorrow . There is still painting that needs to be done , and each room has a splotch that needs repairing where the old cast iron radiators once stood . But painting is being done . We are talking about renting a floor sander next week . And Bill ? I did try to take a picture of that cat , but he did not come to see me this evening . I will keep my camera handy . * * * * * * * Now I 'm drinking wine and watching a chick flick while folding laundry . It was a nice day . The past few days have been busy , filled , chockablock with work to be done . The normal housework at home , and the exciting rehab work at the new house . The school work . The work work . I 've been very busy , and it makes for boring reading , I imagine , this ordinary life I live . But in the midst of the boring blog reports , there are small moments of pleasure ~ that cat allowing itself to be picked up and petted . He looked around alertly , not at me . He nestled comfortably in my arm , studying the world . As if he was already my cat , as if being held by me was already an ordinary moment for him . Saturday night , Tim and I sprawled on a blanket under the stars eating piping hot french fries and talking to each other . There were fireworks , publicly . Privately . I had the pleasure of a long phone conversation with a friend last night . I have the pleasure of a clean house . ( Yes . Still . ) It is the second blisteringly hot day . I am tired , up at 3 : 30 to go put away freight at the store , up at my mother 's to clean for her , back home to tidy my own little house for our company tomorrow . Now I 'm sprawled lazily , limp and sweaty , and tired . I listen to the sounds of the woods , knowing that I 'll have to get used to different sounds . I 'm reading a book , a memoir of a woman 's childhood , and what she grew up to be . It 's a mildly interesting book , a pleasant read . I have no energy to wrestle with complicated plot lines right this minute . The final lines of it are " I hardly touch ground the last blocks to Grand Central , but come triumphantly to rest alone on Forty - second Street , on the edge of evening . I am beginning . My life is beginning which cannot be true . " I remember the exhileration of being 23 . I remember moments when my feet hardly touched the ground . What struck me poignantly is that now I am 54 . I realize that although I am nowhere near Grand Central Station , or Forty - second St , I feel as if her words could be my own . Even still . It 's an ordinary time for me , with extraodinary small moments of pleasure . I got all 27 questions ( two chapters ) done . I submitted them to the online drop box . I did my discussion posts . All that is left is to take my test on Friday night . I 'm really very proud of myself . Wine ? Too tired to go down and grab the bottle . But I did three loads of laundry , and I changed the sheets on our bed , and I did dishes . I 've got Tim 's lunch prepared for tomorrow , and I walked around the house doing one last minute tidy up . ( I 'm telling you . . . I mean for this house to stay clean ! ) I should have folded laundry , and did some ironing , but I have to be to work at 5 AM tomorrow . I think that I 'll hit the hay right now . Good night peoples . Another late edit : My post time shows as 6 : 40 PM ? That 's the weirdest thing . It is 9 : 14 pm . We went down to work on the house this morning . As per usual . We put the bathroom back together . I scrubbed the walls and the floor too . It looks nice . ( no . Didn 't have the camera . That Bush Babe is standing right behind me , isn 't she ? And she 's giving me a very dirty look , isn 't she ? ) I took the last of the curtains down , and they 're in a pile downstairs waiting to be washed . ( no . . . it 's not like that . . . I 've already got a load in . ) Tim installed the new commode . I scrubbed the disgusting bathtub until it looked nice again . All that is left to do in that room , really , is to replace the bathtub surround . We 've got Joe painting . He painted two rooms today . He 's coming back tomorrow too , bless his heart . I 've got one last room on the second floor to wash down , and then it 's on to the third floor . We 're looking at renting the floor sander in the next couple weeks , and then working on the floor refinishing . Room by room it 's coming together . Meanwhile , I 've said what I always say , which is , " Boy , it 's a heck of a lot easier to maintain a house than it is to clean a house . So , to that end , I came home , made Tim lunch and spent an hour spiffing up this house . Now , it 's time to work on my Psychology homework . Feeling very productive today , by golly . Late Edit : I have been working on my homework for a solid 3 + hours now . I was on page seven , when suddenly everything froze and the computer shut down to protect itself . I nearly had a heart attack when the document came up on page three , where I was when I shut it down the last time that I worked on the assignment . I found the autosaved document . Oh , I 'm so grateful for ' autosave ' . I have four more questions to go . Only four . I am beginning to think that I am going to get it done tonight . Know what ? When ( and if ) I get it done tonight , I 'm heading down to the new house to retrieve a bottle of wine . Ay yi yi . I cleaned my house today . REEEEEEEEALLY good . It was like a white tornado went through it . Did I tell you my house is clean ? See , I 'm making a deal about this , because it 's not really one of those things that happens on a consistant basis . I try . I usually get started , and then something else comes up , and then I never quite get back to it . But today , I got it done . ( Did I mention ? ) A couple came to look at the house . ( Is this connected to the frantic house cleaning ? Maybe . . . why do you ask ? ) They left telling us that they are " very interested " . They are going to the bank . They both have good jobs . It seems very possible that this could happen . Tim and I keep looking at each other and saying , " But we weren 't going to put it on the market until next spring . . . " In this uncertain economy , though , if there is someone who wants to buy a house that you are planning to sell anyway , well , you 'd be wise to sell it . We went out to dinner tonight , to a place that makes a good grilled chicken salad . We 're not celebrating . It 's way premature for that , but we are amazed at how this has all unfolded : the new house at an unbelievably low price , home repairs proceeding at a remarkable clip . And now someone just up and wants to talk to us about our house . It just seems strange to us that these things are unfolding with absolutely no effort on our part . Today in the restaurant , there was a man , with a pot of coffee , sitting alone at the booth , staring out the window . The waitress brought him his entree , and he ate it , slowly , the giant man with his head low over his food , looking neither left or right . Just eating . He just looked so lonely . I wanted to talk to him . I really wanted to know his story . Mikey 's posted a few pictures of Mercy on her blog . When Mercy is giving her an ornery look , she refers to it as ' getting the stink eye ' . Makes me laugh . So I 'm working at the store , and a woman pushes her cart up , stacked high with feed . A little girl maybe three years old is sitting on top of the feed , and if ever was a body giving the stink eye to the world , it was this one . I laughed a little at the expression on her face , and her mother shook her head , explaining that the child had just woken up . As I was scanning the prices , the girl sat there planted in the middle of the feed . Noticing that one of the bags was dog food , I said , " Do you have a doggie at your house ? " She smiled a little at that . " Yes , " she said . Encouraged , I said , " So what 's your doggie 's name ? " She looked at me with her bright blue little eyes , and she said , " His name is Remington . But sometimes we call him Darn - it . " I just about fell over . That cat was back at the new house today . He studied me from in front of the garage . " Here kitty kitty , " I said , and he approached me , warily . I spoke to him , and he began to wind around my legs . I was a little surprised . I was even more surprised when I reached down and petted him , and he pushed up against my hand . So . I picked him up and cuddled him while rubbing beneath his chin . I noticed that he did not purr , but he seemed to enjoy being held . Since we now are on friendly terms , I feel more at ease about approaching this delicate subject . Dear Cat : Tim and I both love asparagus . That little patch there ? That 's where we planted the asparagus . If you could find a different place to crap , it would make both of us very happy . Thank you . It 's been a busy week . I 've worked every day , even put in a couple long days . Last night , I treated myself . Brianna and I went out for supper . I got some time with her and William . It was the first time that we 'd ever gone out with the baby , and it was a lot of fun to walk around carrying a baby . It was nice to talk . Tonight , I worked on my Abnormal Psychology . It is a challenge to sift through the information yourself , and draw your own conclusions to answer the questions . I worry about whether I am doing it right . I have no classmate to turn to . It is just me . I have 27 questions to answer by next Friday . I worked hard tonight , answering only seven questions , but filling three pages . Ack . In a stunning turn of events , a couple is interested in buying our house . We 've not advertised it . It 's not ready . The excited wife explained that they are interested in fixing it up the way they want . They 've been driving by , hoping to see a " For Sale " sign go up . " We just think it 's so beautiful . " They are coming to look at the inside this weekend . Who hit the fast forward button on my life ? I 'm working hard , Tim 's working even harder , and somehow , between the two of us , we manage to keep up . Just barely . Yeah . I 'm amazed too . Funny story from the store : I hadn 't seen the couple with the white dog for some time . I was glad to see him in the store . " Where 's your wife ? Where 's your dog ? " I said looking around . He rolled his eyes . " The dog got excited , jumped in the front seat and smacked my wife in the mouth . She 's bleeding and the two of them are in the Jeep pouting . " I had just gotten off work , so I walked out to the parking lot to visit with her . Yup . She had quite a fat lip . I had a biscuit for the dog , and for the first time , she took it from my hand . So I hung over the driver side window visiting for a while . Soon , the husband came out the door with the part he 'd come for , so I said my good byes , and headed for my car . The husband is seldom at a loss for words , so he made one smart aleck comment . I turned back and hollered , " YouPosted by Cara sent me an e - mail : " Yeahh . Your bear problems aren 't over yet . " . . . . . . . . . . . . \ / Yeah . Okay . That there ? That 's a bear problem . We don 't have a bear problem . A girl at work insisted that " someone up there is feeding the bears . " I didn 't say much . I don 't know anyone who is . She continued to spout her opinion that someone had to be , because the bears are accustomed to humans , in her words . She claimed that she was riding across the road on her horse and came upon a bear who just stood there looking at her . ' This was very bad , " she said . ' He wasn 't afraid ' , she said . She also claimed he was a great big bear . Everyone claims that the bear they see are huge . I don 't know why . Usually , it 's not even true . First of all , a bear has very poor eyesight . Great sense of smell . He probably smelled the horse , didn 't see the human on his back . Second of all , feeding bears is just plain stupid . I don 't know of anyone that stupid up here . Third of all , she didn 't know anything for a fact , and I was not going to start conjecturing about something that was based on her flimsy suspicions . She said , " Surely you are having problems with them too . " " No , " I said . " We 've got one small one that came around three times in one day , and a couple days before that . We see them around , but we don 't have any problems with them . " " You don 't have any problems with them . " " No . " I continued working . Finally she said , " Well who do you think it is ? " It was starting to get annoying . I am not going to stand around and start naming names . Especially since I 'm not seeing any evidence of a major problem . I told her that I did not have a clue who was feeding the bears , or even IF anyone was feeding the bears , and I sure was not going to start accusing anyone of feeding the bears . I was talking to Tim tonight . I found myself beginning to wonder : was she implying that we fed bears ? Just for the record , I 'm not much on risking my life over a bag of garbage . The bear in the backyard was a small one , even smaller than this one . I know people with dogs that are bigger than that bear was . Black bears are basically pretty timid . Persistant perhaps , but I 've never seen one get ornery , although one did huff and throw his head around at me while I was trying to get pictures of him . He had stolen a case of soda and was sprawled out behind our blueberry bushes chomping down on the cans and drinking soda . When he started getting cranky , I attributed it to a caffeine buzz like none other , and backed out of there quickly taking my dog and my camera with me . I have never heard one roar in my life . I would probably wet my pants if I did . But this latest bear was not an ornery bear . He was a lazy bear who has become accustomed to getting easy food . He 'd come to our house at 5 AM that particular day . I woke up to hear the garbage can rattling . Speaking into my pillow , exhausted , I said , " Tim , there 's a bear . . . " Before I could finish my sentence , Tim had sproinged out of bed and was down stairs . ( How does he do that ? My sproinging days are over , I guess . ) I heard him scolding the bear from the back deck . Then I fell back asleep . I got up early that day , and I scrubbed walls at the house . I went to work and unloaded freight , and then came home and took an on - line test . It had been a busy day , and it started early ( thanks , bear ) and by midnight , that little booger deserved the yelling I did . Most of the bear that I have seen here are fairly small , although once , we heard the trash can , flipped on the light , and were astonished to see a huge bear with a head nearly the size of the trash can lid he was kicking off to the side . We did not go outside to yell at that one . We are a practical folk here . We watched him eat the garbage and depart . One rousing night , we had two large bear in the yard at the same time . I did not know about the second one until I 'd leapt from the back deck yelling at the one who was nosing aPosted by I am taking Abnormal Psychology as an on - line course . I 've never done an on - line course before , and it is quite strange not attending lecture . I turned in my homework assignment yesterday , and felt fairly confident in my knowledge . So , after I finished nine hours unloading freight at the store tonight , I got home and took a deep breath , and tackled my first online exam . I was a little nervous about doing it at home because if you lose connection for any reason , you are done with the test . No second chances . Weird things happen when you live in the woods , and I was worried about the connection . Weird things DO happen in the woods , but it was not a connection issue this time . I sat down and began the timed exam and I heard the trash can rattle . " HEY ! " I yelled , jumping up and throwing open the sliding glass door . The bear took off at a fast clip hauling the garbage bag , dropping it only after I charged out the back door after him . I 'm damn tired of picking up the trash . We 've done it twice in the last two days . I grumpily stashed the garbage back in the can , and rushed back in to my timed exam . It was not more than ten minutes later that I heard the can rattle again . " HEY , I ' M GETTING TIRED OF THIS ! " I yelled . He scooted off once more . This time , I stormed outside , grabbed the trash bag , climbed a ladder and deposited it on the roof of the back porch . I then stormed back inside to work on my timed exam . I submitted it and ended up with an 84 on it . I was a bit grumpy about that , but you know , I did not lose my connection . It did not occur to me that there was anything besides that to worry about . Pllt . Now I know better . The end . Yesterday was a wonderful day . Tim and I went to his family reunion . The weather was perfect , and it was well attended . If you all remember , his family meets at the old family homestead , and we bake wonderous amounts of bread in an outdoor woodfired brick oven . This year , Tim oversaw the baking of the bread without the supervision of Uncle Herman , who is in his nineties now , and having some trouble with blood counts . He did get there , and he seemed to be energized by the family which surrounded him , and it did my heart good . His brother - in - law , Uncle Chuck has lost even more weight . A big robust man who serenaded Tim and I with a barbershopper song the first time I met him , Uncle Chuck is now thin . He ate little , and I heard him talking about his wife who lives in a nursing home and does not always recognize him . Our elders are getting older . Gene ( Hi , Gene ) began to collect their stories , and I think that is a wonderful idea . " How many people were born in this house ? " he said , pointing to the old homestead . He was . Other voices claimed it as well . " Who remembers the 4th of July parties when Uncle Herman and Uncle Harold would give us plane rides ? Who rode in the plane ? " And hands went up once more . I listened enthralled as memories were recounted . We drove home in contented quiet , each of us with our own thoughts . " We need to get a recorder for these stories , " I said to Tim , lost in the thoughts of life as it was when our frail patriarchs and matriarchs were young and running the festivities . When Uncle Herman was flying a plane ( he crashed it , and according to his own words , Aunt Anna would not let him have another ~ he still has the wooden prop in his garage ) . When Aunt Ruby remembered Uncle Chuck . When Aunt Hazel was not slumped over in her wheel chair . Their grandchildren are having great - grandbabies now , and it would be a shame if they never heard the stories of the people who came before them . I suddenly found myself wishing that I 'd thought of it before . I worried about how many stories would be lost forever Posted by My back feels better , I am relieved to say . I had a nice chance to sit down and visit with Brianna and the baby last night . Last night when I went to bed , I realized that it has probably been a couple years since we have sat down and talked together , just the two of us . It meant a lot to me . Here 's a story for you : our July 4th parade generally has firetrucks going by throwing out candy to the children , but this year , it was deemed unsafe , although firemen could go down the street and hand out candy to the children . One fireman walked up to a young woman sitting on a blanket with her children . He offered candy to her children if ' she got up and did a little dance for him . ' Un - be - leeeeeeeeeeeeeeevable . Worst part of the story ? She got up and shook it for him . He told her that she 'd made his day , and went on along with the parade . Wonder how many women heard this line ? Wonder how many danced ? Wonder if Tim and I are the only people in the world who think this is wrong ? Last week , owing to an incident with a one piece bathtub and surround unit that ALMOST fit up the stairs to a second floor apartment , I injured my back . Instead of getting better , it got worse . Very much worse . By Monday , I was being touted as ' the missing link , ' walking in a strange stiff hunched way . Tuesday morning , I got drugs . Lots of ' em . I did not take them until the end of the day , however . I was scheduled to work . We are shorthanded , and I knew that the person who would get stuck with my shift was my dear friend Karen , and I couldn 't do that to her . ( Although she 'd have told me not to worry about it , and done it anyway . ) So I went to work . I have the next few days off , and I plan to putter around this poor house ( it sadly needs the attention ! ) and get myself back to rights again . In the meantime , here 's a few thoughts : I had a cavity filled at the dentist 's . On the walk downtown , I saw a shop which advertised chocolate covered bacon . Serious . The same shop advertised ' scented waxed toilet paper . ' I found myself stopping to stare . I had reconciled myself to the bacon by reminding myself that perhaps the salt / sweet thing goes together like chocolate covered peanuts or peanut butter cups . But the scented waxed toilet paper . I decided that I don 't want slippery toilet paper , I wanted absorbant toilet paper . . . and then I screamed a little to myself in my head . " Make the pictures STOP , " my mind screamed . I walked on briskly . And when I came back to my car , the same thoughts began to run through my mind as I passed the little shop . Ack . I think that they should simply take that sign down . Late Edit : I could not get over the vision of wiping my hiney with wax paper , no matter how good it smelled . This zoomed right to the top of the " what on earth were they thinking " list . Turns out that waxed and scented toilet paper is not for wiping with . I do feel better . Well . Not my back , but I couldn 't get that picture of wiping w / wax paper out of my mind . And here 's more on chocolate dipped bacon . Who knew ? Last night , a womanPosted by The old car ' dinged ' when it was low on gas . This car does not . So I 'm driving home from school ( I had to pick up a text book for my Abnormal Psychology on - line class ) . The car gives this little hiccup , and I look down and am horrified to see that the fuel gauge points to ' E ' . I begin to pray , hard , because the gas station is not far ahead , and much to my relief , I make it . I get to the gas station , and I pull up to the pump . The car dies . Just like that . I get out of the car and I am grateful , ever so grateful that I made it . Except . . . Except THIS car 's gas tank is on the other side of the car . And , no . . . It wouldn 't start again . But , yes . . . People helped me push it . * sigh * In my next life , I 'd like to be bright . Yesterday was a slow day at work , but the people were so friendly . A couple of my favorite folks came in to make a purchase . She lacked 12 cents , and did not want to break a dollar . She turned to her husband and said , " Hey , do you have 12 cents ? " and he answered no , that he had no change at all . She peeled off a dollar and handed it to me . " Don 't worry , " I said , " I 'm going to give you some sense , since neither of you have any between you . " She laughed . " I 'm telling you ( looking at her husband . . . ) at some point , I 'm getting those pants off you . If I find 12 cents , you 're a dead man . " They both laughed like crazy , and so did I . They left the store , and I was still grinning . When I went to school with him , he was very quiet , almost painfully shy . 30 + years later , he 's happily married , and somewhere along the line , he 's gotten over shy . Next thing , I know , they 're back at the foot of my counter . " Did I ring something up wrong ? " I asked . " Oh , no , " they assured me . With dawning horror , I said , " Oh dear heavens , don 't tell me you went through his pants in the parking lot . Mrs . W ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! This is a family store here ! ! ! ! " and they about fell over laughing . No . Mr . W . had really admired our charcoal grill , the one on sale . The one with the adjustable tray that raises the heat up and down , on sale for $ 99 . 99 . They talked about it in the parking lot , and decided to get it . I directed him to the Jack Daniel 's charcoal , made from whisky barrels , and he stood reading that , finally deciding on the ultimate grill experience . The manager came up , and looked surprised to see them again . They are jolly and loud . They 're not the sort of people you miss in the store , and he 'd noticed them the first time . " I know . " I said , shaking my head . " I try and try , but I can 't get rid of them , " and they said some loud thing that would have sounded really obnoxious coming from someone I didn 't know , and I came back with some sort of zinger , and next thing I know , there 's folk from the back of the line craning their necks , trying to what all the yellinPosted by I went to the dentist . I met a reader , and we had the most delightful conversation . I really love that . And then the dental hygienist went to school at about the same time as me ( she 's a little younger ) , but we talked our heads off . I saw a neighbor , Karen walking down the road , and stopped the car to give her a hug and blab for a time . I like talking to people . Despite the funeral , this weekend was nice . To correct a misconception , we are not moved into our house . It is completely empty , save for the bed we hauled out of a guest room up here . We just slept there . We celebrated with wine in bed , and talked about how lucky we are . ( Neither one of us would have ever dreamed we would be so blessed ! ) It was nice . The house is cool and well insulated . We heard a few more sirens than one hears in the woods , but they sounded comfortingly far away . The first morning , I woke up to the sound of a cardinal in the back yard . Nice . Very nice . Next weekend , we have the big family reunion / brick oven bread baking reunion . I get to go . And then Sunday , we 're heading out again , to Johnsonburg , for the baptism of my newest nephew Brandon . July 30th , my nephew is getting married . Cara will be getting back stateside on the first of August . We 're having a party the following weekend . Dylan and Brittani will be coming home . It would be nice to be able to have it at the new house , but we don 't know , not for sure . We 've got another wedding celebration August 20th . Hopefully , at some point in there , I 'll be able to do some grandbaby dandling . A couple weeks ago , I had company . An old school mate came with five teenagers . It wasn 't for long . . . four days , I think . It was fun , but it flew by , and there was no time for everything I 'd hoped to get in . I had a test at school , I was working . I had a paper due . All in the same week . Ack . But still , it was fun . When they left , we sent along two laptops . One of the teenagers with her was a refugee . Rebels came looking for his father , and attempted to torture the information out of his mother , in full sight of her children . The young boy cut his mother down when they left , and he kept his family safe as they made it to safety . It is assumed that his father was murdered , since they 've had no word of him since that day . Say what you will about refugees . I will tell you that I loved that boy . I 'm glad he 's here . Furthermore , I 'm glad his family is here . We sent my friend back with two laptops , Cara 's old one , and older one we 'd purchased some time back . Pauline 's downloaded educational games for the preschoolers ( which the mother is also earnestly working at , despite the fact that she does not have full use of either hand . ) The other laptop went to the oldest girl , Elodie , as her own , which is breathtakingly grand . I received a box today . It had a Kobo e - reader in it . I was completely shocked by such a thing . I 'd been playing with their e - readers , and , much to my surprise , I discovered that I would like one , despite the fact that I 'd previous spoke passionately about the heft of a book , and the smell of the pages , and the joy of turning pages , etc . Each of her children has one , and I saw them . I coveted , secretly . I mean , it 's an extravagance . It 's not something I 'd have ever done for myself . Yet she did it for me . I 'm reading Anna Karenina right now . I love that thing . Really . I still cannot believe that I have one of my own . Today was the funeral of my friend . She had such a laugh . You 've no idea , really . Her laugh was expansive and wonderful and joyous . It was not a rare thing , not while she was alive . And now she iPosted by I 'm the wife of a good man , the mother of good kids , the grandmother of sweet William . I am a student . A small time writer for the local paper . I am funny . I am serious . I am practical . Hardworking . I make great bread . I 'm loyal .

It was a wonderful day yesterday . The wedding was just lovely . James looked so happy . They started the ceremony in a way that I 'd never seen before . The minister read a piece from James ' parents about how much they loved Rosalind , and then he read a piece from Rosalind 's family about how much they loved James . Families are a big part of a couple 's new life , and I thought that it was a nice touch . I 've got pictures , including a great one of William playing with balloons . He loved them . The shoes that I got worked well . They were soft as slippers . My sister , who is a dancing fool , dragged me out on the dance floor to do the Electric Slide . I suppose , ( dear God ! ) that there are pictures . There is nothing that screams ' wedding reception ' louder than old women on the dance floor . Rosalind 's family is Filipino , and there was a lovely array of traditional foods at the reception in addition to the nicely catered meal of chicken breasts and porkchops . Just as we were about to leave the house , we got a call from Cara . She 'd been rousted out of her bed in the middle of the night and told to " Go , go , go right now ! " It is monsoon season there , and there has been great flooding w / mudslides . Loss of life . Travel restrictions . To complicate things , the crash of the Asianic cargo plane was fodder for rumor . Cara never says that she is afraid . She admits to stressed . She 's been traveling for 12 hours now . Getting anywhere by ground travel was difficult and crowded . She was able to skype from the bus terminal . She was able to skype again from the airport . She was able to skype just before boarding for Beijing . She made it . She is currently in the air and on her way home . How do I spell relief ? A - S - I - A - N - I - C flight . I am almost done with the last question of my homework . ( Sounds like a minor detail , but it is not . . . that assignment had 30 questions and some of those questions took a half hour to answer . ) I got interrupted by events out of my control . It was a great day . When I finally got to bed last night , my feet and legs were killing Posted by A guy came into the store looking hot and bedraggled and with a bloody nose . " Gees , " I said , looking at him , " what ' dya do ? Snot off to the wrong person ? " He looked at me surprised . " Why ? " I looked back at him , just as surprised . " Well , to start with your nose is bleeding . . . " He looked a little dazed . " Is it ? " " Uh - huh , " I said . He tells me that he was mowing his lawn , and a rock came up and hit him in the face . He did not realize that his nose was bleeding . I said , " My friend , you fought the lawn , and the lawn won . " He said , wearily , " I need a shower . . . " and he dragged out the door with his chicken feed . Poor guy . I went shopping . I 'm having the most excruciating time with my feet . Tim and I are going to my nephew 's wedding tomorrow ( James and Rosalind ) . I had to find a pair of flat shoes . I found a pair of shoes that look like ballet flats . I think they will work with my dress . I found myself looking at sexy bras and really longing to wear something like that . I can 't . I 'm lopsided . Flopsy and Notsy . I contemplated stuffing one side . I don 't know . I guess that I have to work up to that . I dread the thought that my husband might find me ' hot ' , only to get me home and watch me pull the stuffing out of one side . That would be a real turn on , hey ? * winces * But anyway , I have a nice pair of shoes to wear that hopefully , will allow me to even get a couple dances in with my husband . I will spend most of the day with Buddy and Brianna and wee William . I 'm looking forward to that too . I came home and I worked on my homework for three hours . The good news is that I only have three more questions . I will work on them after the wedding and the reception tomorrow , and turn them in ( hopefully ) Saturday night . It is due Monday , but I will be driving to pick up my Cara . I have not seen her since March , and that is the longest we have gone without seeing each other . I am excited about that reunion too . So that 's it really . Good night all . I had surgery last month , and I received the billings for it . Different departments have their own billing system , which is confusing . I have four bills for four different departments within the same hospital . The bills are not yet due . Not one of them . Imagine my surprise to answer the phone two or three days ago , and find an that it was an automated call . The hospital ' needed to speak with me about my open account . ' I waited patiently , and pushing the appropriate buttons to be connected to the proper department . After waiting , I was told that they were experiencing a higher number of calls that usual , and the nice automated machine suggested that I leave a number where I could be reached , which I did . Remember : these are not overdue . These bills are not yet even thirty days old . The call was returned , but of course , it came in while I was at work . I came home from work to discover the call . They needed to speak with me about my account . I called this morning and spoke with ' Melissa ' who explained to me that I had multiple accounts open with the hospital . " Yes , " I explained . " I know . I 've got the bills in front of me now . " She wondered if I planned on paying these bills . ( WHAT ? ? ? ? ! ! ! ! ! ! ) Remember : these are not overdue bills . They have a due date on them , but they are not yet due . I was starting to become angry . " Yes . We will pay these bills . We always pay our bills . " She chirpily tells me that if I would like to pay these bills , right now , I could make that payment with her , FOR FREE . " I wasn 't aware that the hospital charged you for making a payment . " She is getting a little impatient . " I just said the payment was free . " " I heard you , " I said . " But it would be free when I go down to make the payments next week . It 's always free to make the payments . " She determined that I would not be making payment this day . I remind you , once again , not one of these four bills are overdue . They are not even due . Not until next week . After speaking with her , I called the hospital to complain about being dunned for payment for a bill not yPosted by Feet and legs are better today . I 'm still working on homework . I 'm about halfway done . Due by Aug . 1 . Problem is August 1 is when I 'm picking up Cara , and I do NOT want to worried about homework on that day , so am trying to get it done early , so as not to be concerned . I have a B + in the class so far , and have learned a valuable life lesson . Do not try to take an online test when you are busy , and not ready to give it your full attention . I had plenty of time to go back and check it over , but I was in a hurry , thought ' that 's good enough . . . ' I ended up with a shocking 70 % in that , which nearly gave me fits . I will never do that again . Totally threw my ' A ' away with that one exam . Other exciting news ? The heat has broken . We have reasonable temperatures again . It was windy last night , and I hoped it would rain , but it didn 't . I took my aching bones to bed early last night , slept like a rock , probably a combination of the cooler temperatures . Maybe the large glass of wine had something to do with it as well . ( Disclaimer : I took the pain killer before noon , and waited to drink the wine until after 7 , as the effects of the painkiller began to wane . I did not mix the two . ) I saw this online , and it made me laugh . Passing it along for your laugh of the day as well . Dog Rules1 . The dog is NOT allowed in the house . 2 . Okay , the dog is allowed in the house , but ONLY in certain rooms . 3 . The dog is allowed in all rooms , but has to stay OFF the furniture . 4 . The dog can get on the OLD furniture only . 5 . Fine , the dog is allowed on all the furniture , but is not allowed to sleep with the humans on the bed . 6 . Okay , the dog is allowed on the bed , but only by invitation . 7 . The dog can sleep on the bed whenever he wants , but not under the covers . 8 . The dog can sleep under the covers by invitation only . 9 . The dog can sleep under the covers every night . 10 . Humans must ask permission to sleep under the covers with the dog . Today , after work , I could barely walk . It felt like every bone in my feet had been broken . I was detoured by some road work , and nearly cried with the frustration . I took my shoes off , and it helped a little , which makes me wonder if my feet were actually swollen . By the time I got home , I was hobbling and nauseated with the pain . I took a pain killer . I have spent the afternoon in a drugged haze . I couldn 't even work on my homework . My thinking was too muddled . Nothing made sense to me . This blog post probably does not make sense either . Yesterday we went to hold the new nephew . He is adorable , the image of his big brother , who is adorable as well . We visited with my sister - in - law , and then headed for home . Tim has been taken with a huge house that a prominent family lived in when he was growing up in his small town . He stopped on the way home to look at it . We looked at it , with all of its structural details and the extensive stone work . We peeked in the big bay window and saw beautiful molding and wall paper , a gorgeous fireplace . Window seats on both sides of the big room . But the fact of it is that the house is decrepit and crumbling . Tim 's right . It WAS a beautiful house in its day , but it has been left to molder and decay . " No , " I said , and I meant it . Too much work . That husband of mine will work himself into an early grave . My vote was no . We did not need this house . No . He did not need yet another project . Tim seemed a little cross at me . I couldn 't understand it , not really . We generally decide these things jointly , although Tim will discuss things until I am just tired of hearing about it and tell him to ' just get on and do what he 's going to do , but for the love of God , PLEASE stop talking about it . ' It wasn 't like that this time . He didn 't talk the thing to death . He snapped a little . " I just wanted to look at it . If it 's not a good deal , it 's not a good deal . I just wanted to look at it . " I tried to figure out what was happening here . Sounded like he 'd come to the realization that the house was not something he 'd want to tackle . Evidently , we were of one opinion there . There was something else niggling at him . I rode along on the passenger side , looking out the window , pondering this . I wondered what it was like to be Tim , as a boy , looking , oh , not enviously , I don 't suppose , because he is a preacher 's son , and he doesn 't envy , but looking at ' the haves ' from the position of ' the have nots , ' maybe wondering what it was like to have that big house , to live in a house like that . . . Suddenly , I thought I had it all figured out . I looked over . Posted by Tim and I rarely argue . We disagree on stuff , but generally speaking , it works out fairly quickly . But Tim does have one habit that aggravates me , and we had quite a scrap about it . By the time we are done , this scrap will be a $ 5000 scrap . A big deal . See , Tim has a habit of collecting cars . Cars that no one else wants . He tows them home . He tells me , " There 's a lot of good parts on this car . . . " Sometimes he 'll use the parts . Sometimes he sells the parts . Sometimes , he gives the parts away , because , really , despite everything , he really is a very nice person . A generous soul . Sometimes I 'll say to him , " Honestly , Tim , someday , I 'm going to count cars , and I 'm going to be pretty upset at you . " He laughs . He doesn 't believe me . Even if he did , I don 't think it would much matter . However now someone wants to buy our house . The cars have got to go . And his piles of scrap ? They gotta go too . Let the scrapping begin ! Our truck and the car we 're towing in has just been driven off the scale . It is big enough to drive on to . It says that we are are 9240 lbs . This car belonged to a young friend of ours who crashed it . She was a college student . Tim felt sorry for her and gave her a car in exchange for her crashed vehicle . The car is picked up off our car dolly . Tim has just unloosed the straps . It is carefully set off to the side . Back on the ground again , so that Tim and I can remove all four lugnuts from the tires . Once removed , the crane comes back down . And once again , the car is picked up . The car is shook until the loosened rims and tires fall off . and then it is lifted up and out of the way . Tim is scooting back in to pick up the wheels and tires . They 'll take the car with the tires on , but they deduct an extra $ 25 per tire . We 'll bring those tires home , cut them off the rim , take the tires to be recycled , and bring back up another truckload of nothing but rims . And then car is raised to the top of the already massive pile . . . . and dropped at the top of the heap . Catalytic converters : did you know they contain platinumDebby I want you all to pray for a little boy today . I am not sure what started it , but as I was running checkout , a couple scum bags were there with a young boy . The one snarled at the child , " You wanna do pushups ? ' Cause I 'm about there . . . I 'll beat your & ) ^(*%^ $ a & ^ . I was a little shocked and stared . The man went on , " And let somebody call the cops and when they show up I 'll smash their * & % $ * & % faces in . . . " People were beginning to stare . The store was crowded . " Hey , " I said . " That 's enough . " Quietly , but firm . We don 't talk like that in the Tractor Supply . He started popping off big time then . He wasn 't coming back to the Tractor Supply . Not any of ' em , unless he had some C4 , he tells us . I was in the Army . I understood that he was threatening to blow up the store . I wasn 't scared . I didn 't believe it , but you don 't threaten . Not in this day and age . You don 't talk like that . " That 's enough , " I said . " Get out of my store . " ( where 'd that come from ? ) He started mouthing again , and I told him , " Get out of my store , right now , or I 'm calling the police myself . " He mouthed off a bit more . Foul mouthed egotistical pseudo - military idiot . " I 'm claiming my first amendment rights , " he said loudly . I yelled right back , " I 'm claiming my own first amendment rights : Get out of my store because I will call the police . " I heard the little boy say " I 'm sorry , " to his father , and it stopped me cold in my tracks . The confrontation attracted a lot of attention , and many customers came up to tell me how well I 'd handled it . " Good for you , by God ! " they said . " That was a good thing to see , " another said . " Excellent . " Over and over , I heard people telling me that I 'd done a good job . I didn 't . I did not do a good job . A little boy went out that door with a lunatic , and I can tell you exactly who 's going to pay the price for that confrontation . Pray for that little boy . I should have called the police . It was hot . Blistering hot . Over a hundred degrees hot . The kind of hot that slaps you in the face when you walk out the door . Now compared to Mikey , or Painted Promise , it is not a big deal , probably . They live in the desert , and are used to stuff like this . Me ? Not so used to it . The temps were up over 100 degrees ( 40 celcius ) , and it was a bit humid . Last night I dragged to bed . It was so hot , I couldn 't even sleep . I thought about going down to the other house . It is shaded and cooler there than it is up here . But it was so hot that I couldn 't even make myself move . So I lay there miserable and sweating . Tim came home from his second shift job about midnight , and when he came upstairs , we talked about ( what else ? ) the heat . I said that I 'd thought about just heading over to the other house after work , but I was not sure that he 'd be up to the extra driving . He said , " No . Let 's go , " and so we went . It was so hot that I just went in my cotton nightgown . Did not even get dressed . Carried my clothes in a bundle . It was a lot cooler in the new house , probably a good 10 degrees . With a sigh , I headed for bed . Tim , though ? Tims have got to putz before they go to bed . He was somewhere upstairs , I was drifting off to sleep , and I heard a scream . A scream , I 'm telling you . Tim is not much of a screamer . I also heard a string of cussing . Tim is not much of a cusser . I leapt from bed , and ran for the stairs calling , " Tim , Tim , are you okay ? What happened ? " just as he was coming down the stairs . " Get me a paper towel , " he gasped . I did , relieved that whatever had happened was not causing him to lose obvious amounts of blood . " What happened ? " I asked once again . He was opening a window , a loose one that did not stay up . It dropped . On his finger . Yep . That finger . This morning , I said " Tim , I think that you need to go see a doctor . " He won 't go . He claims that the doctor will just send him over to get an x - ray , which will cost $ 170 , and the insurance company will only pay $ 40 , and he doesn 't need to spend that much money to telPosted by Well , I started out this morning with a few hours of work . Then I headed home to feed Tim . Then I headed down to the house to work for the afternoon . This probably makes it a little clearer why every room in that 13 room house needed to be scrubbed . The house really was dirty . I 'm glad to say that I 've done all the rooms on the first floor . I 've got one room left on the second , and then the two rooms on the third floor . I will then , finally , be done scrubbing . Remember this ? By the time that I was done , today , it looked like this . This . . . . . . . now looks like this . Terrible picture , but you can see the gleaming woodwork , right ? Just say yes . I worked hard . The old cast iron plumbing has been knocked out and replaced . One new commode is in place , the other will go in tomorrow . There is still painting that needs to be done , and each room has a splotch that needs repairing where the old cast iron radiators once stood . But painting is being done . We are talking about renting a floor sander next week . And Bill ? I did try to take a picture of that cat , but he did not come to see me this evening . I will keep my camera handy . * * * * * * * Now I 'm drinking wine and watching a chick flick while folding laundry . It was a nice day . The past few days have been busy , filled , chockablock with work to be done . The normal housework at home , and the exciting rehab work at the new house . The school work . The work work . I 've been very busy , and it makes for boring reading , I imagine , this ordinary life I live . But in the midst of the boring blog reports , there are small moments of pleasure ~ that cat allowing itself to be picked up and petted . He looked around alertly , not at me . He nestled comfortably in my arm , studying the world . As if he was already my cat , as if being held by me was already an ordinary moment for him . Saturday night , Tim and I sprawled on a blanket under the stars eating piping hot french fries and talking to each other . There were fireworks , publicly . Privately . I had the pleasure of a long phone conversation with a friend last night . I have the pleasure of a clean house . ( Yes . Still . ) It is the second blisteringly hot day . I am tired , up at 3 : 30 to go put away freight at the store , up at my mother 's to clean for her , back home to tidy my own little house for our company tomorrow . Now I 'm sprawled lazily , limp and sweaty , and tired . I listen to the sounds of the woods , knowing that I 'll have to get used to different sounds . I 'm reading a book , a memoir of a woman 's childhood , and what she grew up to be . It 's a mildly interesting book , a pleasant read . I have no energy to wrestle with complicated plot lines right this minute . The final lines of it are " I hardly touch ground the last blocks to Grand Central , but come triumphantly to rest alone on Forty - second Street , on the edge of evening . I am beginning . My life is beginning which cannot be true . " I remember the exhileration of being 23 . I remember moments when my feet hardly touched the ground . What struck me poignantly is that now I am 54 . I realize that although I am nowhere near Grand Central Station , or Forty - second St , I feel as if her words could be my own . Even still . It 's an ordinary time for me , with extraodinary small moments of pleasure . I got all 27 questions ( two chapters ) done . I submitted them to the online drop box . I did my discussion posts . All that is left is to take my test on Friday night . I 'm really very proud of myself . Wine ? Too tired to go down and grab the bottle . But I did three loads of laundry , and I changed the sheets on our bed , and I did dishes . I 've got Tim 's lunch prepared for tomorrow , and I walked around the house doing one last minute tidy up . ( I 'm telling you . . . I mean for this house to stay clean ! ) I should have folded laundry , and did some ironing , but I have to be to work at 5 AM tomorrow . I think that I 'll hit the hay right now . Good night peoples . Another late edit : My post time shows as 6 : 40 PM ? That 's the weirdest thing . It is 9 : 14 pm . We went down to work on the house this morning . As per usual . We put the bathroom back together . I scrubbed the walls and the floor too . It looks nice . ( no . Didn 't have the camera . That Bush Babe is standing right behind me , isn 't she ? And she 's giving me a very dirty look , isn 't she ? ) I took the last of the curtains down , and they 're in a pile downstairs waiting to be washed . ( no . . . it 's not like that . . . I 've already got a load in . ) Tim installed the new commode . I scrubbed the disgusting bathtub until it looked nice again . All that is left to do in that room , really , is to replace the bathtub surround . We 've got Joe painting . He painted two rooms today . He 's coming back tomorrow too , bless his heart . I 've got one last room on the second floor to wash down , and then it 's on to the third floor . We 're looking at renting the floor sander in the next couple weeks , and then working on the floor refinishing . Room by room it 's coming together . Meanwhile , I 've said what I always say , which is , " Boy , it 's a heck of a lot easier to maintain a house than it is to clean a house . So , to that end , I came home , made Tim lunch and spent an hour spiffing up this house . Now , it 's time to work on my Psychology homework . Feeling very productive today , by golly . Late Edit : I have been working on my homework for a solid 3 + hours now . I was on page seven , when suddenly everything froze and the computer shut down to protect itself . I nearly had a heart attack when the document came up on page three , where I was when I shut it down the last time that I worked on the assignment . I found the autosaved document . Oh , I 'm so grateful for ' autosave ' . I have four more questions to go . Only four . I am beginning to think that I am going to get it done tonight . Know what ? When ( and if ) I get it done tonight , I 'm heading down to the new house to retrieve a bottle of wine . Ay yi yi . I cleaned my house today . REEEEEEEEALLY good . It was like a white tornado went through it . Did I tell you my house is clean ? See , I 'm making a deal about this , because it 's not really one of those things that happens on a consistant basis . I try . I usually get started , and then something else comes up , and then I never quite get back to it . But today , I got it done . ( Did I mention ? ) A couple came to look at the house . ( Is this connected to the frantic house cleaning ? Maybe . . . why do you ask ? ) They left telling us that they are " very interested " . They are going to the bank . They both have good jobs . It seems very possible that this could happen . Tim and I keep looking at each other and saying , " But we weren 't going to put it on the market until next spring . . . " In this uncertain economy , though , if there is someone who wants to buy a house that you are planning to sell anyway , well , you 'd be wise to sell it . We went out to dinner tonight , to a place that makes a good grilled chicken salad . We 're not celebrating . It 's way premature for that , but we are amazed at how this has all unfolded : the new house at an unbelievably low price , home repairs proceeding at a remarkable clip . And now someone just up and wants to talk to us about our house . It just seems strange to us that these things are unfolding with absolutely no effort on our part . Today in the restaurant , there was a man , with a pot of coffee , sitting alone at the booth , staring out the window . The waitress brought him his entree , and he ate it , slowly , the giant man with his head low over his food , looking neither left or right . Just eating . He just looked so lonely . I wanted to talk to him . I really wanted to know his story . Mikey 's posted a few pictures of Mercy on her blog . When Mercy is giving her an ornery look , she refers to it as ' getting the stink eye ' . Makes me laugh . So I 'm working at the store , and a woman pushes her cart up , stacked high with feed . A little girl maybe three years old is sitting on top of the feed , and if ever was a body giving the stink eye to the world , it was this one . I laughed a little at the expression on her face , and her mother shook her head , explaining that the child had just woken up . As I was scanning the prices , the girl sat there planted in the middle of the feed . Noticing that one of the bags was dog food , I said , " Do you have a doggie at your house ? " She smiled a little at that . " Yes , " she said . Encouraged , I said , " So what 's your doggie 's name ? " She looked at me with her bright blue little eyes , and she said , " His name is Remington . But sometimes we call him Darn - it . " I just about fell over . That cat was back at the new house today . He studied me from in front of the garage . " Here kitty kitty , " I said , and he approached me , warily . I spoke to him , and he began to wind around my legs . I was a little surprised . I was even more surprised when I reached down and petted him , and he pushed up against my hand . So . I picked him up and cuddled him while rubbing beneath his chin . I noticed that he did not purr , but he seemed to enjoy being held . Since we now are on friendly terms , I feel more at ease about approaching this delicate subject . Dear Cat : Tim and I both love asparagus . That little patch there ? That 's where we planted the asparagus . If you could find a different place to crap , it would make both of us very happy . Thank you . It 's been a busy week . I 've worked every day , even put in a couple long days . Last night , I treated myself . Brianna and I went out for supper . I got some time with her and William . It was the first time that we 'd ever gone out with the baby , and it was a lot of fun to walk around carrying a baby . It was nice to talk . Tonight , I worked on my Abnormal Psychology . It is a challenge to sift through the information yourself , and draw your own conclusions to answer the questions . I worry about whether I am doing it right . I have no classmate to turn to . It is just me . I have 27 questions to answer by next Friday . I worked hard tonight , answering only seven questions , but filling three pages . Ack . In a stunning turn of events , a couple is interested in buying our house . We 've not advertised it . It 's not ready . The excited wife explained that they are interested in fixing it up the way they want . They 've been driving by , hoping to see a " For Sale " sign go up . " We just think it 's so beautiful . " They are coming to look at the inside this weekend . Who hit the fast forward button on my life ? I 'm working hard , Tim 's working even harder , and somehow , between the two of us , we manage to keep up . Just barely . Yeah . I 'm amazed too . Funny story from the store : I hadn 't seen the couple with the white dog for some time . I was glad to see him in the store . " Where 's your wife ? Where 's your dog ? " I said looking around . He rolled his eyes . " The dog got excited , jumped in the front seat and smacked my wife in the mouth . She 's bleeding and the two of them are in the Jeep pouting . " I had just gotten off work , so I walked out to the parking lot to visit with her . Yup . She had quite a fat lip . I had a biscuit for the dog , and for the first time , she took it from my hand . So I hung over the driver side window visiting for a while . Soon , the husband came out the door with the part he 'd come for , so I said my good byes , and headed for my car . The husband is seldom at a loss for words , so he made one smart aleck comment . I turned back and hollered , " YouPosted by Cara sent me an e - mail : " Yeahh . Your bear problems aren 't over yet . " . . . . . . . . . . . . \ / Yeah . Okay . That there ? That 's a bear problem . We don 't have a bear problem . A girl at work insisted that " someone up there is feeding the bears . " I didn 't say much . I don 't know anyone who is . She continued to spout her opinion that someone had to be , because the bears are accustomed to humans , in her words . She claimed that she was riding across the road on her horse and came upon a bear who just stood there looking at her . ' This was very bad , " she said . ' He wasn 't afraid ' , she said . She also claimed he was a great big bear . Everyone claims that the bear they see are huge . I don 't know why . Usually , it 's not even true . First of all , a bear has very poor eyesight . Great sense of smell . He probably smelled the horse , didn 't see the human on his back . Second of all , feeding bears is just plain stupid . I don 't know of anyone that stupid up here . Third of all , she didn 't know anything for a fact , and I was not going to start conjecturing about something that was based on her flimsy suspicions . She said , " Surely you are having problems with them too . " " No , " I said . " We 've got one small one that came around three times in one day , and a couple days before that . We see them around , but we don 't have any problems with them . " " You don 't have any problems with them . " " No . " I continued working . Finally she said , " Well who do you think it is ? " It was starting to get annoying . I am not going to stand around and start naming names . Especially since I 'm not seeing any evidence of a major problem . I told her that I did not have a clue who was feeding the bears , or even IF anyone was feeding the bears , and I sure was not going to start accusing anyone of feeding the bears . I was talking to Tim tonight . I found myself beginning to wonder : was she implying that we fed bears ? Just for the record , I 'm not much on risking my life over a bag of garbage . The bear in the backyard was a small one , even smaller than this one . I know people with dogs that are bigger than that bear was . Black bears are basically pretty timid . Persistant perhaps , but I 've never seen one get ornery , although one did huff and throw his head around at me while I was trying to get pictures of him . He had stolen a case of soda and was sprawled out behind our blueberry bushes chomping down on the cans and drinking soda . When he started getting cranky , I attributed it to a caffeine buzz like none other , and backed out of there quickly taking my dog and my camera with me . I have never heard one roar in my life . I would probably wet my pants if I did . But this latest bear was not an ornery bear . He was a lazy bear who has become accustomed to getting easy food . He 'd come to our house at 5 AM that particular day . I woke up to hear the garbage can rattling . Speaking into my pillow , exhausted , I said , " Tim , there 's a bear . . . " Before I could finish my sentence , Tim had sproinged out of bed and was down stairs . ( How does he do that ? My sproinging days are over , I guess . ) I heard him scolding the bear from the back deck . Then I fell back asleep . I got up early that day , and I scrubbed walls at the house . I went to work and unloaded freight , and then came home and took an on - line test . It had been a busy day , and it started early ( thanks , bear ) and by midnight , that little booger deserved the yelling I did . Most of the bear that I have seen here are fairly small , although once , we heard the trash can , flipped on the light , and were astonished to see a huge bear with a head nearly the size of the trash can lid he was kicking off to the side . We did not go outside to yell at that one . We are a practical folk here . We watched him eat the garbage and depart . One rousing night , we had two large bear in the yard at the same time . I did not know about the second one until I 'd leapt from the back deck yelling at the one who was nosing aPosted by I am taking Abnormal Psychology as an on - line course . I 've never done an on - line course before , and it is quite strange not attending lecture . I turned in my homework assignment yesterday , and felt fairly confident in my knowledge . So , after I finished nine hours unloading freight at the store tonight , I got home and took a deep breath , and tackled my first online exam . I was a little nervous about doing it at home because if you lose connection for any reason , you are done with the test . No second chances . Weird things happen when you live in the woods , and I was worried about the connection . Weird things DO happen in the woods , but it was not a connection issue this time . I sat down and began the timed exam and I heard the trash can rattle . " HEY ! " I yelled , jumping up and throwing open the sliding glass door . The bear took off at a fast clip hauling the garbage bag , dropping it only after I charged out the back door after him . I 'm damn tired of picking up the trash . We 've done it twice in the last two days . I grumpily stashed the garbage back in the can , and rushed back in to my timed exam . It was not more than ten minutes later that I heard the can rattle again . " HEY , I ' M GETTING TIRED OF THIS ! " I yelled . He scooted off once more . This time , I stormed outside , grabbed the trash bag , climbed a ladder and deposited it on the roof of the back porch . I then stormed back inside to work on my timed exam . I submitted it and ended up with an 84 on it . I was a bit grumpy about that , but you know , I did not lose my connection . It did not occur to me that there was anything besides that to worry about . Pllt . Now I know better . The end . Yesterday was a wonderful day . Tim and I went to his family reunion . The weather was perfect , and it was well attended . If you all remember , his family meets at the old family homestead , and we bake wonderous amounts of bread in an outdoor woodfired brick oven . This year , Tim oversaw the baking of the bread without the supervision of Uncle Herman , who is in his nineties now , and having some trouble with blood counts . He did get there , and he seemed to be energized by the family which surrounded him , and it did my heart good . His brother - in - law , Uncle Chuck has lost even more weight . A big robust man who serenaded Tim and I with a barbershopper song the first time I met him , Uncle Chuck is now thin . He ate little , and I heard him talking about his wife who lives in a nursing home and does not always recognize him . Our elders are getting older . Gene ( Hi , Gene ) began to collect their stories , and I think that is a wonderful idea . " How many people were born in this house ? " he said , pointing to the old homestead . He was . Other voices claimed it as well . " Who remembers the 4th of July parties when Uncle Herman and Uncle Harold would give us plane rides ? Who rode in the plane ? " And hands went up once more . I listened enthralled as memories were recounted . We drove home in contented quiet , each of us with our own thoughts . " We need to get a recorder for these stories , " I said to Tim , lost in the thoughts of life as it was when our frail patriarchs and matriarchs were young and running the festivities . When Uncle Herman was flying a plane ( he crashed it , and according to his own words , Aunt Anna would not let him have another ~ he still has the wooden prop in his garage ) . When Aunt Ruby remembered Uncle Chuck . When Aunt Hazel was not slumped over in her wheel chair . Their grandchildren are having great - grandbabies now , and it would be a shame if they never heard the stories of the people who came before them . I suddenly found myself wishing that I 'd thought of it before . I worried about how many stories would be lost forever Posted by My back feels better , I am relieved to say . I had a nice chance to sit down and visit with Brianna and the baby last night . Last night when I went to bed , I realized that it has probably been a couple years since we have sat down and talked together , just the two of us . It meant a lot to me . Here 's a story for you : our July 4th parade generally has firetrucks going by throwing out candy to the children , but this year , it was deemed unsafe , although firemen could go down the street and hand out candy to the children . One fireman walked up to a young woman sitting on a blanket with her children . He offered candy to her children if ' she got up and did a little dance for him . ' Un - be - leeeeeeeeeeeeeeevable . Worst part of the story ? She got up and shook it for him . He told her that she 'd made his day , and went on along with the parade . Wonder how many women heard this line ? Wonder how many danced ? Wonder if Tim and I are the only people in the world who think this is wrong ? Last week , owing to an incident with a one piece bathtub and surround unit that ALMOST fit up the stairs to a second floor apartment , I injured my back . Instead of getting better , it got worse . Very much worse . By Monday , I was being touted as ' the missing link , ' walking in a strange stiff hunched way . Tuesday morning , I got drugs . Lots of ' em . I did not take them until the end of the day , however . I was scheduled to work . We are shorthanded , and I knew that the person who would get stuck with my shift was my dear friend Karen , and I couldn 't do that to her . ( Although she 'd have told me not to worry about it , and done it anyway . ) So I went to work . I have the next few days off , and I plan to putter around this poor house ( it sadly needs the attention ! ) and get myself back to rights again . In the meantime , here 's a few thoughts : I had a cavity filled at the dentist 's . On the walk downtown , I saw a shop which advertised chocolate covered bacon . Serious . The same shop advertised ' scented waxed toilet paper . ' I found myself stopping to stare . I had reconciled myself to the bacon by reminding myself that perhaps the salt / sweet thing goes together like chocolate covered peanuts or peanut butter cups . But the scented waxed toilet paper . I decided that I don 't want slippery toilet paper , I wanted absorbant toilet paper . . . and then I screamed a little to myself in my head . " Make the pictures STOP , " my mind screamed . I walked on briskly . And when I came back to my car , the same thoughts began to run through my mind as I passed the little shop . Ack . I think that they should simply take that sign down . Late Edit : I could not get over the vision of wiping my hiney with wax paper , no matter how good it smelled . This zoomed right to the top of the " what on earth were they thinking " list . Turns out that waxed and scented toilet paper is not for wiping with . I do feel better . Well . Not my back , but I couldn 't get that picture of wiping w / wax paper out of my mind . And here 's more on chocolate dipped bacon . Who knew ? Last night , a womanPosted by The old car ' dinged ' when it was low on gas . This car does not . So I 'm driving home from school ( I had to pick up a text book for my Abnormal Psychology on - line class ) . The car gives this little hiccup , and I look down and am horrified to see that the fuel gauge points to ' E ' . I begin to pray , hard , because the gas station is not far ahead , and much to my relief , I make it . I get to the gas station , and I pull up to the pump . The car dies . Just like that . I get out of the car and I am grateful , ever so grateful that I made it . Except . . . Except THIS car 's gas tank is on the other side of the car . And , no . . . It wouldn 't start again . But , yes . . . People helped me push it . * sigh * In my next life , I 'd like to be bright . Yesterday was a slow day at work , but the people were so friendly . A couple of my favorite folks came in to make a purchase . She lacked 12 cents , and did not want to break a dollar . She turned to her husband and said , " Hey , do you have 12 cents ? " and he answered no , that he had no change at all . She peeled off a dollar and handed it to me . " Don 't worry , " I said , " I 'm going to give you some sense , since neither of you have any between you . " She laughed . " I 'm telling you ( looking at her husband . . . ) at some point , I 'm getting those pants off you . If I find 12 cents , you 're a dead man . " They both laughed like crazy , and so did I . They left the store , and I was still grinning . When I went to school with him , he was very quiet , almost painfully shy . 30 + years later , he 's happily married , and somewhere along the line , he 's gotten over shy . Next thing , I know , they 're back at the foot of my counter . " Did I ring something up wrong ? " I asked . " Oh , no , " they assured me . With dawning horror , I said , " Oh dear heavens , don 't tell me you went through his pants in the parking lot . Mrs . W ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! This is a family store here ! ! ! ! " and they about fell over laughing . No . Mr . W . had really admired our charcoal grill , the one on sale . The one with the adjustable tray that raises the heat up and down , on sale for $ 99 . 99 . They talked about it in the parking lot , and decided to get it . I directed him to the Jack Daniel 's charcoal , made from whisky barrels , and he stood reading that , finally deciding on the ultimate grill experience . The manager came up , and looked surprised to see them again . They are jolly and loud . They 're not the sort of people you miss in the store , and he 'd noticed them the first time . " I know . " I said , shaking my head . " I try and try , but I can 't get rid of them , " and they said some loud thing that would have sounded really obnoxious coming from someone I didn 't know , and I came back with some sort of zinger , and next thing I know , there 's folk from the back of the line craning their necks , trying to what all the yellinPosted by I went to the dentist . I met a reader , and we had the most delightful conversation . I really love that . And then the dental hygienist went to school at about the same time as me ( she 's a little younger ) , but we talked our heads off . I saw a neighbor , Karen walking down the road , and stopped the car to give her a hug and blab for a time . I like talking to people . Despite the funeral , this weekend was nice . To correct a misconception , we are not moved into our house . It is completely empty , save for the bed we hauled out of a guest room up here . We just slept there . We celebrated with wine in bed , and talked about how lucky we are . ( Neither one of us would have ever dreamed we would be so blessed ! ) It was nice . The house is cool and well insulated . We heard a few more sirens than one hears in the woods , but they sounded comfortingly far away . The first morning , I woke up to the sound of a cardinal in the back yard . Nice . Very nice . Next weekend , we have the big family reunion / brick oven bread baking reunion . I get to go . And then Sunday , we 're heading out again , to Johnsonburg , for the baptism of my newest nephew Brandon . July 30th , my nephew is getting married . Cara will be getting back stateside on the first of August . We 're having a party the following weekend . Dylan and Brittani will be coming home . It would be nice to be able to have it at the new house , but we don 't know , not for sure . We 've got another wedding celebration August 20th . Hopefully , at some point in there , I 'll be able to do some grandbaby dandling . A couple weeks ago , I had company . An old school mate came with five teenagers . It wasn 't for long . . . four days , I think . It was fun , but it flew by , and there was no time for everything I 'd hoped to get in . I had a test at school , I was working . I had a paper due . All in the same week . Ack . But still , it was fun . When they left , we sent along two laptops . One of the teenagers with her was a refugee . Rebels came looking for his father , and attempted to torture the information out of his mother , in full sight of her children . The young boy cut his mother down when they left , and he kept his family safe as they made it to safety . It is assumed that his father was murdered , since they 've had no word of him since that day . Say what you will about refugees . I will tell you that I loved that boy . I 'm glad he 's here . Furthermore , I 'm glad his family is here . We sent my friend back with two laptops , Cara 's old one , and older one we 'd purchased some time back . Pauline 's downloaded educational games for the preschoolers ( which the mother is also earnestly working at , despite the fact that she does not have full use of either hand . ) The other laptop went to the oldest girl , Elodie , as her own , which is breathtakingly grand . I received a box today . It had a Kobo e - reader in it . I was completely shocked by such a thing . I 'd been playing with their e - readers , and , much to my surprise , I discovered that I would like one , despite the fact that I 'd previous spoke passionately about the heft of a book , and the smell of the pages , and the joy of turning pages , etc . Each of her children has one , and I saw them . I coveted , secretly . I mean , it 's an extravagance . It 's not something I 'd have ever done for myself . Yet she did it for me . I 'm reading Anna Karenina right now . I love that thing . Really . I still cannot believe that I have one of my own . Today was the funeral of my friend . She had such a laugh . You 've no idea , really . Her laugh was expansive and wonderful and joyous . It was not a rare thing , not while she was alive . And now she iPosted by I 'm the wife of a good man , the mother of good kids , the grandmother of sweet William . I am a student . A small time writer for the local paper . I am funny . I am serious . I am practical . Hardworking . I make great bread . I 'm loyal .

It 's a creepy job I guess , driving a cab all night , but what else is there to do in this town at four in the morning ? My TV 's busted . I used to read , but I can 't concentrate anymore and there 's nothing worth reading anyhow . So I drive . I 've been with Bay State Taxi a while now , long enough that when I call myself a cabbie , I don 't shrug it off . You are what you do , right ? Whatever it was you thought you were , or hoped you 'd be , one morning you wake up and you just are this thing , and there 's no backing up and doing it over . Mom and Dad got it finally . I 've stopped hearing about college or getting my own place . Not that they ever nagged me really - we 're not that kind of a family - still I had a good idea what passed between them late at night : when 's he going to move on and give us our life back , what 's left of it ? There was this particular Sunday afternoon I was watching the Red Sox with my dad and Mom drifted through like she sometimes does on her way to the backyard . This time she stopped and stood without moving , which meant she had something to say . I could tell she was looking at me but I kept my eyes on the TV . If it was something I 'd done , I didn 't want to get into it with her . She snatched up the remote and muted the commercial . Then she snapped the TV off altogether , and silence took over the room . I heard a screen door whap shut up the street . " Your dad and me , " she said , then stopped . A quick glance at Dad and she tried again . " We , your dad and me , we want you to know that , with all you been through - " " That 's right , we … " Her mouth sagged at the corners and her eyes got big . A thin little river started down one side of her nose . " We . All of us … " She said the words again with her lips but no sound came out , so she turned toward Dad , who cleared his throat and took the cue . " You got a home here , son , is what Mom 's trying to say . Always , okay . No questions asked . Drive a cab , work at the bake shop , car wash , whatever , it don 't matter . We understand . " Now they were both looking at me . " We know what 's going on . " People around here remember who I used to be - basketball dude , eagle scout , Catholic Youth . They like what they remember so they cut me a lot of slack . I get good tips . Some of my regulars have treats for me . A sandwich , doughnut , coffee . Beyond that , they know it 's best to just leave me alone . They remember what happened . Nobody forgets that . Every now and then , Gabe , my night dispatcher , will get a request specifically for me . Always female , maybe a girl I used to know and it 's Friday night , she doesn 't have any place to go , just wants to sit in my backseat while I drive her around in the dark . Maybe she had a crush on me in high school or something , her husband 's God knows where , that kind of thing . She 's alone , wants a little tenderness , a little talk . I try to be nice , but it 's never what she hoped for . After a while I can hear the disappointment in her voice . She doesn 't say it , but I 've let her down and I won 't see her again because she didn 't get whatever it was she wanted . Yeah , I 'm a disappointment . At Mom and Dad 's , on the job , all over town , so what ? Maybe I should care , but I don 't . What 's to care about ? My pride , my reputation ? I don 't match up to somebody 's standards ? Don 't make me laugh . Honestly , there was a time when things mattered . If I reach back far enough I can remember feeling happy because I 'd had a good day . Or I was in love , or I 'd hit a clutch basket , or got a good grade . I also remember what it felt like to hurt inside so bad you want to kill yourself . Those are the last feelings I remember having . " Supposing you were hurting inside so bad you wanted to … like , do something bad . To yourself . What does that mean ? " He bent over his coffee and took a long time to dunk and re - dunk his cruller - too long it seemed to me . Then his head rose up and his eyes looked at me all sad and hollow . " It 's you we 're talking about ? " he said . " No . I mean , kind of yes , but . " I could have gone on playing dumb , but instead I let my head nod up and down a couple of times . I wasn 't exactly thrilled by the idea , but I did go to see Father Mackey , who had always seemed like one of those priests you can talk to . He 's a big , jokey kind of guy , a jock , used to play football at B . C . , and he still carries that extra weight , mostly as fat . He had a heart attack a few years back , but I 'm pretty sure he never did anything to change his lifestyle . I hadn 't gone to confession in I don 't know how long , but he must have thought that 's why I was there , so I went along , even though it made me feel like an idiot . It 's hard to remember what I hoped would happen . Maybe that he 'd have a direction for me , a path , one of those things . I couldn 't give him the whole story , of course , not at first , but I thought if he got a piece of it , maybe he 'd figure out the rest . He listened , bobbing his head every now and then , and when I was done , he looked at me for a long time , almost like he hadn 't recognized me when I first came in and now he did . He didn 't move for a while . Then he broke into a big sunny grin , like all of a sudden he had the answer . Only I knew he didn 't . It was that grin coaches give you when they 're out of options , right before they tell you you 've got to give a hundred percent of yourself two hundred percent of the time , or leave it all on the court , that kind of stuff . " We all know what you went through , you and your family , " he said . " And yet here you are sitting in my office today , lean and healthy . God put you on this earth for a reason . I 'd say get busy , find something that helps others and just do it . " " You 're alive , son . Join the living . Commit yourself to being a human being . It 's a privilege , you know . " He sat back , grinning at me , and held the grin until the corner of his mouth twitched . " Show God you care . " " About ? " The grin faded . His eyes toughened . " About the living . This world is full of folks way worse off than you . They could use a little help . " He nodded like I should put the rest together , so I nodded back at him . He peeked at his watch and faked being surprised . " Holy cow , look at the time . " He rose up from his chair and thrust a hand out for me to shake . I took it , and he pulled me so close I could smell cigarettes on his breath . If we 'd talked on , maybe I could have told him there were two things wrong with what he said . First , I did care . But that wasn 't the real problem . It was what I cared about . That was the problem . Sure , I knew what he meant - - we 're all alive on the planet , sharing this life , all these hordes of people running around being alive and sharing it . There was a time that might have meant something to me , but it doesn 't do squat for me nowadays . Does that mean I don 't care about the living ? Well , maybe . Maybe it does . I used to care about my fares , but the thing I could never have told him was that the fares I really cared about weren 't exactly " the living . " Not to be cute about it , they were dead folks . Stone dead . " Shades " I called them , and I cared a lot about them . I call them fares - they didn 't pay me but I treated them like fares anyway , with respect and kindness , and why not ? Shades have places to go too , stuff to do , just like you and me . But things are a little harder for them . They don 't zip around through time and space like in the movies . They 're weak . They have very little spirit left , and it 's waning all the time . If a shade couldn 't get a ride , how would he ever get where he 's going ? To his old haunts , his special places , the house where he got his first kiss , the little green yard where he had his birthday parties , the broke - down chapel where his hopes burned so hot . So yeah , I drove them . It was a way I could make a difference , something I could care about , and I 'll even say this : it was when I was driving shades that I felt almost alive . Ex - popular boy , everything to live for , picks up dead folks at night to feel alive and show God he cares . That 's where Father Mackey would get off the bus . But it made perfect sense to me . Driving for a living makes sense , too . It was my passion , always , and I don 't throw that word around . I was good at basketball , so everyone assumed basketball was my passion , but it was just a game . You put a ball in a hole . I never understood how a game could be a passion . But driving . To me driving was the best thing in life . The absolute best . Driving was life . My first memory of my Dad , and one of the best , was when a tow truck arrived from the junkyard one morning with a prize Catalina he had picked up at some junk auction for practically nothing . All the years I was growing up , it sat in the backyard with grass growing up around it , through it , forgotten . Long after he 'd lost interest in it he didn 't even bothered to have it removed . But I remember that first day , how happy he was , how sure he was of everything . How he tinkered on it for a few days and how , when he tried to crank it up , it wouldn 't catch . He opened the hood , adjusted something , and slid back behind the wheel . He paused for a minute , like a skier about to make the most important jump of his life . Then he turned the key again , and it rumbled to a start and held . Dad looked around at us wild - eyed . Almost tumbling out of the car , he whooped and raised a fist in the air . Then he did something I would never see him do again . He jumped up and down , circling the car in some kind of crazy Indian dance . I fell in behind him and little Sis brought up the rear , bouncing around like a cricket . I saw Mom 's face looking down on us from my bedroom window . She had been so pissed at him that she refused to come down . Now it was bright with love and pride , and a light glistened in that little river where her tears flowed . We never made it to ice cream . The Catalina died in half a block and we had to push it back to the house . The whole thing was confusing to Sis , who kept on jumping around , even though the happy had gone out of everything . I had to tell her to stop . " I 'll take you for ice cream , " I said . The Catalina sat there until I was old enough to do something with it myself , and I did . I got it running and it was the proudest day of my life , even if I was the only one celebrating . But even though Dad couldn 't have cared less , I didn 't mind . I was through worrying about him . The Catalina was mine now , and I loved it as much as he had , more even , because unlike Dad , I was driving it . I drove it everywhere and still do . And every time I get behind that wheel , or any steering wheel , for that matter , my mind clears . I firmly believe driving makes me a better person . Put me behind that wheel and I 'm back in school , top down , stereo up , ready to help . Hey , anybody want a ride ? Living , dead , whatever . Even little sis used to get free rides from me after school or on weekends when I should 've been studying . She was like - " take me here , take me there " - such a pain , but so cute about it . How could I possibly mind ? We had a little game . She always sat in the back seat . She was " Eloise . " I was her chauffeur . I drove her to Rainbow soccer , Brownies . And when she started growing up , I 'd drive her by certain boys ' houses where there were parties going on . I didn 't care . By then she was a teenager so where she went was her business . We were that kind of family - everybody left everybody else alone . A few times I helped her sneak her out to the late movies , even dropped her off places I knew she shouldn 't be , sketchy houses where she wouldn 't tell me who was inside . One house in particular gave me the creeps , and I told her so . She just laughed . " Oh , it 's funny ? " I said , " Well , guess what ? Maybe I 'll just keep driving . If you really want to get off here - " Before I could finish she 'd jacked open the door and thrown herself into the road . We were doing about 25 , but she couldn 't have cared less . I looked back just in time to see her disappear into the house . You couldn 't say no to that girl . One thing my family is known for - the only thing , I guess - is above - average looks . Mom and Dad were " Best Looking " in their class yearbook and I 've seen the old photos that vouch for it . If that 's so , Sis got them all this time around . Some girls thought I was halfway decent , but Sis was in a different league altogether . I 'd watch her in the rear view mirror sometimes just for the sight of her , the lips she kept pressed tight to hide their fullness , the curls she jammed down inside her cap . God help you if you gave her a compliment ! She didn 't want to hear it . She 'd been a sunny , bright little kid . Like most little girls , she couldn 't wait to grow up . But when the time came , becoming pretty , growing into her body , all those things she 'd looked forward to , they just pissed her off . Anything cute about her , she 'd long ago figured how to hide it inside some Goth freakiness . She 'd dress up only if the occasion didn 't give her any choice , like for her confirmation , or a prom , but she 'd put the dress on like she was bandaging a wound . Then she 'd stalk down the stairs , cursing to herself , when in fact she looked so freakin ' good the sight of her would stop your heart . The Goth stuff - it wasn 't really her . I could tell she was going through something , but I figured she 'd work it out and move on . Dad took me aside and told me , " I think you ought to know this : your sister has an illness . " But to me it was just a fad . I told Dad it wouldn 't be long before she was dating some guy and that would be the end of it . She just had to give herself a chance . Sometimes I still feel that way , even after all that went down . I mean , all that time , something was leaching into her like poison . Whatever that was it changed her whole personality so she wasn 't herself anymore . She 'd say hateful things to Mom for no reason . She had a special thing about Dad . She 'd turn these looks on him like he was Hitler or something . One night she hissed something at him when they passed in the kitchen , and he grabbed her arm and pulled her toward him . " Okay , young lady - " he said . But she yanked her arm back before he could finish . She stood at the kitchen door and kept her eyes on him in a weirdly accusing way , as if she knew something terrible about him , and wanted him to know she knew it . She kept looking at him , like she wasn 't going anywhere . Then something seemed to snatch her into the night . The door slammed and she was gone . " I don 't care . I 'm finished with her , " Dad said , in a tough whisper . He was breathing hard and his eyes were all bugged out like they get when something really scares him . Mom stared at him like she was demented , then turned and ran up the stairs and into the bathroom , slamming the door behind her . I had the feeling they were seeing something I couldn 't see , but whatever it was , I didn 't want to get into it with them . I 've never been big on uncovering secrets . I usually just let them stand . I don 't know , maybe I could 've tried to help her deal with it , whatever it was . Hindsight 's always perfect , but back then , all I saw was a little girl struggling to keep her innocence . Nothing darker than that . Kind of a Pollyanna view , yeah , but I was convinced that was the right way to see her . It had to be the way she saw herself , only for some reason , she didn 't want to let go . The only time I ever see Sis these days is in a dream I have almost every night . She 's talking to me , like out of a video screen , and her voice tells me it 's okay , but her eyes are too dark to see into . Sometimes she 's with me , walking beside me , and the wind is blowing around us . I 'm trying to tell her it 's not over , it doesn 't have to be , if maybe we could just turn everything around and go back . She looks at me and the look says everything . Back ? She doesn 't even know what that means . But I keep trying until I realize I 'm talking to an image in my mind somewhere . She 's not here ; I 'm talking to a dead girl , and if you 're dead , there 's no " back , " in your world . Then I 'm awake , and it was a dream . Just a dream . One thing about shades : they look almost totally normal . Almost . You 've probably seen one without knowing it . The first thing you notice is , they 're a little bit paler than they ought to be . I 've never come across a shade in daylight , but if I did , my guess is that even on the beach at high noon they 'd look like they were in moonlight . Another thing that gives them away is the eyes - black pools . You might think they 're staring at you , but it 's just for show . Those eyes aren 't seeing anything , at least not what you think they 'd see . Shades never blink , never look down or glance around the room . When they move - - slow or fast , it doesn 't matter - - there 's a spooky kind of dignity that sets them apart . They 're focused . They 're on a mission . If I 'd thought there was a rat 's ass chance Father Mackey would 've gotten it , I might have asked him , what 's the big deal about being alive anyway ? After all , we 're only here for a blink , long enough to learn how little the world cares about us , then we 're dead . Sis had these things she would say , like " we live in a world that hates us . " I wouldn 't go that far . To me , the world doesn 't really care enough to hate us . And anyway Sis only started up like that the year she got sick , the year it all ended . Sometimes Dad wasn 't in a mood to hear it . He 'd tell her to shut up because life was sacred and if she was going to talk about her life that way to get the fuck out . Sometimes Mom would get up and leave the table . Weeks might go by when Sis wouldn 't be eating with the rest of us , but nobody would say a word about it . Sick was never the right way to talk about Sis . It was just a word Mom came up with because she couldn 't tolerate Sis any other way . Then Dad picked it up , and I followed along . It became her label . Sick , like she had cancer or something . But really there was no label for what she had become . She 'd gone from bright to dark , evolving backwards , from a butterfly into a spider . She 'd been hanging out with guys since she was 12 , but the guys she was into now - I couldn 't figure it out . She could have had the coolest boyfriend in town but instead , God knows why , she hung with the Goth boys . Creeps . Black raincoat bottom slime with masks for faces . I didn 't even know their names , but she went with them , one asshole after another , and every one of them tore off a piece , a piece of my sister . And I couldn 't do a damned thing . Mom and Dad were way over their heads . I remember hearing Dad once tell Mom they ought to ask Father Mackey about exorcism . I laughed out loud . There were a few things I had learned about building self - confidence from my coaches , and I thought I had some answers . I dropped something on her one day and it still makes me cringe to think about it . I have no idea where that clunker came from . Seriously , that one 's even too cheesy for a Catholic youth leader . And I remember how she laughed at me , like I was a silly little bug she was checking out from some great height . Yucking it up at the expense of her poor dumb retarded jackass of a big brother who didn 't know his ass from a tree stump . It didn 't stop me . Every so often I 'd try her again with a little spiel about dangerous boys , or STDs . I 'd check the rear view mirror for a reaction , but as far as she was concerned , I was a talking dog . Then one of the guys she was hanging out with left some bruises on her arms , closed one of her eyes . I figured out who he was and went looking for him . I 've never been a tough guy , but I 'd learned how to be intimidating if I have to be , and when I found him - a pimply Goth with slicked back hair - I walked straight up to him without a word and punched him to the ground . He slumped like a sack of grain and I stood over him and told him very clearly who I was , in case he didn 't know , and what it was about . But there was an odd look in his face . I 'd noticed it before the first punch landed . Detached , a spectator . Mildly interested , no surprise , just a snotty little grin . Like he 'd been expecting me , like he 'd planned the whole thing . Even on his ass , in a pile of hurt , the kid held onto this look , this weird mocking air of contempt for me that came from some place I couldn 't imagine . What kind of creature was this ? He knew I wanted to kill him but I wouldn 't . He thought it was funny . He knew my only move hadn 't worked . He knew he had me . After that , she was on her own . She wanted to be treated like an adult , fine . I backed off . From then on , if she wanted to go somewhere , I 'd drive her , but no more motivational speeches . I dropped her off where she needed to go , nothing more . That 's how it was the night she died . The house was a vacant wreck . I guess it had once been somebody 's rich - ass home , but in the light of day , it looked like a crack house . You could tell nobody lived there . The windows were always dark , but at night they were even darker . Something icy flickered up the ridge of my neck , and I was suddenly on full alert . I 've never been a timid guy , but I know fear when I feel it , just like I know hot and cold . They say there 's fear and there 's terror . I don 't know the difference but this was more than fear . There was something hopeless in it , like a horror movie , when you know evil is about to happen , and there 's not a damned thing you can do about it . I wanted so bad just to floor the accelerator , get my sister the hell out of there , but I did nothing . As fucked up as it might seem , I knew there was no way I could change whatever course of action she was on , so I let her go . They said she died in the kind of pain you could never imagine . I had to identify her . Burns , cuts , and her beautiful face so punched in you didn 't know where to find her eyes , her nose , her mouth . I wonder if Father Mackey ever had to look at a anything like that . Something happened to me that night . I don 't understand it , I 'm a logical guy , but the fact is , that night something went out of me along with anything in the living world that had ever meant something to me . The cops never had a suspect , not a prayer of a lead , and after a while she was one more cold case . Once I asked her : " Who did this to you ? Who was it ? " and of course I got nothing . It was like I 'd never opened my mouth . But I went on : " I want you to know , Sis , whoever took your life , Sis , they got mine too . " The first time I ever picked her up , I had no idea who she was . All I saw was a girl in my headlights , marching down the Ridge Road toward town . A shade , I figured . A shade will usually stop and swing around to wait , casually , like they called you and here you are . Not this one . She kept on walking , so I slowed the cab down to her speed and nosed it up beside her . We went a hundred yards or so like that till she swung her head sharply toward me and I saw her face . It was Sis , all fierce and gorgeous as always . Only her face wasn 't bright enough . We rode a few minutes in silence . That 's what they do at first : no greeting , no small talk , nothing . When she spoke , it was only to give me directions . " Start slowing down . Pull over here , " and so on , in a dry , faraway voice that sounded like somebody had installed it in her chest . She didn 't have to tell me . I knew where we were going . Past the tracks and the grain elevator , we turned sharply and hugged the service road until I could see the house , dark , blacker than black against the night . Sis never once spoke . When I snuck a peek at her in the rear view mirror , her eyes were looking back at me like dark holes . I stopped in front of the house and waited . She sat for a minute , like she was trying to make up her mind about something , then she was out of the cab and jogging up the walk . The front door shrieked open and she was gone , leaving me with a gush of memories , bad stuff , things crawling and oozing out of my memory . Like the look of her that night , battered and ruined , rolled out on that pallet , the bruises , the cuts , and how my stomach had erupted , throwing up a cascade of puke . I had seen my little sister destroyed and every part of her melded into this one pitiful mess and it all came rushing back now . I was sweating , trembling and I knew I was about to be sick . My Sis , my poor beautiful Sis … Then it was over . I slumped back in the seat and sat there , breathing hard , waiting , until it finally penetrated my thick skull - there was nothing to wait for . Sis had gone in , so it was over and done . My first thought was , I might as well just get back to work . But that didn 't take long to rethink . It was not going to happen . I was through for the night . Shades , once you leave them off , you don 't see them again . Every shade I ever drove , I only saw that one time , and never again . You drop them off , they merge into the shadow of a tree , or drift off around the corner of a house , and they 're gone . But for some reason , one time didn 't do it for Sis . Whatever her need was , she needed it again and again . You can get used to anything , they say , and it 's true . Driving her to that house got to be almost routine . I would see her along the same stretch of the Ridge Road . " Hey , Eloise . " We 'd drive down the hill into town without talking . I 'd drop her in front . She 'd march straight up the walk , disappear inside , and that was it until the next time I saw her . And the time after that , and the time after that … There 's this dream I keep having . We pull up to the house and I 'm looking up at the windows , at the flicker of light , feeling the same sick horror as I did that night , except I know exactly what 's coming . But in addition - and this is key - I 'm fully aware it hasn 't happened yet . I could do something . I could drive past without stopping . Just drive on home . Feed Sis a hot meal . Take her out for an ice cream with Mom and Dad . I try to shout a warning , but of course , I can 't . I can 't form the words ; I can 't make a noise . I feel the car pull over and stop . I can 't move a muscle to stop what 's going to happen . It 's just not going to play out that way . Not even in my dream . How many times did I drive her to that place ? No idea . It 's hard for me to think about it , even now . Maybe I should have found a way to stop it . I guess I could have , but the truth is , I didn 't want to . I was able to see her again , my dead sister , and for those few minutes , I was helping her live again . Weird as it was , I was starting to feel that thing I had once called happiness . One night , when I checked in at the garage , something happened that should have set off all my alarm bells . I made small talk with Gabe for a few minutes like always , felt just fine . Then I went to get into my cab , and I couldn 't make my hand open the door . No matter how hard I squeezed , nothing happened , it didn 't work . He stopped what he was doing and took a long look at me . " That 's a problem , buddy . You better go home , get some sleep , okay ? " I went home , but I couldn 't sleep . I lay in the dark in my room , in my clothes , hearing Mom and Dad 's voices through the wall . Things were happening inside my head . I got up and paced . Out my bedroom window , I had a good view of the only world I had ever really known , my back yard , gray in the moonlight . Everything was out there , the poplars , the maple that Dad had planted for Mom on their first anniversary , the jungle gym gone to rust that had belonged first to me , then Sis . Everything was the same as it had ever been , that green rectangle , our little world . Then something caught my eye . Behind the maple , she was looking up at me , not moving , just looking . Sometimes I 'm almost asleep , but I jerk awake suddenly , in a sweat . My room is huge and strange and it 's expanding , like the universe . I begin to realize it 's more than just a room . It 's something alive , and yet it 's also mechanical , a gigantic machine with millions of moving parts that keep multiplying as it grows . And somehow it all meshes together and I 'm one of those parts , a tiny gear in this vast , cruel machine that I don 't understand , and my role , my function is simple : to do this one terrible thing , over and over and over . That night I gave up on sleeping . Instead , I sat on the side of the bed , in the dark . There was no reason to do anything else , anything at all , except maybe get one of Dad 's rifles and blow my head all over the wall . All these years and all I had was this . This room , this yard , these few people . It all came down to nothing but this , and here I was , a small town loser , weary , delivering my sister up to be beaten to death , over and over forever . Couldn 't I have warned her ? She was beyond warning . And anyway , how do you tell somebody they 're about to die when they 're dead already ? Well , I 'm in great shape , I thought . Can 't make my hand open the car door , can 't sleep , don 't want to wake up . What now ? Here 's a fact : nothing lasts forever . Wind up a rubber band as tight as it will go , and keep winding - - it will snap . Every time I left Sis at that house , a spring inside me tightened just a little bit , until one night , the last night I ever saw her , it went . I felt it go , like a footbridge snapping over a gorge . Imagine a world of black and white flaming up into the colors you imagine when someone says " hellfire " - - that was me on that night . Something in me wanted to burn down the world . That night , Sis did something I 'd never seen a shade do . Walking toward the house through the weeds and the broken glass , she stumbled . She glanced back , over her shoulder - just a second 's hesitation - - but I saw her eyes . They were the same eyes I had seen the night she looked up at me from the backyard . Eyes that could see . Not black holes but the eyes of a young girl suddenly knowing in full how hopelessly dead she was . I felt my throat start to swell and my lips puff up . Something had just triggered in me that I didn 't understand . There I was in my cab , in the dark , in the quiet of the night , in the mess of my pathetic life , snuffling and choking like a sick baby . I dropped my face into my hands and rocked back and forth , until my sleeves were wet with tears . Then someone threw a switch ; I stopped blubbering . I got out of the car and stood rigid , waiting , like a prisoner waits in front of his cell for whatever 's coming next . I had no idea what I was about to do . Things started happening fast . I was suddenly in motion , striding up the path . I was beating on the door , hammering my knuckles raw . I remember the sound of the blows . Pow pow pow , like a cluster of gunshots you might hear in the night . Then my own voice . It wasn 't a shout so much as a howl . If my sister had been in that house , if she was anywhere in this world or any other , she would have heard it . I waited . Nothing . I ripped the door off its hinges , and rammed forward into the darkness of the house , which opened for just moment , like a monstrous flower , then collapsed around me . I remember thinking , this is not just darkness , this thing is alive and if I don 't keep moving , it 'll swallow me . Then , as suddenly as a power failure snaps off the lights , my thoughts just flatlined . From that point on , I don 't remember a single thought , only images , feelings . I was a pure moving object , nothing more , with no more plan or objective than a thunderstorm moving through a town . I remember breathing hard , vaulting upstairs toward the front room , where I 'd seen the flicker of light . My movements were almost inhumanly fast , though how I could have been so sure - footed in such complete darkness is beyond me . A door was closed but I kicked it open and then I was inside and the darkness of the room was so thick I could swim in it . It was the dark that lives inside the dark , and hidden in it , if you can see and hear , are the stories of everything that room has ever held or been witness to from the day it was new and bright to the night my sister was brutalized in it . There are things all around us that can 't be talked about . I know this now . I wish I could truly describe what that was like , to see everything , yet not see anything . I 'm trying , but I don 't have the words . There are no words . Start with this : if someone had been with me , if Gabe , let 's say was there beside me the whole time , he wouldn 't have seen or heard the slightest thing , not even a stirring in the darkness . Here 's how I remember the next 30 seconds of sheer terror . Suddenly there were people everywhere , but I couldn 't see them , only hear and feel them . I saw flashes and in those brief flashes I saw men . Men or boys . Blows were being struck , not on me , but on someone else . Something . else . I heard them and I also felt them . They felt like a fast car hitting a deer , over and over , and I knew somehow this was Sis . This was what I 'd brought her to , delivered her up to , again and again . And I felt her there , close to me , helpless , hurting , writhing , whimpering , dying . In the awful stillness , her pain screamed out of the walls , the ceiling , the floor and I felt my terror rising into blind panic , I knew I was beyond control . I broke for the door , ducking and wheeling in the dark , and plunged back into the hall , half running , half crawling . I tumbled down the staircase . I hit the ground floor in a crouch and bounced back up like a cat , scrambling and clawing my way through the dark , into the foyer , and finally back into the casual air of the night . It was over . I stood in the yard for a minute , listening to my breath , and looked back at the house . Words began to creep back into my head , but only in phrases like Breathe . Breathe . Breathe again . Breathe again , relax , get it done . Turning away , tall and straight , I walked to my cab like a man who knows exactly what he is about to do . Except I didn 't . I had no clue what was coming next . And yet I can see myself moving with a purpose , opening the trunk of my cab , and prying the lid off the orange plastic gas can . It was standard - - we all carried one , all our drivers , along with flares for road emergencies . I must have grabbed the flare along with the gas can because I was gripping it in my hand when I started back to the house . I 'm stalking around the house , sloshing gas . I soak the porch , the sides , I head back toward the cab . I pause halfway to swing around , fire up one of the flares with a Bic lighter . The pink - white magnesium glow makes a lazy arc in the night . Then a clatter on the porch , followed by a massive whomp , and it 's done . Shades are so much weirder than you 'd ever imagine . They don 't share each other 's world any more than they share yours or mine . Like , if I had a shade in my cab and we passed another shade , they wouldn 't even look at each other . Or if they did , they wouldn 't care , because every shade is the single lone citizen of an infinitely huge universe , population one . Some of the shades I drove , I had known them in life . They had known me . They knew my sister , too , but do you think there was a hint of recognition ? Not one of them ever showed the slightest recognition of me . And neither did Sis , not a mention . The Clarion said this town had never seen a such a fire . I believe it , because I got a full dose of it before I left . You wouldn 't think a rickety old Victorian could burn like that , but it was throwing up fireballs like a dying planet . People always rush to the scene . I heard the streets coming alive , but that was later . Nobody saw those first minutes - the blinding white fireball , the pyro show that blew up in its wake - nobody but me . I saw the house drown in fire . I watched its agony . As I drove away , I saw the final blast ripping through what was left of the decrepit framing , then came nothing . Once I heard a bad car crash , and the silence that followed it - - no bird sounds , no insect noises , no traffic - - as we waited for the horror of the world to surge back . You always wonder who was driving , what the hurry was , and what it means that they 'll never get wherever it was they thought they were going . It was a moment like that . The echo of the blast hung suspended in the silence after that last crash . And then the world came back , like sounds in reverse . There was a lot of freaked out chatter from Gabe , cars were starting , lights popping on in houses . The town 's old air raid siren cranked up , that unholy wail that never sounds unless something has gone really wrong . Mom and Dad were awake in their room when I came in . I could hear whispering , speculating , as they tried to figure out what the hell had just happened out there . They didn 't notice me on the stairs , so I was able to slip by and get to my room . It was dark , a good dark , a comforting , protective dark . I didn 't turn on the lights . I just fell on my bed and was unconscious almost before I hit the sheets . Next day , I was up at noon after the best night 's sleep ever . I didn 't realize it , but by then , the whole town knew I 'd done it . Somebody saw my cab , and there were other clues . I didn 't care . I wasn 't trying to get away with something . I was about to turn myself in when a local cop , Hunter , a guy I went to high school with , played basketball with , drove up in his cruiser to talk to me . He was in uniform , but he made sure I knew it was for the record only . " Okay , my friend , " he said , after a few softball questions . He slapped his knees and stood up to go . " We 're done . " So I wasn 't going to be led off in an orange suit . The earth didn 't rip open . I wasn 't carried off in a UFO . Nobody in town stopped talking to me . If anything , folks have been friendlier since the fire than before . Father Mackey stopped by the house and gave me a big grin as if I 'd done a good thing . Maybe I had . But if it was such a good thing , why was it I didn 't feel so good ? Nowadays , I drive past the site all the time , and don 't feel a thing . I hear it 's going to be a Stop ' n ' Shop , but nothing 's happened yet . Once , before they leveled it and laid on the gravel , I even got out of the cab and took a walk through the ashes and cinders . The remains . I was trying to see the whole thing again in my mind , but nothing came up . A blank screen . I sat down on a chunk of concrete let my mind drift into the way things might have been . The ruins would be gone soon and it would be just a patch of emptiness . I knew this would be my last time here . I thought I ought to have some feelings to commemorate that , so I made them up . I pretended I saw Sis standing in those ruins , reaching out to me with hot little tears of relief running down her face . If this was a Hollywood movie , it would be over . Maybe one last scene where the guy and girl patch it up and decide to love each other forever . He pulls out a ring . She says , " It 's beautiful , " and she cries . I could pretend that 's the way it would be . I could pretend I won , gave Sis what she needed . You could pretend just about anything . For example , I could pretend I don 't know why months have dragged on without a trace of her . I could pretend I 'll be seeing her tonight , tomorrow night . I mean , who 's to say ? I 'm still young . There 's a lot of water left to flow under my bridge . It could happen someday . I could pretend it will . But I don 't . Pretending is for losers . The smart part of my brain knows that pretending is a dead end . If you have to pretend , there are good reasons why it 's never going to happen , so you shouldn 't be wasting your time . For a while , I was pretending all the time . Once I even pretended Sis wasn 't my sister , and we were making out , but that was just too weird . I stopped and never did that again . I do have some basic good sense at times . I don 't pretend anymore . Lately I 've been thinking a lot about Lazarus , the guy from the Bible who Jesus brought back from the dead . What 's it like for you after you 've been dead for a while ? You rejoin the living , you 're back , but how can life ever be like it was ? I 'd ask a shade but there hasn 't been a shade in my cab since the fire . But it wouldn 't matter anyway because I wouldn 't get an answer . You can 't have a real conversation with a shade . What it 's like to be alive again ? No offense , but to a shade , the question wouldn 't even make sense . And I don 't know about Lazarus , but shades aren 't even alive again , technically , they 're still dead , so how would they know ? Sis came back and , as much as I loved having her in my cab , I knew that thing in the back of my cab wasn 't my sister . It was something else , maybe even something in my own head , I don 't know . It hurts to say this , but every second I pretended she was back there , the real Sis was rotting in a box under six feet of graveyard dirt . When you 're dead like that , there 's no future in it . There 's no way back . A couple of months ago , I started going out with a girl , a classmate . She 's one of the so - called night - angels who called in requests for me . Unlike the others , she came back for more . Her name 's Joanne . I didn 't remember her from school , but she 's a sweet girl , practical , a bank teller . Real smart , romantic , kind of naïve . She 's easy on me . She told me one time she loved me - she 'd always loved me , she said , almost as if she was saying she 'd always loved chocolate . One time she said , kind of joking , " Sometimes I wonder if you really do live in this world like everybody else , or are you some kind of weird tourist . " She comes close to the truth sometimes without knowing it . That I 've got one foot in this world and the other in another one . Then there are times when she looks at me in a warm , admiring way , and I want to ask her who is it she thinks she 's seeing ? It 's a fair question . It 's hard for me not to say , " Joanne , I have to tell you something . There 's a huge number of things I could never , ever share with you because they 're things that , if I ever told , you 'd run screaming down the street . " But of course I don 't . Gabe asked me the other day if I was okay with some day shift , and the idea didn 't seem half bad . Nights have gotten pretty bleak , anyway . I haven 't seen a shade in more than three months - - not one . I said , " Sure , I 'll try it . " Something in his face relaxed and he clapped me on the shoulder with one of his big hands . It 's moments like that , thinking about driving the day shift , with Joanne at home at the end of the day , a good meal , some TV , a good book , moments like that when life seems to be moving again , in a slow , more - or - less forward direction . It doesn 't sound like much , but trust me , that 's big . Then comes one of those murky , slow nights , moonless , full of fog , and I 'm back cruising the Ridge Road again . Something just gets hold of me , and I can 't stop thinking about her . I 'm out there again , in the dark and the fog , hoping maybe I 'll catch sight of her in my headlights , her little shoulders pumping up and down as she strides up the slope . And the the pain rises up into my chest , that hopeless ache , and I want to stop the cab and walk out into some field , fall face down in the grass and never get up . Here I am , straddling the other world again , a living shade who can 't get over his dead sister . I scan the road ahead and pretend she 's just over the next rise , around the next curve , and I 'm pulling up slowly beside her and popping the door like always , my lips mouthing " Eloise … " over and over . And I 'm thinking that this time , maybe , just maybe , because it 's all past now , maybe this time she 'll be like she was before , all perky and beautiful , laughing at me , teasing me . And we 'll be free . She 'll lean forward , hanging over the seat back , and kiss me on the neck like she did one time , and we can take a ride somewhere else now , somewhere nice . Maybe out to the beach , watch the sun come up . Then back to Mom and Dad 's . Ice cream . Home .

It 's been quite some time , sorry about that . Even though it 's been ages , that doesn 't mean I haven 't been writing things down or that nothing funny has been happening . What it means is that life has been crazy busy and something has to get pushed to the side . Unfortunately that 's been writing for me . I 'm going to try my hardest to be better … but I digress . This last weekend was terribly entertaining as far as bartending was concerned . It 's also much more entertaining after the fact then it was during the chaos . Here 's how Friday night went for us . It was a typical full moon night … . . WEIRD . Early in the night nothing specific stood out but the vibe was weird , the crowd was weird and people were drinking … . a lot ! My bartending partner and I would look at each other and shake our heads or shrug our shoulders every now and then to prove we knew , we just knew it was strange . Her and I were even running into each other behind the bar more than normal , it was one of those days we were acting like we 'd never worked together . Even our karaoke singers were all over the board , normally we 're middle of the road with talent but this particular night we had amazing singers and then those singers that made you want to jab yourself in the ear with a sharp pencil . Like I say to my customers " always applaud , for those who are bad , you applaud because it 's over " . Around midnight the downhill slide reached warp speed . One of our regulars who is normally very well - behaved became not so well - behaved . On a normal night if we tell him it 's time to go home , he says ' okay ' and promptly leaves and walk home . On this not so normal night he said ' okay ' and walked out the front door …… only to immediately return through the back door . Rinse and repeat seven times ! ! ! Yes I said SEVEN . He had his eye on a woman he thought he was going to take home . I 'm pretty sure I don 't have to go into detail here when I say that would not have turned out so great for him . It would have been like stepping up to the plate at a major league game with a wet dishcloth rather than a bat . Finally my bartending partner raised her voice to a thunderous level , took him by the arm and escorted him to the corner and watched him cross the street . I think we saved him from humiliation by making him leave without her . He should be thanking us . About the time we got done dealing with him , karaoke wrapped up and we were discussing the ' weirdness ' of the night with the DJ , three guys walked in who had clearly been elsewhere for a few . One of them is a regular and the other two we had seen before but were unfamiliar with any of their drunken habits . They had a beer and the regular asked for a shot . I said " no , no hard alcohol for you " , as usual , the regular agreed and we went on our merry way …… until one of them wasn 't merry anymore . It started with this kid accusing us ( all of us , even his friends ) of stealing his $ 50 bill . We all stood around as he searched every pocket , more than once , and finally dug it out . No apology , no nothing , just attitude . Finally we had enough of him and asked him to leave … . . now this is where all hell breaks loose . We made him leave out the back door , he came in the front . We made him leave out the front door , he came in the back . Rinse and repeat too many times to count . I would guess about the eighth or ninth time he started calling me a retard very loudly and over and over again . Now , I don 't want to get physical with anyone but I will if I have to . My hundred pound partner escorts him out the back door once more and tells him not to come back . We spotted him walking around the building so I was waiting for him at the front door with my hands on his hips . He opened the door , stepped in , saw me standing there and threw himself on the floor and started throwing a temper tantrum . I would have started giggling here if I wasn 't so mad so I said " get off the floor and get out , just because we throw you out the back door , doesn 't mean you get to come back in the front door " . About the time my lecture was complete a new song came on the juke box and no kidding , he looked up at me and said " oooohh , I love this song " and started playing air guitar while laying on the floor . Again , hilarious now , not so funny then . I put my head in my hands so I wouldn 't scream at the top of my lungs and he got up and got in my face . He pulled back his arm like he was going to hit me and I said " please , please hit me " . I 'm pretty sure his buddy yelled " don 't hit her " so he ran to his buddy at the other end of the bar . My partner then herded him out the back door once again , that time he grabbed onto everything he possibly could which resulted in tearing a bunch of posters off the wall . One of the regulars followed her out for support . I picked up torn pieces of posters and thought I better check on the situation outside . When I got out there my partner said " grab the phone , we 're calling the cops " . I asked if she was okay , she said " yes , he 's just very verbally abusive and called me the word you never call a woman " so I grabbed my phone and told the guy I was going to call the police . He started running across the street , lost his shoe , fell and was rolling around in the middle of the street when I dialed 911 . That 's where he stayed , screaming and swearing while I was on the phone with dispatch . I had to go back in because there were customers still in the bar , my partner and the regular stayed outside to wait for the police . Once the police got there the kid tried to run and ended up in a fenced in apartment complex so couldn 't get away . He did attempt to stand very still so the cops couldn 't see him … . that didn 't work . Once the spotlight was on him and the officer got out of the car , the kid threw his shoe at him which promptly got him arrested . I was tending to matters inside which consisted of attempting to calm one of our giggling regulars down who couldn 't seem to control herself , we now call her the giggle patrol . The officer came in to question me and the giggle patrol was right behind me giggling uncontrollably . The officer asked my name and of course I had to be a smarty pants and make a comment about being one of America 's Most Wanted . The giggle patrol only got worse and we struggled through the questioning . Finally I told the officer " I really wanted to run him over when he was in the middle of the street " . The officer looked at me , smiled and said " I would have looked the other way " . We got a complaint a couple weeks ago that a guy was being really weird to a group of girls out for a bachelorette party . He was saying things like " do you need me to protect you ? " , " are you okay , I 'm in the military and can save you " . Eventually he got to be a little too much so I told him he had to pay his tab and leave . As I went to run his tab , I got busy so asked my bartending partner to run his credit card because I asked him to leave . When she went to give him his card back he wanted to know her employee ID number because he was going to call the Department of Defense on us . I really hope the Department of Defense is working on more important things than bartenders who keep their bars clear of riff raff . The same night the Department of Defense situation happened we had a couple using the women 's restroom for something other than what it 's intended for . The couple had just met about 30 minutes prior to last call and there must have been a sense of urgency and the women 's restroom was the place of choice to take care of said urgency . My bartending partner walked in to use the facilities and had to tell them to put their pants on and get out . I 'm glad it wasn 't me that discovered them , I probably would have messed with them a bit before telling them to get out but that 's just me . At 6 : 00 PM recently we had to ask a couple to not return to the bar because the wife was performing … . . let 's call them … . . indecent acts , in the bar . Immediately when they walked in we knew something was going to happen . They were clearly hopped up on something not so legal but well behaved … at first . After one drink , brandy neat , she started talking to one of the regulars , the bar was fairly empty so all eyes were on her when she got up to talk to a guy sitting at a table . It wasn 't long before she turned around and pulled down her pants . It was truly like attending a sporting event , first a hush goes over the crowd and then a collective ' ohhhh ' and even some added ' my god ' or ' lord ' at the end of the ' ohhhh ' . So as any good bartenders would do , we continued to watch her antics with the rest of the crowd and listened to their whispers until we got up the nerve to approach her . The kicker to the mooning is that she never really pulled up her pants all the way so we all had a front row seat to observe the pink lace thong she was wearing and one bare cheek . It didn 't take long for the guy at the table to pack up and leave and oddly the couple followed him to the parking lot . I don 't even want to speculate about why but an employee of the bar went out and told them they weren 't welcome back in the bar . I had a regular patron go into a coughing fit one day . He 's probably in his late sixties and was really sounding bad . I looked at the few people that were in the bar , looked at him and said " Don 't you dare die on my watch , if you do I 'm going to drag you into the men 's bathroom and pretend I didn 't notice you . " The laughing didn 't help his cough at all but he survived thank goodness . A few weeks ago , I once again wore a pair of jeans to work that I obviously shouldn 't have . Early in the shift as I was bending over to put cases of beer on the dolly I felt the release of pressure at my left back pocket . I knew it was bad , it had to be . I went back out to the bar and immediately two of the regulars knew something was up because my eyes were watering from the laughing and the embarrassment . I said " well , I have a situation and you need to tell me how bad it is " . I turned around and pulled up my shirt to show them and they immediately doubled over laughing . Thank goodness they were the only two sitting at the bar . After a few minutes of uncontrollable laughter they both said " It 's bad , you have to find a new pair of pants . " I had to leave my bartending partner on her own and hurry home to change my pants . I made record time and when I came back one of the two at the bar said " Did you get your pants changed ? " I said " Yup , I 'm good to go . " He looked at me , looked down , looked at me again and said " Then you might want to pull up your zipper . " That caused another bought of uncontrollable laughter , at my expense , which I 'm okay with . A guy came in while I was working and was a talker . After rambling on for a few minutes he said " What 's your name ? " I said " Susan " . He said " Nice to meet you , I 'm Joe . " As I look over at one of my regulars he mouths " Susan ? " to me . I just smiled and went about my business . Joe eventually left and my regular says " What the hell are you telling him your name is Susan for ? " I said " When I don 't want someone to know my real name I 'm Susan . " He starts laughing and said , " Someone asked the bartender the other day when Susan worked and she said " Oh we don 't have a Susan here " , now I get what 's happening , that 's funny . " I just smiled , shrugged and walked away . Christmas is over but the memories remain . My Christmas was kicked off on the Eve of Christmas Eve while bartending . It was a pretty good kick - off because it 's given me lots of material to talk about and something to write about . About two hours into a nine hour shift She ( I wrote about her and her contact lens previously ) arrived . I looked to the heavens and said a small prayer prior to serving her a vodka diet coke . " Tall , I want a strong one " she ordered . Well , when I 'm working that gets you nowhere , in fact , it may get you a drink that 's slightly light on the alcohol just because . I hate to do that but if you want a strong drink and a bartender that likes you , order and pay for a double . A bartender will make your drink however they make their drinks . You will not persuade them by telling them to ' make it strong ' . This woman is a talker , and I mean a talker , she talks non - stop , to no one , about nothing . She not only butts into everyone else 's conversation , she touches them , hugs them and has no concept of personal space . Oh , and , she 's also a singer . Not a singer in the ' I can sing ' kind of way but a singer in the ' I sound like a cat that 's being dragged behind a car ' kind of way , and she loves to play the juke box . Her and I were in juke box bliss ( read that with sarcasm please ) when the two boys came in . I carded them so know they were 24 and 25 . I should probably mention here that she 's 49 and doesn 't look a day over 57 . She noticed the boys right away , got a look on her face like a cougar in heat and apparently started plotting her pounce . After they were about half a beer in , she moseyed up , put her arms around them and said " Hi boys " , in her sexiest of voices ( I 'm rolling my eyes as I type that ) . Now , prior to her doing that I had apologized to these two lovely gentlemen for anything that may come out of her mouth that was offensive . They 're reply , " we can 't wait " . She first asked their names , they were Bob and Brian , which was completely not true and of course she basically gave her name , rank , serial number , home phone number and the lowdown on her marital status , which shockingly enough , is SINGLE . This is about the time the boys started giggling and they didn 't stop through two more beers , two shots and about 15 songs . Them giggling of course made me giggle and the night was off to a very interesting start . At one time she rubbed her nose on Bob 's back and said " Ohhh , my nose is so cold " , the look on his face was priceless when immediately following that she said " I think I 'm flirting with you , that would make me a cougar " . his eyes screamed " what the hell just happened , you have to help me " but that was the point of no return for me and for Bob . No way , no how were we going to stop laughing . The ' cougar chronicles ' continued through " Love is a Battlefield " , " Fat Bottomed Girls " , " Hell Is For Children " and " Angel of the Morning " . She serenaded them like I have never heard before in my life . At one point I put my phone on record , set it on the bar and let it ride . Her serenading is forever recorded . I just have no idea how to share it yet because the file is too big , I 'll figure it out eventually though . I would hate to not be able to share it with all of you , it 's pretty awesome . Just in case you have any thoughts that she might have known the words to any of those songs , you are completely mistaken . The boys finally left while apologizing for having to meet friends elsewhere and assured me they would be back another night . I asked them to take her with but they respectfully declined . I personally think Brian was headed home to change his shirt that she kept rubbing her nose on but that 's just my opinion . After the boys left , she continued to ramble on and sing until her cab arrived for the second time , she had sent him away the first time because she was having so much fun flirting . When her second chariot arrived she almost forgot her purse , phone and money on the bar so I had to stop her prior to getting out the door . I shook my head and said a thank you for the peace and quiet as the door closed . About 45 minutes after she left , two police officers walked in the front door … . with her following behind , covered in snow . I cannot begin to explain to you the thoughts that invaded my brain when I spotted her . All I could say was " Hi officers , can I help you ? " . They said " we understand she was in here earlier . " . Of course I told them she had been . While she was in the bathroom , they told me she had lost her purse and couldn 't get in her house . I filled in what blanks I could and they finally called the cab company and found out she had been dropped off at the gas station . She told the driver she was going to walk home from there . They found out she had her purse at the gas station so they thanked me and left on the next leg of the adventure with the cougar . I doubt I have to mention here that she was completely flirting with the officers . I laughed and once again shook my head as they left me . Thinking that was one too many times seeing her that night . About 11 : 30 I started my closing routine , taking out the trash , checking bathrooms , straightening stools and there it was …… . . her cellphone …… . . on the corner of the bar . Well crap , what to do about that ? I checked the recent calls and texts to see if there was anything from her from a home phone or a friend 's phone . Nothing . Knowing we were closed for the next two days I figured I would take it with me and track her down the following day , in her ramblings she managed to tell me where she worked along with a thousand other details of her life . At 11 : 45 the front door flew open and there She stood . Red faced , shivering and red faced . I closed my eyes , laughed and finally said " Hey , you 're here to pick up your phone , glad you made it " . She said " Yeah , I need my phone in order to get up for work " . Then she said " Man , I had the cops at my house " . I said " I know , they brought you in here because you lost your purse " . She said " They did ? " . Then she went on and on how she didn 't understand how they knew she lost her purse since she didn 't have a phone and they were in her living room and then of course added they were kind of hot . I tried over and over again to explain to her how she hadn 't left her phone at the bar until after she tried to go home and lost her purse on the way but she just wasn 't in any condition to comprehend . Finally I went out and started my car , told her to go and wait in the car and I locked up the bar . When we were on the way to her house she said " You know , I don 't have much but I have a little bit of pot at home so you 're welcome to come in and we 'll smoke it " . At this point , nothing surprises me about her so I politely said " No thanks , I 've got to get up early " . She thanked me excessively and got out . I waited for her to climb the snow bank and get in the house . I took the remainder of the drive to piece together what had happened to her and here 's what I came up with . She had the cab drop her off at the gas station , she bought a bag full of crap , walked home and on the walk she took a digger in a snow bank and dropped her purse in the fall . She got home , couldn 't get in the door , called the police , they retraced her steps to the bar , the gas station and the snow bank and found her purse . She then walked back to the bar to pick up the phone she forgot on her second visit . I laughed out loud thinking of it , wishing it would have somehow been filmed and was happy the adventurous evening was over . It 's amazing the people they let on the golf course . Saturday four guys walked into the bar after a golf tournament . Now , something tells me that these four really shouldn 't have been on the golf course , not in their condition anyway . But I do believe the golf course is who served them to the condition they were in . They were dropped off by a sober cab and were being picked up by a sober cab , thank goodness . They were actually pretty funny so I started writing down what was being said . I do have to admit that I couldn 't understand a lot of what they were saying but they sure understood each other . I 'll share my notes as I wrote them while it was happening . " I think I 've got pink eye . " I asked him " Do you know what causes pink eye ? " , he said no so I told him , " It can be caused by feces . " So then he said " Maybe it 's hepatitis " . " While golfing today I forgot the word fore so when I hit it toward the people in front of us I kept yelling OY really loud . They didn 't get it and were mad . We laughed about OY for several holes " . One snuck out to get into a sober ride . He must have finally figured out how to work his phone . I couldn 't understand a thing that was coming out of his mouth but apparently the driver understood enough to know where to come and get him . A girl in an inappropriate white shirt has shown up to the party and seems to be hoping to go home with one of them . By inappropriate I mean , half mesh and strapless . The bottom half is mesh which shows her thong underwear bunched up above the waist band of her pants but below her butt crack . So very classy . I think she just came from Wal - Mart . Inappropriate girl thought the side window was the door , tripped over a step and face planted on the floor . That 's not good . For a minute I thought she knocked herself out , nope , she 's up and out . Oh dear , inappropriate girl left with one of the guy 's phone . This isn 't good , he 's mad , very mad . He just went next door with a golf club . Wonder if I should warn them he 's on his way . The party ended when one of the daughters came to pick them all up . They put up a fight but finally went with her as she wasn 't going to take no for an answer . The walked out in a single file and their heads down . Tuesday at the bar while I was working a new set of teeth walked in . And I mean a new set of teeth , fresh from the carving station and they were attached to one of my regulars . Now , he hasn 't been in on my shift for a few weeks but I know he did NOT have that set of choppers last time I saw him . They were white and shiny , brand spanking new , I don 't even think they 'd seen a glass of Efferdent yet . I 'm never sure what to say in this situation . Do you act like you don 't notice them ? Do you say " nice teeth " ? " I like the teeth . " Where 'd you get them " ? Or , do you say nothing and just stare ? Well , I chose none of the above . I said " Hi , good to see you , you 're looking good . " Honestly , this guy hasn 't looked good since he was a junior in high school in 1977 and even then it may have been iffy . But I was at a loss for the right words so I improvised , very poorly . Plus , I could not stop looking at him . My compliment and my staring apparently appealed to him as he was grinning like the chubby kid at an all day buffet . You would think I would have stopped staring at that point , nope , not one bit . There is something definitely wrong with me . I should probably mention at this point it was just his top teeth that were new , his bottom ones were still MIA . I did not care , I couldn 't get over how different he looked , and by different I mean nice looking … . . in a bad boy , used leather , rode hard , lots older than me sort of way . Yeah , I know , I 'm crazy , he still didn 't have his bottom teeth ! ! ! The more I stared and saw his laugh lines and his smile lines around his mouth that was no longer sucked into his head , the more I was really attracted to this guy . I need to mention again that he still didn 't have any bottom teeth ! ! I even caught myself flirting with him . Now , I really should reiterate that I flirt with most everyone when I bartend , it 's part of the gig but I think I was really going out of my way on this one . I kept reigning myself in to just talk about what he 's been up to since I 've seen him last because it had been so long . At one point I even had to go and sit across the bar just so I would stop rambling . He stayed for three drinks and he never stays for three drinks ! ! I forced myself to stay away from him so I would stop staring , it was obvious he had noticed me noticing him . I 'm sure he just thought it was amusing as there 's no way he was attracted to me . Honestly , I 'm not really attracted to him either , it was just one of those days and one of those things that caught me off guard and messed with my senses . What a fiasco . He finally left , grinning from ear to ear all the way to the door . Things were so bad I even checked the rest of him out on his way out . I shared this story with one of the other bartenders and she said " oh , he used to be very good looking " . Great , just great . I hope next week he doesn 't come in with new bottom teeth , if that happens I cannot be held responsible for my actions . Sometimes so many things happen that I have a tough time deciding exactly what to write about . I will attempt to share some highlights with you . We could probably call some of them lowlights . The other night a woman was on a roll with some stories and there I was looking around for a way to record or write down everything she was saying . I thought it would be sort of rude if I would have said " hold that thought , I 've got to write this down " , so I sat back and attempted to file away all the crazy stuff that she was saying . I doubt I can remember it all but here 's a few things : " We 're going to get married here and you 're going to be my bartender . I 'll tell everyone no less than $ 5 tips at a time because that 's how I roll . I 'm paying for the kegs and the food . My girls will do the food … . hams and turkeys … . good food . We 're fat girls , we like to eat , none of this skinny girl shit . His sisters are skinny bitches . " I then asked her when the wedding would take place … . . her answer …… " whenever he asks me , in the next month or two . " She then proceeded to play their wedding music over and over again on the jukebox . I was privy to some sort of dance I would have rather not witnessed . After the dancing he told her he wanted to play pool . She said " I can 't play pool , you know I can 't play pool because I have a glass eye . " Upon saying that she promptly poked herself in her glass eye . Thank goodness he didn 't ask her to brush her teeth , she was a little light in the tooth department and I would have hated if she stuck her finger anywhere to point that out . One of my regulars was in a few Saturdays ago and he had a styrofoam coffee cup on the bar . I said hi when I walked by and he said " hey , do you want to see my rats ? " I promptly said " NO " . He had a pile of dead baby rats in the cup that he had found in a refrigerator somewhere . All I could do was shake my head and force myself not to look in the cup . A little later he said " move away with me to Colorado and we 'll go down the river together " . I said " one of us won 't make it to the end of the river alive " . He knew exactly what I meant and he still brings it up to this day . Very recently a few friends came in for a couple of drinks and a visit . During their visit two of my other friends showed up and one had clearly indulged in several adult beverages , this particular lady is a hugger on a regular day and a super hugger on a day with beverages . I introduced everyone and conversations flowed easily . When the hugger was leaving she promptly said " nice to meet you and I 'm a hugger so no handshakes " . I immediately had to turn away from the scene as one of my friends is clearly not a hugger but he indulged . This woman is not only a hugger but she 's a long hugger . The whole scene was pretty hilarious . I 'm sure you 've seen it before … . the hugger and the stiff as a board non - hugger in an embrace . On her way to the door she announced she was going to do the Irish jig . She did . Her sober significant other did not laugh near as hard as the rest of us did . Closing up at 2 : 00 AM I heard a horrible noise coming from the parking lot . I looked out the window and saw two women standing outside of what was left of their car . One end of the back bumper was hanging on by a thread and the other end was dragging on the ground . I assumed that was the cause of the noise . I noticed the back window was plastic and duct taped on and every piece of trim was missing on the car . As I walked outside I noticed the front bumper was also dragging on the ground . They were screaming at each other and at some people who had gathered around the scene . I have no idea what they were saying because I could only understand a few curse words . After a couple of minutes they got in the car and drove away . Yes , they drove away , sparks flying and earth shattering noises following behind . I have no idea how far they made it because I chose to drive the other way . A couple weeks ago , a very intoxicated woman was at the bar for several hours . She was well - behaved for the most part and at one point she asked if I had any contact solution , which I did . She was having trouble with her contact ( I don 't think it was the contact myself but hey ) and wanted to soak it for a bit . I put it in a plastic cup to soak and she went back to gambling . About two hours later she was yelling and swearing so I asked her what the problem was . She said " I lost my contact ! " I said " you were supposed to leave it in the cup " . She said " I did but I wanted to put it back in my eye " . We looked and looked for the contact and then looked some more , I even broke out the flashlight and was crawling on the floor . I finally gave up and said " it 's gone , I have no idea what happened to it " . After about three more hours she yelled " I found it ! " I went over to her and she had the top of a beer can in her hand , squinting at it with her ' good eye ' . I said " you can 't put that in your eye , it 's a beer can top " . She had a shocked look on her face and asked " are you sure ? " Well , I wasn 't about to state the obvious that I hadn 't put in an eight hour shift of drinking so I said " I 'm sure " . She looked down at the floor and said " oh , but there it is " . She bent over and picked something up from in front of the chair next to her and sure enough , it was her contact . I took it from her , slathered it with contact solution for a few minutes , looked at her and said " can I put it in for you ? " She pried open her eye so I put it in . She blinked once , hugged me and said " I can see better out of this one than my other one now ! " . Enough said , I went back to work shaking my head and she sat down to go back to gambling . This morning a guy came in and ordered a tap beer . I said " what 's going on today ? " because it was 10 : 00 AM , he 's not one of the regulars and he was having a beer so I figured something was up . He said " I called in sick for the first time in three years today because I 'm hungover " . I said " oh no , that 's not good " . He replied with " well , I actually went to work but decided to leave after I blew a . 12 in my buddies car breathalyzer " . Then he added " the strip club was just too much for me last night " . I didn 't ask any more questions because I was afraid of the answer . I really wanted to say " by all means , why not start drinking again " but it was too early to have that conversation . Tonight a woman said " two years ago I planned my wedding for September of 2013 and now I have a wedding planned and no boyfriend " . I was dumb and said " what happened to him ? " She said " oh , there never was one , I just thought I 'd have one by now and I have the date , the place and the flowers , what am I going to do ? " I stared at her for a minute and said " shoot and holler shit " . I couldn 't think of anything else to say . She tried to bring up the subject several more times and I completely ignored her . I am not qualified to counsel her on that particular issue . I truly have to wonder if the stuff that happens to me happens to everyone . I think it does but most people probably find it more frustrating than funny . I had one of those weeks this past week and of course I feel the need to share . I had to break up a fight at the bar and I haven 't had to do that in a long time . One of our regulars Jan was in and she was in rare form ( well , not really rare for her ) . She 's a bit rough around the edges but has a heart of gold . I have rules for her when I 'm there . She has to pull up her pants , no wearing them below her butt cheeks , she can 't mooch off of other customers , she can 't ask me for money and she can 't try to sell me anything . No , I am not lying , those are her rules . She is VERY aware of them . Anyway , Jan was with a girl and a guy . Pretty soon her and the girl were off of their stools pushing and slapping each other . Like a shot ( I move pretty fast when it comes to this stuff ) I went around the bar and got between them . Then I panicked . I not only got between them , I had my back to the regular . In a matter of a couple of seconds some very bad scenarios went through my head , including getting a knife in the back . I stepped away in one piece thankfully . As I was yelling at her that she had to leave I added " now you have another rule , no fighting and I shouldn 't have to tell you that . If it happens again , you 're out for good " ! I act pretty tough in times like that . As I walked back behind the bar Matt , ( another regular ) said " holy crap , how did I miss that , I 've never seen you move so fast " . I said " the last thing I need is to have to call the cops on my shift , I take care of that on my own " . He just laughed and went back to the game on his phone . He 's normally the one that takes care of any riff raff while he 's there . A few minutes after breaking up the fight a woman walked in wearing a pair of sunglasses . Across the lenses it said SW AG . Matt and I looked at each other and at the same time said " this ought to be good " . It didn 't take her long to start dirty dancing and shooting pool . She was using the pool stick as a stripper pole since we don 't actually have a stripper pole there . She got a little worked up at one point so took her arms out of her hoodie and just wore it around her neck . She was wearing a wife beater and was sportin ' some pretty large butt crack . She didn 't care , she had swag and was going to prove to everyone she had earned those sunglasses . She attempted to pick up a couple customers to take home but struck out . She left and came back twice providing us with about two hours of entertainment but left empty handed each time . Perhaps she found someone in a different bar . Jan came in a couple days later apologizing for her behavior and tried to tell me she wasn 't fighting . I argued with her for a minute and then she finally said " if we were fighting why did I wake up with her in my bed the next morning ? " I could only drop my head and go about my day , I had no argument for that and I certainly didn 't ask for any sort of confirmation . Saturday night I had a group of three come in who were more than interesting . The woman had won money somehow , somewhere and was throwing it around like it grew on trees . She used her bra for a wallet and was going back to her stash like a fat kid at a buffet . She bought her and her friends drinks , bought the other people in the bar drinks and put 20 bucks in the jukebox . With that $ 20 she played two songs , the same two songs , over and over again . She offered me 10 bucks to crank the jukebox . I 'm not proud , I did it and because she was buying drinks for everyone they all stood up and sang with her at the top of their lungs . It wasn 't long before her and her man started dancing . This was when I noticed that she had on a very sheer , very revealing shirt which didn 't cover much and continually fell off her shoulder to expose a lot of skin and a good portion of her bra . I also noticed she wore a swimsuit bikini bottom under her jeans . The strings and bows were hanging out of her pants and her crack was hanging out of both the bikini and the jeans . It was difficult for me to watch this show with a straight face so I found something to do that would leave me with my back to them . Soon after I started ignoring them I heard a thump and got that feeling in my stomach that something was going on I did not want to see . I turned around and sure enough she was sitting on the bar with him between her legs . I have never seen a 400 lb man dry hump anyone but he was going to town . I thought the friction he was causing may start a fire and I was a bit scared to tell him to stop but I had no choice . I yelled " hey , no no no no no no no , no , NO You cannot do that on my bar . " They both looked at me with that " what ? " look on their face and he lifted her off the bar . Thank goodness they stopped without issue but not before I was searching desperately for eye wash , or acid , or tequila , anything . That 's something that I can never unsee . The week ended at McDonald 's . I was in desperate need of a small chocolate shake ( I never used to crave chocolate but apparently that happens when they remove some of your girl parts , go figure ) . I ordered my shake sans cherry , received my total and started to drive toward the window . I stopped behind a red Dodge that was probably two car lengths from window number one . His driver 's door was open with his rear sticking out and him digging under the dash . My window was still open so when he straightened up he said to me " it 'll just be a second , it 's the battery , no big deal " . He then proceeded to open the hood and dig around for a few seconds , close the hood and get in . He was talking the whole time , telling me it wouldn 't be long . His truck started and on he went to the first window . After he paid , he stepped on the gas and the truck moved about three feet and then died again . This time he seemed to be prepared and was veering to the right to get out of the way . He stopped in front of the second window but he was in the actual driving lane . I paid quickly and was laughing as I moved toward the second window . As I got to the second window the guy 's passenger got out of the truck and said " screw this , I 'm going in to get the food " . His passenger left him there , stalled . The driver opened his door and started pushing the truck by himself . I went to the window , helped the very confused McDonald 's crew figure out which food went where because they kept trying to give me two McChickens ( which actually belonged to the people behind me ) and went on my very very merry way . I giggled for about 30 minutes and had to call a friend to tell her about it . I thought long and hard about what my friends would do and decided yes , they probably would leave me stalled to go get the food .

Life has become different . Almost like watching a movie of myself ! The only way to explain it is that the world is still turning . . . everyone 's lives are moving forward . . . but mine has stopped . It 's strange to think about how things used to be . Regular life , just the routine of the day - to - day . My main complaints were not enough time to get all the things done in a day . I worried about things like what to cook for dinner . Now I wake up to the buzz of an ice machine hooked up to my leg , hoping that the calluses on my hands ( from my walker ) aren 't going to get much bigger . I don 't care what I eat . . . I just try and think about how I can carry it to the table . It 's impossible to carry anything when you walk with crutches ! I watch my kids walk out the door in the morning not knowing what they are doing at school . I used to worry about if they had forgotten to put their homework in their backpack . Now I 'm just glad someone else is getting them to school at all ! This Memorial Day was as big one . Of course Mike wasn 't up for anything , so I drove the kids to the cemetery . It was the first time I drove on the freeway . Everything seemed so fast ! I couldn 't stay on it long . . . I got off two exits early and took back roads . It was a lot for me ! We met Mike 's family up there , I was able to walk out on the grass with a cane . It made me nervous . . . but I did it ! Of course it was the first time my skin had seen the sun this year , so I got sunburned in the 5 minutes I stood there . Mike 's family has a tradition of going to the cemetery and then going to lunch at a Mexican restaurant . Not only did I not have flowers , but there was no way I could do lunch . Oh my . . . this post is so difficult to write , because I still can 't believe it is a true story ! The more I think about it , the more I can 't believe it really happened . When I tell other people what happened they are in shock ! Mike couldn 't get a ride to the surgical center closer to his surgical time . . . so Jen was able to take him before work . Which meant he was there about 3 hours before he needed to . Thankfully , that meant I got a couple extra hours of sleep and waited for Kim to come and get me . We headed down to Provo , and when we got there they had just taken Mike back to surgery . The woman behind the desk said they were running later than expected . We waited in the waiting room and visited . After about an hour an older gentleman came out and said Mike 's name . . . he clearly wasn 't the lady who had come out for the other family members . I stood up and gathered my purse , ice , crutch . . . the works . I asked if Kim could come back with me , even though the sign stated only one family member allowed back at a time . The man said " of course " . Then as we started back he stuck his hand out to shake , and said " My name is Dr . P * " I said hello and added " and you are ? . . . " I was trying not to be rude , but I had never met this man ! I 'm starting to worry that this stranger did Mike 's surgery . Little did I know that my worry was about to grow beyond what I could imagine . We walk back to the recovery area where Mike is in the hospital bed and the curtains are drawn . I notice immediately that the two nurses are looking at the ground . One of them excuses herself . This new Dr . tells me that he is the anesthesiologist who was assisting in surgery . He is acting so weird and fumbling around . He 's stuttering , and like the nurses . . . keeping his eyes down . Then he drops the bomb ! He tells me that he accidentally gave Mike the nerve block on the wrong shoulder ! He tells me that he feels really really stupid . . . and that he is the medical director there , so he would be the one to talk to . Whoa ! Whoa ! Whoa ! I interrupted him and said " Was the surgery done on the wrong shoulder ? ! ! " to which he responds " Oh no ! Of course not ! " like that was the most ridiculous question ever . I 'm thinking WHAT ? ! ! At this point how do I expect that everything went well . If the anesthesia was performed on the wrong arm . . . why wouldn 't the surgeon make the same mistake ? Now I am being blasted with this news as Mike is moaning , groaning and writhing in pain ! Then I am continued to be informed that because the block was given . . . although it was wrong . . . he can not receive more anesthesia . Anything more would make his body toxic , so all he can do is wait it out until enough time has passed then he can get some pain relief . I was still in such disbelief I didn 't know what to think . Then I saw Mike in so much pain he started to cry . . . so I started to cry . . . then Kim started to cry . Dr . Larsen came in and was speechless . He looked at me and just said " I 'm sorry ! I 'm so so sorry ! It had already been done when I walked in . " I was trying to pull myself together and be strong . Enduring my own pain of sitting and now standing for the past 10 minutes . Dr . Larsen showed me the pictures from surgery . He explained that he removed some of the old sutures , and repaired the new tares with new ones . Then he showed me where the top of his bicep was disconnected from his shoulder . He showed me where he reattached the bicep ! That was unexpected news . Dr . P * came in and had us moved into a private room , and repeatedly told the nurses that he could have more oral meds . In the next few minutes he was given Morphine . . . then Percocet . . . then Lortab . . . then more Morphine . Wowza ! Mike was shaking his head back and forth from side to side . He had tears running down his cheeks , and kept saying " I gotta push through this , I gotta push through this " I couldn 't tell him he did . . . it just wasn 't fair ! He shouldn 't have to push through it ! The nurse told him that he had to stop shaking his head or he would get nauseous . In our private room we finally had a nurse talk to us . She expressed the disbelief that this kind of mistake was made . She said that there were people in shock . . . and that there are specific procedures in place for these sort of things to NOT happen . She said that she had never heard of it happening . . . and all the nurses can 't stop talking about it . I 'm not sure if anything she is saying makes me feel better . . . but it was refreshing to have someone else responding the way I thought people should be reacting . She said that the " shit was going to hit the fan " Mike was in so much pain . . . he said " I just have to get it together " and started banging the back of his head on the bed . I have NEVER seen him like this , all I could do is pray that this was too painful for his mind to remember . Maybe he wouldn 't remember . They said we would have to stay overnight . The nerve block on his right shoulder would last 17 - 24 hours , and with his left shoulder immobilized and in so much pain there was no way to move him . His entire upper body was immobile ! They were able to give him a local in his shoulder . . . and then his oxygen dropped ! The nurse came in and put him on oxygen . It was now about 5pm and I realized we should get comfortable . My leg was now KILLING me . I was trying to be there for Mike . It was my first day using one crutch , and I had never been on my feet this long . How could I complain , with Mike on oxygen and in more pain than I can imagine ? The nurse came in and told me that I didn 't need to stay , " You really should go home and get some sleep " she said . I just kept saying " No , I 'm fine " over and over . There was no way I could leave him there . . . not after what had happened . I was not letting him out of my sight ! The nurse came in and asked Mike if he needed to use the bathroom . I was able to help her sit him upright , then she handed me the urinal and asked if I wanted to help him . I said sure . . . but then looked at her and asked " How do I ? . . . ummm . . . where do I ? . . . ummmm " She showed me how to hold it , and explained it all . She stepped out and I helped Mike urinate unto this jug . They also wanted Mike to try using the spirometer to help his lungs . His breathing was SO bad ! It was so bad that he could hardly take a break from the oxygen to do his exersices . . . his O2 levels would drop so fast . I had been using the same stupid devise to help my lungs , so that was something I knew how to do . It 's sad , but I have learned so many things I wish I didn 't know . . . so many terms , both medical and legal , I would have been happy to live in ignorance . . . it really was bliss ! I hadn 't been able to drive myself down there , Kim was my ride . She needed to go home and be with her own family ! Jessica came down to relieve her . She was so sweet , brought me a bag with magazines , the iPad , my phone charger , snacks . Little did I know that I should have packed an overnight bag when I left the house this morning ! Then we were stranded . . . no car . They brought in a nurse and CNA to come in and stay with us . The nurse knew Dr . P * personally . . . made me wonder if this was some kind of favor . Around 2am they came in and asked if they could get him up and walk around . He looked at them and laughed ! They were both around 5 ' 5 " and both of them combined maybe weighed 200 lbs . Mike said that if he were to get up and fall , " Who would catch me ? " Both of the nurses agreed that we would all be in trouble if he fell . . . so it might be better to wait until he can do more himself . At this point , he was starting to feel the fingers on his right hand . . . but that was it ! Around 4am they came back in . The numbness . . . or at least the weight of the numbness . . . was starting to fade pretty quickly . We were able to help him sit up and then stand up . He started a short walk that included a stop at the bathroom . . . I still had to assist . . . but it was better than me totally on my own . I got up and walked with him . My swelling was tremendous ! I just kept praying that this wouldn 't be too big of a set - back for BOTH OF US . The recliner that they had brought in for me broke ! I couldn 't get my leg up anymore . . . and this was the moment I lost it . I was hurting so badly , Mike was suffering , and NOTHING seemed to be working out for us . I just started laughing ! Everything was funny at this point . . . I 'd cried enough tears , been angry , and now all I could do was laugh ! Around 5 : 30am , Dr . P * came into the surgical center . He was again very sorry , and sheepishly asked how Mike was feeling . He was a little hyper . . . he seemed super eager to prove that Mike was totally fine , and everything was great ! I wanted to stop him and say " Look ! That is my husband over there . . . hooked up to oxygen , not breathing well on his own ! You blew it BIG TIME buddy ! " But I just let him anxiously talk and stammer around the room . He agreed that Mike was not to a point where he could receive another block . Meanwhile , the people started filing in and beginning their day . We got plenty of stares . . . whispers . . . and even an occasional person accidentally walking in the room not expecting anyone . Dr . P * came back in around 6 : 30am . He had an ultrasound machine with him . He announced it was time to give him another block . He somehow thought that explaining every little detail of what he did was going to make me feel better . The truth was , what made me feel better was watching him put the needle into the correct side of his neck . I trust that he knew exactly what he 's doing . . . the issue is simply ' right vs . left ' . My 7 - year - old could help him with that one ! Mike was panicked , as he should be . Mike asked if he could be sedated , poor guy ! It was fascinating to watch , but at the time I was so tired and hurting so bad . . . I didn 't care what he said ! After he left the room , Mike 's oxygen dropped again . The nurse turned up the air to his cannula . I started making phone calls to find a ride home . We clearly weren 't going to be out of there at 7am ! I expected things to be similar to the hospital . . . the routine of discharge papers , etc . I looked over at Mike and noticed that his face looked funny . I asked him to look at me , " smile " I said . Only one half of his face turned up ! ! ! I called the nurse . She said " Oh , that 's called Horner 's Syndrome . It 's common with anesthesia , and it won 't last long . " Are you kidding me ? ! ! ! She seemed very rushed , and I could tell they wanted us out of there . She said that the device on Mike 's finger wasn 't reading the oxygen accurately . They were assured that Mike would be " fine " . I wanted to scream at the top of my lungs ! I needed him more than FINE . I couldn 't help him physically , and I couldn 't even drive him to the hospital if something went wrong . I was panicked , but didn 't know what to do . My mom came and picked us up . Of course it was raining . My Mom was shocked at Mike 's face . . . and I could barely get myself into the car I was in so much pain ! She drove us home . . . Mike was throwing up in the car . Luckily , I have those super nifty blue vomit bags that I am now in love with . Who would have thought it would become my newest favorite accessory ? It still seemed like a dream . We crawled into bed . Thankfully Jess was here with the kids , she had been able to stay overnight with them . . . and was able to stay so Mike and I could get some sleep . My foot was twice the size it should have been , and I took a pain pill and crashed . I was supposed to go to physical therapy but had to cancel . I felt bad with only a few hours notice , but I knew when they heard the story they would understand . I know we have tough days ahead , just with Mike recovering . But I feel like the worst of it is behind us ! ( knock on wood ) It 's almost laughable to think of the things we have gone through . . . all I can say is that we are having TERRIBLE luck this year . It seems that if anything can go wrong it will ! Today was another milestone that I had to miss . My sweet little sister graduated today ! That makes 6 of 6 for my dear Mother . Although it is a happy day , it is crazy to think that she is the last one . . . She is moving out next week . That means my Mom is alone . She is probably happy to have us all graduated . . . I dare say I am the one who came closest to not making it . Amanda 's baby shower was Saturday . I was able to come late and stay a bit . It was supposed to be an open house . . . but when I walked in everyone was sitting in a circle with Amanda in the center opening gifts . They all turned and watched me hobble my sorry butt into the closest chair . I expected socializing . . . women in small groups . . . mingling . . . etc . It looked like we were just a few piece of papers away from a baby word - wordsearch ! It was nice to get out of the house , and Grandma Fife brought the girls ( they were spending the weekend with them ) They were excited to give some gifts to their newest cousin Jack . Things and relationships have been so weird and distant with family , I wasn 't necessarily looking forward to the awkward effort to make small talk and pretend that everything is fine between us . I have decided that if I can take any lessons from the past few months , it 's that life is too short to have regrets . . . and that you can never go back and change the fact that you either were ( or were not ) there for someone . I wouldn 't have missed her baby shower . . . regardless of the way she has been treating me . It is sad that tension is so thick between family , but I 'm sure it will get better with time . " When people walk away from you , let them go . Your destiny is never tied to anyone who leaves you and it doesn 't mean they are bad people . It just means that their part in your story is over . " And although these family member 's haven 't officially " walked away " physically . . . they have left me emotionally . Their part in my story might be over . . . now it 's a matter of realizing my story will be happy without them ! Posted by I think that the fact someone else has to drive out to my house . . . pick me up . . . take me to the office . . . wait . . . sit there while I do what I need with the Dr . . . drive me all the way home . . . then THEY have to drive home . It 's ridiculous ! For these reasons , I almost lost it today . . . I had an appointment with Dr . Faux in the Provo office . ( I was scheduled to see him Monday , but Sunday was so depressing it about killed me and I couldn 't get out of bed ) The last time I saw him it was at the butt - crack of dawn in his Orem office . I was really bothered that we had to be there so early , but after today I understand how blessed I was the first go around ! Kim came from PG and picked me up at 10am . We went down to Provo , having an appointment with Dr . Faux at 11am and Dr . Dahl at 1pm . . . in the same building . I had some wishful hopes thinking that we could do both , and maybe even grab a bite to eat in between the two . So we checked in with Dr . Faux and the receptionist said right away " The wait will be at LEAST an hour . So if there is anything you need to do . . . it will be a while " I told her we had another appt at 1pm . She said it wouldn 't be a problem . I looked at Kim and said we might as well wait in the car . We went out to the car and talked for an hour . When we went back in the receptionist looked up and smiled . I looked around and saw quite a few people , I wondered who else was waiting as long as I was . A half an hour later . . . 12 : 30pm I walked up and asked how much longer the wait might be . She said " There are still 3 people ahead of you . . . but we will see what we can do . " At about 12 : 45pm we got called back . A woman walked in and introduced herself as Dr . Faux 's PA . She said she was going to " get things started " . She examined my foot and asked me questions . She confirmed from the previous x - rays that my calcanius fracture was healed , so there wasn 't need for more x - rays this time . She diagnosed me with Plantar Fasciitis . She wrote a new script for my Physical Therapist . . . and then shook my hand and walked us out . WAIT ! WE JUST WAITED ALMOST 2 HOURS AND DIDN ' T SEE THE DR ! ! ! I had to reschedule another follow - up and when the receptionist asked when I 'd like to come in that day , I responded with " As early as possible ! " She said that if I wanted to see the PA I could come in anytime that day . So I scheduled with her . I wanted to ask why I had just waited so long NOT to see the Dr I had my appt with ? ! ! Of course then my appt with Charlie ( Dr Dahl ) went well . In and out . He said that he has run all the tests he can and does not know the reason for my Tachycardia . I asked if that was a normal occurrence . . . and he assured me it is not . He has seen patients who have a surgery and their heart beats fast for a while . . . then it just slows down . Granted , these patients have had open heart surgery ! When I checked into the hospital on the night of the accident my heart rate was in the 80 's ! That was my body in shock ! Since my ORIF surgery my heart has continually gone up , over 100 resting and 130 's when I 'm standing up . The solution ? I will continue to take beta - blockers day and night until my heart rate comes down . . . if it comes down . I can try to get off in a couple months and see if my heart rate goes back up . It just really bites , because beta - blockers suppress adrenaline and make me so so tired . . . and I could really use some ' upper 's ' not ' downers ' . I did start Physical Therapy this week , on Tuesday . I like the office and the people . Todd seems truly invested in helping me progress physically . He had me do the same table exercises that Dan had me do . . . I also rode the bike . I did electro stimulation , ultrasound , heat and massage . I did the ice and e - stim at the end as well . My range of motion is still at 120 degrees . I 'll go back tomorrow , and I 'll keep going twice a week for as long as it takes ! Yesterday I went to lunch with my grandma and my sisters . My Mom took us all to this great place at Thanksgiving Point . It was good . . . and weird . A couple of my sister 's and I haven 't had the best time these last few months . It 's been very difficult for me emotionally . With all the physical pain I 've been trying to overcome , the emotional things I 've had to deal with have been a hindrance to my psyche . I wish that things could be dealt with another time in my life . Things seemed to come to a head a couple weeks after the accident . I know that there 's never a good time to deal with family drama . . . but this time in my life was probably the absolute worst time ever . It 's been hard to go through this time without the people I 've been closest to . I 've been shocked to find out which people have really been there for me . . . and which people haven 't . Even with friends , it 's surprising to see who steps up and who walks away . There is a saying . . . So this Mother 's Day was just a reminder of the Mom I used to be . . . the Mom I should be . . . and the Mom I may never be able to be again ! On previous Mother 's Day 's I 've felt the need to be a better Mom and try harder . Today I just was saddened by the all the many things my children Currently my kids are being cared for by Teachers , Aunts , Grandma , and their Dad . . . but they don 't really have a Mom right now ! Before this accident I was the Mom that volunteered at the school every week . I 've always been one or two of my children 's Room Mom . . . this year was Sophie 's class . I haven 't done their laundry or cooked them a meal . I have rarely even felt well enough to kiss them goodnight . I 'm not awake when they leave in the morning , I don 't ask them how their day was . I can 't help them with their homework . I knew when I woke up Sunday that the fall had caused me some serious problems . My hope was that the pain was under - conditioned muscles and weak tendons . However , Dr . Larsen wanted me to come in for x - rays . It was good to have everything checked out . My biggest fear was that I may have damaged something with the hardware or bones . Thankfully , it all checked out ! He did say that it would set me back 2 weeks . . . I hoping that it won 't be that long ! He did say I have to put physical therapy on hold for at least a week . I was supposed to start my first outpatient therapy Monday ! I have been in so much pain it 's unbelievable ! I had to start setting my alarm for pain medication . I was take it at night to fall asleep , then I 'm in so much pain it wakes me up between 3 : 30am and 4 : 00am . I can 't get back to sleep it hurts so bad ! If I set my alarm and take it at 3 : 00am , it doesn 't get too out of control . Mike had to get me there early enough to wheel me in and get me in place before it got too crowded . Luckily we got there and had a seat quickly . I 'm glad , because it filled up fast ! for kids . 10 minutes jump roping burns as many calories as 30 minutes of running . They were telling kids that they can all jump rope ! Kids don 't need to be playing a sport or be on a team to be active . was amazing ! She did so many tricks and amazing things I didn 't know she could do . Push ups inside the jump rope . . . she slid across the floor , through somebody 's legs and into an already turning long rope ! She did backward push ups inside the rope , even jumped inside the same rope with another person and jumped on their back ! Of course , as soon as it was over . . . Mike rushed me out to the car . He needed to get me out before everyone started leaving and it got too crowded . Only , the car was parked too close to another car for me to get in . . . so he had to park me could go back inside for the kids . Then he went back inside for the kids , he took everyone out to the car so he could back out and come and get me . ARGH ! ! ! I cold not be more sick of my stupid situation ! Everything is such a chore . . . and takes so much longer . I constantly feel bad for Mike , working so hard to accommodate everything ! I can 't believe how much pain I 've been in . I really didn 't think it would be this big of a setback . I felt like I was finally to the point where I could see the light at the end of the tunnel . Now . . . I can 't even imagine walking again . It is so painful just lying in bed . . . how on earth could I put weight on it ? I 'm so upset . . . I wish I hadn 't ever tried to leave the house ! So I had a night out planned with some of my friends . We were supposed to go out to eat , then go to the movies . I had to put a disappointing stop to the movie . Trying to know my limitations . . . I knew I couldn 't do the movies , especially on a Saturday night ! I can 't manage around crowds on crutches , and I sure as hell couldn 't manage my way in and out of the isles to get to a seat . There are stairs , too many people , and way too many places to feel stupid and incapable . So my friends were understanding and agreed to just try eating out . . . and then go back to a friends house and watch a movie there . I thought her vehicle would be easy to get in and out of . . . but it was too high . I was trying to be normal , so I basically had to jump up with one leg onto the running board . Luckily , I cleared it ! We headed to the restaurant and everything was going well . After enjoying our meal and visiting we headed back to the house for a movie . Getting back out to the car the jump was harder . I think I was just tired , and didn 't have the energy I did on my first jump . Mike came and got me . I was trying to be polite . . . but this was the longest night I had been away from my ice . I took some medication before the night began , but it had worn off . I just needed to get home . I was heading out of the house , off the porch and down the steps . I was way too confident . . . and had some momentum behind me . I was heading down the stairs and couldn 't get my crutches in front of me and fell off the step . I planted my bad foot ( the right ) as my body came down on it I had the worst pain shoot up through my foot into my hip . Then to make it worse . . . I hopped on it to keep my balance . Looking back , I wish I had just fallen on my face ! I would have rather scraped up my hands , elbows , and even my face ! You could break my nose and knock out a tooth before I would land on that foot again ! Mike quickly came and grabbed me . I used my crutches and got to the car as quick as I could . As soon as he shut my door I started to loose it ! I don 't think I had taken a full breath , and I just lost it ! I hurt so bad I really couldn 't breathe . . . I now know what hyperventilating feels like ! I thought I was going to pass out . My legs were so tired and weak that I finally got into the house and collapsed on the bed . I was crying like a baby ! Mike gave me some Morphine . I was dying ! . . . like maybe having to go back to the ER dying ! I was devastated , and in so much pain I could hardly think straight . After about 15 minutes of my hysteria Mike gave me more Morphine . We waited a full 1 / 2 and hour to let it kick in . I took the full dose I was on when I came home from the hospital . It took the edge off enough for me to stop crying . I was exhausted ! It was a long night BEFORE I fell , so the pain on top of all that was excruciating . I finally fell asleep . The pain woke me up at 4am . I was in so much pain I knew I couldn 't get up to get meds . I had to wake up Mike . He gave me some , I was hoping not to have to take the full amount . . . but after taking some and waiting . . . I had to take more ! It was now Sunday , and we were supposed to have Mike 's family over . They all decided to meet at Mike 's brother 's house instead . There was no way I could make it . . . but I insisted Mike go with the kids . As long as I had pain meds by the bed I knew I would survive . Mike didn 't end up staying long . Come to find out , they were trying to plan a family vacation . ( Which would later be another obstacle ) I thought I was going into the Cardiologist for an EKG . . . but it was an ECHO . An echocardiogram ! It 's a sonogram for my heart . I received an EKG in March and thought it must be an additional one for follow up . . . but I was in for a surprise . Luckily , this time was much different than the holter monitor experience . Instead of being awkward and seemingly afraid of boobies . . . this tech was so comfortable she didn 't even leave the room ! She had me change into my gown while she set up the machine . We chit - chatted the entire time . . . she mostly asked questions about the accident . I think that I 've told the story so many times it doesn 't seem real . . . or maybe it 's too real ! It 's not a story , it 's the last 10 weeks of my life ! In some ways it feels like I 'm talking about someone else when I tell the story . It seemed to go well . She can 't tell me anything , of course , but there were no gasps or calls to the Dr . So I 'm feeling good about it . . . I 'll know the results by the next week .

My First Day Of School ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! Posted on February 11 , 2017 by butterfly228angel Last year in Holualoa Elementary , and I had just started to go to school after being home schooled for 9 and 3quarters of my life . Well in which is actually my whole life . The Craziest Book I Have Ever Read Was … Posted on July 14 , 2016 by butterfly228angel In his essay I am going to tell you about the craziest book I have ever read . So the craziest book I have ever read was called The Story Of Doctor Dolittle . It is a mouth twisting book and that doesn 't mean that it isn 't a fun book but it means that is a mouth twister . I love the book and i read it alway during the weekend with my father . Twisters like the Pushmi Pullyuag , now try to say that 20 times faster . There are some of us now reaching middle age who discover themselves to be lamenting the past in one respect if in none other , that there are no books written now for children comparable with those of thirty years ago . I say written FOR children because the new psychological business of writing ABOUT them as though they were small pills or hatched in some especially scientific method is extremely popular today . Writing for children rather than about them is very difficult as everybody who has tried it knows . It can only be done , I am convinced , by somebody having a great deal of the child in his own outlook and sensibilities . Such was the author of " The Little Duke " and " The Dove in the Eagle 's Nest , " such the author of " A Flatiron for a Farthing , " and " The Story of a Short Life . " Such , above all , the author of " Alice in Wonderland . " Grownups imagine that they can do the trick by adopting baby language and talking down to their very critical audience . There never was a greater mistake . The imagination of the author must be a child 's imagination and yet maturely consistent , so that the White Queen in " Alice , " for instance , is seen just as a child would see her , but she continues always herself through all her distressing adventures . The supreme touch of the white rabbit pulling on his white gloves as he hastens is again absolutely the child 's vision , but the white rabbit as guide and introducer of Alice 's adventures belongs to mature grown insight . Geniuses are rare and , without being at all an undue praiser of times past , one can say without hesitation that until the appearance of Hugh Lofting , the successor of Miss Yonge , Mrs . Ewing , Mrs . Gatty and Lewis Carroll had not appeared . I remember the delight with which some six months ago I picked up the first " Dolittle " book in the Hampshire bookshop at Smith College in Northampton . One of Mr . Lofting 's pictures was quite enough for me . The picture that I lighted upon when I first opened the book was the one of the monkeys making a chain with their arms across the gulf . Then I looked further and discovered Bumpo reading fairy stories to himself . And then looked again and there was a picture of John Dolittle 's house . But pictures are not enough although most authors draw so badly that if one of them happens to have the genius for line that Mr . Lofting shows there must be , one feels , something in his writing as well . There is . You cannot read the first paragraph of the book , which begins in the right way " Once upon a time " without knowing that Mr . Lofting believes in his story quite as much as he expects you to . That is the first essential for a story teller . Then you discover as you read on that he has the right eye for the right detail . What child - inquiring mind could resist this intriguing sentence to be found on the second page of the book : And then when you read a little further you will discover that the Doctor is not merely a peg on whom to hang exciting and various adventures but that he is himself a man of original and lively character . He is a very kindly , generous man , and anyone who has ever written stories will know that it is much more difficult to make kindly , generous characters interesting than unkindly and mean ones . But Dolittle is interesting . It is not only that he is quaint but that he is wise and knows what he is about . The reader , however young , who meets him gets very soon a sense that if he were in trouble , not necessarily medical , he would go to Dolittle and ask his advice about it . Dolittle seems to extend his hand from the page and grasp that of his reader , and I can see him going down the centuries a kind of Pied Piper with thousands of children at his heels . But not only is he a darling and alive and credible but his creator has also managed to invest everybody else in the book with the same kind of life . Now this business of giving life to animals , making them talk and behave like human beings , is an extremely difficult one . Lewis Carroll absolutely conquered the difficulties , but I am not sure that anyone after him until Hugh Lofting has really managed the trick ; even in such a masterpiece as " The Wind in the Willows " we are not quite convinced . John Dolittle 's friends are convincing because their creator never forces them to desert their own characteristics . Polynesia , for instance , is natural from first to last . She really does care about the Doctor but she cares as a bird would care , having always some place to which she is going when her business with her friends is over . And when Mr . Lofting invents fantastic animals he gives them a kind of credible possibility which is extraordinarily convincing . It will be impossible for anyone who has read this book not to believe in the existence of the pushmi - pullyu , who would be credible enough even were there no drawing of it , but the picture on page 145 settles the matter of his truth once and for all . In fact this book is a work of genius and , as always with works of genius , it is difficult to analyze the elements that have gone to make it . There is poetry here and fantasy and humor , a little pathos but , above all , a number of creations in whose existence everybody must believe whether they be children of four or old men of ninety or prosperous bankers of forty - five . I don 't know how Mr . Lofting has done it ; I don 't suppose that he knows himself . There it is - the first real children 's classic since " Alice . " He lived in a little town called , Puddleby - on - the - Marsh . All the folks , young and old , knew him well by sight . And whenever he walked down the street in his high hat everyone would say , " There goes the Doctor ! - He 's a clever man . " And the dogs and the children would all run up and follow behind him ; and even the crows that lived in the church - tower would caw and nod their heads . He was very fond of animals and kept many kinds of pets . Besides the gold - fish in the pond at the bottom of his garden , he had rabbits in the pantry , white mice in his piano , a squirrel in the linen closet and a hedgehog in the cellar . He had a cow with a calf too , and an old lame horse - twenty - five years of age - and chickens , and pigeons , and two lambs , and many other animals . But his favorite pets were Dab - Dab the duck , Jip the dog , Gub - Gub the baby pig , Polynesia the parrot , and the owl Too - Too . " John , how can you expect sick people to come and see you when you keep all these animals in the house ? It 's a fine doctor would have his parlor full of hedgehogs and mice ! That 's the fourth personage these animals have driven away . Squire Jenkins and the Parson say they wouldn 't come near your house again - no matter how sick they are . We are getting poorer every day . If you go on like this , none of the best people will have you for a doctor . " " You see , Doctor , " the Cat 's - meat - Man went on , " you know all about animals - much more than what these here vets do . That book you wrote - about cats , why , it 's wonderful ! I can 't read or write myself - or maybe I 'd write some books . But my wife , Theodosia , she 's a scholar , she is . And she read your book to me . Well , it 's wonderful - that 's all can be said - wonderful . You might have been a cat yourself . You know the way they think . And listen : you can make a lot of money doctoring animals . Do you know that ? You see , I 'd send all the old women who had sick cats or dogs to you . And if they didn 't get sick fast enough , I could put something in the meat I sell ' em to make ' em sick , see ? " " Oh , I didn 't mean real sick , " answered the Cat 's - meat - Man . " Just a little something to make them droopy - like was what I had reference to . But as you say , maybe it ain 't quite fair on the animals . But they 'll get sick anyway , because the old women always give ' em too much to eat . And look , all the farmers ' round about who had lame horses and weak lambs - they 'd come . Be an animal - doctor . " " That man 's got sense . That 's what you ought to do . Be an animal - doctor . Give the silly people up - if they haven 't brains enough to see you 're the best doctor in the world . Take care of animals instead - THEY 'll soon find it out . Be an animal - doctor . " " Yes , there ARE plenty , " said Polynesia . " But none of them are any good at all . Now listen , Doctor , and I 'll tell you something . Did you know that animals can talk ? " " Oh , we parrots can talk in two languages - people 's language and bird - language , " said Polynesia proudly . " If I say , ' Polly wants a cracker , ' you understand me . But hear this : Ka - ka oi - ee , fee - fee ? " " Tell me some more , " said the Doctor , all excited ; and he rushed over to the dresser - drawer and came back with the butcher 's book and a pencil . " Now don 't go too fast - and I 'll write it down . This is interesting - very interesting - something quite new . Give me the Birds ' A . B . C . first - slowly now . " " But animals don 't always speak with their mouths , " said the parrot in a high voice , raising her eyebrows . " They talk with their ears , with their feet , with their tails - with everything . Sometimes they don 't WANT to make a noise . Do you see now the way he 's twitching up one side of his nose ? " " That means , ' Can 't you see that it has stopped raining ? ' " Polynesia answered . " He is asking you a question . Dogs nearly always use their noses for asking questions . " " You know , Doctor , " said the horse , " that vet over the hill knows nothing at all . He has been treating me six weeks now - for spavins . What I need is SPECTACLES . I am going blind in one eye . There 's no reason why horses shouldn 't wear glasses , the same as people . But that stupid man over the hill never even looked at my eyes . He kept on giving me big pills . I tried to tell him ; but he couldn 't understand a word of horse - language . What I need is spectacles . " " You know , the trouble is , Sir , " said the plow - horse as the Doctor opened the front door to let him out - " the trouble is that ANYBODY thinks he can doctor animals - just because the animals don 't complain . As a matter of fact it takes a much cleverer man to be a really good animal - doctor than it does to be a good people 's doctor . My farmer 's boy thinks he knows all about horses . I wish you could see him - his face is so fat he looks as though he had no eyes - and he has got as much brain as a potato - bug . He tried to put a mustard - plaster on me last week . " " Oh , he didn 't put it anywhere - on me , " said the horse . " He only tried to . I kicked him into the duck - pond . " " I 'm a pretty quiet creature as a rule , " said the horse - " very patient with people - don 't make much fuss . But it was bad enough to have that vet giving me the wrong medicine . And when that red - faced booby started to monkey with me , I just couldn 't bear it any more . " " Oh , no , " said the horse . " I kicked him in the right place . The vet 's looking after him now . When will my glasses be ready ? " There were so many that came that he had to have special doors made for the different kinds . He wrote " HORSES " over the front door , " COWS " over the side door , and " SHEEP " on the kitchen door . Each kind of animal had a separate door - even the mice had a tiny tunnel made for them into the cellar , where they waited patiently in rows for the Doctor to come round to them . And so , in a few years ' time , every living thing for miles and miles got to know about John Dolittle , M . D . And the birds who flew to other countries in the winter told the animals in foreign lands of the wonderful doctor of Puddleby - on - the - Marsh , who could understand their talk and help them in their troubles . In this way he became famous among the animals - all over the world - better known even than he had been among the folks of the West Country . And he was happy and liked his life very much . " I was thinking about people , " said Polynesia . " People make me sick . They think they 're so wonderful . The world has been going on now for thousands of years , hasn 't it ? And the only thing in animal - language that PEOPLE have learned to understand is that when a dog wags his tail he means ' I 'm glad ! ' - It 's funny , isn 't it ? You are the very first man to talk like us . Oh , sometimes people annoy me dreadfully - such airs they put on - talking about ' the dumb animals . ' DUMB ! - Huh ! Why I knew a macaw once who could say ' Good morning ! ' in seven different ways without once opening his mouth . He could talk every language - and Greek . An old professor with a gray beard bought him . But he didn 't stay . He said the old man didn 't talk Greek right , and he couldn 't stand listening to him teach the language wrong . I often wonder what 's become of him . That bird knew more geography than people will ever know . - PEOPLE , Golly ! I suppose if people ever learn to fly - like any common hedge - sparrow - we shall never hear the end of it ! " " You 're a wise old bird , " said the Doctor . " How old are you really ? I know that parrots and elephants sometimes live to be very , very old . " " I can never be quite sure of my age , " said Polynesia . " It 's either a hundred and eighty - three or a hundred and eighty - two . But I know that when I first came here from Africa , King Charles was still hiding in the oak - tree - because I saw him . He looked scared to death . " AND soon now the Doctor began to make money again ; and his sister , Sarah , bought a new dress and was happy . Some of the animals who came to see him were so sick that they had to stay at the Doctor 's house for a week . And when they were getting better they used to sit in chairs on the lawn . And often even after they got well , they did not want to go away - they liked the Doctor and his house so much . And he never had the heart to refuse them when they asked if they could stay with him . So in this way he went on getting more and more pets . Once when he was sitting on his garden wall , smoking a pipe in the evening , an Italian organ - grinder came round with a monkey on a string . The Doctor saw at once that the monkey 's collar was too tight and that he was dirty and unhappy . So he took the monkey away from the Italian , gave the man a shilling and told him to go . The organ - grinder got awfully angry and said that he wanted to keep the monkey . But the Doctor told him that if he didn 't go away he would punch him on the nose . John Dolittle was a strong man , though he wasn 't very tall . So the Italian went away saying rude things and the monkey stayed with Doctor Dolittle and had a good home . The other animals in the house called him " Chee - Chee " - which is a common word in monkey - language , meaning " ginger . " And another time , when the circus came to Puddleby , the crocodile who had a bad tooth - ache escaped at night and came into the Doctor 's garden . The Doctor talked to him in crocodile - language and took him into the house and made his tooth better . But when the crocodile saw what a nice house it was - with all the different places for the different kinds of animals - he too wanted to live with the Doctor . He asked couldn 't he sleep in the fish - pond at the bottom of the garden , if he promised not to eat the fish . When the circus - men came to take him back he got so wild and savage that he frightened them away . But to every one in the house he was always as gentle as a kitten . But now the old ladies grew afraid to send their lap - dogs to Doctor Dolittle because of the crocodile ; and the farmers wouldn 't believe that he would not eat the lambs and sick calves they brought to be cured . So the Doctor went to the crocodile and told him he must go back to his circus . But he wept such big tears , and begged so hard to be allowed to stay , that the Doctor hadn 't the heart to turn him out . So then the Doctor 's sister came to him and said , " John , you must send that creature away . Now the farmers and the old ladies are afraid to send their animals to you - just as we were beginning to be well off again . Now we shall be ruined entirely . This is the last straw . I will no longer be housekeeper for you if you don 't send away that alligator . " " I don 't care what you call it , " said his sister . " It 's a nasty thing to find under the bed . I won 't have it in the house . " " But he has promised me , " the Doctor answered , " that he will not bite any one . He doesn 't like the circus ; and I haven 't the money to send him back to Africa where he comes from . He minds his own business and on the whole is very well behaved . Don 't be so fussy . " " I tell you I WILL NOT have him around , " said Sarah . " He eats the linoleum . If you don 't send him away this minute I 'll - I 'll go and get married ! " " All right , " said the Doctor , " go and get married . It can 't be helped . " And he took down his hat and went out into the garden . And very soon he was poorer than he had ever been before . With all these mouths to fill , and the house to look after , and no one to do the mending , and no money coming in to pay the butcher 's bill , things began to look very difficult . But the Doctor didn 't worry at all . " Money is a nuisance , " he used to say . " We 'd all be much better off if it had never been invented . What does money matter , so long as we are happy ? " But soon the animals themselves began to get worried . And one evening when the Doctor was asleep in his chair before the kitchen - fire they began talking it over among themselves in whispers . And the owl , Too - Too , who was good at arithmetic , figured it out that there was only money enough left to last another week - if they each had one meal a day and no more . Then the parrot said , " I think we all ought to do the housework ourselves . At least we can do that much . After all , it is for our sakes that the old man finds himself so lonely and so poor . " Of course at first they all found their new jobs very hard to do - all except Chee - Chee , who had hands , and could do things like a man . But they soon got used to it ; and they used to think it great fun to watch Jip , the dog , sweeping his tail over the floor with a rag tied onto it for a broom . After a little they got to do the work so well that the Doctor said that he had never had his house kept so tidy or so clean before . " Never mind . So long as the hens lay eggs and the cow gives milk we can have omelettes and junket . And there are plenty of vegetables left in the garden . The Winter is still a long way off . Don 't fuss . That was the trouble with Sarah - she would fuss . I wonder how Sarah 's getting on - an excellent woman - in some ways - Well , well ! " THAT Winter was a very cold one . And one night in December , when they were all sitting round the warm fire in the kitchen , and the Doctor was reading aloud to them out of books he had written himself in animal - language , the owl , Too - Too , suddenly said , " Sh ! What 's that noise outside ? " " Doctor ! " he cried , " I 've just had a message from a cousin of mine in Africa . There is a terrible sickness among the monkeys out there . They are all catching it - and they are dying in hundreds . They have heard of you , and beg you to come to Africa to stop the sickness . " " I would gladly go to Africa - especially in this bitter weather . But I 'm afraid we haven 't money enough to buy the tickets . Get me the money - box , Chee - Chee . " " Did I ? " said the Doctor - " dear me , dear me ! What a nuisance money is , to be sure ! Well , never mind . Perhaps if I go down to the seaside I shall be able to borrow a boat that will take us to Africa . I knew a seaman once who brought his baby to me with measles . Maybe he 'll lend us his boat - the baby got well . " " I shall only be able to take you three - with Jip the dog , Dab - Dab the duck , Gub - Gub the pig and the owl , Too - Too . The rest of the animals , like the dormice and the water - voles and the bats , they will have to go back and live in the fields where they were born till we come home again . But as most of them sleep through the Winter , they won 't mind that - and besides , it wouldn 't be good for them to go to Africa . " " Well , make sure , " said Polynesia . " Because it 's very important . You can 't stop if you haven 't got an anchor . And you 'll need a bell . " " To tell the time by , " said the parrot . " You go and ring it every half - hour and then you know what time it is . And bring a whole lot of rope - it always comes in handy on voyages . " " Oh , bother it ! Money again , " cried the Doctor . " Goodness ! I shall be glad to get to Africa where we don 't have to have any ! I 'll go and ask the grocer if he will wait for his money till I get back - No , I 'll send the sailor to ask him . " " Beds are always like that on ships , " said the parrot . " It isn 't a shelf . Climb up into it and go to sleep . That 's what you call ' a bunk . ' " " I don 't think I 'll go to bed yet , " said Gub - Gub . " I 'm too excited . I want to go upstairs again and see them start . " " Well , this is your first trip , " said Polynesia . " You will get used to the life after a while . " And she went back up the stairs of the ship , humming this song to herself , As they sailed further and further into the South , it got warmer and warmer . Polynesia , Chee - Chee and the crocodile enjoyed the hot sun no end . They ran about laughing and looking over the side of the ship to see if they could see Africa yet . Dab - Dab , the duck , used to keep herself cool by jumping into the sea and swimming behind the ship . And every once in a while , when the top of her head got too hot , she would dive under the ship and come up on the other side . In this way , too , she used to catch herrings on Tuesdays and Fridays - when everybody on the boat ate fish to make the beef last longer . When they got near to the Equator they saw some flying - fishes coming towards them . And the fishes asked the parrot if this was Doctor Dolittle 's ship . When she told them it was , they said they were glad , because the monkeys in Africa were getting worried that he would never come . Polynesia asked them how many miles they had yet to go ; and the flying - fishes said it was only fifty - five miles now to the coast of Africa . And about half an hour later , sure enough , they thought they could see something in front that might be land . But it began to get darker and darker and they couldn 't be sure . Then a great storm came up , with thunder and lightning . The wind howled ; the rain came down in torrents ; and the waves got so high they splashed right over the boat . Presently there was a big BANG ! The ship stopped and rolled over on its side . " What 's happened ? " asked the Doctor , coming up from downstairs . " Get the rope ! " said Polynesia . " I told you it would come in handy . Where 's that duck ? Come here , Dab - Dab . Take this end of the rope , fly to the shore and tie it on to a palm - tree ; and we 'll hold the other end on the ship here . Then those that can 't swim must climb along the rope till they reach the land . That 's what you call a ' life - line . ' " " Dear old Africa ! " sighed Polynesia . " It 's good to get back . Just think - it 'll be a hundred and sixty - nine years to - morrow since I was here ! And it hasn 't changed a bit ! Same old palm - trees ; same old red earth ; same old black ants ! There 's no place like home ! " Then the Doctor missed his high hat ; for it had been blown into the sea during the storm . So Dab - Dab went out to look for it . And presently she saw it , a long way off , floating on the water like a toy - boat . " I didn 't want to be left behind , " said the mouse . " I wanted to see what Africa was like - I have relatives there . So I hid in the baggage and was brought on to the ship with the hard - tack . When the ship sank I was terribly frightened - because I cannot swim far . I swam as long as I could , but I soon got all exhausted and thought I was going to sink . And then , just at that moment , the old man 's hat came floating by ; and I got into it because I did not want to be drowned . " " The King of the Jolliginki , " the man answered . " All these lands belong to him ; and all strangers must be brought before him . Follow me . " This was where the King lived with his Queen , Ermintrude , and their son , Prince Bumpo . The Prince was away fishing for salmon in the river . But the King and Queen were sitting under an umbrella before the palace door . And Queen Ermintrude was asleep . " You may not travel through my lands , " said the King . " Many years ago a white man came to these shores ; and I was very kind to him . But after he had dug holes in the ground to get the gold , and killed all the elephants to get their ivory tusks , he went away secretly in his ship - without so much as saying ' Thank you . ' Never again shall a white man travel through the lands of Jolliginki . " " I 'm not that kind of a bird , " said the parrot , climbing out of the pocket in the tail of the Doctor 's coat . " You see , I 'm small enough to get through the bars of that window ; and I was afraid they would put me in a cage instead . So while the King was busy talking , I hid in the Doctor 's pocket - and here I am ! That 's what you call a ' ruse , ' " she said , smoothing down her feathers with her beak . She heard Prince Bumpo snoring in his bed - room at the back of the palace . Then she tip - toed up the stairs till she came to the King 's bedroom . She opened the door gently and peeped in . " What are you doing in my bedroom ? " cried the King . " How dare you get out of prison ! Where are you ? - I don 't see you . " " Foolish King ! " answered Polynesia . " Have you forgotten that you are talking to John Dolittle , M . D . - the most wonderful man on earth ? Of course you cannot see me . I have made myself invisible . There is nothing I cannot do . Now listen : I have come here to - night to warn you . If you don 't let me and my animals travel through your kingdom , I will make you and all your people sick like the monkeys . For I can make people well : and I can make people ill - just by raising my little finger . Send your soldiers at once to open the dungeon door , or you shall have mumps before the morning sun has risen on the hills of Jolliginki . " " Doctor , " he cried , " it shall be as you say . Do not raise your little finger , please ! " And he jumped out of bed and ran to tell the soldiers to open the prison door . QUEEN ERMINTRUDE had never in her life seen her husband so terrible as he got that night . He gnashed his teeth with rage . He called everybody a fool . He threw his tooth - brush at the palace cat . He rushed round in his night - shirt and woke up all his army and sent them into the jungle to catch the Doctor . Then he made all his servants go too - his cooks and his gardeners and his barber and Prince Bumpo 's tutor - even the Queen , who was tired from dancing in a pair of tight shoes , was packed off to help the soldiers in their search . The King of the Jolliginki thought it would be easy for his army to find them , because the Doctor was in a strange land and would not know his way . But he was wrong ; because the monkey , Chee - Chee , knew all the paths through the jungle - better even than the King 's men did . And he led the Doctor and his pets to the very thickest part of the forest - a place where no man had ever been before - and hid them all in a big hollow tree between high rocks . like dates and figs and ground - nuts and ginger and yams . They used to make their lemonade out of the juice of wild oranges , sweetened with honey which they got from the bees ' nests in hollow trees . No matter what it was they asked for , Chee - Chee and Polynesia always seemed to be able to get it for them - or something like it . They even got the Doctor some tobacco one day , when he had finished what he had brought with him and wanted to smoke . And many of the tales that Chee - Chee told were very interesting . Because although the monkeys had no history - books of their own before Doctor Dolittle came to write them for them , they remember everything that happens by telling stories to their children . And Chee - Chee spoke of many things his grandmother had told him - tales of long , long , long ago , before Noah and the Flood - of the days when men dressed in bear - skins and lived in holes in the rock and ate their mutton raw , because they did not know what cooking was - having never seen a fire . And he told them of the Great Mammoths and Lizards , as long as a train , that wandered over the mountains in those times , nibbling from the tree - tops . And often they got so interested listening , that when he had finished they found their fire had gone right out ; and they had to scurry round to get more sticks and build a new one . Now when the King 's army had gone back and told the King that they couldn 't find the Doctor , the King sent them out again and told them they must stay in the jungle till they caught him . So all this time , while the Doctor and his animals were going along towards the Land of the Monkeys , thinking themselves quite safe , they were still being followed by the King 's men . If Chee - Chee had known this , he would most likely have hidden them again . But he didn 't know it . " Oh , dear ! " said Gub - Gub . " The King 's men are quite close now - Look at them ! I am afraid we are going to be taken back to prison again . " And he began to weep . " Boys - a bridge ! Quick ! - Make a bridge ! We 've only a minute to do it . They 've got the Captain loose , and he 's coming on like a deer . Get lively ! A bridge ! A bridge ! " Then they shook their fists and yelled with rage . For they saw they were too late . The Doctor and all his animals were safe in the Land of the Monkeys and the bridge was pulled across to the other side . " Many great explorers and gray - bearded naturalists have lain long weeks hidden in the jungle waiting to see the monkeys do that trick . But we never let a white man get a glimpse of it before . You are the first to see the famous ' Bridge of Apes . ' " JOHN DOLITTLE now became dreadfully , awfully busy . He found hundreds and thousands of monkeys sick - gorillas , orangoutangs , chimpanzees , dog - faced baboons , marmosettes , gray monkeys , red ones - all kinds . And many had died . The first thing he did was to separate the sick ones from the well ones . Then he got Chee - Chee and his cousin to build him a little house of grass . The next thing : he made all the monkeys who were still well come and be vaccinated . " Do you dare to ask me , Sir ? " he said , glaring at the Doctor . " Do you dare to ask me - ME , THE KING OF BEASTS , to wait on a lot of dirty monkeys ? Why , I wouldn 't even eat them between meals ! " " I didn 't ask you to eat them , " he said quietly . " And besides , they 're not dirty . They 've all had a bath this morning . YOUR coat looks as though it needed brushing - badly . Now listen , and I 'll tell you something : the day may come when the lions get sick . And if you don 't help the other animals now , the lions may find themselves left all alone when THEY are in trouble . That often happens to proud people . " " One of the cubs won 't eat , " she said . " I don 't know WHAT to do with him . He hasn 't taken a thing since last night . " Then the lion told his wife , quite proudly , just what he had said to the Doctor . And she got so angry she nearly drove him out of the den . " You never DID have a grain of sense ! " she screamed . " All the animals from here to the Indian Ocean are talking about this wonderful man , and how he can cure any kind of sickness , and how kind he is - the only man in the whole world who can talk the language of the animals ! And now , NOW - when we have a sick baby on our hands , you must go and offend him ! You great booby ! Nobody but a fool is ever rude to a GOOD doctor . You - , " and she started pulling her husband 's hair . " Go back to that white man at once , " she yelled , " and tell him you 're sorry . And take all the other empty - headed lions with you - and those stupid leopards and antelopes . Then do everything the Doctor tells you . Work hard ! And perhaps he will be kind enough to come and see the cub later . Now be off ! - HURRY , I tell you ! You 're not fit to be a father ! " " Help 's pretty hard to get these days , " said the lion . " Animals don 't seem to want to work any more . You can 't blame them - in a way … . Well , seeing you 're in difficulties , I don 't mind doing what I can - just to oblige you - so long as I don 't have to wash the creatures . And I have told all the other hunting animals to come and do their share . The leopards should be here any minute now … . Oh , and by the way , we 've got a sick cub at home . I don 't think there 's much the matter with him myself . But the wife is anxious . If you are around that way this evening , you might take a look at him , will you ? " And now very soon the monkeys began to get better . At the end of a week the big house full of beds was half empty . And at the end of the second week the last monkey had got well . And the Chief Chimpanzee turned to the Oldest Orangoutang and said , " Cousin , surely these Men be strange creatures ! Who would wish to live in such a land ? My gracious , how paltry ! " " When we were coming to you we had no boat to cross the sea in and no money to buy food to eat on our journey . So a man lent us some biscuits ; and we said we would pay him when we came back . And we borrowed a boat from a sailor ; but it was broken on the rocks when we reached the shores of Africa . Now the Doctor says he must go back and get the sailor another boat - because the man was poor and his ship was all he had . " Now they began to wonder and ask one another what would be the best thing to give him . And one said , " Fifty bags of cocoanuts ! " And another - " A hundred bunches of bananas ! - At least he shall not have to buy his fruit in the Land Where You Pay to Eat ! " " If you want to please him , " he said , " give him an animal . You may be sure he will be kind to it . Give him some rare animal they have not got in the menageries . " PUSHMI - PULLYUS are now extinct . That means , there aren 't any more . But long ago , when Doctor Dolittle was alive , there were some of them still left in the deepest jungles of Africa ; and even then they were very , very scarce . They had no tail , but a head at each end , and sharp horns on each head . They were very shy and terribly hard to catch . The black men get most of their animals by sneaking up behind them while they are not looking . But you could not do this with the pushmi - pullyu - because , no matter which way you came towards him , he was always facing you . And besides , only one half of him slept at a time . The other head was always awake - and watching . This was why they were never caught and never seen in Zoos . Though many of the greatest huntsmen and the cleverest menagerie - keepers spent years of their lives searching through the jungles in all weathers for pushmi - pullyus , not a single one had ever been caught . Even then , years ago , he was the only animal in the world with two heads . So they all joined hands and made a great circle round the high grass . The pushmi - pullyu heard them coming ; and he tried hard to break through the ring of monkeys . But he couldn 't do it . When he saw that it was no use trying to escape , he sat down and waited to see what they wanted . " This , Doctor , " said Chee - Chee , " is the pushmi - pullyu - the rarest animal of the African jungles , the only two - headed beast in the world ! Take him home with you and your fortune 's made . People will pay any money to see him . " " Yes , you do , " said Dab - Dab , the duck . " Don 't you remember how we had to pinch and scrape to pay the butcher 's bill in Puddleby ? And how are you going to get the sailor the new boat you spoke of - unless we have the money to buy it ? " " Oh , do be sensible ! " cried Dab - Dab . " Where would you get all the wood and the nails to make one with ? - And besides , what are we going to live on ? We shall be poorer than ever when we get back . Chee - Chee 's perfectly right : take the funny - looking thing along , do ! " " Well , perhaps there is something in what you say , " murmured the Doctor . " It certainly would make a nice new kind of pet . But does the er - what - do - you - call - it really want to go abroad ? " " Yes , I 'll go , " said the pushmi - pullyu who saw at once , from the Doctor 's face , that he was a man to be trusted . " You have been so kind to the animals here - and the monkeys tell me that I am the only one who will do . But you must promise me that if I do not like it in the Land of the White Men you will send me back . " " Oh , yes , " said the pushmi - pullyu . " But I keep the other mouth for eating - mostly . In that way I can talk while I am eating without being rude . Our people have always been very polite . " " My friends : I am not clever at speaking long words after dinner , like some men ; and I have just eaten many fruits and much honey . But I wish to tell you that I am very sad at leaving your beautiful country . Because I have things to do in the Land of the White Men , I must go . After I have gone , remember never to let the flies settle on your food before you eat it ; and do not sleep on the ground when the rains are coming . I - er - er - I hope you will all live happily ever after . " And even to this day , in the heart of the Jungle , that stone still is there . And monkey - mothers , passing through the forest with their families , still point down at it from the branches and whisper to their children , " Sh ! There it is - look - where the Good White Man sat and ate food with us in the Year of the Great Sickness ! " " What I am wondering , " said the Doctor , " is where we are going to get another boat to go home in … . Oh well , perhaps we 'll find one lying about on the beach that nobody is using . ' Never lift your foot till you come to the stile . ' " One day , while they were passing through a very thick part of the forest , Chee - Chee went ahead of them to look for cocoanuts . And while he was away , the Doctor and the rest of the animals , who did not know the jungle - paths so well , got lost in the deep woods . They wandered around and around but could not find their way down to the seashore . Chee - Chee , when he could not see them anywhere , was terribly upset . He climbed high trees and looked out from the top branches to try and see the Doctor 's high hat ; he waved and shouted ; he called to all the animals by name . But it was no use . They seemed to have disappeared altogether . Indeed they had lost their way very badly . They had strayed a long way off the path , and the jungle was so thick with bushes and creepers and vines that sometimes they could hardly move at all , and the Doctor had to take out his pocket - knife and cut his way along . They stumbled into wet , boggy places ; they got all tangled up in thick convolvulus - runners ; they scratched themselves on thorns , and twice they nearly lost the medicine - bag in the under - brush . There seemed no end to their troubles ; and nowhere could they come upon a path . " Ha , ha ! " cried the King . " So you are caught again ! This time you shall not escape . Take them all back to prison and put double locks on the door . This White Man shall scrub my kitchen - floor for the rest of his life ! " " This is a great nuisance , " said the Doctor . " I really must get back to Puddleby . That poor sailor will think I 've stolen his ship if I don 't get home soon … . I wonder if those hinges are loose . " This was always a very bad sign with Polynesia . Whenever she said nothing and blinked her eyes , it meant that somebody had been making trouble , and she was thinking out some way to put things right . People who made trouble for Polynesia or her friends were nearly always sorry for it afterwards . " It was all that stupid pig 's fault , " said Polynesia . " He would keep running off the path hunting for ginger - roots . And I was kept so busy catching him and bringing him back , that I turned to the left , instead of the right , when we reached the swamp . - Sh ! - Look ! There 's Prince Bumpo coming into the garden ! He must not see us . - Don 't move , whatever you do ! " And there , sure enough , was Prince Bumpo , the King 's son , opening the garden - gate . He carried a book of fairy - tales under his arm . He came strolling down the gravel - walk , humming a sad song , till he reached a stone seat right under the tree where the parrot and the monkey were hiding . Then he lay down on the seat and began reading the fairy - stories to himself . " Worthy Prince , " said Polynesia , keeping very still so Bumpo couldn 't see her , " thou sayest winged words of truth . For ' tis I , Tripsitinka , the Queen of the Fairies , that speak to thee . I am hiding in a rose - bud . " " In thy father 's prison , " said the parrot , " there lies a famous wizard , John Dolittle by name . Many things he knows of medicine and magic , and mighty deeds has he performed . Yet thy kingly father leaves him languishing long and lingering hours . Go to him , brave Bumpo , secretly , when the sun has set ; and behold , thou shalt be made the whitest prince that ever won fair lady ! I have said enough . I must now go back to Fairyland . Farewell ! " She found Gub - Gub poking his nose through the bars of the window , trying to sniff the cooking - smells that came from the palace - kitchen . She told the pig to bring the Doctor to the window because she wanted to speak to him . So Gub - Gub went and woke the Doctor who was taking a nap . " Listen , " whispered the parrot , when John Dolittle 's face appeared : " Prince Bumpo is coming here to - night to see you . And you 've got to find some way to turn him white . But be sure to make him promise you first that he will open the prison - door and find a ship for you to cross the sea in . " " This is all very well , " said the Doctor . " But it isn 't so easy to turn a black man white . You speak as though he were a dress to be re - dyed . It 's not so simple . ' Shall the leopard change his spots , or the Ethiopian his skin , ' you know ? " " I don 't know anything about that , " said Polynesia impatiently . " But you MUST turn this man white . Think of a way - think hard . You 've got plenty of medicines left in the bag . He 'll do anything for you if you change his color . It is your only chance to get out of prison . " " White Man , I am an unhappy prince . Years ago I went in search of The Sleeping Beauty , whom I had read of in a book . And having traveled through the world many days , I at last found her and kissed the lady very gently to awaken her - as the book said I should . ' Tis true indeed that she awoke . But when she saw my face she cried out , ' Oh , he 's black ! ' And she ran away and wouldn 't marry me - but went to sleep again somewhere else . So I came back , full of sadness , to my father 's kingdom . Now I hear that you are a wonderful magician and have many powerful potions . So I come to you for help . If you will turn me white , so that I may go back to The Sleeping Beauty , I will give you half my kingdom and anything besides you ask . " " Yes , it would , " said the Doctor quickly . " Well , I will do what I can for you . You will have to be very patient though - you know with some medicines you can never be very sure . I might have to try two or three times . You have a strong skin - yes ? Well that 's all right . Now come over here by the light - Oh , but before I do anything , you must first go down to the beach and get a ship ready , with food in it , to take me across the sea . Do not speak a word of this to any one . And when I have done as you ask , you must let me and all my animals out of prison . Promise - by the crown of Jolliginki ! " " I am afraid that medicine I used will never last . Most likely he will be as black as ever when he wakes up in the morning - that 's one reason why I didn 't like to leave the mirror with him . But then again , he MIGHT stay white - I had never used that mixture before . To tell the truth , I was surprised , myself , that it worked so well . But I had to do something , didn 't I ? - I couldn 't possibly scrub the King 's kitchen for the rest of my life . It was such a dirty kitchen ! - I could see it from the prison - window . - Well , well ! - Poor Bumpo ! " " They had no business to lock us up , " said Dab - Dab , waggling her tail angrily . " We never did them any harm . Serve him right , if he does turn black again ! I hope it 's a dark black . " " But HE didn 't have anything to do with it , " said the Doctor . " It was the King , his father , who had us locked up - it wasn 't Bumpo 's fault … . I wonder if I ought to go back and apologize - Oh , well - I 'll send him some candy when I get to Puddleby . And who knows ? - he may stay white after all . " " The Sleeping Beauty would never have him , even if he did , " said Dab - Dab . " He looked better the way he was , I thought . But he 'd never be anything but ugly , no matter what color he was made . " " I don 't believe the poor booby found The Sleeping Beauty at all , " said Jip , the dog . " Most likely he kissed some farmer 's fat wife who was taking a snooze under an apple - tree . Can 't blame her for getting scared ! I wonder who he 'll go and kiss this time . Silly business ! " And then they all looked up . And there , streaming across the face of the moon , like a huge swarm of tiny ants , they could see thousands and thousands of little birds . Soon the whole sky seemed full of them , and still more kept coming - more and more . There were so many that for a little they covered the whole moon so it could not shine , and the sea grew dark and black - like when a storm - cloud passes over the sun . And presently all these birds came down close , skimming over the water and the land ; and the night - sky was left clear above , and the moon shone as before . Still never a call nor a cry nor a song they made - no sound but this great rustling of feathers which grew greater now than ever . When they began to settle on the sands , along the ropes of the ship - anywhere and everywhere except the trees - the Doctor could see that they had blue wings and white breasts and very short , feathered legs . As soon as they had all found a place to sit , suddenly , there was no noise left anywhere - all was quiet ; all was still . " I had no idea that we had been in Africa so long . It will be nearly Summer when we get home . For these are the swallows going back . Swallows , I thank you for waiting for us . It is very thoughtful of you . Now we need not be afraid that we will lose our way upon the sea … . Pull up the anchor and set the sail ! " SAILING homeward , the Doctor 's ship had to pass the coast of Barbary . This coast is the seashore of the Great Desert . It is a wild , lonely place - all sand and stones . And it was here that the Barbary pirates lived . These pirates , a bad lot of men , used to wait for sailors to be shipwrecked on their shores . And often , if they saw a boat passing , they would come out in their fast sailing - ships and chase it . When they caught a boat like this at sea , they would steal everything on it ; and after they had taken the people off they would sink the ship and sail back to Barbary singing songs and feeling proud of the mischief they had done . Then they used to make the people they had caught write home to their friends for money . And if the friends sent no money , the pirates often threw the people into the sea . Now one sunshiny day the Doctor and Dab - Dab were walking up and down on the ship for exercise ; a nice fresh wind was blowing the boat along , and everybody was happy . Presently Dab - Dab saw the sail of another ship a long way behind them on the edge of the sea . It was a red sail . " I don 't like the look of that sail , " said Dab - Dab . " I have a feeling it isn 't a friendly ship . I am afraid there is more trouble coming to us . " " I suppose he is , " said Dab - Dab . " All dogs can smell in their sleep . " " But what is he smelling ? " asked the Doctor . " There is no roast beef cooking on our ship . " " No , " said Dab - Dab . " The roast beef must be on that other ship over there . " " But that 's ten miles away , " said the Doctor . " He couldn 't smell that far surely ! " " Oh , yes , he could , " said Dab - Dab . " You ask him . " " I smell bad men , " he growled - " the worst men I ever smelt . I smell trouble . I smell a fight - six bad scoundrels fighting against one brave man . I want to help him . Woof - oo - WOOF ! " Then he barked , loud , and woke himself up with a surprised look on his face . " See ! " cried Dab - Dab . " That boat is nearer now . You can count its three big sails - all red . Whoever it is , they are coming after us … . I wonder who they are . " " This is a poor ship the Prince gave us , " said Gub - Gub , the pig - " the slowest he could find , I should think . Might as well try to win a race in a soup - tureen as hope to get away from them in this old barge . Look how near they are now ! - You can see the mustaches on the faces of the men - six of them . What are we going to do ? " DRAGGING a ship through the sea is hard work . And after two or three hours the swallows began to get tired in the wings and short of breath . Then they sent a message down to the Doctor to say that they would have to take a rest soon ; and that they would pull the boat over to an island not far off , and hide it in a deep bay till they had got breath enough to go on . Now as they were getting off , the Doctor noticed that a whole lot of rats were coming up from downstairs and leaving the ship as well . Jip started to run after them , because chasing rats had always been his favorite game . But the Doctor told him to stop . " People , " said the rat , " always speak of it with a sneer - as though it were something disgraceful . But you can 't blame us , can you ? After all , who WOULD stay on a sinking ship , if he could get off it ? " " Yes , " said the rat . " I 've come to tell you that we are leaving this one . But we wanted to warn you before we go . This is a bad ship you have here . It isn 't safe . The sides aren 't strong enough . Its boards are rotten . Before to - morrow night it will sink to the bottom of the sea . " " We always know , " answered the rat . " The tips of our tails get that tingly feeling - like when your foot 's asleep . This morning , at six o ' clock , while I was getting breakfast , my tail suddenly began to tingle . At first I thought it was my rheumatism coming back . So I went and asked my aunt how she felt - you remember her ? - the long , piebald rat , rather skinny , who came to see you in Puddleby last Spring with jaundice ? Well - and she said HER tail was tingling like everything ! Then we knew , for sure , that this boat was going to sink in less than two days ; and we all made up our minds to leave it as soon as we got near enough to any land . It 's a bad ship , Doctor . Don 't sail in it any more , or you 'll be surely drowned … . Good - by ! We are now going to look for a good place to live on this island . " " Good - by ! " said the Doctor . " And thank you very much for coming to tell me . Very considerate of you - very ! Give my regards to your aunt . I remember her perfectly … . Leave that rat alone , Jip ! Come here ! Lie down ! " " I wonder what is the name of this island , " said the Doctor , as he was climbing up the mountainside . " It seems a pleasant place . What a lot of birds there are ! " " Why , to be sure - of course ! " he said . " How stupid of me ! I wonder if they can tell us where to find water . " " Doctor ! " they cried , " the pirates have come into the bay ; and they 've all got on to your ship . They are downstairs looking for things to steal . They have left their own ship with nobody on it . If you hurry and come down to the shore , you can get on to their ship - which is very fast - and escape . But you 'll have to hurry . " " Ha ! Ha ! You are caught , my fine friend ! You were going to run off in my ship , eh ? But you are not a good enough sailor to beat Ben Ali , the Barbary Dragon . I want that duck you 've got - and the pig too . We 'll have pork - chops and roast duck for supper to - night . And before I let you go home , you must make your friends send me a trunk - full of gold . " " Keep him talking , Doctor . Be pleasant to him . Our old ship is bound to sink soon - the rats said it would be at the bottom of the sea before to - morrow night - and the rats are never wrong . Be pleasant , till the ship sinks under him . Keep him talking . " " What , until to - morrow night ! " said the Doctor . " Well , I 'll do my best … . Let me see - What shall I talk about ? " " Oh , let them come on , " said Jip . " We can fight the dirty rascals . There are only six of them . Let them come on . I 'd love to tell that collie next door , when we get home , that I had bitten a real pirate . Let ' em come . We can fight them . " " But they have pistols and swords , " said the Doctor . " No , that would never do . I must talk to him … . Look here , Ben Ali - " " You great duffers , there are no rats there to leave ! They left two hours ago ! ' Ha , ha , ' to you , ' my fine friends ! ' " But of course the men did not understand him . Soon the front end of the ship began to go down and down , faster and faster - till the boat looked almost as though it were standing on its head ; and the pirates had to cling to the rails and the masts and the ropes and anything to keep from sliding off . Then the sea rushed roaring in and through all the windows and the doors . And at last the ship plunged right down to the bottom of the sea , making a dreadful gurgling sound ; and the six bad men were left bobbing about in the deep water of the bay . " THE SHARKS ! The sharks are coming ! Let us get on to the ship before they eat us ! Help , help ! - The sharks ! The sharks ! " " Thank you , " said the Doctor . " This is really most attentive . But I don 't think it will be necessary to eat them . Don 't let any of them reach the shore until I tell you - just keep them swimming about , will you ? And please make Ben Ali swim over here that I may talk to him . " " Listen , Ben Ali , " said John Dolittle , leaning over the side . " You have been a very bad man ; and I understand that you have killed many people . These good sharks here have just offered to eat you up for me - and ' twould indeed be a good thing if the seas were rid of you . But if you will promise to do as I tell you , I well let you go in safety . " " No , " said the Doctor , " you cannot . You have been a sailor long enough - and sent many stout ships and good men to the bottom of the sea . For the rest of your life you must be la peaceful farmer . The shark is waiting . Do not waste any more of his time . Make up your mind . " " Thunder and Lightning ! " Ben Ali muttered - " BIRD - SEED ! " Then he looked down into the water again and saw the great fish smelling his other leg . " And remember , " said the Doctor , " that if you do not keep your promise - if you start killing and stealing again , I shall hear of it , because the canaries will come and tell me . And be very sure that I will find a way to punish you . For though I may not be able to sail a ship as well as you , so long as the birds and the beasts and the fishes are my friends , I do not have to be afraid of a pirate chief - even though he call himself ' The Dragon of Barbary . ' Now go and be a good farmer and live in peace . " " Doctor ! " she cried . " This ship of the pirates is simply beautiful - absolutely . The beds downstairs are made of primrose silk - with hundreds of big pillows and cushions ; there are thick , soft carpets on the floors ; the dishes are made of silver ; and there are all sorts of good things to eat and drink - special things ; the larder - well , it 's just like a shop , that 's all . You never saw anything like it in your life - Just think - they kept five different kinds of sardines , those men ! Come and look … . Oh , and we found a little room down there with the door locked ; and we are all crazy to get in and see what 's inside . Jip says it must be where the pirates kept their treasure . But we can 't open the door . Come down and see if you can let us in . " So the Doctor went downstairs and he saw that it was indeed a beautiful ship . He found the animals gathered round a little door , all talking at once , trying to guess what was inside . The Doctor turned the handle but it wouldn 't open . Then they all started to hunt for the key . They looked under the mat ; they looked under all the carpets ; they looked in all the cupboards and drawers and lockers - in the big chests in the ship 's dining - room ; they looked everywhere . " I 'm sure of it , " said the owl . " Sh ! - There it is again - Don 't you hear that ? " " No , I do not , " said the Doctor . " What kind of a sound is it ? " " Pardon me , but I can , " said Too - Too . " I tell you there is some one on the other side of that door putting his hand in his pocket . Almost everything makes SOME noise - if your ears are only sharp enough to catch it . Bats can hear a mole walking in his tunnel under the earth - and they think they 're good hearers . But we owls can tell you , using only one ear , the color of a kitten from the way it winks in the dark . " " Well , well ! " said the Doctor . " You surprise me . That 's very interesting … . Listen again and tell me what he 's doing now . " " I 'm not sure yet , " said Too - Too , " if it 's a man at all . Maybe it 's a woman . Lift me up and let me listen at the key - hole and I 'll soon tell you . " " Now he 's rubbing his face with his left hand . It is a small hand and a small face . It MIGHT be a woman - No . Now he pushes his hair back off his forehead - It 's a man all right . " " True , " said the owl . " But when they do , their long hair makes quite a different sound … . Sh ! Make that fidgety pig keep still . Now all hold your breath a moment so I can listen well . This is very difficult , what I 'm doing now - and the pesky door is so thick ! Sh ! Everybody quite still - shut your eyes and don 't breathe . " " The man in there is unhappy . He weeps . He has taken care not to blubber or sniffle , lest we should find out that he is crying . But I heard - quite distinctly - the sound of a tear falling on his sleeve . " " How do you know it wasn 't a drop of water falling off the ceiling on him ? " asked Gub - Gub . " Pshaw ! - Such ignorance ! " sniffed Too - Too . " A drop of water falling off the ceiling would have made ten times as much noise ! " The room was quite small ; no window ; the ceiling , low . For furniture there was only one little stool . All round the room big barrels stood against the walls , fastened at the bottom so they wouldn 't tumble with the rolling of the ship ; and above the barrels , pewter jugs of all sizes hung from wooden pegs . There was a strong , winey smell . And in the middle of the floor sat a little boy , about eight years old , crying bitterly . " I declare , it is the pirates ' rum - room ! " said Jip in a whisper . " Yes . Very rum ! " said Gub - Gub . " The smell makes me giddy . " " It was the day before yesterday , " said the boy . " I and my uncle were out fishing in our little boat , when the pirates came and caught us . They sunk our fishing - boat and brought us both on to this ship . They told my uncle that they wanted him to be a pirate like them - for he was clever at sailing a ship in all weathers . But he said he didn 't want to be a pirate , because killing people and stealing was no work for a good fisherman to do . Then the leader , Ben Ali , got very angry and gnashed his teeth , and said they would throw my uncle into the sea if he didn 't do as they said . They sent me downstairs ; and I heard the noise of a fight going on above . And when they let me come up again next day , my uncle was nowhere to be seen . I asked the pirates where he was ; but they wouldn 't tell me . I am very much afraid they threw him into the sea and drowned him . " " Well now - wait a minute , " said the Doctor . " Don 't cry . Let 's go and have tea in the dining - room , and we 'll talk it over . Maybe your uncle is quite safe all the time . You don 't KNOW that he was drowned , do you ? And that 's something . Perhaps we can find him for you . First we 'll go and have tea - with strawberry - jam ; and then we will see what can be done . " " I didn 't even know that ducks had a language , " said the boy . " Are all these other animals your pets , too ? What is that strange - looking thing with two heads ? " " Sh ! " the Doctor whispered . " That is the pushmi - pullyu . Don 't let him see we 're talking about him - he gets so dreadfully embarrassed … . Tell me , how did you come to be locked up in that little room ? " " The pirates shut me in there when they were going off to steal things from another ship . When I heard some one chopping on the door , I didn 't know who it could be . I was very glad to find it was you . Do you think you will be able to find my uncle for me ? " " He had red hair , " the boy answered - " very red hair , and the picture of an anchor tattooed on his arm . He was a strong man , a kind uncle and the best sailor in the South Atlantic . His fishing - boat was called The Saucy Sally - a cutter - rigged sloop . " " Do you mean the master of The Saucy Sally ? " asked the porpoises . " Yes , " said the Doctor . " That 's the man . Has he been drowned ? " " His little nephew is on the ship with me here , " said the Doctor . " And he is terribly afraid that the pirates threw his uncle into the sea . Would you be so good as to find out for me , for sure , whether he has been drowned or not ? " " Oh , he isn 't drowned , " said the porpoises . " If he were , we would be sure to have heard of it from the deep - sea Decapods . We hear all the salt - water news . The shell - fish call us ' The Ocean Gossips . ' No - tell the little boy we are sorry we do not know where his uncle is ; but we are quite certain he hasn 't been drowned in the sea . " " Ask the eagles to look for the man . No living creature can see better than an eagle . When they are miles high in the air they can count the ants crawling on the ground . Ask the eagles . " And in about an hour the little bird came back with six different kinds of eagles : a Black Eagle , a Bald Eagle , a Fish Eagle , a Golden Eagle , an Eagle - Vulture , and a White - tailed Sea Eagle . Twice as high as the boy they were , each one of them . And they stood on the rail of the ship , like round - shouldered soldiers all in a row , stern and still and stiff ; while their great , gleaming , black eyes shot darting glances here and there and everywhere . " A man has been lost - a fisherman with red hair and an anchor marked on his arm . Would you be so kind as to see if you can find him for us ? This boy is the man 's nephew . " Then they flew off - and Gub - Gub came out from behind his barrel to see them go . Up and up and up they went - higher and higher and higher still . Then , when the Doctor could only just see them , they parted company and started going off all different ways - North , East , South and West , looking like tiny grains of black sand creeping across the wide , blue sky . " My gracious ! " said Gub - Gub in a hushed voice . " What a height ! I wonder they don 't scorch their feathers - so near the sun ! " " We have searched all the seas and all the countries and all the islands and all the cities and all the villages in this half of the world . But we have failed . In the main street of Gibraltar we saw three red hairs lying on a wheel - barrow before a baker 's door . But they were not the hairs of a man - they were the hairs out of a fur - coat . Nowhere , on land or water , could we see any sign of this boy 's uncle . And if WE could not see him , then he is not to be seen … . For John Dolittle - we have done our best . " " Well , " said Dab - Dab , after they had gone , " what are we going to do now ? The boy 's uncle MUST be found - there 's no two ways about that . The lad isn 't old enough to be knocking around the world by himself . Boys aren 't like ducklings - they have to be taken care of till they 're quite old … . I wish Chee - Chee were here . He would soon find the man . Good old Chee - Chee ! I wonder how he 's getting on ! " " If we only had Polynesia with us , " said the white mouse . " SHE would soon think of some way . Do you remember how she got us all out of prison - the second time ? My , but she was a clever one ! " " I don 't think so much of those eagle - fellows , " said Jip . " They 're just conceited . They may have very good eyesight and all that ; but when you ask them to find a man for you , they can 't do it - and they have the cheek to come back and say that nobody else could do it . They 're just conceited - like that collie in Puddleby . And I don 't think a whole lot of those gossipy old porpoises either . All they could tell us was that the man isn 't in the sea . We don 't want to know where he ISN ' T - we want to know where he IS . " " Oh , don 't talk so much , " said Gub - Gub . " It 's easy to talk ; but it isn 't so easy to find a man when you have got the whole world to hunt him in . Maybe the fisherman 's hair has turned white , worrying about the boy ; and that was why the eagles didn 't find him . You don 't know everything . You 're just talking . You are not doing anything to help . You couldn 't find the boy 's uncle any more than the eagles could - you couldn 't do as well . " " Couldn 't I ? " said the dog . " That 's all you know , you stupid piece of warm bacon ! I haven 't begun to try yet , have I ? You wait and see ! " So the Doctor asked him . And the boy showed them a gold ring which he wore on a piece of string around his neck because it was too big for his finger . He said his uncle gave it to him when they saw the pirates coming . " Fine ! " said Jip . " The man 's as good as found . ' Twill be as easy as stealing milk from a kitten . Tell the boy I 'll find his uncle for him in less than a week . Let us go upstairs and see which way the wind is blowing . " " I don 't need any light to look for a man who smells of Black Rappee snuff , " said Jip as he climbed the stairs . " If the man had a hard smell , like string , now - or hot water , it would be different . But SNUFF ! - Tut , tut ! " " Certainly it has , " said Jip . " Hot water smells quite different from cold water . It is warm water - or ice - that has the really difficult smell . Why , I once followed a man for ten miles on a dark night by the smell of the hot water he had used to shave with - for the poor fellow had no soap … . Now then , let us see which way the wind is blowing . Wind is very important in long - distance smelling . It mustn 't be too fierce a wind - and of course it must blow the right way . A nice , steady , damp breeze is the best of all … . Ha ! - This wind is from the North . " " Why , of course ! " said Jip . " And those are only a few of the easy smells - the strong ones . Any mongrel could smell those with a cold in the head . Wait now , and I 'll tell you some of the harder scents that are coming on this wind - a few of the dainty ones . " For a long time he said nothing . He kept as still as a stone . He hardly seemed to be breathing at all . When at last he began to speak , it sounded almost as though he were singing , sadly , in a dream . " No , " said Jip . " You always think of things to eat . No parsnips whatever . And no snuff - plenty of pipes and cigarettes , and a few cigars . But no snuff . We must wait till the wind changes to the South . " " Yes , it 's a poor wind , that , " said Gub - Gub . " I think you 're a fake , Jip . Who ever heard of finding a man in the middle of the ocean just by smell ! I told you you couldn 't do it . " " Look here , " said Jip , getting really angry . " You 're going to get a bite on the nose in a minute ! You needn 't think that just because the Doctor won 't let us give you what you deserve , that you can be as cheeky as you like ! " " Stop quarreling ! " said the Doctor - " Stop it ! Life 's too short . Tell me , Jip , where do you think those smells are coming from ? " " Well , well ! " said the Doctor . " You know that 's really quite remarkable - quite . I must make a note of that for my new book . I wonder if you could train me to smell as well as that … . But no - perhaps I 'm better off the way I am . ' Enough is as good as a feast , ' they say . Let 's go down to supper . I 'm quite hungry . " Jip smelt the South wind for half an hour . Then he came to the Doctor , shaking his head . " I smell no snuff as yet , " he said . " We must wait till the wind changes to the East . " Three days they had to wait before the West wind came . This was on a Friday morning , early - just as it was getting light . A fine rainy mist lay on the sea like a thin fog . And the wind was soft and warm and wet . " Doctor ! " he cried . " I 've got it ! Doctor ! Doctor ! Wake up ! Listen ! I 've got it ! The wind 's from the West and it smells of nothing but snuff . Come upstairs and start the ship - quick ! " " Now I 'll go up to the front , " said Jip ; " and you watch my nose - whichever way I point it , you turn the ship the same way . The man cannot be far off - with the smell as strong as this . And the wind 's all lovely and wet . Now watch me ! " " Because there is no other smell in the West wind but snuff , " said Jip . " If the man were cooking or eating food of any kind , I would be bound to smell it too . But he hasn 't even fresh water to drink . All he is taking is snuff - in large pinches . We are getting nearer to him all the time , because the smell grows stronger every minute . But make the ship go as fast as you can , for I am certain that the man is starving . " And now the animals gave up chattering and sat around silent , anxious and miserable . The little boy again grew sad . And on Jip 's face there was a worried look . " Jip ! Jip ! I see a great , great rock in front of us - look - way out there where the sky and the water meet . See the sun shine on it - like gold ! Is the smell coming from there ? " And when they got nearer they could see that the rock was very large - as large as a big field . No trees grew on it , no grass - nothing . The great rock was as smooth and as bare as the back of a tortoise . Then the Doctor sailed the ship right round the rock . But nowhere on it could a man be seen . All the animals screwed up their eyes and looked as hard as they could ; and John Dolittle got a telescope from downstairs . " He must be there - he must - HE MUST ! The smell goes on no further . He must be there , I tell you ! Sail the ship close to the rock and let me jump out on it . " Jip at once put his nose down close to the ground and began to run all over the place . Up and down he went , back and forth - zig - zagging , twisting , doubling and turning . And everywhere he went , the Doctor ran behind him , close at his heels - till he was terribly out of breath . Jip went up and sniffed at something lying on the ground beside him . The Doctor stooped and picked it up . It was an enormous snuff - box . And it was full of Black Rappee ! But when John Dolittle told him who it was , and that he had his little nephew safe on his ship , the man was tremendously glad , and said he was sorry he had fought the Doctor . He had not hurt him much though - because it was too dark to punch properly . Then he gave the Doctor a pinch of snuff . When the animals and the little boy saw the Doctor and Jip coming back to the ship with a red - headed man , they began to cheer and yell and dance about the boat . And the swallows up above started whistling at the top of their voices - thousands and millions of them - to show that they too were glad that the boy 's brave uncle had been found . The noise they made was so great that sailors far out at sea thought that a terrible storm was coming . " Hark to that gale howling in the East ! " they said . " Oh , that 's nothing special . But it takes a dog to find a man , you know . Birds are no good for a game like that . " " It 's a silly business , this kissing , " he said . " I don 't hold by it . Let her go and kiss Gub - Gub - if she MUST kiss something . " The fisherman and his sister didn 't want the Doctor to go away again in a hurry . They begged him to spend a few days with them . So John Dolittle and his animals had to stay at their house a whole Saturday and Sunday and half of Monday . " Look ! That was a pirate - ship - Ben Ali 's - the most terrible pirate that ever sailed the Seven Seas ! That old gentleman with the high hat , who 's staying up at Mrs . Trevelyan 's , HE took the ship away from The Barbary Dragon - and made him into a farmer . Who 'd have thought it of him - him so gentle - like and all ! … Look at the great red sails ! Ain 't she the wicked - looking ship - and fast ? - My ! " " Good people , I must go home now . You have really been most kind . I shall always remember it . But I must go home - for I have things to do . " But he did not yet go home to Puddleby . First he went traveling through the land with the pushmi - pullyu in a gipsy - wagon , stopping at all the country - fairs . And there , with the acrobats on one side of them and the Punch - and - Judy show on the other , they would hang out a big sign which read , " COME AND SEE THE MARVELOUS TWO - HEADED ANIMAL FROM THE JUNGLES OF AFRICA . Admission SIXPENCE . " " No . The pushmi - pullyu shall never be shut up in a cage . He shall be free always to come and go , like you and me . "

There shouldn 't have been a need to rush . No need to push his way through the early morning crowd . After all , the city system is the way of the future . The new world order designed to maximize world efficiency . However , in a world that values efficiency , it has no tolerance for those who bring nothing to the table . This is the point that had him running through the morning crowd . The last of his supplies were ready for his longest excursion outside the wall yet . A dangerous plan but at this point desperation was too high for him to consider the risk . He simply could not afford to fail . As he pushed his way through the shop 's door , a familiar voice called him . " Simon , good to see you again . Your gear is all packed up in the bag you left us . " He walked over grabbing the bag and dropping his cash on the counter . " I 'm already late . The gate closes soon . Thanks for the quick work ! " Was all he could shout as he bolted out the door , the store keep muttered good look as the man made his exit . A young man , far too young for his profession but some must choose a life of danger before they are old enough to truly know what is at stake . Morning light crept through the cracks of a badly boarded up window on the second floor of an abandoned house . The few rays that shone through were enough to gain a picture of the room itself . Dust covered the floor , cobwebs lined the ceiling , and the only piece of furniture in the room was an old beaten up couch . On that couch lay a man in his early twenties . Black hair covered his head with one side of his bangs longer than the other . The longer bangs blended into blonde at the tips . His body was well - built , because even though he came off to be lazy most of the time , he made sure to stay in shape since that is what both he and the ladies preferred . Footsteps downstairs caused the man groaned and blink open his eyes , revealing dark blue irises . Again ? This was the second time this week that the wardens have broken in . They suspected someone was here , but he had never been caught and for good reason . Getting up , he hopped up onto the couch and jumped , his hand hitting the low ceiling enough to push part of the ceiling out of the way . With another jump he grabbed onto the edge and began pulling himself up , but before he could make it up the wood he was holding onto broke . Falling back , he hit the edge of the couch and dropped to the floor . Pushing himself to his feet , he shook off the daze the fall created and looked around . The one window was boarded up , so the only way out was the door , and the people below were bound to have heard him fall . Shit . One little mistake was all it took for everything to go downhill , and this might be that mistake . The conversation with his friend from the night before ran through his mind . " Ye can 't keep this up , Seth . They know ye are here , and ye will end up caught one of these days . What are ye gonna do then ? It is either execution or banishment , which is pretty well the same damn thing as execution . Whatever ye may thing these are no ' yer streets . Just find something simple ta do . " " I 'd rather not take orders from someone else . This is my life , and I will live it however I please . I have been living on these streets for over ten years and have not been caught . I 'd say these very well are my streets . I know what I am doing , Drustan . Do you really think I am going to get caught ? " " Aye . Just because it has not happened yet does no ' mean it won 't . And we both know that ye are no ' exactly pleased at the way yer life has been so far . Doona do this . I donna wanna to lose my best friend , so just think about it . Alright ? " Seth had thought about it , but he hadn 't changed his mind , and now here he was about to get caught . He could always agree to become a better citizen , but no way in hell was he going to allow someone to tell him how to live his life . He wasn 't going to allow himself to get caught without a fight either , though . When a shadow appeared he raced towards the door , but before he could make it to the opening one of the wardens turn the corner , and the next thing he knew he was face to face with the barrel of a shotgun . He glared defiance at the warden over the shotgun barrel as another came and walked behind him . Hands on his arms caused him to start struggling , but with a grunt he quit when a hand beat him across the head hard enough to cause his vision to blur . " Dreary fuckers aren 't you ? Sort of like myself maybe . " While the wardens were clad in gray armor face shields , Seth wore a tattered black shirt and faded jeans . The comment earned the cuffs that had just been put on his wrists to be tightened , and he held back a sound of pain . He stayed silent as he was led out of the place that he had come to call his home , but once they were out of the house he reared back in hopes of catching the warden behind him off guard enough for the grip the guy had on him to loosen enough for him to get away . Instead of catching the guy off guard , something struck the back of his head and he slumped to the ground . In a now semi - conscious state he felt his body being dragged along the ground to whatever fate awaited him . It wasn 't that long to reach the sleepiest gate to the outside world . Only an hour jog from the store to southern edge of town . On the northern edge was the main gate that was large enough for multiple vehicles to pass in an out at the same time but was always jammed down with security . It was the same gate that his mentor had taught him to use . Of course the Wardens recognized him , use a gate long enough and often enough and patterns will emerge , with a subtle nod as they strolled out of range of the surveillance equipment . " How is life treating you , Simon ? " The Sergeant who had complete control of the gate and that was the way he liked it . But it wasn 't all bad . Simon simply smiled as he placed his bag on the table and pulled out his weapons . " My Parents had to retire . I was able to move them in with me to cut costs but I still have to pay the extra taxes . " A small sigh was the only sign that this troubled him . The Sergeant had already removed his helmet after they got to the table . His brow furrowed as the concern crossed his face . " I can speak to the Commandant , he could grant you an extension . " Simon nodded as he said . " Thank you but I have already tried . Between my parents and my son , I owe too much to let this slide as well . " He sighed but a slight smile formed as he pulled out a package bound in leather and string . " You said your youngest was fascinated with pre - war trains . I managed to rummage up a few things for him . " The old warden smiled as he opened the package to reveal a pre - war book and model train . " You never forget to bring a gift do you ? " . Simon smiled as he pulled out a small bag of coins for the rest of the Wardens . The Sergeant smiled as he tapped a few commands on his data pad while scanning Simons wrist ID . " You 've done good by us . The Commandant said it would be alright to give you this . As for your fee through the gate , I 'll cover it . " Simon looked up and cocked his head to the side . " Thank you but you don 't have to do that . " He said as a large handgun was dropped into his hands . " Its an # 3 It felt like hours , but was probably only minutes , until Seth was able to open his eyes , and it took a minute after that for his vision to clear enough to see . The ground passed beneath him as one of the wardens continued to drag him , the other no doubt following behind . That blow had hurt . If it had not broken the skin , then there would at least be a bump for quite awhile . Just what he wanted , a physical reminder of his failure . His eyes moved up to look at the back of the man who had a hold on his arms , which were starting to feel sore . It would have been more fun if he was being drug by his hair . At least then he would have had endless quips to piss them off with . The man did not seem to be paying much attention to him , so if only he could get his body to move . His head tilted a bit and his fingers twitched , but it was taking awhile for the rest of his body to come to it 's senses . Tackling the guy was out of the question , so he could do nothing but wait and see where they were taking him . It was another few minutes until the came to a stop , and looking around Seth noticed a third person . The new guy reminded him of the wardens , but with a higher status . The commandant . What ? Anger sparked Seth 's features . " That 's my home . " They couldn 't tear it down . There were times when he had to avoid the place , but for the most part he had stayed there since running away . He couldn 't imagine sleeping on anything but that beaten up old couch . He had grown attached to the run - down building . He looked up at the guy who decided to speak again . " That place should have been tore down long ago , but it kept getting pushed aside for other projects . Then when we realized someone was hiding there we decided to catch whoever it was first . It is easier to catch someone when you already know where they are . I don 't think you should be worrying about a hunk of wood . It would be much wiser to worry what will happen to you . " " That is the problem with society . Always telling people what they should and should not do . " Seth grit his teeth when a hand gripped his hair and pulled back . He forced the corners of his lips up to give a cocky grin . " My hair is the fastest way to turn me on , so if that is your goal you are doing a pretty good job of it . " The grip tightened and the hand jerked back , causing him to let out a soun of pain , almost a scream . When the hand released him he hung his head . " After that , you are lucky I am giving you a choice in what happens to you . Don 't push your luck . Would you rather be executed or banished ? " Seth looked up at the commandant , his eyes hard . " Execution would be too quick of a death , don 't you think ? " His voice was borderline monotonous . He watched the commandment give a nod , and one again he was taken away , this time with the wardens on either side of his with a hold on his arms . He stayed silent , and for the most part kept his head down , but something caused him to look up . Scanning the area , he spotted Drustan , and it felt like his heart was breaking . He wouldn 't let a stupid wall keep him away . He would be back . He told Drustan this with his eyes , and didn 't look away until his friend was out of sight . Once again he put his head down , this time not looking up until they reached the gate . The warden on his left side gripped his arm and held it out to one of the guards at the gate . It was as if the guard new exactly what was going on by reading the expression on the warden . The guard held a device over his arm , and he felt a small stab of pain as the chip in his arm was fried . With that task complete , the guards opened the gate and the next thing Seth knew was that he was tossed out , the gate closing shut behind him . Standing up , Seth didn 't bother brushing himself off before he threw himself at the gate with a loud roar . He had to get back inside . His fists beat against the gate , and sounds of anger continued to escape him . These actions would not help him get back inside , but it was helping to release some of his anger , although that anger was quickly replaced by a pain in his chest . Simon had only been walking for a half the day as the winds began to pick up . It was a soon a whirling windstorm that simply pulled at his clothes while he crossed the grasslands . It was the scorched lands that turned into whirling storms of dust and sand . This area was several mile wide and so many miles long that most stopped trying to map it . He didn 't have to traverse the whole barren waste . Just cover a decent half . His goal was his scavenger stash . His last stash left on the outside of the wall . Most of his gear had already been raided by bandits or less reputable scavengers . He pulled up his scarf and tightened it down as he put on an old pair of shades . His mind shifted as the winds lulled long enough to hear the roar of a poorly kept engines . The only word that filled was blurted out with a curse " Bandits . " He spat the word as he picked up his pace . His feet gouged into the sand and loose grit that formed the soil beneath his feet . His target was an old machine shop that was in the industrial district . He pulled himself through a small window . The light barely entered the sunken building . His boots thudded as he landed on the grate flooring . He followed a usual path through the building and into the generator room . It was stripped bare except for a small generator , a can of gas , and two chests of decent size . This is the time when he dropped his walking gear and picked up his work kit . He dropped his heavy pack and pulled the key out to unlock the chests . His wasn 't the largest man on the planet . He was a lightweight who valued his speed and agility . He pulled a light vest and small pack of water out . His usual was a pair of worn cargo pants and a button up long sleeve shirt to protect himself from the wind and carry all that he needs . He pulled on the vest and checked that his ammo was still in place . Large rifle rounds that had helped him drop some of the heavier bandits . He also reached in and grabbed out a very short bolt action rifle . He picked a magazine and insert before raking the bolt and loading a round . It was scout rifle . Short light and accurate and had enough punch to make most things think twice . He also pulled out a gas mask and a pack of spare filters that he lashed onto his belt . The last thing that he pulled from was a massive fire axe that he slipped into a custom holder that allowed for quick retrieval but kept it with him . The last thing he did was pull out the pistol and make sure it was loaded and a round chambered . This is when he eased back into the corner by the door . Lights off , chests locked , one way in , one way out . He eased into a nap as he waited for night to fall . The winds faded as his hands cradled his rifle . Rest came easy but not without weariness . Seth attacked the gate until his limbs were sore and his voice hoarse . Nothing had changed since he was thrown out , and nothing would change if he continued to do what he was doing . He could always wait for the gate to open again , but then there was the chance of meeting someone coming into the city , or else if someone was coming out there was a big chance he would be shot on sight . The odds were against him , so it was best to leave this area , at least for now . Giving the gate one last look , he turned to barren wasteland in front of him . He could see nothing of use in the area in front of him , but it was likely that the terrain was the same around all the city . He would only waste time wandering around the wall , so his best bet was to go forward . With no items to his name . No food , no water , no weapons , not that he really needed a weapon , but a knife would have at least been nice . Compared to the lack of food and water , the weapon was the least of his concerns . Without those two essentials he would not last long . He could only hope that there was something ahead that was out of sight . He took a step away from the gate , and after that first step it became easier . All he knew and all he wanted was on the other side of the wall , so he would be back . There had to be a way to get back inside , and he would find it . For now he needed to find people , because where there was people there was food and water . He had been stealing all his life so hopefully those skills would come in handy and help him survive . If not , well , then he would be at the mercy of whoever caught him . His feet continued to lead him straight ahead , or at least he thought . After awhile everything started to look the same so it was hard to tell what direction he was now going in . The blowing of the wind was harsh , and he had no way to keep the sand out of his eyes and mouth , and soon his mouth became dry more from the sand than the heat . He had no idea how long he had been walking , but he was about to turn back and hope his tracks would lead him all the way back to the city when he saw a building . It did not look very promising human wise , but at least it was shelter , and that is something he needed as much as food and water , especially with the darkening sky . Heading towards the building , he walked around it some , but it looked like the only way in was through a window , so he crawled in . The place seemed to be stripped bare , but maybe he would get lucky and there would be something to sleep on in one of the rooms . He began his search , but it was not looking hopeful on his part . There seemed to be nothing here . That meant he would have to hope he could find his way back to the city and then find some way to get supplies . With a feeling of hopelessness surrounding him , he continued his search and soon came along a dark room . He waited a few moments for her eyes to adjust enough to see an outline of his hand in front of him and then began to feel around for anything useful in the room . After a few seconds of searching his hand touched something and he started to feel hopeful again . It felt like a chest , but when he tried to open it , it was locked . He began to fiddle with it to feel what kind of lock it had . If he could find something small enough then he should be able to pick it , but first he decided to check the rest of the room . If there was one chest , then maybe there was more in this room . Turning , he began to feel around for more . His ears perked as the door opened . His eyes were adjusted to the darkness and the movement zeroed him in on what had entered . Or more accurately , who had entered . When the shadow moved towards his chests , his stomach dropped . He wasn 't about to be robbed while he sat there and watched it . He slowly eased his right hand out of its pocket while his left thumb cocked the hammer on the pistol . It echoed across the room but the second sound drowned it out . He struck the top of the flare and it hissed to life , blinding the room as he tossed it beneath the feet of the intruder . " Mister . " He said quietly . His voice smooth and easy . " I don 't know about you , but I 'd be real careful about moving fast or take another step towards another man 's gear . " His eyes glowed slightly with bright red glow as well as the tip of the pistol . Seth closed his eyes to the sudden light . That second of blinding brightness had hurt , but the way the man spoke , or more that he had spoke , told him he was not in immediate danger , so he took a few moments for his eyes to recover . If the man in the room had not spoken , or had spoken as if he was going to attack without a thought , then Seth would have pushed past the pain of the light and jumped into action without a care of whatever weapons the other might have . His eyes slowly opened and he soon became used to the light and was able to look at who had spoken . He was looking at a man who seemed to be in his mid to late 20 's . A little older than himself . Age did not matter , though . What mattered was what weapons the man had and how willing he was to use them . Seth had no problem using knives or guns , but his weapon of choice were his fists , because he found using weapons in most fights was cowardly . The pistol in the man 's hand caught his attention , and he looked to the man with raised eyebrows . Was he suppose to be frightened of that ? The right side of Seth 's mouth curled up and he tried to laugh , but the sound came out as more of a harsh rasp and pain shot through his throat . The half smile dropped and he forced back the pain . He didn 't need this guy to know how he felt , although once he spoke the man would no doubt guess . Seth 's dark blue eyes locking onto the man 's own eyes . " You plan on shooting me if I do either of those things ? " His voice was just as harsh as the sound that had came out of his seconds earlier . Walking through the wasteland without water was a big cause , but having shouted earlier until his voice was hoarse hadn 't helped . " You might feel differently about having to shoot someone if people were not just expecting you o come home but needed you to . " He said it quietly as he holstered his weapon . The kid barely looked able to stand let alone hold up in a fight . The look of him told him that he was likely a fresh exile . He sighed quietly as he pulled a canteen from his belt and took a small drink . " Don 't assume that just because I will kill , that I am only killer . " He said as he screwed the cap back on tight and slid it over to him . Seth looked down at the canteen , surprised yet thankful . There was no use saying anything more until his throat was better , so he sat down , picked up the canteen , and scooted back so he rest against the nearest wall . Unscrewing the cap , he drank only what he needed to make his throat feel like it wasn 't full of sand . His body told him to down the rest of it , but he put the cap back on and slid it back over to the man . " I don 't know what it is like to be needed , and I don 't want your supplies . You gave me the only thing I was after . " That drink of water wasn 't a lot , but hopefully it would be enough to get him back to the city , and this guy should be able to point him in the direction to go , in case his tracks were gone , which would most likely be the case . He took a deep breath and leaned his head back against the wall . " If you give me a few minutes to rest and point me in the direction of the city then I will leave you alone . " Not feeling the guy would try and harm him , he allowed his eyes to close . He was wore out , but if the guy did decide to try anything , he would not hesitate to fight . Simon just nodded as the man leaned against the wall . It was foolish to go back to the wall without bringing something with to try and bribe his way back in . Not that it would work in any case , he sighed again . This was obviously not the brightest individual to get thrown out . But it wasn 't really his place to judge a man for that . He eased back , he needed his rest as well . The road flare finished up after 30 minutes . His eyes snapped open though when he realized that it hadn 't finished up fast enough . The approaching drone of several motors terrified him . His hands slowly moved to pop the scope off its rails and slide it into a hardened case on the side of his bag . He slowly stood and shouldered his rifle . He glided soft and quietly towards his unnamed guest . He bopped the guys foot while holding a finger towards his lips . It was time to go and quietly . The chests were his next stop as he opened both and grabbed two duffle 's of his gear that he could not leave behind . " If you would be so kind as to carry one of these . " He whispered as he held to sealed on to the young man . The second bag had a piece of black steel poking out through the top . He slung his bag and moved out the door and went to go deeper before footsteps made him turn around . Two quick steps brought him to the corner as the bandit rounded . It was the axe that did the trick . A quick and bone shattering chop to the mans chest but , a twitchy finger left loud notice of what had happened . Several shots followed after that as fellow bandits looked for vengeance . " Run ! " He shouted as he sheathed the axe and shouldered the rifle once more . A single snap shot around the corner caused a cry of pain and a slower advance . The bolt cycled as he sprinted after the younger man . His hands shook slightly but that was something he could control when he needed to . His last exit was a half buried door but it was the only way with the bandits following close behind . With a hard yank the door popped loose and flooded the hall with loose grit and sand . But you could fit and that was all they need to escape Seth 's eyes slowly opened to look up at the man who was motioning for him to be silent . He didn 't like taking orders from anyone , but he kept quiet as he stretched out his muscles , curious as to what was going on . He had only meant to rest up a few minutes and then leave , but now it looked like he would be leaving with this man . That was fine . As soon as they were out he could get pointed in the direction of the city . And after that . . well . . he would go with the flow . There had to be a way back in and he would find it or die trying . When the bag was held out for him , he stared at it for a few seconds before taking it . The man had been polite in his request , so he saw no reason not to help out . He was younger , yet in this short time the man had treated him as an equal . That was respectable , and he was all about respect . It was one of those things that was earned and never given freely . Standing up , he slung the bag over his shoulder and followed the man out . When the man to the axe to another , Seth realized why they were leaving , and excitement coursed through him at the prospect of a fight . When the man told him to run he did . By the sound of it , there were too many with guns to take down . That was too bad , but as soon as the man opened the door he crawled out and turned to stare to see a man next to the outer wall pointing a gun . Seth gave a half smile that quickly turned serious . Instead of running in another direction , he threw the guy off guard by running towards him , dropping the bag and ignoring the bullet that grazed his shoulder . His movements were fluid and deadly , like that of a big cat . He ducked to avoid the gun being swung at his head . His elbow met the guy 's stomach , and he reached up to grab the guy 's head and slammed it into the wall , watching with satisfaction as the guy dropped to the ground . It was a stuggle to get the bag up and through the door without ditching the unwieldy bag . But he made in time to see his companion drop a bandit . Good for him but it wasn 't enough to win the fight . It was oddly quiet with of lack of shooting . He knew that it meant that they were regrouping but it was too late to stop them . " Run . " He said with a nod as he began to sprint . He wasn 't just any old lightweight scavenger , he still held the title of fastest sprinter in many of the scavenging circles and few dared to challenge his claim but , he couldn 't out run a truck and , after a few hundred yards , he could hear one gaining on them . Sprinting wouldn 't be enough . He dug his heels in and turned . His hands already had the rifle raised and he fired . The truck veered wildly as the driver lost control . He wouldn 't live long enough to figure out what had been hit as the bolt of the rifle cycled again . The man on the gun could barely aim , with the vehicle losing all sense of control with no driver and steering , but he held down the trigger regardless . The third round silenced his efforts . Turning back towards the abandoned city , Simon sprinted after his companion . His hands would shake later but he would still refuse to feel guilt but doubts rarely ever die . He sped up until he overtook him . It was time to run for his life . The outer edge of the city had a heavy barrier of sand that took effort to cross over but once through . It was almost pristine for a ruined city . Rubble littered the landscape and the buildings were moderately intact . It was the standard large city . Sky scrapers packed together tightly and the streets wormed their way through everything . His destination however was far from above ground . A stairway lead down to the subway and this was where he wished to be . In the utter darkness , a small click lead to sudden flare of light that showed the tunnel was in worse shape than the surface . He slowly turned and looked upon the entrance . Something warned him that his companion had already turned to run back to the real City . His light panned over the entrance unsure of what he would see . Seth did as the man said and ran . He continued to run even when the other stopped . Whatever the man was doing he would leave him to it , but he could hear the truck and even he was not stupid enough to believe he could take that on with just fists . It seemed the other guy had a plan , though , because he heard gunfire , and soon the man overtook him . At least this way he could follow since he had no idea where he was going . Thanks to all of the practice from jumping into the ceiling of the old house , getting over the sand barrier was a bit easier . His eyes scanned the city as he continued to follow the stranger . This was his type of place , with all these run down building , although they were all lacking in the couch he had come to enjoy , the one that would probably not be there , along with the house , if he ever made it back past those walls . He frowned when the other guy went down into the subway , but he went down the stairs since he still had the man 's bag and needed directions back to the city he had come from . He blinked in annoyance when the flashlight was turned his way , being blinded for a moment . " The hell ? If you don 't mind shining the light in a different direction , I 'd rather not become blind . " He didn 't mind most pain , but he did mind this . His Eyes widened in surprise . He didn 't expect him to follow . He slowly lowered his light before turning and continuing down the shaft . He hopped upon the tracks and continued walking . " Sorry about that . I have another stash further down the tracks . We can drop the heavier gear and move on further through the city . I still have to fill my quota . " He paused . His senses told him his new companion was not as willing to continue into wastes as himself . He turned his head and looked back . His eyes flashed a bit in the light . " I do think I remember you saying that you wished to return home . However , " He turned his body as well and stood facing him . " You know as well as I do that they will not let you back without something they want . " His eyes tightened as he looked deep into the soul of him . " I 'm sure you know this as well as I do . You can run back to that knowing you will never get what you want or , " He turned and continued walking . " Or you can walk into long dark with me and maybe find something to earn your way back in . " Seth huffed when the light was lowered and the man spoke . Further down the tracks ? He didn 't want to be down here . He wanted to be up in the city with all the buildings . Up there he could survive , but down here . . he knew nothing of being in a subway . Not that he had much choice , though , since he still needed information from this man , and he wasn 't going to take this man 's bag with him . He would go at least until the bag was dropped off . Although he had no clue what the man meant by fill his quota . What was a quota ? He stopped when the man did , giving a questioning look when the guy turned to him . And then the man spoke and he knew going back to the city right away was hopeless . He wanted to go home , but he had nothing that those fuckers might want . Hell , he had nothing in general . He ran his hand through his hair but then narrowed his eyes , not liking the way the man was looking at him , as if to see inside of him . Yeah , keep looking , buddy . You probably won 't like what you find . " Yeah . I know that , but I wouldn 't continue to assume I know stuff . Most of the time I know shit . " He followed the guy as he continued walking . He preferred not knowing much . It was easier that way . Knowing how to survive on the streets was enough for him , so now all he had to do was get back to those streets . " I guess I don 't have much choice but to walk into this hell with you and find something to earn my way back in , whatever that may be . Although the way you said that , walk into the dark with you , gives me the chills . Don 't get any funny ideas , because you are not my type . " The tunnel darkened rapidly with each step until only the flashlight lit the surroundings . His mind groaned a bit at his tag - alongs comment . " I wouldn 't worry about that . " He said , almost shaking his head but unwilling to give him the satisfaction of seeing that he could get to him . " I am quite satisfied in my life however , if you are so insecure that you have reached the projection point , maybe we should raid the local sex shop for you . " a slight grin crossed his lips as he made a hard right and vanished down a side passage . The sound of rain and thunder started to sound off loud enough so that it was heard underground . " I should warn you now , its going to get very wet soon . " His pace quickened as he moved in the dark . The tunnel was not very long and ended with a heavy steel door . It was poorly light with pipes and duct work covering the ceiling . The floor was lined with reflective strips , despite the continuous wear and tear without maintenance , that still shined both a good ways in front and behind the light . The door swung slowly with a muted after the key was turned . The ceiling changed as now there were nets all long the roof with a wide variety of gear hung just above the lip of the door . Simon slowly lifted his bag and tossed it up through an opening , holding his hand out for the second bag and throwing it up as well . The sound of water dripping caught his attention as he turned with his light facing towards the door . It was starting to pool up on the floor in the low spots . Nothing more than a centimeter or two of water . " It won 't take long now . " He said as he moved out again . Waving for his companion to follow and shutting the door behind him . He pulled out a very large can from his pack and began to spray the edges of the door with thick foam . " It should keep it somewhat dry . " He said before turning and heading back down the tunnel . In less than ten minutes , The water would be pooling at the top of his foot . Seth narrowed his eyes . He understood ' insecure ' , but the rest was doing nothing but confusing him , that was until he heard ' sex shop ' . The insult the man threw at him was lost on him , and he cocked his head , becoming more lively . " Is there one ? " His sudden want for that kind of distraction made him forget that they were in a run down city . All he could think about now was finding that shop and a lucky lady to spend some time with . It was not until they reached the end of the tunnel that he realized the man had been toying with him . He had gotten excited for nothing . Through narrowed eyes , he glared at the man and muttered under his breath . " Bastard . " Whatever . He didn 't need a sex shop . He could please woman just fine , and he would try to do just that once he found one . He stayed silent as he passed the guy the other bag . He had no idea what the man meant by ' it won 't take long now ' . What wouldn 't take long ? He shrugged it off , not feeling the need to stress himself after he had already been fooled and disappointed . He knew he wasn 't the brightest , and he had even told the man that , yet now he was starting to feel a bit insecure about his lack of knowledge . He ran his hands through his hair and waited for the guy to get done doing whatever it was he was doing . When the man began to walk back down the tunnel , Seth followed , listening to the sound his feet made against the slightly wet floor . The thought that it might flood never crossed his mind . " What is your name , anyway ? " Or could he just nickname him whatever he liked , because he could have some fun with that . Drustan knocked on the door , hating that he had to bring bad news to people Seth had refused to go back to . It would only hurt them more . When a woman answered the door , he recognized her as Seth 's mother . " I have news of your son . Can I come in ? " It took a minute , but she finally let him in and led him to the living room where they sat down and he started to tell her what had happened and a few extras about what he knew about her son and how they knew each other . While he was speaking , neither he nor she noticed the extra set of ears listening in . Adrian was hiding at the top of the stairs , listening in to the conversation . Normally he would not do this , but he was curious as to who this stranger was , and he felt by not spying he would be missing out on something important . And that instinct was right . He had no idea he had an older brother , although that explained a lot . When the Scottish lad got done speaking , Adrian went back to his room to think all of this through . " Simon . " He said as quietly as he could in the underground and still be heard . His eyes narrowed as he listened . The water was rushing around the walls and slipping through the cracks . " And yours ? " He asked as he quickened his pace keeping an even jog going as he kept up his pace . He even slung his rifle . Now was not the time to get in a fight . Down below his path the tracks couldn 't be seen as the water flowed through the tunnels . It was flowing down them towards the lower lying stations . Damn . He thought . " I hope you can swim ! " He said as he could hear it rushing around a few bends ahead . He reached into his pocked and pulled on wrap around sunglasses and pulled up his face mask . It would only help so much as the wall of water rushed hard and fast upon them . His last moment of consciousness was shouting a name he wouldn 't remember as he grabbed his companion to protect him from the flood . His last act sparing the exile but leaving him unconscious as he smashed into the wall . Simon ? His younger self would have had fun tearing that name apart . The nicknames and cruel sayings he could have come up with for a name like that would have been brutal , and it would have become his mission to send a kid with that name home crying . Or else beat him down if words were not effective . Now he had lost that devilish instinct and gave a nod and then a huff upon realizing his companion probably wouldn 't see the nod . " Name 's Seth . " A suitable name . The Egyptian God of chaos . As rebellious as he was , it made sense for chaos to follow , and on the inside he was a chaotic mess of emotions . He would have to do something about that if he ever made it back into the city . Go and make things right between himself and his family and apologize for his actions . At the question , he gave Simon a questioning look , and then his frown grew as he heard the sound of rushing water . " Why the hell did you - " bring us down here if there was a chance of it flooding ? He never got the chance to say the last bit as he was grabbed and then surrounded by water . He surged up and managed to get a breath of air and see that the other man was unconscious before the water pulled him back under . All he could do was hope and pray , and soon enough the water slowed , and he was able to take another breath of air . Looking around , he spotted Simon and made his way over to him , picking him up and bringing him to an area that was more dry . Not that it was easy to do , as battered and bruised as he felt . Setting the man down , he first made sure the guy was still breathing , and then laid him on his side so if Simon coughed up anything he wouldn 't choke in it . Lastly he pulled down the face mask . As he waited for Simon to come back to consciousness , Seth removed his shirt and began to wring the water out of it , leaning against the wall while he did . Adrian picked up his recently packed bag and hopped out his window . He hoped he had not forgotten anything , because he wouldn 't be able to come back here without his parents catching him and locking him down . He walked across the roof , and once he found an easy enough spot , he climbed down and raced away from the house . He had a destination in mind , it was just if the person was there or not . After close to a half an hour , he came upon a building and climbed through the window to the basement . He landed with a soft thud and waited for his eyes to adjust . Once they did , he left the room he was in and walked a ways to the center of the building . It was there , in a room in the center , where an older boy sat staring at a computer screen , flashing lights coming from random equipment around him . The older boy turned around and fixed his grey eyes on Adrian . " Oh . It 's just you . " Adrian nodded . " Hi , Jasper . I need your help . I need you to get me scavenger status . " Jasper , who had turned back to his computer , turned quickly back to Adrian with a sharp laugh . " We may be friends , but we are not that good of friends . Give me one good reason I should risk my ass like that to help you . " Adrian told him what he learned about having a brother and that said brother getting kicked out of the city . He had to go and find him since there might be no other way to meet him . " I now understand why you are always trying to find your parents . Please help me . If you do , I will help you out in any way possible if you find where your parents are . " He waited for whatever answer would be given . " Fine . But if anyone finds out about this your life will become a living hell . And while you are out there , asked around for me . Now sit down , because this won 't be easy and may take some time . " He turned to his computer and got to work . Iwaku is a roleplay community . We don 't just write stories - we live them ! Roleplaying is stepping in to the life of a character and experiencing what they experience . Here on Iwaku , we 're all about giving you the freedom to write anything you want while providing a safe and friendly community to do it in . Our site contains forum roleplay , chat roleplay , group roleplay , private roleplay , as well as other methods for living your stories . We are a community ran by REAL PEOPLE ! We are not a corporation or a company . Our server , domain , and software licenses are privately owned and paid for 100 % out of our own pockets . 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P . , me and an unidentified guest were at our apartment and about to go to sleep when we were attacked by a ninja . He terrorized us and chased us round the house . Then he laid down to sleep on the couch and we took his katana and killed him . He looked more like a medieval samurai than a ninja . He wore black , a big helmet and an armour that was very wide on the shoulders , so as to look gigantic . The dead samurai was lain there on my couch , with his helmet still on and the sword protruding perpendicular from his chest . We were still in the dark but we thought of checking out the window to see if any of our neighbours had seen something . Strangely , and despite the late hour , everyone was there . The people who live in the apartment right across from ours had a lot of guests in black suits and frocks , who were sitting as if in a theatre balcony but appeared to be looking somewhere further to the left . We leaned outside our balustrade to see if there was something that pulled their attention . At the same time we noticed there were people on the balcony right above who were also attracted by the same spectacle . It was a film projection on the wall of a tall building . It had no special interest for us so we jumped over the porch and climbed to the attached construction . The guest transformed into I . , a dude I was fond of some time ago , and we found ourselves in a vacation house with thick lawn . He pulled a chair and we sat there , side by side . He was talking about something extremely interesting but I have forgotten what it was . I kept thinking I wanted to do him and the tension was building up nicely . And then I woke up . Posted by I was with my friend M . in my dream . I had visited her at her house where she lived with her brother and her father . We were sitting and smoking in the balcony . I had to go inside and when I was returning to the porch I saw I was not wearing something from the waist up so I put on my purple coat and moved towards the door . The brother interrupted my course and I was annoyed because this meant I would have to talk to the father and I did not want to do this . The brother told me that the father had said that he owed me something he actually owed to my parents from a long time ago . I replied that it had been so long that it no longer mattered . Two friends of M . came over and we decided to go see the carnival parade because it was night time already . Then we were walking on the street among other people and fires were burning in barrels at the pavement . I was talking to one of the new girls while we were holding hands . She mentioned something about sister Berta ( a nurse from a book I am currently reading ) . I woke up . I dreamt I was staying with K . and his new girlfriend for a few days . I haven 't met her but , in my dream , she was very nice . I cooked for them and we had a meal on the porch . We made a lot of jokes and we laughed a lot . Then we took the plates to the sink and they went to their room . Later we were walking at a pier and P . was there too . P . and K . were wearing the same outfit . I think it consisted of a t - shirt , a cardigan and - that I remember clearly - checked trousers in shades of pink . The girl was wearing something matching and I knew I had the very same clothes in my closet . I thought it was a fortunate coincidence that I had not put them on this day because we would look absolutely ridiculous . I remembered that I had seen P . 's parents dressed exactly like this . I made fun of them for looking so similar . K . 's new girl mentioned that the sex they had on Sunday was better that on Saturday . Next I saw that some of P . 's friends , from P . , had visited us . We gathered in an old storage place to smoke . It was a dimly lit room with an old sofa in the middle and closed boxes on the walls . Somebody asked if K . had been a god boyfriend to me and if there was anything that I might want to let the new girl know . I said that people 's behavior varies according to their mates . I went out and when I came back in the company had changed . New people had arrived and others were gone . It was my turn to smoke so I stood next to the person holding the cigarette . He turned and I saw it was S . . I reached out but he bypassed me and gave it to a fatso that was sitting on the couch . I protested and we straggled a little . Eventually he gave it to me and we started chatting . He was trying to kiss me but I avoided his mouth because I thought P . was there . He was there indeed , on the couch , but he was not looking towards us . S . asked me what would I do if he tied me up , threw me on the floor and screw my brains out , as the rumor has it . I tried to be discreet and tell him that this was neither the time nor the place and that we should meet another time so that he can keep this promise . Unfortunately , just then I woke up . : ( Posted by I had this dream of agreeing to commit mass suicide . P . 's visits to the hospital were not for his hurt leg but for chemo - treatments instead . Yet his hair was intact and he seemed to be doing nicely . His parents and sister and her fiancee talked us into killing ourselves . We would all fall from a cliff . We would start by crawling on a protruding tree - trunk and when we got half way across it we would just let go and fall . The time was coming and I decided I didn 't want us to die , so I said so to P . . I told him that his folks can do as they please but that I thought it would be wrong for us to fall and die . He agreed to live and said that he had to inform his parents for our decision because in this case they might want to live too . I was not so sure if I wanted to provide this sort of information to them . I also saw that I was trapped in a building , which is a reoccurring theme in my dreams . As always the building was massive and overpopulated but I can 't be more specific . My mother might have been there . I don 't know . In another dream I saw I was with P . , his sister and her fiancee . They had come for a visit but we were not at our house either . We might have been at a summer resort . They brought us food and wet clothes . I gathered all our food supplies to make plans for the days to come and I saw I had been making a rocket salad everyday for a few days , but it was not eaten , so I kept it and made a new one every new day . We also had raisins , lima beans and other pulses . I spread all of them on a blue metallic table and I accidentally mixed them . I was sitting there by the fiancee , whom I am not particularly fond of , I had hacked into an ATM and I was using it as a television . I had purchased new leggings and they had some unexpected decorations , bellow the foot , and I was chewing them off . I was wearing them at the time so I had to have my uncle near my mouth . In this posture I was looking at the ATM and occasionally making small talk with him . Despite my negative feelings for our company I was having a good time . Everything was peaceful . Then I was inside , talking to the sister . She was telling me that one day she had become very tired of working in the lab and that her fiancee had picked her up and they got married in a small chapel . I told her it sounded nice and she asked how was it nice , as if she was not impressed by anything . I told her it was kind of romantic . I opened my eyes and saw that it was time to get up . My old , faithful alarm clock broke and the one I am using now does not have a snooze option , so one can 't pledge for five more minutes of sleep . I think that for my name day I 'll get me a new alarm clock . I like alarm clocks , as objects , although I am not happy to be waken up . I think alarm clocks look nice . Posted by " Iamvlichos used to be such a small village , with just ten people at first " . I do not know the rest of the story because I woke up . My bladder was very full and I couldn 't trick myself to go back to sleep . I dreamt of dogs . I was with P . 's sister , who was feeding crisps to them and I was afraid that mine would attack the others to get all the food . I also dreamt that I was going to a summer resort with a scooter that , in order for it to work , the custom was to place a huge rolled banknote on the back of it . When I got there - it might have been Iamvlichos ( like the philosopher Iamblichus ) - I was all alone . I was wondering what to do with the scooter , until I decided to take back my money since nobody would know or see anything . Later , or right afterwards , I heard the voice of a female news - anchor say the phrase with witch I opened this story . Posted by In the the summer I find it quite easy to wake up at the break of dawn . In the winter , on the other hand , it feels almost like a sacrilege to leave my warm slumber before the sun has come up . Today , I had to get up while it was still dark outside . As I was searching for clothes , in my closet , in the dark , I thought I got a " smell " that reminded me of my life before I finished school , and I wondered if it is a characteristic winter morning smell , or if the process triggered the memory of it . I remember talking to people and organizing something like a festive play for our work environment . We were at a garage and for some reason I was pissed off . On my way out my path was blocked by a car that parked in front of me . I started yelling at the driver to move back a little so that I can pass but instead he got off . I became very angry and I threatened to make a dent on his car with a small tin of paint I found near by . He challenged me to realize my threat and I did . I made the hood of his car cave in . He asked why I didn 't do the same on the side as well , so I marked his door too . Then I went to work . Although it was an office it looked a lot like a shopping mall from the 80s . I took the escalator and got to the door . Nobody was there , the lights were out and there was a note on the door to inform employees that we would be working part - time from now on . More girls arrived and gathered behind me . We were looking at the note wandering what was going on and why had we not been previously informed . As if updating us on our work status with a single note was not enough , it was written on an ugly , blue , girly memo pad , with comic sans , which is one of the ugliest fonts . Apparently , a girl called " Aeroneke " had left it for us . I woke up thinking of this name . I don 't think it exists . Perhaps I 'll dream of more interesting things tomorrow . Posted by I dreamt of P . . We had gone for vacation to his home town and his aunt gave us the keys to a cabin they had in the woods . We got there and I decided to take a bath . The bathroom had a specific old - times atmosphere . It was a cubic room with a medium size bathtub . Its shape was rectangular with rounded edges and it might have had a blue line running near the edge , although this could also be the design of the wall . The dominant colors were an old - school light blue and a light but warm yellow . Everything that was white once had faded to the color of sugar . I was taking a shower . The level of the water was rising in the bathtub although I had not plugged it . Then , quite abruptly , it all went down the drain but instead of going wherever bath - water goes to rest , it flooded the floor . I thought that there is a blockage in the pipes and called for P . . I saw the water almost reaching the door but , fortunately , it was approximately 30cm above the level of the ground . He came to me and then , between the bathtub and the corridor where P . was standing , the ground became deeper and filled with water . P . said there was nothing he could do and we leaned towards each other above the pool that just formed and we kissed . Afterwards we were outside . The landscape was nice and serene , with thick but low vegetation in the darker shades of green . His aunt came over to pick us up because his father was looking for us . He had become so mad with our absence that he had intentionally fallen ill and refused to be treated in a hospital . P . got into his aunt 's car and I went inside to make our suitcases and lock the doors , so that could leave . I realized I had too many suitcases with me and I kept finding more clothes , some used and some freshly washed and dried . It took me longer than I expected and by the time I had collected everything I was carrying more that I hoped for . Then I started locking things . I realized I had a lot of keys and along the way I found padlocks . I was about to lock the kitchen cupboard , that was made out of rough wood , painted blue and obviously worn out , when an old man , some old relative , showed up . As I was trying to explain who I was and what I was doing there , without stopping fixing the locks , P . and his aunt came over to see what was taking me so long . D . shoed up and informed us that a new dog had killed their cat . I woke up and stayed in the bed for a little longer . When I decided I had to get up I had the phrase " the scariest part was that the driver was freaked out " . Apart from the knowledge that it referred to a school bus I can gather nothing else about its origin . P . and me were at our house , packing a few things to go on vacation when it took place . They barged into our houses , grabbed people , beat them up and trapped their faces in metallic masks . People panicked and were trying to flee the country . They were too cruel for anyone not on their side to take the risk to stay here and resist . I was in a room that reminded me of my old room in my mother 's house . The door opened and a girl with aryan features and red , glowing eyes smiled at me with malice . She had a pen with a sharp edge and tried to pinch my hands . When I figured out what she was trying to do I resisted . Somehow I managed through our straggle to lead her to a main building where I thought I might find someone to help me . Indeed , I found a prisoner before a fridge and he hit her on the head and hid her in there . I heard on the street that they infected people with HIV . They imported members from other countries and gave them our apartments . They also gave their members better houses than they already had . A guy with his big , pregnant Aryan wife came to leave in ours . He was acquainted with some old friends of mine . He said he had chosen to leave in my house because he and his wife liked my art . They would turn my room into the baby 's room . He also informed me that my friends N . , A . and G . with her boyfriend had all been made members . I though about it as an option for a little while . Perhaps if we all joined we might be able to forma group for resistance and fight them from the inside . Quick decisions had to be made . I packed as little as possible in a back pack and left everything else behind , knowing that the chances of getting my old life back were little . We hit the road , making a last effort to head to the boarders . Lots of people were traveling this way . I was thinking that with the enemy having access to social media it would be really easy to track us down . We started climbing a mountain when I got a view of the city from above and I was also moving towards the centre of it , like a long traveling from a helicopter but I was not on one . It felt more as if I was hanging from a crane . I saw people hiding on roofs when an already existing resistance made their first crucial hit to the party 's satellite . I saw the prison - masks break and the prisoners , free but exhausted , falling on the floor . I went back to my house . The Aryan woman , holding her newborn in her hands , gave me a disgusted look . At the back of her fat neck she had a black pillowy implant that resembled the foamy pillows of headphones . She would definitely grab the first opportunity to turn me in and no one would believe I was a supporter , and even if I claimed to be one , how could I act with such cruelty ? These people killed without a glimpse . I would not be a very convincing member . Neither would my eyes burn red for their cause . I saw I was at a party . I had just started going out with a very tall dude and he was there too . I was sitting at a table next to V . , M 's old boyfriend and brother of my old friend N . He was very nice to me and we talked a lot . On the next day when I met my boyfriend he told me that we were over . At that point another girl was there who was also a member of this relationship . We said simultaneously " No , why ? Stop ! " and tried to hug him . Then she disappeared and I was left alone with him . He told me I had been too flirtatious and that he would not tolerate this behaviour . On the one hand , I liked being with him , on the other the thing he said sounded like absolute bullshit , so I let him go . After all , I had met a lot of people the previous night that were really nice to me . Then I was with P . at his house with his sister and his cousin . We would go to the sea and I did not have a swimsuit . P . 's sister told me she had one for me and one for D . . We put them on and D . 's was too small and mine too large , although in reality I have bigger boobies than her . I thought of asking her to exchange but people were just moving around too fast and I could not get the time . I woke up . I had tried to wake up early , at 8 o ' clock I had opened my eyes and checked the time to be precise . I thought of staying there , under the warm covers just for a couple of minutes but I fell asleep again and got up at half past nine . Winter makes waking up hard , and my dreams were not that exciting either . Perhaps I should go back to bed but I won 't . Posted by I dreamt of my friend M . I cannot recall the beginning of the dream but I remember leaving a place with a lot of young people , like a squat or a residency , and visiting a vacant building across the street . There , on the back of the house she had moved her bed . She had created a warm , secluded space , behind an old wooden closet . There was her bed covered in colorful quilts and once we got there , her cat came out to greet me . Then , from under the quilt came a big black friendly dog . I did not know she had it because I always thought of her as a cat person . We were talking about her knew abode when we heard voices of people that wanted to see that house as prospective buyers . This is as far as this story went . I also dreamt I was with my sister . We were at an older relative 's house and I wanted to masturbate , so , when no one was watching I stuffed something down there . As I was about to start people came in the room and I had to stop . There was on old wooden closet in this dream too . I took some colorful pieces of fabric from there . They were supposed to be from an old - fashioned summer dress . I searched and found the rest of it . I thought it would be cut in small rugs but it was all right . Apparently they had just made it smaller . I put it on and , although the size was right it made me look very chubby and full of curves . I did not especially like that but the pattern on the fabric was awesome . It was in bright red , combined with a nice shade of blue and other colours in smaller quantities . The pattern was organic and it matched perfectly the shape of the dress . This is as much as I remember from this dream . Pretty inconclusive , ain 't it ? That 's the thing with dreams . Posted by I dreamt of S . . First I saw I had gone out with P . and some people from his work and somebody that looked a lot like S . was with them . He reached for my hand and held it . It was very nice . I felt excited and hopeful , all those feelings generated by a new flirt . I liked the touch of his skin and his temperature . I think some people noticed but nobody mentioned anything . We were sitting on a table , outside because the weather was warm . It was an easy - going summer night . Next , I dreamt I was at my sister 's and her friends were there . We would go out and I was waiting for them to get ready . They showed up with food in their hands . I became angry because I , too , was hungry and did not want to wait for them to eat first . P . was there . I took him by the hand and we left . We went to a bar . I had left a large jar of mandarin tea at a corner and I squeezed through some people to get it . A girl talked to me and I smiled at her . Then I dreamt of S . again . I was at my hometown , at my uncle 's second oldest shop and he was there too . We got on a couple of scooters . S . was going in the front one , behind D . , and I was alone , following them in the back . He turned and looked at me and I pretended to whistle . We stopped at another cafeteria near by . He came near . I smiled at him and told him I had to go back to get something . He said they would wait for me . I tried to be really sweet . It was easy to smile when staring into his eyes . The bloody alarm went off . After a quick argument with myself I got up . I have to go now . The temperature has fallen by 1 degree . I just hope I don 't have to do this again any time soon . Posted by The alarm clock started bipping at half past seven . It was still dark outside . I made it stop and turned to the other side . I was very thirsty but the glass of water I always keep at my bedside was too cold and had given me a soar throat earlier in the night . I fell asleep . I woke up again at half past nine . After almost ten hours of sleep I still could not get myself out of the warm covers . Although it is sunny the temperature is very low . My partner and our dog are still asleep . My coffee just turned cold . Winter is here for good and sleeping is awesome , especially when one has things to do , one would like to avoid . I was at my sister 's neighborhood , on the way to my house and the night had started falling . I was moving slowly and would not make it back until it was night for good . As I was passing from old , neglected industrial buildings I saw men running and I knew they were up to no good . I turned at the first corner so as not to get in their way but my action was futile as there was another group right in front of me . I could only hope that they would not be interested in me . They were immigrants in the mind of whom we were all the enemy . They had come here hoping for improvement and they had been treated like less than human . They were right not to show pity and I was afraid of them because I did not know anything about them and could communicate nothing . I thought of running but my feet disagreed . I just walked until I got to a central spot of the city . There was police everywhere , waiting for the upheaval . I just wanted to go home . There were shops with bright yellow lights and large entrances and cars were rushing by in great speed and little order . I stopped by a young traffic - cop - lady that seamed less hostile , to ask for directions . A car full of gypsies , or another group with a much similar life - style , stopped by her as well . As the traffic cop leaned towards their window a girl came out of the car and came to me . I can 't remember who started talking but she would help me get closer to home . I also dreamt I was staying at a place by the sea . I was going somewhere and I was alone on the street . On my left side were medium - height , white fences , reflecting the bright sunlight . On my right I remember nothing . A pink duck was walking towards me . I tried to avoid it but it seamed very convinced to come after me . I passed it and it turned and started chasing me . It came very close and tried to bite me . I grabbed it by the throat but I did not want to kill it . I kept pushing its head back and it kept going for my hands . We fell on the floor and I was loosing the battle , until a man approached us and threw something at the duck . He helped me up . It was a tall man with a long , grey beard and a hat . I had my doubts about his trustworthiness but he had saved me from the duck . Then it was graduation week . I had to wake up early to go get my certificate of graduation . There were multiple ceremonies taking place for each graduate individually and some of them would also grab the chance and get married , too . The whole charade started very early in the morning and the dress code was official as well . I hated the whole thing . I did not want a special ceremony just for me with people staring in front of the podium . Furthermore , I continued failing to get up early enough in the morning so I was just postponing the process and I would see others graduate and get married and the whole thing sickened me . I was at home looking for something to wear when I realized I was too late again , so I decided to just go to the party and maybe book another day for my graduation . A lot of people were there . An . , a woman that used to be my supervisor at a previous job , heard me saying that if they can 't schedule the ceremony for a more reasonable time I would never receive my degree , and she laughed . She had big , afro hair , very fair skin and a nice , wide smile . I went to the plaster - studio . It was dug bellow the ground level and it looked like an ice platform . It seamed to be dug directly in the rock and one could walk above it on a narrow , wooden bridge . I looked for a familiar face but knew no one . A man was pushing a big mountain of semi - liquid plaster with his back to the side , almost right under my feet . I asked if I could go down there and see what they were doing . I got down a small , wooden ladder . The whole place was in the dark brown of the wood and the white of the plaster . Even the people . There I saw M . and her cousin V . . I took off my black shoes and forgot about them . When I got back out I saw that I was bear - foot and asked N . and her boyfriend N . , who were also there , to ask somebody to throw my shoes back to me because there were splinters of wood on the floor and I could not walk . Instead they brought me two odd shoes to put on and go there myself . One was a cheap , girl 's black shoe that was almost too small and the other a small workman 's shoe , I destroyed it as I tried to put it on . By the time I got back in the studio a man was shutting down the lights . I told him I was a past graduate and that I had left my shoes down there . He was disinterested in my story and thought I was a liar but eventually allowed me to go and pick them up . I found my dog there and took her along . He had a poodle and I was afraid my dog would attack his , so I kept her close . Then I was trying to get in a house along with plenty more people and my dog , and Harley , the neighbor 's dog was there too and the man with the poodle . Trying to flee Constantinople The dream started with me taking an offer to travel . We would go to London and Berlin . I got to a large and complicated railway station , I often see in my sleep , and was trying to find my way around . I only carried a small backpack and was practically broke . My fellow traveller was a ten year old scoundrel that was running around and climbing on things . I had a hard time keeping up with him . Finally he led me to the ticket office , through a first floor window . I was hanging outside the window , not really able to pull myself inside when I saw at the desk a guy I knew from primary school . I asked for his help and he came to my assistance . We would all be traveling together . Our train was about to depart and we were running on the old - time platforms among huge trains that were leaving smoke . Everything was grey , blue and black . The platforms were high and crowded . We got off at Berlin . I knew because I saw all the famous monuments of this city , gathered together on a square . I saw the victory column and the telecommunications centre and the Branderburg gate . We were sitting on a round table with fer forge chairs with some old - women . At that point I realized I did not have my passport or any other international documentation with me and that I had run out of money . All I had was my old id and knitting needles . I had to go either to the embassy or return back home . I asked where we were and I learned we were in Istanbul . I thought of the Residents and their song . From my point of view there was only one thing to do ; try to cross the sea and get back home . I was searching for a boat when my alarm started beeping . Posted by I have been sleeping a lot lately , probably because of the cold weather . I open my eyes and promise myself I will stay there just for five more minutes . Next time I open my eyes a whole hour has gone by and I have dreamt of something new . I saw I had gone out for a drink with my friend Mi . We went to a crowded , bohemian bar at a suburban area of Athens . We got drunk and started socializing . We continued to the drinkery next door , where I remember standing by the bar , gulping large sips of beer and afterwards we visited another place a bit further down the road that is owned by two friends of mine . There , we got behind the walls and drunk ourselves silly . I was looking for S . , one of the co - owners , but could not say his name . I was standing on a wooden staircase , looking at the people through the frame of a torn painting . The sun had come up and I was in a car . A girl that used to be bold but now had blond hair pulled back was badmouthing P . She was saying that all he does is doodle all day and that he gets paid much more than his work is actually worth . I tried to poke her on the nose while explaining that he works a lot and that she has no idea what she is talking about but I was so drunk I did not have command of my fingers . I swore under my breath and asked them to stop the car . I looked outside and realized I had no idea where I was , so I fell back on my seat and decided not to bother . P . was at home , sleeping . I woke him up . I had left my purse , with my phone , my id , my passport and a lot of money somewhere the previous night and I wanted to retrieve them . I called from his phone to mine and a warm , manly voice answered from the other side . I explained I had left it there and asked if they were so kind as to tell me how to get it back . The man knew who I was . I was hoping it would be D . but he wasn 't . He tried to explain which bar was his . I did not remember the name of the place . He told me I was dancing by the bar and that we had met the previous night and that he would be there until 13 : 00 . It was half past ten . I started making some coffee and tried to rinse the blurriness with cold water . This sobered me up a little . My friend Ma . came over and I narrated my adventures for her . She said she would come along . We got on a bus , sat on the front seat and then it stopped and I hit my leg on the one in the front because it was like an open carriage . Ma . started screaming at the driver . We changed our seats . Funny people were getting on and everything looked more as if we were in London than in Athens . I saw our destination and pushed the stop button . The nearest stop was further down . The bus turned and then it stopped near an open market place where grumpy old ladies did their shopping and the street were wet . Ma . was wearing a large pair of cow - print boots . We passed outside shoe - stores and she stole a pair of boots made of green carpet that were hanging on a wall . We got inside the next shoe - store where she changed her old boots for the new ones . They looked very peculiar and I liked them in a perverse way . The purse I was carrying the previous night was also made of green carpet . As we were approaching our destination I woke up . I slept from 1 : 30 to 10 : 30 and I still could not open my eyes properly . Furthermore I still had the feeling that , as in my dream , I had not slept for more than 24 hours . Soon I understood this was not true and I got up to make some coffee . Posted by In my dream I saw that it was my birthday and I had invited a lot of people to my house . I was waiting for them but then only an old acquaintance of mine , G . , came over . We sat on the old , blue couch and talked . He even brought me a present . It was not something special , probably something small , that one can find in his own kitchen . I can 't remember what it was , though . I think that more people might have come later , but I might as well be thinking of birthdays past . Then , I had just moved to a small village , with P . and lots of our friends were there too . I met an odd indian girl . Then I was spending time with A . , who was really nice to me and for whom I started having feelings . We chatted and watched films together . More people came over and he stayed by me , slightly touching my hand . I kept staring at his girlfriend who was sitting on a chaise - long across the room . she did not seam to care . I grew tired and I wanted to sleep . I decided to go home . The village was full of large , stone - built houses and narrow stone - paved streets . P . and I got to our house and we were about to go in when I heard A 's voice . I could not trace its source , so I lay down on the street and looked up . Above me was a rather tall building with its facade covered with a scaffolding . At the top floor I saw A . giggling with somebody . Then they got in a wrapped rag and came down with an improvised lift . Then I saw my new friend from India . She was naked and her yellowish , medium - size breasts looked soft and perfect . A man with similar facial features , but much lighter skin approached her and raised her thigh . Then he penetrated and she opened her mouth so wide it looked as if her face opened in half . I focused on her scream and when I zoomed out she had just had a baby . A doctor cut the umbilical cord with a mini ax . Subsequently he wrapped the baby in an old sleeveless shirt and gave it to the mother .

P . , me and an unidentified guest were at our apartment and about to go to sleep when we were attacked by a ninja . He terrorized us and chased us round the house . Then he laid down to sleep on the couch and we took his katana and killed him . He looked more like a medieval samurai than a ninja . He wore black , a big helmet and an armour that was very wide on the shoulders , so as to look gigantic . The dead samurai was lain there on my couch , with his helmet still on and the sword protruding perpendicular from his chest . We were still in the dark but we thought of checking out the window to see if any of our neighbours had seen something . Strangely , and despite the late hour , everyone was there . The people who live in the apartment right across from ours had a lot of guests in black suits and frocks , who were sitting as if in a theatre balcony but appeared to be looking somewhere further to the left . We leaned outside our balustrade to see if there was something that pulled their attention . At the same time we noticed there were people on the balcony right above who were also attracted by the same spectacle . It was a film projection on the wall of a tall building . It had no special interest for us so we jumped over the porch and climbed to the attached construction . The guest transformed into I . , a dude I was fond of some time ago , and we found ourselves in a vacation house with thick lawn . He pulled a chair and we sat there , side by side . He was talking about something extremely interesting but I have forgotten what it was . I kept thinking I wanted to do him and the tension was building up nicely . And then I woke up . Posted by I was with my friend M . in my dream . I had visited her at her house where she lived with her brother and her father . We were sitting and smoking in the balcony . I had to go inside and when I was returning to the porch I saw I was not wearing something from the waist up so I put on my purple coat and moved towards the door . The brother interrupted my course and I was annoyed because this meant I would have to talk to the father and I did not want to do this . The brother told me that the father had said that he owed me something he actually owed to my parents from a long time ago . I replied that it had been so long that it no longer mattered . Two friends of M . came over and we decided to go see the carnival parade because it was night time already . Then we were walking on the street among other people and fires were burning in barrels at the pavement . I was talking to one of the new girls while we were holding hands . She mentioned something about sister Berta ( a nurse from a book I am currently reading ) . I woke up . I dreamt I was staying with K . and his new girlfriend for a few days . I haven 't met her but , in my dream , she was very nice . I cooked for them and we had a meal on the porch . We made a lot of jokes and we laughed a lot . Then we took the plates to the sink and they went to their room . Later we were walking at a pier and P . was there too . P . and K . were wearing the same outfit . I think it consisted of a t - shirt , a cardigan and - that I remember clearly - checked trousers in shades of pink . The girl was wearing something matching and I knew I had the very same clothes in my closet . I thought it was a fortunate coincidence that I had not put them on this day because we would look absolutely ridiculous . I remembered that I had seen P . 's parents dressed exactly like this . I made fun of them for looking so similar . K . 's new girl mentioned that the sex they had on Sunday was better that on Saturday . Next I saw that some of P . 's friends , from P . , had visited us . We gathered in an old storage place to smoke . It was a dimly lit room with an old sofa in the middle and closed boxes on the walls . Somebody asked if K . had been a god boyfriend to me and if there was anything that I might want to let the new girl know . I said that people 's behavior varies according to their mates . I went out and when I came back in the company had changed . New people had arrived and others were gone . It was my turn to smoke so I stood next to the person holding the cigarette . He turned and I saw it was S . . I reached out but he bypassed me and gave it to a fatso that was sitting on the couch . I protested and we straggled a little . Eventually he gave it to me and we started chatting . He was trying to kiss me but I avoided his mouth because I thought P . was there . He was there indeed , on the couch , but he was not looking towards us . S . asked me what would I do if he tied me up , threw me on the floor and screw my brains out , as the rumor has it . I tried to be discreet and tell him that this was neither the time nor the place and that we should meet another time so that he can keep this promise . Unfortunately , just then I woke up . : ( Posted by I had this dream of agreeing to commit mass suicide . P . 's visits to the hospital were not for his hurt leg but for chemo - treatments instead . Yet his hair was intact and he seemed to be doing nicely . His parents and sister and her fiancee talked us into killing ourselves . We would all fall from a cliff . We would start by crawling on a protruding tree - trunk and when we got half way across it we would just let go and fall . The time was coming and I decided I didn 't want us to die , so I said so to P . . I told him that his folks can do as they please but that I thought it would be wrong for us to fall and die . He agreed to live and said that he had to inform his parents for our decision because in this case they might want to live too . I was not so sure if I wanted to provide this sort of information to them . I also saw that I was trapped in a building , which is a reoccurring theme in my dreams . As always the building was massive and overpopulated but I can 't be more specific . My mother might have been there . I don 't know . In another dream I saw I was with P . , his sister and her fiancee . They had come for a visit but we were not at our house either . We might have been at a summer resort . They brought us food and wet clothes . I gathered all our food supplies to make plans for the days to come and I saw I had been making a rocket salad everyday for a few days , but it was not eaten , so I kept it and made a new one every new day . We also had raisins , lima beans and other pulses . I spread all of them on a blue metallic table and I accidentally mixed them . I was sitting there by the fiancee , whom I am not particularly fond of , I had hacked into an ATM and I was using it as a television . I had purchased new leggings and they had some unexpected decorations , bellow the foot , and I was chewing them off . I was wearing them at the time so I had to have my uncle near my mouth . In this posture I was looking at the ATM and occasionally making small talk with him . Despite my negative feelings for our company I was having a good time . Everything was peaceful . Then I was inside , talking to the sister . She was telling me that one day she had become very tired of working in the lab and that her fiancee had picked her up and they got married in a small chapel . I told her it sounded nice and she asked how was it nice , as if she was not impressed by anything . I told her it was kind of romantic . I opened my eyes and saw that it was time to get up . My old , faithful alarm clock broke and the one I am using now does not have a snooze option , so one can 't pledge for five more minutes of sleep . I think that for my name day I 'll get me a new alarm clock . I like alarm clocks , as objects , although I am not happy to be waken up . I think alarm clocks look nice . Posted by " Iamvlichos used to be such a small village , with just ten people at first " . I do not know the rest of the story because I woke up . My bladder was very full and I couldn 't trick myself to go back to sleep . I dreamt of dogs . I was with P . 's sister , who was feeding crisps to them and I was afraid that mine would attack the others to get all the food . I also dreamt that I was going to a summer resort with a scooter that , in order for it to work , the custom was to place a huge rolled banknote on the back of it . When I got there - it might have been Iamvlichos ( like the philosopher Iamblichus ) - I was all alone . I was wondering what to do with the scooter , until I decided to take back my money since nobody would know or see anything . Later , or right afterwards , I heard the voice of a female news - anchor say the phrase with witch I opened this story . Posted by In the the summer I find it quite easy to wake up at the break of dawn . In the winter , on the other hand , it feels almost like a sacrilege to leave my warm slumber before the sun has come up . Today , I had to get up while it was still dark outside . As I was searching for clothes , in my closet , in the dark , I thought I got a " smell " that reminded me of my life before I finished school , and I wondered if it is a characteristic winter morning smell , or if the process triggered the memory of it . I remember talking to people and organizing something like a festive play for our work environment . We were at a garage and for some reason I was pissed off . On my way out my path was blocked by a car that parked in front of me . I started yelling at the driver to move back a little so that I can pass but instead he got off . I became very angry and I threatened to make a dent on his car with a small tin of paint I found near by . He challenged me to realize my threat and I did . I made the hood of his car cave in . He asked why I didn 't do the same on the side as well , so I marked his door too . Then I went to work . Although it was an office it looked a lot like a shopping mall from the 80s . I took the escalator and got to the door . Nobody was there , the lights were out and there was a note on the door to inform employees that we would be working part - time from now on . More girls arrived and gathered behind me . We were looking at the note wandering what was going on and why had we not been previously informed . As if updating us on our work status with a single note was not enough , it was written on an ugly , blue , girly memo pad , with comic sans , which is one of the ugliest fonts . Apparently , a girl called " Aeroneke " had left it for us . I woke up thinking of this name . I don 't think it exists . Perhaps I 'll dream of more interesting things tomorrow . Posted by I dreamt of P . . We had gone for vacation to his home town and his aunt gave us the keys to a cabin they had in the woods . We got there and I decided to take a bath . The bathroom had a specific old - times atmosphere . It was a cubic room with a medium size bathtub . Its shape was rectangular with rounded edges and it might have had a blue line running near the edge , although this could also be the design of the wall . The dominant colors were an old - school light blue and a light but warm yellow . Everything that was white once had faded to the color of sugar . I was taking a shower . The level of the water was rising in the bathtub although I had not plugged it . Then , quite abruptly , it all went down the drain but instead of going wherever bath - water goes to rest , it flooded the floor . I thought that there is a blockage in the pipes and called for P . . I saw the water almost reaching the door but , fortunately , it was approximately 30cm above the level of the ground . He came to me and then , between the bathtub and the corridor where P . was standing , the ground became deeper and filled with water . P . said there was nothing he could do and we leaned towards each other above the pool that just formed and we kissed . Afterwards we were outside . The landscape was nice and serene , with thick but low vegetation in the darker shades of green . His aunt came over to pick us up because his father was looking for us . He had become so mad with our absence that he had intentionally fallen ill and refused to be treated in a hospital . P . got into his aunt 's car and I went inside to make our suitcases and lock the doors , so that could leave . I realized I had too many suitcases with me and I kept finding more clothes , some used and some freshly washed and dried . It took me longer than I expected and by the time I had collected everything I was carrying more that I hoped for . Then I started locking things . I realized I had a lot of keys and along the way I found padlocks . I was about to lock the kitchen cupboard , that was made out of rough wood , painted blue and obviously worn out , when an old man , some old relative , showed up . As I was trying to explain who I was and what I was doing there , without stopping fixing the locks , P . and his aunt came over to see what was taking me so long . D . shoed up and informed us that a new dog had killed their cat . I woke up and stayed in the bed for a little longer . When I decided I had to get up I had the phrase " the scariest part was that the driver was freaked out " . Apart from the knowledge that it referred to a school bus I can gather nothing else about its origin . P . and me were at our house , packing a few things to go on vacation when it took place . They barged into our houses , grabbed people , beat them up and trapped their faces in metallic masks . People panicked and were trying to flee the country . They were too cruel for anyone not on their side to take the risk to stay here and resist . I was in a room that reminded me of my old room in my mother 's house . The door opened and a girl with aryan features and red , glowing eyes smiled at me with malice . She had a pen with a sharp edge and tried to pinch my hands . When I figured out what she was trying to do I resisted . Somehow I managed through our straggle to lead her to a main building where I thought I might find someone to help me . Indeed , I found a prisoner before a fridge and he hit her on the head and hid her in there . I heard on the street that they infected people with HIV . They imported members from other countries and gave them our apartments . They also gave their members better houses than they already had . A guy with his big , pregnant Aryan wife came to leave in ours . He was acquainted with some old friends of mine . He said he had chosen to leave in my house because he and his wife liked my art . They would turn my room into the baby 's room . He also informed me that my friends N . , A . and G . with her boyfriend had all been made members . I though about it as an option for a little while . Perhaps if we all joined we might be able to forma group for resistance and fight them from the inside . Quick decisions had to be made . I packed as little as possible in a back pack and left everything else behind , knowing that the chances of getting my old life back were little . We hit the road , making a last effort to head to the boarders . Lots of people were traveling this way . I was thinking that with the enemy having access to social media it would be really easy to track us down . We started climbing a mountain when I got a view of the city from above and I was also moving towards the centre of it , like a long traveling from a helicopter but I was not on one . It felt more as if I was hanging from a crane . I saw people hiding on roofs when an already existing resistance made their first crucial hit to the party 's satellite . I saw the prison - masks break and the prisoners , free but exhausted , falling on the floor . I went back to my house . The Aryan woman , holding her newborn in her hands , gave me a disgusted look . At the back of her fat neck she had a black pillowy implant that resembled the foamy pillows of headphones . She would definitely grab the first opportunity to turn me in and no one would believe I was a supporter , and even if I claimed to be one , how could I act with such cruelty ? These people killed without a glimpse . I would not be a very convincing member . Neither would my eyes burn red for their cause . I saw I was at a party . I had just started going out with a very tall dude and he was there too . I was sitting at a table next to V . , M 's old boyfriend and brother of my old friend N . He was very nice to me and we talked a lot . On the next day when I met my boyfriend he told me that we were over . At that point another girl was there who was also a member of this relationship . We said simultaneously " No , why ? Stop ! " and tried to hug him . Then she disappeared and I was left alone with him . He told me I had been too flirtatious and that he would not tolerate this behaviour . On the one hand , I liked being with him , on the other the thing he said sounded like absolute bullshit , so I let him go . After all , I had met a lot of people the previous night that were really nice to me . Then I was with P . at his house with his sister and his cousin . We would go to the sea and I did not have a swimsuit . P . 's sister told me she had one for me and one for D . . We put them on and D . 's was too small and mine too large , although in reality I have bigger boobies than her . I thought of asking her to exchange but people were just moving around too fast and I could not get the time . I woke up . I had tried to wake up early , at 8 o ' clock I had opened my eyes and checked the time to be precise . I thought of staying there , under the warm covers just for a couple of minutes but I fell asleep again and got up at half past nine . Winter makes waking up hard , and my dreams were not that exciting either . Perhaps I should go back to bed but I won 't . Posted by I dreamt of my friend M . I cannot recall the beginning of the dream but I remember leaving a place with a lot of young people , like a squat or a residency , and visiting a vacant building across the street . There , on the back of the house she had moved her bed . She had created a warm , secluded space , behind an old wooden closet . There was her bed covered in colorful quilts and once we got there , her cat came out to greet me . Then , from under the quilt came a big black friendly dog . I did not know she had it because I always thought of her as a cat person . We were talking about her knew abode when we heard voices of people that wanted to see that house as prospective buyers . This is as far as this story went . I also dreamt I was with my sister . We were at an older relative 's house and I wanted to masturbate , so , when no one was watching I stuffed something down there . As I was about to start people came in the room and I had to stop . There was on old wooden closet in this dream too . I took some colorful pieces of fabric from there . They were supposed to be from an old - fashioned summer dress . I searched and found the rest of it . I thought it would be cut in small rugs but it was all right . Apparently they had just made it smaller . I put it on and , although the size was right it made me look very chubby and full of curves . I did not especially like that but the pattern on the fabric was awesome . It was in bright red , combined with a nice shade of blue and other colours in smaller quantities . The pattern was organic and it matched perfectly the shape of the dress . This is as much as I remember from this dream . Pretty inconclusive , ain 't it ? That 's the thing with dreams . Posted by I dreamt of S . . First I saw I had gone out with P . and some people from his work and somebody that looked a lot like S . was with them . He reached for my hand and held it . It was very nice . I felt excited and hopeful , all those feelings generated by a new flirt . I liked the touch of his skin and his temperature . I think some people noticed but nobody mentioned anything . We were sitting on a table , outside because the weather was warm . It was an easy - going summer night . Next , I dreamt I was at my sister 's and her friends were there . We would go out and I was waiting for them to get ready . They showed up with food in their hands . I became angry because I , too , was hungry and did not want to wait for them to eat first . P . was there . I took him by the hand and we left . We went to a bar . I had left a large jar of mandarin tea at a corner and I squeezed through some people to get it . A girl talked to me and I smiled at her . Then I dreamt of S . again . I was at my hometown , at my uncle 's second oldest shop and he was there too . We got on a couple of scooters . S . was going in the front one , behind D . , and I was alone , following them in the back . He turned and looked at me and I pretended to whistle . We stopped at another cafeteria near by . He came near . I smiled at him and told him I had to go back to get something . He said they would wait for me . I tried to be really sweet . It was easy to smile when staring into his eyes . The bloody alarm went off . After a quick argument with myself I got up . I have to go now . The temperature has fallen by 1 degree . I just hope I don 't have to do this again any time soon . Posted by The alarm clock started bipping at half past seven . It was still dark outside . I made it stop and turned to the other side . I was very thirsty but the glass of water I always keep at my bedside was too cold and had given me a soar throat earlier in the night . I fell asleep . I woke up again at half past nine . After almost ten hours of sleep I still could not get myself out of the warm covers . Although it is sunny the temperature is very low . My partner and our dog are still asleep . My coffee just turned cold . Winter is here for good and sleeping is awesome , especially when one has things to do , one would like to avoid . I was at my sister 's neighborhood , on the way to my house and the night had started falling . I was moving slowly and would not make it back until it was night for good . As I was passing from old , neglected industrial buildings I saw men running and I knew they were up to no good . I turned at the first corner so as not to get in their way but my action was futile as there was another group right in front of me . I could only hope that they would not be interested in me . They were immigrants in the mind of whom we were all the enemy . They had come here hoping for improvement and they had been treated like less than human . They were right not to show pity and I was afraid of them because I did not know anything about them and could communicate nothing . I thought of running but my feet disagreed . I just walked until I got to a central spot of the city . There was police everywhere , waiting for the upheaval . I just wanted to go home . There were shops with bright yellow lights and large entrances and cars were rushing by in great speed and little order . I stopped by a young traffic - cop - lady that seamed less hostile , to ask for directions . A car full of gypsies , or another group with a much similar life - style , stopped by her as well . As the traffic cop leaned towards their window a girl came out of the car and came to me . I can 't remember who started talking but she would help me get closer to home . I also dreamt I was staying at a place by the sea . I was going somewhere and I was alone on the street . On my left side were medium - height , white fences , reflecting the bright sunlight . On my right I remember nothing . A pink duck was walking towards me . I tried to avoid it but it seamed very convinced to come after me . I passed it and it turned and started chasing me . It came very close and tried to bite me . I grabbed it by the throat but I did not want to kill it . I kept pushing its head back and it kept going for my hands . We fell on the floor and I was loosing the battle , until a man approached us and threw something at the duck . He helped me up . It was a tall man with a long , grey beard and a hat . I had my doubts about his trustworthiness but he had saved me from the duck . Then it was graduation week . I had to wake up early to go get my certificate of graduation . There were multiple ceremonies taking place for each graduate individually and some of them would also grab the chance and get married , too . The whole charade started very early in the morning and the dress code was official as well . I hated the whole thing . I did not want a special ceremony just for me with people staring in front of the podium . Furthermore , I continued failing to get up early enough in the morning so I was just postponing the process and I would see others graduate and get married and the whole thing sickened me . I was at home looking for something to wear when I realized I was too late again , so I decided to just go to the party and maybe book another day for my graduation . A lot of people were there . An . , a woman that used to be my supervisor at a previous job , heard me saying that if they can 't schedule the ceremony for a more reasonable time I would never receive my degree , and she laughed . She had big , afro hair , very fair skin and a nice , wide smile . I went to the plaster - studio . It was dug bellow the ground level and it looked like an ice platform . It seamed to be dug directly in the rock and one could walk above it on a narrow , wooden bridge . I looked for a familiar face but knew no one . A man was pushing a big mountain of semi - liquid plaster with his back to the side , almost right under my feet . I asked if I could go down there and see what they were doing . I got down a small , wooden ladder . The whole place was in the dark brown of the wood and the white of the plaster . Even the people . There I saw M . and her cousin V . . I took off my black shoes and forgot about them . When I got back out I saw that I was bear - foot and asked N . and her boyfriend N . , who were also there , to ask somebody to throw my shoes back to me because there were splinters of wood on the floor and I could not walk . Instead they brought me two odd shoes to put on and go there myself . One was a cheap , girl 's black shoe that was almost too small and the other a small workman 's shoe , I destroyed it as I tried to put it on . By the time I got back in the studio a man was shutting down the lights . I told him I was a past graduate and that I had left my shoes down there . He was disinterested in my story and thought I was a liar but eventually allowed me to go and pick them up . I found my dog there and took her along . He had a poodle and I was afraid my dog would attack his , so I kept her close . Then I was trying to get in a house along with plenty more people and my dog , and Harley , the neighbor 's dog was there too and the man with the poodle . Trying to flee Constantinople The dream started with me taking an offer to travel . We would go to London and Berlin . I got to a large and complicated railway station , I often see in my sleep , and was trying to find my way around . I only carried a small backpack and was practically broke . My fellow traveller was a ten year old scoundrel that was running around and climbing on things . I had a hard time keeping up with him . Finally he led me to the ticket office , through a first floor window . I was hanging outside the window , not really able to pull myself inside when I saw at the desk a guy I knew from primary school . I asked for his help and he came to my assistance . We would all be traveling together . Our train was about to depart and we were running on the old - time platforms among huge trains that were leaving smoke . Everything was grey , blue and black . The platforms were high and crowded . We got off at Berlin . I knew because I saw all the famous monuments of this city , gathered together on a square . I saw the victory column and the telecommunications centre and the Branderburg gate . We were sitting on a round table with fer forge chairs with some old - women . At that point I realized I did not have my passport or any other international documentation with me and that I had run out of money . All I had was my old id and knitting needles . I had to go either to the embassy or return back home . I asked where we were and I learned we were in Istanbul . I thought of the Residents and their song . From my point of view there was only one thing to do ; try to cross the sea and get back home . I was searching for a boat when my alarm started beeping . Posted by I have been sleeping a lot lately , probably because of the cold weather . I open my eyes and promise myself I will stay there just for five more minutes . Next time I open my eyes a whole hour has gone by and I have dreamt of something new . I saw I had gone out for a drink with my friend Mi . We went to a crowded , bohemian bar at a suburban area of Athens . We got drunk and started socializing . We continued to the drinkery next door , where I remember standing by the bar , gulping large sips of beer and afterwards we visited another place a bit further down the road that is owned by two friends of mine . There , we got behind the walls and drunk ourselves silly . I was looking for S . , one of the co - owners , but could not say his name . I was standing on a wooden staircase , looking at the people through the frame of a torn painting . The sun had come up and I was in a car . A girl that used to be bold but now had blond hair pulled back was badmouthing P . She was saying that all he does is doodle all day and that he gets paid much more than his work is actually worth . I tried to poke her on the nose while explaining that he works a lot and that she has no idea what she is talking about but I was so drunk I did not have command of my fingers . I swore under my breath and asked them to stop the car . I looked outside and realized I had no idea where I was , so I fell back on my seat and decided not to bother . P . was at home , sleeping . I woke him up . I had left my purse , with my phone , my id , my passport and a lot of money somewhere the previous night and I wanted to retrieve them . I called from his phone to mine and a warm , manly voice answered from the other side . I explained I had left it there and asked if they were so kind as to tell me how to get it back . The man knew who I was . I was hoping it would be D . but he wasn 't . He tried to explain which bar was his . I did not remember the name of the place . He told me I was dancing by the bar and that we had met the previous night and that he would be there until 13 : 00 . It was half past ten . I started making some coffee and tried to rinse the blurriness with cold water . This sobered me up a little . My friend Ma . came over and I narrated my adventures for her . She said she would come along . We got on a bus , sat on the front seat and then it stopped and I hit my leg on the one in the front because it was like an open carriage . Ma . started screaming at the driver . We changed our seats . Funny people were getting on and everything looked more as if we were in London than in Athens . I saw our destination and pushed the stop button . The nearest stop was further down . The bus turned and then it stopped near an open market place where grumpy old ladies did their shopping and the street were wet . Ma . was wearing a large pair of cow - print boots . We passed outside shoe - stores and she stole a pair of boots made of green carpet that were hanging on a wall . We got inside the next shoe - store where she changed her old boots for the new ones . They looked very peculiar and I liked them in a perverse way . The purse I was carrying the previous night was also made of green carpet . As we were approaching our destination I woke up . I slept from 1 : 30 to 10 : 30 and I still could not open my eyes properly . Furthermore I still had the feeling that , as in my dream , I had not slept for more than 24 hours . Soon I understood this was not true and I got up to make some coffee . Posted by In my dream I saw that it was my birthday and I had invited a lot of people to my house . I was waiting for them but then only an old acquaintance of mine , G . , came over . We sat on the old , blue couch and talked . He even brought me a present . It was not something special , probably something small , that one can find in his own kitchen . I can 't remember what it was , though . I think that more people might have come later , but I might as well be thinking of birthdays past . Then , I had just moved to a small village , with P . and lots of our friends were there too . I met an odd indian girl . Then I was spending time with A . , who was really nice to me and for whom I started having feelings . We chatted and watched films together . More people came over and he stayed by me , slightly touching my hand . I kept staring at his girlfriend who was sitting on a chaise - long across the room . she did not seam to care . I grew tired and I wanted to sleep . I decided to go home . The village was full of large , stone - built houses and narrow stone - paved streets . P . and I got to our house and we were about to go in when I heard A 's voice . I could not trace its source , so I lay down on the street and looked up . Above me was a rather tall building with its facade covered with a scaffolding . At the top floor I saw A . giggling with somebody . Then they got in a wrapped rag and came down with an improvised lift . Then I saw my new friend from India . She was naked and her yellowish , medium - size breasts looked soft and perfect . A man with similar facial features , but much lighter skin approached her and raised her thigh . Then he penetrated and she opened her mouth so wide it looked as if her face opened in half . I focused on her scream and when I zoomed out she had just had a baby . A doctor cut the umbilical cord with a mini ax . Subsequently he wrapped the baby in an old sleeveless shirt and gave it to the mother .

P . , me and an unidentified guest were at our apartment and about to go to sleep when we were attacked by a ninja . He terrorized us and chased us round the house . Then he laid down to sleep on the couch and we took his katana and killed him . He looked more like a medieval samurai than a ninja . He wore black , a big helmet and an armour that was very wide on the shoulders , so as to look gigantic . The dead samurai was lain there on my couch , with his helmet still on and the sword protruding perpendicular from his chest . We were still in the dark but we thought of checking out the window to see if any of our neighbours had seen something . Strangely , and despite the late hour , everyone was there . The people who live in the apartment right across from ours had a lot of guests in black suits and frocks , who were sitting as if in a theatre balcony but appeared to be looking somewhere further to the left . We leaned outside our balustrade to see if there was something that pulled their attention . At the same time we noticed there were people on the balcony right above who were also attracted by the same spectacle . It was a film projection on the wall of a tall building . It had no special interest for us so we jumped over the porch and climbed to the attached construction . The guest transformed into I . , a dude I was fond of some time ago , and we found ourselves in a vacation house with thick lawn . He pulled a chair and we sat there , side by side . He was talking about something extremely interesting but I have forgotten what it was . I kept thinking I wanted to do him and the tension was building up nicely . And then I woke up . Posted by I was with my friend M . in my dream . I had visited her at her house where she lived with her brother and her father . We were sitting and smoking in the balcony . I had to go inside and when I was returning to the porch I saw I was not wearing something from the waist up so I put on my purple coat and moved towards the door . The brother interrupted my course and I was annoyed because this meant I would have to talk to the father and I did not want to do this . The brother told me that the father had said that he owed me something he actually owed to my parents from a long time ago . I replied that it had been so long that it no longer mattered . Two friends of M . came over and we decided to go see the carnival parade because it was night time already . Then we were walking on the street among other people and fires were burning in barrels at the pavement . I was talking to one of the new girls while we were holding hands . She mentioned something about sister Berta ( a nurse from a book I am currently reading ) . I woke up . I dreamt I was staying with K . and his new girlfriend for a few days . I haven 't met her but , in my dream , she was very nice . I cooked for them and we had a meal on the porch . We made a lot of jokes and we laughed a lot . Then we took the plates to the sink and they went to their room . Later we were walking at a pier and P . was there too . P . and K . were wearing the same outfit . I think it consisted of a t - shirt , a cardigan and - that I remember clearly - checked trousers in shades of pink . The girl was wearing something matching and I knew I had the very same clothes in my closet . I thought it was a fortunate coincidence that I had not put them on this day because we would look absolutely ridiculous . I remembered that I had seen P . 's parents dressed exactly like this . I made fun of them for looking so similar . K . 's new girl mentioned that the sex they had on Sunday was better that on Saturday . Next I saw that some of P . 's friends , from P . , had visited us . We gathered in an old storage place to smoke . It was a dimly lit room with an old sofa in the middle and closed boxes on the walls . Somebody asked if K . had been a god boyfriend to me and if there was anything that I might want to let the new girl know . I said that people 's behavior varies according to their mates . I went out and when I came back in the company had changed . New people had arrived and others were gone . It was my turn to smoke so I stood next to the person holding the cigarette . He turned and I saw it was S . . I reached out but he bypassed me and gave it to a fatso that was sitting on the couch . I protested and we straggled a little . Eventually he gave it to me and we started chatting . He was trying to kiss me but I avoided his mouth because I thought P . was there . He was there indeed , on the couch , but he was not looking towards us . S . asked me what would I do if he tied me up , threw me on the floor and screw my brains out , as the rumor has it . I tried to be discreet and tell him that this was neither the time nor the place and that we should meet another time so that he can keep this promise . Unfortunately , just then I woke up . : ( Posted by I had this dream of agreeing to commit mass suicide . P . 's visits to the hospital were not for his hurt leg but for chemo - treatments instead . Yet his hair was intact and he seemed to be doing nicely . His parents and sister and her fiancee talked us into killing ourselves . We would all fall from a cliff . We would start by crawling on a protruding tree - trunk and when we got half way across it we would just let go and fall . The time was coming and I decided I didn 't want us to die , so I said so to P . . I told him that his folks can do as they please but that I thought it would be wrong for us to fall and die . He agreed to live and said that he had to inform his parents for our decision because in this case they might want to live too . I was not so sure if I wanted to provide this sort of information to them . I also saw that I was trapped in a building , which is a reoccurring theme in my dreams . As always the building was massive and overpopulated but I can 't be more specific . My mother might have been there . I don 't know . In another dream I saw I was with P . , his sister and her fiancee . They had come for a visit but we were not at our house either . We might have been at a summer resort . They brought us food and wet clothes . I gathered all our food supplies to make plans for the days to come and I saw I had been making a rocket salad everyday for a few days , but it was not eaten , so I kept it and made a new one every new day . We also had raisins , lima beans and other pulses . I spread all of them on a blue metallic table and I accidentally mixed them . I was sitting there by the fiancee , whom I am not particularly fond of , I had hacked into an ATM and I was using it as a television . I had purchased new leggings and they had some unexpected decorations , bellow the foot , and I was chewing them off . I was wearing them at the time so I had to have my uncle near my mouth . In this posture I was looking at the ATM and occasionally making small talk with him . Despite my negative feelings for our company I was having a good time . Everything was peaceful . Then I was inside , talking to the sister . She was telling me that one day she had become very tired of working in the lab and that her fiancee had picked her up and they got married in a small chapel . I told her it sounded nice and she asked how was it nice , as if she was not impressed by anything . I told her it was kind of romantic . I opened my eyes and saw that it was time to get up . My old , faithful alarm clock broke and the one I am using now does not have a snooze option , so one can 't pledge for five more minutes of sleep . I think that for my name day I 'll get me a new alarm clock . I like alarm clocks , as objects , although I am not happy to be waken up . I think alarm clocks look nice . Posted by " Iamvlichos used to be such a small village , with just ten people at first " . I do not know the rest of the story because I woke up . My bladder was very full and I couldn 't trick myself to go back to sleep . I dreamt of dogs . I was with P . 's sister , who was feeding crisps to them and I was afraid that mine would attack the others to get all the food . I also dreamt that I was going to a summer resort with a scooter that , in order for it to work , the custom was to place a huge rolled banknote on the back of it . When I got there - it might have been Iamvlichos ( like the philosopher Iamblichus ) - I was all alone . I was wondering what to do with the scooter , until I decided to take back my money since nobody would know or see anything . Later , or right afterwards , I heard the voice of a female news - anchor say the phrase with witch I opened this story . Posted by In the the summer I find it quite easy to wake up at the break of dawn . In the winter , on the other hand , it feels almost like a sacrilege to leave my warm slumber before the sun has come up . Today , I had to get up while it was still dark outside . As I was searching for clothes , in my closet , in the dark , I thought I got a " smell " that reminded me of my life before I finished school , and I wondered if it is a characteristic winter morning smell , or if the process triggered the memory of it . I remember talking to people and organizing something like a festive play for our work environment . We were at a garage and for some reason I was pissed off . On my way out my path was blocked by a car that parked in front of me . I started yelling at the driver to move back a little so that I can pass but instead he got off . I became very angry and I threatened to make a dent on his car with a small tin of paint I found near by . He challenged me to realize my threat and I did . I made the hood of his car cave in . He asked why I didn 't do the same on the side as well , so I marked his door too . Then I went to work . Although it was an office it looked a lot like a shopping mall from the 80s . I took the escalator and got to the door . Nobody was there , the lights were out and there was a note on the door to inform employees that we would be working part - time from now on . More girls arrived and gathered behind me . We were looking at the note wandering what was going on and why had we not been previously informed . As if updating us on our work status with a single note was not enough , it was written on an ugly , blue , girly memo pad , with comic sans , which is one of the ugliest fonts . Apparently , a girl called " Aeroneke " had left it for us . I woke up thinking of this name . I don 't think it exists . Perhaps I 'll dream of more interesting things tomorrow . Posted by I dreamt of P . . We had gone for vacation to his home town and his aunt gave us the keys to a cabin they had in the woods . We got there and I decided to take a bath . The bathroom had a specific old - times atmosphere . It was a cubic room with a medium size bathtub . Its shape was rectangular with rounded edges and it might have had a blue line running near the edge , although this could also be the design of the wall . The dominant colors were an old - school light blue and a light but warm yellow . Everything that was white once had faded to the color of sugar . I was taking a shower . The level of the water was rising in the bathtub although I had not plugged it . Then , quite abruptly , it all went down the drain but instead of going wherever bath - water goes to rest , it flooded the floor . I thought that there is a blockage in the pipes and called for P . . I saw the water almost reaching the door but , fortunately , it was approximately 30cm above the level of the ground . He came to me and then , between the bathtub and the corridor where P . was standing , the ground became deeper and filled with water . P . said there was nothing he could do and we leaned towards each other above the pool that just formed and we kissed . Afterwards we were outside . The landscape was nice and serene , with thick but low vegetation in the darker shades of green . His aunt came over to pick us up because his father was looking for us . He had become so mad with our absence that he had intentionally fallen ill and refused to be treated in a hospital . P . got into his aunt 's car and I went inside to make our suitcases and lock the doors , so that could leave . I realized I had too many suitcases with me and I kept finding more clothes , some used and some freshly washed and dried . It took me longer than I expected and by the time I had collected everything I was carrying more that I hoped for . Then I started locking things . I realized I had a lot of keys and along the way I found padlocks . I was about to lock the kitchen cupboard , that was made out of rough wood , painted blue and obviously worn out , when an old man , some old relative , showed up . As I was trying to explain who I was and what I was doing there , without stopping fixing the locks , P . and his aunt came over to see what was taking me so long . D . shoed up and informed us that a new dog had killed their cat . I woke up and stayed in the bed for a little longer . When I decided I had to get up I had the phrase " the scariest part was that the driver was freaked out " . Apart from the knowledge that it referred to a school bus I can gather nothing else about its origin . P . and me were at our house , packing a few things to go on vacation when it took place . They barged into our houses , grabbed people , beat them up and trapped their faces in metallic masks . People panicked and were trying to flee the country . They were too cruel for anyone not on their side to take the risk to stay here and resist . I was in a room that reminded me of my old room in my mother 's house . The door opened and a girl with aryan features and red , glowing eyes smiled at me with malice . She had a pen with a sharp edge and tried to pinch my hands . When I figured out what she was trying to do I resisted . Somehow I managed through our straggle to lead her to a main building where I thought I might find someone to help me . Indeed , I found a prisoner before a fridge and he hit her on the head and hid her in there . I heard on the street that they infected people with HIV . They imported members from other countries and gave them our apartments . They also gave their members better houses than they already had . A guy with his big , pregnant Aryan wife came to leave in ours . He was acquainted with some old friends of mine . He said he had chosen to leave in my house because he and his wife liked my art . They would turn my room into the baby 's room . He also informed me that my friends N . , A . and G . with her boyfriend had all been made members . I though about it as an option for a little while . Perhaps if we all joined we might be able to forma group for resistance and fight them from the inside . Quick decisions had to be made . I packed as little as possible in a back pack and left everything else behind , knowing that the chances of getting my old life back were little . We hit the road , making a last effort to head to the boarders . Lots of people were traveling this way . I was thinking that with the enemy having access to social media it would be really easy to track us down . We started climbing a mountain when I got a view of the city from above and I was also moving towards the centre of it , like a long traveling from a helicopter but I was not on one . It felt more as if I was hanging from a crane . I saw people hiding on roofs when an already existing resistance made their first crucial hit to the party 's satellite . I saw the prison - masks break and the prisoners , free but exhausted , falling on the floor . I went back to my house . The Aryan woman , holding her newborn in her hands , gave me a disgusted look . At the back of her fat neck she had a black pillowy implant that resembled the foamy pillows of headphones . She would definitely grab the first opportunity to turn me in and no one would believe I was a supporter , and even if I claimed to be one , how could I act with such cruelty ? These people killed without a glimpse . I would not be a very convincing member . Neither would my eyes burn red for their cause . I saw I was at a party . I had just started going out with a very tall dude and he was there too . I was sitting at a table next to V . , M 's old boyfriend and brother of my old friend N . He was very nice to me and we talked a lot . On the next day when I met my boyfriend he told me that we were over . At that point another girl was there who was also a member of this relationship . We said simultaneously " No , why ? Stop ! " and tried to hug him . Then she disappeared and I was left alone with him . He told me I had been too flirtatious and that he would not tolerate this behaviour . On the one hand , I liked being with him , on the other the thing he said sounded like absolute bullshit , so I let him go . After all , I had met a lot of people the previous night that were really nice to me . Then I was with P . at his house with his sister and his cousin . We would go to the sea and I did not have a swimsuit . P . 's sister told me she had one for me and one for D . . We put them on and D . 's was too small and mine too large , although in reality I have bigger boobies than her . I thought of asking her to exchange but people were just moving around too fast and I could not get the time . I woke up . I had tried to wake up early , at 8 o ' clock I had opened my eyes and checked the time to be precise . I thought of staying there , under the warm covers just for a couple of minutes but I fell asleep again and got up at half past nine . Winter makes waking up hard , and my dreams were not that exciting either . Perhaps I should go back to bed but I won 't . Posted by I dreamt of my friend M . I cannot recall the beginning of the dream but I remember leaving a place with a lot of young people , like a squat or a residency , and visiting a vacant building across the street . There , on the back of the house she had moved her bed . She had created a warm , secluded space , behind an old wooden closet . There was her bed covered in colorful quilts and once we got there , her cat came out to greet me . Then , from under the quilt came a big black friendly dog . I did not know she had it because I always thought of her as a cat person . We were talking about her knew abode when we heard voices of people that wanted to see that house as prospective buyers . This is as far as this story went . I also dreamt I was with my sister . We were at an older relative 's house and I wanted to masturbate , so , when no one was watching I stuffed something down there . As I was about to start people came in the room and I had to stop . There was on old wooden closet in this dream too . I took some colorful pieces of fabric from there . They were supposed to be from an old - fashioned summer dress . I searched and found the rest of it . I thought it would be cut in small rugs but it was all right . Apparently they had just made it smaller . I put it on and , although the size was right it made me look very chubby and full of curves . I did not especially like that but the pattern on the fabric was awesome . It was in bright red , combined with a nice shade of blue and other colours in smaller quantities . The pattern was organic and it matched perfectly the shape of the dress . This is as much as I remember from this dream . Pretty inconclusive , ain 't it ? That 's the thing with dreams . Posted by I dreamt of S . . First I saw I had gone out with P . and some people from his work and somebody that looked a lot like S . was with them . He reached for my hand and held it . It was very nice . I felt excited and hopeful , all those feelings generated by a new flirt . I liked the touch of his skin and his temperature . I think some people noticed but nobody mentioned anything . We were sitting on a table , outside because the weather was warm . It was an easy - going summer night . Next , I dreamt I was at my sister 's and her friends were there . We would go out and I was waiting for them to get ready . They showed up with food in their hands . I became angry because I , too , was hungry and did not want to wait for them to eat first . P . was there . I took him by the hand and we left . We went to a bar . I had left a large jar of mandarin tea at a corner and I squeezed through some people to get it . A girl talked to me and I smiled at her . Then I dreamt of S . again . I was at my hometown , at my uncle 's second oldest shop and he was there too . We got on a couple of scooters . S . was going in the front one , behind D . , and I was alone , following them in the back . He turned and looked at me and I pretended to whistle . We stopped at another cafeteria near by . He came near . I smiled at him and told him I had to go back to get something . He said they would wait for me . I tried to be really sweet . It was easy to smile when staring into his eyes . The bloody alarm went off . After a quick argument with myself I got up . I have to go now . The temperature has fallen by 1 degree . I just hope I don 't have to do this again any time soon . Posted by The alarm clock started bipping at half past seven . It was still dark outside . I made it stop and turned to the other side . I was very thirsty but the glass of water I always keep at my bedside was too cold and had given me a soar throat earlier in the night . I fell asleep . I woke up again at half past nine . After almost ten hours of sleep I still could not get myself out of the warm covers . Although it is sunny the temperature is very low . My partner and our dog are still asleep . My coffee just turned cold . Winter is here for good and sleeping is awesome , especially when one has things to do , one would like to avoid . I was at my sister 's neighborhood , on the way to my house and the night had started falling . I was moving slowly and would not make it back until it was night for good . As I was passing from old , neglected industrial buildings I saw men running and I knew they were up to no good . I turned at the first corner so as not to get in their way but my action was futile as there was another group right in front of me . I could only hope that they would not be interested in me . They were immigrants in the mind of whom we were all the enemy . They had come here hoping for improvement and they had been treated like less than human . They were right not to show pity and I was afraid of them because I did not know anything about them and could communicate nothing . I thought of running but my feet disagreed . I just walked until I got to a central spot of the city . There was police everywhere , waiting for the upheaval . I just wanted to go home . There were shops with bright yellow lights and large entrances and cars were rushing by in great speed and little order . I stopped by a young traffic - cop - lady that seamed less hostile , to ask for directions . A car full of gypsies , or another group with a much similar life - style , stopped by her as well . As the traffic cop leaned towards their window a girl came out of the car and came to me . I can 't remember who started talking but she would help me get closer to home . I also dreamt I was staying at a place by the sea . I was going somewhere and I was alone on the street . On my left side were medium - height , white fences , reflecting the bright sunlight . On my right I remember nothing . A pink duck was walking towards me . I tried to avoid it but it seamed very convinced to come after me . I passed it and it turned and started chasing me . It came very close and tried to bite me . I grabbed it by the throat but I did not want to kill it . I kept pushing its head back and it kept going for my hands . We fell on the floor and I was loosing the battle , until a man approached us and threw something at the duck . He helped me up . It was a tall man with a long , grey beard and a hat . I had my doubts about his trustworthiness but he had saved me from the duck . Then it was graduation week . I had to wake up early to go get my certificate of graduation . There were multiple ceremonies taking place for each graduate individually and some of them would also grab the chance and get married , too . The whole charade started very early in the morning and the dress code was official as well . I hated the whole thing . I did not want a special ceremony just for me with people staring in front of the podium . Furthermore , I continued failing to get up early enough in the morning so I was just postponing the process and I would see others graduate and get married and the whole thing sickened me . I was at home looking for something to wear when I realized I was too late again , so I decided to just go to the party and maybe book another day for my graduation . A lot of people were there . An . , a woman that used to be my supervisor at a previous job , heard me saying that if they can 't schedule the ceremony for a more reasonable time I would never receive my degree , and she laughed . She had big , afro hair , very fair skin and a nice , wide smile . I went to the plaster - studio . It was dug bellow the ground level and it looked like an ice platform . It seamed to be dug directly in the rock and one could walk above it on a narrow , wooden bridge . I looked for a familiar face but knew no one . A man was pushing a big mountain of semi - liquid plaster with his back to the side , almost right under my feet . I asked if I could go down there and see what they were doing . I got down a small , wooden ladder . The whole place was in the dark brown of the wood and the white of the plaster . Even the people . There I saw M . and her cousin V . . I took off my black shoes and forgot about them . When I got back out I saw that I was bear - foot and asked N . and her boyfriend N . , who were also there , to ask somebody to throw my shoes back to me because there were splinters of wood on the floor and I could not walk . Instead they brought me two odd shoes to put on and go there myself . One was a cheap , girl 's black shoe that was almost too small and the other a small workman 's shoe , I destroyed it as I tried to put it on . By the time I got back in the studio a man was shutting down the lights . I told him I was a past graduate and that I had left my shoes down there . He was disinterested in my story and thought I was a liar but eventually allowed me to go and pick them up . I found my dog there and took her along . He had a poodle and I was afraid my dog would attack his , so I kept her close . Then I was trying to get in a house along with plenty more people and my dog , and Harley , the neighbor 's dog was there too and the man with the poodle . Trying to flee Constantinople The dream started with me taking an offer to travel . We would go to London and Berlin . I got to a large and complicated railway station , I often see in my sleep , and was trying to find my way around . I only carried a small backpack and was practically broke . My fellow traveller was a ten year old scoundrel that was running around and climbing on things . I had a hard time keeping up with him . Finally he led me to the ticket office , through a first floor window . I was hanging outside the window , not really able to pull myself inside when I saw at the desk a guy I knew from primary school . I asked for his help and he came to my assistance . We would all be traveling together . Our train was about to depart and we were running on the old - time platforms among huge trains that were leaving smoke . Everything was grey , blue and black . The platforms were high and crowded . We got off at Berlin . I knew because I saw all the famous monuments of this city , gathered together on a square . I saw the victory column and the telecommunications centre and the Branderburg gate . We were sitting on a round table with fer forge chairs with some old - women . At that point I realized I did not have my passport or any other international documentation with me and that I had run out of money . All I had was my old id and knitting needles . I had to go either to the embassy or return back home . I asked where we were and I learned we were in Istanbul . I thought of the Residents and their song . From my point of view there was only one thing to do ; try to cross the sea and get back home . I was searching for a boat when my alarm started beeping . Posted by I have been sleeping a lot lately , probably because of the cold weather . I open my eyes and promise myself I will stay there just for five more minutes . Next time I open my eyes a whole hour has gone by and I have dreamt of something new . I saw I had gone out for a drink with my friend Mi . We went to a crowded , bohemian bar at a suburban area of Athens . We got drunk and started socializing . We continued to the drinkery next door , where I remember standing by the bar , gulping large sips of beer and afterwards we visited another place a bit further down the road that is owned by two friends of mine . There , we got behind the walls and drunk ourselves silly . I was looking for S . , one of the co - owners , but could not say his name . I was standing on a wooden staircase , looking at the people through the frame of a torn painting . The sun had come up and I was in a car . A girl that used to be bold but now had blond hair pulled back was badmouthing P . She was saying that all he does is doodle all day and that he gets paid much more than his work is actually worth . I tried to poke her on the nose while explaining that he works a lot and that she has no idea what she is talking about but I was so drunk I did not have command of my fingers . I swore under my breath and asked them to stop the car . I looked outside and realized I had no idea where I was , so I fell back on my seat and decided not to bother . P . was at home , sleeping . I woke him up . I had left my purse , with my phone , my id , my passport and a lot of money somewhere the previous night and I wanted to retrieve them . I called from his phone to mine and a warm , manly voice answered from the other side . I explained I had left it there and asked if they were so kind as to tell me how to get it back . The man knew who I was . I was hoping it would be D . but he wasn 't . He tried to explain which bar was his . I did not remember the name of the place . He told me I was dancing by the bar and that we had met the previous night and that he would be there until 13 : 00 . It was half past ten . I started making some coffee and tried to rinse the blurriness with cold water . This sobered me up a little . My friend Ma . came over and I narrated my adventures for her . She said she would come along . We got on a bus , sat on the front seat and then it stopped and I hit my leg on the one in the front because it was like an open carriage . Ma . started screaming at the driver . We changed our seats . Funny people were getting on and everything looked more as if we were in London than in Athens . I saw our destination and pushed the stop button . The nearest stop was further down . The bus turned and then it stopped near an open market place where grumpy old ladies did their shopping and the street were wet . Ma . was wearing a large pair of cow - print boots . We passed outside shoe - stores and she stole a pair of boots made of green carpet that were hanging on a wall . We got inside the next shoe - store where she changed her old boots for the new ones . They looked very peculiar and I liked them in a perverse way . The purse I was carrying the previous night was also made of green carpet . As we were approaching our destination I woke up . I slept from 1 : 30 to 10 : 30 and I still could not open my eyes properly . Furthermore I still had the feeling that , as in my dream , I had not slept for more than 24 hours . Soon I understood this was not true and I got up to make some coffee . Posted by In my dream I saw that it was my birthday and I had invited a lot of people to my house . I was waiting for them but then only an old acquaintance of mine , G . , came over . We sat on the old , blue couch and talked . He even brought me a present . It was not something special , probably something small , that one can find in his own kitchen . I can 't remember what it was , though . I think that more people might have come later , but I might as well be thinking of birthdays past . Then , I had just moved to a small village , with P . and lots of our friends were there too . I met an odd indian girl . Then I was spending time with A . , who was really nice to me and for whom I started having feelings . We chatted and watched films together . More people came over and he stayed by me , slightly touching my hand . I kept staring at his girlfriend who was sitting on a chaise - long across the room . she did not seam to care . I grew tired and I wanted to sleep . I decided to go home . The village was full of large , stone - built houses and narrow stone - paved streets . P . and I got to our house and we were about to go in when I heard A 's voice . I could not trace its source , so I lay down on the street and looked up . Above me was a rather tall building with its facade covered with a scaffolding . At the top floor I saw A . giggling with somebody . Then they got in a wrapped rag and came down with an improvised lift . Then I saw my new friend from India . She was naked and her yellowish , medium - size breasts looked soft and perfect . A man with similar facial features , but much lighter skin approached her and raised her thigh . Then he penetrated and she opened her mouth so wide it looked as if her face opened in half . I focused on her scream and when I zoomed out she had just had a baby . A doctor cut the umbilical cord with a mini ax . Subsequently he wrapped the baby in an old sleeveless shirt and gave it to the mother .

When I took a nap earlier . I don 't remember all that much . There was a person with dark hair and darker eyes . They threw me onto the ground , face down , and cut open my back . They then reached in , and ripped something out from inside of me . Something precious . I was screaming the whole time . But it wasn 't like , an organ , certainly not my heart . It had a shape . Like a turtle statue or something . But whatever it was , I found my self dying as a result of its removal ( and probably also the cutting into my back part ) . After taking the object out of me , they turned me onto my back , and sat there , watching me die with this smirk on their face . I remember coughing up a lot of blood . It made me think about the time when I was a kid ; I was reading or something , and just stopped , looked at the ceiling and thought , " Some day , I 'm going to cough up blood , and then I just won 't know what to do with myself . " People with tuberculosis did that before they found a cure , back when it was still called " consumption . " Anyway , the last thing I remember about the dream was , as I was laying there , bleeding and dying , I asked the person , " Did you ever feel anything for me ? " And then I woke up . With a migraine . Wondering if I had screamed whilst I was asleep . My back also felt a little sore , but I shouldn 't read too much into that , since it 's kind of normal . It 's one of the more brutal and grotesque dreams I 've had . But interesting . I would honestly like to have that dream again , and perhaps be able to remember it better . It would make a more interesting story . I took these before the hurricane came along and ripped all the leaves from the trees . With flashWithout flash . Black and white . Stolen brick . I saw Dashboard Confessional last Friday . Broke my glasses when a crowd surfing kid smashed the back of my head . I wanted to scream . Panic . Freak out . Why , after all the shows I 'd been to , did this happen now ? I resisted the urge . I ignored everything I felt to watch the show . It was a good show . There 's vomit all over the bathroom , from the night of the Halloween dance , which was Friday . Last night , I went to use one of the showers , and found a heap of vomit right where I was about to step into the stall . I wanted to throw up myself . Of course , the bathrooms don 't get cleaned during the weekend , so we have to wait until tomorrow . I feel like leaving a note about how disgusting and stupid it is . It won 't matter though , so I won 't . I took an exam in Inorganic on Friday . Dr Masingale writes long exams , so I 'm glad he gives us as much time as we need ; he doesn 't have anything to do after our class , and there isn 't one in that room directly after , so we can stay longer than the allotted time to finish it . It seems like bad practice , but it 's a nice gesture . The crazy thing is that I learned something whilst taking the exam : It 's thermodynamically possible for Gold and Cesium to form an ionic bond , even though they are two metals . Crazy business . I 'm sad lately . And tired . So tired . Like , I can 't get enough sleep , no matter how many hours I stay in bed during the weekend . I don 't know why . And everything makes me want to hide somewhere , under the covers , and just cry . Maybe hormones . After my physics lab midterm on Thursday , I went to see professor Leo , who taught me General Chemistry freshman year . I 've been trying to visit her for the last two months , but she 's always gone . We talked about a lot of stuff , and then , she suddenly told me that a lot of her students were having trouble , and that there was no tutor at the Academic Support Centre ( ASC ) , and asked if I would be interested in doing it . She said that she would write the recommendation , and if I accepted , she knew that her students would get the right help , sincePosted by After getting out of philosophy , I walked into the science building , as I always do , and happened upon a group of people who were standing and kneeling around a girl who had fainted on the stairs . Her name was Annie , and she is a sophomore . She had apparently just been diagnosed with hypoglycemia after fainting at work over the weekend . I wanted to help , but the other people around her seemed to have things taken care of . When I heard her mother mention it was recently diagnosed , I jumped in , and talked to her mother about some things she can do to make sure it doesn 't happen again , since I also have hypoglycemia ( or so the doctors tell me ) or some other condition in which I feel really weak and it is magically cured by consuming something with sugars inside . The mother seemed to be happy for the advice , and I stuck around as the fire department and EMTs arrived to help her , just in case I could do anything . After they brought her into the ambulance to be transported to the hospital , I gave Annie 's mother my name and number , and said that if her daughter wanted someone to talk to about it , and felt comfortable talking to me , she could give me a call . I 'd like to think I did the right thing in this situation . There are so many things happening . I got two rashes in about three weeks . One turned out to be ringworm . The other is some as of yet unidentifiable viral skin infection . I won 't know until I get a blood test . Which I can 't have until the stupid insurance approves it . Which might not actually happen . I should have seen this coming . I 'm a medical disaster after all . Well , a disaster for me , but I 'm sure I 'm loads of fun for all the doctors I see . The other day , Anthony introduced me so some of his friends at dinner . They seemed nice enough at least to talk to . I didn 't really talk much though . Then , on Thursday evening , I went to dinner by myself . Except , after I sat down at the Anti - Social Table , one of the guys I had just met through Anthony - his name is Justin - walked right over , and said , " Hey , are you sitting with anyone tonight ? " When I told him no , he said , " Why don 't you join us ? " During the conversation with him and two of HIS friends , he said to me , " By the way , if you 're ever eating by yourself , I usually eat at this table . You are totally free to join me and whoever I 'm with . " I remember thinking : Since when do I get invited to sit with people ? Is this some kind of joke and I just haven 't caught on yet ? It might be . Maybe I 'm just slow . Also , I was waiting for Meranda on . . . Thursday After dinner . She came back from Tae Kwon Do just as I was leaving to go to Price Chopper , so I invited her . I hung out in the lounge whilst she was changing . As I was laying on a couch , someone came up to me and said , " Hey , are you okay ? " And I told her that yeah , I was ; I was just waiting for someone . She gave me a cute smile and said , " That 's good . I just wanted to check . I was kind of worried . " Since when are random people worried about me ? Since when do random people talk to me ? Earlier in the week , Jim invited me to go work out with him . Since I know I should exercise some , and don 't really want to do it alone , I accepted the invitation . But I didn 't wait long enough after taking the Ventolin , so I managed to give myselPosted by It 's time for a new semester to begin . So many things are different . I 'm living with someone this year . Bill 's all the way in Pittsburg . Lisa 's going to Rochester . Things are crazy . I 'm already at school , a few days early , because I have to go to training for work and stuff . It was kind of a mess , but I 'm all moved in and unpacked . I 'm tired . I have two rats . It was hell to get them , and now keeping them is something I 'm worried about . I 've already been found out by the RD , and I 'm trying to think of something . I 'm going to try to work with the staff at Residence Life , an appeal of sorts to allow students to have caged animals on campus . I want students to be able to have the pleasure of having an animal to love and care for and cheer them up without having to sneak around . Maybe it 'll work . So here they are : This is PossumThis is Cinder . They are both really sweet and playful , and it 's so nice to have them around . I hope to be able to keep them here , or very close by , so that I can easily see them every day . I haven 't written here in a while . Somehow , I 've come to rely more on the journal in my room than the one online , I guess mostly because I can whine all day long and no one will get upset or annoyed with me . It 's also easier to draw in the journal . I 'm in such a bad mood . I was supposed to go to Lake Taghkanic today , and that failed because it freaking rained . It was going to be my first chance to hang out with Jamie this summer , too . People think that I 'm in a bad mood every single day , even when I 'm happy , and it 's really starting to annoy me . Even when I tell people that I 'm doing okay , they feel like I 'm being defensive because I 'm angry . It 's really annoying . I wonder if it might be the bad weather that is putting me in such a bad mood . It 's ruining plans , and just making things unpleasant , so it 's not too hard to think that the rain has something to do with my mood . She was the kind of girl whose gaze and thoughts were almost always aimed at the sky . She was dismissed as dreamy , aloof , but no one seemed to notice that her habits were the result of being so firmly stuck in the ground , buried to her neck in earth and its realities . I 'm being lazy . I nearly forgot that I need to get my car inspected this month . I nearly forgot that I need an oil change . I 'm doing laundry for the first time since I got back . I don 't even care . I want to rest . Tonsilitis isn 't as visibly taxing as it actually is . It 's worn me out . Sometimes , it feels like walking is a terrible task . I feel heavy , tired . I 'm nearly better though . One more day of antibiotics , and then I just have to rest I guess . Dad thinks I 'm sleeping too much . My body is telling me I 'm sleeping too little . What a cute little conflict . I 've managed to more or less unpack . My room is still a really big mess though . There are a lot of things I need to sort through on my floor . And under my bed . It almost looks like my brother 's room . I seem to have developed some kind of rash on my arms , worse on my left . I thought it was heat rash at first , but it stops where my shirt sleeve was last night , which is where I 'd think a heat rash would start , since it 's hotter under a shirt than on bare skin . Who freaking knows ? I 'll see if it goes away in a day or so . I 'm working tomorrow . I knew it was going to happen . I called my boss and was going to tell him that I 'm back and wanted to discuss work this summer , but he interrupted me and said he was kind of in a bind , and asked if I could work tomorrow , so I 'm doing that after I drop my brother off at his friends ' house to go to prom . I hope it won 't be crazy busy . I also hope that I can work tables again , and that I can set up a more steady schedule for the summer , rather than having to guess when I work and wait to plan my life until mid - Sunday . Yesterday , I picked up Bill from the airport , and we spent the day together . I was so happy . I missed the cuddles , and falling asleep on my bed . It was just wonderful . I miss being in school , though . I miss the freedom . I miss going to bed whenever I felt like and not getting lectures about it . I miss going places , and loitering in Wegmans , I miss doing the dozens of things I 've done with Lisa over the past two years , andPosted by Yesterday , I rode my bike [ albeit with insufficient air in the tires ] down Church St , going as fast as I could , arms outstretched , the wind through my hair . It was amazing . The kind of feeling you don 't mind waiting all year for . Today , I 'm trying to find some good qualities about me . It seems like , lately , I 've only discovered bad ones - self esteem , for example - and it worries me , because I suddenly feel like I have nothing good about me , nothing that keeps people around me anymore . I 'm worried that these things are going to destroy my relationships unless I find some good qualities to strengthen , as well as targeting the bad ones . I 'm really sick . I saw a doctor yesterday , and she told me I have tonsilitis , and gave me an antibiotic . I 've discovered that I 'm congested enough to make it too hard to play hide - and - seek , which I tried to play with my brother and some of our friends yesterday . I 've lost a lot of sleep over it . I can 't breathe through my nose , because I 'm congested , but breathing through my mouth is painful , so I keep waking up and then I 'm not able to go back to sleep . Hopefully , I 'll start feeling better soon . Dante hurt his paw on Tuesday , when I got back . He managed to open the screen door by himself and ran to my car and jumped all over me when I opened the door , and I noticed he got blood on my pants . He 's been licking and biting at his paw ever since . He 's actually been pretty well behaved thus far , so I 'm happy about that . Earlier , when I was looking for my comb , I fell onto the floor and just started crying hysterically . I have no idea why . It 's not like losing my comb was so devastating , and I even asked myself why I was suddenly freaking out . It 's kind of scary . I hope that doesn 't happen again . It 's inevitable . The semester is over , and I never had a say in it . I wish I had . I want things to keep going , just a little while longer . It won 't happen . The kind of pain I 'm feeling has no words , but every word . How do you smile when your lungs are screaming for air ? Not actually a birthday present . I saw this little glass owl in Ananda 's Bliss today and had the desire to own it . From my dad . So silly . From Kaira . I told her to give me a dinosaur for my birthday , thinking it would be a ridiculous request , and this was her response . From my dad . We all love ninjas . From Lisa . It 's Al , from Fullmetal AlchemistFrom my brother . I saw it in Hot Topic , tried it on and loved it . He responded by taking it from me , telling me " shhh " and buying it . From Jamie . It 's a pillow . So crazy . From Naoko . Cuute . Also from Naoko . I will try to update current events soon , but today , I can 't get something off of my mind . It 's not really all that depressing I guess , just something I can 't stop thinking about . I feel uneasy . I think it 's because of this girl who was overtly staring at me in Friendly 's yesterday . She watched everything I did , and her eyes followed me to and from the bathroom . She honestly made no effort to hide her interest in me . For some reason , this incident brings to mind a couple of summers ago , when this girl came up to me in Cumberland Farms when I was getting a slushie . She said to me , " Wow , you 're seriously ugly , " and brought her sister over to confirm , who was extremely eager to do so . She then asked , " Why do you even bother to go out in public ? Do you really think anyone wants to look at you ? " I remember telling her that I liked the way I looked , and I wasn 't going to change it for a bratty teenager . And she told me that that was a shame , because I really did look terrible . She sounded so angry , so upset , so . . . offended that I happened to be in her presence that day . I didn 't say anything else as she left the store . I remember that my first thought was wondering where her mother was . I wondered if her mother would have done anything , or would have also told me that I am indeed ugly . I was angry for a while . I felt like it was rude to go up to someone you don 't know and verbally assault them for no particular reason . My final thought was that this was probably how quite a few people saw me . This is how the people whose eyes had followed me throughout the years were thinking , but never said . I wondered if it really meant that I was ugly . I guess this little girl , probably thirteen or fourteen , just threw me off . Maybe she was thinking the same thing about me . Maybe she was just curious because my hair is about six different colours . There 's really no way to know . I guess I shouldn 't really worry about it , but it was just something that has been stuck in my mind . I bought some toys in Boston . Here 's one . I am having one of those days where I feel like I 'm a total suck , and people would be better off having other friends and sisters and whatever , because I 'm just dragging people down . This is a problem . This is happening a lot lately , and I 'm afraid that I 'm actually going to drive everyone out of my life because I can 't keep my mental state stable enough to properly function as a human being . I 'm afraid I 'm going to cause relationships to change in such a way that people only talk to me because they feel like they have to , but when they do , be really cautious about what they say because they 're afraid I 'm going to get upset about what they say and run off to jump off things . I guess that means I seriously need to reevaluate my thoughts , and how I 'm handling things in life . Although the first step is really to figure out what the crap is bothering me so much . I keep having this overwhelming sense of loneliness , even when I 'm around people . It 's like . . . I 'm sitting in the background watching people talk and laugh and hug , and I just can 't get in . Or shouldn 't . I don 't even know . I took an organic exam yesterday . I studied for two or three days straight for it [ I don 't really remember . . ] , and it was really hard , because there were a lot of reactions to remember . I had to remember Friedel - Crafts acylation , and what the Tollens reagent is [ Silver oxide , I think ] , and which reactions are proton transfers , and which nitrogen - based nucleophile yields an imine versus an enamine . . . Just so much . And when I study , I feel like I can 't remember anything just moments afterwards . I 'll read over , like , the reaction mechanism for acetals and hemiacetals , and stop and try to go through them in my head again , and I can 't remember anything . It 's scary . It makes me wonder how I remember anything for the exam . Somehow , I do . Anyway , the exam seemed kind of easy . I even finished early enough to be able to look through all my answers again and redid some of them . I 'm thinking another 80something for this one . I don 't know what I 'd do if I gPosted by I 'm having a lot of trouble lately . I keep getting distracted from my homework . I 'm starting to do things at the last minute again . I 'm getting frustrated with customers who call and say " I just unzipped this file that has a program in it , but I can 't find it , " and I have to remind them that it 's probably in the programs folder , and that 's a good place to check fairly often . It bothers me that I get so many calls about people forgetting their passwords . I totally freaking messed up my Dante quiz on Monday because I didn 't study as well for it Sunday evening . I thought I did really well on my Organic exam . In real life , I got an 84 . Most of those points came from the Part II short answer questions , because I only missed one of out 40 there . All the points were taken from the multiple choice questions because I can 't remember things . I freaking failed my stupid Calculus exam with a 2 . 4 / 4 . 0 . And he wants us to correct it for a quiz grade . I feel lonely all the freaking time . I feel like I have no time to do anything , but I still say " Let 's go to Wegmans for two hours , " because it 's way more enjoyable than homework . My dad is being a total jerk about my brother 's grades . I had a really terrible dream about my brother . One of the ones that make me cry and feel lonely when I wake up . I hate stupid lab , even though that 's probably the class I 'm doing the best in . I can 't pay attention in philosophy , even when I don 't screw around with my iPod the whole time , because then I just start doodling all over the place . I 'm uncomfortable all the time . My skin is dry , my muscles hurt , and every single position that I sit , lay or stand in is uncomfortable . I have terrible self - esteem issues . I feel like a failure and a disappointment to everyone , including myself . I 'm having panic attacks . . . pretty much every day . At least one , sometimes more . Same thing goes for crying . My legs feel weak when I 'm walking . Which means I 'm insane , I 'm sick , or there 's so much crap in my blood vessels that I 'm barely circulating blood anymore . Good things in the pPosted by Well , spring break has come and gone , and I feel like I should have a lot to say , but I guess I don 't really . I 'll try to think of things as I go along . Both stars on my earrings broke . I guess I 'm never buying earrings from Hot Topic again . I went to Saugerties with my mom and bought her lunch . I promised her I would for her birthday . She then decided it was my birthday , and gave me earrings . I made cookies and corn muffins . I might have done pretty well on my organic exam . Friendly 's tonight . I am really excited to play Guitar Hero in the Mary 's basement tonight . I don 't feel like doing work at all . I made brontosaurus and mario star mini toys . It was a lot of sewing , but it was fun . Sometimes just before the break , Stephanie decided she wanted to talk to me again . She seems to be doing well , and there 's no way I was just going to say " no " and abandon her . I can 't abandon anyone again . It was nice to talk to her and see her again . Even if I was mad at her , I 'm still her friend , and I 'll still be there for her if she needs me to be . She seemed really happy , and that 's the only thing I could have wished for . Watched The Last House On The Left with my brother , chibi and Steph . It was pretty good . Well shot , and pretty well written , so I was satisfied . I ate a lot of vegetables over break . My dad got mushrooms , broccoli , zucchini and green beans , and I sauteed them . It was lots of delicious . I got to see Bill yesterday , and that was really nice . We ended up sleeping in my bed trying to decide if we should get coffee and ice cream for the movie . It was kind of a difficult process . Went to Emily and Renee 's house and did homework and hung out . Had some of Catherine 's yummy homemade wheat bread . Went bowling with my brother and beat him in two games . I 'm excited for the sleepover I 'm having with Lisa tonight ! That 's all that I can think of I guess . I 've been thinking about this for a while , and I supposed that at first mention , the topic is going to sound kind of stupid . It is simply this : Cliches . I started thinking about this when we had to rewrite common cliches as something more descriptive , something better , for Creative Writing class . I remember that , when we got the assignment , I thought , " Why ? What 's the point ? " Obviously , the point was to develop a level of descriptive writing that enabled us to go beyond the cliches in daily life , in order to make our writing more interesting . But then something weird happened . As I was working on the assignment , I found it pretty difficult to rewrite some of them . Surely , I could use synonyms and expand it into a longer , more flowery sentence , but it felt wrong . Like it never quite said what the cliche itself did . And I think that this was a larger point of the assignment : Can you write in such a way that cliches not only become irrelevant , but your work sounds better than them ? For some of these , the answer was no . It was too hard . The cliches sounded way more natural . And therein lies the problem . We , as a society , have become reliant on cliches . " Love at first sight " and " dead as a doornail " and the like are things that we have assimilated into our minds to mean and express certain things . Surely , these phrases had some real , genuine meaning and feeling to them , but now , the are overused , in effect , something we use , being jaded to romantic and descriptive language , since we 're told as children to use more detail when we write . Those who hate it recoil to cliches , and those who don 't can work past them . But think about it . " Love at first sight " is a nice thing , and surely something that everyone wants . We can all imagine the feeling we would get if this happened to us , this wonderful , fluttery emotion that swells our hearts , and makes us feel things we have never truly felt before . But the cliche is easier to say . It takes less work . It gives us a general feeling that we can adapt to ourselves in the way we see fitPosted by I feel like I haven 't said anything useful in a long while . I feel like I don 't really have anything to say , except to summarize my life . I guess it 's a good start . This weekend , I went to visit Bill . I really wanted to go [ despite my dad saying that we were breaking the rules with this visit because I had just made one , but what does he know ? ] , and I could not have been happier that I made the choice to do so . Friday was spent driving and spending time with both Bill and Lisa , so the whole team was together again . [ I feel weird saying that , but that 's kind of how it feels I guess . Like we 're some team of . . . I don 't know . Maybe love . I 'm sure the world hasn 't seen a love like the one shared between the three of us in a long while . But I digress . ] We got some food at the P & C , and that felt weird , but I guess that 's because most of my shopping is done at the dimly lit Wegman 's now . When we got back , Bill made some food for us : steak , broccoli , mushrooms . It was so delicious ! It 's the kind of meal that is so good , you wish you could have it every day , but you realize that doing so would ruin it 's delicious . . . ness . I helped a little I guess . I mean . . . I helped to set things up and whatnot , but I didn 't do much . I wish I could . Hopefully , when Bill and I are living together , cooking for meals will be more of a team effort than me just staring dumbly not knowing what to do . It was still really fun though . For some reason , watching Bill cook made me extremely happy and peaceful , and not in the way you hear housewives talk about how they are happy that their husbands can cook because that means they don 't have to all the time . It was something different . Something just . . . wonderful . Then we had to bring Lisa to her parents ' house . I was really really tired , but I drove anyway , and everything went fine . I guess the smarter thing to do would have been to pass the wheel to someone else , but I felt like . . I guess like I would be inadequate if I did that . Like " Sure , I 'll drive you to your parents ' house , Lisa . By which I mean , doPosted by The past few days have been kind of stressful . I have been working hard on NMR , just trying to understand it before the exam this Friday . I think I 've got it now , but we 'll see I guess . On Tuesday , I visited Professor Leo after work , and she gave me some more stuff to work with . Then I visited Joe Mullins , and he went over a few problems with me , and then I went to calculus , and then back to see Mullins . And just before I left , my advisor , the Analytical / Instrumental Chemistry professor , Anna O ' Brien , came in , and suddenly , the three of us were talking about movies ! I left after a few minutes , though . I know OBrien had something to discuss with Mullins , and I had already kept him late , so I didn 't want to continue to prolong his return home . In terms of work on Tuesday , it became another time where I just wanted to punch Kirby . He scheduled an appointment for me to work on his computer whilst he has a class , which means I can 't enter his office , because he did not give us permission prior to the appointment . UGH . It probably means I 'll have to visit his office tomorrow . Today was also busy . Wednesdays , I have two more classes than Mondays , so I don 't really get much rest until I get out of lab . And during my breaks , I was working on studying for Dante and NMR . I have to remember to do conjugated dienes tomorrow . I also have to start a short story for creative writing on Tuesday . My idea is pretty interesting , and when I mentioned it in class [ we were supposed to talk about all of our ideas so we could get feedback ] , it sparked a really big discussion ! I didn 't really expect it , as it was just my " this is really silly and could be cute " idea , but everyone seems to like it a lot , so I 've chosen that one . I 've nearly written a page already , so we 'll see how it goes . This is the idea : The journey of the wheat in bread , as it goes from seed to plant to dough to bread to house and consumption . The bread , being a humourous and light hearted character , explains the journey step by step in the first person . A feeling of fulfilPosted by Work sucked . I was late to class [ Dante ] again , because this sucky woman wanted me to teach her everything about blackboard . So I taught her how to use email on the site . And she types an email on our computer . And I show her how to remove students no longer enrolled in her course . And she makes me do it for her . And she wants to post her homework . Right now . All these things wouldn 't be that terrible , except she doesn 't listen well , and I have to repeat directions to her six times . And she is a very slow , key - by - key with two fingers typer . Seriously the worst . And then Joan kept trying to ask me questions , but the woman was talking to me at the same time , and . . . it was just insane . And then , of course , is the fact that I was late to Dante . Ugh . . . Also , I 've been having trouble with NMR Spectroscopy , which is a technique common to chemistry and known to the medical world as MRI . I have to review it a lot , and luckily , Barbara Leo has offered to help me learn it , as well as Joe Mullins . Hopefully I can get it by Friday , if I work hard . Conjugated Dienes is a little harder than I remember it being when we went over it in lecture , since I had a hard time with it in workshop , so I have to remember to work on that , too . On a much brighter note , I 'm going up to Potsdam to see Bill this weekend , which makes me really happy . I just hate being away from him . Not because I can 't handle it , but because , over a weekend , I get so used to that amazing warmth of cuddles , and sleeping in his bed that I can 't help but feel a little lonely when I come back here . Like my bed is too big . Too cold . Things are just too empty . But it 's okay , because I can tell myself that someday , we won 't have to wait several weeks or a month to enjoy each other 's warmth , and when I think of it that way , I can snuggle up with his pillow and sleep well . Most of the time , anyway , but then again , I think about a lot of things come bedtime , so I almost always have a bit of trouble sleeping . I guess I don 't know what else to say tonight . I 'm going to bed , so Posted by She was the kind of person who denied compliments from everyone . She was afraid of being conceited , even though we all told her that it was a stupid fear . She never let go of that fear . She married right out of college , to her high school sweetheart , a handsome boy with messy hair and distant eyes . He was so kind and loving , showing her every form of affection imaginable , that we were all so happy for her . Could we possibly have been any less happy ? Their marriage was private ; only a few friends and family members were allowed to see it , as they were uncomfortable with having a big extravagant ceremony . They denied the Christian God his apparent right to join them in union , opting that a judge marry them instead . Everyone was invited to the reception . There was so much food , which was surprising , since neither of them seemed to have enough money at any point in their lives . We joked that they had robbed the food pantry for the meal . They decided to wait on children for the first few years of their marriage , and it was a good idea , from my point of view . This gave them the opportunity to spend as much time with each other as they could , basking in the warmth of their new life together . They took vacations and went to dinner and plays , and they spent nights cuddling , sleeping so that they were never more than inches apart . One day , he came home , his eyes focused on the floor . She rushed to him , but her welcoming arms were pushed away as he shrugged off his coat , kicked off his shoes , and slumped into bed . He stayed there for hours , staring at the ceiling , before she finally came in , her eyes wide with fear and worry . She quietly lay beside him , and placed her head on his chest , wrapping an arm around him . There , they lay in silence for a long while , before he whispered , " Sean was killed his morning . " Sean was his brother , his best friend . He explained to her that Sean had been on his way to class when a speeding car hit him . He had lay there on the pavement for ten minutes before paramedics reached him . He asked for hisPosted by I seem to be having a particularly horrible battle with my self - esteem for the past few days . I try not to mention it . My lack of self - esteem is sometimes the cause for arguments . I don 't want to argue . I just want hugs . I feel like there are so many things in my life that I 'm doing wrong . Like , I 'm bad at Organic , Calculus , paying attention in classes , work , being a good friend / girlfriend / sister / human . . . My stupid heat is broken again . Or rather , I should say , as usual . I 'm so sick of it . I 've put on a long sleeve shirt and a sweater and socks . I 'm warm now , but I did just get out of the shower a little while ago . And I can feel heat rising to my cheeks . There 's no one here to be embarrassed to , so why am I flushing ? But I digress . I am simply so annoyed at the heat . It 's on , and it 's blowing air out , but the air is cool . Lukewarm . Like the temperature I keep my air conditioner on in the summer when I actually have it on . It 's disgusting . I don 't even know if it 's worth it to call the physical plant again . They 're probably already so sick of me calling about my heat , they 'll probably lower the temperature for the room further . That 'll show me , right ? Whatever . I find myself annoyed at nearly everything again . At this point , I have to wonder if I 'm clinically depressed . I tell people that they 're perfectly allowed to have bad days , because it 's true . But with as many bad days as I seem to have . . . well , it can 't be normal . I guess today in itself wasn 't that bad . The worst part was the cold , and having to do a job for crapping Don Kirby , who was my junky religion professor from last semester . And a I had a horrible headache all day . It 's still kind of hurting , but whatever . It 's better . But I had lots of delicious food , and I got paid , and got groceries and some Valentine 's stuff . Lisa and I went to the mall , and I bought a warm weather coat that I 've been wanting for a long time at Hot Topic . It 's the only thing I 've decided to get for myself from the money Dad gave me as a yearly allowance from the taxes . I guess I ' lPosted by This is how I feel today . It was the best I could find for " frustrated . " The rest was . . . porn . Or Charlie Brown . I don 't feel like Charlie Brown . Today , I feel like an angry Edward Elric . At least it 's a familiar face . Today was a total disaster . I didn 't get up on time , since I was [ once again ] too tired to get up , and slept for another half hour . Organic was . . . I don 't know . Better than usual . At least I understood what was going on . Philosophy sucked . I said words in the class today , which I hate doing regardless of the situation , but no one wants to comment on things the professor says . I 'm sure I 'm not the only human in that class who doesn 't agree with the things being discussed so much so that feel compelled to actually think . Or maybe I am . Who knows ? The professor just kind of answered it with " the way Sextus Empiricus would answer it , " which made no sense . I didn 't agree with those things either . Maybe that 's why Greek philosophers are dead . [ I mean famous ones , I guess . ] Natural selection doesn 't favour those who suck at answering questions correctly . I 'm exaggerating . Natural selection has nothing to do with philosophers . Calculus lab sucked . I was stuck with that Thomas human again , with his stupid grin . " Want to work together ? " he asked , that lame shy smile from high school on his face . " Yeah . I guess . " What I meant to say was " Yeah . Because Miller is going to make us anyway . " I 'm turning this class into a story . . . ew . But that 's not the point . He started asking me all these questions . Like about my major , and if I read some book that probably no one has ever heard of before . And when I said " no " he replied with " I saw a kid in the hall just now who walked like the main character in that book . " Um . . . . wtf ? Dante was probably the best class today . It usually is . It 's just interesting for me , and Steve Wrinn is just insane enough to make it fun . Thanks , Steve . Then Organic lab . I don 't think I can even talk about that right now . It was a mess . In short , I messed up right off the bat and had to start over . APosted by This is kind of how I feel today , yet considerably more upset than this . But I couldn 't find a picture that combined confused and upset . I 've decided to try to use pictures and photographs as much as possible . I suppose they 'll show my mood , or maybe it 'll just be something that made me smile . It might get me writing better things again . Or at all . I don 't write much anymore , and that 's not good for an aspiring author . I guess I should really start this post with the weekend . It was really great . Lisa and I talked and stuff a lot on the way to Potsdam , and sang in the car , too ! It was so crazy and energetic . Until I fell asleep , anyway . I 'm not really sure how it happened anymore . . . When we got there , we talked and cuddled and hugged and ate and watched movies and slept in a bed apparatus that we constructed . It was wonderful to not have to sleep alone . Sleepcuddles are definitely the best kind . We watched Blindness , which sounded really good from the trailer , but it turned out to be not very good at all . Or maybe it was just that I didn 't understand it . I don 't think any of us have quite decided yet . I hated leaving . It happened so fast . Like a flash of lightning , and then came thunder , in the form of devastation , loneliness , and a feeling of almost dread . I feel like I need to scream . Maybe at no one at all . Maybe at myself . This same part of me wants to go to bed for the next three months . I said a while ago that I desperately need to work on my self - esteem . I tried . It 's hard . I 've gone no where . What am I supposed to do ? It 's something I 'm hesitant to discuss . My failure to do anything useful about it makes me feel like a disappointment . Like when I studied for six hours for the organic exam and got a 75 . Maybe I was just failing myself at that point . But this is exactly it . This is my self - esteem problem , written , right in front of me . I can identify it , write it down , think about it , dwell on it cry about it , but no matter what I do , I can 't make it better . Why ? Is there some . . . deficiency in my mind that preventPosted by An amateur writer , a rattie mother , a baker , a cook , a craftswoman , I find tons of fun things to do to keep the boredom away . I like exploring new techniques , foods , and crafts . My love of learning drives me to try as much as I can , when I can .

Cyn Angelos woke up in a tree , long before the sun rose . She groaned , remembering what happened the night before . Her body was completely saturated in blood ; she could even taste it in her mouth . Despairingly , she descended from the tree and returned to her house . She swiftly took a bath in the nearby lake and got dressed for school . She tied her long , dark blue hair into a braid with a black ribbon , even though it still fell past her knees . She donned her school uniform and her black cloak that brushed her ankles . Cyn walked outside and waited for the bus . She 'd rather not take the bus , but it was the quickest way to get to school . Around 7 A . M , the bus advanced . Cyn inaudibly stepped on and moved her eyes around for a place to sit . There were more often than not , girls on her bus , and they were all sitting in seats around a young man with long red hair who was reading a book . They didn 't bother to sit next to him . Not again … Cyn thought . Every time a new boy came to school , Sakau , the most popular girl , would try to get together with him first . None of the other girls would have the guts to touch him first . She always detested girls like that . Cyn gradually paced down the isle of the bus until she came to the seat where the boy was sitting . " Not at all . " He moved closer to the window so that she would have room to sit . The other girls gasped . They feared what would happen when Sakau would arrive on the bus . The bus pulled away and Cyn took out a book she had brought from home . It was in some foreign language . The young man looked up from his book once again and glanced at Cyn . " Nice to meet you , Cyn , " he said , and then he revisited his book . The bus came to a stop again and Sakau walked up the stairs . Sakau saw Suichi , not recognizing his face . The other girls looked at Sakau and saw her face tighten . She walked down the bus aisle and stopped next to Cyn . " Because I can . " At that instant , Sakau 's fist tightened and she tried to throw a punch . Cyn merely lifted her hand and blocked it . " Now would you please sit somewhere ? We 're going to be late for school . " Cyn raised her steel eyes and looked at Sakau cold in the face . Sakau 's face turned red , embarrassed , and slowly walked to the back of the bus . " I bet I know what she 's hiding Yurameshi . " Cyn didn 't bother to look at them . She acclaimed their voices . It was a couple of punks named Yusuke and Sazuma , but everyone called him Kuwabara . They were always bugging people around the school . Kuwabara walked over to Yusuke and whispered something in his ear . Yusuke busted out laughing at Kuwabara 's remark . " Try it ! " The two argued , Cyn still paying them no mind . Eventually , the two commenced hitting each other , and a random professor came up and commanded them to go to class . Cyn did hear the remark , but didn 't bother to do anything about it because she didn 't care what people said . She thought they were all the same . Cyn placed foot into the door of her first class . One and all looked up at her and hushed . She could hear them murmur regarding her ; they were usually things similar to : " I heard she has a kid . That 's why she 's so busy all the time . " " Wah ! I don 't want a curse to be put on me ! " As she passed them , they all looked up at her , then hastily turned away . When Cyn got in the vicinity of her seat , she saw that the boy from the bus that morning was sitting in the seat next to hers . Girls were chatting with him , trying to get information about him so they would know how to make an impression . He was obviously trying to abstain from telling them anything , but he was having an arduous time . The girls looked up at Cyn and quietly walked to their seats . Suichi looked up at her in perplexity . " Hey Cyn … " he said slyly , " I know you 're hiding under that cloak . Why don 't you put that body to use ? " He put his finger in the back of her cloak and started to pull it off . Cyn turned and seized his arm . She then hoisted him into the air and hurled him at a wall . The wall crumbled when Hitoshi 's body impacted it . Cyn turned , closed her locker and walked off . Yusuke and Kuwabara ambled around the corner and saw the wall . A guy standing nearby said , " No , it was that Cyn girl . Freaks me out , the little witch … " Kuwabara and Yusuke looked at each other in confusion . Cyn decided to walk home , to clear her head and skip all of the gossip because of the afternoon 's episode . Just then , she saw Yusuke , Kuwabara , and Suichi . It appeared as if they were waiting for someone ; She figured it was most likely her . She strode up to them . " What 's it matter anyway ? She 'll know your real name when we have to take her to Koenma . " Kuwabara moved his eyes to her . " Good . Cyn , please sit . Now , we have some very important issues to discuss but first , tell me your history . " Cyn took a seat and began to converse . " When I was a little girl , about six , I had always wished to be an angel . I told everyone about it . I told this one mysterious woman I met in an on an old road . She told me there was a way to make it true , but I had to pay a price . A price that I would pay for dearly . I wasn 't thinking clearly and wanted to be an angel so bad , I said yes . Little did I know that this would include taking my soul and switching it with a demons ' . Somehow , I still had a little of my quintessence left and was able to control the demon inside . The only thing was there was something that stood out . " " The soul of the demon actually benefited me in a way . I became wiser , more aware of my surroundings and I aged slower than average people . There are also things that made things worse . I realized I could not show myself because the people of the world would not be amazed , but frightened . I stayed away from people , away from my parents . They eventually abandoned me and I learned how to look after myself . I also could not show emotion . Every time I did , acidic tears came from my eyes and burned my face . Eventually , my heart turned to stone . I don 't even smile anymore . Even though I can keep the demon inside me calm , it still is part of me . It controls me and kills millions of people who have sinned . " " Very well . That will be all , but you will have to stay here for while for questioning on another day , " said Koenma . Cyn put her cloak back on and walked out the door . " You have nothing to worry about Yusuke . The first day of fall was yesterday . It 'll be a long time before she changes again . I 'm sure she won 't attack anyone unless they attack first . " " Oh , Yusuke , don 't be angry . Don 't you like it when we 're here ? " Botan asked , trying to sound immaculate . " You don 't tell me to shut up , you old hag ! " They continued talking and quarreling for a long while . Cyn had left the room ; only one person seemed to become aware of her absence . Cyn sat and stared at the lake , thinking . She heard footsteps behind her and revolved her head . Kurama was looking down at her and smiling . She stood up and looked at him , pondering what he wanted to talk about . " I just want you to know , " he said , his eyes showing much sympathy . " I know how you feel . " He gave her a gentle , friendly hug , not meaning it as a sign of affection . Too bad Cyn had so less human interaction , she didn 't know . Cyn had a surprised look on her face and blushed lightly . " I know how you feel … because I am a demon on the inside . It wants to come out so badly , and I want to let it out . But I contain myself . You must do it too . " He let her go and looked at her face . He thought she looked nice - looking with an expression like that , but then became confused when he saw tears start to fall . Cyn screamed at the pain , covering her eyes . She tried to stop it , but it burned her hands and face , causing them to bleed . Still covering her eyes , she ran back to the hotel and went to her room . She closed the door , and screams of pain could be heard behind it . The others tried to go to her room to see what was wrong , but Kurama kept them from going . He explained to them why they shouldn 't bother her and they left her alone for the rest of the night . The next morning , after everyone was awake and in the living room , Cyn came out of her room wearing a black scarf and gloves on her hands . The scarf covered most of her face ; only her eyes could be seen . In her hands was a pillow , stained with blood and severely burned in some spots . Kuwabara and Yusuke looked at the pillow in alarm , then looked at Cyn . " Wait , show us your wounds . We can help you bandage them . " Cyn turned around and saw Keiko looking at her . For some reason , she couldn 't say no . " All right then , but I should tell you , they aren 't pretty . " She sat next to Keiko and took off her scarf and gloves . They exposed horrible scars that were still open and bleeding . Keiko flinched at the sight of them . " Good to see you again . Please sit down . " He looked at Cyn 's face covered with bandages and looked a little taken aback . He cleared his throat and began to question her . He asked her about her weapon of choice , which was a lance , if she could perform magic and other questions about her ways of battle . When they were done for the day , they left the office and began to walk back to the hotel . When they were almost there , Kurama told everyone to go ahead except for Cyn . " Remember abstinence you two ! " Yusuke said and they walked off . Kurama blushed at the comment and looked down . He then turned to Cyn when he regained his composure and began to apologize . " It 's just that … well , you and me are alike in such a way that no one else could really touch . I guess I got too emotional back there . " She looked at him . " It 's not your fault , it 's mine . I showed emotion , so I got a rightful punishment . " Kurama raised his eyes in surprise . " It 's nowhere near your fault . I 'm the one who … I 'm the one who made you feel that emotion in the first place . I 'm sure you hadn 't felt that emotion in a very long time , " Kurama turned to leave . " But I 'm sure it must have felt been nice to have such that familiar feeling . " Cyn tried to keep her face candid as well as her heart would allow . Why was it getting so hard for her to cover this up ? Why was she feeling emotion so easily ? Hadn 't she held it up for so many years ? She watched him walk away , leaving these questions to herself . She began to walk behind him , trying to find the answers . When she got inside the hotel , she saw someone new in the room . He had black hair that stood up , and was wearing black clothes . He had red eyes and a white headband around his forehead ; he was sitting in the windowsill . She didn 't really pay any attention to him , nor did he to her . She started to walk past him without a glance , when Botan ran up to her and introduced her to him . " Hi Cyn . This guy right here is Hiei . He said he only came because he had nothing better to do , but that 's not the real reason , is it Hiei ? " She bent down at him and smiled . She backed away from him and said , " Oh my . Oh , don 't worry about it Cyn . He 's always like that . You 'll get used to it . " She scurried away and sat on the couch . Cyn began to walk to her room when Kurama , Yusuke and Kuwabara came into the room from the hallway . " Aw , c ' mon Kurama . You can tell us . What were you two talking about ? Wait , don 't tell me you 're the one that made her feel emotion yesterday ? " Yusuke said , laughing . " Tell us which one it was . We won 't tell . " " Oh , um , hey Cyn ! We weren 't talking ' bout nothing . " Yusuke laughed nervously . She walked past them , into her room and closed the door . " Boy , she 's no better than Hiei , " Yusuke said . " Good , good . It 's time we met again . " A strange man smiled , thinking what he would do with the girl who stole his heart 595 years ago . " I think I 'm going to pay her a little visit . " - - yuyu hakusho - - Cyn walked out of the hotel , trying to hide her frustration . It was crazy in that hotel with all of those of those people . She couldn 't understand how Kurama and Hiei , since they were the calmest of them all , could keep from getting angry and slaughtering them . Cyn stopped . She heard a footstep . She knew whoever it was , was looking for her . " Very perceptive of you Cyn . " A tall , young looking man with smooth , dark brown hair , slightly tanned skin and ice blue eyes stepped out of the shadows . He was wearing a black jacket over a white t - shirt and black pants . " I see you are no less wise than you were almost 600 years ago . " He paid no attention to the bandages on her face and hands and walked closer to her . Cyn tried her best to keep a straight face . She knew they would meet again , but didn 't expect for it to be so soon . " What 's wrong Cyn ? Aren 't you glad to see me ? " He gave her a cute little pout . He had used that to win her over in the past . She stared at him , ignoring his pout . " Only to see you , love . I don 't understand why you 're not happy to see me . Don 't you remember the ' fun ' we used to have ? You never let the tears go because of me . " He walked closer . " Every time we had our ' fun ' , I gave you a special potion , remember ? " Cyn stood still , watching him walk closer , unwavering . She didn 't want to be there , but she knew it was useless to try and run . " Oh , I 'm sorry Cyn . Can 't we start over ? Here , let me make the first move . " He snapped his fingers and in a flash , her cloak was torn to shreds , revealing her clothes and wings underneath . She was wearing a thin black shirt that started at her shoulders and some black jeans . Gene spied something . " You 're still wearing the necklace I gave you . If you don 't like me , " he said , now standing right in front of her , " Then why are you still wearing the necklace ? " He bent down and gave her a kiss on the lips . He began to lift up the back of her shirt when she took her lance and tried to stab it in his side . He jumped back and peered at where she attempted to injure him . There was nothing more than scratch on his jacket . " Aw , why don 't you want to have ' fun ' with me anymore ? It was the best ' fun ' I had ever had with anyone . " She didn 't say a word and pointed her lance straight at him . He then knew she was serious and unzipped his jacket , took it off and revealed his black wings . He had the potential to make them appear and disappear , unlike Cyn . " I guess you want to play this game again , even though you know you always lose . " He brought out his sword ; even though he knew that a sword was weak against a lance . As soon as they were getting ready to fight , they heard someone calling Cyn . " Until we meet again , love . " He grabbed his jacket , stepped back into the shadows and vanished . She was angry and was showing it . Her fist was clenched as well as her teeth and she had hatred in her eyes . Kurama ran up to her . " Cyn , what were you doing out here ? " She looked at him and then he saw her face , angry and full of ire . The acid tears began to fall once again . She flew up and disappeared from sight . She didn 't return to the hotel . Instead , she went to the lake and put water on her face , hoping it would stop the tears from burning . " Tell me what 's wrong . " Kurama came up to her from behind . " It 's all right . You can tell me . It 'll be our secret . " He gave her a warming smile , a smile that was hard to repudiate . She had no one else with her and guessed it was all right to tell him . " Well , there 's this guy I got involved with a very long time ago . He and I were alike because we both had wings . He had done the same as I had ; only the demon he fused with allowed him to feel emotion and to hide his wings . He and I got into a relationship , but he was no better than a low - class demon . He violated me in ways that I had never imagined . He visited me again , and tried to … " She trailed off her sentence , considering she didn 't need to say more . Kurama sat next to her . " You don 't have to worry about him . As long as I am here , there is no way he can get to you like he did before . " Cyn thought to herself . She knew that she would pay dearly , but didn 't care . She wrapped her arms around him as he had done to her . The tears became bigger , but Cyn ignored them as long as she could . Some tears that had fallen had landed on Kurama 's shirt , burning holes into it , but he didn 't seem to mind . The embrace lasted for several minutes and when they let go of each other , Cyn 's face was worse than the time before ; the bandages that were already applied had openings burning through them . " Let 's head back , shall we ? " He stood up and held out a hand . She grabbed his hand and stood up . They walked back to the hotel , him holding her hand the entire time . When they stepped into the hotel , he released her hand so that when they walked into the living room , the others wouldn 't do anything to pester them . Surprisingly , everyone was gone . There was a note left on the table : Went out for a while , be back later . Kurama guessed that Hiei had left for some reason he wouldn 't explain to the others . Kurama went to the medicine cabinet and grabbed the bandages and some cream he had made the other night . " I 'll put this on your scars . It will help them heal a lot faster . " He sat at the table with Cyn and began to apply the cream . " I 'm currently working on something else . It will lower the effects of your tears . You 'll be able to feel emotion a lot easier with it . " " But you can 't make it for me forever . " He stopped applying the cream and started to apply the bandages . " Eventually it will wear off and I 'm sure you wouldn 't want to make it over and over again just for me . " She averted her gaze to the floor . He finished bandaging her face and hands . He stood up . " Who says I wouldn 't ? " She looked up at him , wondering why he was treating her this way . Could I really be falling for this man that I barely even know ? Cyn asked herself . She already knew the answer was yes . That was how she got involved with Gene . A little kindness and she was hooked . She knew the probability of her staying away from him was very unlikely . " Only if you want to , " he said . They walked out of her room and into the kitchen . They sat at opposite ends of the table . In the middle of their meal , Cyn said , " You wouldn 't have to worry about that , believe me , " he stated . " I can take care of myself . I told you that I am a demon on the inside , right ? You don 't know how powerful the demon is , so don 't judge a book by its cover . " He stood and put his bowl in the sink . He sat down on the couch and took out his book . She finished eating , put her bowl in the sink and began walking to her room . She stopped and turned to look at Kurama . The others returned later that night . The reason they were out for so long was because Botan had become drunk and they had to chase her to get her to come home . They said she kept on hopping on her oar and flying away . She couldn 't fly straight and kept crashing into poles . When she realized she couldn 't fly well , she got down and started running again . Botan was now dizzy and sort of unconscious . " C ' mon , you guys . You 've only kissed like what , once ? And that was only when he needed it . It was never for pleasure . " - - yuyu hakusho - - Cyn tossed and turned in her bed , unusual for her . She was obviously dreaming of something . In the reverie , trees surrounded Cyn who was in her full demon form . Anything that moved was as good as dead . She walked through the forest and came across Gene . Uncontrollably , Cyn changed back into her conventional form and he grabbed her . He started to assault her when Kurama came to her and pulled out a strange rose and suddenly turned it into a whip of some kind . He whipped Gene and he shattered similar to glass . She then saw him look at her with his kind smile and reach out his hand . She grabbed his hand and stood up . They then began to bring their lips closer together when unexpectedly Cyn woke up . She looked around her room and noticed the sun hadn 't risen yet . Cyn hid it , but down inside , she wished that the dream lasted a bit longer . Cyn grabbed her cloak and walked out of the door . She caught sight of Yusuke , Kuwabara and Puu sleeping on the couches and a cluster of cards on the table . After walking outside , she looked at the sky . The sun wasn 't even peeking over the horizon yet . Cyn spread her wings and flew off , cloak in hand . She used to do this a lot in the city , but instead of an endless sea of trees , she would see many buildings , some with lights on . Cyn assumed this was the anodyne time to go flying . She closed her eyes for a minute or two , letting the wind caress her face . When she reopened her eyes , she was still flying over the boundless forest and saw a glimmer of the sun . Cyn dove down into a slight less dense part of the trees and sat , thinking back to when all of this began . A knock was heard on the shack that young Cyn called a home . Cyn wasn 't going to bother to answer it , but the knock came again but harder . She knew whomever it was was going to barge in if no one answered . She sighed , put a blanket around her shoulders and opened the door slightly . It was a policeman ; She knew because he had a sword on his belt . " I 'm sorry , miss , but I need to investigate . " He started an endeavor at getting in , pushing the door . Cyn pushed on the other side of the door , preventing him from going inside . The door started to creak and they both knew that the door was going to break if one of them didn 't let up . Cyn stopped holding the door closed and the policeman stumbled in from having the weight taken off the door . He was a fairly heavy - set man , very round in the face . All he saw around the home was many books , a blanket and pillow , and some empty food containers . Out of nowhere , he fell to the ground with a deep pain in his side . The officer put his hand to the spot where he was hit and then looked at it , covered in blood . The final image he saw was Cyn walking towards him , bloody lance in hand . I have decided to leave my job due to a family illness . To better my health , I will be moving to a different place . Thank you all for giving me the privilege of this job . " That 's strange … he seemed fine yesterday … " one of the officers said . Yes , Cyn had written the letter . She knew that she would raise suspicion if the officer never came back to the station without an explanation . She kept the body of the policeman , bringing it back to living with a spell and making it impose as her father so she could enlist in school . Since Cyn aged a lot slower than normal people , she would have to fail grades to keep questions away . She need not pay attention anyway ; she had taught herself all of the lessons already . They would never understand . One day , Cyn did get an A on a test and when it was time to play , a young boy asked her if she was happy . Cyn simply asked , " What is happy ? " The boy looked at her as if she had something on her face and ran off to join his friends . Even then , she wore her cloak . She just made her makeshift father tell them that she had a skin condition and she was set . Cyn kept up this charade until it seemed like she was old enough to live without having an adult protect her . She finally laid the body to rest at a private burial . Soon , she began going to high school . It was her second year . She still had no friends , that is , until Kurama and the others . She had singled him out in her thoughts . Why couldn 't she shake him off ? Cyn had thought she mastered the art of feeling nothing , yet he could break her down in an instant . Cyn felt that she would be hurt again . She would leave today . Cyn broke away from her daydreaming and looked at the treetops . Sun was beginning to shine through the gaps in the canopy . She figured it was time to head back so she rose out of the trees and flew back to the hotel . When she arrived in the living room , Kurama and Yusuke were talking about something . She was about to appoint Kurama when he turned and began to speak . " I 've got something for you , Cyn . I was just telling Yusuke about it . We 're going out later and we 'd like you to come . " She opened her mouth to say something , but he was prepared . He held out a small vial to her . " I 've been working on this for a while . It will stop you from crying acid tears . Even when you cry regularly , the tears won 't burn . You 'll be able to show emotion . The effects will last long enough for you go around without getting burned . You don 't have to come with us , but it would be fun if you did . " He smiled , feeling he had done a job well done . He had worked long and hard . Cyn looked at the vial and looked at his face . She couldn 't bear herself to wipe that proud look away , so she took the vial and stared at it . She mumbled a thank you , almost cursing to herself for taking it . Yusuke looked at them both , shrugged and then walked away . Cyn would have to decide if she would go with them or if she would stay a loner forever . Later that evening , Cyn stared at the bottle . If she drank it and went out with everyone , she could build up a tolerance and end up wanting to feel emotion all the time . On the other hand , she did want to try it out . She wasn 't very social , and she 'd probably weigh everyone else down . She couldn 't remember the last time she felt emotion without the acid burning . Curiosity lured her out and she decided she would try the potion for one night and one night only . I hope I can remember that I after the effects wear off that I won 't be able to show emotions without the consequences . She looked at the necklace she still wore , ripped it off and threw it in the wastebasket . She opened the bottle and drunk the potion , not caring about the taste . She guessed it would take a while for it to set in so she began to get ready . " We are about to leave . Are you coming with us ? " the knocker asked . She could distinguish Kurama 's voice . She glanced in the mirror in her room and observed she was sweating a bit . I 'm … nervous … and … showing it . Nothing 's happening . There 're no tears . It … worked . Briskly , she wiped the sweat off her brow . She looked on her bed , ready to grab her cloak when she remembered she had left it on the couch in the living room . Darn it , Cyn thought . She knew she would feel self - conscious showing herself in the outfit she was in and she 'd reveal the awkwardness as well . She had forgotten that when you have emotions you have to deal with them . She heard Kurama make a few more knocks on the door and then she heard him start to walk away . She opened the door without giving much consideration and ran into Kurama . She estimated he was walking away when all he was doing was tapping his foot . She stumbled back a bit and looked at him in surprise . She noticed that he was glaring at her different than her ever had before . He was looking at the way she was dressed . She was wearing a hard leather tank top with metal snap buttons going down the middle and a few additional ones on the edges of it . It was a little tight at the chest . She was also wearing tight dark colored blue jeans with black boots . Kurama couldn 't help but become aware of how the outfit showed her curves better than anything he had seen her wear . She still had her hair tied up , but the ends were curled ever so slightly . She had a double piercing in each ear . She had wanted to see what it was like to wear make - up for the first time , but didn 't want to ask to borrow any ; besides , she didn 't need it anyway . Cyn looked away , blushing some and embarrassed by his stare . He glimpsed up at her face and become conscious of her reddened face , automatically figuring out she had taken the potion . " … Yeah … I just have to get my cloak … it 's in there . " She pointed towards the living room . He turned to walk into the living room , where everyone else ( except Hiei … again . ) was waiting . " I bet she 's not even going to come , " Yusuke said doubtfully . Kurama stepped out of the dark hallway that led to the living room and reached out a hand . Cyn was certain they couldn 't see her yet . She took his hand and stepped into the luminosity . She saw that everyone was astonished and electrified ; Cyn was once again uncomfortable . She averted her gaze , not even recalling that she was still holding Kurama 's hand . " Yusuke , stop dragging your jaw like that ! And stop staring at her ! " Even though it had been 30 minutes since they had first seen Cyn in that outfit , the image was burned in Yusuke 's mind . Every time he looked at her , he would imagine her without the cloak and fall into an odd stare . Kayko , of course , was enraged by the actuality that he was attracted to some one else , especially some one older than him . She finally broke him out of his trance - like state by beating him over the head and knocking him down . Soon , they reached the town and Cyn looked at all of the sights . She had never been to a city at night before , so this was quite a speculation . Kurama glanced at her looking around and smirked a bit . She almost looked like a child in a candy shop . It was a different look for her and he thought it was kind of funny . Cyn noticed him looking at her . " I really wish I could do this more often … " She wished she hadn 't said that . She was speaking her mind more than ever now . With that last statement , Kurama might start giving her the potion on a regular basis . She didn 't want that , to become dependent . " Uh . Forget what I said , will you ? " She looked away from him . Kurama wondered why she was saying that but didn 't go deep into it , knowing she wouldn 't like it . He tipped his head to the side a bit to look at the others to find them gone . " What should we do now ? " Just then , Cyn realized she was alone with him . Was this the Yusuke 's and the other 's plan ? Were they trying to play matchmaker ? After eating , Kurama and Cyn found a carnival on the outskirts of the city . Kurama showed Cyn all of the things she had been missing , such as the rides and foods . It was one of those scenarios one would see on T . V . where two teens go out . Cyn felt strange having this much excitement . She didn 't understand the rides too much , and more than once they passed by a ride with a giant heart on it . She usually saw couples going on it together . Cyn quietly wanted to inquire about Kurama what it was , but was embarrassed . She thought it had something to do with affection . Kurama dragged her over to a photo booth . " … Sure , " she said , trying to sound composed . She didn 't move from where she was standing . Kurama acquired the impression that she wasn 't too keen on the idea . He tenderly took her hand and led her into the booth , closing the curtain behind them . Before inserting the correct amount of money , he asked , " Do you want to take off your cloak before we start ? Wouldn 't want that outfit to go to waste . " He was offering a suggestion , not being distasteful . Cyn reddened for a moment then took it off , setting it off to the side . She kept her wings folded as to not make them stick outside of the booth . Kurama paid the booth and the camera was about to flash . " Quick , smile before it flashes ! " They both quickly smiled together . Before the next picture was about to be shot , Kurama told Cyn to make a silly face . He made one himself and Cyn laughed hysterically , not able to make a humorous face in time for the snapshot . " You look so ridiculous ! " She continued to laugh . They continued making different faces until they believed that they 're mini photo shoot was over with . Cyn began to stand and forgot how small the booth was . The booth only had one entrance and exit area , so they both had to leave through the same opening . The booth leaned a bit to the side and Cyn turned in her fall and fell against Kurama whom was still sitting on the other side of the booth . The two ended up in a pose where Cyn had her hands on Kurama 's upper body , as she had tried to use him to break her fall . Their faces were close together and Kurama 's back was pressed against the wall . The photo booth took one last unexpected photo and printed out their pictures . Cyn sat up , concealed her wings with her cloak and climbed out of the booth , Kurama right behind . Kurama took the printed pictures and sorted through them . The last image was of them in that position . He glanced at Cyn , who had her back to him . He figured she didn 't want to see the pictures and placed them in his trouser pocket . He heard a nearby clock ring . The bells informed him it was 12 : 00 am . " Do you think we should be heading home ? " Cyn mumbled . Arriving at the hotel , Cyn took her cloak off and hung it over her shoulder . Kurama escorted her to her room . Before going into her room , she turned and said , " I had a nice time , Kurama and - " Before she could say more , he bent down and swept a kiss across her cheek . Cyn remained motionless for a moment and then returned the kiss , but the mouth instead of the cheek . They began to rigorously move their lips upon one another 's and Kurama stopped to take a breath and to say something . " You 'll get it again next week , I promise . " He preserved the pledge with one final kiss of the night . He held it until he needed air and released her . She wished he hadn 't done so , but let him on his way . He kept his eyes on her until he reached his room and gradually closed the door . Cyn sighed and sadly went to sleep . Upon waking up , Cyn felt different . The potion had worn off and she didn 't feel as flexible as she had the night before . She looked in the mirror and saw that her features weren 't so vibrant anymore . Unhappily , she climbed out of bed and dressed , returning her cloak to her body once more . She felt she would be suffering for the entire week . Cyn didn 't know how she did it , but she survived the week and was free to express another day . Kurama told her he had tried to make the effects longer , but had no success . He had made extra vials of the potion for when it ran out . Cyn was just pleased with her feelings being able to show . As for Kurama and her , their relationship slowly started to escalate over the course of a few weeks . Every time there was a new romantic encounter , something novel was added , whether it was by hand or by mouth . Noises , movements or touches , it didn 't matter to them . Everyone residing in the hotel was aware of the correlation going on between the two , even though they didn 't display it relentlessly . One night , Cyn was ready for the ultimate climax . Making out in Cyn 's bedroom that night , Cyn performed a radical move . She began to slowly unfasten Kurama 's shirt . Kurama took the impulse and let her continue her business , pushing her back . He didn 't drop all of his weight on her , but enough to make the situation more intense . When Kurama 's shirt was removed , he began to unbutton hers from the buttons on the back of her shirt . He whispered in her ear , trying to make her become more passionate . " Are you ready for this level ? " He maneuvered his hands all around and released the ribbon holding her hair . Cyn spread her wings to give herself space . She whispered back . " Let 's get this party started . " She smirked and began to make her moves . Kurama put the rest of his weight on her and they began their investigation of each other . The sound of the rain comforted Cyn was she woke up next to Kurama underneath the sheets of her bed . Without much movement , she slid out of bed , put on a nightgown and went to the bathroom . She looked in the mirror and couldn 't believe what she saw . She saw a very tired , worn out woman … Cyn couldn 't believe she had fallen for the same trick twice . No longer had she any pride nor respect for herself . Her life flashed before her in a swirl of pain and torment . She was too blinded by the deceptions of love to notice that a trap had been set before her . She had fallen pray to what she promised she would avoid . Gene had done the same thing with her . It had all fallen into place . The friendship , the flirting , the potion and then … Cyn walked out of the hotel , still in that night gown and walked to the lake , the rain unnoticeable to her . Her soul felt completely vaporized . She no longer had any moral fiber . Kurama tossed a bit , noticing the bed was slightly emptier . He groggily opened his eyes and saw nothing but an imprint in the sheets where Cyn once laid . He sat up , almost in a panic . He threw on his clothes from the night before and looked around the house . Nothing but Yusuke 's snoring . He then thought of the place she was always at . The lake . He ran outside , not bothering to grab an umbrella . When he arrived at the lake , he saw Cyn standing in the middle of the lake , looking into space . The rain fell without stopping to watch . " Cyn , what are you doing out here ? " Kurama had to raise his voice a bit for her to hear him . She stood still . Kurama called out to her again , louder this time . Cyn turned her head to the side and revealed her face . The acid tears had burned off most of her face ; there was even exposed bone . Kurama cringed at the sight . Her eyes were red where the white should have been . Was it because of the tears or the anger ? Kurama began to walk out into the water when he stopped . Cyn had begun to change . Her hair broke into a frazzled sort of state and became a very dark red . Her wings spread and became black except for the tips . Her face became lined with peculiar white markings . Fangs grew from her mouth and hung over her bottom lip . Her lips became black and her nails grew into claws . She became taller and somewhat muscular . After her miraculous transformation , she faced Kurama directly and pulled her lance out from the air . She stared at Kurama dead in the eyes ; She didn 't move . Kurama flinched again , frightened that such a beautiful woman had become such a monster . They stood in their spots , unmoving . They kept their eyes on each other because they knew if their guard was let down , death was imminent . Cyn finally said something . Her voice was deeper with a growl mixed in . She was now fully the Sin Angel . " No more time for talk . " Cyn rushed towards Kurama in a rather feeble - albeit futile - attempt to behead him . He had moved , but a lock of his hair was sliced off , even though it was a lance she used to fight with . Kurama felt he had no other choice . He took out a small seed and threw it at Cyn 's heart . He would have to distract her so he took out a rose and turned it into his Rose Whip . Cyn almost remembered the dream where she first saw the whip , but was too full of anger to stop and think about it . The two battled for what seemed like hours but what was no more than 30 minutes . Kurama had some bruises and scratches , while Cyn was virtually unscathed . Kurama counted down to the final blow . 3 , 2 , 1 … At that moment , an explosion came from Cyn 's chest and blood splattered on the ground below her . She screamed , dropped to her knees and slowly began to change back . Holding her hand to her heart , she groaned in pain . Kurama ran over to her and caught her before she fell forward . Tears fell from her eyes . The rain stopped . " Cyn , that shouldn 't have been strong enough to kill you . You 'll be all right . " Cyn 's voice was raspy , getting quieter as time went on . " No , Kurama . It 's not a fairy tale . My heart had become weak and the blow gave me more damage than you calculated . I told you I 'd … die trying . " She turned to the side and vehemently coughed up blood . " Kurama … never fall for the same trick twice . Never . " His eyes widened . He had made the same moves that Gene had . He was the same . She dipped her finger into some of her blood and took Kurama 's arm , the one where the sleeve was torn . She wrote the letters K and C and tried to make a heart around them but only made it halfway before she had to lower her hand from lack of energy . He closed his eyes and began to cry . Her tears were pure for the very first time in over 500 years . No stings and no potion to make them clean . " Be careful … what you wish for … " She ended her time smiling , eyes wide open and face full of color . Her last tear fell on Kurama 's hand . He realized then that it was the tear of an angel …

He rode into our valley six years after the end of the war . I was just a kid , sitting on the fence and watching the dusty road that wound down from the blue - grey mountains , waiting for something to happen . Nothing ever seemed to happen back then , especially not to an eleven - year - old girl . I didn 't know when I first saw him that he would be what I had been waiting for . From a distance , he looked like just another horseman . There was a lot more traffic on the road than there had been when we first moved there ; people were really starting to believe that the Wraith might be gone for good and venturing out to claim long - abandoned lands to ranch or farm . It was only when he got closer that I noticed he was different . It was his clothes that first caught my eye . Even though it was a hot day , he was wearing all black . His shirt was faded almost to grey , and awkwardly patched in two or three places , but his pants were of a darker , glossier material that I had never seen before . He wasn 't wearing a hat against the sun , so I could see his face , which looked grim and wary . He was slouched in the saddle , like he was tired of riding , but his eyes moved constantly , taking in everything nearby with an attention that seemed casual but I suspected meant he picked up every detail . They rested on me for just a second and then moved on . I felt vaguely disappointed , but as he passed our house , he slowed and looked up . " Could I get a chance at your pump for my horse ? " he asked , gazing past me . I realized he wasn 't talking to me and turned my head . Father was standing on the porch , studying him . " Take all you want , stranger . " The man dismounted from his horse and led him to our pump . He watered the horse , then took the cup and filled it for himself , flicking water over his face and hair to get rid of some of the dust . Even while he was scrubbing his hand over his face , though , he never quite relaxed ; he always seemed intensely conscious of us , and I was sure he knew every move I made , even though I was behind him . I saw that on top of his saddleroll were tied two long sticks , smooth and polished despite the dust of the road , and I wondered what they were for . Father believed in the old ways , including hospitality to strangers . He used to say that you never knew when the Wraith would come and you 'd find yourself the stranger . People were already starting to forget those ways , but not in our house . " That 's nice of you , but I should be going . " " Look up . " Father pointed . " There 's a storm sweeping down into the valley . I don 't think you 'd care for the road in half an hour or so , and not everyone on your way has room to shelter a stranger . " The man looked hard at Father , who met his eyes steadily . He was thin , not like Father , who was short and powerfully built , but you could see the bulge of muscles beneath the sleeves of his shirt . His hair was dark and spiky , as if he hadn 't tended to it in days , and his eyes were hazel . There were crinkles around them , and a dusting of grey at his temples , but otherwise I couldn 't have guessed his age . Whatever he was looking for , he seemed to find it . " All right . " Our house wasn 't big - just the three rooms - but it was cozy , and everything in it was well - made . Father had laid down every plank himself and fashioned every piece of furniture , plain but sturdy . Mother had sewn cheery yellow curtains for the windows and a dark blue tablecloth for the big table . When we went inside , she was just setting out supper . She raised her eyebrows at Father , but smiled at John . " Good evening . " John tried the food cautiously at first , but apparently decided he liked it and then ate heartily . During the meal , Mother and Father talked mostly to him , about where he 'd been or what he 'd seen , but John didn 't say much , always changing the subject or asking for another helping . I sat across the table and stared at him . Once he caught me looking , stopped , and smiled at me for a second - just a flash over his serious face , so quick I wasn 't even sure I 'd really seen it . I blushed all over , but I only glanced away for a heartbeat before my eyes were drawn irresistibly back . I had never seen a man like him before , slim and strong , dark and strange . I wondered if he had come through the Ring of the Ancestors , and whether I dared to ask . When Mother served the plinberry pie , purplish and tart , John started asking Father about the ranch . That perked the conversation up . Father was always ready to tell anyone about his plans . We had moved here when I was almost too young to remember , as soon as the rumors about the Wraith had started to spread . Practically no one else had lived out here for years - it was too risky , and the soil too poor to attract serious farmers . People had said Father was crazy to believe that the Wraith could ever really be gone , but Father had been determined . He picked out a lot and built our house and started in working alongside Mother , and they had done well . After a little while , other settlers started to follow . A lot of the land out here was technically owned by a man named Krader , but they settled on the edges of his property , and every year there were more of them . Now Father was building up his herd of amyot , and Mother had gotten a patch of lilefir going so that she could spin winters and sell the yarn . Last year , Father had been talking about seeing if he could buy some more land from Krader . But even I understood that Krader had become a problem now . " He never lived out here , " Father told John . " Neither did his father or his grandfather . No one did . The last time anyone even thought about this valley was in his great - grandfather 's day . But since other people started to make a go of it out here , he thought he 'd try it , too . " " Settlers , " Father said . " The law favors them - anyone crazy enough to live out of the main settlements has had his pick of land , for whatever little while he could hold it before the Wraith took it or some roving pack of bandits killed him for his few possessions . There 's been noise about changing that ever since the war ended , but for now Krader has had to come out here and use the land to keep his title , and he begrudges even the small lots settlers have already taken . He runs a huge range , lets the cattle roam free . He thinks those of us who keep our herds penned up are just in the way . " " Sounds like there could be trouble . " " There might well be , " Father agreed , looking at him thoughtfully . John didn 't respond for a minute , and then he laid down his fork and smiled at Mother . " Thank you for dinner . It 's been a long time since I had a home - cooked meal . " " I like to travel light . " Outside , the rain began to rattle the windows . John got up and crossed the room to see . " That 's not going to be any fun to be out in . " He turned and stepped outside , and Mother and Father glanced at each other . After a few minutes , he came back in , carrying a bucket full of water , his hair damp from the rain . He set it down and then began collecting the dishes . I watched him , even more fascinated . No matter how hard Mother tried , I couldn 't seem to learn how to love women 's work . I hated washing the dishes , scrubbing the clothes and the floors , carding the lilefir so she could spin . I was much happier when I could help Father out in the fields , but I was more use in the house . Mother would sigh when I did go out with Father , and sometimes I would hear her tell him that he shouldn 't let me run so wild . " Really ? " " This is the first I 've heard of it from you ! But I won 't complain if it means I get to sit a little . Thank you , John . " I woke suddenly in my little room , in the middle of the night , to a howling . The storm had been screaming past the windows all evening , but this was something more deliberate and frightening : voices on the road raised threateningly , mingled with the rush of hoofbeats . They sounded like maskers on Wild Night , but Wild Night was more than two months away . I got out of bed , picked up my pocketknife , and crept into the main room . Father was standing near the doorway to his room , holding his shotgun in his hands , listening , tense . Seeing him like that made me sure that something was wrong , and I shivered . " Probably . " He forced a smile . " They 're just having a little fun , Anjora . Go back to bed . Or - no - go in with your mother . I 'm sure she 'd like the company . " " You both should go back to bed , " John said . We turned our heads in astonishment as he stirred himself from a deeper shadow by the door . In the darkness of the room , he was little more than the glimmer of dark eyes and the gleam of cheekbones . " I 'll keep watch . " His voice was quiet and cold . I felt a shudder , like I had just seen one of the Wraith - phantoms and death was very close . " I 'll stay with you , then . " John glanced at Father . They held each other 's gaze for a minute , and the house seemed very still despite the screeching going on up and down the road . Then Father nodded at John . " All right , Anjora . Let 's go sit with your mother . " " Just some of his young people trying to put a little scare in us , " he said . " Nothing to worry much about . But they woke Anjora up . " " Oh , dear . Come here , sweet , " she said , and I crawled into bed next to her . " Are you going back out there , Anogan ? " I snuggled down against the pillow . Despite the ruckus outside , I felt oddly safe . Still , it was a long time before I could fall back to sleep , and I dreamed all night of the tall lean figure by the door . I woke to the holiday smell of darfa cakes and bolted into the main room . Mother was at the stove , and Father and John were already tucking into stacks of cakes . She 'd even brought up the azar cream from the cellar . I quickly sat down to get my share , studded thick with sweet kernels and tangy with the cream . The sun streamed through the front window and the room was full of the familiar clinks and scrapes of breakfast . It was hard to believe that this room had been filled with terror the night before , or that the man across from me working methodically through his cakes was the same man who had stood grim sentinel against the darkness . He seemed tired and wrapped up in his own thoughts ; he talked even less than he had at supper . His eyes opened in surprise , but then he shook his head . " I 'm not a rancher , Anogan . And I don 't know this country . " " But you 're strong and you 're sharp , and you 're old enough to be steady . I could use an extra pair of hands out here . Anjora here " - he winked at me - " does her best , but her mother needs her in the house . It can 't be darfa cakes every day , but I could give you room and board and a hand 's harvest - share . " " In case you 're worried that I 'm a poor rancher if I 'm only thinking to hire a hand this late in the season , I can clear that up . The reason I need another hand , " Father said , " is that the newest one left us a month ago . He didn 't care for . . . local conditions . " " He got into a quarrel in town . He didn 't share the details with me . It seems to me you 're a lot more solid than he was . More able to handle it . " There was a quick twitch of anger in John 's face , but then it went smooth again . " Are you sure this is a good idea ? You don 't even know me . " " I think I know enough . " Father took a deep breath . " If you 've somewhere better to go , John , don 't let me keep you . But there 's honest work for you here , at honest wages . " John looked down at the table . He flicked the handle of his knife , and watched it as it spun . I kept very still in my chair , waiting . Finally , he looked up . " Okay . " Over the next few weeks , I discovered John had been telling the truth when he said he wasn 't a rancher . Even I could teach him things , lots of things : how to coax a surly amyot when it just wasn 't interested in the perfectly good feed you had for it , that the red - and - yellow snakes were poisonous but the blue - and - yellow ones weren 't , how you could chew on the spiky bitter infieret weed to clear your head a little when you were tired . He took it all in patiently . Sometimes , though , I caught him pausing at his work and shaking his head , with a bemused smile or an odd little laugh he never explained . I was sure he hadn 't been brought up to work on the land , wherever he 'd come from . But Father had been right , too : he was strong and he worked hard and he caught on fast . The work seemed to take him out of himself - he was much more talkative and playful after a few days out in the fields . He obviously liked the smell of the fresh air and the feel of the dirt between his fingers and he always sat out on our little porch to watch the last of the sunset glowing over the distant mountains before supper . When he came in for supper , he 'd talk to Mother about her day or tell me stories ( scarier ones when Mother wasn 't listening ) , and Father sat back and watched us and looked pleased . He 'd even traded his dark clothing for the loose dust - colored lilefir gear that ranchers wore . The neighbors heard about our new hand and dropped by , in casual little groups , on purpose to meet him , though they didn 't say so . John was polite with them , but very quiet . Tense , even , like he couldn 't bring himself to trust so many people , but he hid it well . I don 't think anyone but Mother and Father and me noticed it . Still , the smarter of our neighbors rode away throwing long , thoughtful looks back over their shoulders , and the valley declared him " worth keeping an eye on . " I even overheard two older girls speculating if he would court anyone , and saying it was a great pity he was just a hand . I was , of course , incredibly curious about him , and the more used I got to having him around , the more I wanted to know . It was strange to have him there every day eating with us , sleeping with us , talking with us , and yet not to really know him at all . Strangers who came to the valley didn 't stay strangers long ; for all the acres of empty land , and all the loneliness that I already felt in my bones , it was too small a place for that . But John slipped into our home and made himself - and us - comfortable without giving anything of himself up . He was never in any of his own stories . " It troubles me to see a man carrying something so heavy it almost sinks him , " Father said . " But don 't worry . He 'll tell us in his own time . " One day , when he and Father were off walking the boundaries of our land , I slipped into the barn and unwrapped his saddle - roll . I wasn 't sure what I 'd find , but I certainly hadn 't expected what was there : a gun , a gun of a kind I had never seen before , long and rectangular and gleaming , of a peculiar metal . Now , every man in the valley wore a gun outside . The hard and desperate men who used to eke out a living picking off stragglers at the edges of settlement had mostly disappeared , but it was better to be safe than sorry , and there were still the scavenger animals , the lototes and the irrivin and so on , to worry about . John , however , hadn 't been wearing one when he arrived . Father had asked if he should try to get him one , and John had just shaken his head . Well , he didn 't need one of ours if he had this strange thing , which had to be from one of the planets beyond the Ring , but I couldn 't imagine why he didn 't carry it . Underneath the gun were other things , and if the gun puzzled me , these baffled me . There was a small rectangular badge , less than the size of my hand , of some rough fabric on one side and a strangely prickly one on the other . It had two bars of red separated by a bar of white , and on the bar of white was a red shape that might have been a leaf , though I 'd never seen a leaf like it . Next to it was a necklace with a clear stone , which I could only shake my head over . I couldn 't imagine what a man could be doing with a necklace , unless he was going to give it to someone . Finally , there was a leather wrist - cuff , crumpled and salt - stained , some beyond - Ring fashion which I 'd never seen John wear . I sat there looking at these strange collection of items , knowing less than when I had started . They all had to be precious to him , for him to carry them all this way , but I couldn 't fathom why . An image came to me of him , holding the necklace in the palm of his hand and rubbing the stone gently with his thumb , and I suddenly felt ashamed . If I trusted him - and I did , passionately - I should trust him to tell us about himself when he was ready . I carefully rewrapped the roll , trying to be as tender about it as he would be , and snuck out of the barn . The neighbors weren 't the only ones curious about John , as we soon found out . One Saturday , he offered to go into town to pick up some wire . I begged for permission to go along , and Father granted it with a twinkle in his eye . I climbed up behind John on his horse and put my arms around his waist , hoping for an adventure . The town wasn 't much to look at , especially not compared to Mother 's stories of the settlement where she 'd grown up . There wasn 't even a school yet , though they were talking about putting one up next year . Mother taught me at home . The most important building was the general store , with the saloon attached , a weathered grey building that listed a little . I had never been allowed to set foot in the saloon , though I was dying to - it represented the world of adult freedom , of men doing the business of men , that even when I was grown and married I might never really know . He made a slight face . " No . I am not going to get drunk . I may consume one lukewarm and only modestly refreshing adult beverage and think for the millionth time about how I would give my left arm for one lousy ice - cold Bud , but I am not going to get drunk . " He talked like that every once in a while , about things I didn 't recognize without offering an explanation , but I didn 't mind . It meant he was mostly talking to himself , but he didn 't mind me hearing it . I liked that . " I wouldn 't tell . " I ducked my head , smiling , as we stopped . We went into the general store , and John spoke to the proprietor , Bayrt , about the wire . Bayrt was an older man , respected by everyone in the valley ; he 'd been here when the town was nothing more than a place to tie up for the night for the post and the rare traveller to somewhere more interesting . He hadn 't met John before , and I could see him sizing him up carefully and nodding with satisfaction . John paid Bayrt , then winked at me and tossed me a coin from the change . " I 'm not going to bail you out if you start a riot , Anjora . Nothing harder than sugar ! " He went through the doors into the saloon . Bayrt followed his movements with his eyes until he was out of sight , then turned and smiled at me . " Hello there , little miss . I declare , you 're getting taller and prettier every day . It won 't be long before all the boys are courting you . " Bayrt went into the back of the store . I looked around for a minute , finding some tiny miniature soldiers of a strange clear material to play with . Then I heard raised voices from the saloon . I glanced over my shoulder to make sure that Bayrt wasn 't looking , then stepped to the door and cracked it open . The smell hit me first : a harsh mixture of alcohol and sweat . There wasn 't much light - there were no windows , only the swinging doors to the street for ventilation , and the corners of the room receded into a dim brownness . Still , I could see that it was large and much more worn - out - looking than the store , with sawdust scattered on the floor , and tables here and there . John was standing at the bar . One of Krader 's men - a new , young one named Stav - was leaning next to him . " Looks like an open bar to me , " John shrugged . " Well , look again . " Stav pointed back . " Every man in here is a real rancher working for a real rancher , not some miserable little dirt - farmer with a few amyot he calls a herd . You 're not drinking in here . " " No , you 're not . " Stav reached out and shoved John 's arm , knocking his drink into his shirt , then pushed himself away from the bar and stood there , chest out , eyes challenging . I gasped . The other men in the bar stood up , moving back to give John and Stav a wide berth . There was a long silence while John touched the damp cloth and looked at his fingertips . " Well , stranger ? " I saw John 's free hand clench . He carefully put his glass down on the bar , and I braced myself for the fight . I hoped the other men wouldn 't join in . We kids stuck to fair fights , but I wasn 't sure those men would . I wanted to help , but I couldn 't pretend that I could be much good , and it was too far to run for Father . John straightened up , and Stav raised his fists . But John didn 't hit him . He only turned and walked away , through the doors , back into the store , right past me . Bayrt had come back with the wire and the chocolade . John took them silently . I could hear the roar of laughter and cheers from the bar as we went outside and got on the horse . We had only gone a little way before I burst into tears . John must have felt them on the back of his shirt , but he said nothing , only poked the chocolade back at me . I couldn 't eat a bite . It all tasted bitter to me . " - shouldn 't even have let her go into town without me , Anogan ! John 's careful , but he 's not from here ! You knew something like this could happen ! " I pushed open the door , leaving Mother 's voice behind , and circled around back of the house . After John had told Father what had happened , I had gotten a quarter - hour 's lecture about sticking my nose into trouble before Mother had tired of me and switched to Father . I could tell she was making so much of a fuss in part so that we wouldn 't have to talk about what else had happened , but it was still hard to listen . I couldn 't tell what was more disappointing : my glimpse of the ugliness of the saloon , or the way John had backed down from it . I sat down on a rock , folded my arms , and kicked at the dirt . After a few minutes , John appeared . He went into the barn , then emerged carrying the two sticks he had brought with him . " Hey there . You okay ? " " You don 't want to know . " He came over and sat down next to me , propping the sticks on the rock . " Were you scared ? " " I wanted to help , " I said . " But I couldn 't . I 'll never be half as big as Stav . Maybe Mother 's right after all . " He rubbed his chin . " Your mother 's just worried that if you grow up too tough out here , no one will want to marry you . But the prettiest girl I ever knew was also the best fighter . " His eyes clouded over . " No . " He chewed his lip for a minute , looking as if he were thousands of miles away . Then he shook himself and picked up one of the sticks . " I 've got an idea . How about I teach you how to use these ? " " Maybe , but sometimes . . . " He hesitated , looking at the stick in his hand . " Sometimes even when you win , it doesn 't turn out the way you wanted it to . " I felt a sudden chill , thinking of the things wrapped up in his saddle - roll , but I couldn 't ask . Instead , I said , " I promise , John . I mean it , " and reached for the other stick . Chores went by a lot faster when I knew I would be able to escape out back , beyond Mother 's watchful eye , to learn how to fight . John said we couldn 't call it by its proper name because we only had one stick each , so we just said � stick - fighting . ' I didn 't care what we called it as long as I got to spend all that time with John , learning to strike and block . I wasn 't just hitting things , the way any kid could when she was playing ; I was hitting things hard and fast and right , the way that worked . But it was tough , too . He didn 't go easy on me , and of course he was much bigger and stronger and faster than I was . I got whacked a lot , and it was a good thing life on the farm was rough enough that Mother didn 't think anything of bruises . Sometimes I got really frustrated , and once when I got knocked down for the fourth time in four passes , I yelled a curse word I had learned from Father and flung the stick away . " Hey ! Hey ! " John said , jumping after the stick , his brows knitting together and his whole face going grim . For the first time ever , I knew he was angry at me . The rest of the world seemed to come to a stop , and I held my breath as he picked up the stick and wiped it off carefully , his back to me . " You have to respect your weapons , " he said finally , not turning around , raising the stick and looking at it in the sunlight . " That 's really important . Do you understand ? " He rubbed his hand through his hair and I saw his shoulders relax . " It 's okay , Anjie . " He turned back to me . " I know it 's hard . I fell a lot when I was learning , and I 'm a lot bigger than you . " He offered me the stick with a small smile . " Ready to go again ? " But my happiness in learning from John couldn 't blind me to what was going on in the valley that summer . Word of John 's walking away from the fight with Stav got around fast . Krader 's men got pushier than ever , and our neighbors didn 't exactly blame John , it was obvious they thought he 'd made matters worse . They had already met several times at our house to discuss what could be done about Krader . Father , as one of the earliest and stubbornest settlers , was a natural leader of the group . The next time , all the men could talk about was how bold Krader 's men had gotten , cutting across other people 's property , smashing wagons left unattended , cornering girls walking alone . Unlike some of the others , Palt , one of the most nervous of the latecomers , hadn 't actually had any of his property damaged , but he complained that since John had backed down from Stav , he hadn 't been able to go into town without being laughed at . John looked out the window while Palt talked and talked , like he didn 't even hear . I bristled privately , but said nothing , trying to mind my knitting . John hit the table . " Don 't you ever talk like that , " he said through his teeth , and now he was looking at Palt , and his eyes were burning coals . " Not around me . " I didn 't wait to hear the answer . I 'd gotten to the end of a row . Dropping my knitting , I ran out after John . He was standing at the gate , swinging it back and forth a little . " It 's not my fight , Teyla , " he was saying . " I did what I had to do . You can 't ask me - " " He doesn 't bother me , Anjie . " He reached out and ruffled my hair . " Don 't worry . Everything 's going to be okay . " " John . " Father was standing in the door . " There 's some talk of going into town together next Saturday for supplies . I 'd be happier if you sat in on the plans with us . " Father and the others did end up deciding that it was safer to go into town in a group , so the next Saturday he hitched up the wagon and Mother , John , and I climbed in . Mother had put on her prettiest dress , not lilefir but silk , one of the two she had brought out from the settlement when she married Father . She kept up a determinedly cheerful conversation all the way in , and soon drew Father and me in with her , so it was just like the days before Krader had come when we were off to a gathering . I noticed , though , that John was quiet , often turning his head to check the road . Father had his gun , but John didn 't even have his sticks . The families together made a happy day of it at first . We usually only all got together on holidays - Wild Night and Midwinter and the new one , Wraithsfall - and so that 's what it felt like . Old Marcal was playing a fiddle in the street . People talked and laughed as they bought their goods from Bayrt , and the kids played outside or sat in the shade and crunched on candy . There was a hot game of pebbletry I longed to get into . Jiana , the sister of those irritating boys by the river , still had my prized shooter from two months ago , and girls much older than us didn 't play pebbletry anymore , so I was worried I might never get it back . But it felt more important to keep a close eye on John , who wandered about the store , apparently aimlessly , though sometimes raising an eyebrow at the various strange goods that were heaped up on barrels . I wasn 't fooled . I had learned to spot purpose lurking in his casual glances , and I could feel in my bones that something big was going to happen . I wasn 't wrong , either . Father and Mother were engrossed in a discussion with Bayrt about some new kind of soil you added to the dirt that was supposed to help lilefir grow faster and taller when John made a sudden turn in his stroll and disappeared through the doors into the saloon . I gave Mother a wavering glance , then thought of John 's fighter friend and crept over to the doors myself . Stav wasn 't there , and I felt mingled relief and disappointment . But I saw two men nudge each other as John went over to the bar , and one of them got up and went outside . Sure enough , just as John was settling in with a glass of tassa - root liquor , Stav ambled in from the street . John tilted his head . " Okay , you got me . I 'm lying . " He threw his drink on Stav 's shirt . " I really just wanted to do that . " Stav didn 't answer - he just took a swing . John stepped inside the punch and hit him hard . The other men hastily got to their feet , filling the air with the sound of scraping chairs , and Poil snapped , " Don 't forget , " from behind the bar , getting out the shotgun . It wasn 't much of a fight , or it wouldn 't have been , anyway . Stav was young and tough and not stupid , and he figured out pretty fast that he 'd underestimated John even if he was a good bit older . But John was like something not even human , quick and deadly accurate , constantly just out of Stav 's reach . It was probably less than three minutes before John slammed Stav 's arm against the edge of the bar and everyone could hear the bone snap . Stav went down , face dead white . But Stav wasn 't alone . The two men I 'd seen earlier , plus a couple more , moved in as soon as Stav fell , muttering . John turned to face them , eyes cold and dead , and one of them faltered , then broke and bolted out the street door , but the rest of them kept coming . It wasn 't a fair fight , couldn 't be , and I knew John couldn 't take three at once . It smelled even worse on the inside , but I didn 't care . One of the men was down , underneath a smashed table . John was ducking the punches of the second . The third was hanging back a little , and I wished I had my stick to take him on , the coward . When the second charged at John , he moved aside easily , turning to face him . The third seized one of the splintered table legs and came at John from behind , hitting him hard in the head . John didn 't fall , but he staggered , and the second man connected with a punch , knocking him back against the bar . The third man drew back his arm for a mighty swing - but Father caught it . The man turned to look at him , astonished , and Father smashed him in the face with his elbow . He went down just as John braced himself against the bar and lashed out with his boot at the other man , sending him flying . " In more ways than one . " Father went over to John , who had fallen back against the bar again , breathing hard , and was feeling at his head . His hand came away all bloody , and I gasped . Father touched his shoulder . " John ? " He looked down at me and blinked . " Anjie ? " He smiled weakly , hastily putting his hand behind his back . " Boy , you 'd take any excuse to get in here , wouldn 't you ? " The fight put an end to the festivities ; even the tougher settlers , quietly jubilant over John 's victory , knew it was best to bring the day to its close . Mother bought some cloth and improvised a bandage as we rode home . John didn 't look any too good , and he ended up stretching out in the back of the wagon , breathing shallowly . I went back and sat down next to him . " I know . And I 'm not going to lie to you , kiddo , you can 't always fight fair . But I wanted - " He sighed . " I wanted to give him a chance . He 's hardly more than a kid himself . And none of them deserve . . . " He trailed off . I looked at the bandage . Blood was already seeping through it . " I think they deserve whatever they get , " I said fiercely . He laughed , and then reached up and tugged on my braid . " Sorry . It 's just . . . for a minute , you reminded me . . . " He looked up at the darkening sky . " That 's a harsh way of looking at it , Anjie . " " I hope so , " he said , but it didn 't sound like he believed it . We were quiet for a little while , the only sounds the creaking of the wheels and the clop of the horse 's hooves . John said drowsily , " Hey , could you complain about having a splinter or something ? " We did have a few more weeks of peace ; Krader 's men stayed well away from the farm , and there weren 't any incidents in town . It was a good thing , too , as the harvest was almost on us and everyone in the valley had a lot of hard work to do . The heat was baking , the glare in the sky relentless . Mother and I hardly even got to see Father and John , except at meals . I carded lilefir til my fingers bled and lived for the few hours I got to spend practicing with John . With the fight , he had won back the respect of the neighbors . Palt still gave him scornful looks , but the others listened attentively when he spoke . He seemed to like it even less than before , sliding his chair back into the shadows or stepping outside during visits . We had one meeting after the fight , when everyone agreed to wait and see what would happen . John and Father beating up a few hands couldn 't possibly stop Krader forever , but maybe he would decide it was easier to come to an arrangement than to fight us . He didn 't , of course . One evening , John had come in from the fields just in time to catch the last embers of sunset from the porch . I snuck away from the last - minute supper preparations to join him - I was no good with the tricky parts of cooking , anyway , so Mother was usually willing not to notice me going . John was whittling away on a new latch for the front window when he suddenly squinted into the road . He dismounted and came onto the porch . " You 'd better hear this , John , " he said over his shoulder as he went inside . John frowned , but followed him , and I did , too . Bilner didn 't turn around . " He 's older - a little older than you , John . Tall , dark hair , dark eyes . Soft face , but not enough to fool anyone . Pockmarks , long dark coat . Maybe handsome once , though , if he wasn 't so mean . Looks like he thinks we 're all just dust to trample beneath his feet . " But John and Father were sharing a worried look . " You should tell everyone , " Father said , " to be extra - careful in town . No going alone , no going into the saloon . No going at all unless you have to . " Supper was very quiet , despite the company . After Mother and I had cleared up , I went out to the barn to see if John wanted to practice . I found him kneeling over his saddleroll , studying his gun . As I came in , he quickly folded up his roll and put it back beneath his loft . " Do you need something , Anjie ? " His eyes were bright and false . " No , " I said , trying not to be angry . I wanted so badly for him not to hide things from us , from me , but the only way I could think of to show him that he was wrong to do it was to be as serious and grownup as I could . So I made some excuse about finding the cat and backed out . I was sure John was right about Krader , but I don 't think even Father thought he 'd be proved right as quickly as he was . Two nights later , when John and I were practicing , we heard wild hoofbeats on the road . I thought of the first night that John had stayed with us , and I ran out of the barn , waving my stick , John hard on my heels . Father burst onto the porch with his shotgun . Shapes emerged from the night - but it was only Bilner on horseback . " You know how he always thought he had to prove he was five times the man of anyone around here . Damn fool went into town alone , and as if that wasn 't enough , decided to finish off the day with a drink in the saloon . Krader 's new man was in there . I guess they passed a few friendly remarks back and forth - something to do with you , John - " " With me ? " " About him being crowded out of his place in the valley by some drifter . Anyway , Palt went for his gun , only Krader 's man drilled him before he even cleared the holster . Two shots , clean through him . They 're bringing the body back to his farm now . " " I 'm an old man . I guess death will come for me when it 's time . But you have a wife and a little girl to think about , Anogan , and you 'll be Krader 's next target . " Father smiled a little . " The people have spoken . " His face got serious again . " Listen , Bilner , you ride around tonight and try to get people to hold tight . This is only Krader getting even with us for what happened to Stav . We can 't give up before he even gets started . " Bilner nodded at me and Mother , then turned and rode hard out of the gate . John turned away , slipping the stick out of my hands as he passed me . " What are you going to do now , Father ? " Palt 's funeral was small . He didn 't have a family , and a lot of people were afraid to come . I felt a little scared myself - scared and strange . Death was common enough in the valley ; there were plenty of little markers scattered through the flat patch of dry land that had become our burying - ground . Kids died of sicknesses and adults died of accidents every season . But it had been a couple of years since the last shooting , and I hadn 't understood in the same way . The funeral , with the loose dirt piled next to the hole , the uneven pine box they 'd slapped together for him , the ragged sticks they marked the spot with , seemed to be of a piece with the saloon back in town . Another look into the raw adult world , with so many things exposed that , after my first glimpse , I wasn 't so sure I wanted to see anymore . Father and Mother stood close to me through the funeral , each of them with one hand on my shoulder . I looked back when they were lowering the coffin into the earth at John , a few feet away . He was squinting off into the distance , the wind playing with his hair and dashing dust in his face . I wondered if he believed in the words about the Ancestors , that they were waiting to welcome the dead home . I felt he didn 't , and wondered what he did believe in . I got no sign during the funeral that he thought that anything was going on beyond putting in the ground something that used to be a person . I shivered . The galaxy was so big to be that empty . Father stayed after a little , talking quietly to some of the other farmers , so we didn 't reach the farm til just past dusk . John spotted the horsemen out front first . " Visitors , Anogan . " As we turned into the gate , I saw that it was just who we had all guessed : Krader . Behind him a little ways was a man I didn 't recognize , who had to be the man who 'd shot Palt . I heard John take in a sharp breath and felt him go still all over . " Well , since you 're here , speak your piece . " Father didn 't get down from the wagon , but Mother did , pulling me after her . I felt Krader and his man 's eyes on us as we walked to the porch , hearts pounding . But we made it inside safely . Mother threw the latch as I ran to the window . Krader was a tall , grizzled man , like an old rock in a dangerous current . The new man looked just as Bilner had described him , except maybe a little older . Father was bent on Krader , but the new man and John had eyes for no one but each other . " I came to talk sense with you , Anogan . That killing was a bad business . " " I want you to come work for me . I 'll buy your land and your house - you name the price . " He glanced at John . " I 'll hire your man , too . I hear he 's good with his hands . " " I see . " Father rubbed his chin . I was holding the window frame so tightly it was cutting into my hands . " No , thank you . Malla and I built this place , and I believe we 'll keep it . John can speak for himself , of course . . . " A spasm of anger passed over Krader 's face , hideously ugly , but it was gone as quickly as it had come . " I 'm trying to be reasonable , " he said . " You be reasonable , too . Think about it . Come to town tonight with your answer . " He touched spur to his horse , and rode off through the gate . Kolya followed , but he backed his horse out , and only when he was well onto the road did he turn his back on us . I glanced at Mother , and saw she was holding Father 's shotgun tight in her hands . Catching my eye on her , she quickly went to put it back up and let the men in . " Anogan - " she started , but Father slammed his fist into the wall . " To come on my land and make threats like that - after killing that poor bastard Palt like a dog - " It had been a long time since I 'd seen Father that angry . Mother 's own voice was trembling . " If he had taken one step towards you , Anogan . . . " " He can try , " Father said . " I 'm not afraid of the old man . This is it , Malla . If we don 't settle this tonight . . . " " But it won 't be Krader he 'll be fighting , " she said . " Sure as anything , he 'll have to deal with Kolya . He 's no old man . " " No . But if Anogan backs down tonight , there won 't be anyone left in the valley at the end of the week . There won 't be anything to fight for . " " Oh - " Mother said . " It 's so - ! " She turned and went into their room . I thought about following her , but I couldn 't . I understood what was coming that night , and even if it was going to be terrible , it would settle everything . I had to see it all . Father folded his hands on the back of a chair and looked down at them . " Thank you , John . " " True . " Father smiled a distant smile . " I 've never regretted marrying her , John , and I never will . " He shook himself , took his gun out of its holster , and began checking it . " Anjie , " he said . " Whatever happens , I want you to do what your mother and John tell you to do . They 'll look out for you . " I couldn 't speak . After the long - drawn - out tension of the summer , suddenly time had caught us all up and was rushing us forward . I could see the dirt and the pine box and the sticks , and the future ended there . I bit my lip to keep from crying . I realized that John was looking at me , and I fought to raise my chin higher , blinking furiously so he couldn 't see . " She 's brave , " he said . " Whatever happens . . . " He was still standing behind Father , and there was something odd about his stance . Something I remembered from training with him . I started to open my mouth , but he winked at me . " She can handle it , " he finished , and brought the rolling pin down on Father 's temple . I gasped . Father groaned and slumped forward , the gun falling from his hand . Mother burst into the room . " John , what 's going on ? " " No one can blame him for not going now . " John picked up the gun and ejected the ammunition , flinging it out the window into the night . " Y - you 're going , " I choked . " Looks like it . " John felt Father 's pulse . " I think he 'll be okay , but you 'd better brew him some medicine , Malla . He 's going to have a hell of a headache when he wakes up . " Mother was still frozen . Then she said , " Oh , John , " and flung her arms around him , eyes glistening . John let her hug him for a second , then straightened up . " I 'd better get this over with . " He gently clapped Father on the back . " Otherwise he 'll be up to stop me . " Everything was too big inside me . I couldn 't tell whether I loved or hated him more for being who he was , what he was , but I had already promised myself I wouldn 't run away , and I stuck to it . I just nodded at him . Mother stood there for a moment longer , listening , then she shook herself and began hunting up the various herbs and roots she used to brew a painkiller . I waited until her back was turned , then I slipped out the door . As she bustled in the kitchen , I thought her glance fell on me through the window , but then she looked away . I stopped in the barn only long enough to confirm that John 's saddleroll was gone . I tried to think only of the gun . I had never seen an actual gunfight , but I knew you were supposed to have a second , someone to hold your coat and tell your story if you fell . I looked around - he 'd taken the sticks , too . So I resigned myself to my pocketknife and started off , as fast as I could in the dark . At least John wouldn 't be able to ride hard , either . The night was soft and warm , alive with all the little sounds of the valley : animals crawling through brush , nightbirds trilling , the occasional buzz of an insect . The moon was low and ominous on the horizon . I stayed off the road for fear John would look back and spot me , but I knew every inch of this land , and rarely stumbled or fell . It was a long way for a run , but I could hear John 's horse ahead of me , and I held onto that when my legs and my lungs started to burn . Town was deserted . The saloon cast a vague light into the street , but even it was quiet . I watched from a distance as John tied up his horse , then slipped in as close as I dared . The saloon was empty - even Poil was nowhere to be seen . At the other side of the room , near the entrance to the store , Kolya was leaning against the wall , hardly distinguishable among the shadows . John had changed back into the dark clothes he had first worn into the valley . He looked a lot like he had that day : casual , tired , but intensely alert underneath it all . His hand hovered near the grip of his strange gun . " Kolya . Never thought I 'd see you again . " " You know , I thought it might come to this . You always were one for the stupid heroic gesture , weren 't you ? " Kolya straightened , and John 's hand twitched , but Kolya didn 't go for the gun . " How the mighty have fallen . The great Colonel John Sheppard , shoveling cattle manure in some backwater on a planet too poor even to plunder . " " It 's called a power vacuum , Sheppard , one you created . But then , you never really did understand politics . " Kolya shook his head . " If only your people could see you now . But - of course - they can 't . Funny how you managed to survive when everyone you swore to protect is dead , isn 't it ? " " The bartender had to step into the back , " Kolya said . Then his hand dipped and his gun came up , but John had moved , too . I heard a rattle of gunfire , many shots , more than should have been possible with only two guns , and Kolya was slumping , sagging against the wall , still shooting . John ducked down behind a table , waited a minute , then popped up and fired again , and this time Kolya was still . John got up , cautiously , and crossed the room to him . He lifted his gun and fired again , into his head . It sounded like a ripe fruit being split open , and then Kolya wasn 't even recognizable . " Shoulda done that a long time ago , " I heard John murmur , but then he grimaced and his shoulders sagged . My heart felt like it was going to burst . I always knew John could win , but to see it - I was trembling with awe . I was about to push the doors open all the way and run to him when I felt something warm , like a hand on my shoulder , and a woman 's voice said in my ear , " Look ! " I was startled , but glanced across the room . John was still standing over Kolya , his head bent to him . A figure was stepping quietly from the back , and I realized that it was Krader , already bringing a shotgun to his shoulder . " John , look out ! " I cried . John spun , pulling his own weapon again , and again there was that improbable spatter of bullets . Krader cried out , a harsh roar of anger and pain , fell to his knees , and then dropped out of sight behind the bar . John ran over to check on him , but whatever he saw seemed to satisfy him . I looked behind me , but there was no one there . I was still staring back into the night when John called to me . " Anjie ! What are you doing here ? " He was standing in the center of the room , and his face was strange . " John ! You did it ! " Now I did run to him , practically colliding with his middle and wrapping my arms around him . I could smell the sweat and feel how fast his heart was going , and , suddenly shy , I let him go . " Let 's go home . " " Okay , kiddo . We 're out of here . " It was funny , I was so excited - John had saved Father , saved the farm , saved the valley , saved everybody - but it was too much excitement to spill out into words . Neither of us said anything until we were out in the fresh air . " You 're turning into a real barfly , " he said . " Am I going to have to do an intervention ? " I burst out , " Are you really Sheppard of Atlantis ? The one who destroyed the Wraith ? " He sighed and nodded slowly . " Yes , I am . Or I was . Now , if you tell people that , you 'll get a lot of attention , but there will also be a lot of trouble . " At that minute , I would have died to keep his secret , just for the pleasure of having it . " But I won 't ! " I said indignantly . " Good . I knew you wouldn 't . " He squinted out into the night . " You should be getting back now . Your parents will be worried sick about you . " The rightness of it crashed on me in a wave of feeling , but I didn 't understand . I didn 't want to understand . " Why not ? " " This kind of town can 't live with a killer , " he said . " I 'd just be a magnet for trouble . Besides . . . I 've been hiding for a long time . Too long . I need to start making myself useful again . " He took my hand in his . " Look , Anjie , living with your family , it 's been . . . " He bit his lip , searching for words . " My friends and I , we won the war , but . . . I couldn 't see it . Couldn 't feel it . This summer here , that 's what made it real for me , and I . . . I needed that . " He squeezed my hand . " But I have to get back out there . We didn 't fight the war so that people like Krader could walk all over people like you . I still have a job to do , and I 've done it here . " That reminded me . I sniffled and looked up at him , preparing to tell him about the woman 's voice I had heard . Then , past his shoulder , I saw her . Not tall , but beautiful , dusky - skinned , with long brown hair , a soft wavering glow around her . I felt a rush of the same warmth that had touched my shoulder during the fight . John , always so aware of his surroundings , seemed completely oblivious to the woman 's presence . I realized that she had to be an Ancestor , or one of us who had joined them , like in the old legends . She smiled at me and shook her head , and I knew I wasn 't supposed to tell that she had spoken to me . I didn 't think John believed in such things , anyway , and I couldn 't argue with him , not now . Now she was looking at John , still smiling as she faded away , her white glow gradually dissipating behind him . When she was gone , I breathed out slowly . " Do you have to go now ? " " Just a scratch . " He lifted my chin . " Listen to me , Anjie . You 're going to be fine here . It may not always seem like it to you , but this is a good place for a kid to grow up , especially with a mom and dad like yours . Still , it doesn 't have to be forever if you don 't want it to be . When you 're old enough , if you keep working at it , there will be a way . " He stepped back and moved to his horse . I stood and watched as he untied it and mounted . He spoke a soft word , and it turned and started up the road ; I couldn 't tell if I was imagining the faint glimmer that trailed after him . He quickly became just a silhouette , a lone figure in the night , but I stared after him as long as I could , until he merged indistinguishably with the shadows . Father and Mother just glanced at each other , like they weren 't surprised . Mother got up and came to me , putting out her arm . " Are you all right , Anjie ? " I could hear their low voices behind me , hysterical with relief , as I closed the door . I was suddenly so grateful for them , for the house around me , for the land that would still be ours tomorrow , that whatever anger I had at John for leaving us just melted away . But I wasn 't prepared for what I found when I groped my way to the bed and lit a candle . A pair of sticks . Not Teyla 's - new ones , ones John must have scraped together time and strength to make after each long day 's work had ended and I had finally gone to bed . They weren 't as beautiful as hers , but they were carefully and honestly made , and fit my palms perfectly . I took a few swings , and it was like they were an extension of me . Underneath the sticks was a note . Well , not properly a note , just a series of symbols , seven in a row each time . They had to be Ring addresses . Had to be . I remembered what John said , about there being a way when I was old enough , and I held the paper in my hands reverently . I slept with it under my pillow that night , and for many nights to come . The killings and John 's departure set off an enormous amount of talk in the valley . Many people speculated wildly about his identity , where he 'd come from , and where he was off to . I always listened with a secret smile ; it was funny to think that an eleven - year - old girl knew what a whole valley was dying to find out . But the truth is , I was never tempted to tell , not even my parents . Maybe to the galaxy , he was Sheppard of Atlantis , vanished hero of the last war against the Wraith . But to me , he was the man who had ridden into our valley one day and done a brave and kind and terrible thing to save it for us and ridden out again . He would always just be John .

I 'm leaving the old intro here , but adding this - it appears the doves have taken over my blog for their fiction . Just as well , I was doing a piss poor job of updating . They 're doing much better . This blog is infrequently updated , full of incorrect spellings , misused words , and general bad grammar . It started when I was trying to use google + ( which I 've since given up on ) and discovered there was no character limit for posts . If you 've known me a long time , a lot of these stories will be old hat . If you plan to know me for a long time , you 'll no doubt hear many of them in person . But , folks seemed to enjoy them , so here they are . Another story , this one set in Brazil . Dustin and I flew into Manaus to meet my Brother and Yuka , and we all went out onto the Amazon . We had a guide and were out for maybe five nights ? I 'm not totally sure . One night , Dustin wanted to take a night walk - lord knows what he thought we 'd see , but we all got ourselves together . At the last minute , the guide decided he didn 't want to go , and sent us with the cook , instead . That is another story . This story is very short . We only had one flashlight , and the cook had it in the front , and somehow or other I was in the back . Only about 200 yards from the campsite , I stepped in a hole . I admit it - I squawked like a startled parrot . My brother , right in front of me , turned around quickly enough to see me still descending into the hole . It ended up only being about thigh deep , and I was totally fine , but much later in the evening , when we finally got back , he admitted to having a split second of envisioning himself trying to explain to my mother when he got home that he 'd lost his little sister fall down a rat hole . Today , a Massart story : a little context is necessary for this one . I was a small metals major at Massart , but spent at least as much time in the foundry and attached large metal studio as I did in small metals . Small metals was a very clean , quiet studio - the kind of place where you could concentrate on setting a stone just so . Large metals was loud , and chaotic , and very dirty . I looked like I belonged in the latter . So there I am , covered head to toe in black dirt , in a tank top and stained carrharts , sitting on my bench at the end of the row in small metals . I was grinding off a sprue ( that would be where you pour whatever material you 're casting into whatever it is your casting ) . It was from a bronze thing that I 'd cast in the foundry , but was relativly small , so I was using the flex shaft . Most of the casting I did was large scale , and sprue grinding would have been done downstairs , with an angle grinder , standing up . A flex shaft is used sitting down . The red hot sprue flew off when the grinding was done - right down my pants . I reacted the way that anyone would to a cherry red bit of bronze down one 's pants . I yelled like a lumberjack , lept up , put my hand down my pants , and , when that didn 't work , dropped my trousers in the middle of the studio , while still cursing more or less at the top of my lungs . I still have a scar in an unmentionable location , and I NEVER go into the studio without a belt . and a story : When we were getting ready to sell the house in Somerville , we redid the kitchen . The old one was awful , and while I 'm perfectly capable of living with an ugly kitchen , apparently other folks have difficulty seeing past it . When we pulled out the old cabinet , the kickplate had text on the back . We were able to assemble it and discovered that it was an informational sign from a very old show at the Fogg Museum ; the show had been focused on Chinese Calligraphy , and the sign was about one particular period ( I don 't remember which ) . I 'm still carrying it around , and sometimes I cut pieces off and make things of them . So much for trying to write up a story a day , which makes it ridiculous to open with " today 's story " On that note , another story : When Hamlet first showed up , he would run away all the time . Despite this , I would let him hang in the backyard while I was working in the basement , even with all the holes in the fence . He never seemed inclined to go through them . One day , I heard him barking , from what seemed too far away , so ran upstairs to check - he was in the front yard , barking like mad , but well on our side of the fence . no problem . A few days later , I ran into Joe , mailman , on his rounds , and he asked if I 'd gotten my dog back ok . I asked what he meant , and he said he 'd found Hamlet a few blocks away , brought him back in his mailbag , and put him in the yard . I quickly realized that had to have been when I found him in the front yard . I thanked Joe profusely and asked if Ham had given him any problem . His response ? " He only bit me a little " Today 's Story : This was freshman year of high school ( maybe sophomore year ? ) . I had my first " real " boyfriend - you know , the kind that you actually kiss , on the lips ? and we were out back , behind the school , in the woods , doing some kissing . At some point , I felt a tickle on my ear , but I 'd never made out with a guy ! I wasn 't going to get distracted that easily . The tickle , however , got worse , and kinda moved down my ear canal , getting louder and louder . Turned out to be an ant , who had crawled inside my ear . We ended up spending about a half hour trying to catch this ant with the tweezers from my swiss army knife , as I listened to him stomping around inside my head . It wasn 't very sexy . Hilarious , though . In Mali , with my mom , we went on a walk through the Dogon country . At one point , we dropped off our packs in one village and walked to another - Mamadu knew I was a metalsmith and wanted to introduce me to the blacksmith . On the way back , Mamadu looked at the sky , and casually said " maybe we should hurry " . Mom and I thought very little of it , he seemed so relaxed about the idea ; and while we didn 't stop to take pictures , we didn 't really hurry , either . After about fifteen minutes , Mamadu looked at the sky again , and said , in his same , relaxed manner " Maybe we should hurry " . Mom and I started walking faster , but the rocks were tall , and climbing not easy , so we still weren 't making good time compared to what Mamadu would do on his own . About half way home , Mamadu looked at the sky again and said , with respect but a bit of an annoyed edge " Maybe we should hurry " . Mom and I got the point , and started moving as fast as we really easily could . Then , about 3 / 4 of the way there , Mamadu looked at the sky , grabbed my bag and said " Maybe we should hurry " , and started helping shove us up rocks . Within sight of the village , but with one very large dropoff left to go , Mamadu looked at the sky and said " Maybe we should hurry " Only then did mom and I see what he had seen over an hour before - a black wall . We started clambering down the cliff . Mom , who has always been more comfortable with down than I , took my camera , and all three of us entered into the downward climb at a speed that makes more sense as a partially controlled fall . We made it to the bottom just as the sand hit . I grabbed my camera back and wrapped it in my hastily removed headscarf , and we started trying to run for the village , totally blind . Just as we made it to the village , the sand stopped , and the rain hit . Newly exfoliated , we sat in our lovely mud hut , built with its back to the direction of the wind , and watched waterfalls form on the rock walls of the valley . Today 's Story : When I was seventeen , and in Costa Rica , I cut my thumb very badly on a bit of broken bamboo . I realized fairly quickly that I would need stitches . I didn 't know what to do - I didn 't speak a word of Spanish , and I was there as part of a college class - I didn 't even know exactly where I was , much less how to find a docter . One of the other students , who DID speak Spanish , found one of the farm 's owners , and persuaded him to drive us into town to go to the clinic . It was about an hour in , and then , when we got there , there was an incredible line . There were people camped out , clearly ready to spend days there in order to get antibiotics for very sick children , or to have badly broken bones set , or who knows what else . Suddenly , it didn 't really seem like keeping the end of my thumb was so important . The man who had driven us there was quite a rich man , and walked us to the front of the line . I said nothing , embarrassed to tell him he 'd driven me there for nothing , and unable to ask him to wait in line . I have never stopped feeling horrible about cutting that line for 12 measly stitches . My old roommate Tom used to make us all chili , on a semi - regular basis . This was awesome . One day , he came home with some unmarked peppers and went to sautee them to put in the chili . I was back in my bedroom , with the door closed , but even so , I started coughing . And then it go worse . Finally , I opened the door to ask what the hell was going on , and was hit by what can accurately be described as a cloud of pepper spray . Tom must have heard me open the door , since at that moment he shouted " Go out the window ! Save yourself ! " . We all survived , but it was several hours till we could go back in the house . Back when I was at Oberlin , I went camping on a tiny island in Lake Erie with my friend David . It was post season , so most things were closed , but we made reservations at a little campground . We took a ferry out there , went for a hike , and set up our tent right near the shore - everything was lovely . There was a terrible storm overnight , and I do remember it , but I don 't remember being terribly upset by it . When we woke up in the morning , the wind was still blowing fiercely , and the shore was not where we left it . I grew up on the beach in Florida and was very used to tides - somewhere in the back of my mind , something filed " low tide , 9am " without thinking " wait , this is a lake " . We made some breakfast , and drove over to the ferry terminal to get home . The ferry wasn 't running , because the storm had blown all the water to the other side of the lake . This was not something I was expecting . The storm had also blown out all the communication , and I was supposed to be at work at 10am the next day . We found the only convience store on the island still open , and asked them about the ferry . They said there was another at the other end of the island , at catamaran , that could run in less water , but didn 't expect it to be running . Someone had a two way radio , and phoned them up - sure enough , closed for the day . We did not want to set camp back up in that weather - in fact , we were already covered in a thick layer of mud , were freezing , and both really wanted hot showers more than anything . The guys in the shop thought that the proprietors for one bed and breakfast might still be on the island , so they gave us their address and we set off on our quest . We arrived , and sure enough - they were there . They were packed up and ready to go , but had been foiled by the same ferry that had messed up our plans . They took one look at our bedraggled selves , and said that sure , they were still open . Further , when I asked how much it was ( it was a nice place , and I doubted I could afford their rate ) they said they 'd give us the stranded traWe caught the catamaran ferry the next day . At that point , there was no time to go by Oberlin before my shift , so I arrived in my still muddy clothes , hiking boots , and generally not looking my best . When I walked in the door , the district manager , whom I 'd never gotten along with , was standing there . He gave me one look , and said that whatever my excuse was , he believed it , and that I could miss this shift with no repercussions . It really was a good trip . We made friends , we had fun , and we got a good story out of it . Also , I didn 't lose my job . a longer story , today , but it 's a good one . This is from a different trip to Thailand , though probably only a few miles from the other Thailand story . Dustin and I were in Northern Thailand , and decided to rent a motorbike . We took it up the mountain to the temple we wanted to see , and on the way back down , decided to take a side trip to a waterfall mentioned in my guidebook . My guidebook was old , though , ( from the first trip ) and had already lead us astray several times , so all info from it was being taken as no more than a vague suggestion . The guidebook said the park the waterfall was in would cost about the equivalent of 20 bucks to enter , and that it closed at 5h30 . We got to the park , and the gate was wide open , and the gatehouse unoccupied - further , it looked as though that gatehouse hadn 't been opened in years . So , we continued on in , spent some time at the waterfall , and , when we were done , started back down . The gate was closed , and really quite locked . I figured I had some cracker packets and a water bottle , and this was rather a nice spot , anyway , but Dustin was having none of it . The gate only went over the road - on one side there was a sharp cliff going up , on the other a 45 degree gravel covered embankment going down . He thought we could get the bike by on that side . The bike was not large - somewhat bigger than a vespa , not not even comparable to a Harley , and it didn 't seem impossible . We got the bike down and in front of the gate , and started trying to get it back up . Dustin started sliding down the gravel . At that point , my goal , in total , was to make sure the bike didn 't crush Dustin , and I ended up managing to hook myself to a tree and lock my arms around the bike . This stopped it , but we were MUCH further down the embankment , and had proven an inability to move upwards at all . Dustin got the bike stabilized , and thought he would try to turn it on and possibly use its own power as an assist . I thought this was a terrible idea , and got out of the way . It turned out to be a great idea . When the bike turned on , it 's headlight automatically came on . The police / park rangers who had just closed the gate were still at the bottom of the drive . They saw the light in the trees , and came to investigate . I saw them coming ( there were as many as twenty , as few as ten ) and Thought " yes ! It 's the police ! they 've come to save us ! " and ran up the hill to greet them . Dustin kinda stepped behind a tree , having possibly a different impression of policemen . The police had learned much of their english from pop songs , and assured me that I was beautiful ( complimentary , but not helpful ) and that I should stay right where I was ( surprisingly helpful pop song lyric ) , and went down to collect the bike . They found Dustin , assured him that he was also beautiful , and put him out of the way with me . They got the bike up the hill and , with utter disregard for the geography and very clear evidence , decided that rather than us being in thePosted by Walking through Prospect park today , my brother reminded me of this story : The Time that Damned Baby Skunk Stole me Beer . Our house in Somerville had a fantastic back porch , with a grape arbour . There was a skunk who lived underneath , and whom I would see regularly , and address politely as Mr Skunk . I 'd wish him a good evening , and kept an eye out for him , but certainly didn 't feed him . One summer , Mr . Skunk had her little mini skunklets under the porch . I changed my method of address to Ms . Skunk . Say what you will , but skunklets are possibly the cutest things in the world - cuter than ducklings , maybe even cuter than kittens . So I sat down on the porch , and had a talk with Ms . Skunk . I told her that she and her kits were welcome to stay , but mustn 't spray me , my dog , or my tenants , and , in fact , should avoid spraying on the premises at all . they kept up there side of the bargain , so we had a skunk family as semi - tenants . One weekend the gals upstairs had a barbeque - LOTS of folks on the back porch . This apparently woke up the sleeping , rebellious teenage kits . One of them peeked out from under the porch , on the side . He came out part way , grabbed a beer , and took off . Now , I 'm sure that 's not what actually happened , that he simply came out part way , got scared , turned around and ran back under , knocking over a beer bottle in the process . But from my perspective , that skunk totally stole my beer I love flying over mountains and seeing their shadows . I love seeing farms from way way up and trying to figure out what the very long , very light coloured thing is . I love flying over subdivisions , with their little curvy roads spouting culdesacs , and how they look like mesoamerican petroglyphs , if you 're far enough up . I love seeing puffy clouds on the horizon , and I love the way the sun hitting the top of the cloud , and the shadow on the bottom , makes them look just like mountains reflected in clear lakes . For what may be the first time , I was descending through those puffy clouds right at sunset , and they were red the whole way through , and then , just as the cloud started feathering , and we were coming out , the whole world was momentarily rose coloured , before it became it 's usual , still beautiful , self . When I was 17 , I went to Costa Rica and Nicaragua for the summer . It was the first time i 'd ever done any international travel alone , and it was before online ticket booking really caught on , so my dad booked the flights through his travel agent . The result of this was that , on the way home , I had forty minutes in the dallas airport . That 's 40 minutes to get off a plane , get my bags , go through customs , get from the international to the domestic terminal , and get back on a plane . This is basically impossible , but , remember , I 'd never tried such a thing before , so I didn 't know that . I got my bags and hurried to customs . I knew things were iffy , and mentioned the situation to the fellow in front of me - he was some sort of youngish professional , possibly old enough to have a daughter of his own , and he assured me that this would work out , drew me a map of exactly where I needed to go , and told me to run . He let me in front of him in line , and the customs guy let me through real quick , and I took off . The same fellow caught up to me waiting for the tram thing that takes you from terminal to terminal , and shouted " there 's no time for that ! " . He grabbed my ( very large ) bag , gave me his briefcase , and we took off . He got to my gate slightly before me , and when I ran up , huffing and puffing , I found him standing half in the door of the plane , blocking any attempts to close the ramp . We switched bags back , and I got on . Another story : Traveling with my mother in northern Thailand , we went on a five day walk . I honestly do not remember the purpose . What I do remember is that I had brand new , non - broken in hiking boots . I was young and stupid , and had not realized how bad an idea this was . In the first four hours , I developed a blister on my left heel with a diameter of almost two inches . This made it impossible to keep walking , not only in those boots , but in any shoes at all . I did the rest of the trip barefoot , which won me more young Thai friends than anything else I could have done as a 19 year old tourist . I got to play barefoot soccer at the top of a mountain ( I was NOT the person who kicked the ball off the court , nor was I the person who managed to catch up to it , but I did go careening down the hill after it with the rest of the boys ) , and at the one point where I couldn 't easily walk barefoot - there were very sharp burs on the path - I shared a pair of flipflops with a local young fellow . He would walk about 10 yards , clear a spot to stand on , and throw them to me , I would walk about 10 yards past him , clear a spot to stand on , and throw them back to him , etc . We had a grand time , and I was very happy to be free of boots in that weather , anyway . Before my parents had me , they had Tate and Flower . Tate was a german shepard / collie mix of unknown provenance . Flower was a very small black and white long haired mutt who they 'd adopted from a friend . At the time of this story , they , and my parents , were living in very rural Pennsylvania , and the dogs were allowed to go out and wander at will . One day , Tate came back without Flower . This was truly odd - they were a pretty good pack , and stuck together reliably . My Dad was home , and swears that Tate " did the Lassie thing " . He didn 't pay attention at first - Mom was the one who usually listened to the dogs - but Tate was insistent , and eventually , he got worried about where Flower might be , and followed . They walked for a while , and finally arrived at a rabbit hole . Which Tate barked at , vigorously . Dad , now a bit upset to have been brought all this way just to help bark at a rabbit , started to walk away . Then he heard the rabbit bark back , from down in the hole . Tate started digging at the hole , Dad went and got a shovel , and between the two of them , they dug down and released Flower from where the rabbits were holding her hostage . today 's very short story : Last year , at a retail fair , a little boy walked into my booth , and immediately started trying on masks . Not a problem - they don 't break , and I never put the pointy ones down low . After a few moments , his mom walked in , and told him to put those down , they weren 't meant for wearing . Now , I do my damnedest not to contradict parents in front of their kids , but I had several other groups of folks in there playing dressup , and felt I needed to say something , so I just went with " well , they can be for wearing , if you want " . She responded with an indignant " Why ? ! " . Before I even had a chance to respond , the little boy , no more than waist high but already possessing the mortification over a parents actions usually reserved for teenagers , burst out with " Mommy ! ! They 're for Carnival ! " Another short story : I transferred in to Massart , having already attended two ( yes two ) other schools . I still had to take a few freshman classes , though , including something that involved painting . One of my professors caught me hiding my enormous paintings in a stairwell , and gave me a key to an empty room to use as a studio . This was awesome . For weeks , I had that room to myself , and , being the person I am , I would frequently take off my shirt to paint , as to avoid staining it . That was great , until one day , the professor gave a key to another student , who opened the door to see me , nearly nude , painting a still life . He squeaked , turned beet red , and slammed the door . We later became great friends . In high school , I played in the marching band . One year ( was it freshman year ? ) we went down to Florida , and played in one of an infinite number of parades that go through Disney World . While we were waiting for the parade to start , in our New England wool uniforms , a whole cadre of Micky Mice walked by , in flying V formation , with their heads off , tucked under their arms . If you 've seen these creatures , you know they are inhumanly tall - the actual people inside are looking out the bowtie . Thus , when they have the heads off their uniforms , they are , in fact , headless . There had to have been at least 15 of them , all bumbling by in military formality , carrying their heads . It was a crazily beautiful moment , and one I 'll carry for a very long time . So , a few weeks ago I joined google + . Couldn 't figure out what to do with google + without just reposting everything I put on facebook ( which I already only update once a month or so ) . Then I discovered that google + doesn 't have a character limit on posts , and started writing short little unedited , sometimes inane , sometimes hilarious stories from my life and travels . Then people liked them and said I ought to share them more widely . So here 's some stories , if you want to read them . They aren 't edited for grammar or spelling , and I am no writer , but still , stories are fun .

Welp , no short fiction for you today . Today I have been working my creative side all day . I started by writing a piece of music , I liked it so I recorded a very rough demo . That is how we do it . We do a really rough demo and work with that until we have all the kinks out of it and then we do it for real . Otherwise , its gone . I have the memory of a hummingbird . So usually I will do a little demo on my phone that is 10 times crappier than this little number . I was just bored and having fun with it . Also , be on the lookout for new things . Ive got fiction coming up and I 've been working on my review site too . Big things are ahead . If I can get it worked out , we are also going to play some shows this summer . Stay tuned for more details on that front , but I have been hearing the love out there . Thanks for all the support . I am not sure what the title of this posts summons to mind for you , but it is indicative of a little personal battle I have been having with myself . With so much going on lately , I have been stretched pretty thin . I am watching Dexter and playing Mr . Mom while Addie is at work and when she is home I am job searching ( still no luck ) , doing school work , building my website , trying to do writing exercises , so that I can get better at writing , all while trying to squeeze in time for my story wherever I can find it . Truthfully , its the job searching that is destroying my time , and seemingly in vein . I swear one more assessment and my head will pop off . I have applied for almost every job in every established business in Corinth , as well as in the surrounding cities . The only places I haven 't applied are food service based . Why would I go back to food service when I left a 4 star restaurant and a salary job ? I am trying to / have been trying to move away from food service . Seems that I don 't have much experience in retail or whatever ( insert random business here ) . I think it is those pesky assessments . Do you guys actually answer them honestly ? That is what I have been doing and apparently I am a terrible person . Which is funny , because I left Liberty National because I didn 't like feeling like I was scamming people and cold calling . Alright , I am done ranting , on to the purpose of this post . So , this is not about my lack of a job , nor is it about Liberty National and my disgruntled status . This is about my current work of fiction . I haven 't posted in awhile and I wanted to say hello , I am still here , thanks for hanging in there with me , but for what purpose . I have no story for you . In fact , it isn 't even halfway done . BUT … I could give you some of it now ? Thus we get to the relevance of the title . Would you rather get the unedited first two chapters / segments now ? Or wait until I complete the whole story and receive it as a lump dump ( I enjoyed that ) . I can tell you this much for sure , it will be fairly long , at least in terms of short stories , might even be on the novella side of things , but it has me excited . At the end of this post I will include a poll . I encourage you all to vote . If you say you want it now , then you shall have it and I can get some immediate feedback . And if you say wait for gold ( hoping that it does in fact turn into gold ) , then we 'll wait . If no one votes , which I expect to be what actually happens , I mean we have to be realistic here , I have 21 followers and how many of you really get into this type of post ? I would wager not many , but I don 't know you . If no one votes , I will wait , so what I am saying is , if you want it now you have to earn it . If you want to wait , that is fine too . Instead , I will just write a review for my website or tell you some other random story about my personal life . I have a post in mind for this blog entitled " Mr . MOM , My Life As A Stay At Home Dad " . I think it will turn up some interesting events and emotions . I 'll tell you one thing , it has been an interesting ride so far . I felt the unmistakable urge to just start weeping while we were watching the lion king earlier . That never happened before ? In my head it was like , WTF is happening to me ! I am about to cry . We quickly turned it off and began to play dinosaurs and Batman . Alright , enough of all that before I ruin that other post . That was going to be one of my punchlines . I am finished here . I will leave you with the poll and return to working on the story while Dexter sleeps . Nap time will be over soon anyway . Thanks to all of you who read this . Its pretty cool that you care . This is another old gem . I believe it was my first attempt , maybe second , at flash fiction . Its a story about an old man . I think the original title was the old man , but I thought it cheesy or something . Reading it now , it seems so short , but thats the whole point of flash fiction . So enjoy the short little read . The dark staircase creaked as he crept down to the basement . The even whoosh - whoosh of the washing machine was comforting to him . He reached for the light as he entered the room . A dim bulb blinked on above him . There was a small table across the room from the washer - dryer combo . It was his work station . Many hours of his life had he spent there on various projects . Upon reaching the desk he flipped a switch and flooded the table with greenish light . In the center of the table was a small wooden box , mahogany . A small latch hung on the front held shut by a tiny lock . The old man removed the key from a leather strap that he kept around his neck and placed it next to the box on the table . Then he noticed his hands had begun to shake , trembling ever so gently . Outside the night was cold and the wind was blowing . If not for the steady whoosh - whoosh of the washer , he could hear it howling , almost calling his name . The box on the table seemed to be staring at him , waiting patiently . He picked up the key . The washer stopped shaking and the room was silent for a moment . The old man put the key inside the lock and opened it . He pulled the small lock off and unhinged the latch . His hands were still shaking . He opened the box . A purple velvet cloth filled the inside and folded over the top of its contents . His hands were shaking harder now and he reached down into the box . His wife had gone years ago . Cancer had taken her . His only son had died two days earlier in a car accident . He had no living family or friends . No reason to go on at all . He was old and lonely and ready for it to be over . From beneath the velvet cloth , he pulled the . 35 . He put it in his mouth and thought of his wife and son . Then he pulled the trigger . The washer clicked off the spin cycle and the only sound left in the room was the wind , calling his name . Today , I started another website . It is basically a review site for table top gaming . I have virtually no content yet , but basic design is there . I am excited so I am telling you all about it . Here is a link . Don 't worry I 'll put another one at the bottom . As I said before , there isn 't much content yet , but I am really excited about it . So you gamers out there can check back in a while and hopefully find one you like . I have a big list of games to review , so over the next couple of weeks or so I have got to get crackin . What should I include in my reviews ? What would you like to know about a tabletop game ? Should I just ramble on about my feelings about the game , or get into some tough journalism ? Tell me your thoughts . Alright , so I posted earlier about wetting your appetite . I was fumbling around my archives and I have realized that I lost a lot of my old stories . Sad . I may stil have some of them in hard copy , but that means I have to type them up , which is as much or more work than actually writing more new stuff . I did find this one . It 's called " Hello Cheryl " and I wrote it way back in 2006 . So without further ado : He was Ally 's current boyfriend . They had been together since her divorce six months ago . Ally and Daniel 's divorce had come in summer . It was a clean break and there hadn 't been any problems , except for the kids . Emily and Andy . She was 12 and he was 10 . The divorce had been hard on them . It upset Ally to see them like that , but over time they came to accept that mommy and daddy didn 't love each other and didn 't want to live together anymore . Edward came around just after the divorce . Daniel always accused her of cheating , but she suspected that he was just trying to justify his own cheating throughout the marriage . She hadn 't cheated , but she hadn 't felt bad either for getting involved with another man directly after the divorce . Although Emily and Andy had had a rough time with the divorce , they knew where they wanted to be , with Ally . She had been a stay at home mom before the divorce . She liked spending time with the kids and thought it motherly to keep the house up . Emily and Andy weren 't messy children . She got a nice little house and a job as a housekeeper in town . She got to keep the mini - van from the divorce and of course , she was allotted a child support of four hundred and fifty dollars a month . It sounds like a lot , but for a high - class attorney like Daniel , it wasn 't that big of a deal . He never paid much interest in what his children wanted or liked . It was , take what you can get or get nothing at all . He had planned once to take them all to Disneyland , but just like always he backed out at the last minute . It seemed that Daniel was the king of making promises that he couldn 't keep . He knew he couldn 't keep them , but he didn 't want them to think that he wasn 't a good father . There wasn 't any way of getting around it . He was failing . " Oh , just out for dinner and a movie . We 're going to see the late show . It 's that new film , just been released , about that boy who can change his appearance and make himself look like anything . " " Well , that 's nice . I think you and Jason make a great couple . " Ally replied , and continued on with her instructions . " Just put the kids to bed around eleven or eleven thirty . We 're gonna let them sleep in tomorrow . The only things they 'll miss are the Saturday morning cartoons . " She said with a giggle . They continued to say their goodbyes as Edward waited in the car . Cheryl assured her that everything would be fine and that she 'd take good care of Ally 's two little munchkins . " I got it Ms . Dawson . Eleven or eleven thirty , bed . Make sure they get a snack . No scary movies . Keep all the doors locked until you get back . And no visitors . " " I 'm sure you 'll do fine . " Ally said , pulling Cheryl next to her for a hug . " But there is just one more thing . Andy has been having bad dreams about a monster in his closet , so just make sure you check on him every so often , or else he 'll stay up all night . " Cheryl was the eighteen year old from down the street . She baby - sited for all the neighbors with kids . She had earned herself quite a reputation as a reliable babysitter and Ally felt like she was one of her own . In small towns , like Rossdale , it seemed that everyone raised everyone else 's kids . At least in the big neighborhoods like the one just off county road no . 3 that they lived on . The night crept by as it always did , slowly . It 's a good thing I get paid by the hour , she told herself . She let them watch all their favorite shows on Disney and Nickelodeon . After , The Spastic Life of Jake and Tyler or something , she decided that it was time to put the children to bed . She clicked off the tube and told the children that it was time for bed . They made a little sigh , but didn 't argue . Mom had told them to be good . She walked them to their rooms and put them in their beds . " What about the monster in my closet ? " Andy asked , wondering how she 'd handle the situation . " Yes , there is and as soon as I go to sleep he is going to come out of there and eat me . Then he 's going to vomit me up and eat me again . You know , like the flies . " " Fine . " She exclaimed . " I 'll show you . " She walked over to the closet door and opened it quickly . " See , " She said mocking him . " No monster . No nothing . Just your clothes and some toys . " Andy was not persuaded . " He 's in there , he is just hiding . " Cheryl pulled the clothes back to reveal the open closet . The closet was fully illuminated and almost every possible shadow had been removed . " See , still nothing . " She repeated . " I 'll leave your door open and turn on your night light , how about that ? " " Now , I 've got to go tuck your sister into bed , so , I 'll be in the living room just down stairs if you need anything . But I don 't want to hear any of this mess about closet monsters , or monsters under your bed or anything else because I 've shown you that they aren 't hiding . They just aren 't here . " " He 's had them since my mom got the divorce . Mom thinks that it 's because of the move . He had to move into that new bedroom , so , he has to go through the whole closet monster thing again . " She was gone , out of the room and on her way back downstairs . Andy had already come out of the bathroom and since she saw no sign of him suspected that he was already back in bed . He 'll be gone in no time , she told herself , off to sleep . Andy came out of the bathroom in a stumble . It was later than his usual bedtime and he felt special because he 'd gotten to stay up as late as he had . Even though he was excited about getting to stay up late his eyes were heavy . If only it weren 't for that tricky closet monster he 'd be able to get some sleep . The walk down the hall seemed long and treacherous , but he finally made it to his bedroom . He felt a breeze as he stepped in and noticed his window was up . He thought nothing of it . It was the closet monster that was on his mind . " Jesus protects me . " He said under his breath . Then he said it again , this time louder . " Jesus protects me . " He turned and looked at the closed closet door . He had a spider - man poster draped across it . The dwelling place of a monster , he thought to himself . " Jesus protects me . " He said again . He opened the closet door to check one last time before getting into bed . The closet stood empty , just as it had before . This Jesus protects me stuff really works , he thought to himself . He went back to the bed and climbed in . He closed his eyes and lay there in the bed quiet for a moment . There was a crackling noise from across the room . Andy sat up in bed immediately . Surely it was the closet monster out to get him . He noticed the closet door was still standing open . Come on in closet monster , he thought , feeling foolish . He put his feet on the floor , feeling the carpet tickle his bare feet and toes . He walked slowly to closet door , careful to inspect the area , ready to run at any moment . Upon reaching the door , he found the closet once again empty . You 're tricky Mr . Closet Monster . He closed the closet door and ran back to his bed in fear . Knowing at any moment the closet monster would come out and get him . He reached the bed and to his surprise , there was no monster after him . He was alone in his room , " Jesus protects me . " He repeated again and climbed into bed . Lying there quiet and still wasn 't easy . But it was a good trap . He 'd lie there till the monster thought he was asleep . When the monster came out he 'd get up and run out of his bedroom and down to Cheryl in the living room . He closed his eyes and lay quiet and still . The creak from across the room came again . Echoes from an old house were transformed into the steps of an evil closet monster . He didn 't falter . He lay quiet and still . Andy began to chant , as quietly as he could but loud enough so the monster might here . " Jesus protects me . Jesus protects me . Jesus protects me . Jesus protects me … " over and over . The closet monster was standing over him . He could feel the breath of it beating down on him in the dark . He had waited too long . It was too late to run away . He opened his eyes to see the face of his closet monster , the face of his enemy . Andy opened his eyes and there wasn 't a furry monster with horrid , pointy teeth just waiting for the right moment to smash his skull and drink his blood . There was only a man . His eyes were the only things visible through the black ski mask . " Where 's your Jesus , now ? " he asked . His monster was absent , replaced by this man in black , but Andy found he was more scared by the man than he could ever have been of the monster . He opened his mouth to scream , but only air came out . Before Andy could find his voice , or even begin to fight the man with dark blue eyes , the man covered his mouth and scooped him out of the bed . Cheryl made it down the stairs in little time at all . She immediately flipped the TV over to MTV to watch her favorite show . She had become a regular TV Guide since she started babysitting , memorizing all the channels and the shows they played . It was fifteen after twelve when the phone rang . She was deep into her show by this point and almost didn 't answer the phone . It wasn 't her house , who would be calling for her ? The phone rang and rang . It seemed endless . To keep from waking up the children , she answered it . " Hello , " she said as she picked up the phone . " Hello , Cheryl " the voice on the other end of the phone replied . It was strong but raspy , yet quiet and controlled . The fellow sounded like he had a frog in his throat . " Oh , I could go on for days . " He continued . " But that isn 't why we 're here . You 're being paid to do a job and if Ms . Dawson knew of the job you 've done , she wouldn 't be very pleased . " " Can you be so sure ? " His raspy voice taunted her , begging her to see for herself . " Why don 't you go upstairs and take a look ? You 're on a cordless phone . " There was silence for a moment as she looked around . There were four windows in the living room , two in the kitchen , one in the upstairs hall and one in each bedroom . There was no way to tell if he was really watching her . If he were , it would be near impossible to tell from where . The mystery man on the other end of the phone waited quietly for her to inspect the perimeter . She was unable to locate him and frozen in fear of what he 'd said . She sprinted up the stairs and into Sarah 's bedroom . She flipped the light switch and saw Sarah roll over in bed and yell out " Turn off the light ! " Cheryl flipped the light back off and exited the bedroom , apologizing the whole way out . As she closed the door , she was greeted with laughter at the end of the phone . " See , " she said . " Just like I said , in bed asleep . Now , who the fuck are you ? " " Now , that 's no way to treat a guest in the house . I come for a visit and that 's how you talk to me . That 's terrible . Ms . Dawson wouldn 't be very happy . " More laughter . Deep and hearty , but with that raspy twist , the laughter cut like a knife . " What about dear old Andy ? You haven 't checked on him yet . " " Listen asshole , I 'm not getting paid enough for this kind of bullshit . So , go prank call someone else and give them your bullshit story about watching them . Cause I 'm not putting up with it . " And she hung up . She started back down the stairs , but decided to checkup on Andy anyways . That laugh , she thought . Gives me the creeps . She shivered as she walked . Andy 's door was closed . He must 've closed it , she thought . He did go to the bathroom . She cracked open the door . The night light had been turned off and the room was dark . A breeze grazed her face as she flipped on the light . Illumination revealed the pulled back sheets and the missing Andy . The phone rang in her hand . " Where 's Andy ? " She screamed , answering the phone . " What have you done with him , you bastard ? " She was staring out the window , but the voice on the other end of the phone wasn 't the mystery man . The mystery man revealed his position in the house by placing his 9mm at the base of her neck . " Hello , Cheryl . " He said . " Wouldn 't want to do anything hasty would we ? " " Oh , yes , that 's normal . " He said . " Tell you what , when my ex gets in tell her to call me ASAP , okay ? " With a click Mr . Dawson was gone and so were her chances of using him as a savior . The mystery man repeated . " Hello , Cheryl . How are we this evening ? " " I 'm here to make Daniel Dawson pay . " He said . " Simple as that , I will kill his son , write his name on the wall and be on my way . I 'd hate to have to kill you , too . " He said calmly . " I just couldn 't risk the temptation of scaring the shit out of you . " Then he spurted out a laugh . " Worked too didn 't it . " " Well , that is that . " He said as he stepped over her and opened the closet door . Andy lay bound and gagged in the floor of the closet . " Come here little man , " he said and sprayed a little substance in his face . Ally returned home at ten to one . The house was silent as she opened the door . The TV was off . Cheryl must 've left , she thought , but didn 't mind because the kids were sleeping quietly . Motherly instinct told her to check on the kids , at least to make sure everything was like it should be . On to Andy 's room . She opened the door . Paused a moment to let her eyes adjust to the darkness of the room . There was no night light on . After a moment , her eyes adjusted and she saw Andy lying in his bed in a deep sleep . Cheryl had done her job well . Even Emily still slept with a light . She had to know this secret , how she got him to sleep without it . She woke up at 8 : 30 . There was no alarm . No noises throughout the house . Only silence . The children were still in bed . She would 've bet her life that Cheryl had let them stay up later than she had told her too , but what was the harm in that ? They would only sleep longer this morning . She wasn 't mad , but the silence of the house brought unrest in her . She felt like she should make sure they were sleeping . They were . Andy was lying still in his bed , just as she had seen him the night before , and Emily was the same as well . They appeared untouched , unmoved in every way . Ally didn 't want to disturb them so she made her way back down the stairs and into the living room . The phone rang . The cordless was missing ; apparently Cheryl had been doing some calling last night , too . So , she ran into the kitchen and grabbed the mounted wall phone . " Ally , " Daniel asked . " Aren 't you listening ? Ally , " A pause . " I said , the mob . I didn 't put the mob in prison . Just one man . " " Well , the kids . Maybe you . All I 'm saying is that if you went to stay with your mother for a few days then you might be a little safer . " She was pacing . He always did that to her . He made her nervous . That was part of the reason for the divorce , other than his affair . " Please just do this for me . Before they do anything . Please . When the kids get up , pack a bag , and go to your mother 's for three days . Please . " " Fine . " She said . She had no intention of going . Ally was the epitome of stubborn when it came to Daniel and his requests . She had only agreed to get him off her back . She hung up the phone with a hard click . He had ruined her morning . Someone 's going to come to her house and kill her kids just because her ex husband and they 're terrible dad , put some criminal away for the rest of his days . Maybe she should have cared , but for some reason she didn 't . She thought it was just another of his tricks to get her to take him back . It 's not happening Daniel . You can forget it . The coffee pot was whistling , signifying that the coffee was done . " A little coffee , sugar , and some milk , that 's how you start the day off right . " She said . " Not by packing your things and going to your mother 's house . " She opened the refrigerator after some milk . Inside the refrigerator , beside the milk was a small object about the size of a mini carrot , but it was a very pale white with a red tip . At the end of the red tip was a small pool of red liquid . Ally picked up the finger and dropped it in the floor just as soon as she saw the nail at the end of it . " HOLY SHIT ! " she screamed and almost passed out . That had been in there all night . Something had happened last night . That was Cheryl 's finger . Cheryl wasn 't a concern anymore . If this had happened to her , then what about Emily and Andy . She sprinted upstairs to Emily 's room . She shook her , gently . " Baby , wake up . Momma 's here . " No response . She began to shake her more and more until she was thrashing her back and fourth . " Emily , wake up ! " she shouted . She ran to Andy 's room to repeat the process . Her efforts were fruitless . Neither child responded to her in any way . Ally shook them as hard as she could , but they were mannequins , dead to the world . Dead . Ally slid to the floor , weeping . Daniel had been right . The mob had come and taken her children in the night . She pulled herself up from the floor and over to the closet where the monster sleeps . The door knob was crusted with a crimson substance . It appeared quite similar to blood , but it was crusty and seemed thicker than any blood she had ever seen . She opened it . Cheryl was bound at her hands and feet . A finger missing from her right hand and the cordless phone in her left . She was pale , paler than normal and completely naked . She was dead . Ally didn 't have to look very hard to see that . It was the markings and cuts on her that made her drag Cheryl out of the closet . Ally stretched Cheryl out on the floor in Andy 's room . She untied the knots around her wrists . Her stiff , naked body was already starting to have an odor . Across her arms , she had been cut , with probably a razor or a thin knife . " JESUS PROTECTS ME " had been sketched over them . On her stomach , had been carved " HELLO CHERYL " . The sight of Cheryl 's stiff , twisted body made Ally sick . She could no longer hold back the vomit that had been building up inside her . She grabbed the small trashcan beside Andy 's desk and lurched . She felt her stomach tighten up and release as it forced the orange and yellow liquid past her lips and into the can . She couldn 't fight it anymore . Her eyes rolled back and she passed out . The cops arrived somewhere between nine thirty and quarter to ten . Ally had called them when she made it back down stairs . They came and took Cheryl , Andy , and Emily away . Their autopsies revealed that it was poison that had killed them . It was taken in through the lungs . There seemed to have been a substance breathed in by the victims . The poison affected the lungs first . Then it entered the bloodstream making the blood more thick that it normally would 've been . The gas had worked so quick that it took only seconds to kill them . The police followed up on the murders . Although the mob was accused , no evidence was found that might link them to the murders . No one was prosecuted for the murders , up to this point . Considering that this story is old and I didn 't do any editing before posting , I hope that it was at least mildly entertaining . I 'm sure I could 've polished it up a bit , but really I posted it for you guys . To show my appreciation for the love I have been receiving so far . If you liked this story feel free to let me know and if the general consensus is that you guys want more , then more you shall have . Thanks again . Before I get right to this , I want to do a little explaining of what is going on here an why . Otherwise , you may read this and end up confused at the end . I was reading The Daily Post 's Writing 101 : Daily Blog about SOC writing . The assignment was to write anything for twenty minutes . Simple enough . So , I opened word and started the timer . The result turned out to be a decent snapshot of my life at the moment . Maybe 2000 more words would 've gotten a better look at it , but I was trying to write fast . I fixed most of the grammar and spelling mistakes afterward . Either way , I told myself I would post the results afterward . So , here goes . Then , I will return to working on my story . Be on the lookout for it pretty soon . Writing in a stream of conscious style has its advantages and disadvantages . A lot of the time this is the method I would use to tackle a story , except with that I have some form of idea toward which I am directing my writing . This is not the case here . I am just writing and I will let it take me wherever , for the next twenty minutes . My son is asleep in the other room . The house is quiet , for once . The dog is crashed out somewhere in the house , probably the living room . She sneaks up onto the couch when no one is in the room . I suppose she thinks she is getting away with something , because as soon as we step foot in there she is off the couch and at my feet saying how sorry she is with her eyes . Truthfully , I don 't mind it . The only time we don 't let her up is when she is shedding real bad ( twice a year for about a month ) and when she is having lady times . I keep telling myself to go get that taken care of . Then I get a bit of spare time and forget all about it . Before you know it , its rag time again . Evee is great . She is the best dog I have ever had . She acts like a much older dog these days . She 's almost three and she acts like she is seven and on her last leg . I think it 's because we stopped being as active with her when Dexter was born and now she has gotten used to being lazy and fat . The most exercise she gets aside from out walks and park trips is running from Dexter around the house . I don 't blame her . He wants to pull her tail one minute and give her kisses the next . He is a wild card and you never know what to expect . Haha , twenty minutes almost entirely spent talking about my dog . That 's a bit funny , but it makes sense . I have a soft spot in my heart for dogs . A lot of my fiction writing has had dog characters in it . My best attempt to date at a novel had a dog in it . It was my main character 's best friend . Speaking of writing , I am really enjoying getting back into it again . You see , I go through phases , music , writing , music , writing . Only occasionally will I get a brief window in between phases where I am able to do both . Lately , I have been trying to write on topics for review , especially considering that I have not published a single review yet . I also have my fiction that I am working on . It is truly the joy of writing , but it is somehow intimidating . I am always reluctant to start . I tell myself that I should be reading instead . Sometimes I will read about writing instead of writing , hoping that it will make the writing I actually do better . That 's a silly idea . You get better at writing by writing . I also am the creative force behind a band that will get stagnate if I don 't keep everyone 's fire lit . So I have to keep coming up with music . Don 't let me make that sound like a chore , I love guitar and I love writing music , but it has been a long time since I wrote any lyrics . This is why I am able to write now . I do however plan to post future lyrical journeys hear as poetry . Maybe I will even record a demo and post that . Who knows ? Lately , I have been reading Bentley Little 's short story works . I like to read short stories when I am writing short stories , makes me think about things differently . In fact , the story I am working on now was inspired by one of his stories . It doesn 't have the same plot or anything , but the idea of the Faulkner style , but with a terror twist seemed really appealing . I like to take the reader on a journey , make them think a little bit if I can . I can 't really say much more about all of this , because I am still working on it and I don 't want to give anything away . I have four minutes left on my twenty minute challenge . What now ? Should I go on about myself ? I should be writing not thinking about what to write next … Only a short period of time left , hmm . Rather than worry about finishing on time , I have elected to finish with some sort of point or resolution , before returning to my story . You see , I have limited time each day to work on anything like this . My morning is spent with Dexter , followed by lunch and an afternoon outside ( learning the trike recently ) . Then , on to nap time . This is when I get to write , read , whatever . He will wake up and either I play with him while Addie makes dinner or vice versa . After dinner , we do calming things . We play with blocks , or do coloring , etc . As bedtime nears , we take a bath with lavender or chamomile if we have any . Then he drinks warm milk while I / Addie ( we take turns ) read him a story . Then into bed for a second story . Addie usually reads him a book of his choice . I read the same book . Right now , we are reading the golden compass . After which , I get free time again . This is a bit confusing because it is free time in the sense that I can do what I want . That doesn 't really make it free time . This is because I have obligations . I am a student at an online college . This means I have numerous weekly assignments that must be done during this time . I am unemployed , which means I must be job searching during this time , there are other things happening during this time , like spending time with Addie , and trying out products like board games and video games for review . Watching movies , and other things would also fall into this time . I just realized that I am over on time . I could really stop there . What is most important ? Writing definitely falls in that category . But I like to tackle my music and writing in the same way . If I can get a little bit done every day , I can throw out the bad and keep the good . I will steadily make progress and before long . I have a plethora of material . This is how all of Dead Perspective 's music came about , a little at a time over a period of time . So I have a lot of things going on right now . I have about 100 things to write about and make a post and not really sure which to actually do . I have a list of reviews to write , but I get the feeling that you guys could really care less . Some of this stuff I like and want to recommend that you buy , some of it I want to warn you about . Also , I quit my job at Liberty National . Legally , I can 't say anything negative about them or I could be fined $ 1000 . The truth is that most of them that I got to know are good people , but I couldn 't do what was asked of me . It was against my " ethical code " . That story in itself is another blog post . Now I am on the job market and who knows what that will mean . What it probably means is that I will end up working for CCA at the prison in Clifton , TN . It also means moving . That I am not excited about . I hate Mississippi , but I like our house . We really made a home here . With Addie having got a job at BAM , it means we won 't be moving back to Savannah , so even though we will probably be moving , I won 't get to be any closer to my family . Boo . Oh yeah , so I got some recording software , and I have been doing some demos . I figure that you guys are in on my personal life , I might as well post some here too . What do you think of that ? Hungry for some metal ? Haha , if you want to call my music metal . I am also starting two new classes at CTU . There 's a review , or more of a warning . I don 't know about the competition , but I have been sorely disappointed . Each term I start looking at other schools , but being to afraid of losing the FA I have now , I just keep going .

Have you ever looked deeply in their eyes ? There is a hidden message , have you ever read it ? Through their silence , did you try to hear their unspoken words ? They were screaming for help , have you ever heard them ? When they take away their own life , you judge them as bad people or even unstable ones , but who knows what they have been through to reach that level of depression that pushed them to commit suicide ? Behind closing doors we never know what 's going on in other 's lives . People face a tremendous number of troubles , a few prefer to consult a psychologist , and some think that it 's a personal issue no one should interfere with . In the other hand they drown in the troubles . They keep on increasing until they lose control of themselves ; they pay the price or the people who are close to them pay the price . Sometimes , the problem may be a very simple one , but it depends on the age of the person . When a 10 year old boy / girl faces a situation of bullying in school , at the same time he / she might have family problems and no one is there to listen to them . That for sure would affect their life , especially with the insecurity they are facing in their home . They would be having difficulties in their study , and also lack of self - esteem . They would think that they are not welcome in this life , instead of having good time in school to forget their problems at home , they are being scared to go there watching everyone destroying them . And when they go back home after school , instead of having a loving family who can help them , they are having a hard time with their parents . For them it is as if they are moving from hell to hell . When those children commit suicide , then everyone would wake up , and start searching for the reasons that lead that child to take away his / her life . They start wondering and recalling how they were always calm ; they were polite and never talked in a loud voice . They were obeying , never hurt anyone . At home their parents go to check if there are any obstacles that their child was facing in schooWe don 't expect a 10 year old child or even 15 years old teen to get what 's going on around them . When it 's too much to handle , especially at this age , they need caring people to keep on watching over them and guiding them to the right track , because even if they passed that phase in their life , they might drown later when they get older . They would be involved in other issues , like : drugs , violence , stealing etc . . If they opened their eyes watching their dad violent with their mom , they would do the same when they get married , and they would consider their actions right , because their dad is their idle . We never know what 's going on behind closing doors . Families face battles , and the silence that covers up , we would explore suddenly with hearing shocking news , and our first thought is : " They looked like a very happy family , what happened to them ? " But the truth is , they 've never been a happy family , their home 's doors were closing all the time , and we never know what was going on there . However , some people love to judge others ; it 's in their nature . They never look at the reasons that led to that person to take way his / her life ; they always focus on the result . A little accident happened with me lately . Someone knocked on our door , I opened up and I saw an old man in his early 60 's . He seemed lost , something in his eyes made me wonder at the same moment what 's with that man . He asked me about my dad , I replied that dad is not home . I was about to ask him if he would like to leave a message to dad , he left me talking to myself and turned his back and left . My mom came at that moment and saw me and the expression on my face because of how he left . She asked me : " Who 's that ? And what does he want ? " I was really shocked and said , " What 's going on with that man ? He just left me talking to myself without saying a word of thanks . I was kind of not satisfied about what he did , especially that I was very polite with him . My mother smiled for what happened with me , but in someway , that man stuck on my head . I kept thinking of what was wrong with him , he seemed very lost , his eyes were really teary . I felt something wrong with him and that 's why he was on my mind until a few days ago , I heard that he committed suicide . I was shocked , and recalled the moment I opened the door and saw him standing there lost , as if he 's searching for something . I knew the reason why he left me talking to myself without even saying " Thank you " or if as he 'll come again later . I recognized how much he was not there even when he was there asking about my dad . He wasn 't focusing on what he 's doing or with whom he 's talking . Later on , I knew from others who knew that man that he has tremendous troubles in his family and with his son . I wish I never saw him . I keep wondering why did he give up at this age ? He must have been in a very difficult situation through his life , but why would he give up now ? He 's supposed to be stronger and wiser to deal with his problems . But then again , I 'm not in his shoes to know what was going on with that old man . I keep recalling his teary eyes and wish I could help him . I never knew that people at this age might take away their life too . Behind closing doors , there is a hidden secret ; you can 't break those doors to find the truth . But at least , never judge in a bad way on those who take away their life , or even on those who try to and fail . Ask yourself why didn 't you wipe their tears at least once ? Why didn 't you hear them screaming instead of closing your ears ? Why didn 't you think to solve their problems when they kept silent ? It 's true that their home 's door was closed and you couldn 't do anything to help , but why didn 't you ever take the chance to get close to them when they opened the door and left their home , instead of judging them ? I thought she was still overseas , but not after a mutual friend asked me if I saw her lately , because that mutual friend heard that my best friend can 't walk anymore . " What are you talking about ? " I asked her with shock and then suddenly the room was spinning . " Yes , " she continued , " She came back from the Emirates weeks ago but I couldn 't see her yet . I heard she 's now paralyzed . " I was with my brother back then and I asked him to take me to see my friend immediately . On our way to her place , I was trembling , and thinking how could I see her sitting on a wheel chair ? Do I have the guts ? I wasn 't sure I had it in me back then ; all I wanted to do is to make sure my close friend is fine . I felt as if a part of me started to get paralyzed too . We arrived ; my brother said he 'll wait for me in the car . With hesitation , I walked towards the stairs , and I wished if I could run away from that place . I wanted to see my friend but I couldn 't stand the idea to see her in pain . My love and worry for her was pulling me to see her . With every step I took my fear for her was increasing ; I knew how weak I was , and how my love for her is deep . I reached the door , and didn 't want anything to change , so I knocked on the door and pushed it open as I used to do . I walked in calling out her name . Her parents were in the kitchen , a wide smile appeared across each of their faces when they saw me . I directly asked them where she was . Her mother said " Here she is " pointing at the kitchen door . I turned back and my heart sank ; she wasn 't paralyzed as my friend had heard , but she wasn 't the same person I knew . She was pale , walking slowly , not sure of her steps and trying to maintain her balance by placing her arms ahead of her . Her eyes were almost closed ; she was putting an effort to open them . With a soft voice she asked : " I 'm hearing a voice , who is there ? " And she recognized me right away , without me even saying a word . She smiled her usual smile and said : " Jinan , I can 't believe you are here " . I gave her a big hug and wished my hug could return my friend back to me . I felt her soul , her pure heart , but her shape was not the same . She lost a lot of weight , her eyes kept on blinking more than usual , and she kept on looking above as if something was pulling her head up . She led me to the sitting room . I turned to her mother and whispered " What 's wrong with her ? " Her mother replied : " Something in her stomach , we don 't know yet , she has an appointment with the doctor this week , hopefully we will know " . We sat in the sitting room , but I had to tell her that I 'm coming for five minutes to check on her . She insisted that I stay for lunch but I couldn 't accept her invitation . I watched her moves , her hands that kept on shivering . I was praying that she will be fine soon . She didn 't let me go before I gave her a promise to come back for a long visit next time . When it was time to leave , she asked me about my brother , and she said : " I want to walk with you to the car to see him " , at that moment I felt scared . I had a hunch , that she was going to the car to say bye to my brother and I for the last time , I hoped back then that hunch wasn 't true . I supported her all the way to the car . Even my brother was surprised after he saw her and how she changed . I got in the car and noticed she 's facing difficulties by going up the stairs . " Let me help you " , I said . " No , I can do it " , she replied . I insisted after I saw her supporting herself on the wall , but she said she 's fine . I couldn 't take my eyes off her . I felt there is a part of me that wanted to help , my eyes that were willed to support her was all I could do . While I was watching her fading away , I told my brother that I 'm so worried about her . Deep inside of me , I felt she 's going to leave this world soon , but I didn 't want to believe it . After my short visit to her place , a few days passed and I called my friend to talk to her but they told me she was hospitalized for some tests and she will be back home after days . I waited for days , but she never got out of the hospital . They said she has a disease in her head and they don 't know what it was yet . They said she 's in real danger . I wasn 't sure I had the courage to go to the hospital to visit her . I wanted to go to her place and see her in good health , not lying in bed , can 't survive to even talk . I decided to wait until she came back home to see her , and was asking all people who were visiting her how she was . But the news wasn 't good enough . She couldn 't talk , or hear and they said she couldn 't see too . Then they told me she went into a coma . It was a Saturday afternoon when I received the news . They said that she had died . I was going to see her on Tuesday but she was gone . I was trying to convince myself all the time that she will be home soon ; it was the fear of watching her leaving so soon that made me believe I 'll see her in good health again . I remember that I didn 't say a word the moment I knew she died . I stood on the balcony , in deep silence . The tears were shedding from my eyes as I was staring on without blinking . I stayed for hours like that ; I couldn 't scream or cry out using a loud voice . I was paralyzed and I knew the meaning of being paralyzed back then . All I was seeing was her face when I visited her for the last time , the way she was telling me that she passed her exams . She was overwhelmed even though she was in pain . I don 't know who to blame , did I disappoint her ? Or did she disappoint me ? Or is it neither of us to blame ? It was fate . God 's will was to take her at that early age . The next day , my parents went to her funeral , but I didn 't . I couldn 't stand it ; to see her lying there without any movement . I admit I was a coward for not accepting the fact that she 's going to leave forever . I felt my heart was about to stop beating that day , it was too much pain . I 've never lost anyone in my family or any close friends , but that day I felt I lost my whole world . This year is her 7th memorial , I still think of her where I left her for the last time at her place , down stairs . I still expect to see her there if I went again to see her parents . But I never went there . I remember I passed once by her village but all the while my knees were shivering and I couldn 't breathe . I didn 't know how lucky I was to have a wonderful friend until I met her , I never knew how weak I was until I lost her . I miss her every day ; I miss how she used to walk a long distance to visit me every time she came to see her grandparents . I still remember her shiny face when I open the door saying with a lovely smile : " See ? Even Though I don 't like walking but I walked all this distance just to see you " . I used to feel so happy back then . After her death , hearing a knock on the door made me run to open the door expecting her standing there , and it took me a long time before I got over that feeling . I still think of my friend standing where I left her , the last thing I did , is asking her to be careful while going up the stairs , the last thing I heard from her , is : " Don 't worry I 'm fine " I wanted to get out of the car and help her back then . I felt maybe it could be hard on her because helping her might have made her feel powerless . That was the main reason why I agreed to let her walk by herself . Now I regret it ; I wish I went and helped her just to gain a few extra minutes with her . I promised her to be back again , but I never did . While I kept on praying for her , hoping to see her in good health , she was dying . After I had the guts to see her , I was waiting to visit her in the hospital , but she didn 't wait . Maybe she waited days for me , but I never showed up . I know she thought of me . I know she wondered why I didn 't go to see her , but I still didn 't know why I lost all my courage to accept the fact that I 'm about to say goodbye to my precious friend . It 's her 7th memorial and I still think she 's there where I left her for the last time . I still cry for hours sometimes when I think of her , as if she left this world yesterday . It was easy to be a coward when I was late to visit her , but hard to be strong when I think of her … Sometimes we don 't read the signs ; it would be so easy if we do . Other times we don 't follow our hunch no matter how much we believed it 's true . It 's the moment that we stand there in denial , ignoring the fact that we are about to lose someone we truly love . We keep on convincing ourselves that things are going to be fine , just to avoid watching them leave . Even though we miss saying goodbye , hoping that some day they will stay where we left them for the last time . He entered the ER screaming " Where is the patient ? " She was lying there on the bed not making a move . Her parents were surrounding her , crying and praying to God to save their daughter . And the Doctor , who looked like he was around 45 years old , just entered the room , and was a stranger to her , but also an angel who was sent by God to save other 's lives . The moment she saw him , she was moved by the way he cares , as if she 's his daughter . The car accident she had gone through threatened her life , and her liver was about to be affected . That doctor handled her situation and wanted to do his best to save her life . She was scared to face death , her eyes were moving from side to side , most of the times begging him to rescue her . She pictured her life moving fast , the happiest moments , and the saddest ones too . Her friend 's faces were all in front of her , their voices , the laughter they shared ; it was all there , making her eyes wet . The only voice she could hear clearly was her doctor 's voice , and the only person who was moving like crazy in the room was him . As if life stopped in that room , but no one knew if he will leave her as dead body after failing to heal her wounds , or if she will leave alive and move on in her life . After a short time , she was in her room . She wished she can leave it , she couldn 't stand the voices that were coming from the other patient 's room ; she felt that life is so easy to come into , but so painful when it 's time to leave with suffering . The days were passing by with progress with her situation ; she started to feel better , the only thing she was worried about now , is the result of her blood test that she had to do , to make sure her liver is working normally . Her face was aching her ; the wounds that were caused by the car accident were healing but leaving little scars like scratches . The only person who was always giving her the power was that doctor who promised to save her life . After being hospitalized for 8 days , they took her every morning for her usual blood test , but that day wasn 't like the normal days where her doctor used to check her and tell her everything is moving slowly but in a good way , instead , he entered the room with his crew , the same craziness she saw in him the first day she entered the ER , was back to his personality . His eyes were wet that day , he was making calls and asking for medicine that they should bring in from a specialized hospital for liver , he was mad and sad at the same time . It was the first time he didn 't give her hope , as if he didn 't want to promise her something that he knew he couldn 't keep ; she felt he was about to give up . She asked one of the nurses : " What 's going on ? " the nurse replied back : " It 's your liver that 's in real danger . The test showed that today , and he 's trying to handle the situation . " Again she felt this is the end , she knew the weakness she felt the day before but never expected it might be her liver again . " Doctor , what 's going on ? " she asked after he hung up the phone , he replied : " Don 't worry it 's nothing dangerous , it 's just a medicine we should get that we don 't have here , you will be fine girl , I promise you . " With his shining smile , came near her bed and whispered in her ear : " You will live , don 't be scared . " After hours , although she started taking her medicine , she kept feeling weak for yet another day , but after that , her liver was back to normal . The blood tests were improving , she was healing slowly , and the person who she called her hero , was always there to check on her . He never forgot to reassure her that she will go back to being in good health soon . A feeling grows inside of her towards that doctor , why did he care that much ? She wondered . Even the nurses were telling her that he 's a very caring doctor , but it was the first time they saw him treating a patient in that way . His fear towards her made her wait for him daily to knock on her room 's door to hear the good morning words from him , with that smile that used to make her feel better because it was a sign that she 's improving . The day of her departure came , she was so happy to leave after spending nearly one month in the hospital . Her doctor was there to say goodbye . He was standing in the hallway , and he walked towards her saying : " I don 't want to see your face here again , just get out of here " she smiled , the same hand that used to tap on her shoulders , tapped again . He bent a little and kissed her on both cheeks , with wet eyes he said : " You made me scared to death , I promised you , you will live , and I gave my word . You will get married and have kids , and move forward in your life " . She felt her heart aching and softly she replied : " I promise you I will , but you have to give me a last promise , that you will be there in my wedding after I find the right guy " He caught her hand and squeezed it saying : " I promise you I will be there " . Years go by ; she lost contact with her doctor . But she was always thinking of him , how God sent her that angel who truly left a deep impact in her heart . She used to think that the day she will get married is the day she will see him again ; she was waiting for that day . She met the right guy and after a year , she was going to have her wedding . She went to that hospital asking for him , but one of the nurses she used to see back then , saw her and was happy too to see her after all these years in good health . After she asked her what 's behind her visit , the nurse 's face changed and the sadness came over her face . She said : " He died 3 months ago with cancer " . " NO ! ! " she screamed , and started crying . The nurse tried to calm her down , but she kept screaming saying " He promised me that he will be there on my wedding day " . Nothing to say or to do , while she was leaving the hospital she passed by the room she stayed in the whole time she was hospitalized . She saw another doctor checking on a patient , he was different from her doctor , no worry to show to his patient , no smile appears on his face to assure that the patient will be fine . She recalled the moment she entered the ER , and the fear she saw in his eyes , the way he was screaming at his crew to move faster . She recalled that when he entered her room when her liver situation was going backward , his voice was playing in her ears when he used to assure her that she will live longer and she will be out of this place soon . Her eyes never stopped shedding tears ; she wished if he 's standing there instead of this doctor , to tap on his shoulder and tell him that she came to invite him to her wedding . A soft voice awoke her from her illusion ; it was the same nurse who told her the bad news . She asked her if she needs any help , she replied back that she will be fine , and added : " I have one question , since when did he have that disease ? " the nurse replied : " One week before the first day that you came the hospital , 5 years ago . Without any word , she left the hospital , thinking of the person who saved her life , while his life was in danger , thinking why he promised her that he will be there , though he knew that there was little chance that he might come . The doctor who saved her life , no one could save him . He gave her the promises to rescue her , but no one could rescue him . He kept smiling every time he used to enter her room , but silently he was crying for sure . He used to tap on her shoulder to assure her that everything is going to be fine ; at the same time he was in need of someone to tap on his shoulder to tell him everything will be fine . How many lives has he saved while his life needed to be saved ? She wondered , and why he gave her all this care and attention that she has never seen any doctor give it to his patient ? At her wedding day , she was standing there with her groom , everybody was happy ; people were dancing , and laughing . But she kept her eyes on the entrance , watching the guests coming in . She kept staring there , as if she 's expecting him to come ; she recalled his voice again saying : " You made me scared to death , I promised you , you will live , and I gave you my word . You will get married and have kids , and move forward in your life " Her eyes drowned in tears , she remembered herself asking him to give her the last promise and be there at her wedding day , his voice again played in her ears saying : " I will be there " . She wished that she kept in contact with him , after she left the hospital ; she wished that she knew he had that disease back then . She wanted so badly to meet her hero again ; she was expecting him to tap on her shoulder at that moment and say " Sorry I 'm late " , but he never did . She wished that he could have kept his word and came , but this time she promised him and gave him her word and she lived until she got married , but he left early . Maybe he forgot his last promise that he gave to her , maybe his pain was too strong to stand it , and couldn 't think of anything . She cried on her wedding day , for not being there with the person who saved her life . She felt her heart aching not seeing him and not knowing about his disease to be there even to tap on his shoulder to assure him that everything is going to be fine . She never wanted him to promise her to save her life ; she never wanted him to tap on her shoulder and tell her everything is going to be fine . She never wanted to see the fear in his eyes when he saw her lying between life and death . She never wanted to see him going crazy when her liver situation was in danger and they were about to lose her . All that she wanted is to know about his disease before he died , and let him be there in her wedding day . But that was the last and only promise that was never fulfilled . Four years old , he was sitting on the floor playing with his toys when I entered with my friend . We were visiting his mother . I don 't know her ; I was just there because my friend asked me to accompany her . Looking at me with an innocent smile , never a word towards me from the minute I entered ; it seemed to me that he was used to my friend 's presence . I was watching him , he didn 't move from his place . I never got any vibe that he might have any problem . Maybe I noticed he couldn 't talk , but then I thought that maybe he 's still too young to talk yet or maybe just too shy . There I was , a stranger in his house , yet he was smiling all the time , as if he wanted to come to sit on my lap , but it was as if something was preventing him from doing so . My friend asked him to go to her , but then I found out what I never expected to find . He was crawling to reach her . For a moment , I froze , watching him crawl , looking at the smile that never left his face , and trying to figure out what 's wrong with him . He looks healthy , but a four year old , not being able to walk ? That seemed odd to me . So I asked his mom what 's wrong and she said , " He had a problem in his head since he was born and he had surgery months ago . " When I asked her if he will stay like that for the rest of his life , she said : " He is undergoing therapy ; he might or might not get better . " After the hard effort he made , he reached out to my friend and kept pointing at me . My friend held him and handed him to me . Having him on my lap was another feeling ; he was talking words I never heard but I felt them so deep . Those words made me cry silently , yet I felt my tears shedding down on my face when I knew that his words meant that he wanted to leave the house with me . I was asking him questions and smiling but I couldn 't hide my tears ; it was the first time that a child made me cry and touched my heart so deeply . I don 't remember what I was saying but all what I was trying to do is to avoid my friend and the child 's mother from seeing my tears falling . Maybe I didn 't want his mother to feel bad about her son or maybe I didn 't want to show the hidden side of my personality , the side that I always try to keep hidden . I thought I 'm a strong human being but I was surprised how in less than a minute God showed me that I 'm the weakest . And showed me how blessed I am just because i 'm able to walk . I thought I 'm the happiest but in less than an hour God showed me that he can make me the saddest and the happiness can fade away in one second . I kept holding the child and I felt as If something was binding me to him . I felt it even stronger when it was time to leave . His eyes were begging me to stay as if he 's a prisoner but it wasn 't jail . His hands were holding my hands tightly as if I 'm the only one who will save him from his unlimited suffering . But I couldn 't do anything to help ; it was the weakest moment I ever felt in my whole life . I knew how weak we are in front of God 's will , no matter how much we have faith in God , we feel it 's so little when we stand up crippled in front of the fate he draws us to . He held my hand and in his other hand he was holding his little pillow . I remember his mother 's answer after I asked her about it ; she used to put it on his head to protect the injured area after his surgery . In the middle of the night , he wakes up to hold it as if it 's the only friend he has . On my way back home , I didn 't stop asking my friend questions about his situation ; my heart was torn . The image of his little face kept coming back to me , his helpless words , and his voice that kept playing in my ears . He was just a four year old child who I saw for the first time , who crawled towards me with a hopeless smile , asking me for something . However , I still don 't know what it was … All I knew was that he touched my heart . I realized how weak I am and the tears keep shedding down my face with every time I remember that child 's face … Fear , this feeling that makes us feel weak , sometimes paralyzes us and won 't allow us to move forward , always backward … . We fear from flying or taking the risks but do we really fear from flying or the reality we are scared from falling down ? Any chance we miss , the hesitation crosses our mind , bad ideas flow towards our imagination , and one question is to ask : " Are we scared of taking those chances or is the real fear about missing them ? Life goes on if we just let all what happens to us go with a smile , the smile won 't heal but it gives us hope to move forward , all the tears we cry endlessly , it hurts our eyes but also purifies our heart and soul . It gives us new look towards certain things or certain people we meet … Everything happens for a reason … The people who come to our path from nowhere , some come for a very short time and leave after they cause a huge heartache ; and those who become a big part of our lives for years , they just let us down for no reason , life changes them ; and those who swear nothing will set us apart , they would be the first to betray the friendship by being the first to push us down . We better let them all go with a smile , never regret knowing them . How many times we ask why ? But do we truly want to know the answers ? ? We worry about knowing the truth because sometimes behind every truth there is a mask that will fall down from a face we used to love … behind every word why ? There is a truth that will be revealed , behind every question we ask why ? The reality of those who we used to miss might show , a smile might fade away with those who promised to come back someday , but never did … Maybe it 's better to keep asking why ? Without knowing the reason , though we keep wondering , but it 's better to let it go with a smile … God sends a lesson with every one of them to make us learn whom we should trust , and to whom we should really give other chances , and the what 's more that God teaches us through them , is the great lesson of " Forgiveness " . Never have hard feelings towards those who caused you heartaches . Forgive them , let them go with a smile from your heart , and have faith that God will send you the right people at the right time … Life is full of surprises , not all of the them are happy ones , sometimes nature surprises us with crisis , but after that we stand up and fix the damages , we move forward , but again nature might surprise us with yet another crisis , a hurricane or another earth quake , millions of people lose their lives in those crisis , but it 's a test for other millions of people to accept what they lost and to start over … The question is : " How much do we have faith in God to thank him and be ready to let it go with a smile ? " Every day is a new chance we take , a new risk we should be ready to make , we should accept if we missed those chances , or failed in the risks we took . In every day , a new person comes our way ; we should expect that those people who we are meeting today came for a reason . Never regret what you face in your daily life , if we are wise enough , we should be ready to accept it all with an open heart … Life goes on , and so do we … The chances we missed , the risks we were afraid to make , the people who came and left without a trace , only scars to remind us to never repeat the same mistakes again … . Life goes on … It would be all good if you just believed in God and let it go with a smile from your heart … I always think , about how this world is a mess , I think about poor people who live in poverty and suffer from illnesses . I wish some people could help them instead of spreading the violence in their countries . I wish some countries could give them the cure instead of spreading the disease … But I realized … it 's just a thought , only a thought … I think about people who lives in the 1st world are as if they are in the 3rd world , and vice versa . I just hope they stop saying 1st world , 2nd and 3rd world , because the whole world is a combination of these three worlds … The poverty that is existing in the 3rd world is the same and sometimes worse in some countries in the 1st world … . I wish if they just look at people from all the countries as human beings without looking at their background or from where they are coming , because it 's not about the country , it 's about the human being … But I realized . . It 's just a thought , only a thought … . In Iraq , soldiers are getting killed of all nationalities : US , Canadian , British , and many others . Their families are living the grief ; they leave their own countries to die in other countries . Arabian soldiers , also die . They all die in the same countries , for the same reason , fighting terrorism … I wish if we could know who the real terrorist is . Maybe I know , but I wish , if they know … And I realized … it 's just a thought … only a thought I think , but I guess I will stop thinking . I will start to pray , that someday , all these thoughts become facts , so that we can reduce the pain in this world , so that people get a chance to live in peace , and those who trade human organs , get some respect from humanity … I will stop thinking ; I will start to pray that someday my wishes become true and not just stays as … Only a thought … Finally , I want to thank every one who believed in my talent and encouraged me all the years . A special thanks to my sister Samia and her husband Hadi for being there for me all the time . Also , special thanks to my precious uncle Dr . Faouzi Abou Reslan for his invaluable support , words fails to express how thankful I am … Also to the person who make the editing to my articles Peter Buckton , Thank you . I 'm blessed to have people like you all in my life … . .

Corbette woke up to a horrible stench of beer and all things not natural . She glanced at the man sharing his bed with her , still stone drunk and snoring like an overgrown rhino . Sighing , she got up from bed and looked around for her clothes . The beast has thrown them under the bed , probably hoping that she wouldn 't find them anytime soon . Exasperated , Corbette rummaged under the creaking thing and proceeded to cover her naked body . She made herself coffee in the beast 's kitchen and excused herself out . She had got her money last night , so there was nothing left for her to wait about for . Her trade wasn 't borne out of patience ; it was to make herself available to the whims and fancies of all the drunks who roamed the sad parts of town in the death of night . She still dreamed of the good old days , when she had a house - on - wheels of her own , when she had a son of her own . That was 16 years ago , and since then fortune hadn 't favoured her . The great hurricane of 1996 had taken everything away from her except her son , and she had nothing for herself , let alone for her foetus that would need so much . Worse , she didn 't even know who the boy 's father was … Corbette couldn 't bear her son to grow up in such a sorry state . She was resigned to living a bad lifestyle , but she had always had high hopes for her son . Heartbroken , she couldn 't bear to see him grow up and struggle against a miserable world . So one non - descript Friday evening , she approached a young couple emerging from a cinema , and handed them her foetus , only murmuring that the boy 's name was Jacob . She was forced to let go of the last thing that was truly hers , and she had turned to the night streets for a means of survival . Jacob had tried so hard to protect Lucy . She was the one person in the world he couldn 't bear being dragged into this mess , as much as she was the only person alive he wanted right now by his side . But now that the anomaly had captured her , a strange kind of fury surrounded Jacob , supported by just a tinge of calm . He had already known that he couldn 't keep her safe from all this , that someday soon he would have to tell her the truth . But he had rather hoped that he could have done it himself , rather than some creature of the underground belting it out in rough cut words . He couldn 't bear the idea of losing Lucy after all that she had done for him . Had it not been for her , he would have lost hope long back . Smiling , he still remembered the last time he 'd met her . She had slapped him because she was exasperated with his depressing mood . Not the best send - off gift , but he treasured that memory . Slowly , he trudged up the last hill . He was getting close to the lair now , the place where it should all have ended , as it was the place where it started . Jacob had an eidetic memory of the most unusual sort , he remembered every single memory of his living life , right up to one month of his birth . He hadn 't really needed a map to guide him , he had the way laid out right there in his head . The gateway to a cave loomed in front of him . Ahead of here , there was no light of the sun , only the death cry of reaped souls to guide him . It was the closest thing to being Hell on Earth , just that Jacob couldn 't believe that Hell had this bad lighting . Ah well , he plunged into the darkness and was lost to the mortal world . Inside that cave lay his one love , along with the secrets to his birth , and to the death of Isabelle O ' Conner . Adrian carefully lifted the sword out of the box , knowing that even touching the blade would be a catastrophe for him and the house . It felt as if the sword was softly whispering to him , trying frantically to get out of his hands and drop to the floor . But Adrian was careful enough not to let that happen , he had seen how much the sword loved setting things ablaze . It was the summer of 1997 , a few months after Isabelle had passed away and the sword entered the house . Adrian wished to have no further role for it , and he had wanted to burn the ungodly thing with her corpse . But even after the last ashes had floated away , the sword had stuck around . Oh , it was set ablaze to all hell glory , but not a single mark was left behind on the jewels or the handle of such magnificent steel . It had entered the mortal world for a purpose , and it wasn 't going to give up so easily . One night , when 2 - year old Jacob had been laid in bed and was fast asleep in his cot , Adrian took it out by the fireplace to have a closer look at it . Even in his hands , it just felt wrong , like it was yearning to prise itself free from him . The fire burnt low , and Adrian didn 't really feel man enough to get up and find the poker . He just lazily brushed aside the logs with the long tip of the sword , but it wasn 't an occurrence he was going to forget anytime soon … The sword was set ablaze again , and it nearly burnt his hand off . The fire rose to at least a meter high , and would have set the carpet ablaze had it not been taken away because young Jacob had urinated on it that day . Adrian fell away from the fireplace , and couldn 't move a muscle till the fire subsided to its normal self . Slowly , he crept towards the ancient weapon , and picked it up . Words had appeared on the blade , words that looked like they had been burned onto the magnificent steel . They weren 't words he was going to forget anytime soon , for they were the last words Isabelle had ever spoken before him . " Bon Appétit , Jacob needs his beauty sleep . " This was 13 years ago now , and Adrian would have happily left it all in the past had all this not happened . He had promptly sealed the weapon in a box filled with hay , and hidden it in a secluded corner of the attic . How it had moved by itself diagonally across the room only God knew , but then , God didn 't seem quite willing to give him support here , was he ? The sword wasn 't his , nor was it his mother 's . It had only shown those words because they were spoken at the last by the mother of the prodigy , but she wasn 't the prodigy . There was something queer about Jacob and how things always seemed to be … . different … around him . It was as if his presence itself bended the very will of nature , and caused ungodly things to happen . It was as if his just being born had caused a disturbance in the force , a disbalance that nature was struggling to overcome . But whatever it was , Adrian somehow knew that it was only the sword which could help Jacob wherever he had gone . But how he would get it to him , of that he had no idea . Meanwhile , dark forces stirred around Jacob , as he tried to sleep among all those marshes . He shifted uncomfortably ; there wasn 't an inch of dry space in those dark and damp areas of the living Earth . But journey through them was imperative ; there was no other way around to get to the Doors of Haein . Wishfully thinking of his mother , Jacob slept off among the reeds and other slimy plants that served as his pillow . But sleeping off didn 't mean that he got any peace . Dreamland is another dimension altogether , and one can easily get lost in them . Jacob had long since learned that his dreams weren 't just illusions , they were showing him the future . A figure made his way through the tunnel , stumbling over the uneven rocky surface and bouncing off the balls . The tunnel opened out into a huge chasm , and the path suddenly stopped in the centre . The figure hurried over to the edge and kneeled , waiting for the words that he knew was coming . " No , my Lord . She refuses to divulge any of her past whatsoever , and all attempts to get into her mind were futile . It 's as if the boy 's power itself is shielding her mind , protecting it from us . " Jacob slowly made his way through the shallow marshes , which seemed to be even slimier than the villagers had told him . He nearly went down once when his foot slipped off the path and went into the water . Fortunately , he reached out and grabbed hold of a tree - root just in time and pulled himself up . His jeans were ruined , but he wasn 't going to visit the drycleaners anytime soon anyway … Jacob studied the map in his hand . It seemed pretty straightforward , telling him to go straight through the marsh , and whatever happens , never ever stray from the path . As long as he could tell , he was still on the right track , but with the sun setting down , he couldn 't stay out in the open much longer . Best to pitch his tent on the side of the track and wait until daybreak . The area around him wasn 't renowned for much wildlife , but then again , it was renowned for being the most haunted place on the dying Earth . As Jacob sat there unpacking the kettle , flashes of his memory passed through him . The only thing he remembered about his mother was her in the kitchen , ferociously working the roller and moving pans in and out from the oven . She used to give him a nibble or two of her muffins sometimes , but not much , because his teeth hadn 't grown by that time . He remembered the delicious smell that came from her and her apron , but beyond that , his memory of his mother was a complete blur . It felt exasperating , not having any solid memory of her to hold on to . But Jacob did know one thing , and that was that his father loved Isabelle more than his life , and that Adrian was alive till now only because he had to care for her offspring . It killed him to see his father like this , and Jacob remembered the last time when he had brought up talk about his mother . His father had suddenly seemed to grow old before his eyes , and he firmly refused to discuss what had happened that fateful winter of 1997 . Thinking about all this , Jacob dozed off right there , with his head resting against an old tree - trunk , oblivious to the night - sounds and the dark forces which hovered around him . Adrian had never let slip details about Isabelle 's death , but the town - folk were always up for a meaty rumour or two . Talk spread around the town about the sheriff 's villa being haunted , that dark forces roamed the grounds when all but the mortal were in their beds . Adrian never denied these rumours , but he didn 't dare add to them by commenting himself . He wanted Jacob to grow up in a care - free environment , free from the inquisitive and forbidding eyes of the town folk . There wasn 't a single day when he didn 't miss his wife , not a single day when he didn 't think about Isabelle O ' Conner . They had both decided to take their relationship to the next level the year they graduated from the University of Casavania . Both of them were quite young when Jacob was born , Isabelle 22 and Adrian barely 23 years of age . Adrian was hoping that he would never have to see it again , but grudgingly , this wasn 't the time to let his fears rule over him . He climbed up to the attic and roamed his sight , looking for the box which he knew was there . He saw it by itself in a corner , away from the damp of the lake . That was queer ; he definitely remembered putting it with the rest of the stuff under the porthole window . Ah well , what was inside that box was nowhere close to normal anyway . Opening the box slowly , he felt the same awe that he had felt 15 years ago , when it had appeared in the house , lying across Isabelle 's corpse . The jewels hadn 't lost their glow even now , and the handle was still made of the most marvelous steel there could be in the world . The sword was still there , and its time had arrived . Adrian still remembered the first time he had set eyes on Jacob 's mother . Isabelle and he were fresh out of school and had both joined the local university . Looking at her , Adrian knew that he had found the one for him , not because she was blonde , but because she just was the one . He remembered their first date as if it was only yesterday . He had taken her up to the patio of their university one autumn evening , where his friends had gone out of their way to make it a great setting with candles and all . Every moment with her seemed like a moment lost , but he refused to believe that he had lost her for good . Her soul still rested in the house they had bought together off their meager income , the house Jacob and he were currently living in . . Her death shocked the entire town . Isabelle was well known in the locality for her marvelous muffins , which she catered out of the house . The circumstances of her death were never disclosed to the public , because Adrian wished some parts of her life to remain personal . He didn 't want it to become a witch 's tale , he wanted the town to always remember her as the young , sweet and selfless Isabelle she was . It was the year of 1997 , the 17th day of the month of December , Jacob 's second birthday . It was a particularly chilly winter that year , with the whole of Casavania snowed under . It was then that the strange things started happening around the house . Trees started uprooting themselves , the birds stopped flying down to their porch for the seeds Isabelle laid out for them , smoke could be seen coming out of the chimney without anyone lighting a fire underneath it . It seemed like a spirit had taken over the house , but it didn 't occur to anyone then that the young boy in the house was the one . Then , a week later , the thing happened . Adrian woke up to a sound downstairs at an ungodly hour , when all but the dead should have been sleeping . He got up to investigate , sure that it must have been yet another one of those infernal owls which haunted their roof . They were one of the drawbacks to the otherwise - perfect house . Adrian didn 't mind ; the local birdlife was pretty frequent in these parts , and you grew used to them after a while . As he walked down the stairs , Adrian looked out of the window and was struck at the beauty of the night . The moon was out in full glory , there was no breeze , no wind , and not a single thing moved . The moonlight glistened off the tree - tops , making them look as if they had been freshly washed . Adrian nearly went back to wake Isabelle up and share it with her , when the sound occurred again , but from the kitchen now . Adrian cursed himself for not having brought his revolver with him . He always had it on his person , and the one bloody time he did not , a burglar apparently has stolen into his kitchen . Well , he couldn 't go back now , the burglar would get away . Best to just startle the bloody person and give him a good solid thunk over the head with something . Adrian picked up the poker from the fireplace , and slowly made his way to the kitchen door and put his hand on the doorknob when all hell broke loose . A bright , yet completely black light glowed from the kitchen , and SOMETHING broke through the door . Adrian never got a look at the thing , before something slimy hit him from behind . As he went down , the only thing going through his mind was " Please not them " … Adrian never saw Isabelle after that night , except her corpse . The next morning when he went up to the room on regaining consciousness , he witnessed a scene straight from hell . The place had been ransacked and a dark circle been drawn around the bed on which young Jacob lay . There was no sign of his mother , and Adrian screamed aloud with agony . Her corpse reappeared on that exact bed a week later , but by then that room had been shut down , Adrian wishing to have no further use for it . There were no marks of external injury on her body , and the post - mortem didn 't reveal anything inside her either . It was as if something had passed through her , and she hadn 't survived it … Wincing , Adrian felt the small of his back where he still had the scar from that night . It refused to heal or go away , always staying there as the dark spot on his fair skin . It was as if something evil had touched him , but not penetrated through . He just wished that it had finished with him and not taken Isabelle . But then , he had to live for his boy and protect him . It was obvious now that there was something special about him , maybe even godly , but what it was eluded him . The only thing he could do was nurture him and show him the trades of the world , hoping that one day it would all become clear to him . But now , Jacob had disappeared too , but Adrian couldn 't bear to feel as useless all over again as on the night of Isabelle 's death . He understood that some dark force was acting on his family , but he couldn 't just bear to stand down and let everything around him pass him by . The fact that the anomaly had used ' IT ' for Jacob rather than referring to his boy as HIM and so a human being was strange , and may hold some clue . Whatever it was , Adrian couldn 't bear to let his one child go away , just like he could barely bear the death of his love . He had survived Isabelle being taken away just because he had her child to take care of , but not now . Now , something had to go , and it wouldn 't be his son . Jacob knew that the only way to get around it was to drive straight into it and not give a damn . After all , who in the world would suspect a 17 - year old guy driving a bicycle of the crime that he had just committed ? Sure , a lot of people would report that a young - ish blonde guy had been seen on the screen , but that description could quite easily be related to a hundred other teenagers in that small village of Casavania , a lot of whom would also have been present at that fair when he lighted the fire . He reached home and flung the keys on the dining - table . His father would find them there when he returned home after performing his duties as Sheriff at the scene . Jacob walked into his bedroom and yanked up the loose plank off the floor . His bag was already packed , waiting for him to make a quick get away from there and enter a place where no mortal man had ever set foot . He trudged down the stairs with a heavy heart . It 's not easy leaving behind a home where he had spent his entire life , the place he had lost his first tooth , won his first musical chairs . But he knew that it was the only way to finding redemption for what had happened to his mother , brutally killed 15 years ago in a case shrouded in mystery , and which the locals didn 't dare to talk about . But finally , after waiting his entire childhood in the same house by the lake , he trudged outside into the mist to follow up his latest lead , and wasn 't heard of again for the better part of a year … Jacob 's dad , Adrian reached home that night exhausted . It had been a long day ; what had looked like a pretty standard Annual parade at the funfair had turned into one of the biggest fires the town had ever seen . Fortunately , no one was hurt . Of course , Mrs . Flattherty had complained of chest burns and suffocation , but she seemed all right after the village doctor told her that she would need an injection . A couple of the younger lads had received 3rd degree fire burns trying to help evacuate the elderly , and young Nick Flanagas had broken his arm trying to pitch in by carrying a water bucket which was heavier than his old mum . Adrian smiled to himself ; that young kid certainly had a lot of pluck , just like his father . Expecting that Jacob would already have gone to bed , Adrian made himself a cup of tea and tried to reflect on the day 's proceedings . Some fool had strayed behind the Big Tent where the elephants usually sleep and tried to light a cigarette . It looked like he had dropped his lighter on the stack of hay used for the mammals ' food , and had high - tailed it out of there when he realized that he couldn 't control the ensuing blaze . Thank heavens that the army guys had come over for a night out ; without their help and muscle , the damage could have been a lot more . Adrian sighed and put his feet up on his table . It was going to be a long day tomorrow , what with the press conference and then having to write out a proper report for the Superintendent . The fire was going to be plastered on the front page of every newspaper in the district by dawn tomorrow morning , and the Superintendent didn 't take lightly of being shown up as an incompetent in his own jurisdiction . Stubbing out his cigarette , Adrian decided to call it a day . His body wasn 't what it once used to be , when he used to stay up all night texting Jacob 's mother . Isabelle wasn 't with them anymore , but he felt her presence in that house every single day , every single moment of his life . Too bad that she couldn 't be here to see how big her young lad had grown , and too bad that Jacob never really knew his mother . He slowly walked up the stairs , stood outside Jacob 's door listening for a sound of his son . Hearing none , assuming that the boy had slept off , Adrian walked into his room next door and quickly changed . Then he crashed on the bed , and he dozed off before his head hit the pillow . He didn 't know what had woken him up . Perhaps it was another one of those damned night owls who had thought it a good idea to sit on top of the chimney and hoot to all hell . But Adrian couldn 't hear anything right now , so he decided to let the infernal bird live another day , and went back to sleep . The morning came , and with it came a severe headache . Perhaps it wasn 't a good idea to try that new herbal tea last night after all , it would have been safer to stick to his good old teapot with its good old tea leaves . But whatever , nothing he could do about it , except pop in an Aspirin and hope it will wear off before he reached the police station . The breakfast wasn 't ready on the table for him , which was rather an oddity . Jacob always laid out a bowl of cereal for him before cycling off to college . But seeing as his bicycle wasn 't leaning out there by the garage , Adrian could only assume that he was late and had to go off in a hurry . Adrian wasn 't bothered ; he just got the cereal himself and read the morning 's newspapers ' take on last night 's events . He sent a txt to his son 's phone to reply when he could to make sure he was safe , and didn 't think anymore over it . It didn 't strike him to check his son 's room at that time … That night , when his son still hadn 't checked in , Adrian started to feel worried . Jacob was a responsible boy , he never stayed out of touch so long . The moment Adrian reached home , he ran upstairs and flung open the door to his son 's room . His eyes veered to the wall above the bed 's head , and so Adrian lost his footing , tears escaping the sanctity of his eyes . And so , I can brag soooo much about this ! An actual guest blog , from someone you guys don 't know at all . For now , she 'll be recognized as Anabelle on the site . In time , perhaps , you may quiz me . But for now , read one of the best first articles anyone has ever written . - Nitesh Never gave it a thought that I would actually give in to writing a blog … but here I am . And now , I don 't want to give it a second thought . Yes , I always wanted a secret identity . Was kind of fascinating to me , actually gives me the liberty to speak my heart out without any worries of how the world will react . This is one place I can be me . I think . So here 's a story of a girl . No , nothing new , the same old life that people have . But with a lot more fun , a lot more drama , a lot more love , a lot more passion , a lot more hate but most importantly , more of fear . Living our lives believing some things never exist , and then one night you stand face to face with it . You end up realizing the fact that this non - believe is now your biggest fear . I 'm Anabelle ( fictitious name ) . I 'm 17 years old and have lived all these 17 years in a superbly fantastic way , my way . I have always been in the same school since Nursery so never had to face the drudgery of experiencing a new environment , eing tortured and most importantly , I have always been saved from the ragging part . I came back home from school late in the evening . The porch lights were off so I realized my parents weren 't home . I grabbed the house keys from under the doormat and unlocked the door . I had had a hectic day so wasn 't really in a mood to prepare the dinner and decided to wait till my parents were back . I headed upstairs for my room , changed and got back down to see if there was anything in the fridge to drink . I opened the fridge door when suddenly there was a loud noise outside somewhere and the next moment the lights were gone . It was pitch dark but I managed to work my way to the kitchen counter and found a candle and a matchbox in the drawer . I lit the candle and brought it to the living room so I could atleast figure out what things were kept where . I kept the matchbox on the centre table in case I would need it . I heard my phone ringing so I headed upstairs to answer it . " Umm I just called to inform that dad and I are stuck in the storm here so we 'd be late . If the weather gets bad we 'd be staying here for the night . You stay indoors and make sure all the doors and windows are bolted . I 've made grilled sandwich for you , its in the oven . Eat it and have a good night . We 'll be home as soon as possible " I tossed my phone on my bed and sat on the floor . I had the whole house to me for the night and I had nothing to do , so I decided I 'd go back downstairs and have the grilled sandwich and wait till the lights are back . There was a loud thunder and the clouds rumbled . It started raining . I heard a noise from downstairs so I decided to check . I half ran skipping two steps at a time when I sprained my ankle and fell . I tried getting up but lost my balance and found the floor again . I hurt my head and the floor felt so nice and warm , when suddenly I felt something wet in my hand . I told myself that the floor must be wet because of the rain ; Some water must have seeped in . There was a loud thunderclap followed by lightning , which gave me enough light to see that it wasn 't the rain water that had the floor all wet . It was blood . I felt a sudden panic attack and ran my hand over my head and through my hair to see how badly I was hurt . I wasn 't , I didn 't have scratch . There were no signs of bruises … I was perfectly fine . Then whose blood was it ? I panicked even more and ran towards the living area to get the candle . I grabbed the candle and ran back to the stairs to see where all that blood came from . And to my surprise . . there was no blood . The floor was as dry as it had ever been . I tried to reconcile myself and comforted myself with lies that probably I was imagining everything … probably I had hit my head very hard , probably there was actually no blood but my mere imagination . The dining hall window cracked open and there was again a loud thunder . It was raining harder and the winds blew off the candle . I went back to the living area to get the matchbox from the centre table . I slipped on the wet floor . It was blood , yet again . I told myself I was imagining again and shuffled through the pages lying on the centre table to grab the matchbox . But it wasn 't there . I remembered clearly that I had left it there then , but now it was gone . I heard a door open and close upstairs . I asked again and this time my voice was followed by a lightning and a thunderclap lighting up the whole room . There was a man right in front of me . He had wounds all over his body and bloody eyes that wanted to kill me . I screamed out loud and ran for my life . I threw open the main door and ran endlessly out in the rain . I was panting … I stopped to see if the man was still following me . I turned around to make sure I was safe . There was no one . I was alone on the road in the heavy downpour . I relaxed and the rain helped my muscles loosen up a bit when suddenly I felt a hand on my shoulder . I turned to face that hideous looking man again . I screamed again but in vain . He stabbed me right in my stomach . I lay still on the ground groaning in pain . I called for help but no one could hear me at this hour of the night , and in this rain . The man was gone and so were my hopes of living . I lay there unmoving . . bleeding . The cold rain washed my blood off my wounds . I felt my eyes closing . Sleep was taking me in her arms but I knew it was my conscience that I was losing . I was dying . And there I lay dead . This is in continuation to the first part already published here . Remember people , it 's a public blog , it 's not a single person 's . If you want the world to know about you and whatever you want to write on , this is the place ! Cheers - Nitesh As days passed , he was taking a very keen interest in talking to her . After a while , he asked her for her mobile number and as expected , she gave it to him and then it seemed that a new era of communicating with her had commenced for him . He spent many sleepless nights thinking about her , and when he lied down to sleep , most of the time he dreamed of her only … . Going to his performance in class , he had started answering in class . Not much , but improvement was there . Before , he was scared to answer to any question in front of the whole class . A dread of getting insulted by his fellow mates or you can say the students in class developed , if he answers that question wrong or gives absurd answers . This dread of his started when he newly joined the school that is in grade 6 . He was selected as a class representative from one section for an inter - class spell bee competition . You must be wondering how did this guy get selected as class representative for INTER - CLASS COMPETITION ? ! The reason for this is that before he came to his new school , he was an intelligent but yes , reserved kind of boy ; he always came in the top 3 students of his class . But after coming to this school , he didn 't know what happened to him ( something which happens with a lot of us ! - Nitesh ) . We 'll discuss upon this later . So where were we ? Yes , he was nervous to get on the stage as he was new to school and didn 't know what to do then . He thought he was going to have a nervous breakdown after seeing that all the other members of his team were only girls … no boys ! He started praying to God either to fast forward the time or to pulverize him there only . Now the competition started and he with a dreadful face was in front of his 300 school mates . The first two rounds passed easily and he was happy about it as he didn 't answer any of the questions or spellings . Now the final round came and his class , that is grade 6 , and grade 7 were having the same points . For this very last tie breaker question , he was given the mic . The word given to him was " chloroform " . As soon as the word was being called , all eyes of the students , principal , teachers , all people who were there , started looking at him . His teammates too were looking at him , waiting for an answer like it 's a billion dollar question . He knew the spelling very well but the " do u know the answer looks ? " by all made him more and more nervous . And as a consequence , he was not able to answer that . He started stumbling after he blurted out the letters ' ch ' . The rest of the letters just got stuck in his voice box and his so - called teammates were prompting the spelling to him repeatedly . But he was not listening to them , he just gave up and the question was answered by grade 7 kids . After this little fiasco , only one thing was going around his mind - Now how would he going to face his friends ? ! This incident changed his life and from that day onwards he had never went up to stage . He just wanted to get lost in the crowd of 300 students . Now coming back to our story , as I said he was getting a keen interest in texting with his newly made friend . He didn 't start with flirting or something like that . He just started with TAUNTING her in the name of a person ( You can guess it , I dont know his name either ) who had a crush on her . Or at least that 's what our nincompoop thinks . This taunting went for at least 4 - 5 months . It 's only after so many explanations and proofs by her that he agreed that she didn 't like him . Actually he did know that she didn 't like him , it was just that he wanted to talk to her . No matter what the topic would be , he just wanted to talk to her . He started observing that he had started answering in class . His results started improving , his hairstyle changed from a mushroom cut to spiked one ( partially ) . His shyness towards girls started to retreat . I know this sounds stupid but for him it seemed that an angel or a lucky charm for him was sent by the Great Creator . One week passed talkig to her , actually not one week , only one weekend , but that seemed like a week to him . During the first weekend only , he talked to her so much that he felt that they had known each other for ages , but only he started to feel that . He didn 't know what that girl thought about him . He just IMAGINED that she felt the same way as he does . Yes , he imagined ! Next day that is on monday , he woke up on his own . Usually , his mother used to wake him up for school . But this day he got up and got ready early to match the timing of hers , that they would reach the school together . And that day , he did reach the entrance of school on that time only at which she had reached . She came out from her white BMW . It was like somewhere 's Crown Princess had just stepped out from her royal chariot , it all seemed like a dream to him . She was in her school uniform , yet she was looking like the princess of some country . At that moment , he was not able to resist himself from staring at her . Not literally , but yes he was staring . Then he came back into his senses and saw her coming towards her . In a time not akin ours , with people not unlike us , there was a teenager not unlike us . This is the story of how he found his life , his love , and how he went on to get what he wanted even when no one would have expected it from him . This isn 't an autobiography ; it 's rather a hopefully heartwarming story which drew inspiration from my life . There are a couple of instances from my life , but each love part is not taken from anywhere , and IS FICTIONAL ! But as is the case with teenage boys , he got over this quickly enough . A week after that , he was jumping around like a spring chicken , oblivious to the worries of the world . It 's been said that true inspiration comes from a broken heart , but what about the inspiration when a load has been taken off your back ? On top of that , it 's not like we teenage boys are the fastest at anything , are we ? Hell , if we had a competition over this , I guess frogs would be more romantic than us . Every single person nowadays has someone with whom they 've fixed a song as ' their ' song . In this period of time , he started listening to that song over and over again , and was shocked at how idiotic that song sounded to him . He tried to hear it again to find out why he had liked the song in the first place , but all rationality had left him . He changed his songs , but more importantly , he just gave a couple of tweaks to his life . School life passed him by ; after all , which kid his age would want to get up every day in the morning and think ' yes , we 're going to start this chapter today ! " ? It was like it was always going to be . As long as you left the system alone , the system would not gobble you up . But there was something wrong with the way he felt towards school life . He started looking at life within those boundaries as just an intermediary to the larger picture , as just a stepping - stone towards the real world outside . I guess that 's actually the right way of thinking , but come on , which kid among us doesn 't want to go to school every day if only to meet his friends and have fun ? Leaving aside some of the ' un - social ' kids , if you may , but then , he wasn 't having any problems in that regard . It wasn 't like he didn 't talk to girls at all . Earlier , you 've already been told of his brief fling when he was all of 13 years old . But as is the case with most children of his age , it was never going to go on , and these two just drifted apart over time . Perhaps he just didn 't consider himself ready enough to be drawn into this net of relationships . He had heard a lot of comments from people around him about how difficult it is to sustain a long relationship with someone , and some very hurtful comments towards their ex ' es . And it horrified him that some situations can occur which can make someone think about another being in that way . I guess that was the reason he just made up his mind that he wasn 't big enough and man enough to take care of a special someone for a long time . He preferred to go about his life as it were , keeping everyone happy while not taking it any further . He went to tuition , but it just wasn 't the same now . He missed the fact that earlier , he actually had someone to stare at when everything being taught in class was zooming right over him . The rest of his gang were fun enough , but something just felt missing . That did not mean that they didn 't have fun in class , joking with the teachers and spreading the gossip around them . These are the small little things which can make the most boring of things worthwhile , and he fell right back into it . And then one day , his gang and he reached tuition early , and they went inside early because the helper was watering the pavement outside . Most of them were in a good mood then ; it was a glorious day with a chance of rain in the next couple of hours . There were still 15 minutes or so left for the class to start , so they just started to do anything which came in their mind . After drawing faces of Scooby - Doo , Powerpuff Girls and a couple of other Cartoon characters which came in their minds , they started to mess with their own hairstyles , asking others just how big an idiot they looked like . And just when he had managed to make up his hair in such a way that half of it came into his eyes and it was all standing out like a porcupine 's from the side , she walked in … . Imagine the expression on the poor guy 's face . Not the best second first - impression anyone would want to have on someone he was attracted to , was it ? But he quickly regained his composure and included her in the fun . Though he seemed solid enough at the outset , a cold feeling had crawled up his spine . He had let go with such difficulty , but now that she was in front of him , the world just seemed a bit messed - up to his adolescent mind . Remember the piles of concrete or whatever it is that looks a lot like sand , which you always see near any place where construction is going on ? Sometimes the smallest of things , however irrelevant they may seem , are the biggest things possible in a normal person 's life , and you just can 't help yourself but try to climb over it and feel like a circus performer . That was the day he first held her hand , supporting her as she climbed over the huge pile out of childish want . In a time not akin ours , with people not unlike us , there was a teenager not unlike us . This is the story of how he found his life , his love , and how he went on to get what he wanted even when no one would have expected it from him . This isn 't an autobiography ; it 's rather a hopefully heartwarming story which drew inspiration from my life . Yes , there are a couple of instances from my life , but each love - part is not taken from anywhere , and IS FICTIONAL ! Yes , it wasn 't the best of starts for him , but honestly , which teenager would care when he can get to sit with his crush like that ? Some can go all high heaven for a chance to do so . And of course , the best part of Truth & Dare was to pair someone with his or her crush . Soon after that , he had a fight with his mom over the dishes . He had eaten his sister 's birthday cake and forgotten to put it back into the fridge . It wasn 't anything big enough to fight over , but his mind really wasn 't in it . His mother sensed that he wasn 't listening to her , and further prodded him . Brought back from his daydreams , he snapped back at her , exasperated by everything going on in his life . One thing led to another , and he found himself trudging off all alone to his room for some privacy . He went there , sat down on the floor , and promptly started daydreaming . Next day , he again got ready for school , but his mood just wasn 't in it . Games at school went some way to taking his mind off things , and he acted like a lunatic all day . His friends didn 't mind ; as long as they got their dose of entertainment , why would they care about whatever madness he did ? His mind wasn 't on studies all day , but I guess that could be said about half the school . It was a glorious day outside ; the sun was out in its full - glory , yet there was that cool little breeze blowing which made every teenager 's head go crazy . You know the things you daydream about when you 're sitting in the middle of the exam hall with absolutely nothing to do . It was somewhat along the same lines , with the exception that he wasn 't really thinking about what to do with his friends like the rest of us normally would have . Till now , he had fair falling all over his head in a heap . He didn 't really care about it before , but suddenly he started paying attention to his face and everything else that , you know , isn 't like normal guys . He combed down his hair , he spiked it up , he tried absolutely every possible kind of hairstyle . Exasperated , he nearly got a crew cut , but luckily someone talked him out of it . Such was his longing for her to notice him . I 've said that he was one of the more social kids of his age . He enjoyed talking to different people and sharing their problems , and if he could , try to give them solutions . But when he needed to have shared it with someone else , he preferred to clamp up and withdraw inside his shell . Some people can think over matters so much that they put themselves into a bad mood . His friends weren 't idiots ; they did know that something was wrong . To see the clown of their gang suddenly sitting in his seat alone when the rest of the class was enjoying themselves in a substitution just wasn 't right . He wasn 't going to get away with his drama anyway ; this is India , you know . Friends just cant let each other stay in a bad mood for long , and somehow or the other he cheered up and went about his life . All that day and the next , he tried to draw out a plan as to how he could go up to her and actually talk to her . He did decide on his opening line , the topics he could talk over with her , and absolutely everything that he would want to know about her . He reached the centre well ahead of time , put his books inside and came outside to stroll around the place , waiting for her . He just wanted to have a glimpse of her , no matter what it took . But she never came , not that day , not the next , not that week … In a time not akin ours , with people not unlike us , there was a teenager not unlike us . This is the story of how he found his life , his love , and how he went on to get what he wanted even when no one would have expected it from him . This isn 't an autobiography ; it 's rather a hopefully heartwarming story which drew inspiration from my life . There are a couple of instances from my life , but each love part is not taken from anywhere , and IS FICTIONAL ! You couldn 't really fault him for being the way he was . If life had taught him one thing , it was to never trust others to do the work you could do yourself . Over the years , he had found out that the only way for children like him to merge in was to make yourself entertaining , to make yourself the clown of the gang . It wasn 't the hardest thing for him , he was in his element when he was allowed to talk free without any restraints , and somehow he found it a lot easier with people of all sorts than most others of his age . Talking about his looks , they weren 't much to talk about when he was younger . Neatly combed hair stuck down over his round head , a protruding nose which was a bit curved at the tip , and eyes that were sharp yet sleeping . His dressing sense was like all children at first , exactly as his mother ordered him to . This started to change as he grew older . His features became more pronounced , and he started transforming into someone who people would term as good - looking . Not like the ' oh , he 's so hot ' type , just plain old good - looking with softened features and a balanced face . As all children , he started to rebel when he entered double - figures and puberty started to set in . He felt each emotion a hundred times stronger , but the one emotion that eluded him was love . As he grew up , he slowly started building his fame in the school . A couple of academic awards later and playing in the school football team , other students started knowing of his existence . It wasn 't like he was hard to get to , rather that he just didn 't bother to . A lazy kid some could call him , but one who could shine when it really mattered . He didn 't get along with everyone , but he didn 't despise anyone for not liking him . The kid I 'm describing wasn 't challenged in any way except for the fact that he wore spectacles . But seeing as a third of the population around him did so , it wasn 't really a big thing for him . In fact , there was nothing extraordinary about him . Good enough in academics , good in football , good with his friends , he was a Jack of all trades , master of none . I guess kids like him really were popular among his peer group . But despite everything , he never got a swollen head ; it was all the same for him whatsoever the case . It wasn 't like opportunities didn 't present themselves for him to show off and make a scene ; it just wasn 't in his nature . The only field he wasn 't accomplished in was in matters of the opposite sex . These completely passed him by , and perhaps he just didn 't think himself ready to get into all of this . It 's not as if the girls around him weren 't pretty enough , it 's just that the one for him wasn 't among them . He did try his hand at love , you know . There was a brief time when he was 13 when he thought he had finally grasped the meaning of interaction with the opposite sex . There was a girl in his class who he liked conversing to . He wanted to sit with her every day , wanted to know what happened to her everyday and what she did every day . But it just wasn 't meant to be . Before anything developed , the two of them grew apart . They didn 't have a fight ; they just drifted apart over time . He was a plucky kid , no doubt about it . Announcing to the world on Facebook that he was gay as part of a dare , he never stood down from making a mockery of himself as long as people around him were having fun . Kneeling down in front of innumerable girls to propose as part of the infamous Truth & Dare times , he set the benchmark for doing the things others would have been afraid to . People admired him for his bravery , and he basked in the glory of their admiration . It was only when he approached his last 2 years in school when he found himself drawn into the net of social interaction . He started conversing with girls over the net , he started talking to them in person when earlier he would have ignored them , he just started to have a positive looking social sphere . People were entertained by talking with him , and he was glad to be of service to everyone . But even among the people he talked to , he never had the first inclination of the first signs of love . He never daydreamed about any single girl when he was alone . Taking up group tuition when he reached his higher class , he started having a wider range . He was still popular in there , yet he was still trying to find his way . It was there that he set eyes on her for the first time . The way she tied back her hair , the way she held herself , it just appealed to the person inside him and he needed to know more about her . He didn 't even dare to go to her and ask her name , he found it out by peaking into the class list . Secret admiration grew inside him , and he was killing himself for a way to get to her . It would be prudent to say that he lived on like this . He knew that he couldn 't pass a single moment without thinking about her , and he returned to Facebook with a new vigor . He started talking to a whole lot more people , he started putting more of his life onto the net , yet he didn 't dare send her a friend request . For doing so would have been him making the first move , and he didn 't dare do that . I suppose there was that political side inside him , which analyzed each situation far harder than he should have . One day , he reached late to class because he was coming from a friend 's house . Miraculously , the entire class had chosen just that very day to all be present , and that wasn 't even an important class . I suppose most of them had gotten bored of bunking classes , and it was just unfortunate for him that they had chosen just that day to reach and enter on time . There wasn 't a single seat empty for him , any , except one . This was by her side . Reprimanded by the teacher , he went and sat down beside her . Normally , people would have been cursing the teacher for having embarrassed them in front of their batch . But he wasn 't thinking about any of that . After an hour of molar concepts , all he retained in memory was that she smelled of strawberries .

Leave a reply In Yoruba folklore , the tortoise was a wily trickster . Lazy , always up to no good and especially fond of porridge , he often got himself into one misadventure or the other . This is a story of one such misadventure . He had severe hunger pangs . And this was entirely his fault . You see , during the farming period , while other animals went to the farms to plant crops , he lazed about , whistling tunes and chasing fireflies . He always had one excuse or the other for not working . He walked the length and breadth of the forest and turned up just a few palm kernels and one ripe mango . He sat below a palm tree to eat them . As he was eating , he remembered a spell he had learnt during his travels ( he was well travelled and had gone to places on land and in the sea that no one else had ) and decided to try it out . It was a spell to animate palm trees . As he sang , the palm tree danced , moving from place to place , and when he stopped , it stood rooted in place , just another palm tree . Ijapa smiled . He had a plan . He got some leaves and branches , feathers and twigs , tied them around his palm tree to make it look scary and poured some chicken blood on it from the branches to the roots till it dripped . Satisfied with his craft , he hid himself among the topmost branches and sang the spell , leading it towards the marketplace . He was just in time for the evening market . Just as the market women settled down to begin to sell their wares , the palm tree came dancing into the market square . Everyone took to their heels . You must understand , it wasn 't like anything they had ever seen before . A palm tree twirling and spinning , dancing with its roots out of the soil , dripping blood and covered with feathers . It looked horrible . It was a sight to put fear into the hearts of even the bravest of men . When the market square was clear , Ijapa stopped his spell , got down from the palm tree and ate to his heart 's content . Then he took some more food and hid it in the palm tree . Then he sang his spell and spun back to the forest . The king sent his bravest guards to stand by the entrance to the markets . Soon enough , the tortoise came spinning to the marketplace ​ . He saw the guards and let out a guttural roar that shook the earth and made straight for them . Their strength failed them , their courage shattered and they took to their heels . With the guards gone , the villagers followed quickly after and the tortoise was free to once again , plunder the marketplace . Tired and desperate , the villagers went back to the king to tell the tale . And he dismissed them , promising to find a solution to the problem . He thought and thought and decided that since brute force had failed , perhaps it was time to try trickery . So he privately called for the best carver in the land and had him create a lifelike statute of a man seated and watching from the strongest iroko tree he could find . Then he made him cover it with sticky tape and set in the centre of the village square . This man he named ' Sigidi ' Soon afterwards , the palm tree came dancing and everyone as usual , went running . Everyone except sigidi , who sat in the market square watching . The tortoise tried all he could but nothing scared sigidi . At this time , it was almost fully dark and he wanted to eat so he got down and accosted it . Sigidi , of course , said nothing . Ijapa saw this as extremely arrogant and so landed it a huge slap . His hand stuck to it . " If you don 't release my hand , I 'll deal you an even heavier blow with the other hand . " Now very angry , he kicked the statute . Again , he got stuck . Now beyond reason , he kicked with his other foot . It also got stuck . " If you don 't let me go , I 'll headbutt you . " He threatened . " I 'll headbutt you so hard , you 'd die . " Sigidi again , gave no response , and so Ijapa headbutted the statute . He was stuck . At this point he realized he was entirely in his opponent 's hands and so he began to plead . He begged and begged , but nothing happened , he was still stuck and that was how he was when the next day arrived and the villagers found him . They went to report to the king who had Ijapa make a full confession . The remaining food items were recovered and returned to their rightful owners . This is a story that tells of Ijapa in his second capacity as problem - solver . In this tale , Ijapa helps an ailing King avoid death . Of course , he achieves this through great mischief . Enjoy . Once upon a time , when the earth was young , animals walked on two feet and spoke like men , and there were two kingdoms . The animal kingdom and the human kingdom . In the human kingdom , which happened to be a short distance from the animal kingdom , the king , Kabiyesi , fell terribly ill . All the medicine men were called , and sacrifices upon sacrifices were made , but all to no avail . When they got home , the King was unconscious and at the brink of death . Quickly , the herbalist administered a herbal concoction and Kabiyesi was revived . Then Ifagbemi locked himself in a room for seven days , with intense divination to find out the source of the King 's ill health , and the cure , if any . There was a particular hunter with the name Ogunyemi who set his mind on getting the reward . He went into the bush and after days and days of searching , was unable to find any elephant to kill . Dejected , he sat on a stone to think and worry , and it was in this state that his friend Ijapa met him . Ijapa who despite his numerous failings , could nonetheless prove a wonderful friend picked up on Ogunyemi 's dark mood . He asked his friend to reveal his problem , but he was rebuffed . Not to be turned away , he asked again and again until the hunter opened up and revealed that he was searching for the heart of an elephant . But despite his efforts , he had not come across even an elephant 's shadow , not to talk of killing it and obtaining it 's heart . Claiming to have been there when the old king passed away , Ijapa then spun a beautiful tale of how he had suggested an elephant and successfully convinced them to appoint him as the kingmaker supreme . As such it fell to him to produce the king . And having gotten that task , he had come to invite Erin to his coronation ceremony so he could be crowned as king . Cracked lips , dry , whitish skin , it 's a perpetual struggle to stay warm . Moisture seems to be nothing but a fevered dream . Water dries off like there 's a meeting in heaven it just cannot afford to be late to . The sandy footpaths are filled with that same earthy brownish - orange dust . Even as it rises in small clouds , pummeled under the feet of hasty villagers going about their daily business . There is no time to wait and exchange more than the barest pleasantries . Stay still for more than a few minutes and the cold begins to take little nips at your exposed flesh and if you still wait like a rabbit frozen in a bright beam of light , it gets into your very bones . On the day set aside , UzoChukwu and several other boys of his age grade meet at the agreed upon meeting place , the huge palm tree in the market square . They shake hands and trade insults . If they prove their courage in their different places of assignment , they would meet in exactly one week as men . Those who failed would have to pay a steep fine , to be set by those who passed . And then , the next harmattan , they would be opportuned to take the test again with their younger ones . Every boy present wears a grim face . They know what is at stake . Footsteps echo from a footpath leading through a thick forest , the forest of men . Instantly , the boys hush . Only strong men who had proven their worth in the clan , great warriors , orators or experts in their chosen fields could walk this path . Men like this were not seen everyday , one only caught glimpses of them if he woke up early enough to see them as they made their way to their massive farmlands , or when they gathered to deliberate on issues affecting the village . The leaves covering the end of the path shake and part and Ozonna , the village medicine man comes out . He is a huge , barrel - chested man , with arms like tree trunks . He was said to be able to wrestle with leopards and win . He looks at one as though he sees your every secret . He is one of those who are even harder to see than their peers , and his one distinguishing mark is the staff he always carries , a long , strong wooden staff topped with a pale bleached human skull . This us well known . He peers at them intently , checking to see that all his charges are present . Then he nods to himself , grunting and fetching a small object from a satchel dangling on his shoulder , he blows on a bone whistle . It all started when Ijapa got fed up with his friend Obo , the monkey . Whenever they got together to eat , as they were fond of doing every opportunity they had , Ijapa would always pray but the monkey never said " Amin " . Ijapa found this offensive but try as he might , he could not get Obo to say amin . After all , Obo reasoned , your prayer is quite enough for the both of us . Ijapa would often warn him not to take prayers with such levity , that perhaps one day nemesis would catch up with him . Obo would sniffle and giggle and climb trees yelling about how he was too smart and fast to be in any sort of trouble , unlike the slow tortoise . In those days , the monkey spent quite a lot of time roaming on the ground and only took to the trees when there was any sign of danger . " Wait a minute ! He doesn 't give it willingly . You have to grab him by the neck and shake him really hard , yelling at the top of your voice for him to excrete sweet droppings . " " He might disobey you the first or second time , but if you keep at it , he 'll eventually give you a lot of it . Just be careful so you don 't kill him or we won 't get anything tomorrow . And whatever happens , never tell him I sent you , or I won 't tell you how to get the sweet drink that goes perfectly with this . " Quite thankful , the lion left Ijapa and with further advice , proceeded to seek the monkey out . Sneaking behind him as per Ijapa 's instructions , he was able to snatch the monkey by the neck . Squeezing so tight the monkey was sure he would die , Kiniun yelled Scared as he was , it wasn 't a problem for the monkey to do this . Kiniun out a finger in , tasted it and found it not to his liking . Well he had been warned that Obo would prove stubborn , so he shook him again . " What happened ? " He asked and Obo explained to him the day 's events . Ijapa then berated him , blaming it on his refusal to say " Amin " to prayers . " You see ? Nemesis has caught up with you . " Shocked , Obo started yelling Amin , and till today , it remains one of the common sounds uttered by monkeys in the rainforests of Africa . Leave a reply This is my favorite among all the stories compiled by the Brothers Grimm . It 's a very peculiar story , with an interesting perspective on things . Take a deep breath , grab a donut , a cup of coffee , relax and lets explore this story … together . " A certain father had two sons , the elder of whom was smart and sensible , and could do everything , but the younger was stupid and could neither learn nor understand anything , and when people saw him they said ' there 's a fellow who will give his father some trouble . ' When anything had to be done , it was always the elder who was forced to do it , but if his father bade him fetch anything when it was late , or in the night - time , and the way led through the churchyard , or any other dismal place , he answered ' oh , no , father , I 'll not go there , it makes me shudder . ' For he was afraid . Or when stories were told by the fire at night which made the flesh creep , the listeners sometimes said ' oh , it makes us shudder . ' The younger sat in a corner and listened with the rest of them , and could not imagine what they could mean . ' They are always saying ' it makes me shudder , it makes me shudder , it does not make me shudder . ' Thought he . ' That , too , must be an art of which I understand nothing . ' ' The elder brother smiled when he heard that , and thought to himself ' Good God , what a blockhead that brother of mine is . He will never be good for anything as long as he lives . He who wants to be a sickle must bend himself betimes . ' The father sighed , and answered him ' you shall soon learn what it is to shudder , but you will not earn your bread by that . ' Soon after this the sexton came to the house on a visit , and the father bewailed his trouble , and told him how his younger son was so backward in every respect that he knew nothing and learnt nothing . ' Just think , said he , ' when I asked him how he was going to earn his bread , he actually wanted to learn to shudder . ' ' If that be all , replied the sexton , ' he can learn that with me . Send him to me , and I will soon polish him . ' The father was glad to do it , for he thought ' it will train the boy a little . ' The sexton therefore took him into his house , and he had to ring the church bell . After a day or two , the sexton awoke him at midnight , and bade him arise and go up into the church tower and ring the bell . ' You shall soon learn what shuddering is , thought he , and secretly went there before him , and when the boy was at the top of the tower and turned round , and was just going to take hold of the bell rope , he saw a white figure standing on the stairs opposite the sounding hole . ' Who is there . ' Cried he , but the figure made no reply , and did not move or stir . ' Give an answer , cried the boy , ' or take yourself off , you have no business here at night . ' The sexton , however , remained standing motionless that the boy might think he was a ghost . The boy cried a second time ' what do you want here . - Speak if you are an honest fellow , or I will throw you down the steps . ' The sexton thought ' he can 't mean to be as bad as his words , uttered no sound and stood as if he were made of stone . Then the boy called to him for the third time , and as that was also to no purpose , he ran against him and pushed the ghost down the stairs , so that it fell down ten steps and remained lying there in a corner . Thereupon he rang the bell , went home , and without saying a word went to bed , and fell asleep . The sexton 's wife waited a long time for her husband , but he did not come back . At length she became uneasy , and wakened the boy , and asked ' do you not know where my husband is . He climbed up the tower before you did . ' ' No , I don 't know , replied the boy , ' but someone was standing by the sounding hole on the other side of the steps , and as he would neither give an answer nor go away , I took him for a scoundrel , and threw him downstairs . Just go there and you will see if it was he . I should be sorry if it were . ' The woman ran away and found her husband , who was lying moaning in the corner , and had broken his leg . She carried him down , and then with loud screams she hastened to the boy 's father . ' Your boy , cried she , ' has been the cause of a great misfortune . He has thrown my husband down the steps so that he broke his leg . Take the good - for - nothing fellow out of our house . ' The father was terrified , and ran thither and scolded the boy . ' What wicked tricks are these . ' Said he , ' the devil must have put them into your head . ' ' Father , he replied , ' do listen to me . I am quite innocent . He was standing there by night like one intent on doing evil . I did not know who it was , and I entreated him three times either to speak or to go away . ' Learn what you will , spoke the father , ' it is all the same to me . Here are fifty talers for you . Take these and go into the wide world , and tell no one from whence you come , and who is your father , for I have reason to be ashamed of you . ' When day dawned , therefore , the boy put his fifty talers into his pocket , and went forth on the great highway , and continually said to himself ' if I could but shudder . If I could but shudder . ' Then a man approached who heard this conversation which the youth was holding with himself , and when they had walked a little farther to where they could see the gallows , the man said to him ' look , there is the tree where seven men have married the ropemaker 's daughter , and are now learning how to fly . Sit down beneath it , and wait till night comes , and you will soon learn how to shudder . ' ' If that is all that is wanted , answered the youth , ' it is easily done , but if I learn how to shudder as fast as that , you shall have my fifty talers . Just come back to me early in the morning . ' Then the youth went to the gallows , sat down beneath it , and waited till evening came . And as he was cold , he lighted himself a fire , but at midnight the wind blew so sharply that in spite of his fire , he could not get warm . And as the wind knocked the hanged men against each other , and they moved backwards and forwards , he thought to himself ' if you shiver below by the fire , how those up above must freeze and suffer . ' And as he felt pity for them , he raised the ladder , and climbed up , unbound one of them after the other , and brought down all seven . Then he stoked the fire , blew it , and set them all round it to warm themselves . But they sat there and did not stir , and the fire caught their clothes . So he said ' take care , or I will hang you up again . ' The dead men , however , did not hear , but were quite silent , and let their rags go on burning . At this he grew angry , and said ' if you will not take care , I cannot help you , I will not be burnt with you , and he hung them up again each in his turn . Then he sat down by his fire and fell asleep , and the next morning the man came to him and wanted to have the fifty talers , and said ' well , do you know how to shudder . ' ' No , answered he , ' how should I know . Those fellows up there did not open their mouths , and were so stupid that they let the few old rags which they had on their bodies get burnt . ' Then the man saw that he would not get the fifty talers that day , and went away saying ' such a youth has never come my way before . ' The youth likewise went his way , and once more began to mutter to himself ' ah , if I could but shudder . Ah , if I could but shudder . ' A waggoner who was striding behind him heard this and asked ' who are you . ' ' I don 't know , answered the youth . Then the waggoner asked ' from whence do you come . ' ' I know not . ' ' Who is your father . ' ' That I may not tell you . ' ' What is it that you are always muttering between your teeth . ' The youth went with the waggoner , and in the evening they arrived at an inn where they wished to pass the night . Then at the entrance of the parlor the youth again said quite loudly ' If I could but shudder . If I could but shudder . ' The host who heard this , laughed and said ' if that is your desire , there ought to be a good opportunity for you here . ' ' Ah , be silent , said the hostess , ' so many prying persons have already lost their lives , it would be a pity and a shame if such beautiful eyes as these should never see the daylight again . ' But the youth said ' however difficult it may be , I will learn it . For this purpose indeed have I journeyed forth . ' He let the host have no rest , until the latter told him , that not far from thence stood a haunted castle where any one could very easily learn what shuddering was , if he would but watch in it for three nights . The king had promised that he who would venture should have his daughter to wife , and she was the most beautiful maiden the sun shone on . Likewise in the castle lay great treasures , which were guarded by evil spirits , and these treasures would then be freed , and would make a poor man rich enough . Already many men had gone into the castle , but as yet none had come out again . Then the youth went next morning to the king and said ' if it be allowed , I will willingly watch three nights in the haunted castle . ' The king looked at him , and as the youth pleased him , he said ' you may ask for three things to take into the castle with you , but they must be things without life . ' Then he answered ' then I ask for a fire , a turning lathe , and a cutting - board with the knife . ' The king had these things carried into the castle for him during the day . When night was drawing near , the youth went up and made himself a bright fire in one of the rooms , placed the cutting - board and knife beside it , and seated himself by the turning - lathe . ' Ah , if I could but shudder . ' Said he , ' but I shall not learn it here either . ' Towards midnight he was about to poke his fire , and as he was blowing it , something cried suddenly from one corner ' Au , miau . How cold we are . ' ' You fools . ' Cried he , ' what are you crying about . If you are cold , come and take a seat by the fire and warm yourselves . ' And when he had said that , two great black cats came with one tremendous leap and sat down on each side of him , and looked savagely at him with their fiery eyes . After a short time , when they had warmed themselves , they said ' comrade , shall we have a game of cards . ' ' Why not . ' He replied , ' but just show me your paws . ' Then they stretched out their claws . ' Oh , said he , ' what long nails you have . Wait , I must first cut them for you . ' Thereupon he seized them by the throats , put them on the cutting - board and screwed their feet fast . ' I have looked at your fingers , said he , ' and my fancy for card - playing has gone , and he struck them dead and threw them out into the water . But when he had made away with these two , and was about to sit down again by his fire , out from every hole and corner came black cats and black dogs with red - hot chains , and more and more of them came until he could no longer move , and they yelled horribly , and got on his fire , pulled it to pieces , and tried to put it out . He watched them for a while quietly , but at last when they were going too far , he seized his cutting - knife , and cried ' away with you , vermin , and began to cut them down . Some of them ran away , the others he killed , and threw out into the fish - pond . When he came back he fanned the embers of his fire again and warmed himself . And as he thus sat , his eyes would keep open no longer , and he felt a desire to sleep . Then he looked round and saw a great bed in the corner . ' That is the very thing for me , said he , and got into it . When he was just going to shut his eyes , however , the bed began to move of its own accord , and went over the whole of the castle . ' That 's right , said he , ' but go faster . ' Then the bed rolled on as if six horses were harnessed to it , up and down , over thresholds and stairs , but suddenly hop , hop , it turned over upside down , and lay on him like a mountain . But he threw quilts and pillows up in the air , got out and said ' now any one who likes , may drive , and lay down by his fire , and slept till it was day . In the morning the king came , and when he saw him lying there on the ground , he thought the evil spirits had killed him and he was dead . The youth heard it , got up , and said ' It has not come to that yet . ' Then the king was astonished , but very glad , and asked how he had fared . ' Very well indeed , answered he , ' one night is past , the two others will pass likewise . ' Then he went to the innkeeper , who opened his eyes very wide , and said ' I never expected to see you alive again . Have you learnt how to shudder yet . ' ' No , said he , ' it is all in vain . If some one would but tell me . ' The second night he again went up into the old castle , sat down by the fire , and once more began his old song ' If I could but shudder . ' When midnight came , an uproar and noise of tumbling about was heard , at first it was low , but it grew louder and louder . Then it was quiet for a while , and at length with a loud scream , half a man came down the chimney and fell before him . ' Hullo . ' Cried he , ' another half belongs to this . This is not enough . ' Then the uproar began again , there was a roaring and howling , and the other half fell down likewise . ' Wait , said he , ' I will just stoke up the fire a little for you . ' When he had done that and looked round again , the two pieces were joined together , and a hideous man was sitting in his place . ' That is no part of our bargain , said the youth , ' the bench is mine . ' The man wanted to push him away , the youth , however , would not allow that , but thrust him off with all his strength , and seated himself again in his own place . Then still more men fell down , one after the other , they brought nine dead men 's legs and two skulls , and set them up and played at nine - pins with them . The youth also wanted to play and said ' listen you , can I join you . Then he took the skulls and put them in the lathe and turned them till they were round . ' There , now they will roll better . ' Said he . ' Hurrah . Now we 'll have fun . ' He played with them and lost some of his money , but when it struck twelve , everything vanished from his sight . He lay down and quietly fell asleep . Next morning the king came to inquire after him . ' How has it fared with you this time . ' Asked he . ' I have been playing at nine - pins , he answered , ' and have lost a couple of farthings . ' ' Have you not shuddered then . ' ' What . ' Said he , ' I have had a wonderful time . If I did but know what it was to shudder . ' The third night he sat down again on his bench and said quite sadly ' if I could but shudder . ' When it grew late , six tall men came in and brought a coffin . Then said he ' ha , ha , that is certainly my little cousin , who died only a few days ago , and he beckoned with his finger , and cried ' come , little cousin , come . ' They placed the coffin on the ground , but he went to it and took the lid off , and a dead man lay therein . He felt his face , but it was cold as ice . ' Wait , said he , ' I will warm you a little , and went to the fire and warmed his hand and laid it on the dead man 's face , but he remained cold . Then he took him out , and sat down by the fire and laid him on his breast and rubbed his arms that the blood might circulate again . As this also did no good , he thought to himself ' when two people lie in bed together , they warm each other , and carried him to the bed , covered him over and lay down by him . After a short time the dead man became warm too , and began to move . Then said the youth , ' see , little cousin , have I not warmed you . ' The dead man , however , got up and cried ' now will I strangle you . ' ' What . ' Said he , ' is that the way you thank me ? You shall at once go into your coffin again ! ' and he took him up , threw him into it , and shut the lid . Then came the six men and carried him away again . ' I cannot manage to shudder , said he . ' I shall never learn it here as long as I live . ' Then a man entered who was taller than all others , and looked terrible . He was old , however , and had a long white beard . ' You wretch , cried he , ' you shall soon learn what it is to shudder , for you shall die . ' ' I will soon seize you , said the fiend . ' Softly , softly , do not talk so big . I am as strong as you are , and perhaps even stronger . ' ' We shall see , said the old man . ' If you are stronger , I will let you go - come , we will try . ' Then he led him by dark passages to a smith 's forge , took an axe , and with one blow struck an anvil into the ground . ' I can do better than that , said the youth , and went to the other anvil . The old man placed himself near and wanted to look on , and his white beard hung down . Then the youth seized the axe , split the anvil with one blow , and in it caught the old man 's beard . ' Now I have you , said the youth . ' Now it is your turn to die . ' Then he seized an iron bar and beat the old man till he moaned and entreated him to stop , then he would give him great riches . The youth drew out the axe and let him go . The old man led him back into the castle , and in a cellar showed him three chests full of gold . ' Of these , said he , ' one part is for the poor , the other for the king , the third yours . ' In the meantime it struck twelve , and the spirit disappeared , so that the youth stood in darkness . ' I shall still be able to find my way out , said he and felt about , found the way into the room , and slept there by his fire . Next morning the king came and said ' now you must have learnt what shuddering is . ' ' No , he answered ' what can it be . My dead cousin was here , and a bearded man came and showed me a great deal of money down below , but no one told me what it was to shudder . ' At night when the young king was sleeping , his wife was to draw the clothes off him and empty the bucketful of cold water with the gudgeons in it over him , so that the little fishes would sprawl about him . Then he woke up and cried ' oh , what makes me shudder so . - What makes me shudder so , dear wife . Ah . Now I know what it is to shudder . ' There was once upon a time an old queen whose husband had been dead for many years , and she had a beautiful daughter . When the princess grew up she was betrothed to a prince who lived at a great distance . When the time came for her to be married , and she had to journey forth into the distant kingdom , the aged queen packed up for her many costly vessels of silver and gold , and trinkets also of gold and silver , and cups and jewels , in short , everything which appertained to a royal dowry , for she loved her child with all her heart . She likewise sent her maid - in - waiting , who was to ride with her , and hand her over to the bridegroom , and each had a horse for the journey , but the horse of the king 's daughter was called Falada , and could speak . So when the hour of parting had come , the aged mother went into her bedroom , took a small knife and cut her finger with it until it bled . Then she held a white handkerchief to it into which she let three drops of blood fall , gave it to her daughter and said , " Dear child , preserve this carefully , it will be of service to you on your way . " So now when she wanted to mount her horse again , the one that was called Falada , the waiting - maid said , " Falada is more suitable for me , and my nag will do for you , " and the princess had to be content with that . Then the waiting - maid , with many hard words , bade the princess exchange her royal apparel for her own shabby clothes , and at length she was compelled to swear by the clear sky above her , that she would not say one word of this to anyone at the royal court , and if she had not taken this oath she would have been killed on the spot . But Falada saw all this , and observed it well . The waiting - maid now mounted Falada , and the true bride the bad horse , and thus they traveled onwards , until at length they entered the royal palace . There were great rejoicings over her arrival , and the prince sprang forward to meet her , lifted the waiting - maid from her horse , and thought she was his consort . She was conducted upstairs , but the real princess was left standing below . Then the old king looked out of the window and saw her standing in the courtyard , and noticed how dainty and delicate and beautiful she was , and instantly went to the royal apartment , and asked the bride about the girl she had with her who was standing down below in the courtyard , and who she was . " I picked her up on my way for a companion , give the girl something to work at , that she may not stand idle . " But the old king had no work for her , and knew of none , so he said , " I have a little boy who tends the geese , she may help him . " The boy was called Conrad , and the true bride had to help him to tend the geese . Then she succeeded in making the king promise that it should be done , and the faithful Falada was to die , this came to the ears of the real princess , and she secretly promised to pay the knacker a piece of gold if he would perform a small service for her . There was a great dark - looking gateway in the town , through which morning and evening she had to pass with the geese , would he be so goood as to nail up Falada 's head on it , so that she might see him again , more than once . The knacker 's man promised to do that , and cut off the head , and nailed it fast beneath the dark gateway . Then they went still further out of the town , and drove their geese into the country . And when they had come to the meadow , she sat down and unbound her hair which was like pure gold , and Conrad saw it and delighted in its brightness , and wanted to pluck out a few hairs . Then she said , And there came such a violent wind that it blew Conrad 's hat far away across country , and he was forced to run after it . When he came back she had finished combing her hair and was putting it up again , and he could not get any of it . Then Conrad was angry , and would not speak to her , and thus they watched the geese until the evening , and then they went home . The aged king commanded him to drive his flock out again next day , and as soon as morning came , he placed himself behind the dark gateway , and heard how the maiden spoke to the head of Falada , and then he too went into the country , and hid himself in the thicket in the meadow . There he soon saw with his own eyes the goose - girl and the goose - boy bringing their flock , and how after a while she sat down and unplaited her hair , which shone with radiance . And soon she said , The aged king , however , was standing outside by the pipe of the stove , and was listening to what she said , and heard it . Then he came back again , and bade her come out of the stove . And royal garments were placed on her , and it was marvellous how beautiful she was . The aged king summoned his son , and revealed to him that he had got the false bride who was only a waiting - maid , but that the true one was standing there , as the former goose - girl . The young king rejoiced with all his heart when he saw her beauty and youth , and a great feast was made ready to which all the people and all good friends were invited . Leave a reply A great warrior did not return from the hunt . His family gave him up for dead , all except his youngest child who each day would ask , " Where is my father ? Where is my father ? " The child 's older brothers , who were magicians , finally went forth to find him . They came upon his broken spear and a pile of bones . The first son assembled the bones into a skeleton ; the second son put flesh upon the bones ; the third son breathed life " I will give the gift to my youngest child , " said the warrior . " For it is this child who saved my life . A man is never truly dead until he is forgotten ! " like us on Facebook ( Laolu 's Blog ) Follow us on twitter @ Laolusblog and join the BBM channel - ( pin : C00454F4E ) for more interesting updates ! Share this : FacebookMoreEmailLinkedInRedditTumblrPinterestPocket This entry was posted in Myths and Legends and tagged Folklore on March 24 , 2015 by Laolu Olowo . Post navigation

When I got downstairs the next day to have breakfast I saw General Coleman and my heart missed a beat . " Hello Sunshine , I hear you are excellent in the assignment I gave you . I 'm happy . I got something for you . " He said . He pointed to a box and Abena opened it . A little poodle popped its head out of the box . It was adorable . I had always wanted one but the apartment I used to live in did not allow pets . I knelt down and the adorable dog run into my arms . " Thank you . " I said and General Coleman smiled . " You need to take her on walks . She may need one tonight as she 's been in this box for so long . Let 's take today off . " I nodded and Arial to my room . That was her new name . I put on my usual gym clothes but this time just to take Arial for a walk . Alison and I were on calling terms now . I called her and told her I couldn 't make it to the gym because I didn 't have anyone around to walk my dog . I thought it was a silly excuse but she totally bought it . Arial seemed much more excited than I was . " Calm down . " I said as we run down the stairs . When we got outside I looked around and off we went . As the little thing trotted excitedly beside me I felt happy . Like how I felt when I was with Edem . I wanted to call him but just didn 't know what to say . He always saw right through my lies . We were about to cross the road when I heard my name . I turned around and there he was ! Coleman , standing next to his car . As he walked to me I could feel the fury in him . " Where have you been ? ! I 've been calling and texting you forever . What did I do wrong ? Is it because of the coke ? Lin I 've missed you . " He said and tried to kiss me . " Coleman , stop . We are outside . " I said , moving back and looking around . He looked pretty unstable . I picked up Arial just in case I had to run . " I 'm sorry my mum got really sick so I had to leave . " I lied . " Oh come on . Why didn 't you tell me ? You moved out of your apartment . The apartment I got for you . Why wouldn 't you tell me ? " He asked . I told Coleman I didn 't want to complicate his life . He was better off without me . He didn 't agree at all . " There 's a guest house not far from here . Let 's go and talk . " He said . " I 'm all sweaty and stuff . Can we do this another time ? " I said . Coleman wouldn 't have any of it . He grabbed my hand and tried to pull me closer . He was rarely this reckless in public . I shrieked and looked at dog , and told Coleman it was urinating . He let me go and I told him I had to let it urinate for a while . I put Arial down walked to a bush and quickly texted Abena . She replied almost instantly and told me to be calm . In a matter of seconds Coleman had a call and had to leave . He begged me to call him back and drove off . Abena met me at the gate when I got back . " Did you tell him anything ? " She asked . I shook my head and walked in . My heart was racing and I needed to take a shower and cool off . Arial walked by me as I entered my room . After I took my shower I felt better . I decided to call Edem . When he answered the phone I wasn 't sure what to say . " Hey " was all I could let out . He went on and on asking where I was , why I had been avoiding him and everything in between . When he noticed I wasn 't answering he paused . " Lin are you ok ? " Edem asked . A tear dropped from my eyes . I wanted to tell him everything . Then Arial walked up to me and laid down on my lap . I smiled that very moment . It was like she was telling me I wasn 't alone . " I 'm fine . Had to visit my mother . She was not feeling too well but she 's getting better . " I quickly said . Edem sympathised with me . He wanted to know if I needed company but I lied and said I would be back soon . He bought it . I guess he read the emotions and realised I was really sad . " Don 't approach her . Stay on your exercise bike . " Abena said . Her voice startled me . Even know I knew she was watching and talking to me through an earpiece it took some time to get used to it . She said she would help me so I followed her instructions . I kept on using my bicycle and my phone rang . I froze for a second wondering if it was Edem . I had been ignoring his calls . Coleman had been calling me too but I was just too angry to talk to him , and the threats his father gave me were loud and clear . " Answer the phone and just repeat my words like it 's a normal call . Try and sound natural . " Abena said again . I got off the bike and walked to my phone from my bag which was close to Alison . " Hello . Yes I 'm fine . Uh huh , the High Rise party , yes . So you got us the VIP invitations right ? Oh beautiful . We are 4 so can you book a limo for us ? Yea , ok bye . " I recited as Abena read out the words to me . I put the phone down and walked back to the bicycle . I honestly didn 't know why I had to do that . I read in her file that Alison liked attending big luxurious parties and shopping but she had her earpiece on so I thought it was totally pointless . Before I got to the bike Alison called me . " Hi , I 'm Ali . You are new here right ? " She said . I smiled and said I wasn 't and that I just changed from morning workouts to evening . Alison nodded . " I heard you talk about the High Rise party . Are you going this year ? " She asked . I smiled and that is how our long chat begun . We talked about boat trips , shopping and parties . It was pretty enjoyable but every now and then Abena spoke to me and asked me to include a line or two . After working out with Alison we walked to the parking lot . I pulled out the keys to the Mercedes that I came with and drove off after our goodbyes . When I got to the house Abena was there to welcome me with a big smile . " You did very well . I see why General Coleman chose you . " She said . I smiled and nodded . " How did you know Alison would hear me ? She had earphones on and was listening to music . " I asked . Abena looked at me took a deep breath and replied . " She wasn 't listening to music . She pretends all the time so she can ignore people . " I nodded and walked into the dining room with Abena . Her reply worried me a little . How long had they been spying on her and what was the outcome ? We had dinner brought to us from the in - house cook . I tried to get as much information from Abena as possible but whenever I got deep she just ignored me . The next day I went to the gym and run the same act . This time when Alison entered the gym she walked straight to me . We chat for a while and she showed me pictures of herself at several luxury events around the world as well as big time movie events and celebrity parties . I pretended to be excited . Abena made me tell her I was actually at some of those parties . Abena 's information was always on point . " Ah yes the party at that beach house . What a coincidence I was there with my sister and her boyfriend . I remember the waiters were wearing roller skates . It was really fun . " I lied . " Yes ! That party was one of my all time favourites . " Alison said throwing her arms in the air . She was definitely a party animal and the kind who would spend any amount for a good thrill . Slowly , as we met everyday at the gym I begun to see why she and Coleman fought all the time . They were completely different people . Coleman didn 't like going out at all . He actually dreaded social events . The only things they both had in common was their love for spending money which eventually was a recipe for disaster and their love for their two children . Every day I was asked to write a report . I put my observations down and handed them over to Abena before I went to bed . After a whole week of ignoring Edem 's calls and messages he finally stopped sending them . That night I cried myself to sleep and woke up the next morning to start a new day . When my eyes opened it took me a while to remember what happened . I looked around and saw that I was in my apartment . Then I saw Edem cover me up with a cloth and turn to leave . " Edem . " I called . He smiled and teased me about my alcohol intolerance . " Goodbye . " I said . He smiled again . " I 'm just a room away if you need anything . " He said and left my apartment . I smiled and fell asleep again . That night I had so many nightmares . I was so grateful when it was morning . I got dressed and waited patiently for my ride . General Coleman 's guy got to my place around 10am . He looked at the things I had packed into suitcases and lead me downstairs into a black Benz . He was tall and wore a blue long sleeve shirt and striped tie . I had questions but he didn 't look like the type who was even interested in a conversation . I sat down quietly as he drove to Osu . He finally parked in front of a big house . " Come . " He said and I got out of the car . We walked into the house and went upstairs . We met a lady who greeted me . " I 'll take it from here . " She said to the man and he left . " Lin it 's nice to meet you . My name is Abena . I 'm going to be your sister . " She said . I wasn 't sure I understood what Abena meant . She noticed my confusion and went on to explain . " On the project general Coleman wants you on he instructed that you have a sister . It strengthens your story and I will also help you with a lot of things you need . From what I hear you are not very tech savvy . " Abena said . How did she know that ! It was good that I met Abena she looked just a few years older than me . Maybe she could help me understand this better . " Why does General Coleman want me to do this ? " I asked . She ignored my question and showed me my room . It was huge . It had a laptop at the desk a very large wardrobe with clothes in it . The bed looked very comfortable with pillows all over it . The furniture was modern and beautiful . I was almost beginning to like the place . " You files are on the table . You can read through them , if you have any issues just let me know . " Abena said , pointing to some flat files on the desk . I nodded and went to read them . I went through all the files for the next couple of hours . It contained pictures and information about Coleman 's wife , Alison . After reading everything I understood some of the things Coleman nagged about . She was a proud , rich and spoiled women . Her father was a very close friend to the president and an ambassador as well . By the time I was done with the reading the driver had brought in all my stuff from my apartment . Abena helped me unpack my things . " I hope you are done reading because we have just tonight to practice . " She said . Apparently I was meeting Alison the next day ! Abena was to run me through my ' act ' . I couldn 't believe it was happening but it was . She pretended to be Alison and we had a conversation . She corrected some of the things I said . " Alison likes excersing a lot so you will meet her up there and befriend her . She 's very stuck up but don 't let that get to you . Pretend to be like her always . " Abena said . It felt so much like when Samira was training me . That night I had lots of nightmares . They were so terrifying I was very glad when morning came . Abena made me a delicious breakfast and at about 5pm I set off to the gym to meet Alison . Major Coleman called me and told me to ' act natural ' . I was a bit nervous but when I got to the gym and started exercising I felt better . Alison walked into the gym about 20 minutes after I came . She really looked stuck up . She had music in her ears , a water bottle and a towel . She walked straight to the treadmill and started working out . I didn 't know how I was going to get her attention . Just then there was another knock on the door . My heart was pounding . Did he know I called Samira or was he coming back to threatened me ? I walked slowly to the door and opened it . Luckily for me it was Edem . I breathed a sigh of relief . He asked if I was ok from the previous night . I looked around and dragged him inside locking the door behind me . He found that a bit weird and asked me what was going on . I wanted to tell him . I really did but I couldn 't tell him anything without him knowing what I did for a living . I was too ashamed so I looked for a lie to tell . " So about last night eh , I 'm very sorry . My cousin and I had a fight because I said some things to his wife that made her angry with him . " I lied . Edem shook his head . " He said you were his girlfriend . I really don 't want to pry into your life . I just want you to know that you don 't have to lie to me . " Edem said . I shook my heard trying to go on with my story but he held my hands and looked me straight in the eye . " You are an amazing person . It 's ok to make mistakes , we all make them Lin . It 's what you do next that matters . " He said . He broke all defences with that single sentence . I sat there holding hands with Edem . Maybe it was what happened with Coleman the other day , maybe it was his father 's demands or maybe it was how scared Samira sounded . Whatever it was it made me cave in and I started crying . Edem didn 't stop me from crying . He held me as I made his shirt soaked with tears . I certainly needed it . " Don 't you have to be at work ? " I asked as my face dried up . I liked having him around but I knew he had an actual job unlike me . " I do but today I 'm on the afternoon shift so don 't worry about me . I 'm hear to help you get through this . " He said . I hadn 't received this kind of kindness in a long time . Edem could easily have taken advantage of my vulnerable state and have his way with me but instead he wanted us to talk . I couldn 't help feeling more attracted to him . The more my feelings for him grew the harder it was to tell him the truth . I was afraid he would reject me . He was too nice for my rotten life so I twisted the truth . " You are right , Coleman is not my cousin . I met him last year and fell for him . He didn 't tell me he was married until recently . Then I fell for his trick . He kept telling me he was divorcing his wife to marry me . That 's why I told you he was my cousin . He made me promise to say that to everyone . Last night I told him I wanted out and we had a fight . That 's when you met us at my door . " I lied . Edem nodded . He looked convinced that I was telling the truth . " So last night we talked and I told him that unless he really had a divorce I wasn 't going to entertain him anyway . " I added . " You did the right thing . I 'm proud of you . " Edem replied . Edem went on to give me some useful advice on how to avoid Coleman if he tried to " trick " me again . I listened and nodded . When he was done he said I needed fresh air so we walked to a café nearby and had something to eat . He told me jokes to cheer me up . I was laughing my head off and almost forgot about Coleman 's father . Then I received a text from him . It was like he was watching me and wanted to sick the fun right out of me . The text read , " I think you have had enough time to think about my offer . If not then you have until 3pm . Time is of the essence . " I turned cold immediately but pretended it was a piece of fruit I was eaten that was sour . Edem didn 't notice I was acting . He just giggled . We were at the café until it was time for Edem to go to work . He rushed to his car and drove off . Then I walked back to my apartment alone . I used that time to do a lot of thinking . When I got to my apartment I had decided . I picked up my phone and called General Coleman . I told him I was ready for his assignment . " Wonderful , I knew you were a smart girl . Tomorrow one of my men will pick you up and take you to your new apartment . He will make arrangements to move your belongings . I will contact you later . " He said and hung up . All sort of ideas run through my head . Why was he doing this ? Why me ? How dangerous was he ? I had no answers . Besides the chaos I realised how much I was going to miss Edem . I decided to spend the night at his place . Knowing how principled he was I needed a good excuse . I sent him a message to let me know when he got home . I spent the rest of the day packing my things . My clothes , bags and shoes were the majority . The apartment came pre furnished so I didn 't have too much to pack . I heard my phone ring and knew it was Edem . I answered it and told him I was coming over . When I got to his place he was cooking something very nice . I sat down and we had dinner . He assured me that I could talk to him whenever I wanted to get something off my chest . I nodded and smiled . I wished I could tell him everything . After dinner he brought out some wine and set up a movie for us to watch . My frustration drove me into over drinking . I couldn 't help it . In no time at all I blacked out . Coleman overslept and had to rush out the next morning . He did something very strange when he was leaving . In all his rushing he stopped and kissed my forehead . He had never done that before . When he was gone I took my bath and got ready for work . Just before I picked up my bag to leave I heard a knock at my door . My heart skipped a beat . I hadn 't planned what I was going to say to Edem yet . I contemplated pretending not to be around but that would only make things worse . I took a deep breath and opened the door . To my surprise it wasn 't Edem . An elderly man who looked like he was in his late 50s stood there . He was wearing a grey suit and glasses . " Hello , are you Linda ? " He asked . I nodded and he politely asked to come in and have a word with me . I let him in and he sat down on the couch . He looked around my apartment for a while and finally turned to me . " My name is General Fred Coleman my son is the man you have been hosting in your apartment . " He said in a very straight forward tone . I wasn 't sure what to say . My heart instantly started pounding . What was Coleman 's father doing here ? ! " My son was here yesterday wasn 't he ? " Fred Coleman asked . I nodded and he shook his head . " It looks like you are going somewhere so I will make this brief . You will not entertain Coleman anymore . I know he gave you lots of gifts for your services but you shouldn 't worry about that . If you do as I say you will get more . " He said . I stared at him blankly and he went on . " His marriage is very important . I see that he can 't get himself to stop seeing you so I will want it done the other way round . Last night I did some thinking about it . If you even left him I doubt his marriage will still hold so I 'm going to give you a job . " the way he talked commanded so much authority . I could see why Coleman desperately wanted to please him . Somehow I wished my father cared this much about me . " Sir I 'm sorry about me and Coleman . . . " I started but he cut me off . " I 'm not here for apologies . From what I hear you are a clever girl . Will you do my job or not ? Maybe you want to hear what you will get ? I will get you a new apartment , bigger and better than this and give you 3000 cedis a month for the period you will be working for me . If you impress me I will double it . " He said . My heart started beating faster . I almost agreed but I thought first . " What job is this ? " I asked . He removed his glasses wiped them and put them back on . The suspense killed me . " My daughter in law is not very marriage material . I am she 's a spoilt child and that 's really why my son doesn 't go home at night . I want you to teach her how to please my son . " He replied . I almost choked and was in a brief state of denial . " Sir I 'm not sure I know . . . " I started and he raised his palm to stop me . " I know Samira well and you are by all means one of her best . Don 't disappoint your madam . " He said , getting up to leave . He dropped a call card on my center table . " Call me when you are ready to start . My son must never hear about any of this or even that I was here . " He said as he walked out . I saw him to the door and watched him leave with another man that looked very much like a body guard . I quickly locked the door behind me and tried to sink everything in . " How did he know who I was or even Samira ? Had he been aware of this all this time ? I skipped work that day . I was tempted to call Coleman and tell him what happened but I knew his father meant business . I picked up my phone and called Samira instead . She could tell I was nervous almost immediately . I narrated the whole story to her . When I was done her silence scared me . Samira always had something to say and most often laughed at serious situations but this time she was too quiet for my liking . " General Coleman , hmm Lin do what he says you should do . " She finally said . " Samira I don 't even know the woman . How am I supposed to teach her how to be a good wife ? Who even does that ? " I complained . " Lin listen to me , General Coleman is a very dangerous man . Don 't do anything to offend him . The fact that he mentioned my name is even a warning to me . Do what he wants and do your best . Do you hear me ? " Samira said sternly . I was speechless . I agreed and hanged up . What had I gotten myself into ? I got up and walked into the door . I opened it and saw Coleman outside . He tried to enter but I stopped him . " What 's wrong with you ? Let me in ! " He said furiously . " I want to be alone . Please leave . " I shot back . I tried to close the door but he put his foot in the way . He yelled at me again and before I could say anything Edem appeared . " Is there a problem ? " He asked . Coleman turned to look at him . " There 's no problem , my girlfriend is just letting me in . " Coleman said looking directly at me and trying to push his way in . " Coleman just go . " I said . I had tears in my eyes at this point . I couldn 't hold the door any longer . Edem stepped in between me and Coleman and asked him to leave . " I don 't think this is any of your business . " Coleman said to him rolling his eyes . Edem turned to look at me . " Are you OK ? " He asked . I wasn 't sure what to say but before I could open my mouth Coleman pushed the door almost tripping me . Edem held him and saved me from falling . He then grabbed Coleman 's arm and told him to leave . Coleman quickly moved away , breaking free from Edem 's grip and turned to look at me . I could see what he was thinking . " Lin do you really want me to leave ? " He asked . I looked down . The apartment was basically his . I looked at Edem who looked very ready to fight . I couldn 't believe he would do that for me . " It 's ok Edem . Sorry for the confusion . " I said opening the door for Coleman . He smiled and walked it . " Thank you . " I said and closed the door . I could hear him calling me back but I couldn 't face him . He was a very good guy , surely too good for me . Coleman went into the kitchen and I sat in the hall . I looked around and wondered if the things around me was worth going through all this . I curled up on the couch and closed my eyes . Maybe it was all a dream . My eyes opened when I heard Coleman 's footsteps . He sat down beside me . " I 'm sure you think I 'm some jerk and can 't wait to get rid of me right ? " He said . I turned to look at him . He had entered one of his gloomy moods . " No I don 't . " I lied . He shook his head . He obviously didn 't believe me . " I don 't blame you . My father came to see me earlier today and he told me I was a failure . All my life that 's what he 's been calling me . I thought now that I had money he would see me differently but he didn 't . All he could see was my failing marriage . " Coleman went on . He had never told me this much about his father before . He seemed very upset . " Is that why you decided to do cocaine ? " I asked . He shrugged . " How else was I going to clear my head ? " He answered . All of a sudden I felt sorry for him . " Your dad cares about you . Of he didn 't he wouldn 't even come and see you . " I said . Coleman looked doubtful . " When my mother died he did everything for us . He wanted us to be amazing men . My brother made it though . He became a doctor , married an awesome woman , won many awards and stuff . My younger sister is a lawyer in the UK . She flys in with her perfect family almost every year . I 'm just the black sheep . " Coleman said and took a sip of wine . " I don 't know why you are worried . You are married with beautiful kids and an executive in a big company . " I said . He shook his head . " I 'm miserable . Don 't you see ? I 'm always complaining , whining here and there . The reason I have that glamorous job is because I married the CEO 's daughter . Well I had to marry her because she was from a powerful family my dad wanted to get close to . Nothing I have was earned . My father has missed out on a number of political positions because of me . I 'm always the one his opponent gets dirt on to use against him . " He went on . I picked up the wine bottle and drunk it without a glass . I wondered why Coleman was sharing so much information with me . " I promised my dad I would put myself together . I wanted today to be special . I ruined it . " He said . I sat up and took another gulp of wine . Coleman stared at me for a while , as if he was contemplating telling me something . Then he looked away . I tried to get him to talk but it didn 't work . He took a deep breath and kissed me . I was expecting him to unbutton my blouse but he didn 't . He got up and went straight to the room and in a matter of minutes I heard him snoring . Edem had sent me messages asking if I was ok . I didn 't know how to reply them . I looked like a total fool in front of him . Now he definitely knew what I was . I felt ashamed so I ignored his messages . I read them and smiled at how thoughtful he was . He wanted to know if I was comfortable with Coleman around and if there was anything he could do . I smiled and thought of how lucky his girlfriend was to have him as I fell asleep . I mumbled a prayer for a normal life like her . That night when Coleman asked me to meet him at the spa I knew he and his wife had issues again . I really wanted to refuse but that was not a good idea . " Never skip meetings twice in a row with your man . " That was one of Samira 's rules . I had given a funny excuse for not meeting him the week before . It wasn 't a good idea to do it again . So I took a shower and left . The Spa was owned by Coleman 's school friend so we always had a private room to ourselves whenever we went there . When I got to the spa before I even put my bag down he grabbed me and kissed me . I could tell he was very angry from the way he did it . I played along and when he pulled out my button in a haste to take off my blouse I held him back and asked him what was wrong . That was one of my favourite blouses he just ruined . " I 'm sorry I 'm just not myself . You are also looking very beautiful today . Where were you when I was single ? I should have married you . " Coleman said stroking my hair . That was when I smelt it . The smell of cocaine on his fingers . " My goodness did you just do coke ? ! " I exclaimed . He looked down . I could tell he wasn 't proud of himself . Coleman occasionally smoked weed when he was really upset but I never imagined him moving on to coke . This was something I honestly wasn 't prepared for . My abusive father was a coke addict and all of a sudden the anger I felt for him consumed me . I grabbed my bag and turned to Coleman . " What is wrong with you ? Put yourself together ! " I shot out . He also got up . " Are you judging me ? You , who is sleeping with a marriage man ? Maybe I should put myself together and get rid of you too ! " Coleman yelled moving closer to me . My heart was pounding so hard I could hear it clearly in my ears . My childhood days when my father used to beat me flashed before my eyes . I moved back until I felt the door knob and rushed out . My hands were shaking so much when I got to my car that I had to calm down before I could drive back home . I noticed my phone ringing and saw that it was Coleman but I didn 't answer . When I got to my apartment I rushed into my room and fell on my bed . The memories of my abusive father started playing in my head . I tried to think about something positive and then I heard a knock on my door . I wanted to shout , go away but what good would that do ? Then the knock got louder . I wondered why someone was banging on my door at 10pm . I covered my ears with my pillow but that didn 't stop the noise . " Lin , open the door ! " The person yelled . It was Coleman . I got up and walked into the door . I opened it and saw Coleman outside . After work I went straight to Edem 's apartment . I don 't know why but I really wanted to see him . He invited me in and we watched TV together , chatting about our day . He took me to the kitchen and asked me to help him prepare dinner . I couldn 't refuse . I took off my 8 inch heels and wore a pair of slippers he gave me . Edem 's kitchen was well stacked and he knew exactly what he was doing . He handed me couple of vegetables to cut after I washed my hands . He made fun of me as I took my time to cut them . I was a bad cook but I wanted to impress him for no reason at all . I laughed as he teased me and made fun of him too . I had never had this much fun in a kitchen before . When the food was ready I felt like I had earned every bite I took . It was such an excellent meal . When Edem gave me a little bowl of left over chicken sauce I grabbed it immediately . " For your hard work . " He said and we both giggled . As he spoke I stared at him . He hadn 't made advances at me at all . Was he gay ? Did he have a girlfriend ? Was he just not interested in me ? I couldn 't make any sense of it . Maybe he was waiting for me to make the first move . Then I snapped back into reality when I heard Edem ask a question . " Oh me , I work in the marketing department of a real estate company . " I replied . I could tell he really wanted to get to know me . " What 's your girlfriend like ? " I asked . He almost choked on his drink in surprise . I laughed and he joined in too . When the laughter was over I told him I was waiting for his answer . He shrugged and said she was a cool person . He avoided eye contact as he spoke and immediately changed the subject . I wanted to pry but he looked so uncomfortable so I decided to let it go . The next morning I decided to stay at home . I called the secretary at work and told her I won 't be at work that day . The advantages of being a ' sweetheart ' of the boss . I was just about to go for a swim when I heard a knock at the door . It was my friend Samira . I let her in and she walked right into my kitchen . " I need a cold drink . It 's blazing out there . " She said as she opened the fridge and looked inside . I told her I was just going for a swim but she said she had important matters to discuss . " The agency fee has increased . Looking at you I 'm sure that won 't even be an issue . " Samira said with a wink . I could have argued with her , I wanted to but there was no point . Samira 's agency introduced me to ' benefiting from older men ' when I was much younger . She groomed me and taught me how to appeal to men . She made it a point to collect money from everyone who had ever been under her wing . It was called membership dues . Even though I thought it was stupid , 200 cedis a month wasn 't an amount I couldn 't afford . I picked up my purse and gave her the money . " So Samira what if I become normal , like get married and . . . " I started . Samira laughed and cut in " Ah Linda , but I 'm married . Who is stopping you from getting married ? " I shook my head . Samira was married to a 59 year old Governor in Nigeria . " I mean marrying someone I love . " I explained . She just rolled her eyes and stood up to leave . " Love is for poor people . If you can find a rich man you love why not ? Love won 't buy those 200 dollar slippers you are wearing though . " She said pointing to the designer fluffy slippers I was wearing . I remembered my last boyfriend bought them for me when we went on a trip to Paris . We both giggled and she picked up her bag to leave . Samira played a very strange role in my life . She was a cross between a sister , a boss and in a strange way a guardian . We met when I was in secondary school . Just like me her parents had problems . In fact she never knew who her father was because her mother was a prostitute . We got close because of this void we had , where our parental love was supposed to be . She was very ' friendly ' with the male teachers and continued from there . " When I grow up I will live in a big house . I will have a lot of money no matter what . " She used to say . I looked at her and wondered if she felt empty inside like I did sometimes . " Godfred is waiting for me . " She said . I looked out the window and saw her E - Class parked outside . " So ? Will I stop paying the dues if I marry some regular guy ? " I asked when she was at the door . Samira stopped and turned around . " I will gladly accept a lump sum . 40 , 000 Cedis sounds like a nice parting gift , don 't you think so ? " She said and walked out . I 'm a girl . No two ways about it . I missed Kwame so much . I couldn 't deny it . It had been seven months since we broke up and I kn . . . My Birthday break So yesterday , 14th September was my birthday ! I had such an awesome time I couldn 't write today 's episode of Closure . My husband , . . .

Apparently Mckenzie thought it would be a good idea to stay awake last night from 4am until 6 : 30am . I didn 't think it was such a good idea , but since she didn 't agree , we got to hang out for awhile ! She did sleep in until after 8 so that was nice . We went over to a friend 's house to play this morning . The girls had fun playing and played very nicely together . And , they didn 't throw too big a fit when it was time to leave . Abby did get a bit moody , but she has been moody lately anyway . We had gymnastics tonight and wouldn 't ya know it , the cranky old lady was after me again . Abby hurt her foot early during her lesson and her teacher brought her over to me . Abby sat with me for a little bit while Mckenzie was doing her stuff and she decided she was ready to join her class again . So Mckenzie stayed with her teacher while I started to walk Abby over to her class and the grump was on me again about how parents aren 't allowed on the floor and I needed to get the receptionist to walk Abby on over . I would have had to walk farther on the gym floor to go get the receptionist to do that than just do it myself when I was only a few feet from Abby 's teacher . I am so tired of her attitude . I can understand her saying something to me if I wasn 't already on the floor for a Mommy and me class , but I 'm out there already ( And you can 't tell me that after months of being on the floor with Mckenzie , she doesn 't know that I am there for a Mommy and me class ! ) . Doesn 't make any sense to me . She really needs to mind her own business ! Abby said her foot still hurt when we got home , but that pain was quickly diminished by the papercut she got from her Silverlicious book . She was upset over that papercut for over an hour and even when I put her to bed , she was still talking about it . I guess it really hurt ! I hope she is in a better mood tomorrow . Seems like it is harder and harder to make her smile : ( May can 't get here soon enough ! I am hoping Mckenzie grows out of this restless sleep she has been having lately . It feels like I am in her room every thirty minutes because she is crying for something . Last night she was worried about her light up shoes and her orange juice . I finally brought her to bed with me . It didn 't help with the dreaming , but at least I didn 't have to keep getting out of bed ! Abby was hilarious this morning . I asked her to get dressed and make her bed while I showered . When I went to her room to check on her , she and Mckenzie were playing , still in pj 's and the bed wasn 't made . So , I asked her to get dressed and left the room . I overheard Abby say to Mckenzie " Look at all these toys . Now I 'm going to have to clean these all up after school today ! " Such the little mommy ! Abby had a really tough time at school today . She starting crying for her Daddy today during her afternoon class . It breaks my heart that she was so upset and there is nothing I can do to make it better . I cannot wait for all this to be behind us . I went out with some friends tonight for a fundraiser for the local schools . It was a nice evening , but it got to be a little long because of all the raffle prizes they had . I would have left earlier , but I bought tickets for the 50 / 50 and the prize money was $ 1700 . Didn 't win . Sure would have been nice though . I did win $ 50 towards tuition at the preschool the girls attend so it was worth it . Both girls were good for the sitter and went to bed without trouble . I was a little worried about Mckenzie because she fell asleep this morning while sitting up . I figured if she was that tired I had better let her take a little nap . M did wake up when I got home but she went right back to sleep . Mckenzie had school this morning and cried only a bit when I dropped her off . She was so excited to show me her artwork when I picked her up and she squeals so loudly when she sees me after class . Melts my heart ! Abby went over to a friends while M was at school and I got to run a couple of errands solo ! We had church tonight , but we ate at home instead of eating there . The art project tonight was making cards for nursing home patients and Abby drew a wagon with eggs in it . Didn 't really look like a wagon , but it was very cute if you ask me ! Both girls were excited to read a new book tonight . Grandma & Grandpa H sent Silverlicious for the girls and they enjoyed reading it . While the girls and I were upstairs , I heard someone playing the piano . That someone turned out to be the dog ! Mckenzie had left the crust from her sandwich on the piano and the Dakota was bound and determined to get it ! Posted by I was the parent helper in Abby 's class this morning and I really enjoyed my time with her . I have to say that I think the kids are getting tired of the cold weather because even the normally well - behaved kids at school are acting up a bit . After school , I took the girls to the craft store . We picked up some supplies for Abby 's Star of the Week poster that we need to start working on . Last year I forgot to do it and had to make it at the last minute so this year , I want to have it done way before she needs it . Abby had fun picking out decorations for the board . When we got home , we heard the ice cream truck in the neighborhood . Normally I can distract the girls until it has passed us by , but not today . It stopped out in front of our house so the girls got a popsicle treat . They were both so excited . It was like they won the lottery ! The popsicles were heavy so both girls put them on a plate instead of holding them . Posted by Church was not a lot of fun today . Mckenzie was very feisty and I ended up taking her out of the church service for a little bit . I can usually calm her down before she starts making too much noise , but one look at her after I told her she couldn 't rip the hair clip out of Abby 's hair and I knew it was going to get loud ! The drive home from church wasn 't much better . I told the girls they didn 't to watch a show on the way home ( it 's like 6 minutes tops ! ) and Mckenzie started screaming and trying to get out of her carseat , which she did manage to get her arms out . On a good note , we talked with Scott today . He is doing good ! Mckenzie pitched quite a fit tonight about bedtime . When Scott first left and she wouldn 't sleep , I let her take juice with her to bed ( yes , I know how horrible it is ) and I am now trying to break her of the habit . Last night wasn 't a big deal . I can 't say the same about tonight . She finally fell asleep after I sat on the floor next to her bed . Posted by Both girls slept in this morning , not waking up until after 8 : 30 ! That never happens around here ! We ran some errands this morning and got a package organized and mailed to Scott . ( Lots of random things in there babe , but I had help picking the stuff out ! ) We had a quick lunch and headed over to a friend 's house for this afternoon . The girls had fun playing , although Mckenzie preferred to hang with me . I checked on the girls and Mckenzie had put a doll in the play fridge and was blocking the door with her little body because she didn 't want the other little girl to take the doll from her ! Kind of funny ( not funny she didn 't want to share , but funny that she stuffed her in a fridge to keep her safe ! ) . When we got home another friend brought us dinner . She felt bad for us since we were sick earlier in the week and wanted to help out . I thought that was very generous of her and it was a very tasty dinner too with lots of leftovers . I can 't ever remember eating homemade mac and cheese before , but I 'm going to see if I can get the recipe from her . Abby even made the comment how much better it was than the stuff I make . I take no offense to that as I only make boxed mac and cheese ! Both girls were really tired tonight , but Abby is giving me a hard time about going to sleep . She keeps coming out of her room every few minutes and telling me she can 't fall asleep . I hope she falls asleep soon because I would like to turn in a little earlier than usual . Both girls had school this morning and Mckenzie did great when I left her there today . She only cried a little bit so I think she is starting to adjust ! YAY ! I had time to run to Target and the grocery store by myself . Target was having trouble with their computer system so every credit card purchase had to be phoned in for authorization . It took forever to get through the check out , but since it was just me , it didn 't really matter ! Picked up the girls from school - they both had a great day . Mckenzie even had artwork to show me ! Abby started throwing a fit as soon as we started leaving the school because she wanted a playdate . Grr ! We skyped Scott this afternoon which was very nice . I made the girls pigs in a blanket tonight because Abby told me she just loved the ones they made at school . I could have saved myself the time because neither of the girls ate them , instead they filled up on strawberries and cucumbers ! After Abby didn 't want hers , I remembered that last year after making them in chef class Abby wanted to eat them at home , but when I made them she wouldn 't touch them . Can 't really complain they didn 't eat hotdogs wrapped in bread though . They are no where near as healthy as the fruits and veges they ate ! A quiet evening around the house and both girls went to bed without trouble . Posted by So apparently I didn 't use enough lysol to keep Mckenzie 's bug from spreading . I seem to have gotten a milder version of it . Luckily Abby is still feeling ok . Let 's hope she doesn 't get it too . Abby went to the planetarium as a class trip today . She was so excited that she got to ride with one of her friends . She left before Mckenzie woke up and so I told M that Abby went to school . I felt bad that she didn 't get to go since we have been talking about it all week and she was feeling fine today . But she had a fever yesterday and I am a firm believer in the 24 hour rule . Wish everyone out there did too ! Abby told me she had a great time learning about the planets and eating lunch out with her friends . Not much else going on . M and I spent the day on the couch . Abby was a trooper and didn 't complain about having to play by herself . She even told me she was sorry that I wasn 't feeling good . What a little sweetie ! Hope tomorrow is a better day ! Rainy , cold , and a 2 yr old that didn 't feel good . Pretty much sums up the day . A friend took Abby to school and brought her back home . Abby loves going places with her friends so she was excited to get moving this morning and even did things before I asked ! Mckenzie and I watched a lat of tv and laid on the couch together most of the day . She didn 't want me going anywhere . She perked up this afternoon , ate a little bit of soup , and didn 't have a fever when I checked before putting her to bed . So , hopefully tomorrow will be a better day ! Abby had a great day at school and was so excited to tell me about the hotdog rolls they made in chef class today . She kept repeating how you only need two ingredients to make them . Hotdogs and dough . We chatted with Scott this afternoon and the connection was actually pretty good so we were able to see his mustache . Interesting look . Glad it will be gone before he gets home ! ! Mckenzie had a great day at school . Very little crying and she participated in the classroom activities . Abby went over to a friend 's house while Kenzie was at school and had lots of fun playing . That left me alone to get some stuff done around the house . A clean house and I organized a couple of closets downstairs that needed it as well as the computer desk and I managed to get through Abby clothes and take out the stuff that is too small . Now her drawers are empty looking so I see some shopping in the near future ! We played outside this afternoon . Mckenzie was upset there were no bubbles , but I haven 't had a chance to get to the store . We had friends over to play this afternoon and for dinner . The mom was supposed to watch the girls for me so I could go to the school for spring clean up ( the parents are responsible for cleaning the playground equipment ) but I didn 't end up going because Mckenzie got sick . Seems she has picked up a GI bug and has been throwing up all evening . I hope she can get some rest tonight . My sweet little babe looks so miserable : ( Abby was a little upset her playdate got cut short , but when I explained we didn 't want her friend to get sick as well , she seemed to understand . Then she started crying because she misses her Daddy . Poor baby . Is it the end of May yet ? ? ? ? I took some photos today of Abby driving her jeep with her friend . I will add them later . Funny story about her driving though . Her friend seemed to be a little scared of her driving ( she loves going in circles ) and asked if he could drive because he was a better driver ! Woke up to rain this morning and a little one in the bed with me . It took a little while to get the girls out the door this morning because we had to round up all the rain gear . Boots , umbrellas , raincoats . Most definitely needed for the light rain that was falling outside ! I forgot to put shoes in Abby 's basket so she had to wear her boots all day . Oops . Didn 't seem to bother her though . I had a dental cleaning this morning and Mckenzie was really good . She stayed in the play area while I had my teeth cleaned . The receptionist keeps an eye on your kids for you and they also give you a video monitor so you can watch them as well . It was fun to watch Mckenzie . She apparently wanted something that was out of her reach so she stacked two chairs to try to get it . She did check to see if it was wobbly before climbing on it and since it was very unsteady , she took the chair down and just climbed on the one . Mckenzie and I had a little date to Chick fil A today . It was fun , but Mckenzie didn 't want to play ( I think she missed having Abby to run around with ) . She fell asleep on the way home and I let her sleep for a few minutes before we had to pick Abby up from school . We skyped with Scott tonight . It was nice to get to see him . All is going well with him . Sounds like he had a busy day and missed out on the Monday poker tournament . We played outside for a bit before dinner . Abby was happy to ride her jeep . She let go of the steering wheel and just giggle . Mckenzie decided she wanted to drive the jeep and she isn 't a very good driver yet . She doesn 't understand that she has to steer so all she does is go in circles , getting very close to the curb and my car ! I finally talked her into driving her own little bike that she does know how to steer . The girls had fun playing in bubbles today . There was no wind and so the bubbles all landed in a huge pile which the girls had fun running through . Needless to say , we emptied an entire bottle of bubbles today because it was so much fun ! I ended up laying down with Mckenzie tonightPosted by I can 't believe it . Mckenzie slept through the entire night in her own bed and so did Abby ! It must be some sort of miracle ! We had church this morning and Abby 's choir sang a couple songs again . She didn 't know the words to one of the songs because we missed choir practice last week due to Dad 's night , but she tried to sing it anyway . It was cute to watch . After church we came home to work on our project again . Didn 't go as smoothly as yesterday , but it is finished ! I am so excited for Scott to see it . I think he is going to love it ! We played outside and drove the Jeep to the park . I finally remembered to charge the battery so the kids could actually use it . There is a dirt / rocky path behind the park and I let the girls drive on that today . Mckenzie wasn 't too fond of the bumpy ride and asked to walk with me instead . Abby loved the bumpiness and giggled loudly the whole drive . She had to turn her music up really loud so she could jam in her car . I don 't know if I have said it yet , but I am so glad it is getting warmer outside . The kids just love playing outdoors and I love not having to spend forever bundling them up just so they can spend a short amount of time out there . Mckenzie was so ready to go to sleep tonight that she climbed into bed with her clothes still on and would probably have fallen asleep that way if I had turned off the light . She didn 't even call me back into her room once to tell me a joke or ask for juice . Abby on the other hand , insisted she wasn 't tired and wanted to keep reading books . She loves to be read to and would have me read every book on her shelf every night if I would do it . Posted by The girls and I had a great day today . They were super cooperative with the project we are working on for Scott and we got over half of it done today ! We spent the morning playing around the house and then we headed to the post office to mail a package to Scott ( I am really sorry that I forgot to send deodorant ~ please forgive me babe ! ) The girls played on the playground after lunch for a little while and then we came inside to wait for our Skype date with Scott . We played with play doh , colored and made cupcakes this afternoon and then had a nice chat with Scott . Mckenzie was so sleepy that she fell asleep while we were chatting with him . I let her take a quick nap while we finished talking . I figured 15 / 20 minutes shouldn 't cause too much trouble for bedtime . The girls and I went back outside to play in the front yard . We did chalk ~ I really don 't care for the feel of chalk , but the girls LOVE it and therefore , I ended up drawing for them . Abby told me I made a great airplane ! We decided to eat Chinese for dinner and headed to the Pei Wei just down the road . I don 't think I say this often , but the girls were FANTASTIC at dinner . No fighting or yelling or getting out of their chairs . I actually had to ask them to stop kissing each other because they weren 't eating ! It was just so nice to eat a meal at a restaurant and feel like all eyes were on me because the kids were acting up . Posted by Both girls had school this morning and Mckenzie had another great day . She was a little upset about the drop off , but a good friend was the parent helper in the classroom today so that helped a lot . Her teacher said the only other time she cried was when she coming inside from playing and Abby was still on the playground . Abby enjoyed her day at school too . We went to a park today with a bunch of Abby 's school friends . It was a really nice day for a picnic and playtime . I like the park a lot , but it was very busy and it is pretty large which makes it tough to keep an eye on both girls . Luckily , I had the other moms to keep an eye on Abby for me while I spent most of my time pushing Mckenzie in the swing . That girl just loves the swing , although , she did finally try out a slide that she LOVED and couldn 't get enough of . Abby had so much fun playing with her friends . They were all over the park ! I think her favorite is the tire swing . We stopped for ice cream on the way home ( an ice cream truck had come to the park while we were there and sat there forever . The girls were begging for ice cream , but I had no cash ! . Mckenzie sat on a bench to eat her ice cream and Abby tried to sit next to her only there wasn 't enough room . Poor Mckenzie ended up falling off the bench backwards and hit her head . She was acting fine right after but I always worry so much when the kids fall down . Guess she should have been wearing her helmet today . When we got home , I asked if her if she was still hurting anywhere and all she could complain about was her knee . ( She fell down earlier on a sidewalk and scrapped up her knee and elbow ! ) It just wasn 't a very good day for her . Abby felt terrible that Mckenzie had fallen and she was so sweet to her . She had Mckenzie lay down on the couch and she sat at the piano and played / sang Mckenzie a song to make her feel better . Such a sweet little girl ! ! ! Abby loves to sing . We were watching a movie in the car today and when a song came on , Abby sang as loud as she could . I love listening to her ! We staBarb We had another long night with both girls ending up in my bed . I think I have figured out why Mckenzie has been waking up . She was talking / shouting in her sleep and I heard her say " Kota licked my pizza ! ! ! " . So , I think she is having fitful dreams ( and yes , the dog did lick her pizza at dinner last night ! ) . I remember Abby going through a stage like this and it didn 't last forever so I am hoping Mckenzie grows out of it quickly too ! We skyped with Scott first thing this morning . The girls weren 't even awake when he first called so it was nice to have a little time to have an uninterrupted conversation . The girls did wake up in time to chat with Dad and they both were pretty talkative . Abby had a friend over again this afternoon and we headed to the park to play . There was a little drama between Abby and her friend as they both wanted to ride bike to the park and we only have one bike . But , I told them both they could walk instead . Neither of them liked the idea of walking and Abby started throwing a fit , but that ended pretty quickly when I told her I would take her friend home if she didn 't start acting better . She has been acting out a lot more lately and I don 't know if it is because that it what 5 year old do or if it is her way of showing how much she misses Daddy . The girls had gymnastics tonight and Abby almost climbed to the top of the rope ! I am so proud of her ! Both girls went to bed without any difficulty tonight . I hope they both sleep through the night . I am exhausted from being up so much the last few nights ! If anyone wants to come take a couple of night shifts from me , you are more than welcome ; - ) We were all a little slow getting up this morning as none of us slept very well last night . Mckenzie was awake for a long time , which meant I was too since she was sleeping in my bed : ) She was begging for apple juice at 445 so I went downstairs to get her some and ended up spilling half a bottle of juice all over the floor . So I had to get the mop out and clean up the floor . I was not too happy and Mckenzie wasn 't very happy she had to wait so long for her juice . I finally ended up sleeping in Mckenzie 's room because the girls were both sleeping as close as they could to me and I couldn 't move without disturbing one or the other . Luckily we made it to school on time . Mckenzie was still in her PJ 's ( she actually spent most of the day in them ) because she told me she was too tired to get dressed ! I guess I should have gone out in my PJ 's too ! We all got to play outside this afternoon . It was so nice outside and I saw a first flower in our yard ! I am so excited for spring to get here so we can be outside again . The girls had fun running around the yard , playing with bubbles , balls , and bikes . We had a friend over for dinner and instead of cooking , I took the easy way out and ordered pizza . Abby asked for pepperoni pizza and I didn 't order any because it is always super greasy . So , when the pizza came , I told her they must have made a mistake because we got Hawaiian instead of pepperoni . Luckily she was fine with that and I only felt slightly guilty for lying to her ! It was nice to have dinner with another adult , especially since we let the kids eat in the family room while we sat at the table ! Other than the dog stealing food from their baby and licking his face every 10 seconds , it was a nice evening ! The girls gave me some trouble going to sleep again . I ended up sleeping on the floor in Mckenzie 's room in order to get her asleep . I didn 't intend of falling asleep in there , but I guess I was tired ! Posted by Mckenzie had school today and she had an amazing day ! Only a few tears when Abby and I left and that was it . Her teachers said she played with the other children today and even talked to them and she participated in all the classroom activities . When she saw me after class , she ran towards me with open arms screaching hi the whole way . It was adorable and I could see in her face that she enjoyed herself today . I am so happy she is becoming more comfortable with going to school . Abby and I cleaned the house this morning . I gave her a couple of chores to do like feeding the dog and making her bed and she was so proud of herself for helping me clean . Then she ran off to play with her toys while I finished sweeping and mopping and vacuuming . I really wish I had enough money for a live in housekeeper ! ! ! Abby had a friend come over to play today . The girls had so much fun and it is fun for me to listen to them play together . They are both becoming so aware of the other 's feelings when it comes to taking turns and sharing toys . Little steps to becoming big girls ! Mckenzie was so tired today that she practically begged me to let her nap and didn 't want to eat her lunch because she was ready to go lay down . I let her take a nap . I know she needed it because with all the screaming Abby and her little friend did , Mckenzie was still able to fall asleep and stay asleep with her door open . Tonight Abby had a Dad 's night at her school to show off what the kids do during the school day . Since Scott is away , I took Abby to her Dad 's night . We dropped Mckenzie off at a friends house and they were so sweet to us . The Dad had gotten a corsage for his daughter and one for Abby as well ! On the way to school , Abby asked me to turn up the radio so we could rock it ! ( Oh , that reminds me about earlier today when Abby 's friend was over , all three girls were dancing in Abby 's room with the music turned up . I asked what they were doing and they said they were having a dance party ! ) We had a great time at school coloring , doing crafts , and plPosted by Abby had school and Mckenzie and I did a little grocery shopping . Mckenzie was sooooo good in the store . It has been a long time since grocery shopping hasn 't been a challenge . Mckenzie asked to hold the blueberries we were buying and I thought why not . Well , why not is because when she drops them in the back of the cart , they spill everywhere ! I got a nice store employee to clean up our mess and we went to finish our shopping . Well , it wasn 't five minutes later and I ended up spilling the blueberries too ! I was so embarrassed , I picked them all up myself so I didn 't have to tell anyone again . So , we ended up getting less than half a package of blueberries by the time we left the store ! We skyped Scott this afternoon and had a nice chat . Mckenzie is having a hard time giving up naps . I left the room to make dinner and I came back to find her asleep on the couch . She wasn 't very happy when I woke her to eat dinner . Luckily , she didn 't give me any trouble about going to bed tonight . We didn 't make it to church today because we woke up too late to make it on time . We had a late breakfast and played in the house until after lunch . We went outside so the girls could ride bike and I could walk the dog . The dog was in heaven ! She acted like she hasn 't been out of the house in forever ! We didn 't get too far on our walk as we stopped at the park to play . We were the only ones there so I let the dog off her leash . She had so much fun chasing the girls and even made it down the slide , although she must have gotten scared and she jumped off halfway down ! Abby tried to get back on the monkey bars , but I think she is still scared of falling again . She told me she wants to wait until she is 6 . Fine by me . One less thing for her to fall off the better ! Kenzie couldn 't get enough of the swing again . The girls were doing races , although I am not sure who they were racing since Abby would count while Mckenzie ran and vice versa . When I tried running with , the dog got so excited that she nipped my arms and bottom ! It was a little cool out today with the wind so we didn 't stay out too long . We ran to the store to pick up a new mattress pad for Mckenzie 's bed . She sleeps so comfortably in our bed , but she is really restless in her own . I am hoping making it more comfortable will help her like it did when I bought the same mattress pad for Abby . Time will tell . The girls were funny at dinner tonight . They were playing with their pasta as though each piece was a person . They had conversations with their pasta and even named them . It was really cute . I don 't normally let them play with their food , but it was just too funny tonight . I bought the girls umbrellas at the store tonight and Mckenzie took it with her every where , even to the potty ! The girls were up bright and early this morning , but that worked out well since we skyped with Scott this morning . I made the girls green eggs again . Ever since Abby 's class made them , she has been wanting green eggs and ham . I had no ham left so it was just green eggs that looked a little more blue than green ! Kids loved them anyway . It was nice talking to Scott . He is trying to grow a mustache for ' Mustache March ' , but I 'm not too sure what it looks like since the skype quality makes it look like a smudge of dirt on top of his lip ! I hope he takes a picture of it so we can see what it really looks like ! ( Hint Hint ) The girls and I went to the purple park this afternoon and the girls had a lot of fun . When we got home , the girls wanted to ride bike and we ended up at our neighborhood park . One of the swings is low enough to the ground that Mckenzie can use a big girl swing on her own . She was in heaven ! Look Mom , I 'm swinging was the key phrase of the afternoon for her . Abby wanted to do the monkey bars all by herself and she was doing pretty good , making it about halfway across before jumping down . Her hands slipped off one time and she wasn 't ready for it . She landed in the wet mulch and was pretty scared . But after a little while , she wanted to try it again . This time , I held onto her , but she wasn 't ready to cross . Maybe another time . Posted by The girls both went to school this morning , leaving me with a little alone time . Mckenzie cried a bit when I left , but she had stopped before I even left the school ! Yea ! ! I headed to Target to meet a friend for coffee and almost ran over a pedestrian along the way . He was crossing the road against traffic and I just missed hitting him . I have no idea what he was thinking , but the speed limit on that road is 50 . I don 't know why anyone would try to beat a car at that speed , especially since he looked older . I am just glad I didn 't hit him and that the girls weren 't with me . I had a nice chat with my friend over coffee and did a little shopping . When I got to my car , I saw some nice person keyed the driver 's door . Thanks a lot ! It isn 't horrible , but I don 't understand why anyone would do that . It doesn 't appear to be accidental either because it is in a cute circular pattern ! Anyway , ran home to drop off the stuff I had purchased and headed to school to pick up the girls . Abby had a great day and she was so excited to tell me about the ' median ' I have to go to tonight . ( We are having a Vendor Night as a fundraiser for school and the kids are welcome to come with and play ) . Turns out Mckenzie had a great day . She was smiling when she came into the school after playing outside and even went into the classroom to sing the goodbye song ! Baby steps ! I took the girls to Chick fil A for lunch . It is nice out , but the yard is so wet from all the rain we have been having that I didn 't want to deal with the mess . Both girls were tired when we got home and I let them take naps since we had to go out tonight . After dinner , we headed to the vendor night and the girls had a blast playing in the kids area . The facility offers open play time as well as summer classes and I think both girls would really benefit from going . I managed to win a couple of door prizes as well as a cash raffle . All in all a good night ! Snuggling on the couch ! The girls were up bright and early today . It seems like the days we have plenty of time to get ready , they are up early and on school days , they want to keep sleeping ! We met some friends at a children 's museum today . We had never been there before and it turned out to be lots of fun . The museum had many different stations set up where kids could play . There was a diner , vet 's office , doctor 's office , farmer 's market , etc . I think both girls enjoyed the ball pit the best . We had a picnic lunch and played a little longer before heading back home . Mckenzie was getting very cranky and didn 't want to play anymore . When I told Abby it was time to go , she had a total meltdown and started crying about not getting to catch any fish ( there was a boat with fishing rods and fish in the ' water ' ) . I think she was just really tired and there was no calming her down . When we got home , I put in a movie and we all laid down on the couch for rest time . Mckenzie ended up falling asleep on me , but I didn 't wake her . She had been so cranky and I wanted her in a good mood for gymnastics . Gymnastics was good and then it was time for dinner and a bath . Even though Mckenzie napped , she went right to bed . I am so glad for that ! After dropping Abby at school , Mckenzie and I headed to a doctors appointment for her to get a physical for school . ( It was also her two year check up ! Yep , we are a little slow with that one , although , we tried to get an appointment back in December and this was the earliest we could get ! ) We ran a couple errands and then came back home . It was a long morning for Mckenzie and I think she was tired of driving around . She ended up falling asleep on the couch when we got home . After we picked up Abby from school , we got to Skype with Scott . It was great to see him : ) Mckenzie decided to play with stickers again today , but instead of dumping the bag out on the table , she dumped them out all over the family room floor . Then she proceeded to push them all over the floor , saying she was helping me . Not sure how that helped me , but at least she wanted to help ! Mckenzie had a tough time going to sleep so I put her in my bed with me and I ended up falling asleep too ! I guess I was tired ! What a busy day for us . Mckenzie had school this morning and she wasn 't too happy with me dropping her off , but it turns out she had a really good day . No crying until the very end of the day when she saw other parents in the hall waiting to pick up their kids and she didn 't see me . I waited in my car because last time she saw me before class was over , she started crying . So , I guess next time I will take a chance and wait in the hall for her . She was so excited to show me the picture she made using stickers . The smile on her face was priceless ! While Mckenzie was at school , Abby and I got to spend some together . It was a lot of fun to play with just her . It has been so long since we have had that opportunity . The girls had a play date this afternoon . They have two girls the same age as ours so it works out well . I stayed for a little while , but then I headed out to run some errands on my own . It was so relaxing and the Starbucks was delicious ! We had church tonight and the dinner there was pancakes . Can 't say it was the greatest meal we have ever eaten , but oh well . The church also had a talent show and Abby 's choir participated . It was so cute ! Abby loved every minute of her performance . I am so proud of my girls today . They both did a great job ! I was the parent helper in Abby 's class this morning and we had a lot of fun . I love to see her interact with her friends and have the opportunity to participate in her school learning . Mckenzie wasn 't fond of being left in the nursery today , but there were a couple of other little ones to play with and I think that helped . After school we headed to Target . It was a miserable trip . The girls were not listening and it took twice as long as it should have because we kept stopping for this or that . At home , we spent a lot of time reading books and playing with Play doh . Pretty quiet around here this afternoon . I didn 't take any photos today . Maybe I will remember tomorrow . We had church this morning and Abby 's choir performed . She just loves to sing in the choir and if I may say so myself , she looked pretty cute doing it too ! I decided to be brave and take the girls out for lunch . We tried a new restaurant and the food was really good . Abby had chocolate chip pancakes that were so delicious I was wishing I had ordered them for myself ! Mckenzie asked to sit in a highchair , but that only lasted about half the meal . Then she was out of her seat and looking out a window . There was a heating vent right below the window so when the girls were looking out , they were pulling a little Marilyn Monroe moment ! We came back home after lunch . I was thinking about going to run a couple of errands , but it was raining and Mckenzie was getting a little grumpy . It is a struggle for her to not nap , but she sleeps much better at night so I guess it is something we are going to have to deal with . We skyped with Daddy this afternoon . He 's doing good . Tonight will be his first night having a roommate . I hope that goes ok . Sounds like they are on different schedules so it may be a bit of a challenge at first to get used to . It was great talking to him again . I think I probably say it every time we talk , but it is true . I miss him so much and I can be doing just fine , not thinking about it , and something will make me miss him even more . Like today at church , there was a married couple in front of us and they reached to hold hands with one another and I felt so sad I couldn 't hold Scott 's hand today : ( Anyway , we are halfway through ! This afternoon while Abby was working on her homework for school , Mckenzie was coloring . I should have paid more attention because Mckenzie came running into the kitchen as proud as could be wanting to show me what she had colored . Turns out it was her dress she had colored ! Thank God she was using washable markers ! I snapped a picture . It isn 't very clear , but you get the point ! We went to the park with some friends this afternoon and had a great time . It was a park that we hadn 't been to before and we really enjoyed it . There were some pretty interesting people there when we first arrived and I was glad we didn 't go there by ourselves . It was in a wooded area with walking trails so after playing for awhile , we took the girls on a walk . Poor Mckenzie wasn 't paying attention and walked right into a tree , scratching up the side of her face . I felt so bad that I left her pacifier in the car , but she settled down pretty quickly and was ready to go walk along with the big girls . Abby fell and scraped her knee , so both girls will have reminders of their fun afternoon at the park ! The girls collected sticks along the path so when we got close to the creek , they threw them in . Abby had a whole handful at one time . Mckenzie was a bit more picky and found one big stick to carry along . Mckenzie fell asleep on the ride home . I was worried she was going to have trouble going to sleep , but she didn 't even fuss when it was bedtime . Our friends came back to the house with us and we ordered in some pizza . It was a really nice afternoon / evening . Abby was upset this evening when it was time for bed . She is so sad that Scott has been away for so long now and she asked if he could just go back to doing his short trips . It breaks my heart to see such sadness in her face and hear her voice quiver as she tells me she only wants to hug her real Daddy and not just her Daddy doll anymore . I wish I could make this all go away , but the only thing I can do is give her extra hugs and hold onto her extra tight . I laid with her until she fell asleep . She looks so sweet in there now , holding on to her Daddy doll , with lambie cast aside on the floor . A picture of Scott and I from years ago is peaking out from underneath her pillow . Posted by

Now that my classes are finished for a few weeks I was able to come out of my literacy induced stupor and look around me . I was a bit disturbed by what I saw . Now , I know I 'm not the best housekeeper , but - wow ! Today , I rolled up my proverbial sleeves and got to work . It would be easy to become overwhelmed , so I made sure to focus on one room - today I picked the kitchen . Now , I knew this would be easier if I didn 't have to worry about Abby , but she so charmingly told me that she wanted to stay home today , so I kept her home and resolved to work around her . While I cleaned under , around , above , ( and a lot of other prepositions ) everything in that kitchen , Abby danced , dressed - up , and pretend played her day away . Every so often she would come to find me and ask what I was doing . She loved the fact that I had the dining room chair in there , and insisted on sitting behind me as I stood on it to wash the walls . She joined in when I was steaming the floor , by grabbing " her " swiffer and getting to work . The best though , was when I was washing down the cabinets . She had come into the kitchen to tell me that she wanted to wear her bathing suit , more importantly , that she wanted me to get it for her . I was mid scrub , so I told her that I would help in a minute . She became inthralled that the cleaning was now at her level and wanted to join in . She found a rag and started " washing " a wall close to her . She made " shh - shh " sounds , like a spray bottle , and then stood back and told me to look at her work . That 's when I really got a good look at her , the kid had been helping me clean totally naked . Remember how she had wanted to wear her bathing suit ? Well , apparently she was all ready to put it on - and I had been so distracted with the cabinets I hadn 't noticed that the kid had been in the buff the whole time . I had to admire her moxie , because she was totally engrossed in what she was doing and was completely comfortable with the fact that she was au naturale . Abby slipped off the chair this morning andgot a little boo - boo . She only wanted Pooh to comfort her . Poor baby . She was fine though , and soon declared thatshe was " all better now . " Thanks Pooh . While out driving a nice lady let us out of a driveway in front of her . As I waved and said , " Thank you . " I heard Abby say in the back , " Awwww , wasn 't that so sweet of her ? " After I was finished laughing I told her that yes , indeed that was very sweet of her . Abby and Bruiser have been thick as thieves lately . The other day , when he got in trouble for getting into some garbage , Abby got mad at Jason , and then sat with Bruiser for a bit - offering some comfort . Today , Bruiser was being a bit whiney . I was telling him to stop and Abby put her hand over my mouth , looked me straight in the eye , put her finger to her lips and said , " Shhhhh . " When I pulled her hand off my mouth she then looked at me and said , " No , stop . No touches . " I tell you , the kid has an answer for everything . I 'm pretty positive that these episodes were much funnier in person , but hopefully you got a little simile out of them . Tonight , for the second night in a row , Abby fell asleep watching a slideshow of her baby pictures . See , Jason wasn 't home for bedtime and she wanted to see Dada . It was when we got to this picture that she became curious . She pointed to the feeding tube and asked , " What 's that ? " I told her that it was how she got her food when she was first born . She was too weak to be able to drink the amount of formula that she needed , so they had to feed her through a feeding tube . Her response ? " Ewww , gross ! " Looking at that picture made me remember how difficult it was for her to eat . Literally , she would fall asleep while eating . For her , sucking down an ounce was like running a marathon . I still remember the day when she drank her first full bottle ( a two ounce bottle , mind you ) . She fell asleep quickly and I ran out to the waiting room to share the good news with Jason . I remembered that time like it was yesterday , how I would coax her into eating by rubbing her cheek , how I would talk to her and tell her how well she was doing , and how one day I came in and she 'd finally gotten the feeding tube out . How many of you have ever read the Wayside School books by Louis Sachar ? If you haven 't ( and you either hang out with a lot of 3rd - 5th graders - or just have their sense of humor ) you should . It is a wonderfully crazy story about a school that was built on its side - a school that has thirty stories , with one classroom on each floor ( the builder was very sorry for the mistake ) . The book tells about each of the kids who attends class on the 30th story . One of the stories is about a girl named Rondi . Now , Rondi is known for how adorable she is - everyone is always talking about it . What makes her so cute , you ask ? Why , it 's her teeth . . . . well , actually it 's because she has her two front teeth missing . Everyone always talks about how cute Rondi 's teeth are ( the teeth that are missing , mind you ) and it drives her crazy . Now , I know what you are thinking : Why is she going on and on about this book ? Well , every time I look at Abby I think of Rondi , because I can 't help but think of how cute she looks - with her two missing teeth . It really is hilarious . She will be going about her day as normal , and then she 'll look at me and smile and . . . . Bam ! , I 'm blown away by how cute she is . If her adorable little face weren 't enough , when she talks she just gets cuter ! She 's been talking a mile a minute lately anyway , but with her two front teeth gone , she 's got this charming little lisp - which puts me in mind of another favorite character : Bessie Higgenbottom - of The Mighty B ! fame . As you can imagine her absent teeth have sparked a new interest in watching one of her favorite shows . This morning I couldn 't help but want to see the comparison , so we pulled out all of her Bessie garb and dressed her up . I think there is quite a resemblance , don 't you ? Tonight as we were going to bed , we were watching a favorite Mighty B ! episode . Abby , of course was quoting the show right and left - and spraying me in the face in the process . It may sound gross , but at the time it took all of my willpower to not laugh - it was SO CUTE ! Since I 've spent the day glued to my computer , writing a twelve page paper and doing a summative PowerPoint presentation , you will have to forgive me if tonight 's post is a little " light " . The fact of the matter is I 've had enough screen time today to last at least a week . So I 'm just going to sum up the day with a few bullet points . Apparently some time during the day her shirt got some milk on it . She proceeded to take it off and her skirt soon followed . The child care worker told her she couldn 't run around in her underwear and Abby 's response was she can at home . ( of course ! ) Mom came to pick her up and Abby didn 't want to leave . The school was having a book sale and the lovely ladies manning the check - out table were a captive audience for Abby . While sitting on one of the lady 's laps Abby told me , " Don 't wanna Mama . Don 't wanna home . Go ! " as she pointed me toward the door . The trick of " Okay Abby , I 'm leaving without you , " has run it 's course . She no longer believes the lie - I will now need to devise a new plan . She got pizza for dinner , and two popsicles for desert . She washed the grime away with a nice warm bath . Tonight 's bath toys of choice ? Balloons . She spent a fair amount of time playing with a deck of cards , first laying them out in a straight line , and then practicing her shuffling skills . Finally it was off to bed where she got Mom laughing with one of her impressions , and then it was tough to settle her back down because she was now in " performance mode " . Mom got mad - Abby got sad . I have sat with the computer on my lap for the last hour , trying to come up with something for tonight 's post . I was kicking myself for not taking more pictures , because I could have relied on that , but alas I only took one . As I stared at that one picture I got to wondering what Abby was doing this time last year , and so I stared scrolling through my pictures . I was able to find at least one picture from all of Abby 's years that are within a week of today , so that 's what I 'm going to share tonight . I 'm not sure where we had been , but where ever it was , she was tuckered out . I do know that this was the weekend of her dedication . Due to the fact that Abby 's first few hours were so critical , we wanted her to be baptized right after she was born - before they even flew her out to Ann Arbor . I wasn 't able to be there , and that still can make me cry . So , once she was home and better we had a nice big dedication service for her . It was a wonderful weekend . This was Abby 's first peanut butter and jelly sandwich . I remember that day well , because I was convinced she wouldn 't be interested at all . Once again , she proved me wrong . She mangled that sandwich and got peanut butter everywhere ! She was so covered that we went directly to the tub afterward . By the time she was done we both were laughing - me at her crazy hair and her . . . . well , she was just having a great time ! My sister and her three boys made their summer visit to our Mom 's house , which is huge , considering that they live on the other side of the country . We don 't get to see them very often and so we went out to spend the day with them . Abby loved playing with her cousins ( and Grandma 's measuring cups ) . She was fascinated with her youngest cousin - I think she just really liked that she wasn 't the smallest one there . Abby took her first boat ride ! Jason , Abby , and I had gone Up North for a weekend at the family cottage . We took some time to head out to one of the big lakes and even drove around to see some lighthouses . Finally , we got back to the cottage and took Abby out for her first ride on Papa 's boat . She loved going fast and had a great time laughing at the wind in her face . Mom on the other hand had a death - grip on her life jacket . I could just imagine her wanting to touch the water and falling right in . I didn 't let go of her until we were safe on dry land - and well away from the lake . July 26 , 2009 - Fashionista Abby has always been known for her unique fashion styling - but this one might just beat them all . She chose a scarf skirt ( and another for an arm band ) , and is singing into a toy thermometer . Yep , she was in her element this day ! This was around the time that Abby discovered the wonderfulness of mini - marshmallows . Not only are they a super - yummy treat , but as this picture shows , they can be used as a lovely mustache in a minute . I would also like to provide you with the rest of the words on her shirt . As you can see , the top says , " being this cute " , and the bottom finishes , " is exhausting . " Amen . I remember this day well - since I was actually doing some cleaning . Abby decided that she wanted to wear my gloves ( it 's okay , those are kitchen gloves - not toilet gloves ) . She began with just the gloves , and eventually graduated to the skirt . I 'm sure I encouraged her to put the shirt on as well before I took the picture . My guess is that everything came off in reverse order - with the gloves coming off last . July 26 , 2012 - B & B - Barbie and Breakfast That brings us to today . Abby popped up out of bed this morning ready to don her pink garb . Next she wanted some breakfast and to watch a favorite program . Did you notice the mirror ? She insisted that I position it so she could see herself . It is clear that not much has changed over the years . Posted by You know , there are some days when I sit down at my computer to write my nightly post and I have to really concentrate to think of something I can write about . It is in those moments that being a writing teacher really helps . I will often remind my students that you don 't only have to write about the " big " things , that sometimes a moment is much more interesting . Today though , coming up with something is not going to be a problem - in fact , the problem may be that I have too much to write about . It started as any ordinary day . It was a " stay home " day so jammies stayed on extra long , and Abby was able to enjoy a nice two course breakfast ( French toast sticks and a popsicle - that 's just like juice , right ? ) Then , since I had some work to do , I figured that Abby should be getting back into practice as well . I pulled out a dot - to - dot and we sat at the table working together . That didn 't last long , because before long she decided it was time for a show , so she pulled out her guitar , her microphone , her stand , her mirror and a few chairs , and had herself a little jam session . When she 'd played just enough to leave the audience wanting for more , the chairs turned into a bus that took her all over town . As I took a break , and Abby " arrived " back home , I noticed that her tooth was particularly wiggly . We 've been working on that thing for a few days , but I haven 't pushed it , even though I wanted to give the thing a good yank . Finally , she was in the mood to let me at it , she even told me , " I 've an idea ! " and ran to the kitchen . She came back with a spatula . I have no idea how she thought she would get her tooth out with a spatula , but I gave her points for trying . We took pictures and sent them to Dada - happy to share our news . This was a big one , especially since the first two teeth that came out she actually lost - as in , we have no idea what happened to them . We put her tooth safely in an envelope and took off for the toy store . See , around here the Tooth Fairy works on direct deposit , so we already had the " funds " that were due her for the tooth . She talked a good game about getting a Barbie , but she has so many of those , I tried to think of something else I could encourage . It was once we got there that I found it - a ballet dress and a beautiful pink wig . She could barely contain herself in the car and asked over - and - over again when she would get to put her dress and hair on . She cheered when we pulled in the driveway and popped out of the car , with no battle at all . I have to say that her whole " get - up " was fabulous ! She was glued to the mirror and kept telling me that she looked just " like a Barbie ! " She topped off the outfit when she added her heeled " dancing shoes " . I know she was wearing a crazy pink wig and plastic shoes , but I couldn 't get over how old she looked . Luckily , Dada got home before the wig got too itchy , and she was able to strut around and show off her new duds . Jason was suitably impressed . Eventually she moved on to something else and the wig came off . She told me that she would wear it tomorrow , " after sleep " . Then the ballet dress was next , and soon she once again looked like our Abby . We capped off a great day by playing Barbies . Before long she turned to me and told me she was tired , and apparently she wasn 't joking , because within minutes she was fast asleep . I suppose that losing a tooth and being a diva will do that to a girl . I had every intention of getting up and out early this morning . Being as it is the last week of my classes , I have several projects and papers due this weekend . I also had scheduled time with my knitting buddies , so I wanted to get Abby to child care early so I could get some homework done , before I gathered my needles and yarn for some much needed fun . The problem was that she woke up in a super bad mood this morning and was not up for a lot of cooperation . Along with that , every time I even mentioned school or getting ready she would loudly start complaining and make it known that if she had her way , she 'd spend the day at home . Now , I 'm getting better , but I tend to feel guilty when I have days that are " just for me " . I know that I need them , I know that Abby needs the time away from me , and I know that she has a great time at child care , but we both seem to forget that last bit , so I end up feeling bad and she ends up getting mad . So , instead of getting out early I let her ease into the idea and we had a slow morning , enjoying a nice breakfast at home , and some extra time to lounge in our jammies . Finally , I was able to get her excited about going in and seeing some of her friends , but in the car she started once again , telling me , " don 't wanna go to school , " and " don 't wanna see friends . " All of that changed though when we pulled in and she saw everyone out on the playground . She couldn 't get that seatbelt off fast enough . She did take the time though to say good - bye to her doll , Penelope , and then she was off . Yes , my " reluctant " kid was running off to play and not looking back . I yelled a good - bye and an " I love you ! " after her and I guess I should be thankful that she at least acknowledged me . I heard her yell back that she loved me as she absently waved to me behind her , but she kept her face forward and ran on . I watched her until she ran up to the care givers and gave a big hug to one of her favorites . She was happy to be there and I immediately felt wonderful . I got a bit of work done , and had a wonderful time with my friends , so as the afternoon wound down I headed out to get Abby . Now , usually she will see me coming and run to me - happy to have been there , but ready to see Mama and come home . Today though , things were different . I found her outside with the " big " kids . They were all sitting together in the shade , taking a break from the heat . Abby was in the middle of the group , sitting quietly between two older girls . When Abby noticed I was there she stayed where she was and simply turned toward me to say , " Hi , Mom . " - and that was it . No hug . No happy greeting . No slow - motion movie run . Nothing but a " Hi , Mom . " What ? ! ? It seems that sometime between 10 : 30 and 3 : 30 my kid had morphed into a preteen . She took it further by telling me that she wanted to stay . I chose the standard , " Okay , Abby . I 'm leaving . . . . . bye ! " which will usually get her moving , but as I turned back around , I realized that she hadn 't budged . At this point everyone else was trying to convince her that going with Mom would be fun . Finally she turned to me , said , " Bye , Mom , " and turned back to her friends . If I wasn 't so busy planning how I would get her home without a battle I might have been severely wounded . Eventually it was the offer of a piggy - back ride from one of the older girls that got her to the car . I buckled her in , thanked the girls and we were off . The whole ride home she talked about how great her day was . Her lack of excitement upon seeing me is a small price to pay for that . I have no doubt that when the time comes Thursday morning for us to head out to school that she 'll put up a bit of a fuss again , but I know that is all just bluster , that she will certainly have a great day . While brushing my hair Abby hit a snag and yanked my head back . I told her to be gentle and her response was , " I am being tentle [ gentle ] ! " Well , alright then . I suppose she 's heard that before . Abby told me this morning that she wanted to wear my " blond " dress . I had no idea what she was talking about , since not only do I rarely wear dresses , but I certainly don 't have a " blond " one . I went to the closet , trying to find something that might work , but nothing could satisfy her - until I came across a silky red slip of mine . She wore that all day , and is sleeping soundly - still wearing the slip . She was so proud of her " beautiful red dress " and made sure that Dada " Ooohed " and " Ahhhed " over it when he got home - which he promptly did . Favorite Dance Song : This morning when we were watching " Jungle Book 2 " Abby perked up when Baloo started singing about the " bare necessities " . She shimmied and shook just like that big gray bear . It was hilarious to watch , so when she wanted to watch it a few more times , I was certainly game . I tell you , that kid has some really great moves . After having been told that she was not getting any other snack than the one I 'd just given her - the one she had requested only moments earlier - she decided she wanted something else . When she thought I wasn 't looking she slowly got up and headed to the door . I stopped her and asked her where she was going . She paused , and I swear I could hear the cogs in her head turning , wondering what answer she could give me that I would accept . Finally she says , " the kitchen . " When I told her that she wasn 't to get any other food , she looked at me with those big brown eyes and then slowly continued out the door to the kitchen . I heard some rustling and then she came back into the room with her hands behind her back and a mischievous smile on her face . That 's when I asked her what she had . She looked at me innocently and held up a bag of tortilla chips saying , " Um . . . a bag of pippies . " Not only did she use her " nickname " for chips , but she plastered on her cutest look . I tell you , the kid is a master . If you could tally up the words I spent today , there is one that would certainly come out on top : " No ! " In the past there have been times when I 've resorted to saying no in a different language ( even sign language ) because I 'm so tired of that one syllable word , but today I couldn 't even grasp onto that - it was the good , old fashioned , American " No ! " at every turn . The thing is , the kid is relentless . She will say , " Please . . . please , Mama . . . . Mama , please . . . " over and over again until it just about drives me mad . I know it is all part of her plan . In my rational moments I know there will come a time when she lets it go if I don 't acknowledge her pestering , and I know that she keeps it up because time has taught her that I will eventually give in , but when I 'm in the moment all I want is for her to stop . Today most of the " No " battles were fought on the field of food , like when she wanted more licorice , and when she wanted more to eat before bedtime , or when she wanted pizza for a morning " snack " . On and on it seemed to go . Every time I turned around the kid was at the pantry and I was saying , " No ! " I will say that we held out pretty well when it came to food , she certainly didn 't get everything she pleaded for ( I think that Jason secretly thinks the kid has a tapeworm ) , but there were other moments that I completely folded . The perfect example of that would be the time this afternoon when Abby was happily sitting in her " box " with the iPad , what seemed to be a ream of paper , and her scissors . I loved this for several reasons , but mostly because the confetti she was creating was contained , I had , after all just spent time picking up itty - bitty pieces of paper off the floor in the sunroom , the dining room , and the living room , and I was not about to pick up another piece . As I zoomed around with my plastic bag , Abby would pop her head out and ask , " Close it , Mom . . . . please ! " She wanted me to close the top of the box so she was all shut in , just to open everything up the moment I turned my back . After about the fifth time of doing this , I began telling her to do it herself . " I can 't , " she would say , adding a , " Please , Mama . . . . close it . " This is when we entered the " this - is - the - last - time - I 'm - doing - this " phase of the game . Game , set , and match went to her on this one . I probably said that about 10 times as I closed the box , again and again . It finally ended when I got up and left the room . As a teacher I have had many a lesson on how to deal with arguing . There 's that old saying that it takes two to argue . When students start arguing with me ( and they do ) the trick is not to engage . My word is the end and that 's that . The thing is that doesn 't always work for Elizabeth the Mom . So that 's my lesson for today : Don 't engage - Just walk away . Abby 's pretty sharp though and I suspect she 'll figure out a new way around that one too , but maybe I 'll have a day , or two , respite from the dreaded , " No ! " I 've talked before how we are trying to give her a bit more independence - a little more freedom , but we are also trying to encourage her to learn to do things for herself . As many of you know , Abby isn 't the most patient person . She also doesn 't have much endurance when it comes to a task that she finds difficult . Too often she is quick to ask for help , sometimes without even giving it a go . Whether it is trying to find things , setting up her play area just the way she wants it , or even just getting the iPad to do what she wants , she often needs a helping hand . Today though , she did a great job of doing things for herself . She has this toy that plugs into the TV and allows her to see herself on the screen while it plays music she can dance to . As you can imagine she loves " Abby TV " , but to save battery life , after about 15 minutes the camera will turn off . This usually will illicit cries from Abby for help . Today I noticed that when it popped out she went up to the machine and pushed the red button all on her own - and got it working . That was huge , but it wasn 't enough . She wanted to hear the music and so she called for help , but instead of coming to her rescue I simply told her to press the green button . With an , " Oh , okay , Mom , " she turned around and found that lovely green button and magically produced music . She proudly exclaimed , " I did it , Mama ! " and proceeded to grove and laugh at herself on the TV . I can 't tell you how proud I was of her . Somehow this afternoon , as Abby and I were enjoying some serious giggle time , we got to talking about things she did when she was a baby . It had started out as a ploy on my part to get her to sit still for a bit , but soon we both became involved in the stories . She laid next to me , with her chin propped up on her hands , waiting to hear story after story about what a funny baby she had been . Here are a few of the stories that really got her laughing . Bath - time Baby - Like many little ones Abby has had her share of sink baths . At home here we had a baby tub that we would put in our bigger tub , but at Nana and Papa 's there was just the sink - the small divided sink . There are times , even now , when I 'm over there washing my hands or doing dishes and I marvel at the fact that Abby used to have baths in that sink . It just goes to show how little she was . When I told her that she would take baths in the sink she laughed like I was telling her a joke . She laughed even more when I told her how we would lay her out on the counter afterwards so we could dry her off and she could get tickles from Nana . Nommy - Nommy - Noses - There seemed to be something about the Valente Men 's noses that Abby loved as a baby . I think she was just trying to give kisses , but in her enthusiasm she would latch on to Jason 's and his dad 's noses . I don 't recall her doing this with anyone else - just them . It was always so funny . When I told Abby about it today I think she said something like , " Ewww , Gross ! " and then tried to go after my nose while laughing . The stinker ! Privacy Please ! - When we set up Abby 's room we made sure to put her crib against an inside wall - thinking that it would be warmer when winter came . It was indeed warmer , but it also put her right next to the light switch - and the door . In the beginning this wasn 't a problem , but as she grew , and got more curious I would often times find her playing with the light when she should have been taking a nap . There was one day , however when apparently the light was just too boring , because she moved on to playing with the door handle - the door handle that had a lock on it . As you 've probably guessed , she ended up locking herself in her room . As I panicked on the outside , she was still enjoying whatever she was doing on the inside . Jason ran to get the screwdriver , but the way things were situated , we couldn 't get the handle off . That 's when he had a great idea - the windows . He was able to go to the room next to hers , climb out onto the roof of our sunroom ( since Abby 's room is on the second story ) and climb through her room . God was looking out for us that day because Jason had recently been out on the roof cleaning it off and therefore Abby 's window wasn 't locked . I listened closely and heard Abby 's surprise as Dada came climbing through her window . We promptly removed the lock on her doorknob - and since winter was over , moved her crib to the other wall - just to be safe ! Papa 's Watching Abby , Right ? - There have been times ( usually when Nana and I are getting our hair done ) when Papa has pulled " Solo Abby Duty " . They have a wonderful time , and Abby loves to hang with Papa , but there have been a couple of times when Abby has pulled one on the poor guy when he was least expecting it . The first time was when she zipped into the bathroom and , once again , found the lock on the door . The poor guy was sweating bullets as Abby laughed uproariously on the other side . He could only imagine what she was getting into , and I can only imagine how he was hoping that this wasn 't the moment that we chose to get home . I 'm sure it felt much longer than it actually was , but soon enough Abby was able to turn the knob and come out . The other time that Abby got Papa into trouble was much funnier . I have to give him props . He was playing right along with her when they were upstairs and she told him that it was bedtime . She lovingly tucked him in , kissed his forehead , and said , " Good night , Papa . " Now , when we play this game we usually start some obnoxious snoring and she tells us to wake up , but this time the kid had other plans . See , Papa ended up dozing off ( an afternoon with Abby is exhausting - I totally get it ) , because suddenly a loud crash brought him wide awake . He looked over to see that Abby had gotten into Nana 's jewelry box , and had inadvertently knocked it to the floor . She knew she was in for it , because she immediately turned on the charm , looked up at him with her big brown eyes , and said , " Sorry , Papa . " Sock It To Him - Before long Jason heard us laughing and he wanted to know what was going on . We reminded him of some of the stories and he laughed too . He also told Abby one that we are sure she never would remember . Each night , when I was pregnant with Abby , Jason would make sure that he talked to the baby . He wanted to be certain she knew his voice , as well as mine . One night we were laying down and he was talking away , with his head on my tummy . He then decided to get a reaction out of her , and so he gently pressed his finger to the baby . We waited a moment and that 's when it happened - she socked him . We got a reaction all right . Abby either kicked him or sent him a nice big wallop to the side of the face , because he ( and I ) certainly felt it . It goes to show that she had her " frisky " personality right from the beginning . Abby thought this one was particularly funny . Abby wanted to hear more and more stories of when she was a baby , and we had a great time reminiscing . It was fun to think back on all the mischief she got into - when she could barely get around . What a funny bunny ! As Abby gets older I often find my self thinking : This age is my favorite ! Sure , there are times when I miss the baby that she was , but those feelings are fleeting . Today , once again , I thought about how much I love Abby at this age . I love the personality that keeps shining through . I love listening to her play with her Barbies and laughing at the conversations she makes them have . I love the fact that she is becoming more independent , and more helpful . This morning I woke up and was feeling a bit like the weather - blah ! Thursdays are the days when Abby will usually go out to child care for a bit , but she wanted to stay home , and I was even feeling too lazy to take her in . The problem was , we were in desperate need of some groceries . Abby had been super all morning , playing while I was finishing up an assignment , so I thought she might just be cooperative while we went to the store . She was thrilled that she would get to ride in those car / cart things , and since we were going to a big store I reminded her that the ones there actually had a TV she could watch while we shopped . She was all set , even wearing one of her favorite dresses for the outing . The whole way there she talked about the blue car we she wanted to ride in , so when we walked in and didn 't see them I ventured to ask where they might be hiding . As the employee told us that they didn 't have them anymore I watched Abby 's little face crumble . She didn 't cry , but she looked so heart broken . I tried to lift her spirits and told her that we would have a blast anyway - that she could be my very special helper and push the cart . She finally agreed and off we went . She was super , as I kept reminding her that her hands were glued to the cart , and that she needed to wait for me to grab the stuff for the cart - not take off without me . There was one point where she seemed to think that another lady 's cart looked better than ours , because she tried to take off with her cart . She was so good that the sucker that I am promised her a new friend to take home . It was while we were leaving the store that an older gentleman stopped us and as he looked through the change he 'd gotten out of his pocket , he asked if he could treat Abby to a ride on the pony . At first I was confused , but then I realized that he wanted to pay for Abby to ride the mechanical pony by the check - out . I put the question to Abby and she let out a loud , " Yeah ! " As the gentleman handed over two pennies he told me that we 'd just made his day . With a smile he was off to do his grocery shopping and we were off to ride the pony . Abby was all for it , until it started moving . She got scared quickly and wanted off . That 's when we gave her new doll a go - " Avery " enjoyed it immensely . The difference between this trip and others that we 've taken was huge . She was so good , and I was so proud of how much of a help she was to me . Yep , I am loving this age ! Tonight Jason asked Abby to write her namewhile she was drawing . She did a pretty quick ( and sloppy ) job , so Jason told her that she ' dbetter start practicing , because summer was almostover . Her response ? " Not yet , Dada ! " Right you areAbby , right you are ! You know , I thought when Abby was finally potty trained all of the " potty troubles " would be behind us . That doesn 't seem to be the case . I have to admit , she is getting better , and most of the time it isn 't an issue , but there are sometimes when we have to cajole , urge , and even threaten her into going potty . Most of the time the problem is that she 's having too much fun , and she doesn 't want to stop what she 's doing . I understand that , there are plenty of times when I feel the same way , but it still drives me a little batty that it is a battle . Tonight she was having a snack when she announced that she had to go potty . Usually , if she announces it , it is time for a rush and run to the bathroom . So , I put down what I was doing and headed in help scoot her along . The problem was she didn 't want to leave her snack behind - she wanted to bring the whole plate to the bathroom . I told her that she could bring some , but not all . This is when the arguing began . Worried that in the midst of a stubborn battle of wills , Abby would wait too long and have an accident , I picked her up and forged on . That 's when she really got mad . In retrospect I think she thought I had designs on her food , because in her anger she rushed to eat what she 'd grabbed - and bit her finger in the process , and not just any ole ' finger , The Finger , the one that only months ago endured surgery . Her anger quickly turned to tears and instead of fighting me , she now sought comfort . I certainly made all the appropriate sympathy sounds and gave her plenty of squeezes - as I continued up the stairs . It was once I got her situated on the potty that I could get a look at the finger and see that she really had a good set of , chompers , because she 'd drawn blood . Now , if you know Abby , you know that once she " knows " she 's hurt she doesn 't want anyone taking a peek at it . That isn 't surprising , since many times those " peeks " have been accompanied by pain ( and even a trip or two to the ER ) . So when Dada came up to find out what all the hollering was about , and upon hearing about the finger , offered the suggestion to look at it , Abby went into another round of hysterics . I finally was able to get her downstairs and calm - with the promise of a band - aid . Today I felt immersed in Abby 's sweetness . It began this morning when Jason asked me to run to the store for him . See , he 's either had a nasty case of food poisoning , or a yucky flu bug . No matter which , he 's been pretty sick between yesterday and today . So I got ready right away to head to the store for some " sick supplies " . Abby wanted to go with me and so we both buckled up and headed out . The whole way there she talked about what we would get so that " Dada would feel better . " Lucky for us we went to a store that has those fun car - carts . She picked the fire truck and I maneuvered that big hulking beast through the store . She did make one request for herself - bacon . We got everything quickly since there aren 't too many shoppers at 7 a . m . , and Abby even got out of that cart with a minimal amount of arguing . As we went into the house she wanted help carry bags and take them right to Jason . As she proudly handed off what we 'd bought to him she said , " Here , Dada ! All better now ! " Isn 't that sweet ? Later in the evening Abby was quiet and keeping herself busy . I was working on a project and every once and a while I would go out of the room . That 's when she would suddenly yell out , " Wait ! Don 't leave me ! " and she would come running to find me . She just wanted me near . I didn 't have to be entertaining her - I just needed to be in her sphere . Sweet . There were other moments as well , like when she looked at me and told me she 'd had " a great day " or when I overheard her tell Jason , " I love you too , Dada . I hope you feel better , " as she gave him a big hug . Yes , it was a day when she really showed what a truly sweet - heart she has . Usually when we are looking to treat ourselves to a meal out we get it to go . In fact , I can 't remember the last time we actually went to a restaurant and stayed there to eat our meal . Part of this is because we are just a bit more comfortable at home . You can 't ( or at least you shouldn 't ) kick off your shoes in the middle of Applebee 's , or wear your jammie pants to Olive Garden . The largest part of why we get it to go is because when you have a little one , who has a difficult time sitting still , it is just easier . If you read yesterday 's post you know that Nana and I went to the fabric store . I 've been having some fun sewing some bags lately , and she was looking for something she could use for the gym . I found a great pattern and so all that was left was to find some fabric . She picked out a cute floral pattern and I was so excited , I got going on the bag this morning . Abby was wonderful today , and while she had a great time playing I was able to knock that bag out . All that was left was figuring out how to get the bag to Nana . I had the bright idea to meet up with them halfway and have dinner out . I figured that I 'd have a couple of reinforcements when it came to wrangling Abby , and I counted on the promise of dessert to help her behave . So , with my bag filled to the brim with books , Barbies , and puppets we forged ahead . Actually , Abby didn 't do so bad , the " problem " is that Abby is just too social . She wants to visit with everyone . When we all walked in she saw her chance and ran to join one of the servers who was enjoying a quiet break . Abby wanted to sit with her . Later , a young couple came in and sat a few booths behind us . Abby turned and waved excitedly to them . . . . and then waved some more . . . . and then wanted to know what they were doing . . . . while pointing at them . . . . and then , she just turned in her seat and watched them for a bit . Next , Abby decided that she didn 't want to sit by Mama anymore , so she crawled under the table ( ewww ) and squeezed herself in between Nana and Papa . This not only made eating her fries and hot dog more fun ( since Papa would play airplane with her food ) , but it also afforded her a wonderful view of what Morgan ( our server ) was doing behind the counter - Abby only needed to stand up on the bench and turn around to see . As Nana would say : she wasn 't bad , she was just busy . By the time we were heading out we were all ready - except for Abby . On our way to the door we had to stop for her to give Morgan a nice long hug - the kind where she wraps her arms around your neck and squeezes like she won 't let go . We finally did make it out to the car , where she had a bit of a " fit " , but finally settled down and let herself be buckled in . You will have to forgive me tonight , but due to a lack of sleep I 'm going to rely heavily on pictures for tonight 's post , although if you were only going by pictures you would think that all we did today was eat - because those are the only pictures I took of Abby . ( I have no idea what I found so fascinating about her eating habits , but as I scrolled through the day 's photos that 's what I found . ) Granted , Abby is a bit of a " grazer " and would happily spend her days going from one snack to the next if we let her , but I guarantee that 's not all we did today . We stopped by to see Nana and Papa , and since a big plan was to go fabric hunting , we left the boys ( Dada and Bruiser ) at home . Luckily we got there on grocery shopping day , and Papa just happened to have picked up a wonderfully juicy watermelon . Abby pulled up a chair and situated herself perfectly for easy access to the great bowl . Finally , I had to cut her off - I think she could have easily eaten that whole thing - and at the rate she was going it wasn 't going to take her long . We hit a minor glitch when the power went out , for some reason , but that didn 't stop Abby . She still got a lovely bath ( in about 3 inches of water because the electric water pump wasn 't working ) , and some book time with Papa . We all decided that it might be fun to take a trip out together . Papa and Abby drove around , while Nana and Mom popped into the fabric store for a quick ( yeah , right ) shopping trip . Even though it took a while , I think they still had fun . Papa was giving Abby a crash course in baseball , as they both listened to the Tiger 's game on the radio . By the time we were finished Abby ( and Papa ) had earned that ice cream treat she 'd been promised . Finally , we loaded up and got in the car to head home . It was getting late , and would be well past her bedtime by the time we got there , but that 's one of the benefits of summer , right ? I heard some suspicious yawning from the backseat during our drive , but each time I asked her if she was tired she let out an emphatic , " No ! " We did have just enough time for a small snack ( some pretzels ) before bedtime , which took no time at all , after the busy day we had . Posted by We have always been dog people . There have been very few years that we 've been married that we didn 't have a dog . Over the years we & . . . It has been quite a while since my last post . Life continues to be all kinds of crazy and days have a way of giving way to the next . Soon we . . . Once upon a time , not that long ago , a puppy was born . He was a sweet puppy with great big paws and beautiful golden eyes . Despite the gentl . . .

Excerpt : I looked back outside , waiting to see a passionate kiss between the two . What I saw though confused me more than I already was . Zac pulled something out of his pocket and gave it to Karen . I couldn 't believe it . Isaac and I exchanged confused glances . Money ? Zac was giving her money ? A lot of it too . " Melissa , are you sure you 're alright ? " I heard Diana 's voice on the other end of the phone . " Uh - huh . I 'm just , I don 't know , a little tired . Ready for a break . " She gave a small laugh and said " Well , I 'm sure you are . Taylor said that he thought it had been a little rough . Touring isn 't easy and I may be wrong here but I 'm guessing you thought you 'd get to spend more time with Zac than you actually are . " I was thankful for her understanding of it all . " I 'll tell you something Melissa , between sound checks , meet and greets , the occasional photo shoot or interview , helping to update the website , the meetings about album and ticket sales and the merchandise , helping plan the route to each city and small changes needed for every stage , trying to find a minute here and there to eat and shower , plus staying in touch with us , I 'm surprised that child gets the little bit of sleep he does . " She and I both laughed a little at her rundown of Zac 's life on tour . Well , I thought to myself , she hasn 't been told anything about Zac 's little vanishing acts or his attitude lately . We chatted for a bit longer and then said goodbye . I hung the phone up and returned Tori 's smile that she was giving me when I glanced up at her . " I know what you 're thinking . " she said , pointing her index finger at me . " Oh really ? What ? " I asked slyly . " You 're wondering why she doesn 't know about Zac 's stunts here in the last couple of days . " she said . I sighed and nodded . " Well , I 'll tell you . " She readjusted herself on the couch and faced me . " Number one , it would worry her more than she already is . Two , there really isn 't anything she could do . Three , it would make things worse because she would talk to Zac first thing . Then all hell would break loose and no one needs that . " I raised my eyebrows at her . I knew she was right , about all of it . " All right y ' all , we 're heading out in about fifteen minutes . " Shelly said from the door . Tori and I smiled and then began to gather things up to load back on the bus . We cleaned up the room as much as possible and then walked out . We slowly walked down the long hallway and out the back door where the bus was parked . Dave was sitting in the driver seat looking at a map and looked tired and confused as he ran his hand through his shoulder length gray hair . " You ok Dave , are we still behind ? " Tori asked as we waited for the guys to get done signing autographs and get on the bus . " No , thanks to Taylor trailing Zac and keeping him on time and in sight tonight , we are back where we should be . " He smiled at the thought of seeing Taylor follow Zac around the venue all night . Even though everyone could tell Zac wasn 't happy about it , we were all surprised that he never said anything . I think in a way , we expected a fight to break out . Zac seemed anxious and almost paranoid , looking at his watch and pacing around , checking his cell phone and e - mail . He spent a lot of time on his laptop . I wondered what could have been so important . The noise of the fans outside shook me out of my thoughts . " Ahh , the rock stars must be emerging . " Tori said with a giggle . The guys waved and said goodbye as they filed onto the bus with Shelly and Mark . Mark sat next to Dave as the bus pulled out onto the highway and headed toward Georgia . We were in for another overnight drive and Shelly had started making coffee . Isaac walked straight to the back of the bus and shut and the door without so much of the slightest acknowledgment of the people around him . " What the hell is going on with him ? He 's been acting weird all evening . " Taylor said , sitting down next to Tori . " I don 't know Tay . You mean you weren 't babysitting him too ? ! " Zac asked , with a sarcastically surprised tone in his voice , without looking away from his laptop screen . " I thought that was your special job tonight . " he finished as he began typing . " No , I pretty much had my hands full babysitting you . Which , if I may add , I wouldn 't have to do if you would just show up to things on time and let someone know where you were going when you planned to leave . " Taylor replied . Zac simply rolled his eyes and continued on with whatever he had to do as soon as he 'd walked onto the bus . " Seriously Zac , do you know what 's bothering him ? " Taylor asked . Zac never looked away from the screen or stopped typing , his only answer was shaking his head ' no ' . Taylor sighed and he and Tori stood up . " He 's all yours . I 'm on break . " Tay said as he leaned down toward me with a smile . Then he and Tori walked into their room and Shelly turned to go sit up front with Dave and Mark . " Zac , who are you talking to ? " I asked . He looked up and smiled . Then he ran a hand through his hair and sat back away from the computer . " How much is Taylor paying you ? " he asked , crossing his arms over his chest . " What ? Zac , I was just wondering is all . " was my reply . He stood up and walked over to sit next to me . He pulled me close to him with one arm and ran the back of the other hand down my cheek . " Didn 't you get enough of me last night ? " he asked teasingly . " Isn 't that what you 've been wanting , attention ? " he asked , gripping my chin to make me look up at him . I nodded and he quickly kissed me . Then stood up and went back to the booth and began typing again . I rolled my eyes and walked to the back of the bus . I knocked on the door and Ike said " C ' mon in Mel . " I opened the door and shut it asking " how 'd you … " Ike smiled and said " Just a guess . " He patted the couch next to him and I sit down . He let out a long , almost shaky , sigh . " Ike , what is it ? What 's going on ? Please tell me . " He sat up on the edge of the seat and rested his elbows on his knees . His head hung down and he said very quietly , barely above a whisper , " I saw her . " I leaned up to sit right next to him and asked " Who ? Who did you see . " He sighed again and looked over at me . His eyes held a hurt and confusion that I 'd never seen in him before . My stomach tightened and I knew the answer before he spoke . " Karen . I saw Karen . " My heartbeat quickened as I asked " What ? Well , When ? Did you talk to her ? " He looked back down at his hands and said " I saw Karen . Tonight , before the show . No , I didn 't talk to her . " Before I could say anything else , he started the story . " I don 't think anyone else did . I was walking down the hall and as I turned the corner , I saw her by the door . She had a pass around her neck and she was walking up and down in front of the door that led outside . She kept looking at her watch and out the window . Melissa , I know you think I 'm crazy , but I swear it was her . I couldn 't get any closer at first . I was too shocked . Just as I was about to yell out at her , she left . She just looked at her watch again and then walked out . She was angry . I thought she was gonna break the door the way she pushed it open . Really hard , like with all the force she had in her . " Karen , that was it , she was the old friend . I couldn 't even guess how it had happened or for how long it had been going on . It all fell into place though . It was Karen . Zac couldn 't meet her because of Taylor following him around . Zac was not only cheating on me ( which I had already suspected long ago , call it woman 's instinct . ) but he was cheating with his brother 's ex - wife . I couldn 't understand . Why Karen ? I tried to calm myself down before I spoke , but I couldn 't before he did . " Melissa , " Isaac turned to me and took my hand , " I 've been suspecting this for a long time . Trust me , I didn 't want to believe it any more than you do . I honestly think she and Zac are well , ya know , and that 's why she was pacing and looking at her watch . She was waiting for him and she got angry when he didn 't show up . He couldn 't because this is obviously a secret and Taylor was on Zac 's heels all night . That 's why he immediately went to the computer when he got on the bus , to e - mail her and let her know why he didn 't meet her . That 's why he was acting so anxious , looking at his watch every five minutes . " He hugged me gently and asked " Mel , what are we gonna do ? I can 't handle this . " I sighed as we pulled away and answered . " I don 't know . I just don 't know . I think that maybe … " Suddenly I heard him yell down the hall . " Melissa ? ! " I quickly wiped away the tears that had filled my eyes and looked at Ike . He just nodded and said quietly " Go , don 't want him getting angry that you and I were alone too long . " I smiled an apologetic smile . He nodded again and slightly smiled " Go on . We 'll talk later . " I squeezed his hand and stood up . Then I heard Taylor 's voice say " She 's probably back here Zac . " I heard him walking toward the back of the bus and and whispered " Later " to Ike as I quickly walked out and shut the door . " All right , you ready ? " Tori said as I walked to the front of the bus . " Yeah , I guess so . " I replied , slinging the duffel bag onto my shoulder and putting my pass around my neck . We walked off of the bus , through the small crowd of fans waiting outside and into the arena . We were in Georgia that night . Only one more week before two weeks at home in Tulsa . I sighed at the idea of a break . All night long I had been thinking about the conversation I 'd had with Isaac . We 'd agreed that morning not to say anything to anyone about it until we figured out what to do and how to do it . " Gosh , why is it that things always have to be so chaotic around these places ? " Tori asked , pulling me away from my thoughts . She and I made our way through the noisy halls . As we turned the corner , we saw Ike leaning against the wall . As soon as he saw us he came up and grabbed my arm . " I gotta talk to you now . Here , " he said opening a door and ushering us both inside . " Leave that stuff in here and come out in the hall . " Then he quickly walked out . I looked over at Taylor , who was on the phone and had barely noticed us . He slightly smiled and I put the bag down and whispered to Tori , " I 'll be back as soon as I can . " She gave me a weak smile and nod . I had a sick feeling when I walked out and saw the look on Ike 's face . His expression held shock , confusion and worry … like a lost child . " What is it ? " I asked as I walked up to him . He looked around as if to see if someone was watching him then he took my hand and said " Come with me . " He and I walked down the long hallway , around the corner and down some stairs . As we approached a door he turned to me and held up his finger up to his lips . I nodded and he pushed me past him and pointed to the small window on the door . He leaned against the wall and whispered " Look out there . " I slowly turned and looked out the window . There was Zac standing by a car . His arm was up on top and his other hand was on the top of the open driver door . His back was towardI watched as Isaac paced the floor of his hotel room . We were staying in a hotel so maintenance could be done on the bus . ( Oil change , tire check , engine tune , etc . ) Zac had left while I was in the shower and Taylor and Tori had gone to eat with some crew members . Isaac had called and asked me to come to his room . I sat on the small couch and watched as he continued to pace and furiously run his hands through his hair . Neither of us said anything . We 'd both been trying to figure out what exactly was going on . Both of us had suspected a relationship between Karen and Zac but we 'd started thinking we were wrong . We had both wracked our brains trying to figure out why Zac had given her money and what the pictures were about . I had tried to find them while he 'd been in the shower but I couldn 't . " I don 't get , I just don 't understand . What the fuck is going on here ? " Ike said as he sat down in the chair to the side of the couch . " I don 't know . " I replied quietly . " If only I could find something , anything . If we knew what the money was for then maybe everything else would start falling into place . " I continued . " Are you sure you looked through his things good ? Maybe he put the pictures in a pocket of his jeans or something . Did you try his laptop ? Maybe he has something on there that would give us a clue . " Ike said as he began to pace again . " Well , I didn 't think about his laptop but I looked through his suitcase . Not through his pockets though . Do you think he 'd have put them somewhere like that ? " I asked , almost shocked at the idea . Ike then grabbed the key to his room and said " Come on . " I stood up and walked to the door with him . " I 'm not sure what to think at this point . All I know is that we need to figure out what 's going on and fast . " Isaac said quietly as we walked down the hall . As we came to the room Zac and I shared Ike continued " I 'm just not going to put anything past him anymore . He 's been so unpredictable lately . " I unlocked our door and looked around inside , Zac was still gone , I glanced at Ike and he and I walked into the room and closed the door . " Okay , remember that the most ridiculous and incomprehensible acts seems to be his best ideas lately . " I sighed as we began to look through Zac 's stuff . " Dammit ! Shit , I should 've guessed ! " Ike said . " What ? " I asked . " His laptop , he 's got it sealed . I can 't do anything without the password . I can 't even see the fucking homepage . " I sighed as I wiped the hair out of my face . " Mel , take a guess . Do you two have a secret code or anything ? " Isaac asked as I felt through Zac 's jeans pockets . " Uh , " I thought for a moment . " I don 't know . Try maybe a birthday . " I began digging through the compartments of Zac 's suitcase as Ike typed . " It 's none of ours or yoWe hurriedly put everything back like it was and then walked out , locking the door . We saw Shelly in the hall . " Shelly ! " Ike called as we began to jog to catch her before she went into her room . She smiled at us but her smile quickly faded as we reached her . " Don 't ask any questions and don 't ever say anything about this just go with it . " Ike instructed her . She nodded and Isaac said , " Yeah , I 'll be glad to get a break too , " as Taylor , Tori and Zac stepped off of the elevator and began walking toward us . Although she was very confused , Shelly played along . Taylor and Tori went into their room and Zac gave me a small peck on the forehead as he continued on to our room . " What 's going on ? " Shelly whispered . " Nothing , really it 's ok . Thanks . " Ike slowly walked to his door . Just as he unlocked the door to his room , he turned back to me and mouthed the words " You and me later . " I nodded , smiled at Shelly and the walked into the room I shared with Zac . A little while later , as I lay in bed , listening to Zac 's steady breathing , the events of the day were running fast through my mind . Suddenly a thought hit me . I eased out of bed and tip toed over to the chair . I carefully reached into the pockets of the jeans he 'd been wearing … empty . " Shit . " I said under my breath to myself . I looked over to find him still unmoved and breathing the same as he was moments ago . I glanced at the nightstand table and saw something sticking out of his wallet . " Bingo . " I barely whispered . I gently pulled out a small white envelope . I glanced at Zac again and then slowly made my way into the bathroom . After locking the door , I sat on the side of the tub and opened the envelope . I pulled out two small photos of a baby I 'd never seen before . I tried to remember the baby but what really got to me was the next picture … I nearly fell over when I saw it . I quickly put them back in the envelope and opened the bathroom door . I slid the photos back into his wallet and climbed back into bed . Well , this added a whole other part to this story . I didn 't sleep at all that night . I kept thinking that what was apparently going on was worse than what Ike or I had even started to imagine . I dreaded the thought of telling him but I 'd have to . He had as much right to know as I did . I still couldn 't seem to piece together exactly how it had taken place or how it had been gotten past everyone . My mind was spinning with so many different thoughts … more than I could really handle . I lay in bed and watched as the light begin to get brighter through the curtains . I felt sick thinking about it , but I couldn 't think of anything else . His breath was heavy but seemed restricted . He just sit there silent . I glanced at his hands and noticed a slight trembling . I slowly raised my head and noticed that his lips were pressed tightly together and saw that his brown eyes were a bit clouded . His forehead was wrinkled in confusion and a forced disbelief . I wondered what he was thinking . He looked over at me and in a shaky voice asked " How did you get these again ? " I licked my dry lips and replied " He left his wallet in his bag when we were on the bus . It was in our room . " Isaac brought his hands up and rubbed his face . " I never thought that … " he began , " I just wouldn 't have guessed . Not this . " I looked again at the pictures on the table . Shelly stuck her head in the door and said " Ike , show time . " He nodded then turned back to me . " We need to tell Taylor and Tori about this . I hate to but I have a feeling we 'll need some help . We 'll have to confront him . " I sighed and said " I 'll tell Tori and then she can tell Taylor . Ike , I didn 't think it was this . " He stood up and said " Me either . It 'll be all right . We 're gonna get this all straightened out . " He gave me a quick hug and then walked out . I put the pictures in my purse and zipped it up . I wondered how long it 'd take before Zac noticed that they were missing from his wallet . A few minutes later Tori came in and said " Mel , while we have some time alone , I need to talk to you . " I smiled as she sat down . " Please don 't get all defensive ' cause I 'm not accusing you of anything . It 's just that Taylor and I have been talking for a few days now and we 've noticed some things that have made us feel , well , I guess unsure of what the whole deal is . So we decided that I should talk to you and then we 'll know just how stupid we are for even thinking anything like this . " I felt knots in my stomach wondering what she was going to ask . I hoped that it was about Zac . It 'd be an easy way to start the conversation and tell her what Ike and I knew . She didn 't ask about Zac though . " Melissa , are you and Isaac , ya know , seeing each other ? " My heart sank at her words . I couldn 't believe what she was saying . I guess my silence and surprised expression was taken as the wrong answer . " Look , it 's all right that you like Ike and that you two get a long so well . It 's great . You 've been a good friend to him . We know things haven 't been good with you and Zac but , " I began to shake my head and she put her hand on mine and continued " There 's no reason to lie to us . I mean it would be awkward but it 'd get worked out . " I suddenly shouted " No ! We 're not ! Oh God Tori , how can you even think such a thing ? ! You think I could do that , that Ike could do that ? ! No ! You are way off here . That 's not even close to what is going on . " I stood up and started pacing . She sat back and said " Then what is it ? What is wrong Mel ? Please tell me . " I sighed as I turned to face her . Then I pulled a chair in front of her . I walked over to the door and locked it as Tori 's eyes grew full of concern and watched my every move . I sat down in the chair and took a deep breath . At that moment , everything came out . I told her about Zac 's behavior after the baby shower , I told her about his lack of attention and affection toward me , I told her about his reactions to me questioning his rWhen I finished , I glanced at her . She sat still and quiet . Her breathing was relaxed but her face was a picture of disbelief , of shock and sadness . " Melissa , " she whispered , " Where 's the pictures ? Let me see them . " I picked up my purse and unzipped it . Then I pulled the pictures out and handed them to her . She took them and silently looked at the first two of the baby . When she came to the last one , her hand raised to her mouth and her eyes filled with tears . " Oh God , Melissa . " She grabbed me in a hug and we both cried for a few moments . Then she pulled away and looked at me . " I am so , so sorry . " I nodded and looked down . Then I heard her whisper the words that sent me once again into a world of confusion and shock . Like with the pictures , another piece to the puzzle was added . " I should have told you . Oh my God , why didn 't I tell you ? " I looked at her quickly . " You knew ? ! " I asked . She shrugged and said " I thought . When they were gone to promote the album and tour , Tay e - mailed me several times and talked about Zac 's nights out . Sometimes Taylor said that he wouldn 't come back until the next morning . He had seen her once . He just didn 't believe that it was what it was . I didn 't know what to make of the whole thing . He was too scared that it was nothing and so he never told anyone except me , not even Isaac . We didn 't want to stir up anything without knowing for sure . " She took a breath and then looked at the photos again . " He didn 't see her and Zac together , just her . Melissa , I 'm sorry . We should have told you but we were both scared that we were wrong . " I could barely comprehend what she had said . I felt my heart sink to the floor and I had a tightening in my chest that I didn 't think would ever ease up . My stomach was in knots and my hands trembled . My head was spinning and I 'd started crying again . We both cried and talked for a while longer . I couldn 't blame Tori . I probably wouldn 't have believed it anyway . Tori and I quickly composed ourselves when we heard a knock on the door . I walked over and opened it to find Dave there with a worried expression . " Are you girls all right ? " he asked . I nodded and said " Yes , we are . We just needed some privacy to talk about something . " He looked past me at Tori on the couch . The he sighed and said " Okay , well , I 'm going to go pull the bus around so we can leave . Y ' all get your stuff together and come on out . " I nodded and smiled as Tori stood up and began to gather empty cups from around the room . Dave walked away and I closed the door . With a heavy sigh , I picked up the duffel bag we always carried and took it over to the couch . I once again looked at the pictures laying on the table . The baby was chubby , very cute , with the same nose and smile as Zac but mostly he looked like who was obviously his mother . He wasn 't very old , apparently not able to sit up on his own yet . It was just three snapshots . In one , he was laying on a small blanket on the couch and grinning , his hands clasped together , looking up at the camera . In the other , he was leaning back against a pillow , in a chair . In front of him was a small red drum and he held a plastic drum stick in one hand and a cookie in the other . He was looking straight ahead at the camera but not smiling . Still he had a peaceful expression . The baby had just noticeable dark hair and the same round face as his mother . Then , I saw the last one . It was her holding him up close to her face . Both had huge smiles on their faces . It was close up and the light was good in the photo . Both had dark green eyes . He wore a small t - shirt that was white and said in red , crooked letters Little Rockstar . His mother 's auburn hair was mostly down with just a bit of it pinned back on top of her head . Her roots were dark and her slightly tanned skin sparkled with blue body glitter . So many questions were floating through my mind . To make it worse , we still couldn 't figure out how Karen had gotten in it . " I guess that 's it . " Tori said . I slipped the pictures into the pocket of my jeans and slung the bag and my purse over my shoulder . With one last look around , Tori and I walked to the door , switched off the light , and walked out into the quiet , slightly dark , hallway . We walked slowly to the door that led out the back of the arena . " I 'll tell Taylor later and then the four of us can talk . " Tori said as we continued walking to the bus . " I don 't understand what Karen has to do with it . " She said . " I don 't either but I guess we 'll find out . " I had more of an urge to know now more than ever . I wanted to know the whole story . I had an overwhelming need to know everything about this confusing mess that we were beginning to untangle . I wanted to ask Zac why . I wanted to ask him about the baby . I wanted an answer to the question that , when Taylor found out , would probably be weighing the heaviest for all of us : How did Karen become the middle ground between Zac and Courtney ? The next few days on the tour passed without much changing . Life and rest had become all but impossible on the bus with the tension so high . The looks that both Zac and I had been getting from Taylor said that he had been completely informed about everything . ( Sometimes he didn 't talk much but his eyes are always honest about what he thinks . ) Zac seemed not to notice . Ike and I had decided to stop trying to keep an eye on him . We had the basics and honestly , I don 't think either of us wanted to know anymore of the situation at that time . It was nearly too much fr us . Tori and Taylor were occupying themselves thinking , and talking about the baby . Tori was due in another week and she and Tay had decided on a name for each gender but were keeping it a complete secret from everyone . The idea of a new baby around brought out hope for a breath of life into the family . Diana and Walker had already begun to pick up on the fact that something terrible was going on but we 'd all manged to get away with just saying that we 'd talk to them when we got home . I could only imagine the worry that had set over them . Ike had taken up the habit of looking for Karen everywhere . He always seemed to be relieved but also let down when he didn 't see her . Zac continued to be anxious and distant , guarding his laptop and constantly checking his e - mails and missed calls on his cell phone . Sometimes , I 'd noticed , that he also seemed to be a bit sad and looked as though he was very depressed . The night before the final show before our break , we were all on the bus , tired but no one was sleeping . Isaac had gone to bed almost immediately but the shuffling in his room let everyone know he was wide awake . Taylor and Tori were up front talking to Shelly and Dave . Mark had decided two days before that the tension was too much for him and had taken to riding on the other bus . Zac and I were in the back , reclined on the couch , watching a movie . I had tried to spend time with him whenever possible and although I was now uncomfortable doing so , I knew that changing my eagerness to be alone with him or take all of the attention that he was willing to give , would only raise his suspensions … and believe me , they were already high . " Melissa , I 'm going to ask you something and don 't think about lying to me . " Zac said in a hushed voice . I sat up and looked at him . " I won 't lie to you . " I replied shaking my head . I was a little nervous but tried hard to appear calm . " Are you and Ike sleeping together ? " he asked looking straight at me . " No . Zac where did you hear … " He suddenly grabbed my arm and pulled me close to him . " It doesn 't matter . I 'm asking you and I want you to tell me the truth , " he said through clenched teeth . I felt an urge to brace myself for him to hit me but I just looked at him and said . " No Zac , we 're not . I would never do anything like that and neither would he . " With a slight jerk , he let go of my arm and turned back toward the TV . He sighed and seemed to relax . As I laid back on the couch and tried to stop the trembling I felt inside I heard his voice , raspy and harsh but quiet . " Good . Don 't ever do that to me Melissa . Don 't ever think that I 'll accept you being with anyone else , especially Isaac . " I watched as he slowly turned and looked right into my eyes . " Because if I ever find out that you have become a whore to my brother , I 'll kill you . I 'll kill you before I 'll let someone else have you . " His breathing was steady and he spoke calmly . As my heart sank and I began to feel a lump in my throat , he stood up and walked out . His words echoed through my mind the rest of the night and then the next day . Throughout the next morning and early afternoon our trip continued to Kansas . Two weeks off was talked about like a month in paradise by the road crew but to the five of us , it was dreaded . Even Zac had started seeming to not be all that thrilled about a short vacation . Taylor , Tori , Ike and I knew that it would be one of a lot of conversations and explaining . Diana and Walker still had not been informed of anything and the idea of trying to tell them just plain scared us . As the bus pulled into the arena parking lot , the guys gathered their stuff and quickly got off . Dave slowly walked up to me and Tori as we stood chatting about going home , and said softly " Melissa , Isaac asked me to give you this . " He handed me a small , folded piece of paper and then sighed . " Well , I 'm gonna go to the other bus and try to get some sleep . You two don 't forget to lock up . " We watched as he walked off and shut the door . It was just Tori and me on the bus . " Well , " Tori said , " I 'm gonna go on in and you just come on when you 're ready all right . That may be something he only wants you to see , " she said pointing to the note I was holding " and if I see your face change while you read it , I 'll go crazy not knowing what it is . " She smiled and picked up her purse . Then she stepped off of the bus and a small crowd began to call to her . I glanced out of the window and saw that Mark was beside her as she smiled and shook hands while laughing with the crowd and graciously accepting the flowers and cards and baby gifts . I sit down and smiled to myself as my thoughts once again drifted toward the idea of a new baby being around . I sighed and looked down at the piece of paper in my hand . I braced for what it could possibly say , although at that time , I really don 't think anything would have surprised me . I slowly unfolded it and read what Isaac had written : Mel , please meet me by the merchandise table . I have to talk to you and it 's VERY important . It can 't wait anymore . Don 't take too long . Don 't worry about Zac , I told Tay that I needed to talk to you and he 's going to keep Zac busy . Please come as soon as you get inside . - Isaac . I quickly folded the note and stuck it in my purse . Then I picked up the duffel bag and my purse . I grabbed the keys and a bottle of water and walked off of the bus , locking the door behind me . The crowd began to call me but I just smiled and waved answering their yells with " I 'm sorry , I 'm in a hurry . " They accepted that and I walked into the arena . I made my way past the crew members and security and on to the backstage room . It was empty which surprised me but I put the bag and my purse down on the floor and then walked out . I stopped a venue security guard and asked where the merchandise was being set up . He had a deep southern drawl in his voice as he pointed down the long hallway and said " At the end , take a right , then on the left about midway there 's a double door . Go through that and take the first left . Then you 'll come to another double door . Through there , it 's the second door on the right . " I thanked him and tried to remember his confusing directions as I walked in a fast pace . " Dammit , this is a maze filled with crazy rats ! " I said out loud to myself as I walked through the chaos that was known as preparations for a Hanson concert . I finally got to the table and breathlessly asked Shelly where Ike was . " He 's right over there . " She said pointing to the corner across the merchandise area . " Thanks . " I said . She nodded as she began to unpack some t - shirts and lay them on the table . " Ike ! " I called to him as I walked over . He turned and looked at me and then sighed heavily as he shoved his hands into his jeans pockets . " Alright , I 'm here . " I said trying to catch my breath . " What 's wrong ? " I asked . He looked around and then pulled me out into another hall and then into a small dressing room . " Ike , what is it ? " I asked . He closed the door and then said " Nothing is really wrong . I 've needed to tell you this for so long . At first I was lying to myself but Tay and I talked today and even if you hate me , I have to tell you . " I felt my stomach tighten . I watched as he slowly began to pace and sweat formed on his forehead . His hands trembled and he began to stutter his words so badly that I had to stop him . " Ike please calm down . I could never hate you . Now , look , c ' mere . Sit down . " I led him to a chair and then got him a cup if water . " Whatever it is it 'll be alright . Just take some breaths and then tell me what 's going on . " I waited quietly as he took a few sips of the water and then finally began to breathe normally . " Now , " I sighed as I put my hand on his shoulder , " What is it ? " I slid myself onto the counter in front of the mirror and he leaned forward toward me . " First , " he began , " I want you to know that I have tried so hard to tell you this so many times . I have thought about it and even talked to mom and dad about it once on the phone . This is , well , it 's scaring the hell out of me but I 'm just going to say it all right ? " I nodde ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ For the rest of the night , I thought about the kiss I 'd had with Isaac and what it meant . I must admit that given the chance , I thought that I 'd probably kiss him again . We 'd avoided each other as much as possible since and I had started feeling guilty . I didn 't want him to think that he 'd done anything wrong . Although in a sense he had , I had convinced myself that he 'd simply been confused and hurt by all that had happened . I knew that deep down he missed Karen and thought about her a lot . The bus traveled on to Tulsa through the light rain . It was late and Tori had gone to bed , shortly followed by Taylor . Dave was up front with Shelly and Zac had fallen asleep in the back while watching TV . I had slipped out and made my way up to the booth and kitchen area . I was sitting , with my knees to my chest , looking out of the window . It was slightly open and I could hear the tires splashing through the rain as the dark interstate surroundings flew past . Once in a while a semi truck or car would roll past us . I was kinda lost in thought and had barely become aware that I was being watched . I slowly turned to see Isaac leaning against the wall , a worried look on his face as he stared at me . I sighed and he walked towards me and sat down . He faced me but didn 't say anything . I turned back towards the window until he finally spoke . " I want to take back my apology , " he said softly . " What ? " I asked . He repeated himself . " I want to take back my apology . " I stared at him . " What do you mean ? What apology ? " He looked down at his hands on the table and replied " After I kissed you , I said that I was sorry . I want to take it back . I 'm not sorry . I 'm sorry that I 've made this whole thing worse for you , but I 'm not sorry for kissing you . In fact , I 'd do it again if I knew you wanted me to . So I 'm taking back the apology . " I looked at him until he finally raised his head and our eyes met . " Isaac , I know you still love Karen . I know that you think about her a lot more than you 'd want people to know . Then , all this stuff with Zac and Courtney and the baby and then Karen … it 's been too much for all of us . I know that once all of this is out in the open and explained , things will get back to normal . " He glared at me " I 'm not thinking about Karen , this has nothing to do with her . How can you possibly think that anything will ever be normal ? I love you Melissa . Plain and simple . You are everything to me . I have loved you since I met you . That 's why I wanted to get you away from Zac because I couldn 't stand to see you hurt . I have ignored this for so long and blamed it on losing Angel and the divorce . I even blamed it on you for being so beautiful and sweet . I 've done everything to try and block out what I feel for you but I can 't anymore . I love you and I will never be sorry for that . I understand if you don 't feel the same way but I had to tell you . It scares me to death and I can 't even begin to think of what will happen either way . I just know that this is not going away . Nothing is going to change how I feel about you . " I listened quietly while he talked . The way he spoke told me that he was being completely honest . " Oh Ike , " I said , " I just don 't know what to do . " I started to cry . " All of this is just so heavy . " He sighed and then stood up and came around the table to sit next to me . His strong arm wrapped around me and pulled me close . He spoke so softly . " I know , shhhh . It 's going to be all right . I don 't know how but it will be . Mom always says that everything will be the way it 's supposed to be in the end . I know this is hard on you and I haven 't made it any easier . " After the feelings he 'd just confessed to me , I should have pushed him away . I didn 't though . Instead , I leaned against his body and allowed him to comfort me . He continued . " Time goes on and as it does , things fall into place . We will realize what the reason for all of this was . We learn why things happen the way they do and how they do . My grandfather used to say that only time can answer all questions of life . " I smiled . " Your grandfather was smart . " He laughed a little . Then he brought his hand to my chin and lifted my face toward him . He looked down at me before gently brushing a tear away with his thumb . His hand continued down to my neck . His skin was warm on caused me to feel a tightening in my stomach . Slowly he leaned down and brushed his lips on my forehead . Then to my cheek . He pulled away just for a second before lightly kissing the bridge of my nose . His finger traced my lips and he whispered " Should I stop ? " I guess he should have . I knew it never needed to go any farther . I just shook my head though . I didn 't want him to stop . I needed to hang on to the feeling just a little bit longer . He leaned down and barely touched my lips . His hand slid to the back of my neck as he pulled me closer to him and I tensed . To my surprise though , I relaxed immediately . I felt his lips part against mine and I mimicked his action . I felt my body jerk as his tongue brushed against mine . He became tense until I reached uThen our grips on each other loosened when we heard Taylor cough and the sound of shuffling in the small room he shared with Tori . " I 'm gonna find out how close we are to Tulsa . " Ike said standing up . I nodded and he then walked through the door to where Dave and Shelly were seated . I could faintly hear them talking and I tried to slow my breathing and bring my thoughts back to the present . I glanced up and saw Ike walking back toward me . All I could think was that I wanted to kiss him again , I wanted to feel him close to me again . " Are we almost there ? " Taylor said , walking toward Ike . Isaac answered his brother with raised eyebrows and a sigh . " How much longer ? " Tay asked , as he flopped down opposite of me . " Dave says if nothing holds us up , we should get into Tulsa in about three hours . So it 'll be about four more hours until we 're home . " Taylor groaned and then replied " I can 't wait to see everybody . Ya know , mom said this morning on the phone that she has a surprise for us . It didn 't sound good either . " We both looked at him . " What do you mean ? What did it sound like ? " Ike asked as he casually sat back down next to me . " Serious . " Taylor answered with an almost scared expression coming over his face . Ike looked back at his brother from his seat next to me . " Oh God . " Ike groaned as his head hit the table . Taylor and I laughed . Diana 's surprises were not anything to look forward to really . If she said she had a surprise , it usually meant that there was something serious about to take place when she saw them … and most of the time , she had discovered something they had tried to cover up . " What 's so funny ? " Tori asked yawning . " Hey momma , I was telling them about our surprise from mom . " Taylor answered as she sat next to him . Tori nodded . " Yeah , I wonder if it has anything to do with , " she turned and glanced back toward the bedrooms , " Ya know , " she finished , turning back to us . " What time is it ? " Taylor asked to get rid of the terrible feeling that took us over for a few seconds . I glanced at my phone that was on the table . " 4 : 45 . " I answered . We all chatted quietly as the bus rolled on . I still hadn 't told anyone about the first kiss at the venue . It had been a hard night for everyone . The show was supposed to end at 9 : 30 but the fans kept screaming for another song and so the guys had played on until 10 : 30 . When they did get off the stage and had come out to get on the bus , they stopped to take pictures and sign autographs . The crowd was more demanding than the others and the number of fans had forced them to stay for over 30 minutes . The bus didn 't get on the road until nearly midnight . Then a rain storm had started , making Dave drive at a slower pace . The drive back to Tulsa was now taking over nine hours . Shelly had called Diana from the venue and let them know that it 'd be much later than planned when we got home . " I 'm hungry . " Tori said . " Uh , there 's not much . You want some cereal ? " Taylor asked her . " Yep , that 'd be good . " Zac joined us soon after and seemed to be very happy about going home . We 'd noticed that he 'd been happy and polite to everyone . He 'd mention how much he was looking forward to seeing his family , sleeping in his own bed and eating Diana 's famous home cooking . He 'd also talked a lot about the baby being born and how much he was wanting to ride his motorcycle . It 'd been a complete turn around from the previous days . It was nice but we all wondered why he 'd become so easy going and less secretive all of a sudden . We 'd all become unsure of what had taken place but it had obviously made a huge difference . All of us knew though that once we were settled at home and had caught up , Diana and Walker would want to know exactly what had been going on . How would we tell them ? We knew that Courtney would more than likely be the first brought in to explain everything , then Karen . I also wondered what would happen with Zac and I after everything was out in the open … and besides that , what would happen with Isaac and me afterwards . I closed my eyes and began to feel his hand on my face again . I felt his lips touch mine . " Mel , you ok ? " Taylor asked , causing everyone to become quiet as they looked at me . " Uh - huh . " I nodded and smiled . I traded glances with Ike once the conversation resumed . His expression held pleasure . For he , as well as I did , knew that in my moment of reflection , our encounter didn 't stop with a kiss . The slight smile he gave me as a blush began to take over his face and he quickly turned away , told me all I wanted to know . His mind had let him take our kiss to a farther point as well . What are you thinking ? I scolded myself . What is wrong with you ? You 'll never get away with anything like this . Oh God , Isaac , damn you for this ! I had to stop . I couldn 't though . No matter how hard I tried , I couldn 't stop thinking about him . I wanted to kiss him agaiFor the next couple of hours , we 'd all snacked and taken naps . Then we began to pack things up and clean the bus a little bit . The morning sun was very bright and we were even more anxious to be at home . The bus rolled down the highway and into the country part of Tulsa . Slowly , through the trees , the Hanson house came into view . As Dave pulled in through the gate and up beside the house , Zoe came running outside followed by Avery . Dave opened the door and we stepped off . Diana and Walker came outside , soon trailed by Jessica and Mack . We all hugged and chatted excitedly before making our way into the house . Dave and Shelly were also anxious to get home so they left within a few minutes . The house came to life with conversation and laughter . The smell of home cooking from that morning and country garden air freshener filled the whole downstairs part of the house . We were finally home . The feeling of joy that only a long overdue homecoming could bring was thick in the air . I wanted to feel it as long as I possibly could . Diana and Walker seemed to hang onto it as well . Taylor , Tori and Ike also made it go on longer than it really was expected to . Zac and his younger siblings all seemed to be completely unaware of how quickly it would fade . They knew nothing of the shock , sadness and regret that would set over the home within the next two weeks .

Alex didn 't see Tersa again during the next few days . He took it as a good sign that most likely she was getting the care that she needed . Besides , he had his own family 's issues to deal with . His mother 's wake had all been paid for and arranged . It was a true testament to her character to see how many people showed up for it that Saturday . Alex stood away from his mother 's casket to avoid as much of the heartfelt commiseration as possible . Sympathy wasn 't his thing ; he really didn 't need to hear anyone else tell him how sorry they were . He appreciated the semtiment , but it did not make him feel any better . The next day was his mother 's funeral . Saint John 's in Windsted was a small wooden church . Like everything else in the town , it was very old . There was no air conditioning during the summer hours and only minimal heat in the winters due to the building being poorly insulated . Alex remembered the pastor , Father Moran , saying that it was a good test of the steadfastness of the parishioners . Alex didn 't appreciate the joke , both because he was one of those poor people stuck either sweating or shivering , and because he was not so steadfast . To him , being there was a reminder of his failure . There was no getting away from it . As he entered the church , he looked at the Holy Water . Instinctively , he moved his right hand to dip his finger in , but then stopped . As his fingers hovered over the water , it began to feel like it was burning . It was an odd sensation that gave him pause for a few moments . As it subsided , he shook his head and pulled away from the fountain . He didn 't view himself as worthy enough to be blessed anyway . The funeral lasted about an hour as the normal rituals and annointments were performed . Alex stood with Stephen near by , though neither one spoke to the other . Stephen was barely holding himself together and Alex , try as he might , was barely there at all . He felt bad , but his mind was distracted with a million questions . The funeral ended and everyone made their way to cemetery in town . Alex was the last in line . He stayed near the head of her casket . His eyes stared at the black marble gravestone throughout the final farewell . Once it was over , the guests slowly left the gravesite while the undertaker worked to get the casket lowered into the ground . Many of them proceeded to Jake 's , a small restaurant in town that Alex 's mother used to frequent . Little by little , the crowd thinned until Alex stood alone , or so he thought . Alex 's solemn vigil over his mother was interrupted by the sound of footsteps behind him . Someone was approaching . He could see the shadow of a tall man standing behind him . Sgt . McConnel frowned , " Listen , I want to apologize for my behavior at the hospital . I was out of line . Tersa is actually very upset with me now because of it . She told me everything . You were very kind to take her in . " " Not really … they conducted all sorts of tests and even had a psychiatrist talk to her . As far as they can tell , she 's perfectly healthy . None of them can explain what happened then or now … " A look appeared on Sgt . McConnel 's face that made it look like he 'd seen the devil himself , " I … things have been happening that I can 't explain . My daughter 's eyes go dark , she speaks in languages she that couldn 't possibly know , and it 's like one minute we 're talking to the girl we raised , the next minute … it 's something else . " Sgt . McConnel shook his head , " I 'm not a man of faith , Alex . My wife is about as superstitious as they come and my daughter frequents church , but I 've always been sort of agnostic . " Alex sighed . Sgt . McConnel was apparently very good at laying a guilt trip on good and thick . Every fiber of his being told Alex to remain silent , but he ignored it , " If I have time tomorrow , I 'll come by and talk to her … but I make no promises and I doubt I 'll be able to help . " A moment later , Alex was alone next to his mother 's grave . Looking at the coffin , he 's head began to shake ever so slightly and the voices from behind entered his mind . He quickly reached for a cigarette , only to discover that he hadn 't brought any . The words echoed through his mind . He pressed on his temples with his hands and attempted to force the voice from his mind , " Go away … you 're not real … Get out ! " Alex immediately looked up to see the undertaker eyeing him suspiciously . He was an older man in a rather worn out leather jacket . Alex nodded , " I don 't suppose you smoke ? " He immediately lit one up and took a puff . The voices in his head went silent , at least for a little while . The undertaker watched him as he worked the cigarette , " You look terrible . " He didn 't wait for a response and instead headed down to his car . The old Cadillac was the last car in what was a big line going down the winding road of the graveyard . It stood silently , alone and waiting for him . Alex opened the door and sat in the driver 's seat , taking a drag every few minutes before tossing the remains out the window and the pack on the passenger 's seat . As he started the car , he began to reflect on his situation . He didn 't like being alone , in fact he hated it . What he feared above all else was being in his late 60s or 70s , sitting alone at a bar , drinking himself stupid . A man , who wouldn 't be taken seriously by anyone , ever and was little more than a pathetic has - been with no family to comfort him at night and no friends to confide in . Alex sat back and embraced the grim reality . That 's exactly what he was . His books had earned him a comfortable life , but how long would that last ? He was once someone who was surrounded by friends and never truly knew the meaning of the word ' alone . ' How did that change ? That 's when it came to him ; he should never have joined the seminary . He was a man who deep down wanted a family and wanted people around all the time . The vows that were about to be asked of him , he would never have been able to accept . He was kidding himself . IV Alex got into his car and headed down the road in the opposite direction from the one he came . He turned on to Smithfield Road and a moment later , turned on to Pleasant Hill Road . He kept his eyes open for any sign of Tersa . Chills ran down his spine as the feeling that her time was running out continued to linger in his mind . Alex slowly drove by and looked at the workers . At that moment , he saw another black figure standing off to the side where the tree stump was . It quickly vanished the moment he looked away to make sure that he was still going straight . He tried to ignore the figure as he wasn 't sure whether or not his mind was messing with him again . Much to his disappointment , he arrived home with no sign of Tersa anywhere . Alex became frustrated and slammed his hand on the wheel . Where could she be ? Could he really have imagined everything that happened the previous night ? Was it even possible ? Many of his previous halucinations had been very convincing , meaning that he could not rule the possibility out . He pulled into his driveway and went inside . He needed to figure out what his next move was and grabbed his cellphone , off of the entry way table . The house was as he left it without a single thing had been moved . At that moment , he noticed something out of place . Tersa 's black raincoat was still hanging in the foyer . She had been there , all doubt had been erased , but why had she not taken it ? Could she have forgotten it as she hurried out the door ? Alex sincerely doubted it . He ran upstairs and into the bathroom to confirm his suspicions . To his horror , Tersa 's clothes were still in the tub . While one worried had been put to rest , a far greater one had reared its head . Where ever she was , she had no defense , not even against the elements . He didn 't know why , but he knew that he had to find her , and quickly . Where could he go and look now ? He already checked around the house , the center of town , and all parts in between . What was left ? It was a small town with very few places to hide . Alex decided to head out to the older side of town where Tersa lived . It was the only place that he hadn 't checked . It was also where the remains of that old cemetery were . He grabbed his phone , dashed outside , and slid back into his car . Moments later , the car was speeding down Pleasant Hill Road . His mind wandered back to Rome as the car picked up speed . What demons was he welcoming into his own life by getting involved with this girl ? Could he truly handle more when his own demons haunted him so ? A honking horn brought him back to reality and he quickly swirved to miss an oncoming car . He breathed heavily and wiped the sweat from his brow as he regained control of his car . It turned on to Main Street and followed it for five miles until he reached Pilgrim Avenue . On the left side of the road was a line of houses . Every few hundred feet , one popped up out from behind the trees as Alex drove by . On the right side of the road were marsh lands and cranberry bogs for as far as he could see . As he continued driving , the remains of a large , burnt out oak tree came into view . It was the one tree that stood in the middle of the field , at least what was left of it . The tree had been sliced in half by the lightning strike and the other piece had long since been removed by the town . Around the tree were small , worn down , stones that had once been gravestones . There had presumably been a fence there at one point , but it had long since been overtaken by nature . It was an eerie sight and something about the tree began to call to Alex . His eyes fluttered and he heard the voices that he 'd heard the night before with Tersa . His head felt heavy as the whispers passed through his head , " We 're here … we 're with you … " Relief finally came when he sucked the smoke into his lungs . He sat back as the voices in his head slowly went quiet . Smoke poured out of his nose as he slowly reopened his eyes . His head rested on the back of his seat as he savored the moment . As Alex 's eyelids open , a small brown blur near the dead tree appeared . He blinked a few times as he pushed the car door open . His eyes remained transfixed on the brown figure in the distance . He was certain that it was human . Alex quickly began running towards the tree , hoping that the figure was Tersa . He ran through wet grass to the open field . The closer he got , the more his mind began flutter . The voices slowly began to enter his mind again , despite his trying to block them out . Out of breath with legs that were soaked to the bone from the wet grass , Alex stopped a few hundred feet away . He struggled to catch his breath and coughed as he looked up at the dead tree . I guess this is what happens when you smoke too much ! Alex looked at the figure . It was definitely Tersa . The robe that she was wearing was wet and her hair was matted to her head , but it was definitely her . She was completely motionless . Had Alex not known better , Tersa could have passed as a statue . He couldn 't see her face as he cautiously stepped closer . When he got to within twenty feet of her , he saw that she was holding a sharpened stone and had been carving an image of what looked like the Sun , into the trunk of the tree . He still couldn 't make out her face , but she seemed entranced . At first , she didn 't move , but as he took another step closer she instantly came to life . Her head turned at incredible speeds and looked up at him . Her eyes were as black as coal and her face was twisted into a dark expression that almost looked demonic . She pointed an accusing finger at him and began screaming at a pitch that her voice should not have been capable of , " Quam audeo vestri ! Defensor fidem haberet . Defensor videre potest bonum . Vides tantum malum ! " Completely startled by her outburt , Alex staggered backwards . He had learned Latin in both College and the seminary , but her screaming made it hard for him to understand what she had said . Clearly she had accused him of something and then mentioned a defender having faith , but that was all he got . Tersa , or whatever was controlling her stared at Alex , waiting for a response . He had a bad feeling that if he didn 't say something soon , he would be under attack , " Qui estis ? " ( Who are you ? ) Alex 's eyes narrowed as he looked at her . He was almost completely paralyzed by fear . He wanted to reach out to her , but something held him back . He was completely powerless . Tersa 's eyes rolled over white and closed . She collapsed on the wet ground . She began to shake as she looked up at Alex with her normal brown eyes . Her pleading look shot Alex straight through the heart , " Alex … ? Please … help me ! " Alex couldn 't stand it any longer and forced himself forward . He quickly knelt down and ripped off his shirt . Looking away as he worked , he quickly pulled the soaked robe off and ran the shirt over her head . It wasn 't much , but a dry shirt would protect her better than a wet robe . The moment she had the shirt on , he ran his hands under her back and legs . Her body was as cold as ice and the shaking had not stopped . He picked her up and began running as quickly as he could back to his car . Alex had left the door open when he ran to Tersa 's aid . He slid inside and rested her on the passenger 's seat . She was still shaking as he started up the car . Alex turned on the heat , but wasn 't sure if it would help . She was as white as a ghost . Her skin was normally pale , but this was white even for her . Tersa 's breathing slowed as her eyes glossed over . She looked exhausted as she curled up on the seat . It was clear that she was getting sick . The relief of finding her had to take a back seat to him getting her the medical help she clearly needed . The closest hospital , Cooley Dickinson , was about twenty minutes up the road . He hit the gas in an effort to cut down on the time , " Hold on Tersa , we 're going to get you some help . It 'll be okay , I promise . " Tersa lost consciousness before he could finish . Alex pulled the phone out of his pocket and activated the voice recognition software . The phone came to life and beeped , indicating that it was ready for a command . The phone beeped , did a quick search of the web , and brought up the phone number . Alex tapped on the screen , allowing the phone to dial and connect . The phone rang for a few moments before an unenthusiastic voice picked up , " Windsted Police Department . " There was a pause on the other end . Alex could hear the rusteling of a few pieces of paper as he waited . Finally the voice came back , " All right , he 's not at the station , so I 'm going to see if I can get him on the line and transfer you in , hold on . " There was a beep and then silence . Alex watched as the trees blew by on either side of the road . He had no idea how he was going to explain this to Tersa 's father , but he knew that he had to . He waited as a small group of buildings blew by when he turned on to Route 9 , heading East . He hadn 't been down Berkshire Trail in a while and was feeling slightly nostalgic . This was in many ways his exit from the small town . Alex let out a deep sigh . He understood her father 's tone , but he was trying too hard to concentrate on driving , " Sir , I can 't really do that at the moment . What I can say is that your daughter is alive , she 's … not hurt that I can see , but I 'm taking her to Cooley Dickinson Hospital right now . She 's pale and was soaked to the bone when I found her . Meet me there and I 'll be happy to explain everything , but right now I have to focus on driving . " A moment later , a group of nurses burst through the door to the ER floor with a stretcher . Alex laid her down on the blue vinyl cushion . The nurses quickly wrapped her in a blanket and proceeded to bring her inside . One stayed behind to speak to Alex . She was an older woman with graying blond hair . Clearly she had been there a while as she didn 't seem phased by what had just happened , " Sir , how do you know this girl ? " The nurse nodded , " That 's good enough . All right , we 'll take care of her . Have her parents let the receptionist know when they get here . " The nurse turned and disappeared back through the doors . Alex sat down in one of the padded chairs against the wall . He still had no clue what was going on , but he was quickly getting the feeling that a hospital wasn 't what she needed . Too little , too late . Alex 's thoughts were disturbed as a large man in unform and an older woman with a worried look on her face ran through the sliding doors into the ER . He watched as they approached the secretary and gave their names . He couldn 't hear what they were saying , but he saw her point them in his direction . He recognized them as Sgt . McConnel and his wife . The old officer had a look on his face that made Alex 's blood run cold . He half expected that he was about to take a hook to the jaw . Alex lowered his eyes , " I met your daughter last night , her car broke down and she was walking in the massive storm . Her cell phone wasn 't working and I just happened to be outside at the right time , grabbing some supplies when she walked by . The power had gone out on my block . It was sheer luck that I saw her . I took her back to see if we could get her car started , but there was nothing I could do . She looked like she was ready to panic so I brought her back to my place to dry off . I couldn 't get her home because of the tree that came down , so I let her stay in my guest bedroom . By the next morning , she was gone … " " Maybe I should have . " Alex admitted . " I thought you 'd bring me in for questioning or something like that . I wanted to help search … I felt responsible . Look , I 'm sorry for that , but I did find her and I called you as soon as I could . " Sgt . McConnel looked back at Alex , " I am not happy that you didn 't come clean with this sooner . Hopefully my daughter will wake up soon , and you better hope she corroborates your story . " Alex was tired . Tersa 's parents were there and it didn 't look like they were up for having company , especially not someone with a previous history . Satisfied that he could do all he good , he decided it was time to go , " Well now that you 're here , I should probably let you be . I have some family issues of my own to attend to . " Mrs . McConnel 's eyes lit up in shock as she remembered , " Oh my goodness , yes . Alex , I 'm so sorry . We 've just been stressed out . I was very sorry to hear about your mother . She was a wonderful woman . I spent many an afternoon with her . " Alex didn 't say another word and turned to leave , no longer caring for being under the accusing eye of Tersa 's father . He 'd done his job , now it was up to her parents and the doctors . He headed back out to his car and pulled out of the parking lot , stopping only for a moment at the hospital exit . I sincerely hope I 'm wrong about all of this … Alex retreated to bed in his old room . It was clean , but the old posters on the wall had faded and began to fall off . His mother hadn 't changed anything or made any effort to turn his room into a guest room . Clearly she 'd expected him to come home at some point , though he had other plans , she never gave up hope . It was yet one more sin on Alex 's soul . He had no way of repenting for this one . He had missed his chance when that drunk slammed into his mother 's old Chevy . Regret and sorrow only made him even more susceptible to exhaustion . His eyes fluttered and he finally went to sleep . As his eyes closed , his field of vision became painted red . He fought to reopen them again , but the red hue persisted all around him , " What … what is this ? " At that moment , a cross appeared in his field of vision . The moment that it fully materialized , a woman slowly began to appear . She was naked except for a few strategically placed rags and her hands and feet were nailed to each end of the cross . A crown of thorns adorned her head , causing blood to drip out from undernieth it . At first , the woman looked dead . There was no way that anyone could survive that level of brutality for long . However as her features became more clear to his eyes , she began to move . The image suddenly faded and reappeared in front of his eyes . To his horror , Tersa now appeared in front of him . Alex was confused , " Why her ? Nothing I did had any affect on her life . I don 't understand . " More blood began to pour from her hands and feet as her body fell limp . The world suddenly faded to black , forcing him back into consciousness . He woke up in a puddle of his own sweat , breathing heavily . Much to his surprise , it was already morning . The storm was over , but the clouds had not yet passed the town over . Alex got up and went to the door to check on Tersa . He quietly exited his room and went to the guest room door . He slowly opened the door to take a quick peak and to make sure that she was okay . At first , he didn 't see anything , just a mess of tangled sheets . Afraid of what he might find , he pushed the door open hard . Tersa was gone . In a panic , Alex quickly turned to the bathroom to see if she 'd gotten up . The bathroom was empty . Maybe she went to the kitchen for something to eat ? That was empty too . Oh God , what happened ? Alex began to feel the same sense of dread that he 'd felt that day at the Vatican . He needed to get out and find her . Maybe she woke up early and wanted to get home ? He threw on a new set of clothes and ran out the door . Without a second 's hesitation , he jumped into the family car , turned it over , and shot out of the garage as fast as he could . He was determined to find her . The Cadillac barreled down the road at almost twice the speed limit . Within minutes , he found the Oldsmobile right where they had left it , but where was she ? Had he hallucinated being there her somehow ? Alex shook his head . That wasn 't possible . Where the hallucinations had become fuzzy afterwards , he remembered her being there clearly , and how else would he have known about the car ? So where could she be ? Another quick search of the house revealed nothing . There was no evidence that she 'd been there . A sense of panic flowed over him . Too much didn 't add up from the night before . The power going out when it did , Tersa getting stuck on the side of the road , him just happening to be outside at the right moment to see her , the tree falling , and the whispers on the wind was all too much . One looking at all this from the outside could have dismissed them all as coincidence , but Alex suspected that there was something darker behind all of this . Did something want them to cross paths ? Finally , he turned left at the other side of Pleasant Hill Road and then onto Main Street . He pulled his car right up in front of the police station and paid the meter to park for a few hours . So where should he start looking ? Should he go to the police ? Windsted , Massachusetts was a fairly small town with less than 1500 people living there . Everyone knew everyone from the town , so it would be a good place to start . However , if no one had seen her and he started asking questions , it may seem suspicious and if he had been imagining the whole thing , he would look like a lunatic . Alex lit up a cigarette and pondered his options for a moment . His thoughts were quickly interrupted by the door to the police station flying open and an older , well - built , man in uniform came down the stone steps . He had a stressed look on his face . The officer stopped for a moment and looked at Alex , " Oh so you 're back in town … I 'm sorry , but I don 't have time to chat right now , my daughter didn 't come home last night . She was out celebrating her 24th birthday party . " What could Alex do ? If he told the officer the truth , he 'd be a suspect in her disappearance . He 'd be hauled in for questioning while whoever had her was able to finish whatever they were doing . Tersa 's time might be running out . Being hauled in for questioning meant one less set of eyes out looking for her . He didn 't like lying , but felt that it was the lesser of two evils in this case , " Um … theres a car that looks like that on the side of the road Pleasant Hill Road , but I didn 't see her . " Alex nodded as the officer hopped in his car and pulled away without another word . Her birthday ? She didn 't mention that … The date was the 13th of October . Alex shook his head at the odd coincidence . The 13th … well that 's a bad omen if ever there was one . Alex paced for a few minutes thinking of where he should look next . At that moment , he saw a dark figure clad in all in black , watching him from a distance . The figure had a menacing aura about it , but made no move to confront him . Alex was about to cross the street when the blare of a loud horn made him jump back . A large truck entered his line of sight as it drove by . Once it passed , the figure was no longer on the other side of the road . What was going on ? Directly behind where the man had been standing was the town library . It was an impressive stone building for such a small community . Was this a sign that he was supposed to go in there ? He had too many unanswered questions . Where was Tersa , why was her date of birth becoming significant ? Something didn 't add up . Then he remembered something his uncle had said to him . There hadn 't been a storm like the one that rocked Windsted in the area for almost 25 years . Tersa was 24 . What was going on ? Alex needed answers and standing on the curb wasn 't going to yield any . He abruptly crossed the street and went into the library . From the front door , he was immediately drawn to the microfilm room with all of the old Newspaper articles from the town . Alex 's hands shook with either fear or anticipation as he brought up the October 13th , 1990 . His eyes scanned over the page . Nothing . There was a mild thunderstorm on the day of her birth , but the date was otherwise insignificant . What could he be missing ? There had to be some sort of connection there . Something was not adding up right . Alex sat back and stared at the image on the Windsted Sun for a few moments . He said 25 years … not 24 … and Tersa mentioned when her mother found out that she was pregnant . Alex 's fingers went flying back about nine months and slowly made his way through the papers . It took him 20 minutes to find what he was looking for . Finally a paper came up on the screen showing damaged trees and heavy rain . There it was , February 3rd , 1990 . It was a very unusual time of year for such a storm . According to the paper , the meteorolergists were baffled by its sudden appearance . He continued scrolling until he reached the next day 's paper . It took a few minutes of his eyes scanning the pages before he stumbled on a small article off to the side . The title was in bold black letters . At first , this didn 't seem significant , but something in the page caught his eye . The word ' Quetzalcoatl ' jumped out at him . It was an odd thing to see in a story about a tree , so he turned back and began reading the article . Witnesses claim that a random bolt of lightning struck the tree , causing it to break and burn . The tree is situated in what was once a local grave yard . Where it has stood for 300 years . Records of Windsted dating back to the 1690s indicate that a young woman by the name of Rachel Proctor had been discovered praying to the Aztec God Quetzalcoatl . She was immediately tried for heresey and witchcraft , and sentenced to hang . Rachel is believed to be one of the earliest people tried for witchcraft . Her family pleaded with the local clergy to allow her to be burried . The clergy agreed only if a tree were planted over her grave to bind her wicked soul . Until yesterday 's storm , that tree remained as a silent reminder of past crimes . Alex went pale and pushed away from the film projector . He had heard of this practice being done by the Amish , but this was the first historical case of it that he had read about . Ordinarily , he dismissed things like this as ancient superstition , but after what he saw in Rome , he wasn 't so sure any more . So Tersa was concieved around the same time that the tree was destroyed . There was another , much smaller storm on the day of her birth , and now on her 24th birthday , a raging storm hits Windsted and she disappears the next morning . Could this all be connected somehow ? Alex put a hand to his head , " Okay , this is nuts . I 'm letting my own fears get the better of me and come to life . Most likely she left my house early , walked home , and she got there after her father left . " He wanted to believe that , but why would she leave without saying goodbye ? Why wouldn 't she call her folks ? Her phone may have been dead and maybe she didn 't want to wake him up to ask if she could use his . It was plausible , but likely ? Alex 's head was beginning to hurt . He decided that the best thing to do was head back home going the way she would have walked . Maybe he 'd see something that would give him a clue . He turned off the microfilm and turned to leave the library . His father 's Cadillac was where he 'd left it , however now there was another black figure standing in front of it . This one looked taller than the first . A sympathetic look appeared on his face , " Who could blame you , with what happened to your mother and all . You look like you haven 't slept in days . I 'm really sorry buddy . I know how close you were with your family . " " Of course , lord knows you 've kept quiet many times for me . I just hope it 's not too illegal … What is it ? " Henry laughed . " Yeah , her car broke down and she couldn 't get home . She spent the night , but when I woke up she was gone . The guest room was empty . " " Go to the police soon . If you don 't find her , let them take over . That 's their job and you 've got enough on your plate . " Henry looked back at the convenient store that his father owned , " All right man … well I need to get back and deal with a missing order . I 'll be at your mother 's wake this weekend . When you 've got everything together , call me . We 'll grab a drink and catch up . " I 'm sorry , I miss the 80s . Growing up in the late 80s and watching the slow decline into the early 90s was really amongst the greatest time to be a kid . Nintendo NES was everywhere , Sega Masters was where it wasn 't . Free range parenting was a thing , the internet was barely a dream in the eyes of computer engineers , people actually went out and talked to others , MTV still actually had dealt in music instead of racist undertones , and THIS was the type of stuff you heard of the radio . The fall of music with the Boy Band Wars wasn 't even seen coming yet . When to Listen : Whirlwind love scenes . This song works so perfectly for them , but I 'd recommend putting it on your general playlist as well . Its an upbeat song , a style of which we don 't see anymore … heck EVEN TIFFANY doesn 't sound like this anymore . She 's lost her hair metal growl . So sit back , close your eyes , and picture torn jeans , studded leather , big hair , and incredibly cheesy rotoscoped cartoons ! This one … well it has nothing to do with any of the other novels I 've written . This one is a standalone suspense novel I tried to work with . At first it looked like it was really taking off , but then it sort of last traction and I 've suffered writers block with it to the point of abandonment for more important work . Today was like any other for Alex Hendrickson as he exited his flight . The chaos of Boston 's Logan airport was an old , but familiar sight . People were running around trying to either get to , or leave their flights , at least ten different languages were being spoken , and heartfelt hellos and farewells were being exchanged . It was the same monotony that Alex had seen at every airport he 'd ever been to . In the past , it was at this point when Alex stepped through the gate that his mother would usually cause as scene . He remembered that she would always come running to him , throw her arms around him and completely embarrass him as mothers typically do . He remembered always tensing up , hoping somehow that his mother wouldn 't be there to pick him up , that she would be at home making a celebratory meal for him or something . He remembered closing his eyes so as not to have to deal with any of the odd looks that would have been directed at him by people passing by . Alex now regretted feeling that way as he now had his wish . His mother had been in a fatal car accident and did not even make it to the hospital . As he stepped away from the terminal , raggedy suitcase in hand , he was greeted by his uncle Stephen , " How are you boy ? " Alex paused . Why did going to his hometown bother him ? He had nothing but pleasant memories of growing up in Windsted . Why now would he dread going back there ? " It just doesn 't feel right anymore . " Stephen shrugged as they stepped outside . A cool blast of autumn air caressed Alex 's face . Stephen shook his head as Alex reached into his pocket and pulled out a pack of Marlboros . He was about to light up when his eyes caught sight of an elderly nun collecting donations . His eyes drifted from the nun to the crucifix she had on the table . With the unlit cigarette hanging from his mouth , he walked over and took a closer look . To his horror , it was not an image of the Son of God that was hanging by its hands and feet , but a woman that was about his age . Her face bore a look of absolute terror . He was about to turn away when the small face began to move . Alex stood petrified as he looked down on the statue with his hands shaking . What was this aborration ? The woman 's cheeks were soaked with both tears and blood as she looked pleadingly at him and spoke softly , " Why ? " Alex looked at the crucifix again . It was just like any other . The woman was gone , replaced by the typical image of the lord and savior . Had it been a hallucination ? How could it be ? Nicotine withdrawals don 't cause hallucinations . He had also been drinking more since he discovered that his mother had died , but he was not an alcoholic . Still , he had not gotten a full night 's sleep in a while , perhaps that was the answer . Alex turned away without another word and lit up the cigarette as Stephen guided him away . Alex closed his eyes and took a long drag into his lungs of the cigarette . Smoke shot out of his nose as his shaking subsided . Sweet relief … Stephen 's car was an old Lincoln town car . It was one of the few luxuries that he had ever been able to afford and it took him years to build up enough money . The car was almost twelve years old by this point , but it was well maintained and probably ran better than many cars half Alex knew what the question was going to be and dreaded it . " Would it matter if I said no ? " Alex asked , already fully aware of the answer . Alex knew that he owed his family some explanation . Becoming a man of the cloth was something that he had dreamed about since he was young . More than anything , he wanted to be one of those people who fought for God against Lucifer . An exorcist , yes he thought that was the perfect job for himself . Alex silently chuckled as he remembered how naive he was . As he pulled more tobacco into his lungs , he remembered the first time he stood before the Athenaeum Pontificium Regina Apostolorum in Rome . He was so proud to be included in this program before even becoming a priest . It was rare , but willing exorcists were becoming sparce . So the Church made an exception . Stephen kept the car at a steady pace . Alex looked over at him breifly . Stephen had always been like a second father to him , far more than most people can say about their uncles . Now he was the only family that Alex had left . It was a realization that only tacked on to the guilt he already felt , " Look … I 'm sorry . I shouldn 't snap at you like that . " A half smile appeared on the left side of Stephen 's face where Alex couldn 't see it , " You 've been through a lot , boy . Not the least of which being your mother 's passing . Don 't worry about it , you get a pass this time . " " I don 't know , Doctor . He just started convulsing . We were monitoring him after his skin became discolored , and then he flat - lined . " Corban McConnell felt his body slipping away and was powerless to stop it . He tried to scream , but Adramelech would not allow him enough control over his own muscles to do it . He was trapped in a cage in his own mind , one that he could not escape from . All he could do was sit and watch helplessly as the demon destroyed his world . Corban could feel a burning sensation in his chest where the crucifix that his mother gave him used to reside . It had been removed when he had been committed , but the scar from where it had been remained . When Adramelech possessed him , it felt as though someone had cast the crucifix into a fireplace and allowed it to get red hot before placing it around his neck . The blessed artifact had kept Adramelech at bay , but it eventually began to cause him pain . The doctors had long since removed it , fearing that he could use the chain to harm himself . It was the final nail in his proverbial coffin . Corban had been cursed with the demon for almost a year and it had been slowly and painfully gnawing away at him . His stomach was so tight that he had not been able to eat much in months . He was emaciated and covered in scars from head to toe , his face bearing the worst of it . The demon had forced him to abuse himself and those around him in every way physically possible . He had been forced to alienate the ones he cared for the most for their own safety and allow himself to be locked away in a safe room at Mclean Hospital . He spent the last few weeks restrained to a hospital bed while doctors wired him with monitors and probes . His dark brown hair had been shaved down to little more than stubble to prevent him from ripping it out . He was aware that his mental state was continuing to deteriorate . It would only be a matter of time until Adramelech gained full control and was able to cause his organs to rupture . He was soon transferred to Massachusetts General Hospital to deal with his injuries . He didn 't really have the consciousness to care about the difference of scenery . He was too busy fighting the entity within to even acknowledge the new doctors that were looking after him . Corban watched one of the nurses quickly pull a small cart over with a pair of pads resting on top of them . Another nurse began chest compressions while a third pumped oxygen into him with an ambu bag . The group ignored the sounds of the machines around them as they went to work in a futile attempt to save their patient 's life . The doctor waited a moment for the defibrillator to charge . Corban braced himself as he listened to the high - pitched sound of the electricity power up as the device came to life . When the indicator on the defibrillator turned red , the doctor returned his attention to Corban , " Everybody , clear ! " Corban 's lifeless body convulsed as the electricity flowed through it . Once the system turned off , the group began CPR again . Every alarm was still sounding off , indicating that he was still flat lined . The monitoring nurse shook her head as she checked Corban for any response , " No pulse . " Doctor Morgan had been with Corban since he was transferred . He knew that Doctor Morgan had read the report on the events surrounding Corban 's transfer and was sure that the whole case had him perplexed . The failed medical treatments which had both therapists and doctors alike baffled were bad enough , but then his psychological report also mentioned an exorcism that had somehow made his condition worse . He didn 't know if the doctor was a believer or not , but he somehow doubted it . Adramelech had allowed him to live through each of these experiences while keeping him in a comatose state . He couldn 't react , speak , or move , but he could see and feel as that was all that the demon would allow . It was as close to Hell as he 'd ever been . The lead surgeon , Doctor Teach met Doctor Morgan in the surgical prep room as his team rushed to get Corban ready . He could hear them talking from the next room . Doctor Teach 's voice had a detectable level of concern , " Status ? " As Corban 's bed was wheeled into OR 2 , the surgeon immediately went to work , prepping him for surgery . His body began to tremble as even more alarms went off . Doctor Teach knew that he was running out of time , " There 's blood coming out of his mouth . He 's most likely suffering from internal hemorrhaging . We need to get in there now or we 're going to lose him . " Corban fought to regain some control and closed his eyes as he heard the machines nearby begin to beep in alarm . His head turned to the side and his world went completely blank . At that moment , all doubt was banished from his mind . Death was inevitable . Father … into your hands , I commend my spirit . Adramelech cackled in the back of his mind , " He can 't save you now , no one can ! You are mine and you always will be ! " You can 't have my soul , Adramelech . You 've destroyed my body , but that 's all you 'll ever take . You … will lose ! " Small words … even the priest who tried to exorcise me failed and he is a man of faith . You have always been a man of doubt . What do you possibly think you can do now ? " In a desperate attempt to shut the demon out , Corban thought back to his last day with his girlfriend , Janine . He remembered how her long blonde hair blew in the breeze as she stepped out of his jeep . It was a very bittersweet memory . The last few months of their relationship had been rocky . They both went to college in different places which put considerable strain on their relationship . In hindsight , that was probably a good thing for them both . Corban would not need to worry about her as much as she would have an easier time moving on . In his heart , he 'd known that their relationship would not have survived more than a few months anyway . A beep on the wall caused Corban to snap back into reality . He was back on the operating table in Mass General 's Division of Trauma . Though not conscious , he was fully aware of what was happening . Adramelech would not allow him to miss a minute of the pain . Even the medications that were being pumped through his body could not keep the demon at bay . I 'm sorry Janine , Corban thought to himself . I have to break my promise . I can 't be there anymore . I hope you have a wonderful life … Adramelech cackled in his mind , " That 's it , let her go . There is no escape for you now . Let go of all you hold dear and submit . " Corban knew exactly what he had to do . He dreaded it , but knew that Adramelech would never let him be at peace as long as the demon lurked in his mind . As long as the demon was there , he would forever be a slave . He pulled together what little mental fortitude he had left and blocked out Adramelech one last time . He had regained control of his body just long enough to release himself . He had to act quickly as this was the only chance he 'd get . Just one last push . Corban appreciated everything that the doctors were doing , but he knew that his body was broken . Even if he wanted to remain , he knew that it was no longer an option . If he didn 't vacate , Adramelech would have a chance to regain control . As Corban braced himself , he could feel the sense of nervousness in his mind . Adramelech reached out to him , " Wait … wait , if you try to cast me out , you 'll die too . We 've become too intertwined for you to survive . " Corban braced himself for the coming shock to his system . No doubt it was going to be painful , but it couldn 't possibly be worse than what he had already experienced . He was spent and nothing that happened now was going to faze him . Before the surgeon could continue , Corban smiled at the lights above him . He was unable to speak with the tube down his throat , but he still managed to smile widely . The game is over , Adramelech ! You 've lost , now go back to Hell ! At that moment , Corban 's eyes closed forever . His body went pale . As his world blurred out , he could hear the screams of the scanners hooked up to his body , trying to find any sign of life . It sounded as though they were in a panic . The surgical team went frantic as they went to work in an attempt to save his life . Yet even amidst the chaos , Corban was able to take solace in the fact that he had won . He had denied Adramelech his prize , but would now face the consequences for doing so . An hour later , it was all over . The surgical team had done everything that they could , but his body was not responding . Doctor Teach lowered his eyes as he was finally forced to admit defeat , " He 's gone . " The surgical team had lost patients before . It was something that came with the job , but it never got easier . There was nothing more they could do . As the nurses went to work clearing out the equipment , the surgeon braced himself to give Corban 's loved ones the bad news . As a high risk surgeon , he 'd had to deliver this news before , and it was always the part of the job that he hated the most . Doctor Teach didn 't have an answer for her . He 'd never seen anything like that before , " I have no idea . I can 't explain it , but he almost looked like he 'd just won a fight . " Doctor Morgan left the OR , got cleaned up and headed out to the waiting room where Corban 's mother had been sitting with Janine for hours , waiting for news . It was late and the lights in the waiting room were dim . The lighting mixed with the plain colors of the walls provided anyone in the room a rather calm feeling . The dim light also provided the perfect vale for a pair of dark figures that stood in the corner , one male , and one female . Both were paying close attention to the scene that was about to unfold with Corban 's family . The male figure studied the facial expressions of Corban 's mother and Janine while the female one appeared to be completely disinterested . She preferred to hang back , leaning on the wall . The quiet was quickly interrupted when doors to the OR slowly parted and the two doctors appeared at the entrance . The figures watched intently as Corban 's mother stood up with Janine holding her by the arm , " Well Doctor , did everything go okay ? How is he ? When can we see him ? " " I 'm afraid we don 't really know , we were working to repair the hemorrhage and he was responding really well , but then he suddenly regained consciousness . He looked up with a big smile on his face , and then became lifeless . We have no idea how it happened . Our instruments were finely tuned before the procedure and our anesthesiologist double checked just to make sure . All attempts to resuscitate him failed . It 's like he didn 't want to be brought back . " The female figure stepped forward and studied Corban 's mother . Though she still looked pale and was about to get sick , a small feeling of relief comforted her as she realized what had happened . She was barely able to speak and her words were little more than a whisper , but everyone was able to hear her , " He beat it … it cost him his life , but he freed himself of that … thing inside of him . " Doctor Teach rubbed his hands together gently as spoke to Corban 's mother , " I 'm really sorry that everything turned out this way . We do have on - sight counselors that are trained to help your loss … I could arrange for one to come by if you 'd like to speak with them ? " Grief counselors . The female figure thought to herself . As if they 'd do any good here . " Mary , watch the younger woman . " The male figure said quietly to the female . " She 'd known Corban since childhood and loved him for almost that long . Their relationship may have been on the rocks , but she still cared deeply for him . " From her vantage point , Mary could see Janine 's face . Though in pain herself , Janine was doing the best she could to comfort Corban 's mother and remain strong . She hugged the older woman and rubbed her arms , knowing that as bad as she felt , his mother had lost the last of her family . It looked like Doctor Morgan was doing the best he could to sound certain , but the quiver in his voice made his words harder to believe , " No , I don 't believe so . He was heavily sedated , so it 's unlikely that he felt anything . As for the rest … well his suffering is over now . " " It 's not every mortal human that can stand up to a demon as fierce as Adramelech . " Mary agreed . " Still , I think this is a really bad idea . He 's a possession victim . You remember what 's happened every other time , yeah ? " Mary sighed , she knew that he was going to do whatever he wanted regardless of what she said , but at least she could voice her concerns , " He 's defiant , yeah ? Short - sighted , and extremely jovial with the people around him . Those aren 't the qualities we need . Not to mention his powers could be dangerous ! We have no idea what he 'll become ! "

In February of 2000 , I decided I needed to find some direction in my life . I felt that I had no plans for the future . I didn 't know what to do . I needed to decide what to do . I still believed the CIA was going to offer me a job anytime soon . Would I accept it ? Should I accept it ? If not , what else should I do ? I was also still thinking about fractals , infinity , natural forms , and encryption . I had many ideas about a new mathematical theory that I had not fully developed . I wanted to get away from life for a while , to clear my mind , to seek inspiration . I decided to take a vacation . I would go somewhere very remote , to do some soul searching and some meditation . I chose to go to Glacier National Park , in Northwest Montana . The cheapest way for me to get there was by train . I decided to buy a National Rail Pass that I could use for one month . I would take the train from Washington D . C . to Glacier National Park . I would also visit Chicago , Seattle , and San Francisco before coming home . I expected the trip would take me two or three weeks . I was not afraid of going to such a remote place by myself . I had abandoned the idea that the CIA might decide to kill me . I thought if that was a possibility , they would have had several opportunities already . I thought I was still an ideal candidate for recruitment . I expected they might try to send someone to talk to me while I was away from home and alone . It would be the perfect opportunity for them . I don 't know exactly what day I left on the train , but it was sometime during the first week of March 2000 . I left from Union Station in Washington D . C in the late afternoon . This first day was uneventful . By 11am the next day , I had arrived in Chicago . Immediately I started to feel like I was being followed . I found a hotel a few blocks from the train station . Later that day , I met some Italian friends who were in Chicago on a business trip . We went out to dinner . I don 't think they noticed I was having mental problems . After dinner , They dropped me off a few blocks from my hotel so I could visit a local bookstore . I then walked around the city for while at random . While I was walking , I noticed a couple walking several dozen yards behind me . I took a very indirect route through the city , making a zigzag pattern over five or six blocks . Then , I saw this couple again . I wondered if they were following me . I assumed they were . I became very agitated . I started to believe everyone on the street was following me . I continued to wander around the city . Somehow , four or five hours passed , but it seemed to me like it was only an hour . It was now getting very late . It must have been one or two o ' clock in the morning . Very few people were out on the street . I thought , " Where did they all go ? No one is following me now ! They left ? " I wondered why they would have stopped following me all of a sudden . I thought it must be a sign . They no longer NEEDED to follow me . I must have passed their evaluation ! Now , THEY would be making contact with me very soon . I had a lot to think about . What kind of offer would they make ? Would Next day . I decided to leave for my next stop , Grand Forks , North Dakota . The train left in the afternoon , so I had the morning free . I went to the Sears Tower , and then to the Field Museum . I wondered whether anyone was following me . I didn 't see anyone following . But , how can they make contact with me if no one is following ? I headed back to the hotel to get my bags , and then to the train station to catch the train . I thought , " Somehow , they will arrange a meeting with me . " I boarded the train for Grand Forks , which was 14 hours away . After a few hours , I got restless in my seat and decided to take a stroll around the train . I went into the smoking car to have a cigarette . As I came into the cabin , there was a girl in the corner seat who said something to me like , " Hey ! You finally made it here ! Take a seat . " I sat down next to her . I thought , " This must be the one . This is my contact person . This is going to be interesting . " There were also two or three other people in the cabin . Apparently she had been talking with them already . They were in the middle of a conversation about the upcoming presidential primary election . We talked for several minutes about who we thought was going to win the election . I asked my ' contact ' what her name was . " Lisa " she said . I thought , any minute now , she 's going to be talking about the CIA , the FBI , or something like that . Somehow the conversation changed , and we started talking about our nation 's drug problem . Lisa said , " What do you think about that story that the CIA had sold drugs in Los Angeles ? " ( There had been an article printed that week in some major newspapers that the CIA had funneled drugs from South America to Los Angeles to raise money for the Nicaraguan contras ) . I said , " They can 't get the best information about things like that unless they are in the business . " Afterwards , we talked about a variety of topics for another hour or so . Finally , Lisa said , " Let 's have dinner together . " I said " OK " . We agreed to meet in the dining car later . At dinner , Lisa sat next to me . She was flirting with me the entire meal . She told me she had a sleeping cabin at the back of the train . When we were finished our meal , she said , " I have a bottle of wine back in my cabin , do you want to share it with me ? " I said , " Sure ! I 'd love to ! I 'll meet you there in a few minutes . " She really seemed interested in making personal contact with me . I wondered how far she would go to get information . Was she willing to sleep with me ? I went into the bathroom to freshen up . Then I went to her cabin . It was very small , barley enough for two people . We could only sit on the bed . There was a curtain or a door to the cabin which she kept open while I was there . We started to drink the wine and talk . We ended up kissing for a little while . She never closed the door to the cabin . She did not mention anything else about the CIA , any job opportunities , or anything else . She did not question me about much of anything at all . I asked her how far she was going on the train . She said ' Portland ' . That was still more than 24 hours away . I asked her why she didn 't just fly to Portland . " Personal reasons " she answered . Eventually , it got to be very late . I left . I was perplexed by the outcome of events . Later in the night , the train arrived at Grand Forks , and I got off . Lisa did not . I was confused . At the Grand Forks railway station , I shared a cab ride with another woman who had gotten off the train . Of course , I was wondering whether she was with THEM . The cab stopped at my hotel first . Before I got out , this woman handed me a pamphlet about Jesus and his ministry . I wondered if THEY were trying to communicate with me in some way through this pamphlet . I thought , " THEY must be wondering about my religious views . " I wondered if some of the surveillance team thought I might be Jesus . I thought I should discourage this view and try to communicate back to them . I read through the pamphlet . It mostly spoke about having a hole in your life that only Jesus could fill . I couldn 't really identify wiAt some point , I started walking around Grand Forks . All day long I walked , possibly for eight or ten hours . I felt the whole time I was being followed . I went into a huge Sporting Goods Store to pick out a pair of binoculars or a scope for my trip to Glacier National Park . There was a guy in the store that seemed to be idling nearby me . I asked him , " Are you from around here ? " " No . I 'm from Chicago " " What do you do ? Are you a hunter ? " " No . I 'm in the surveillance business . " Hmmm . In the surveillance business ! Hmmm . Obviously , my next question should have been , " Are you surveilling me ? " But I didn 't ask him that . Instead , I said " What do you think of this scope ? " " Looks like a good one to me . " I bought the scope , and left the store . I walked back to the hotel . I wondered if that guy was with THEM . I wondered , before I was in Chicago , I never actually saw anybody following me on the street . Why would I have seen them on this trip ? Why would I have seen this guy at the sporting goods store ? I thought the CIA was better than that . They should be able to follow you without you knowing it . What was the difference ? I wondered if there was a different group of people following me this time . Perhaps ? The next morning , I caught the train for Glacier National Park . It was still more than twelve hours away . For the first few hours , I tried to analyze what was happening to me . I wondered why I would have seen people following me in Chicago . If they weren 't with the CIA , who were they with ? I remembered my plea to the congressmen for help . Maybe the congressmen had hired their own investigators . Maybe this new group of people were actually private detectives . Maybe the congressmen had asked the FBI or the CIA about me , and decided to launch their own investigation . They were probably wondering whether I was crazy , or whether what I wrote in my message to them was true . I imagined there might even be some senators on the train with me . Perhaps Lisa wasn 't with the CIA . Maybe she was with these new investigators . Maybe she was I went to the dining car to have breakfast and I was seated with three other gentlemen . I was sure they were all evaluating me for the investigation . I thought , " Maybe this new investigation is a collaborative effort . Maybe these were people from different government agencies . . . the CIA , FBI and Congress too . " I was experiencing another expansion of my delusion . When the waitress came with our check , I decided I wanted to see what would happen if I claimed I had no money . Would they pay for me ? I thought , " They are spending thousands of dollars on this investigation . Surely another $ 15 from their expense account won 't matter at all . " I feigned that I was broke . Sure enough , one of the gentlemen paid my portion of the bill without complaint . This just reinforced the idea in my mind that I was correct about everything . After breakfast , I went to another traincar where there were also a few tables to sit at . At a nearby table , there was a group of people playing cards . I overheard their conversation . It started to seem like they were talking about me . I thought they were CIA agents trying to use subliminal messages to cause a reaction in me . The conversation went something like this : I thought if Congress was now involved in the investigation , the CIA was in trouble . Perhaps some of the agents admitted drugging me , trying to abduct me , etc . Now the CIA was going to do everything in their power to make me look bad . I wondered what other tricks they would try . I imagined that there was a group of ' good ' CIA agents who would do the right thing , and there was another group of ' bad ' CIA agents who would try to manipulate , or eliminate me . As I sat there , I once again tried to analyze what was happening to me . What was the real reason all these people were involved ? How could I be that important ? There was something I didn 't know about all this . What was it ? I became very agitated . For some reason , I decided that I had to get off the train . I had to change my environment . I decided to get off at the next stop . The train stopped . I had no idea where we had stopped . All I knew is that I wanted to get off the train . I was confused . I couldn 't find my luggage . I didn 't remember which train car my luggage was in . But , I had to get off the train . Right at that moment . If I tried to find my luggage , the train would leave . I had to get off . I asked the porter on the platform , " Do you know where my luggage is ? " " No . " I decided to leave my luggage behind . I said to the porter , " I 'm leaving my luggage on the train . What is the last stop for this train ? " The porter said , " What do you mean ? " I said again , " What is the last stop this train makes ? Where is it ? " He said , " Are you getting off here ? " " Yes , I 'm getting off here . Tell me what is the last stop for this train ! ? " I wanted to know what the last stop was so I could call the railroad and have them retrieve my luggage when they cleaned out the train . The whistle was blowing last call . The porter said " Don 't you want your luggage ? " I said , " Dammit ! Jesus Christ ! Just tell me what is the last stop this train makes ? Can 't you tell me that ? What the hell is the matter with you ! " The porter said , " I don 't understand what you mean . " I was getting frustrated . " The hell with it ! I 'm leaving ! " I walked off the platform . I did not see anyone else getting off the train . I immediately tried to find a place to stay . I walked a few blocks and found an old hotel called the Roosevelt . I couldn 't believe it , but the price of a room was only $ 24 per night . I found out I was in Glasgow , Montana . It was a very small town . I called home and left a message about where I was staying . I wondered if the CIA would be able to keep up with me . I thought they might somehow have a contact or a representative even out here in this small town . I figured they have contacts EVERYWHERE . I thought they still might try to make contact with me through one of their representatives that lived in this town . Over the previous four days , I had gotten very little sleep , probably an average of 3 hours per night . This was very unusual for me . I knew I needed some rest . I tried to take a nap in my hotel room , but I could not fall asleep . I went to the local drug store to try to find a sleeping aid . They didn 't have any . I then decided to go get something to eat . I walked to a Dairy Queen nearby . I went in and ordered something that sounded like a pork chop sandwich . What I got was something different . I sat at a table and took a bite . I hated it . I sat there drinking a soda for a few minutes . Some tall guy came in the door and looked right at me . I thought , " This must be the contact person . " I said to him , " Hey ! Have a seat . " He sat down right across from me at the same table . I told him the sandwich I had was awful . He recommended a different one . We both went up to the counter and ordered the sandwich he recommended . The new sandwich was great . We then had a conversation that lasted for about 45 minutes . I don 't remember very much about what we discussed , but the entire time , I was trying to figure out whether he was from the CIA , FBI , or Congress . I think I kept talking about what I thought was happening to me . I was communicating my confusion about the whole situation . I must have been behaving strangely , because at one point , he suggested that I might be autistic . He recommended I move to Glasgow . He said I could buy a four bedroom house for only ninety thousand dollars . He also told me that there was a great Barbeque Restaurant down the road . He suggested that I should go there for dinner , and that he and his friends would be there . I soon left to go back to the hotel . When I got back to my hotel room , I found something very strange and unexpected . On the dresser , there was a copy of part of a letter a girl had written to me over ten years ago . I had met this girl on one of my trips to Italy . She was an American who lived in Mississipi . The copy was just a few sentences excerpted from the letter , but I recognized it immediately . I certainly did not bring this letter with me . I had not been thinking about this girl , or my trip to Italy at all . Why would someone have left this here ? Who left it here ? How could they have gotten a copy of the letter ? Why would they have only copied a few sentences ? I was perplexed . I tried to think of reasons why this letter would be important . As I remembered , there was nothing of consequence in the letter . What was the significance of this ? I had decided that I didn 't know all the reasons why the surveillance was being conducted . Perhaps this was a clue . Maybe those spies who are in support of me are trying to communicate something to me . Maybe this was the missing piece of the puzzle that I didn 't know ? I tried to understand why this letter would be significant . I hadn 't been in communication with this girl for more than ten years . How could the investigation be related to her ? Maybe she became a spy for the CIA . Maybe the CIA was following me on my trips to Italy . Maybe she was already some type of operative when I first met her . Maybe she disappeared . Maybe she was working for the Italian intelligence agency . I tried to think of a hundred reasons why she would be important . Maybe THEY think there is some kind of hidden message in this letter . There must be some kind of intelligence problem I didn 't know about . I couldn 't figure it out . I gave up thinking about it . I decided to call home . I was using the phone in my hotel room . My dad picked up on the other end . " Hello ? " Click . The phone went dead . I blamed THEM . I thought , They 're interfering with my phone call ! I wasn 't sure if they were disconnecting the call here in Montana , or at home in Maryland . A few minutes later , my dad called back . The phone rang but I didn 't answer it . After a few minutes , I heard a knock at the door . It was the front desk clerk . I opened the door . She said , " Your Dad is on the phone . " She had a cordless phone in her hand and apparently could connect the call to my room with the cordless phone . I said , " Let me talk to him on your phone . " She said , " No . Pick up the phone in your room . " I said , " My phone is not working correctly . Let me talk to him on your phone . I 'll just be a few minutes . " She said , " No . " " Fine . I won 't talk to him at all then . " I closed the door . I thought I could try to call him back later . I needed to relax . I filled the tub in the bathroom with warm water and got in to soak . I tried to clear my mind and decide what was really going on . What was the significance of this letter I found ? I started to review everything that had happened to me on my trip . I was thinking about my experience in Chicago . Suddenly I realized that although I thought everyone was following me in Chicago , I did not actually see anyone following me for certain ! I suddenly realized that there was a huge difference between reality and what I thought was true . I thought , " My god . Something is wrong with my mind ! Something is wrong with my brain ! I must have a brain tumor ! " This is the only time during my illness when I was not taking medication , and I suspected something was wrong with me . I did not realize that I had a major delusion . I only realized that my perception was faulty in this one particular instance . I decided I needed to get to the hospital right away . I went to the front desk and asked where the hospital was . The clerk arranged for someone to drive me to the town medical center . When I arrived at the medical center , I went to the sign in desk . There was only one nurse on duty in the entire facility . I said , " I have to get a CAT scan . Something is wrong with my brain . I think I have a brain tumor ! " She said , " Are you suicidal ? Do you want to hurt yourself or other people ? " " No . " " I suggest you come back tomorrow . You can speak to a doctor then . " " Ok . " I walked back to the hotel . By now , it was probably 10 or eleven o ' clock at night . I went to my room . I still could not sleep . I turned on the TV . The weather report said the temperature outside would be very low this night . Maybe in the single digits . It warned about anyone going outside in the cold . I remembered that I needed to call my folks . I didn 't want to use the same phone again because I had problems with it earlier . I decided that I needed to use a phone far away . I went to the front desk again . I asked if someone could take me to a bar on the outskirts of town . There was a young kid sitting in the lobby , maybe about 18 years old . He said he would take me in his truck to such a bar outside of town . We got out there , and I called home from a pay phone at the bar . When I talked to my dad , I wondered if it was really him on the phone , or an impostor . When I was finished , the kid drove me back into town . I went back to my hotel room . Soon , I got thirsty . I went to the lobby to buy a coke from the vending machine . I took a swig . God ! How awful it was ! It tasted bitter . I wondered why it was bitter . Maybe THEY had somehow changed the cokes in the machine . Maybe the coke was poisoned . How could they have done that ? I noticed there was no one at the front desk . I waited there for maybe fifteen minutes . Nobody came back to the desk . I wondered if they had left the hotel . I decided that I needed to call my folks again . It was probably two or three o ' clock in the morning at home , but I didn 't realize that . I normally would not call them so late at night . I needed to get to another phone somewhere outside the hotel . It was cold outside , so I took a blanket with me to keep warm . When I got outside , there was no one around . The streets were empty . I thought , " The town looks deserted . " Pretty soon , I believed the town actually was deserted . The truth was , it was so late at night , there was no one on the street . I thought , " Maybe THEY evacuated the town for some reason . " After I had walked a few blocks , I started to here a sound like car horns blaring in the distance . This went on for several , maybe ten minutes . I decided to walk in the direction of the noise to see what was going on . I was now in a residential neighborhood a few blocks from the hotel . I have no idea what time it was . I came across a cat in the road . At first , the cat was very friendly . It came up to me and rubbed against my legs . Then it rolled over onto its back . I reached down to rub its stomach . The cat suddenly hissed at me and scratched my hand . Then , the cat ran away into an open garage nearby . I looked down at my hand and there appeared to be something small , like a splinter , stuck in the fleshy part of my thumb . Suddenly , I thought " This cat must have been trained by the CIA to attack me . It had some kind of dart on its paw . It has stuck me with some kind of poison dart ! My God ! I better get it out right away ! " I ran up to the nearest house . I knocked on the door . Then I thought , " The town is deserted . There 's no one home . " I thought , " I have to get this thing out immediately before the poison starts to work ! I 'll just go inside and find something to cut this thing out of my hand . " I tried the door , It was unlocked . I went into the kitchen and started looking through the drawers for a small sharp knife . I didn 't immediately find one . I thought , " I 'll use a pair of nail clippers . There is probably some nail clippers in the bathroom . " I walked out of the kitchen and through the living room into one of the bedrooms . Immediately , I saw two people in bed . A man and a woman . The man said to me , " Hey ! Who are you ? What are you doing in my house ? " I said , " Oops . I 'm sorry . I thought you weren 't home . I 'll leave right now . " He got out of bed and followed me into the living room . I said , " I didn 't think you were home . I just came in to get some nail clippers . I 'll leave right now . " " Wait a minute . Who are you ? " " I 'm Kurt Snyder . I live near Washington D . C . " " What are you doing here ? " " I needed some nail clippers . Do you have any nail clippers ? I need to get this out of my hand . " By this time , the woman had come out of the bedroom too . We were all standing in the living room . " There 's something stuck in it . I need to get it out right away . Do you have any nail clippers ? Please get me some nail clippers ! " The man said , " Just calm down . Sit here . We 're going to get you some help . Just stay here for a few minutes . I 'm going to call someone to come help . Is that OK ? " In a few minutes , a police officer arrived . He seemed very nice . He said , " I 'm going to take you to the medical center . " " Ok . " We arrived at the medical center a few minutes later . The same nurse was on duty who I saw earlier that evening . She talked with the officer for a few minutes . Then , she had me lay down on a hospital bed near the check - in desk . She asked me for my parents ' phone number . I gave it to her . She soon got them on the phone . I was skeptical as to whether she was really talking to them or some one else . I thought THEY might be able to intercept the phone call . She might actually be talking to some impostors . The next thing I remember is waking up in a padded room on a mattress lying on the floor . There was wire mesh glass in the windows . I did not remember being moved to this room . The last thing I remember was lying on the hospital bed . I looked out the small window in the entrance door . I didn 't recognize anything . I wasn 't sure that I was at the medical center anymore . I wondered if somehow THEY had drugged me and moved me to another location . I could be anywhere ! I had one window which looked out on an outdoor space . Across a small field was another wing of the facility . I started to look out this window and scrutinize everything , trying to figure out where I was . There was virtually nothing out there , and certainly no clues to where I was located . I then looked out the window in the door . I could see some items that indicated I was still at a medical facility . But , was it the same facility I came into last night ? There was no way I could know . After maybe one or two hours , I got a visitor . It was the man who 's house I went into the previous night . He said , " Hi , Kurt . I 'm the man whose house you came into last night . Do you remember me ? " I did remember him . I don 't recall the rest of our conversation . He left after a few minutes . I started to wonder why he was visiting me . Maybe somehow he was with THEM . How could he be with them ? I remembered the advice Joe gave me in New York . Don 't make assumptions . I was assuming I went into his house at random , and that he was just an average resident in this town . Maybe that was the wrong assumption . Maybe somehow I was led to his house . Maybe everyone in this town is with THEM . How could that be true ? Maybe somehow I wasn 't in Montana at all . Maybe I was in a secret town , where EVERYONE works for THEM . How could that be true ? I thought I had gotten off the train at random . Maybe I didn 't . Maybe somehow they used some kind of psychological manipulation to influence me to get off the train at a specific place . I thought I got off on impulse . Maybe they were using subliminal messages to make me anxious and nervous . Maybe I reacted to these messages by deciding to get off the train . Could that be true ? A nurse brought me some magazines to read . Newsweek , National Geographic , and Time . I started to look through the magazines . In Newsweek , there was an article about how to find a new career . In the article , I suddenly recognized two girls that were my coworkers at a hotel six years earlier . ( I saved this magazine . Even now , five years later , these people still seem to look like my former coworkers . ) However , in the magazine , they had different names . I thought , how and why would these people be in this magazine ? I wondered if the magazine was legitimate . I thought , maybe THEY printed a bogus magazine for me to read . Maybe this is some kind of clue . Maybe this is some type of communication to me . The Newsweek article was about finding a new career . Maybe this is a reference to the recruitment process . Maybe these two giA little while later , a nurse came to the door . I think I had been talking out loud the entire morning . They must have been listening to me . She said , would you like to get out and see where you are ? I said , " Yes . " She said , " We 'll go outside the exit for just a few minutes . Would you like that ? " " Yes . " " You must promise you won 't run away . Do you promise not to run away ? " " Yes . I won 't run away . " She opened the door and let me out . She said , " Follow me . " We walked down the hallway and out an exit door . She said , " See where you are ? " I looked around . The medical center was at the edge of town . There was a field stretching off for miles on one side , and the town was on the other side . There was nothing to indicate what state we were in . I thought , I need to investigate this further . I started to walk away from the facility . The nurse said , " Wait . Where are you going ? You said you wouldn 't run away ! You promised me you wouldn 't run away ! " I ignored her . Of course , I wasn 't running away . . . . I was walking away ! The nurse ran back to the hospital . I walked a few blocks . There was nothing to indicate where the town was actually located . Soon , a police car pulled up beside me and an officer got out . He said , " We have to go back to the hospital . Get in the car . " " Ok . " I got in the car and we went back to the hospital . They put me back in the same room . After perhaps half an hour , I started hearing car horns again . They started out softly , but quickly became very loud . It sounded like the noise was coming from outside the room , from somewhere outside the building . This noise did not sound like just a few cars , it sounded like a thousand cars blaring their horns all at once . It was a very disturbing sound . I wondered why so many cars would be blaring their horns . I started to think they were blowing their horns for me . " A lot of people must know THEY are keeping me here . They 're blowing their horns to get me released . " The sound went on for at least fifteen minutes , maybe half an hour . I thought , " I have to get out of here , or there 's going to be a riot . " I started to look at the window which led to the outside . It was the type that had wire mesh imbedded in the glass . I thought I could break the glass , but I knew there was no way I could cut through the wire before they stopped me . I decided I would wait for an opportunity to escape when they opened the door again . In a little while , the nurOnce I was back at the hospital , the nurse told me , " Your parents are coming here tomorrow . " " Ok " Eventually , some mental health worker came in to talk to me . She started to ask me a bunch of questions . " I was walking outside . I got scratched by a cat . When I looked at my hand , there was something in it . I had to get it out . I didn 't think they were home . " The next day , my parents arrived . I wondered why they had come . They visited me for a few minutes . Maybe ten at the most . The staff at the medical center asked me to sign an agreement saying that I would return to Maryland with my parents to be evaluated at a psychiatric facility . I signed it . I thought , " This must be one more step in the recruitment process . " After another day or two , my parents took me back to Maryland . They had booked an airline flight for our trip . Upon arrival in Maryland , we went immediately to Sheppard Pratt Hospital , where I was admitted as an inpatient . They signed me in as a voluntary admission . This meant that I would have to be released within 72 hours if I requested it . At my request , they also gave me a CAT scan . The scan came back negative for any irregularities . After being in the mental ward for one day , I thought " All these people are crazy ! I don 't belong here ! " I requested that they release me . In the meantime , I met with several doctors . One of the doctors wanted to prescribe an anti - psychotic medication . I told them , " I 'm not going to take that stuff ! " I asked him " What will that do to a normal person ? " He didn 't have any information on those effects . I decided " There 's no way I 'm going to take that . Who knows what it will do to me ! ? " I was released from the hospital . My parents had the prescription filled , and asked me to take the medication , but I never took it . I merely pretended to take it for their benefit . However , even without the medication , the symptoms of psychosis decreased over the next two weeks . I still had almost two weeks of value left on my Rail Pass . I told my parents I wanted to go skiing in Vermont . I don 't know why , but they agreed to let me go as long as my father went along too . We took the train from Baltimore up to Rutland , VT . We went skiing for two days , then we returned . I was still wondering about surveillance , the FBI , the CIA , and now Congress . I didn 't have any perspective on why I was admitted to the hospital . However , I kept thinking about my perception that people were following me in Chicago . I knew something was wrong with that . I decided I needed to do a test . I would go somewhere where I knew most of the people must be completely random strangers . I would then make a note every time I thought I saw one of THEM . I decided to go to Manhattan . I took the morning train . I walked out of the train station and walked a few blocks to a park . I thought , almost everyone here will be a complete stranger that has absolutely nothing to do with me . I started making notes as I saw people walk by . I came up with different symbols to correspond to different feelings . If I felt a person was one of them , I would make a certain symbol on my note pad . If I thought they were a random stranger , I would make another note . If I was just suspicious of them , I would make a different mark . I sat on a bench for about half an hour , enough time for more than a hundred people to walk by . I compared my notes . I thought more than half the people were with THEM . Another quarter of the people were labeled ' suspicious ' . I thought this proved to me that I had some kind of perceptual problem . However , I didn 't disbelieve my delusions , I simply thought I had become conditioned to expect that people were with THEM . I took this into consideration . I would try to better evaluate my assumptions in the future when I thought someone was with THEM .

Then , as the unwritten law of social convention obliges , Luke presented the partying people with a bit of an insight into his own life . Not too much though . Luke came to Miami Beach to find peace and sitting at a table with two cheerful couples didn 't quite fit that picture . But as he 'd spent most of his adult life pretending who he is , he figured a few minutes with these folks wouldn 't be that big of a deal . To Luke , Miami and Miami Beach felt like his second home . But this was the first time he 'd come to Miami just by himself . He only decided to leave snowy suburbia to go to Miami the day before he departed . This time it was different . This time it was just Luke . For the first time in his life he felt scared , vulnerable and lost . Emotions he 'd never encountered before . Luke 's life , until recently , had been one of hard work and not complaining . He and his wife lived in a lovely house with a view , drove nice cars and had lots of friends . All of that seemed like a blur right at that moment . The cascade of new emotions which were occupying his thoughts felt like an unbearable weight that seemed to be getting heavier . Earlier that day Luke had driven to Sawgrass Mills Mall to buy himself some time off from the headaches and anxiety . Halfway , exiting I - 95 to enter I - 395 , Luke was confronted by a terrifying new thought , the latest lasting only a split second but lingering in his troubled head ever since . He realised that if the car was to accidentally hit the safety rail on the high fly - over and crash onto the freeway below , he wouldn 't mind . Really would not mind at all . Back in his room in Hotel Catalina , he lay down on the bed and forced himself to get a grip . He stayed in his room till it got dark , then decided to buy himself a beer , sit down on the front porch and watch the loud partygoers in their even louder cars go by . It would at least take his mind of things , if not completely , perhaps just for a while . All of his life Luke carried his secret in silence . Instead of listening to his heart he chose what society expected from him . He wanted to fit in and for all of those years it looked like he was doing well . Until recently . Inside Luke , feelings and emotions he had ignored were getting stronger , more intense . Feelings he could not deny and he knew that he had to acknowledge these feelings and if he did it would change his life forever and the lives of others too . Tracy sensed that Luke was not feeling well and asked , in a kind , caring way , what was going on . Luke came home from work , wearing his suit . He walked into the living room and sat down in the lounge . Tracy kneeled at his side , both hands on his knees , worriedly looking into his eyes . Luke couldn 't look back , and instead he looked down . Tracy asked him if there was someone else . Luke shook his head , then said that it was different . Not what she thinks . For the first time in his life he was honest about who he really was and , in tears , told Tracy that he was gay . There . The word , after thirty four years , was out . They both cried , each trying hard to comfort the other . She said it was alright , that they would find a way to deal with this , that she , somehow , always knew . That she loved him regardless . He said that the love was mutual , had always been , but that this was more than just coming out of the closet . Luke and Tracy talked and cried every day . Luke made it clear to Tracy that he no longer wanted to deny that he was gay and that he openly wanted to embrace the fact that he was gay . He wanted to be with men . He wanted to love himself for who he was and no longer pretend to be straight . That he had never been straight . After the holidays it was time to get back to work and resume life . But for Luke there was nothing to resume . He knew that if he wanted to give himself and Tracy an honest chance to be happy , they needed to break up and start a new life apart from one another . He did not know how but knew that it would be the right way . He wished he could have been strong enough to be who he truly was when he was younger , but he wasn 't . He blamed himself for failing and making Tracy unhappy . He knew he had tried hard and that they had a good life together , but by choosing his true self and cutting the cord between him and Tracy he felt somehow broken . He and Tracey had met when they were nineteen . Love at first sight . Tracey came into his life with a bag of emotions , hurt and sorrow and Luke became her solid rock who she could trust and who gave her unconditional love , which she returned . When Luke looked back he admitted to himself that he was glad that he 'd fallen in love with Tracey . He fooled himself into thinking he was saved . That his feelings for boys would fade away . He and Tracey were as one and no one could come between them . The outside world labelled them as the cutest couple , the kind of relationship people always dreamed about . Together they travelled the world and always had good fun . They were always together . Luke couldn 't focus at work , couldn 't sleep , eat or even be around people . He was sinking and realised that . He needed to be away . To think , to let go of thoughts , to get a grip . Miami was the first place that came to his mind , as he never felt more at home than when he was in Miami . He bought himself a ticket to be on a flight to Miami the next day . " Hi sexy " said the cute bartender as Luke entered Score Bar on Lincoln Road . All the tables outside were occupied . " You 're early , what can I get you ? " " Hi there " said Luke as he sat down at the bar overlooking the outside terrace . " A bourbon with ice , please . And how am I early ? " " Well , " said the bartender " At this time of the night I usually get older couples . The hotties get in around midnight right before the club opens , " pointing his right thumb towards the back . " And most of what we usually have around this time are Europeans , lousy tippers . " At this he turned around with a swirl like a true diva , rolling his eyes . Luke noticed a handsome young man , mid twenties , with blond hair walking in and sitting down at the bar , only a couple of feet away from him . The boy was silent , deep in thought , looking intently at a piece of paper . The bartender gave him a glass of tap water . Luke noticed that the young man was clearly in distress , his face looking very tense . The bartender grabbed a pen , made Luke 's tab and held it up for Luke to see , with a cheeky smile on his face . On the top Luke read " Sexy Luke " with a heart next to it , triggering a big grin on his own face . " I 'm Ricky , " the bartender said , pouring bourbon into a tumbler and placing it on the bar in front of the young man sitting next to Luke . " Cheers " said Luke , laughing . " Just Luke will do . But tell me , why were you sitting there in silence , all consumed by that piece of paper ? I can see you are in distress ! " Jerry unfolded the piece of paper that he 'd folded back up when Luke offered him the drink . " Ugh , such drama . This asshole accused me of sleeping around while being positive , which I 'm not . I have the proof right here . " He held up the piece of paper which showed that he 'd recently been tested and found negative . " It 's not my business but I think you should never be close to anyone who says such things if they are not true . " says Luke . " Walk away . He is not your friend . " Jerry took another sip of his bourbon . " No , I do . I like to be up front as we are talking anyway . I have no home . Well , I do , but not here . I am not from here . It 's a long story but to make it short , I got screwed by my ex boyfriend and now he 's in jail and I 'm stuck in this fake gay Disneyland without anything . I just need to get my gay ass back home . " " Got you , " said Luke . " I 'm sorry about that and I can 't even imagine how you must feel . But if you don 't have a home here , where do you sleep ? " Luke listened to Jerry but found himself observing his body language and his eyes more . He felt there was a lot more to this story but concluded very quickly that Jerry would be better off with some time off from this drama . His heart told him to reach out to Jerry , but his rational self said not to trust a stranger . But Luke got this voice in his head that said that he needed to help him , even though he didn 't know him and he might as well be a serial killer . This thought made Luke laugh . " No , no , sorry , " Luke replied . " You just reminded me of myself , in a weird way . " At this Luke started laughing again . Pretty soon Jerry couldn 't hold his laughter either . " You 're funny " said Jerry . " I like crazy and you seem to be good crazy . So , tell me , what 's your crazy story ? " Luke told him only the surface elements of his complex current situation . He couldn 't be bothered to talk about the thoughts and emotions that were raging through his system and , only hours ago , made him realise that not being alive anymore would be a way out of these frightening feelings . Right now he just wanted to chill and have a drink . Luke and Jerry had quite a good laugh . Jerry happened to be quite a jolly joker and Luke was pleased to see him enjoying himself and that the stress in his face had disappeared . The bar was filling up and Ricky was right . The quality of clientele had improved . Luke was happy that he 'd been able to let his depressing thoughts drift off a bit . After chatting up a storm for about an hour Luke invited Jerry to have a burger . They left Score bar and walked east on Lincoln Road , heading for the beach where the partygoers were flocking in . Moments later Luke and Jerry were enjoying an old school cheeseburger meal with a creamy thick chocolate shake at Johnny Rocket south on Ocean Drive . Luke was amazed how much Jerry could eat , and how fast . It made him laugh . Luke realised that ever since he touched down in Miami he hadn 't laughed , but this night he laughed enough for the whole week . Passing Lincoln Road , Luke and Jerry stopped still to say goodbye . But Luke decided to offer Jerry a place to sleep . The offer to invite Jerry over had gone through Luke 's mind a couple of times , but he wasn 't sure if it would be a wise thing to do . But his heart said : " do it . " " Yes " said Luke . " I can tell you are getting upset having to go back to that place . You need a good sleep without any drama . " " Can you assure me you 're not one ? " asked Luke , laughing . " Come on , you 're tired . You can take a hot shower and get yourself some well deserved rest . After a long hot shower Jerry moved himself into the bed , butt naked . Luke noticed how well built Jerry was , athletic with two firm white buns and soft skin . Seeing him obviously feeling comfortable , Luke felt pleased and was happy that he 'd been able to give the young man a safe place of comfort and peace . When Luke got into bed after taking a hot shower himself , he saw Jerry sleeping like a baby , all cuddled up under the duvet . Luke grabbed the notebook which he used as a diary , and a pen , and carefully slid into the bed , not wanting to wake Jerry . For about half an hour Luke wrote down his thoughts of the day , his experiences and what emotions had popped up at what particular moments . Luke started to write his diary the day he arrived in Miami . No particular purpose , he just felt like he needed to write everything down . Just before he finished writing and getting ready to sleep himself , Jerry turned around , moving himself against Luke , his nose touching Luke 's right arm , still sound asleep . Luke put his notebook and pen on the nightstand , turned off the light and moved his right arm around Jerry . He gently pulled the sleeping handsome young man closer to him and closed his eyes . At 7 am , Luke was wide awake and got out of bed . On the other side of the bed , Jerry was still sleeping . Luke decided it would be better not to wake him . As Luke was getting ready for his morning skate he wrote a note and put a mango , which he 'd bought yesterday , next to the note . The note said : " Good morning handsome , I thought I 'd let you sleep and have breakfast by myself . Here is a mango , it 's all I have in the room . I 'll be back around lunchtime , then we can go have some food when you 're ready , if you like . Take your time and make sure you rest . Luke . " At the front porch of the hotel , in the bright early sunshine , Luke put his rollerblades on his feet and protection gear around his knees , elbows and wrists , on his back a small Columbia rucksack . In it a Discman , his notebook , wallet , a bottle of water , a towel , a clean tank top and black Speedos . As much as Luke loved rollerblading , Collins Avenue was not the right place to make speed . The sides of the road were full of cracks . The sewage outlets just off the curb were dangerous too as the road at these outlets made sudden dips which could cause a nasty fall . The good thing was that people in South Beach were somewhat used to rollerbladers and almost automatically kept an eye out for fast passing boys and girls on wheels . Luke 's white tank top was rapidly absorbing the sweat his body produced , caused by his activity on wheels in combination with the hot and humid air that he loved so much . People on the sidewalk watched him going by and some people give him a friendly smile . Luke happily returned the favour . Being on his wheels in the warm sunshine and feeling the breeze flowing around the curves of his body mades him feel alive . He noticed that he is starting to feel energised . It was a big difference from how he was feeling yesterday when he was driving on the fly - over , and later that day when the two happy couples from Tampa had insisted that he join them . The Front Porch café served freshly squeezed orange juice and freshly baked croissants . To Luke it felt like a touch of France in the tropics . From where he was having his French breakfast he overlooked Ocean Drive , the park full of palm trees on the other side of the road and the blue ocean behind that . Luke had seen this part of Miami Beach change , from a desolated street with closed , sometimes even boarded up shops and restaurants to this vibrant place where more and more people were drawn to . Even the park with the hundreds of palm trees scattered around , wasn 't there when he first visited South Beach . Back then it was a place where you could find a lot of homeless people who used the public bathrooms on the south side as a communal shower and as a washing place . Nowadays it was also a popular cruising spot . After breakfast Luke crossed the street and found himself a spot in the warm golden sand that would soon be too hot to walk on barefoot . The beach was relatively empty . It was only ten o ' clock . This part of the beach usually filled up around noon and peaked around 2pm . Too busy for Luke : he wanted to sit in silence , listen to the soothing sounds of the incoming waves and watch birds feeding themselves on small crabs . This is what Luke liked the most about Miami Beach . To him it felt like an invisible flow of energy plugging into him and charged him with lifeforce . He could feel the energy flowing into his body and mind . On this beach he felt at home and safe . The water was warm , about 85 degrees Fahrenheit . Luke spent much time on his towel and swam in the crystal clear ocean water , letting the current take him a few blocks up north . He paid close attention to how far the strong current was taking him by checking the lifeguard stand at 14th Street . Sometimes the current took him as far as 17th street , from where he would walk back along the shore saying good morning to people who were either floating in the water in colourful foam tubes or soaking up the sunshine on their towels . Around noon Lukes packed his bag and got ready to go back to the hotel . As he stood up he noticed that the beach was filling up quickly , predominantly with men , both young and older . At the beach - shower he washed his feet and put on his rollerblades . Luke noticed a man , one block down , building a high sand - sculpture . " Thanks for the note and the mango , " said Jerry . " You know , I 've never had a mango before , it 's delicious . Sweet . " " You 're welcome " said Luke . " You gotta eat , sweetie . Oh , and it 's really hot outside , maybe you should put on of my tank tops , I have plenty in the drawers . " At this Luke pointed at the chest of drawers next to the bed . " And if you want , pick a pair of shorts as well , see if they fit . " " I think it fits you perfectly and looks great on you , " answered Luke . " You 're all set . Now give me a minute to collect my stuff and put it in the rucksack so we can go . " Luke , not expecting such a compliment , turned around , showing a big smile . " Wow , thank you . I don 't think I have ever received such a compliment . " " You are , " replied Jerry , looking serious . " After what I 've been through it seems a bit surreal to meet someone who doesn 't want something . And you 're nice . Really nice . " Luke shook his head , the smile still present . " No sweetie . It would be the wrong thing to do . You were sleeping like a baby and I thought it was sweet how you cuddled up against me in your sleep . " " Yup , you did . Now come , so we can get you some food before we both get too excited . We 'll have plenty of time for that later . " Moments later Luke and Jerry were having pancakes , waffles and scrambled eggs at a diner on Washington Avenue . Like last night , Jerry had an enormous appetite and left nothing on his plate . He even chowed down Luke 's leftover pancake . That day Luke took Jerry shopping at Aventura Mall . He got him a few tank tops , a pair of shorts and a set of rollerblades . Jerry told Luke that he had never been rollerblading but would like to give it a try , so Luke started to look for blades at Sears and found a set that wasn 't too expensive and probably good enough for one summer of rollerblading , or at least a few days in South Beach . Luke was enjoying Jerry 's company . It made him feel good to see the young man happy . But off and on , feelings of guilt and anxiety filled up his mind and took over . Luke wasn 't sure if what he was doing now was right . Being out here in the sun , seemingly having a blast would not be approved of by society . Being home and taking responsibility was what society preached . In the many moments when Luke 's mind drifted off to Tracey , dark clouds took over his mind and he had to fight hard to let the sunshine back in . It was like reality was playing ping - pong with his attempt to relax . His adopted nature told him that he needed to suffer and not be allowed to enjoy himself . But to Luke , that was the core of him not feeling well . His life had been one of pleasing others and fooling himself . As a teenager Luke slowly built a virtual closet and forced his true self to sit there in the dark and suffer , honestly hoping it would die . On the outside people saw an energetic person living it up with a beautiful wife . But no matter how much he tried , his true self did not die . In fact , it was determined to rise and fight its way out of that rotten closet . The older Luke got , the stronger his feelings for men became . To suppress those increasing feelings he became louder and more present in his daily routine . He raised the bars to succeed at work . Unrealistic bars . He became somewhat obnoxious and got easily agitated . Discussions turned into arguments . Arguments turned into fights . He hated himself for that . By opening up to Tracy and himself that night at home , he realised that that very moment would be the start of a change he could not comprehend . His true self had broken free and there was no way it would go back . Luke believed that this was the source of the reason why he could no longer perform at work . All the energy that he had shifted to his adopted self over the years started to flow back to his authentic self . In his head it caused confusion and created an extreme form of anxiety . Because now he had to come clean to his family and friends , knowing it would destroy everything he and everyone he knew believed to be unbreakable . Luke realised that when he got back home he might lose his family and friends . That they could possibly despise him , hate him and turn their backs on him . His life had been a lie . The thought of that was too much for Luke to bear for . Now he was hanging out in his beloved city with a handsome young man , and enjoying it , he realised that , ' after the storm ' , regardless of the outcome , he could , at some point in the future , live a happy life . With a man , or single . The way mother nature designed him . That night Jerry stayed with Luke in his hotel room . They both agreed on that without any discussion . This time Jerry did not fall asleep right away . He had other plans . Right after Luke got in bed , Jerry pulled Luke closer , kissed him and let Luke slide on top of him . Jerry knew what he wanted and let Luke take charge and make him feel wanted and special . The next morning Luke got up again at seven . Jerry was awake as well . Instead of going for a skate Luke suggested they go for a ride . Jerry , coming from Dayton Ohio , has been in Miami for a few weeks now but had never been out of town . They got into the car , heading for the Everglades . At a gas station they filled up the car and bought themselves coffees , fruit , sweets and water . Luke knew a hidden dirt road halfway to Naples and wanted to surprise Jerry , as he 'd never seen an alligator in the wild . Luke drove on and stopped the car a little further down the dirt road . He opened the door and instructed Jerry to be silent , to not scare the ' gators . Jerry carefully opened his door as well , checking the ground for any animals before taking his feet out of the car . He stood up , his sharp eyes noticing a big alligator only 30 feet away , almost invisible , sunbathing in the high sawgrass with its tail touching the swamp waters . " Look at that mother ! " whispered Jerry , with excitement in his voice . " That thing is huge . I 'm staying right here , no way I am leaving the car . " Luke laughed . He had been to this secret spot many times . Dozens of small and big alligators were scattered around the canal enjoying their siësta . Jerry and Luke got back into the car and headed for Naples , one more hour driving to the west . In Naples , Luke parked the car on Third Avenue , not far from the beach . They changed their clothes for Speedos and walked along the shoreline towards the pier . Jerry couldn 't help himself picking up shells from the beach and , like a little kid , showing the most colourful ones to Luke . It reminded Luke of Tracy , who loved collecting shells on this beach . She had a large collection of various types of shells at home . " No , really . " Jerry says . " For weeks , all I ate were biscuits and cookies . I stole coffee creamer cups from gas stations , and teabags . Sometimes I grabbed a leftover sandwich from a plate on an empty table outside a restaurant . The waiters didn 't even consider me being homeless or hungry , because of the way I look , you know . Not like a bum , that is . Well , you know what I mean . I can easily prowl and attack when I see leftover food . Since yesterday I have been eating like a lion and now my system is responding to it , I think . " The next day Luke took Jerry rollerblading to the Front Porch Café . Jerry had no idea how to skate , so the ride took a lot longer this time . Luke taught him how to fall , where to place his feet and how to hold his body when moving forward . Luke spent the afternoon on the beach . Sitting on his beach towel , he stared out over the warm ocean thinking about how and when he would tell his parents that he was gay and that his relationship with Tracey , as it was , had to end . He thought about work and their house , realising it would have to be put on the market . He thought about all of the questions people were going to ask . The thought of all it made him feel powerless and confused . It was all too much for his head . Jerry told Luke that he went to his ' friend 's place ' . He thought it would be good to see his friend to test the waters and check if his belongings were still safe there . His friend said that he would keep Jerry 's belongings for one more week , but if Jerry hadn 't come back to pick them up by then he would put his stuff out on the kerb . After about two hours of driving Luke spotted a huge advertisement coming up at the side of the Turnpike . He hoped that Jerry wouldn 't spot the ad . But he did . At the first shop they walked into after entering Disney Studios , Luke bought a disposable camera . They took pictures at almost every ride they went on . Jerry was clearly having the time of his life , and at The Tower of Terror Luke bought two white ' Tower of Terror ' tank tops as they both agreed it was by far the best ride of all . The happiness beaming out from Jerry all day put an almost permanent smile on Luke 's face . The ride back to Miami was mostly in darkness as the Turnpike passed through remote areas where not many people lived . As they drove , they listened to Gloria Estefan ; Luke had bought the CD ' Mi Tierra " at Aventura Mall earlier that week . He and Tracey were lifetime fans of Gloria Estefan and had been to a few of her concerts , the last of which was in Miami on New Year 's Eve , the Millennium Concert which had been broadcast live all over the world . They drove on , quietly humming along to the music , surrounded by the darkness . " I had a Spanish boyfriend once , " said Jerry , quite out of the blue . " He always said ' te amo ' - that means I love you . " " It was dark , like this , " Jerry continued . " I miss them . They were the only family I had . I 've felt scared ever since … " They knew I was gay . They said they loved me . " The next morning Luke was up at seven , as usual . He dressed and then slowly opened the door of his room , closing it just as slowly behind him so as not to wake Jerry . He walked outside to a payphone close to the hotel and called Tracey . She sounded perky . He asked her how she was doing and she said that she was hanging in there , but missed him . She also said she was glad that Luke had opened up to her . Yes , she would have preferred things to have turned out otherwise , but it was what it was . She understood . They actually had a few laughs and Tracey said that in time , they may even be the real life version of Will & Grace . Luke knew that she was just being brave but thanked her for being understanding . " Ok , " said Jerry . " Uhm … , listen , I think I need some more rest . Is it okay if I stay here ? I mean , for the day . My head hurts and I feel exhausted . " Luke nodded . " Sure . Take as much time as you need . I 'll get you some food so you don 't have to get up . Want anything in particular ? " Luke got Jerry 's food at the grocery store , dropped it off at the hotel room and then made for the Front Porch Café on his rollerblades . The rest of the day Luke took a few strolls along the shore and enjoyed the sunshine . Knowing that Tracey was bouncing back was a relief to him . He realised that the real struggle was still ahead of him . He also remembered that when he met Tracey , she was vulnerable and in need of warmth and security . He provided that . From there they developed a close and warm relationship . He saw similarities in how he and Jerry were spending their moments and that he needed to be careful that Jerry didn 't get too attached to him . He liked Jerry a lot but wasn 't ready to start something new . But he was aware that Jerry might be developing feelings for him and was aware he needed to be careful . He washed the sand off his body at the beach shower and put on his clothes . He noticed that the man at the sand sculpture was placing candles in his creation . Walking up for a closer look , Luke noticed an open old suitcase on the ground in front of it , burning candles on each side . Inside the suitcase were some dollar bills and a few coins . Luke reached into his rucksack , found his wallet , fished out a few dollars and dropped them into the suitcase . Luke reached out his to shake hands . " I 'm Luke . I noticed you the other day . You 're not here all the time , are you ? " " No , " said Pablo . " The city only gave me a permit for two weeks . Next week I 'll move further north and build a new castle . " " I see . Wow , " says Luke , a bit shocked . " It 's a bit of a contradiction . I mean , rich people flock here , spending a fortune , but there are people living here on the streets , trying to survive . " Suddenly Luke noticed someone moving up from behind the low limestone wall just next to him . Luke moved a bit closer to the wall and saw a woman is getting up from a blanket . She glanced back at him but then quickly looked away and climbed over the low wall . Lavena nodded . " Yup . After my shit got stolen Pablo offered to give me protection and I kinda help him by staying awake in turns so he can get some sleep . But he sleeps mostly during the day . " Luke and Lavena sat down on the low limestone wall and chatted for about an hour . She told him that she was 45 years old and had ended up in Miami after being evicted and losing custody of her kids to her ex - husband in Phoenix . She 'd met another man , who promised her heaven and took her with him in his truck for work , but he 'd dumped her here in Miami with only the clothes and bags she had . Instead of sleeping on the street in downtown Miami , she chose to sleep here on the beach . Luke also learned that it was common for some homeless people to steal from vulnerable people like herself while alone and sleeping . " I do have to go now , my friend is waiting for me , " said Luke . " But you know what ? Why don 't you come join us tomorrow for breakfast ? " Luke reached into his his rucksack and found a few more dollars , placing them in Leaven 's hand . " Go get you and Pablo some warm food . I 'll see you tomorrow morning then . " Luke and Jerry had diner at Yucca , a Cuban restaurant on Lincoln Road . Luke told Jerry about his day and about Lavena and his plan to take them both for breakfast . After dinner they strolled down the shops and galleries on the busy road , concluding the tropical night out with a drink at Score bar , where they had met only a few days earlier . " I really like you , Luke . I know it 's stupid but I can feel myself getting attached to you . That 's why I stayed in the room today . I thought about home a lot , and about my parents . " " I know " Luke replied , putting his arm out Jerry . " I like you too but we both have to close doors and then open new ones . I 'm happy that I was able to put some smiles on your face and show you the beauty of life again . We had good fun . You 'll be alright , Jerry . You 're a smart man . " Luke and Jerry awoke at seven and got ready to pick up Lavena on Ocean Drive . The air felt crisp . Luke loved those mornings when the sun rapidly heated up the humid air . They passed The Front Porch Café and found an empty parking space in front of the sand sculpture . Pablo turns around and smiles at Luke , showing perfect snow white teeth . " Good morning buddy . You 're here ! And on time ! Last night wasn 't bad at all . I survived ! " " You know , " he continued . " She wasn 't sure if she should come with you . I told her that she should and that you are good people . That she should accept the kind gesture and enjoy it . " As it was early in the morning for South Beach with not many tourists around yet , Luke could see Lavena , walking with two Starbuck cups in her hand two blocks away from him . Lavena was a small woman . Her face was golden brown , almost leather - like . It made Luke think of ' rednecks ' or ' crackers ' in the south who spent way too much time in the sun . But on her it looked good . The deep tan lightened up her blue eyes and golden hair . Lavena ordered shrimp , pancakes , salad and scrambled eggs , Jerry felt like a skittle with beans , eggs , bacon , cheese and vegetables . Luke himself ordered scrambled eggs , pancakes and bacon . All three of them had orange juice and coffee . In only a few minutes the table was full of food . Lavena ate just like Jerry had the first time they had dinner and breakfast . The poor thing was starving . She and Jerry got along well and shared parts of their life - stories while eating , as they both seemed to feel safe and comfortable in Luke 's company . Luke took the opportunity to open up his notebook , which he carried with him in his rucksack , and started writing . Luke looked up , smiling , as he noticed a drop of sauce in the corner of her mouth . He gently wiped it from her face with his thumb . " I keep a diary , I 'm a bit behind . " " Thanks , " replied Luke , setting his pen down . He looked at Jerry , still eating like a lion . Luke was amazed by the amount of food this young man could chow down . Then he looked at Lavena . Her hands were moving over the many dishes on the table , collecting the last of the shrimps and salad . Luke continued : " I know that the both of you are going through times most people could never comprehend , let alone withstand . It doesn 't matter to me whether the situations you are in are your own faults or not . We all make decisions in life not knowing the outcome . It 's a tough and unfair world , and I 've just begun to realise that myself . You guys are walking on quicksand every day , not knowing what tomorrow will bring . Not even knowing if there will be food to fill your stomachs . " Luke continued , looking at Jerry . " The day I met you , Jerry , I knew that you wanted to go back home to Dayton and pick up your life . And I think that would be the wisest thing for you to do . I know I said it last night but I really like you and you are a smart guy . " " And you , Lavena . When I met you last night , your story broke my heart . Miami is not the place for you to be . This place is a hellhole for a woman on her own . Not a pot to piss in nor a window to throw it out of , sleeping on the beach . Your life is in danger , girl . " " So " , he continued , addressing them both this time . " After this breakfast we 'll get into the car and drive to the Greyhound station . There we 'll get each of you a ticket home . " " Because you must be an angel , " Lavena continued . " You know , last night , after you left , I prayed to God , asking him if he could help me to get home , for my birthday . Tomorrow is my birthday . " After all three of them were full , Luke drove them to the Greyhound station , not far from Denny 's . The first available bus left in three days and Luke got them both their ticket for that bus so they could go home . They would travel on the bus to Atlanta , where Jerry would have to get his bus to Dayton , Ohio . Lavena would get hers to Phoenix , Arizona . On Ocean Drive Lavena got out of the car to fetch what was left of her belongings . Luke saw her talking to Pablo , who looked up and noticed Luke and Jerry in the car . Luke opened his door , got out and leaned over the roof of the car . " Use the shower and make yourself at home , " Luke said to her . " This room is yours for the rest of the day . I know you 're exhausted . " He and Jerry spent the day , their last one together , shopping at Sawgrass Mills Mall , where Luke got himself and Jerry CK underwear and t - shirts . Jerry picked some clothes for Lavena at the Gap , as he had a good eye for fashion . For lunch they had orange chicken and beef & broccoli at Panda in the food court , and after lunch they resumed shopping . By the time they left the mall it was dark . Not far from the mall was a huge drive - in cinema where they watched The Lord Of The Rings . On their way back to the hotel Luke and Jerry stopped at Publix to get groceries for Jerry and Lavena for the next three days . Real food like bananas , apples , bread , cereals and much more . It was almost midnight when they arrived back at the hotel . Lavena was sitting in the bed , watching tv . Instead of sending her back to Pablo , Luke arranged a bed in the same hotel so that she didn 't have to spend another night on the beach . The last surprise that Luke had for Jerry and Lavena was that they could stay in the hotel until their bus left for Atlanta . After breakfast Luke packed his bags and got ready to drive to the airport . He gave Jerry and Lavena money for transport to Miami and for food while traveling . Jerry and Lavena walked Luke to his car in front of the hotel . Then Luke turned to Jerry , whose eyes were watering . Luke wrapped his arms around him and Jerry wrapped his around Luke . They hugged in silence , completing it with a long kiss . On the plane going back home , Luke thought a lot about his experience in Miami , and the future . He realised that his headaches had gone . The anxiety was still there but he felt like he was stronger and able to think more clearly . He smiled and mumbled to himself that he 'd finally ' got that much needed grip . ' Luke had many thoughts during his flight . At first he was afraid that his time in Miami was just running away from his problems , but then he realised that something beautiful had happened . Luke had followed his guts and listened to his heart . Something he had stopped doing somewhere back in his teens . By listening to his heart and opening up , he met two souls he otherwise never would have met . He helped them because they needed a helping hand and he was in the position to do so . " Call it karma … " he thought … " or anything you want . Jerry and Lavena helped me without them even knowing it . Their situations made me see that one 's life can take a much worse turn . Yes , I still have to a lot to deal with and it 's going to be a struggle , but I 'm healthy . I don 't have to sleep on the streets and I don 't have to go to sleep hungry . " " Yes , I do have to tell my parents that I 'm gay and that Tracey and I will have to divorce but you know what ? I still have my parents . I have no excuse . I can do this ! Cheers ! "

Then , as the unwritten law of social convention obliges , Luke presented the partying people with a bit of an insight into his own life . Not too much though . Luke came to Miami Beach to find peace and sitting at a table with two cheerful couples didn 't quite fit that picture . But as he 'd spent most of his adult life pretending who he is , he figured a few minutes with these folks wouldn 't be that big of a deal . To Luke , Miami and Miami Beach felt like his second home . But this was the first time he 'd come to Miami just by himself . He only decided to leave snowy suburbia to go to Miami the day before he departed . This time it was different . This time it was just Luke . For the first time in his life he felt scared , vulnerable and lost . Emotions he 'd never encountered before . Luke 's life , until recently , had been one of hard work and not complaining . He and his wife lived in a lovely house with a view , drove nice cars and had lots of friends . All of that seemed like a blur right at that moment . The cascade of new emotions which were occupying his thoughts felt like an unbearable weight that seemed to be getting heavier . Earlier that day Luke had driven to Sawgrass Mills Mall to buy himself some time off from the headaches and anxiety . Halfway , exiting I - 95 to enter I - 395 , Luke was confronted by a terrifying new thought , the latest lasting only a split second but lingering in his troubled head ever since . He realised that if the car was to accidentally hit the safety rail on the high fly - over and crash onto the freeway below , he wouldn 't mind . Really would not mind at all . Back in his room in Hotel Catalina , he lay down on the bed and forced himself to get a grip . He stayed in his room till it got dark , then decided to buy himself a beer , sit down on the front porch and watch the loud partygoers in their even louder cars go by . It would at least take his mind of things , if not completely , perhaps just for a while . All of his life Luke carried his secret in silence . Instead of listening to his heart he chose what society expected from him . He wanted to fit in and for all of those years it looked like he was doing well . Until recently . Inside Luke , feelings and emotions he had ignored were getting stronger , more intense . Feelings he could not deny and he knew that he had to acknowledge these feelings and if he did it would change his life forever and the lives of others too . Tracy sensed that Luke was not feeling well and asked , in a kind , caring way , what was going on . Luke came home from work , wearing his suit . He walked into the living room and sat down in the lounge . Tracy kneeled at his side , both hands on his knees , worriedly looking into his eyes . Luke couldn 't look back , and instead he looked down . Tracy asked him if there was someone else . Luke shook his head , then said that it was different . Not what she thinks . For the first time in his life he was honest about who he really was and , in tears , told Tracy that he was gay . There . The word , after thirty four years , was out . They both cried , each trying hard to comfort the other . She said it was alright , that they would find a way to deal with this , that she , somehow , always knew . That she loved him regardless . He said that the love was mutual , had always been , but that this was more than just coming out of the closet . Luke and Tracy talked and cried every day . Luke made it clear to Tracy that he no longer wanted to deny that he was gay and that he openly wanted to embrace the fact that he was gay . He wanted to be with men . He wanted to love himself for who he was and no longer pretend to be straight . That he had never been straight . After the holidays it was time to get back to work and resume life . But for Luke there was nothing to resume . He knew that if he wanted to give himself and Tracy an honest chance to be happy , they needed to break up and start a new life apart from one another . He did not know how but knew that it would be the right way . He wished he could have been strong enough to be who he truly was when he was younger , but he wasn 't . He blamed himself for failing and making Tracy unhappy . He knew he had tried hard and that they had a good life together , but by choosing his true self and cutting the cord between him and Tracy he felt somehow broken . He and Tracey had met when they were nineteen . Love at first sight . Tracey came into his life with a bag of emotions , hurt and sorrow and Luke became her solid rock who she could trust and who gave her unconditional love , which she returned . When Luke looked back he admitted to himself that he was glad that he 'd fallen in love with Tracey . He fooled himself into thinking he was saved . That his feelings for boys would fade away . He and Tracey were as one and no one could come between them . The outside world labelled them as the cutest couple , the kind of relationship people always dreamed about . Together they travelled the world and always had good fun . They were always together . Luke couldn 't focus at work , couldn 't sleep , eat or even be around people . He was sinking and realised that . He needed to be away . To think , to let go of thoughts , to get a grip . Miami was the first place that came to his mind , as he never felt more at home than when he was in Miami . He bought himself a ticket to be on a flight to Miami the next day . " Hi sexy " said the cute bartender as Luke entered Score Bar on Lincoln Road . All the tables outside were occupied . " You 're early , what can I get you ? " " Hi there " said Luke as he sat down at the bar overlooking the outside terrace . " A bourbon with ice , please . And how am I early ? " " Well , " said the bartender " At this time of the night I usually get older couples . The hotties get in around midnight right before the club opens , " pointing his right thumb towards the back . " And most of what we usually have around this time are Europeans , lousy tippers . " At this he turned around with a swirl like a true diva , rolling his eyes . Luke noticed a handsome young man , mid twenties , with blond hair walking in and sitting down at the bar , only a couple of feet away from him . The boy was silent , deep in thought , looking intently at a piece of paper . The bartender gave him a glass of tap water . Luke noticed that the young man was clearly in distress , his face looking very tense . The bartender grabbed a pen , made Luke 's tab and held it up for Luke to see , with a cheeky smile on his face . On the top Luke read " Sexy Luke " with a heart next to it , triggering a big grin on his own face . " I 'm Ricky , " the bartender said , pouring bourbon into a tumbler and placing it on the bar in front of the young man sitting next to Luke . " Cheers " said Luke , laughing . " Just Luke will do . But tell me , why were you sitting there in silence , all consumed by that piece of paper ? I can see you are in distress ! " Jerry unfolded the piece of paper that he 'd folded back up when Luke offered him the drink . " Ugh , such drama . This asshole accused me of sleeping around while being positive , which I 'm not . I have the proof right here . " He held up the piece of paper which showed that he 'd recently been tested and found negative . " It 's not my business but I think you should never be close to anyone who says such things if they are not true . " says Luke . " Walk away . He is not your friend . " Jerry took another sip of his bourbon . " No , I do . I like to be up front as we are talking anyway . I have no home . Well , I do , but not here . I am not from here . It 's a long story but to make it short , I got screwed by my ex boyfriend and now he 's in jail and I 'm stuck in this fake gay Disneyland without anything . I just need to get my gay ass back home . " " Got you , " said Luke . " I 'm sorry about that and I can 't even imagine how you must feel . But if you don 't have a home here , where do you sleep ? " Luke listened to Jerry but found himself observing his body language and his eyes more . He felt there was a lot more to this story but concluded very quickly that Jerry would be better off with some time off from this drama . His heart told him to reach out to Jerry , but his rational self said not to trust a stranger . But Luke got this voice in his head that said that he needed to help him , even though he didn 't know him and he might as well be a serial killer . This thought made Luke laugh . " No , no , sorry , " Luke replied . " You just reminded me of myself , in a weird way . " At this Luke started laughing again . Pretty soon Jerry couldn 't hold his laughter either . " You 're funny " said Jerry . " I like crazy and you seem to be good crazy . So , tell me , what 's your crazy story ? " Luke told him only the surface elements of his complex current situation . He couldn 't be bothered to talk about the thoughts and emotions that were raging through his system and , only hours ago , made him realise that not being alive anymore would be a way out of these frightening feelings . Right now he just wanted to chill and have a drink . Luke and Jerry had quite a good laugh . Jerry happened to be quite a jolly joker and Luke was pleased to see him enjoying himself and that the stress in his face had disappeared . The bar was filling up and Ricky was right . The quality of clientele had improved . Luke was happy that he 'd been able to let his depressing thoughts drift off a bit . After chatting up a storm for about an hour Luke invited Jerry to have a burger . They left Score bar and walked east on Lincoln Road , heading for the beach where the partygoers were flocking in . Moments later Luke and Jerry were enjoying an old school cheeseburger meal with a creamy thick chocolate shake at Johnny Rocket south on Ocean Drive . Luke was amazed how much Jerry could eat , and how fast . It made him laugh . Luke realised that ever since he touched down in Miami he hadn 't laughed , but this night he laughed enough for the whole week . Passing Lincoln Road , Luke and Jerry stopped still to say goodbye . But Luke decided to offer Jerry a place to sleep . The offer to invite Jerry over had gone through Luke 's mind a couple of times , but he wasn 't sure if it would be a wise thing to do . But his heart said : " do it . " " Yes " said Luke . " I can tell you are getting upset having to go back to that place . You need a good sleep without any drama . " " Can you assure me you 're not one ? " asked Luke , laughing . " Come on , you 're tired . You can take a hot shower and get yourself some well deserved rest . After a long hot shower Jerry moved himself into the bed , butt naked . Luke noticed how well built Jerry was , athletic with two firm white buns and soft skin . Seeing him obviously feeling comfortable , Luke felt pleased and was happy that he 'd been able to give the young man a safe place of comfort and peace . When Luke got into bed after taking a hot shower himself , he saw Jerry sleeping like a baby , all cuddled up under the duvet . Luke grabbed the notebook which he used as a diary , and a pen , and carefully slid into the bed , not wanting to wake Jerry . For about half an hour Luke wrote down his thoughts of the day , his experiences and what emotions had popped up at what particular moments . Luke started to write his diary the day he arrived in Miami . No particular purpose , he just felt like he needed to write everything down . Just before he finished writing and getting ready to sleep himself , Jerry turned around , moving himself against Luke , his nose touching Luke 's right arm , still sound asleep . Luke put his notebook and pen on the nightstand , turned off the light and moved his right arm around Jerry . He gently pulled the sleeping handsome young man closer to him and closed his eyes . At 7 am , Luke was wide awake and got out of bed . On the other side of the bed , Jerry was still sleeping . Luke decided it would be better not to wake him . As Luke was getting ready for his morning skate he wrote a note and put a mango , which he 'd bought yesterday , next to the note . The note said : " Good morning handsome , I thought I 'd let you sleep and have breakfast by myself . Here is a mango , it 's all I have in the room . I 'll be back around lunchtime , then we can go have some food when you 're ready , if you like . Take your time and make sure you rest . Luke . " At the front porch of the hotel , in the bright early sunshine , Luke put his rollerblades on his feet and protection gear around his knees , elbows and wrists , on his back a small Columbia rucksack . In it a Discman , his notebook , wallet , a bottle of water , a towel , a clean tank top and black Speedos . As much as Luke loved rollerblading , Collins Avenue was not the right place to make speed . The sides of the road were full of cracks . The sewage outlets just off the curb were dangerous too as the road at these outlets made sudden dips which could cause a nasty fall . The good thing was that people in South Beach were somewhat used to rollerbladers and almost automatically kept an eye out for fast passing boys and girls on wheels . Luke 's white tank top was rapidly absorbing the sweat his body produced , caused by his activity on wheels in combination with the hot and humid air that he loved so much . People on the sidewalk watched him going by and some people give him a friendly smile . Luke happily returned the favour . Being on his wheels in the warm sunshine and feeling the breeze flowing around the curves of his body mades him feel alive . He noticed that he is starting to feel energised . It was a big difference from how he was feeling yesterday when he was driving on the fly - over , and later that day when the two happy couples from Tampa had insisted that he join them . The Front Porch café served freshly squeezed orange juice and freshly baked croissants . To Luke it felt like a touch of France in the tropics . From where he was having his French breakfast he overlooked Ocean Drive , the park full of palm trees on the other side of the road and the blue ocean behind that . Luke had seen this part of Miami Beach change , from a desolated street with closed , sometimes even boarded up shops and restaurants to this vibrant place where more and more people were drawn to . Even the park with the hundreds of palm trees scattered around , wasn 't there when he first visited South Beach . Back then it was a place where you could find a lot of homeless people who used the public bathrooms on the south side as a communal shower and as a washing place . Nowadays it was also a popular cruising spot . After breakfast Luke crossed the street and found himself a spot in the warm golden sand that would soon be too hot to walk on barefoot . The beach was relatively empty . It was only ten o ' clock . This part of the beach usually filled up around noon and peaked around 2pm . Too busy for Luke : he wanted to sit in silence , listen to the soothing sounds of the incoming waves and watch birds feeding themselves on small crabs . This is what Luke liked the most about Miami Beach . To him it felt like an invisible flow of energy plugging into him and charged him with lifeforce . He could feel the energy flowing into his body and mind . On this beach he felt at home and safe . The water was warm , about 85 degrees Fahrenheit . Luke spent much time on his towel and swam in the crystal clear ocean water , letting the current take him a few blocks up north . He paid close attention to how far the strong current was taking him by checking the lifeguard stand at 14th Street . Sometimes the current took him as far as 17th street , from where he would walk back along the shore saying good morning to people who were either floating in the water in colourful foam tubes or soaking up the sunshine on their towels . Around noon Lukes packed his bag and got ready to go back to the hotel . As he stood up he noticed that the beach was filling up quickly , predominantly with men , both young and older . At the beach - shower he washed his feet and put on his rollerblades . Luke noticed a man , one block down , building a high sand - sculpture . " Thanks for the note and the mango , " said Jerry . " You know , I 've never had a mango before , it 's delicious . Sweet . " " You 're welcome " said Luke . " You gotta eat , sweetie . Oh , and it 's really hot outside , maybe you should put on of my tank tops , I have plenty in the drawers . " At this Luke pointed at the chest of drawers next to the bed . " And if you want , pick a pair of shorts as well , see if they fit . " " I think it fits you perfectly and looks great on you , " answered Luke . " You 're all set . Now give me a minute to collect my stuff and put it in the rucksack so we can go . " Luke , not expecting such a compliment , turned around , showing a big smile . " Wow , thank you . I don 't think I have ever received such a compliment . " " You are , " replied Jerry , looking serious . " After what I 've been through it seems a bit surreal to meet someone who doesn 't want something . And you 're nice . Really nice . " Luke shook his head , the smile still present . " No sweetie . It would be the wrong thing to do . You were sleeping like a baby and I thought it was sweet how you cuddled up against me in your sleep . " " Yup , you did . Now come , so we can get you some food before we both get too excited . We 'll have plenty of time for that later . " Moments later Luke and Jerry were having pancakes , waffles and scrambled eggs at a diner on Washington Avenue . Like last night , Jerry had an enormous appetite and left nothing on his plate . He even chowed down Luke 's leftover pancake . That day Luke took Jerry shopping at Aventura Mall . He got him a few tank tops , a pair of shorts and a set of rollerblades . Jerry told Luke that he had never been rollerblading but would like to give it a try , so Luke started to look for blades at Sears and found a set that wasn 't too expensive and probably good enough for one summer of rollerblading , or at least a few days in South Beach . Luke was enjoying Jerry 's company . It made him feel good to see the young man happy . But off and on , feelings of guilt and anxiety filled up his mind and took over . Luke wasn 't sure if what he was doing now was right . Being out here in the sun , seemingly having a blast would not be approved of by society . Being home and taking responsibility was what society preached . In the many moments when Luke 's mind drifted off to Tracey , dark clouds took over his mind and he had to fight hard to let the sunshine back in . It was like reality was playing ping - pong with his attempt to relax . His adopted nature told him that he needed to suffer and not be allowed to enjoy himself . But to Luke , that was the core of him not feeling well . His life had been one of pleasing others and fooling himself . As a teenager Luke slowly built a virtual closet and forced his true self to sit there in the dark and suffer , honestly hoping it would die . On the outside people saw an energetic person living it up with a beautiful wife . But no matter how much he tried , his true self did not die . In fact , it was determined to rise and fight its way out of that rotten closet . The older Luke got , the stronger his feelings for men became . To suppress those increasing feelings he became louder and more present in his daily routine . He raised the bars to succeed at work . Unrealistic bars . He became somewhat obnoxious and got easily agitated . Discussions turned into arguments . Arguments turned into fights . He hated himself for that . By opening up to Tracy and himself that night at home , he realised that that very moment would be the start of a change he could not comprehend . His true self had broken free and there was no way it would go back . Luke believed that this was the source of the reason why he could no longer perform at work . All the energy that he had shifted to his adopted self over the years started to flow back to his authentic self . In his head it caused confusion and created an extreme form of anxiety . Because now he had to come clean to his family and friends , knowing it would destroy everything he and everyone he knew believed to be unbreakable . Luke realised that when he got back home he might lose his family and friends . That they could possibly despise him , hate him and turn their backs on him . His life had been a lie . The thought of that was too much for Luke to bear for . Now he was hanging out in his beloved city with a handsome young man , and enjoying it , he realised that , ' after the storm ' , regardless of the outcome , he could , at some point in the future , live a happy life . With a man , or single . The way mother nature designed him . That night Jerry stayed with Luke in his hotel room . They both agreed on that without any discussion . This time Jerry did not fall asleep right away . He had other plans . Right after Luke got in bed , Jerry pulled Luke closer , kissed him and let Luke slide on top of him . Jerry knew what he wanted and let Luke take charge and make him feel wanted and special . The next morning Luke got up again at seven . Jerry was awake as well . Instead of going for a skate Luke suggested they go for a ride . Jerry , coming from Dayton Ohio , has been in Miami for a few weeks now but had never been out of town . They got into the car , heading for the Everglades . At a gas station they filled up the car and bought themselves coffees , fruit , sweets and water . Luke knew a hidden dirt road halfway to Naples and wanted to surprise Jerry , as he 'd never seen an alligator in the wild . Luke drove on and stopped the car a little further down the dirt road . He opened the door and instructed Jerry to be silent , to not scare the ' gators . Jerry carefully opened his door as well , checking the ground for any animals before taking his feet out of the car . He stood up , his sharp eyes noticing a big alligator only 30 feet away , almost invisible , sunbathing in the high sawgrass with its tail touching the swamp waters . " Look at that mother ! " whispered Jerry , with excitement in his voice . " That thing is huge . I 'm staying right here , no way I am leaving the car . " Luke laughed . He had been to this secret spot many times . Dozens of small and big alligators were scattered around the canal enjoying their siësta . Jerry and Luke got back into the car and headed for Naples , one more hour driving to the west . In Naples , Luke parked the car on Third Avenue , not far from the beach . They changed their clothes for Speedos and walked along the shoreline towards the pier . Jerry couldn 't help himself picking up shells from the beach and , like a little kid , showing the most colourful ones to Luke . It reminded Luke of Tracy , who loved collecting shells on this beach . She had a large collection of various types of shells at home . " No , really . " Jerry says . " For weeks , all I ate were biscuits and cookies . I stole coffee creamer cups from gas stations , and teabags . Sometimes I grabbed a leftover sandwich from a plate on an empty table outside a restaurant . The waiters didn 't even consider me being homeless or hungry , because of the way I look , you know . Not like a bum , that is . Well , you know what I mean . I can easily prowl and attack when I see leftover food . Since yesterday I have been eating like a lion and now my system is responding to it , I think . " The next day Luke took Jerry rollerblading to the Front Porch Café . Jerry had no idea how to skate , so the ride took a lot longer this time . Luke taught him how to fall , where to place his feet and how to hold his body when moving forward . Luke spent the afternoon on the beach . Sitting on his beach towel , he stared out over the warm ocean thinking about how and when he would tell his parents that he was gay and that his relationship with Tracey , as it was , had to end . He thought about work and their house , realising it would have to be put on the market . He thought about all of the questions people were going to ask . The thought of all it made him feel powerless and confused . It was all too much for his head . Jerry told Luke that he went to his ' friend 's place ' . He thought it would be good to see his friend to test the waters and check if his belongings were still safe there . His friend said that he would keep Jerry 's belongings for one more week , but if Jerry hadn 't come back to pick them up by then he would put his stuff out on the kerb . After about two hours of driving Luke spotted a huge advertisement coming up at the side of the Turnpike . He hoped that Jerry wouldn 't spot the ad . But he did . At the first shop they walked into after entering Disney Studios , Luke bought a disposable camera . They took pictures at almost every ride they went on . Jerry was clearly having the time of his life , and at The Tower of Terror Luke bought two white ' Tower of Terror ' tank tops as they both agreed it was by far the best ride of all . The happiness beaming out from Jerry all day put an almost permanent smile on Luke 's face . The ride back to Miami was mostly in darkness as the Turnpike passed through remote areas where not many people lived . As they drove , they listened to Gloria Estefan ; Luke had bought the CD ' Mi Tierra " at Aventura Mall earlier that week . He and Tracey were lifetime fans of Gloria Estefan and had been to a few of her concerts , the last of which was in Miami on New Year 's Eve , the Millennium Concert which had been broadcast live all over the world . They drove on , quietly humming along to the music , surrounded by the darkness . " I had a Spanish boyfriend once , " said Jerry , quite out of the blue . " He always said ' te amo ' - that means I love you . " " It was dark , like this , " Jerry continued . " I miss them . They were the only family I had . I 've felt scared ever since … " They knew I was gay . They said they loved me . " The next morning Luke was up at seven , as usual . He dressed and then slowly opened the door of his room , closing it just as slowly behind him so as not to wake Jerry . He walked outside to a payphone close to the hotel and called Tracey . She sounded perky . He asked her how she was doing and she said that she was hanging in there , but missed him . She also said she was glad that Luke had opened up to her . Yes , she would have preferred things to have turned out otherwise , but it was what it was . She understood . They actually had a few laughs and Tracey said that in time , they may even be the real life version of Will & Grace . Luke knew that she was just being brave but thanked her for being understanding . " Ok , " said Jerry . " Uhm … , listen , I think I need some more rest . Is it okay if I stay here ? I mean , for the day . My head hurts and I feel exhausted . " Luke nodded . " Sure . Take as much time as you need . I 'll get you some food so you don 't have to get up . Want anything in particular ? " Luke got Jerry 's food at the grocery store , dropped it off at the hotel room and then made for the Front Porch Café on his rollerblades . The rest of the day Luke took a few strolls along the shore and enjoyed the sunshine . Knowing that Tracey was bouncing back was a relief to him . He realised that the real struggle was still ahead of him . He also remembered that when he met Tracey , she was vulnerable and in need of warmth and security . He provided that . From there they developed a close and warm relationship . He saw similarities in how he and Jerry were spending their moments and that he needed to be careful that Jerry didn 't get too attached to him . He liked Jerry a lot but wasn 't ready to start something new . But he was aware that Jerry might be developing feelings for him and was aware he needed to be careful . He washed the sand off his body at the beach shower and put on his clothes . He noticed that the man at the sand sculpture was placing candles in his creation . Walking up for a closer look , Luke noticed an open old suitcase on the ground in front of it , burning candles on each side . Inside the suitcase were some dollar bills and a few coins . Luke reached into his rucksack , found his wallet , fished out a few dollars and dropped them into the suitcase . Luke reached out his to shake hands . " I 'm Luke . I noticed you the other day . You 're not here all the time , are you ? " " No , " said Pablo . " The city only gave me a permit for two weeks . Next week I 'll move further north and build a new castle . " " I see . Wow , " says Luke , a bit shocked . " It 's a bit of a contradiction . I mean , rich people flock here , spending a fortune , but there are people living here on the streets , trying to survive . " Suddenly Luke noticed someone moving up from behind the low limestone wall just next to him . Luke moved a bit closer to the wall and saw a woman is getting up from a blanket . She glanced back at him but then quickly looked away and climbed over the low wall . Lavena nodded . " Yup . After my shit got stolen Pablo offered to give me protection and I kinda help him by staying awake in turns so he can get some sleep . But he sleeps mostly during the day . " Luke and Lavena sat down on the low limestone wall and chatted for about an hour . She told him that she was 45 years old and had ended up in Miami after being evicted and losing custody of her kids to her ex - husband in Phoenix . She 'd met another man , who promised her heaven and took her with him in his truck for work , but he 'd dumped her here in Miami with only the clothes and bags she had . Instead of sleeping on the street in downtown Miami , she chose to sleep here on the beach . Luke also learned that it was common for some homeless people to steal from vulnerable people like herself while alone and sleeping . " I do have to go now , my friend is waiting for me , " said Luke . " But you know what ? Why don 't you come join us tomorrow for breakfast ? " Luke reached into his his rucksack and found a few more dollars , placing them in Leaven 's hand . " Go get you and Pablo some warm food . I 'll see you tomorrow morning then . " Luke and Jerry had diner at Yucca , a Cuban restaurant on Lincoln Road . Luke told Jerry about his day and about Lavena and his plan to take them both for breakfast . After dinner they strolled down the shops and galleries on the busy road , concluding the tropical night out with a drink at Score bar , where they had met only a few days earlier . " I really like you , Luke . I know it 's stupid but I can feel myself getting attached to you . That 's why I stayed in the room today . I thought about home a lot , and about my parents . " " I know " Luke replied , putting his arm out Jerry . " I like you too but we both have to close doors and then open new ones . I 'm happy that I was able to put some smiles on your face and show you the beauty of life again . We had good fun . You 'll be alright , Jerry . You 're a smart man . " Luke and Jerry awoke at seven and got ready to pick up Lavena on Ocean Drive . The air felt crisp . Luke loved those mornings when the sun rapidly heated up the humid air . They passed The Front Porch Café and found an empty parking space in front of the sand sculpture . Pablo turns around and smiles at Luke , showing perfect snow white teeth . " Good morning buddy . You 're here ! And on time ! Last night wasn 't bad at all . I survived ! " " You know , " he continued . " She wasn 't sure if she should come with you . I told her that she should and that you are good people . That she should accept the kind gesture and enjoy it . " As it was early in the morning for South Beach with not many tourists around yet , Luke could see Lavena , walking with two Starbuck cups in her hand two blocks away from him . Lavena was a small woman . Her face was golden brown , almost leather - like . It made Luke think of ' rednecks ' or ' crackers ' in the south who spent way too much time in the sun . But on her it looked good . The deep tan lightened up her blue eyes and golden hair . Lavena ordered shrimp , pancakes , salad and scrambled eggs , Jerry felt like a skittle with beans , eggs , bacon , cheese and vegetables . Luke himself ordered scrambled eggs , pancakes and bacon . All three of them had orange juice and coffee . In only a few minutes the table was full of food . Lavena ate just like Jerry had the first time they had dinner and breakfast . The poor thing was starving . She and Jerry got along well and shared parts of their life - stories while eating , as they both seemed to feel safe and comfortable in Luke 's company . Luke took the opportunity to open up his notebook , which he carried with him in his rucksack , and started writing . Luke looked up , smiling , as he noticed a drop of sauce in the corner of her mouth . He gently wiped it from her face with his thumb . " I keep a diary , I 'm a bit behind . " " Thanks , " replied Luke , setting his pen down . He looked at Jerry , still eating like a lion . Luke was amazed by the amount of food this young man could chow down . Then he looked at Lavena . Her hands were moving over the many dishes on the table , collecting the last of the shrimps and salad . Luke continued : " I know that the both of you are going through times most people could never comprehend , let alone withstand . It doesn 't matter to me whether the situations you are in are your own faults or not . We all make decisions in life not knowing the outcome . It 's a tough and unfair world , and I 've just begun to realise that myself . You guys are walking on quicksand every day , not knowing what tomorrow will bring . Not even knowing if there will be food to fill your stomachs . " Luke continued , looking at Jerry . " The day I met you , Jerry , I knew that you wanted to go back home to Dayton and pick up your life . And I think that would be the wisest thing for you to do . I know I said it last night but I really like you and you are a smart guy . " " And you , Lavena . When I met you last night , your story broke my heart . Miami is not the place for you to be . This place is a hellhole for a woman on her own . Not a pot to piss in nor a window to throw it out of , sleeping on the beach . Your life is in danger , girl . " " So " , he continued , addressing them both this time . " After this breakfast we 'll get into the car and drive to the Greyhound station . There we 'll get each of you a ticket home . " " Because you must be an angel , " Lavena continued . " You know , last night , after you left , I prayed to God , asking him if he could help me to get home , for my birthday . Tomorrow is my birthday . " After all three of them were full , Luke drove them to the Greyhound station , not far from Denny 's . The first available bus left in three days and Luke got them both their ticket for that bus so they could go home . They would travel on the bus to Atlanta , where Jerry would have to get his bus to Dayton , Ohio . Lavena would get hers to Phoenix , Arizona . On Ocean Drive Lavena got out of the car to fetch what was left of her belongings . Luke saw her talking to Pablo , who looked up and noticed Luke and Jerry in the car . Luke opened his door , got out and leaned over the roof of the car . " Use the shower and make yourself at home , " Luke said to her . " This room is yours for the rest of the day . I know you 're exhausted . " He and Jerry spent the day , their last one together , shopping at Sawgrass Mills Mall , where Luke got himself and Jerry CK underwear and t - shirts . Jerry picked some clothes for Lavena at the Gap , as he had a good eye for fashion . For lunch they had orange chicken and beef & broccoli at Panda in the food court , and after lunch they resumed shopping . By the time they left the mall it was dark . Not far from the mall was a huge drive - in cinema where they watched The Lord Of The Rings . On their way back to the hotel Luke and Jerry stopped at Publix to get groceries for Jerry and Lavena for the next three days . Real food like bananas , apples , bread , cereals and much more . It was almost midnight when they arrived back at the hotel . Lavena was sitting in the bed , watching tv . Instead of sending her back to Pablo , Luke arranged a bed in the same hotel so that she didn 't have to spend another night on the beach . The last surprise that Luke had for Jerry and Lavena was that they could stay in the hotel until their bus left for Atlanta . After breakfast Luke packed his bags and got ready to drive to the airport . He gave Jerry and Lavena money for transport to Miami and for food while traveling . Jerry and Lavena walked Luke to his car in front of the hotel . Then Luke turned to Jerry , whose eyes were watering . Luke wrapped his arms around him and Jerry wrapped his around Luke . They hugged in silence , completing it with a long kiss . On the plane going back home , Luke thought a lot about his experience in Miami , and the future . He realised that his headaches had gone . The anxiety was still there but he felt like he was stronger and able to think more clearly . He smiled and mumbled to himself that he 'd finally ' got that much needed grip . ' Luke had many thoughts during his flight . At first he was afraid that his time in Miami was just running away from his problems , but then he realised that something beautiful had happened . Luke had followed his guts and listened to his heart . Something he had stopped doing somewhere back in his teens . By listening to his heart and opening up , he met two souls he otherwise never would have met . He helped them because they needed a helping hand and he was in the position to do so . " Call it karma … " he thought … " or anything you want . Jerry and Lavena helped me without them even knowing it . Their situations made me see that one 's life can take a much worse turn . Yes , I still have to a lot to deal with and it 's going to be a struggle , but I 'm healthy . I don 't have to sleep on the streets and I don 't have to go to sleep hungry . " " Yes , I do have to tell my parents that I 'm gay and that Tracey and I will have to divorce but you know what ? I still have my parents . I have no excuse . I can do this ! Cheers ! "

Not a word was spoken during the fifteen - minute ride home . Mr . Hickock was seething over Darren 's defiance - and in front of other people , no less ! Darren sat in the passenger seat rubbing his legs . He had had to make three trips to load his things into the car . His dad has refused Kyle and Kevin 's help saying that there was no sense in all three of them getting cold . Luckily , the engine was still warm and the car was heating up fast . Sensing Darren 's thoughts , Mr . Hickock said , " I hired John to clear it . I don 't expect you to go outside in the cold weather with only your diapers and plastic pants for protection . This time it won 't cost you anything because we were away when it snowed , but , for all future snowstorms , whatever has to be paid for someone to do your job will come out of your allowance . " They drove into the garage . Much to Darren 's relief the door was lowered before he had to get out of the car . He didn 't know exactly how many people Samantha had told about his diapers but he didn 't want to face any of them tonight . They went into the house . Mr . Hickock directed Darren to bring his diaper supplies and suitcase upstairs to be put away . Darren walked into the bedroom and became even more depressed at what he saw , or rather , at what he didn 't see . His TV and CD player had been removed . They began unpacking Darren 's suitcase . Mr . Hickock took possession of Darren 's pants , underwear , and anything else that could be used to cover his diapers . Darren saw that his dad had already gone through the dresser and closet before picking him up . They started on the two boxes of diapers and plastic pants . Only half of the plastic pants fit into to Darren 's former underwear drawer ; there was no storage anywhere in the room for his diapers . " I 'll look into getting more storage tomorrow . For now , we 'll just leave them in their boxes . Do you need a change ? " Darren 's dad asked . Mr . Hickock explained the new house rules to Darren . They were the same as the rules he had been living under at Kyle 's and Kevin 's , with a few additions . The major additions were that Darren could not use his computer without permission ; that he was never going to be left alone ; and , that he was not allowed to change his own diapers . Mrs . Gonzag , the three - times - a - week housekeeper , would be coming in daily , Monday through Friday , to stay with Darren while his dad was at work . She would handle all his diaper changes . " Not Mark , please . Not in my diapers , I 'll die . Please , please , let me call him and ask him not to come … " Mark begged . " Listen to me , Darren , " Mr . Hickock interrupted . " Mark called here shortly after Sherryl and I arrived from the airport . He already knows about your diapers . He offered to come over here . He wants to be here with you . I think you 'll regret it if you send him away . " Darren was not convinced that it was good idea to let Mark come over . Conversely , he wasn 't sure that it would be a good idea to refuse to see him . He agreed to let the arrangements stand as they were . Darren knew that his world was changing fast . Never before had he felt the need to have someone else protect him from kids his own age . He had always taken care of himself . He didn 't like this feeling of dependency . They went into the den . Mr . Hickock and Darren sat in their usual places . Darren felt a little chilled so he began rubbing his legs to warm them up . Darren approached his dad who grabbed him around the waist and lifted him onto his lap . He began massaging Darren 's legs , sending a delightful warmth through all of Darren 's body . He leaned back against his father and relaxed . He had a vague recollection of his dad having done this to him many years before . He got comfortable . Even after his dad had finished warming him up he didn 't move . He fell asleep on his dad 's lap not even waking up when his dad carried him up to bed . He woke up in the middle of the night . Strangely , he felt extremely comfortable and content . He was amazed that he was in a dry diaper . He knew for sure that his diaper had been wet before going downstairs and that he had wet again while sitting on his dad 's lap . The next morning , Darren woke up in his own bed for the first time in a week . He was disoriented at first , something was different . " My diapers , of course , " he remembered . He thought about Mark who was coming to see him today . " Why does he want to come ? I don 't want him to come , " he thought peevishly . In the next second , however , he changed his mind and he felt glad that Mark was coming . This new life was so confusing . The storm door opened , It wasn 't Mark who entered but John from next door . He wanted to get paid for his work the previous day . Darren 's stomach did a flip - flop when he saw who it was . John was smiling broadly . " Cute diapers . You look even more babyish than my sister described . I 'll make sure that everyone knows all the real details about them just like you told everybody how I accidentally wet my pants when I was sick last year . " John went home and Mr . Hickock left for work . Darren was utterly depressed . John was sure to spread the word to everyone . No one would respect him anymore . Darren was unable to see that the treatment he was about to get was the same kind of treatment that he used to give to John . Mark arrived in mid - morning . Mrs . Gonzag let him in through the kitchen door . Darren was upstairs lying on his bed . Even though his diapers , plastic pants , and other supplies were visible around the room , he was too scared to walk downstairs to stop Mark from coming in . Mark had spent time planning what to say to his friend when he saw him . Despite all the rehearsing he had done , he merely stood in the doorway staring at Darren 's thick diaper and plastic pants . He was all the more embarrassed because he knew that Darren could tell where his eyes were focused . Mark was still tongue - tied and unable to break his stare away from Darren 's diaper . He noticed that Darren was wet . Mark finally looked directly into Darren 's eyes . He saw how humiliated Darren was feeling . Darren got off the bed . They sat on the floor as he explained the story from the beginning . About halfway through , Mark noticed the diapers and plastic pants piled next to the dresser . For some reason he couldn 't explain , this made him very embarrassed . Darren wondered what she wanted . Did Mark have to leave ? Were they making too much noise ? Actually , she was trying to save him embarrassment . It had been over four hours since he had been put into his diaper . She wanted to check him to see if he needed a change . He walked into the hallway . Darren was red with embarrassment . Not only had Mrs . Gonzag 's action surprised him , it made him feel like a baby . Also , he wasn 't sure how to get Mark away from the computer so that Mrs . Gonzag could change him . Mrs . Gonzag took matters into her own hands . " Mark , I need to help Darren change , " she said diplomatically . " Could you leave us alone for a few minutes . Why don 't you go down to the den ? " Darren hopped up on the bed and laid down on the towel . Mrs . Gonzag adjusted his position to suit her . She reached into the leg bands of the plastic pants and carefully removed the lower pin on each side . She then reached into the waist band and did the same for each top diaper pin . He thought that he had already reached the height of embarrassment but now that he was laying naked from the waist down like a baby , he felt an even deeper sense of humiliation . Mrs . Gonzag began cleaning his diaper area . She worked quickly and gently . She had him lift up so that the thick diaper could be put on him . She powdered him and pulled the diaper up between his legs . He still wasn 't completely used to the massive amount of material that sat between his legs or the fact that the diaper rose so high over his stomach and even higher up his back . She pinned it on , even tighter than his dad did . He winced a little . " Let 's try it anyway , " she urged . " The diaper I just took off you was very loose . Your diapers will stretch a little as you wear them . Didn 't you think that your last diaper felt awfully loose ? " At the same time that this was going on , John was next door hanging around his back yard waiting for some friends to arrive . He saw Mrs . Gonzag walk by Darren 's window carrying a diaper and plastic pants . Curiosity took hold of him . He climbed up to his old tree house . What he saw gave him a great idea . He wouldn 't tell his friends about seeing Darren in his diaper and plastic pants , not yet anyway . Mark stayed with Darren the rest of the day and the next day again . The following day he had to go with his family to visit his grandparents . It was Saturday and Darren , Sherryl , and his dad were together . This was the first time that Sherryl had seem him in diapers . She tried to be kind to him while still being supportive of his father 's decision to discipline him . His dad had to go to the office for a few hours so Sherryl and Darren were left alone . Darren went to his room and Sherryl retreated to the den to read magazines . Darren relaxed noticeably . She was going to treat his diaper change casually , almost like a game . Everything went well . She worked efficiently and quickly . The only request Darren made was that she pin the top pins tighter . She laughed when he explained that he didn 't want his diaper to fall off once it was wet . Next door , John had waited two hours in the old tree house . He had the video camera all set up and ready to go . The afternoon light was perfect . He got a clear shot through the window without any glare . The next few days went by slowly for Darren . The only bright spot came when Kyle , Kevin , and Bill were allowed to spend one full day with him . Mrs . Gonzag was ready to grumble about all the boys being in diapers until she found out that the others were allowed to diaper themselves . Looking at the four boys interacting with each other she began to suspect that they were enjoying their ' punishment ' a little too much . She shared her suspicions with Mr . Hickock . Darren didn 't know what to say . Rashid and he had been friends , but not close friends . Mark and he lived next door to each other . Darren endured a couple of minutes of staring by Rashid as they got to know each other better . They went up to Darren 's room . Mark got right down to business . " John is copying them for anyone who wants one , " Rashid said . " He being careful , though . If you accept a copy you can 't say where you got it . " " Wait a minute , " Mark interrupted . " It 's not what you think . Rashid heard about it from Ken and RJ ( two of their friends ) and he told me because he knew that I was your friend . I wanted to get the evidence against John but I figured that he wouldn 't give me a copy if I asked for one . John barely knows Rashid so I asked him to go to John to get it . " Darren was shaking with rage . He would have gone right over to John 's house to have it out with him if he could have . But he knew that he would look ridiculous going over there dressed in his diaper and plastic pants . And he would get into more trouble with his dad . " John is being real careful . He 's only making copies for people who he thinks don 't like you . I think Rashid got one because John doesn 't think that you guys are friends . " They spent the rest of the afternoon talking and playing whiffle basketball in Darren 's room . The subject of the video clip came up from time to time . Darren asked Rashid to leave the Zip disk with him . He would try to view it that night after his dad went to sleep . He had to see what was on it even though he knew it would upset him . Mark and Rashid went home when Mr . Hickock got back from work . All that evening Darren was distracted . Sherryl had come over to cook them dinner . Normally , he looked forward to these meals . He was beginning to really like Sherryl and she was a good cook . " You 're awfully quiet . Mrs . Gonzag told me that another friend of yours came over with Mark this afternoon . Did either of them upset you ? " The matter was dropped . When his dad changed him later that night Darren appeared tense and nervous . Mr . Hickock would have liked Darren to share with him whatever was bothering him . They went to bed . Darren had no trouble staying awake until his father was asleep . In fact , he was so worried about John 's video clip that he wouldn 't have slept even if he hadn 't thought about sneaking down to his dad 's computer to look at it . He entered the den and closed the door partially . He turned the computer on and waited for it to boot up . In the quiet house the various beeps it made sounded ten times louder than usual . The desktop finally came up . He inserted the Zip disk and opened it . He double - clicked the only file name listed and QuickTime began running . The opening scene showed Darren already lying on his bed . Sherryl ( Darren now knew that John had done this on Saturday since that was the only time that Sherryl had ever changed him . ) pulled off his plastic pants and unpinned his diaper . There was a cut in the scene and Sherryl was shown finishing up the cleaning of his diaper area . He was completely exposed . He felt angry and humiliated all at the same time . There was another cut and Sherryl was now pulling the diaper up between his legs and pinning it on . Darren 's emotions exploded . His eyes overflowed and tears ran down his cheeks . Not only was he humiliated by the video clip , his dad would probably punish him again for having snuck in here . By now Mr . Hickock figured out what Darren was looking at . He was mystified by it all . He reached over to Darren and gave him a hug . Darren responded by hugging him back and by wrapping his arms around his neck and his legs around his waist . Mr . Hickock picked him up and rocked him gently . Mr . Hickock rocked him back and forth some more . Darren was returning to normal . Mr . Hickock leaned Darren over the desk and told him to take some Kleenex . Darren wiped his eyes and blew his nose . " Hello , Mrs . Prett , this is Dan Hickock from next door . May I come over to talk to you ? I 've got an urgent situation that I think you need to know about … Yes , thank you … I 'll be there directly . " Mrs . Prett greeted Mr . Hickock politely but not warmly . In the past , it had been she who had asked to have meetings with Mr . Hickock regarding Darren 's treatment of her son . She didn 't like being on the other end of the situation . " I know that in the past Darren has been very unfair to your son : picking on him and ridiculing him publicly . I think that you know that I have tried to bring Darren around to better behavior . I suppose that you know about his current punishment . I can 't guarantee that he will behave better toward your son but I have seen subtle changes in him in the last few days that give me hope . " Mr . Hickock paused . He wasn 't sure how to continue . He didn 't want to come out and flatly accuse her son of manufacturing the video clip but he believed what Darren had told him . " Yes . It 's about this disk that I have in my hand . It contains a very graphic video clip of my son having his diaper changed . It is taken from an angle that suggests that the camera must have been placed in your backyard , somewhat high up , at about second story level . " " I brought it over so that you could see it for yourself . Perhaps you can correct me if I 'm wrong . By the way , please call me Dan . " Mr . Hickock explained what was contained in the video . Mr . Prett popped the disk into the drive and they viewed the clip together . Phil and Cindy Prett were deeply disturbed by what they saw . " I think you 're right , Dan , " Mr . Prett said . " This was definitely shot from our backyard . My guess is that it was done from the old tree house . Cathy , is the video camera still in its case in the hall closet ? " " First of all , " his dad responded , " you know that you aren 't supposed to touch it without permission and that you aren 't allowed to use it without adult supervision . Secondly , we 've had that camera since last summer . Why show it to your friends now ? " " Actually , " Mr . Hickock interrupted , " it was taken last Saturday at around 10 : 30am . My fiancée is the one shown changing Darren 's diaper . It 's the only time she 's ever changed him . " " I 'm sorry to bring this problem to you , " Mr . Hickock began . " I know that Darren has caused John a lot of anxiety and that in many ways my son has brought this down on himself . But the distribution of these video clips has got to stop . " " We 'll do better than that , " Mr . Prett responded . " John will personally retrieve every one of the copies he made as well as the copies that his friends may have shared with others . You have my guarantee on that . " " Darren , don 't push it . How many times did you for pick on John ? If you hadn 't been so obstinate in your behavior , John wouldn 't have felt the needed to get even with you . Do you see that ? " Darren spent the rest of the morning in his room reading old comic books . The weather had become unseasonably warm and Darren wished he could go out and do something with his friends . Instead , he asked Mrs . Gonzag if he could watch a movie in the den . She allowed it , but only after carefully checking what he wanted to watch . He sighed at these restrictions but knew better than to argue . Mrs . Gonzag received a phone call from Mr . Hickock . Afterward , she busied herself carrying out his instructions . She served lunch to Darren in the den . Meanwhile , the Pretts had decided on a plan to handle John 's misbehavior . They started by calling him down to the home office . He sat quietly in the chair by his dad 's desk . John shrugged his shoulders . He figured that he was in enough trouble already so why run the risk of saying something that could get him in even deeper . He had decided to limit his answers to shrugs or ' I don 't know ' . " They 're laws to designed to protect people 's private lives from unwanted intrusion . When you pointed our camera into Darren 's bedroom window you violated those laws . You might think that you can argue that the curtain was open and that what you saw was accidental or even that it was their fault . But you 're wrong . You zoomed in to get a good picture . You acted just like a Peeping Tom , which is illegal . Do you know that you can go to jail for spying on people like that ? " " But that 's not the worst legal offense you may have committed . You took pictures of a minor in the nude and distributed them to other people . That makes you guilty of distributing child pornography , a federal offense that carries very severe penalties . Also , Mr . Hickock could sue us in court for all kinds of money . We could lose our house , our savings , everything . Do you understand ? " he said raising his voice . " Yes , he could . And more . I just pray to God that he isn 't a vengeful man because he could take away everything we have . " John was sent back up to his room . Mr . and Mrs . Prett continued discussing the situation . Eventually they had a plan worked out . Mr . Prett called Mr . Hickock to inform him and to seek his help . Mr . Hickock was very gracious and by the end of their conversation Mr . Prett felt a great deal of relief . It appeared that , for the time being at least , Mr . Hickock was going to be reasonable . " Quiet down , " his dad ordered . " You have lost all privileges for some time . You are going to do exactly what we say , when we say it . Is that understood ? " His dad tried to get him to stand . John swung his leg up and hit him squarely in the groin . This infuriated his dad who grabbed him by the legs and pulled him to the floor . Mr . Prett roughly pulled off John 's pants and underwear . In the process , John 's shoes came flying off , too . John recovered and stood up , also furious . His dad grabbed him by the shoulders . John fought back but his dad had the advantage of size and experience . Before John knew it , his dad had him pinned over his lap in the classic spanking position . " This is only the first half of your spanking . I hope I don 't have to give you the second half . Will you do as you 're told ? " his dad demanded . After John promised to obey , his dad let him up . John stood there sniffling and humiliated . The pain of the spanking was going to linger for some time . What surprised him the most was that his mother had not stopped it . In the past , she had always protected him from any threat of corporal punishment . This change in his mother 's attitude scared him . John complied , wincing as his bottom came into contact with the diaper . She oiled his diaper area and gently rubbed it in . When she touched his backside he initially flinched but the oil and the powder which followed had a soothing effect . She pinned the diaper up and put his plastic pants on . He stood up . His parents detailed their conditions . The bathroom was now off limits . He was to use his diaper for all his bathroom needs . He would be changed frequently to prevent diaper rash but his parents would decide when the time was right . He was not grounded , he could have visitors or go to his friends ' houses just as before . The only difference was that he would have to be in diapers . " This is our last warning , " his dad said angrily , " We 'll give you time to calm down but within one hour you will come downstairs and apologize to us for this outburst . And you will never speak to us in that tone again . Understood ? " John seethed . He would never apologize . He walked over to the stack of diapers and plastic pants on his dresser . They looked mildly used . Where did they come from ? Darren , of course . This made him even more angry . He picked up the plastic pants intending to tear them to shreds . Luckily for him , an inner voice said that he shouldn 't . He tried to assess his situation rationally . If he defied his parents , they would only get more repressive . If he went along with them , maybe they would ease up . Either way his life was wrecked . They would make him wear these damned diapers no matter what . And make him use them for everything . Maybe if he cooperated fully for the next few days they would relent or allow him to negotiate . He decided to apologize . Only ten minutes had gone by . " " I guess we weren 't very clear when we explained the rules to you , " his mother answered . " You will not wear any pants when you 're at home , visiting relatives , or around the neighborhood . You will get to wear pants only when we 're out in a public place that demands it . " John couldn 't believe what he was hearing . Tears welled up but he refused to allow them to fall . He meekly went back up to his room where he cried in private . His dad gave him a package of over - the - calf white socks . They would go up to his knees . John wasn 't sure if this was an order or a suggestion . He put them on without argument . They accentuated the skinniness of his legs . Still , they were warmer . John went downstairs with his dad . With each step his legs felt less and less steady . How could he face his friends dressed this way ? Especially after everything he had said about Darren and his diapers . He headed for the garage . Panic filled John again . Only this time he didn 't rebel . He followed his dad outside into the bright sunshine . He felt numb . He could barely move . His dad grabbed his hand to hurry him along . He tried to free himself from his dad 's grasp but his dad held on tightly . So , hand in hand , they walked toward the first house from which John needed to retrieve the video . They crossed the street to Artie 's house . Mr . Prett rang the doorbell . The front door opened almost immediately . Artie 's father invited them in . If he was surprised to see John in diapers he didn 't show it . " Here 's the disk you asked about . Artie says that he didn 't make any copies or lend it to any of his friends . He 'd better be telling the truth . " The last sentence was undoubtedly said for the benefit of Artie who had just entered the room . He took one look at John and gasped but he didn 't say anything . It was obvious that he was already being punished for his part in this matter . John was heartened by Artie 's implication that they would see each other again . Maybe it meant that he hadn 't lost all of his friends . Of course , Artie didn 't know that he would be in diapers for six more months and that he had to use them for everything . The following visits went roughly the same as the first . In each house , John found that his friends were being disciplined to one degree or another for their participation in the spreading of the video . No one laughed at him either . But how would they act when their parents weren 't around ? Or when other kids their age were ? Only three more stops to go . The sun was beginning to set and it was getting cooler . Mr . Prett had led John on a big circle , getting further away from home and then looping back in the direction of their house . They had run into several groups of kids . They were all stunned . Why was this kid being led around the neighborhood dressed in diapers and plastic pants ? John knew that he would be the center of speculation for a long time . Also , the implications of the new rules he had to live under were becoming clearer . No pants around the neighborhood . He suspected that his parents would make him to hang out with his usual friends . That would mean being outside often . At the second to the last stop John got more bad news . Martin had made a copy of the video clip and given it to his friend Carlos . John didn 't know who Carlos was . Mr . Prett asked if Martin had a phone number where Carlos could be reached . He dialed it and spoke to Carlos 's parents who became very upset . He arranged for John to go over to their house within the next half hour to pick up the video . All the video clips had been retrieved except for the one given by Martin to Carlos . John dreaded this visit more than any of the others . He didn 't even know this kid . This was going to be super humiliating . Mr . Prett rang the doorbell . They were greeted and welcomed into the living room . " Nice to meet you , Mr . Prett . I see that you believe in firm discipline , too . I 'm awfully sorry that Carlos has caused you this inconvenience , " Carlos 's dad said . " Please , the fault is ours . If my son here hadn 't made that video in the first place your son would never had obtained a copy of it . Please don 't apologize , " Mr . Prett said in response . " Don 't be silly . You know very well that your mother is here with me . Do I have to go there and make you come out ? " " Normally , " Carlos 's mom continued , " we 're very proud of Carlos . He 's usually a good kid ; in fact , we think that we 're very lucky to have him for a son . But , in this instance we 're absolutely shocked at his insensitivity toward this other boy . " Footsteps were approaching . Carlos shyly walked into the room . Just like John , he was dressed in a cloth diaper and plastic pants . They boys stared at each other for a long moment . Carlos 's dad broke the silence . " Carlos is a lifelong bed wetter . We have always shielded him from other kids finding out about it . We are even willing to be the " bad guys " when his friends invite him for overnight events . Sometimes , this has been difficult for us . We have had parents call us to say that the overnight was supervised and that there was no reason to feel that it was unsafe for Carlos to attend . We never disclosed the real reason for withholding our ' permission ' even though it made us look like unbending and unreasonable parents . His behavior in this matter is incomprehensible . We 've decided that he 'll wear his diapers for an indefinite period . It seems a fitting punishment . " " Yes , I understand your feelings . My wife and I have put John back into diapers for at least the next six months . He will wear nothing over them except when he 's at school or some other public place that requires it . He will use his diapers for everything . " " I presume that because of the vacation you haven 't set up your son 's diaper changes with the nurse yet . Don 't worry about it . Mrs . Sanchez is very good . Just let her know how often you want John to check in with her and she 'll take it from there . I know this because Carlos had a severe flu when he was in sixth grade . For two weeks we sent him to school with diapers under his clothes because he was having daytime accidents , " she explained . " Cloth . And his plastic pants , of course . As long as she isn 't responsible for cleaning them , she doesn 't care what type they wear . " All this talk of going to school in diapers and plastic pants was making John and Carlos very nervous . John had been feeling the urge to pee for some time . He could no longer hold back . He thought that he could release a little at a time but the flow quickly escaped his control . By the time they were ready to leave , John 's diapers were soaked . Thankfully , his plastic pants didn 't leak . He stood up and felt the heavy diaper slipping downward . Carlos 's mother noticed " I don 't think so , " she insisted gently . " That diaper looks like it 's ready to fall off . Because of Carlos I have quite a bit of experience in this area . " " Boys their age need their diapers pinned on very high and very tight . They 're much more active than babies so their diapers stretch quite a bit . If you begin with a very snug fit they won 't slide down once they 're wet . May I show you ? " She partially pulled down his plastic pants and unfastened one of the top pins . ( His diaper had indeed dropped about two inches . ) She tugged his diaper back in place and refastened the pin more snugly . She did the same for the other side , ensuring that John 's diaper would not slide down again . It was very degrading for John . He did have to admit , though , that his diaper felt more comfortable . " So , there are three of you . Now that you guys have something in common maybe you 'll get to be good friends . " his dad said . John doubted it . He didn 't want to be friends with diaper wearing babies . He missed the point that his dad was making : from now on , the neighborhood would lump the three of them together . John arrived home mentally and physically exhausted - and wet . His mom was preparing dinner so his dad took care of his diaper change . He knew that he should feel humiliated by this treatment but he was too tired to feel anything . He was asleep when Samantha came home . He was a little more awake . He didn 't want to eat but he didn 't want to give his parents more reasons for extending his punishment . He threw off his blanket before he remembered that Samantha hadn 't seen him in diapers yet . Even though her mother had given her a stern warning about not making fun of John , she snickered when saw his gleaming plastic pants . " And what if I don 't ? Are you going to tattle to mommy and daddy about big sister picking on the wittle boy ? Go ahead . And then I 'll make sure to they find out the real truth about a whole bunch of things . Maybe we could start with how Mr . Baker 's car got scratched last month . " " No , of course not . Let 's go downstairs before mom and dad have a cow . But , can I ask one thing : how could you have been so stupid to think that mom and dad wouldn 't catch you ? " " I think you will care , " Mark persisted . " Listen to this . Yesterday , his dad and he walked to the houses of his friends who had copies of the video and he was wearing only his diapers and plastic pants . Lots and lots of people saw him on the street . " " And that 's not all . " Mark continued . " He has to wear diapers full - time for six months and use them for everything . He 's never allowed to use a bathroom , not even in school . " Darren was shocked into silence . He sat across from his dad in the den staring at the television . His sulk didn 't last very long . The doorbell rang . It was the Pretts . Darren was really mad at his dad , now . Why didn 't he tell him it was John coming over ? He didn 't like John but at least he was in diapers and plastic pants , too . Did his dad deliberately set him up in order to lengthen his punishment ? The Pretts had come over so that John could apologize and give Darren all the copies of the video clip . John 's apology didn 't sound very sincere and Darren 's acceptance wasn 't very gracious either . Nonetheless , their parents let it pass . They moved on to the other part of the reason for their visit . They explained to Darren and John that they would be spending their remaining days of vacation together with Carlos . ( Darren didn 't know anything about Carlos being in diapers so it was quickly explained to him . ) The reason for this change of plan was simple . Why should three households tie themselves down with the same problem of having to baby sit their punished children ? " Yes , and you boys won 't be alone . You will have more to do if there are three of you . And , hopefully , you won 't get bored and wind up cooking up more trouble for yourselves and for us , " Mrs . Prett added . Neither Darren nor John liked this plan . However , given the fact that his dad had just lengthened his punishment , Darren wasn 't going to say a word . John didn 't say a word , either , even though this decision obviously made him unhappy . The next morning , John arrived on time . They left for Carlos 's house , each carrying a backpack crammed full of extra diapers and plastic pants . On the way they met up with two of their school friends . They obviously knew about John and Darren 's punishment . The first hour at Carlos 's was tense . No one felt comfortable . Eventually , though , things loosened up and by lunch time they were acting like old friends . Having a common enemy to complain about ( their parents ) helped quite a bit . Whereupon , John also noisily filled the back side of his diaper . Now it was Darren who was becoming uncomfortable . This was his first experience with the smell of really dirty diapers . He didn 't like it . Luckily , Carlos 's mother came to check on them a few minutes later . " You can use the bathroom off the kitchen , " she said . " When you 're done come back here and I 'll finish changing you … John , get your changing pad and other diaper supplies and bring them here . " She had finished changing John and was finishing up on Carlos when Darren returned . He felt very exposed standing there without his diaper on . Covering himself with his hands , he went over to his diaper bag to get a clean diaper and a pair of plastic pants . Carlos 's mother laughed at his attempt to maintain his modesty and pick up his supplies all at once . By the time he was lying on the changing pad he was scarlet with embarrassment . Carlos 's mother did a good job though . You could tell that she had done this many times before . " You boys aren 't asking for enough diaper changes , " she said . " I 'll check on you more frequently . Diaper rashes are no fun - ask Carlos . " The next days were also successful . The boys began a rotation of going to each other 's houses for the day . ( Once school restarted this rotation would continue . They were not going to be allowed to go home unsupervised or alone . ) The two times they had been at Darren 's house Mark had spent the day with them . Christmas vacation was almost over . There was only one weekend left . Kevin contacted Darren to ask if he wanted to join him and his brother in one last sleepover before going back to school . Darren told them about his situation with John and Carlos . Also , he mentioned that he and his friend Mark were planning on spending time together this weekend . " I don 't know . Probably . Carlos 's parents are real strict , though . John can probably convince his parents if my dad says it 's OK . And , Mark … he doesn 't wear diapers but he 's cool . He 's spent a lot of time with us since our punishments started . Will Bill be there , too ? " " No , " Kevin answered , " he 's out of town with his family . I think it 's his grandfather 's birthday . He wanted to stay . Especially since his parents are making him wear his diapers and plastic pants in front of all his relatives . They didn 't allow him to take even one pair of pants " They met at Kevin and Kyle 's house Friday afternoon - they were going to spend all weekend together until Sunday afternoon . One concession had been made to relieve Kevin and Kyle 's parents of an unpleasant responsibility . For this weekend , John and Carlos could use the toilet to do number two . Kevin and Kyle were good planners and everyone felt at home right away . They played some group games , talked , and ate . After dinner , Kyle came up with an idea . " It 's easy , " he answered . " We weigh our diapers and plastic pants before getting them put on and then again when they come off . Whoever has the biggest difference in weight when we average out the totals on Sunday wins the secret prize . Kevin and I will play along but we 're not eligible to win . The only thing I can tell you about the prize is that it 's worth over $ 85 . OK ? " " Wait a minute , " Darren said . " That sounds like fun and everything , but that leaves Mark out of it . I 'll only play a game where everyone has a chance to win . Especially if the prize is valuable . " Mark let himself be convinced . Kevin and Kyle led him up to their room to be diapered . Five minutes later he was ready , but reluctant to go back downstairs . Mark was further embarrassed by the standing ovation he got from Carlos , Darren , and John . If Kevin and Kyle hadn 't held on to him he would have fled back upstairs . Furthermore , he was confused by the erection that he was powerless to stop . At least it couldn 't be seen through the heavy layers of his diaper and plastic pants . If he had had the guts to ask , he would have found out that each of the other guys there had had a similar reaction at one time or another . Mark didn 't think of that part of it . Would he be able to pee in a diaper ? He didn 't want to think about it right then because it seemed to make his erection stiffer . They watched a movie . Kevin and Kyle 's dad came in to tell the guys that it was time set out their sleeping bags . ( They were all going to sleep in front of the fireplace in the living room . ) Mark tried to hide behind Darren and Bill . It didn 't work . Except for Mark , everyone was wearing a diaper that was at least a little bit wet . In fact Darren , John , and Carlos had deliberately tried not to wet so that they could save it up for the first diaper that ' counted ' in the game . Mark didn 't wet because he was too nervous about doing it . All the diapers and plastic pants were weighed on the postal scale that Kevin and Kyle had taken from their parents ' home office . The data was recorded on a preprinted ' official ' game sheet . There was one curious fact that escaped notice . The recording sheet had been printed before the guys had even arrived yet Mark 's name was already included on it . Reluctantly , Mark allowed himself to be changed . He was beginning to worry that he couldn 't seem to pee in the diaper . His bladder was beginning to make him feel very uncomfortable . Another half hour went by and Mark couldn 't stand the pressure anymore . " Uh , guys , " Mark said sheepishly , " I don 't think I can continue with the game . I really have to pee but I just can 't . Not in a diaper . So , I give up . Good luck to everyone on winning the prize . " " And I think you 've had enough soda for tonight . If you get thirsty , you 'll have to drink water . Now , let 's get your sleeping bags arranged for the night . " The boys left the room . Kevin removed Mark 's diaper and plastic pants and weighed them again . He recorded a number on the official game sheet . The fresh diaper and plastic pants were also weighed and recorded . Mark and Kevin went back downstairs . The guys continued talking among themselves until after midnight . Finally , Mr . Kadra came in and told them that they absolutely had to go to sleep . To help them along , he had brought The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn with him . He got them to close their eyes and , by the light coming from the fireplace , he read them to sleep in thirty minutes . The next day was sunny and clear . The January thaw returned and the temperature was up to 59 degrees by late morning . Kevin and Kyle begged their mom to let them play some basketball . The driveway was completely dry and the hoop area was ready to go . Mrs . Kadra eventually agreed after lunch when the temperature was up to 63 degrees . Mark was a little hesitant about going outside in nothing but a diaper and plastic pants but the other guys convinced him that the driveway was pretty long and that no one would notice . They played for about 90 minutes . They came back in all sweaty and Mrs . Kadra insisted that they shower . Mark was as surprised as anyone , but now that he was in the lead he wasn 't going to give up easily . He would drink a river if he had to . He wanted to win . By the time they went to bed Saturday night Mark 's lead had diminished only slightly . At one o ' clock the next afternoon , the Kadras received some upsetting news . A maiden aunt of Mrs . Kadra had fallen in her home . She had been taken to the hospital where she was diagnosed with a severely sprained ankle . She was ready to be released and she wanted to know if they could come and pick her up . They gave clear instructions to the boys and said that they trusted them for the next couple of hours . They would return as soon as possible . By prior agreement , the two o ' clock diaper change would be the last official event of the Weighing Game . It seemed inevitable ( and unbelievable ) that Mark was going to win . On the average , he had nearly a half pound lead on the others . Even Carlos had given up trying to catch Mark . By 2 : 15 it was official . Mark had won with an average diaper weight 7 . 6 ounces heavier than his nearest competitor , Carlos . Mark was so excited he didn 't notice that he was put back into another diaper even though his dad was picking him up at 3 : 00 . Kevin and Kyle , ever the showmen , planned the awarding of the prize as a treasure hunt . It took Mark thirty - five minutes and two trips outside to locate his prize . It was a heavily taped up box . " Oh , shit ! My dad 'll be here soon . I 've got to get changed . Are my pants and underwear still in your room ? " " At the beginning of the game on Friday I thought that you might chicken out so I tossed them into the diaper pail in our room . Lots of other diapers have been thrown on top . They 'll need washing . " " Relax , Kyle , " Kevin said . " Mom took that diaper pail down to the laundry room yesterday when she brought up our other pail . She 's probably already washed them . " Mark breathed a sigh of relief . Kevin and Mark went to retrieve his stuff . But they were still in the diaper pail , stinking of piss . Mrs . Kadra hadn 't washed them yet because she had spent the morning washing the other guys ' diapers and plastic pants . She didn 't want to send them home with huge bags of dirty diapers . Mark was in a panic . He knew that Kevin and Kyle didn 't have any pants to loan him . They wouldn 't get theirs back until tomorrow . The doorbell rang . It was Carlos 's dad . Carlos left . The doorbell rang again . It was Mr . Hickock . He had come to pick up Darren and John . They left . The doorbell rang a third time . It had to be Mark 's dad . As they were heading toward the living room , Mark could hear Kyle and Bill explaining the contest and how Mark 's pants got ' accidentally ' mixed in with dirty diapers . He was glad that he wouldn 't have to explain the whole thing to his dad . He stood shamefaced in front of his dad . " It 's OK . I 'm not mad . I guess it 's an honor to have a son who has won a pissing contest , " he said semi - mockingly . His erection was back . This time , though , he knew what it meant . He wanted to keep these diapers and plastic pants - and use them . How could he possibly get away with it ? Adult Diaper Stories thanks you for your visit . We hope you found a Diaper Story you like . Try using our Google Search Box which will scan 1000 's of Diaper Stories and Abdl Stories in seconds for you . All you need to do is type something in the search box that interests you . 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I Found Some of the Promised Photos ! I found some photos that I had promised to post when I found them . First up is my 3rd tattoo . At the time , I couldn 't find a photo of it , but last night I found a good one ! Remember the post about my dad ? I couldn 't find a good photo of him . I asked my daughter , following her advice , I checked all her photos on facebook . It turns out that she had a pretty good one there ! And here it is for you to see ! Although he usually had facial hair . I prefer that look ! And the baby in the photo is my daughter Sara , she must have been about a year old . And lastly , at least for today , is a photo of my favorite baby blanket to make . This is the one I shall be making for Sara 's friend . I did have a thought though . Maybe instead of making it all pointy , I shall make it in the round . No points . I will have to think on that one , probably ask Hubs ' opinion . This is also his very favorite blanket . No , it wasn 't . Today was my birthday . I had a pretty good one , nice and quiet , just like I prefer . I got to hang out with Hubs this morning , then tuck him into bed . I babysat for Miss Malia , then later on , after Hubs went to work , My good friend Kim and her Cherub came over . Cherub swam , and performed a Vegas showgirl act while wearing my lemon slice float on her head . Hilarious ! Kim and I laughed alot at that one . Due to the cooler temperatures at night recently , our pool water temp has plummeted down to about 75 degrees . It was up to 82 degrees at its warmest . It was very sweet that Kim and Cherub came bearing birthday gifts ! Knowing my love of hedgehogs , Cherub presented me with a very adorable figurine , and Kim outdid herself with the triquetra shaped wind chimes . I will probably put them in my new craft room . They are so very cool , and of course , match my new tattoo ! Oh , and Cherub made me a birthday card too ! After they left , I made myself some dinner , then went over to friend Bonny 's house . She had invited me over to hang out with her by the fire pit . Since it seemed like it was gonna be chilly , I went ! We always have a good time . I wasn 't able to go last night , as I wasn 't feeling very well . Thankfully I had recovered enough today , that I was able to go . All in all , it was a nice quiet birthday . I 'm not one for excitement any more , I guess that 's what comes with getting older . I am still on a crafting break . There is nothing that I feel the need to create at this time . However , a very good friend of daughter Sara 's is expecting , so I am mentally gearing up for crocheting another couple of baby blankets ! Unfortunately , I have to get the yarn from my NOT favorite store , Hobby Lobby . Oh well , the things we do for the ones we love ! First let me make it clear , the drama was not mine . When I got to the medical group , I walked in the door at the same time as another woman . She walked past the desk , right to the elevators . I stopped at the desk , to say " Hi " to Pam , the very friendly receptionist . When I got upstairs , the other woman had already finished at that desk , and gone in to the other waiting room . I got held up at the desk , so I got there after her . By the time I got in there , she had already been called for her IV line to be put in . So I had to wait again . She went first for the special photographs thing , then it was my turn . When I came out after my photographic session , she was already in on the treadmill . In fact , when I walked by the treadmill room , she was laying on the stretcher in that room . They gave us IV 's because they inject us with radioactive stuff so they can see the blood flow through the heart better . I was wondering if I would glow in the dark . . . Listening to the nurse and nuclear tech talk , this woman was having chest pains while on the treadmill . Apparently she had had a heart attack only a month ago . The nurses were concerned , her chest pains weren 't going away with rest . They even gave her nitroglycerin , and that didn 't help . They ended up calling an ambulance for her , to take her to the ER . Across the street . I am not kidding . So I had to sit there in the waiting room for the ambulance to come , and take her away . I was wondering as I waited , couldn 't they have moved her to another room , say , the waiting room , so the rest of us could get on with our testing ? In the long run , it didn 't matter , I really wasn 't in any hurry . I finally got to get on the treadmill . That poor woman 's experience made me really determined to do my best . Unfortunately I only lasted two minutes . The good news is that in that short time , I actually hit my target heart rate ! So it wasn 't necessary for me to get back on the thing . I sort of suspected that it wouldn 't take much to get my heart rate up , as I have been told that my heart works harder than normal because of my lung issues . All in all , I think I was gone from home about 6 hours . I left at 11 a . m . , which was early , because I had a few things to do on the way . I needed to get a sandwich so I stopped at Cranberry 's , then I had to get some gas . As I was leaving the gas station , I realized I had forgotten my sweater . I was reminded to bring one because it can get " really cold " in the waiting room . I decided to drive back home and get it , as I still had plenty of time . I arrived just at my appointment time of 12 p . m . I arrived back home at about 5 p . m . It was a long day , but well worth it . Next Tuesday I have a follow up visit with the cardiologist to go over the test results . And I didn 't glow in the dark ! Posted by Yesterday , while I was babysitting , I finished my second skull potholder . Then I was stuck with a napping toddler , and nothing to do ! Anyway , here are photos of the finished potholder : Yup , I 'm such a rebel , I made the two sides different . Just like the blue / purple one . Here is a photo of the two together ! Unfortunately , this means I currently have nothing to work on . Perhaps it 's time for a break . I will let you know , and keep you updated on the crafting front . And perhaps , if I feel up to it , I shall report on the medical tests scheduled for later on today . But right now , I 'm starving , and cranky . No coffee this morning , and no food after 8 a . m . I watched Cherub this morning , so I wasn 't even home until 8 : 30 ! Posted by Sometime last month , I saw my pulmonologist . He ordered a CT scan of my chest . A week later , I got a phone call from his nurse , telling me the Dr . wants me to go visit my cardiologist . She doesn 't say why . I have no idea if they saw something on the CT scan . . . or what . So I make an appointment , I am lucky I don 't have to wait three weeks . He can see me the next week . Then I get a call , the Dr . is sick , next week he 's on vacation , and the week after that , he has hospital duty . So that pushes it back three weeks anyway ! I finally got to see him last week . I asked him the reason the other Dr . asked for the consult . He told me they want to rule out any other possible cause for the increased shortness of breath . During that visit , I had the sonogram of the heart , I forget the fancy name for it . I also had an EKG . Tomorrow I get to do a Nuclear Stress Test . They are going to inject me with some radioactive substance , make me sit for a long time , then take special pictures of my heart . Then I get on the treadmill , to get my heart rate up , and take more pictures . Sounds like fun , doesn 't it ? But with my lung issues , the treadmill part should be interesting . The Dr . asked me more than once if I could do it . I told him I would do the best I could . He did say that if I can 't do it for too long , it will still be useful information . The worst part , for me , is the radioactive stuff . After that IV , I can 't be around little kids for 24 - 48 hours . That means I can 't babysit Tuesday because of the test , and Wednesday because of the radioactive stuff . I told Miss Malia 's mom that it 's entirely up to her , whether I come Wednesday or not . She found someone else for that day . I can 't even go hang at the karate school Wednesday evening either . That sucks . I guess it 's all good . Better to find out now if there is a problem , right ? Hubs is concerned about the test itself , he 's worried it may wear me out too much to even drive home . I promised him that if I am too tired , or if anything at all is bothering me , I would call him , and he canPosted by Thank You , Thank You , Thank You ! Last night , at about 8 : 30 , I checked on my blog . And I had broken 10 , 000 post reads ! ! I am thrilled , and honored , that you all have been reading what I have to say . All I can say is THANK YOU ! ! I never thought I would ever reach 10 , 000 . That 's it . That 's all I have right now . Just a great BIG thank you to each and every one who has ever read my blog ! I am sure I will have something on my mind later . . . Today was a busy day , alright ! I 've been up since 5 a . m . I got up to use the bathroom , and couldn 't get back to sleep . About 6 : 30 , I gave up , got up and made some coffee . About an hour later , Hubs was up too . So by 8 : 30 a . m . I was ready for lunch , and by noon I was ready for dinner . But I had somewhere to go today . Son 's karate school was playing a softball game for charity at 2 p . m . and I was going to support the team , and watch them get their butts handed to them . They were playing a team from Waste Management , who apparently belong to a league , and play on a regular basis . The Karate school team is made up of instructors and parents , and some adult students , who don 't play softball on a regular basis . The good thing is that all the money raised was going directly to their charity , the Relay for Life to fight cancer . So far , the karate school has raised over $ 10 , 000 ! I brought my crocheting with me , but didnt ' get a chance to work on it . I was too busy talking to people . I finished the one I was working after I got home , and started the next piece ! Here is a shot of the first one I finished , all done ! Here is the second side . I decided to have them not match . Here is the first side of the second one , finished today , I love it ! The second side will look like the second side of the other one , but in pinks , purple and white . The skull is the same pink as the background of this one . I 'm not sure yet what color I will use for the border . I might be thinking the white . Extra points to those of you who can spot the booboo . Posted by There is something I need to vent about , my friends . I have quite a few friends on facebook . Not hundreds and hundreds , but enough that I am content . I have reconnected with some friends from high school , and friends from jobs , old and new . There was one particular friend from high school , that I would catch glimpses of , in comments of mutual high school friends . I went to his / her page , and found lots of religious stuff there . That really turned me off , I have to say . So I didn 't send him / her a friend request . Time went on , I still saw his / her comments on other friends posts , etc . I decided to check his / her page out again . This time , there was no religious stuff at all . I thought maybe he / she had seen the light , to borrow a phrase . So I sent him / her a friend request . He / She quickly accepted . We even had a brief conversation about what we had been up to since high school . Now , I have friends on facebook of all religions and persuasions . Many of them post awesome photos and sayings that I frequently share . I even have some friends who are Uber Christians . As long as you don 't preach at me , we can be friends . Post all the " God is good " and Jesus loves you " stuff you want . I won 't share it . I believe you have the right to believe what you want , but you know what ? So do I . Some of you may have gathered that I am leaning towards the Pagan side of things , religion wise . Truly , this is such a personal thing , I have trouble sharing . But I know it leaks out for some to see , especially those whose eyes are truly open . Now comes the vent part . This " friend " on facebook , who was such a " good " , religious person , has de - friended me . I recently looked at my friends list , and he / she is no longer on it . This comes after I shared a few Wiccan themed photo things . Apparently he / she decided that I was evil or something . All of my adult life , I have avoided talking about religion with people . If it comes up , I don 't contribute to the conversation . It is such deeply a personal thing to me , I prefer to get to know someone , usually prettAfter all , isn 't the main tenet of Christianity " God is love " ? Doesn 't that mean that everyone is worthy of love , regardless of their beliefs ? And that is the main beef I have with some of the followers of that religion . Apparently they believe you are free to embrace a religion , as long as it 's theirs . If you choose another ? You are damned and going to hell . Many years ago , I saw a comment somewhere , I can 't remember where , but for years it was posted on my refrigerator . " I don 't have a problem with Jesus Christ , it 's what people do in his name that offends me . " This was a particularly difficult post to write . I wonder if I 'll get flooded with hate comments . How very un - Christian that would be . . . . At long last , the pot holders for my daughter Sara are done ! I finished up the last one yesterday afternoon at friend Bonny 's house . I have since started on a pair for myself . That is , if my hands don 't hurt too much ! As a reminder , here 's a photo of the first one - And now the unveiling of the second one ! And finally , a photo of the two of them together ! May she get good use out of them , and never get burned ! I started making the ones for myself , and here 's how the first one looks so far : I am not caring that the purple in the variegated is almost the exactly the same as the solid purple . It makes it look a bit wierd , and you can 't even tell where the nose is ! At some point when it 's finished , I may take some white and outline the nose . This week , I have been busy crocheting away on the skull potholders for my daughter Sara . The first one is finished , the second one , almost done . I am up to the eyes on second of two pieces . Then I crochet them together , and voila ! it 's done . I haven 't mentioned my knitting project , it was bad , and it 's having a long time out . When I feel like working on it again , I 'll get it out , and have my good friend Kim take a look at it to see where I screwed it up . While I was out with Hubs earlier this week , we were in Walmart , and I found some more cotton yarn that would go great with some I had already bought . I picked up two balls , and we headed on to the rest of the store . Unfortunately , we decided not to purchase anything else , so all we had was my two little balls of yarn . Of course , every single check out line that was open had at least 10 people waiting . I decided that I didn 't want the yarn that badly , so I put them down in some random place , and we left . Now I 'm kicking myself , I really want that yarn . But I made the right decision , it totally wasn 't worth waiting for so long to spend less than $ 5 . Posted by A few years ago , probably more than a few , I bought a garnet ring from ebay . I love this ring . It 's in a simple setting with a wide band , looking vaguely middle eastern . Shortly after I got the ring , I discovered a problem with it . This problem has made me put it away and not wear it much . Actually , there were two problems with it . First , the woman who sold it to me so very nicely added all kinds of religious literature to the package . I find this annoying to the extreme . This fact comes back into play later . Wait for it . As I wore the ring , I noticed that my finger hurt after a while . I took the ring off , and there was a deep hole pressed into my finger , where the ring was . After examining the ring , I could see that the stone is taller than the setting that it 's in , so the bottom point of the stone sticks out , and into my finger ! I hope you can see it in your minds eye . Today , I spent almost an hour trying to get a photo of this aspect of the ring . For some reason , my camera won 't focus on something so small . Perhaps my photographic skills need some work . I finally managed to get a blurry shot , but you can see the point of the stone sticking up . Anyway , this evening , I was at karate with my friend Kim , and showed her the ring , the point of the stone , and the depression it makes in my finger . Then I told her about the religious literature that accompanied the ring . She pointed out that perhaps the ring was intended to be like that . You know , like a celise . " My suffering is like Christ 's suffering " , or whatever the idea is behind causing yourself pain . I just find it extremely annoying . I am seriously considering taking a file to the point of the stone . Or I could take it to a jeweler here in town , and see if she can put some kind of spacer in the setting to raise it up . Or , I could just put the freaking thing back in my jewelry box for another ten years . I altered the pattern slightly , as it was too short , more a rectangle than a square . I added rows at the bottom and top , as well as one in the jaw part , and one between the top of the nose and the start of the eyes . I am pleased with how it came out , and have already started the second one . Yesterday , when we were out , I had Hubs stop at A . C . Moore and I ran in and got a different color for the second one . I am keeping the bright pink for myself . I worked on the second one last night , when I couldn 't sleep . I went in to bed , tossed and turned for an hour , then came back out and took a med . I sat here , watching TV and crocheting until I finally felt sleepy . I think I went back in about 2 : 30 . If I didn 't mention it before , this project comes from The Happy Hooker , Stitch ' n Bitch Crochet , by Debbie Stoller . The actual potholders were designed by Kacy Fallon . I decided not to post photos of the second pot holder , to keep the color combo a secret , as my beloved daughter reads my blog . . . Posted by Anyway , she really liked them and asked me to make her a pair . She wants two different color sets . No problem ! I went to Michaels craft store this morning , and picked up some colors to use with the colors in my stash . See , I can stash bust with this project ! I stopped and took photos a couple of different times . It really went quickly , to my supreme delight ! That one was just before the row where the eyes are started . The next one shows the first one all done ! I have already started the second one , then they are crocheted together , and voila , they are done ! The second color combo I will keep to myself for now . I 'm not sure if I like it . I may have to go back and exchange one of the colors , to one I think Sara will like better . I will take another photo when the whole thing is finished . Posted by Yesterday my Aunts and Uncles came for a visit , to my daughter Sara 's house . These are three of my dad 's four siblings . Uncle Joe lives in Florida , too far away to visit . My dad was the second oldest after Uncle John . Dad would have been 80 this year , so I know Uncle John is older than that . After dad was Aunt Kate , then Uncle Joe , and lastly Aunt Lou . Aunt Lou is only ten years older than me . Most of them live further upstate , and Aunt Kate and her husband Uncle Chuck were in Catskill for a bowling thing this weekend . So they went to Uncle John and Aunt Marge 's house , and , along with Aunt Lou , they all came down for a visit when Aunt Kate was done bowling for the day . This is a photo of Uncle John , Aunt Kate and Aunt Lou . Aunt Lou is a hoot . My brother Chip stopped by for a while , and he looks so much like our dad that it makes Aunt Lou cry . Here is a photo of my brother and his wife , Carol . So we all had a nice visit , Sara made food , and everyone got the tour of the house . The Aunts and Uncles had never been , it was their first visit . I think I 'll even throw in a photo of Sara and Mike 's house too ! My mom loves when she gets to see dad 's brother and sisters , it makes her happy and I think she feels close to him . It was a good day . Thanks , Sara ! I have started a second one , but it 's different than this one . I feel that if I were to make another one exactly like the first , right after finishing the first , I would just lose my mind . So I started the first of another pair . I was supposed to have company today , to go swimming . But when I texted to see if they were coming , I learned that Cherub was fighting with her mother , and mother didn 't feel that Cherub deserved to do anything she might enjoy . I totally understand that logic . It 's like : You talked back to me and were very bad , now let 's go swimming ! ! Kind of rewarding bad behavior . So I swam by myself today for a while . Here is what I saw from one corner by the fence : That building is empty , it belongs to the local water district . They used to have offices there . It 's right at a bend in the creek . Then this is the view from my Queen Chair , looking across the shallow end of the pool . That 's my lemon slice float . I used to have an orange slice too , but it 's gone missing . Underneath is Hubs ' mattress float . This hasn 't been a very good year for our poor pool . First we had a hell of a time getting the chemical balance right , then Hubs had double ear infections , and I got a new tattoo . One more week until I can sped some serious time in the water . Not only did we have a hard time with the chemicals , but we had to get a new pump too . The old one , which wasn 't all that old , began making loud noises last summer . It was even worse this year when we turned it on . We had seriously considered just filling in the pool , we 'd discussed it for two summer seasons now . I 'm concerned that I 'm the only one that really uses it . I know it 's a lot of work for Hubs . I guess we are committed to at least a few more years now , since he spent the money and got a new pump . . . And he might be willing to get a new liner too . In closing , I would like to point out that when considering getting a tattoo , don 't get it in the summer . Especially if you like to spend lots of time in the water ! Again yesterday , I had nothing to say . I 'm sorry about that . At least on Wednesday , I had a back up post ready to go ! I had written about the hedgehogs weeks ago , and was saving it for a day when I had nothing . Who knew I would have nothing for two days in a row ? ? This morning , as I lay in bed , I was thinking . I seem to be very aware of what time it is when I do things . Even what time I go to sleep . The first thing I do when I wake up is look and see what time it is . Anyway , as I lay in bed this morning , I think I figured out why I 'm like that . When I was in second grade , I think it was , I remember the teacher bringing out the big cartoon looking clock . I even remember her name , it was Miss Bosco . She was about to teach us how to tell time . For some reason , I had no desire to learn this , so I paid attention for a little while , but soon I was staring out the window . It all went in one ear and out the other . So I didn 't learn to tell time . I got away with not knowing for at least three years . At some point , my parents must have figured it out , because for my birthday just before sixth grade , I got a watch . So I sort of had to learn . Today , I am very grateful for their gift . I figure that 's why I am kind of obsessed with time , and what time things happen . Posted by I sure have . I screwed up my lace stole project a few days ago , and haven 't figured out yet where I went wrong . I haven 't frogged it , I still have hope that either I can figure it out , or my friend the knitting expert can . In the meantime , I have been crocheting . I 'm trying again to do the skull colorwork potholders , from the Stitch n Bitch Crochet , The Happy Hooker book . I tried once before to make these for my friend , but I wasn 't happy with how it looked . Since then I have watched her make some , and decided to try again . So far , I am happy with how it looks . Even though I 'm using my least favorite hook , the size G . This hook size , I consider my nemesis . So for now , I am crocheting . I will post photos of my progress . I am really not too happy that to make the potholder , I have to make two of these fracking things . Grrrr . And for a double Grrr , as I am looking at the photo , I see the eyes are off center , which means I have to frog the last row that I did . I didn 't notice until I looked at the photo ! Oh well , at least it 's not a whole bunch of rows . . . Tattoo update ! ! It has now been 8 days since my tattoo , and the last little bit of crust has finally come off . It 's still itchy , and I 'm still lotioning the shit out of it . I know it seems early , but I have always healed quickly . I am told the color looks awesome . I can 't see it myself without mirrors . I think I 'll ask Hubs to take another photo of it . Crap , I see it 's almost midnight . I better get my crap assembled and publish this , or it will show up with tomorrow 's date ! ! Posted by I have always loved hedgehogs , and have wanted one for a pet for years . Unfortunately , they are way too high maintenance for me , so it 's not feasible . Instead , I have some really cute photos of hedgehogs to share , that I found online ! From newborns , to babies , and even a hedgehog getting a bath ! Aren 't they just the cutest things ever ? Since I can 't have one , maybe that 's why I collect them . I have some stuffed animal ones , and even one on a necklace . They are harder to find than you would think ! Mostly , the ones I see are in the dog toy sections of grocery or pet stores . When I was a young girl , I noticed that every year for Christmas , my maternal Grandmother sent socks as gifts to everyone in the family . Well , she also usually made us kids knitted mittens that were waaaay too big , and I always got a bag of Hazelnuts . I loved them , and still do . By the time I was a smart - ass teenager , I was referring to her as The Sock Fairy . Which was fine with my family , until the one Christmas Grandma stayed with us . She heard us refer to her as such , and was mortally offended . She got all huffy , and said that if we felt that way , she would never get socks for us again . And she didn 't . It kind of became the family joke , who the sock fairy would be each year . Mom took over for a while , and after I got married , my mother - in - law became the sock fairy . I must say , she wore the title with pride . Each and every year , along with our other gifts , we always got socks . Well , before Christmas came in 2010 , my mother - in - law passed away . And that year is when I became the family sock fairy . I have taken to it with enthusiasm . I get socks for everyone , even my son - in - law . And yes , this is the Grandmother who taught me to knit , whom I lovingly ( not ) call the Knitting Nazi . Posted by Every year , my son 's karate school has a big picnic , at a local town park . There is a swimming pool , a big pavilion , and a large flat field where they set up a net for badminton and volley ball . Sometimes they get a touch football game together . It 's a potluck affair , so everyone brings food , and there is usually a contest for the best particular food . One year it was chili , and this year was wings . They only had two entries , so they didn 't do the judging . The instructors are the judges . I only took a few photos , as my camera battery is getting low , and I was afraid it would die on me . The above photo is a shot of one of the food tables . Salads , desserts , chips and drinks . The next one is a photo of part of the pool , with lots of kids in it ! Right next to the pavilion , there is a really adorable little copse , with some trees and rocks . I always think it would make a good photo , so I took one of it . And that is my day . I sat and ate , and watched the kids swim and talked to people . I was so very tired , so after a few hours , I left . I felt bad leaving early , but Julie said she would watch my taboule salad , and bring me home my bowl after the picnic was over . They were just here a little while ago . There was still salad in the bowl . Like I said , I was so tired , when I got home , Hubs was in the shower , he had just gotten home from the Fishkill house . Then we went into the bedroom , and took a long , well deserved nap . I got up about an hour ago , Hubs just got up a few minutes ago . I took my knitting with me , but didn 't work on it . I made a booboo , and really , just didn 't want to deal with it . I couldn 't devote enough of my attention to it , to find the mistake , and possibly attempt to fix it . That 's right , nothing happened today . I got up this morning , and I was going to go out as we need coffee . I discovered we have more coffee than I thought , so I don 't need to go today . It isn 't a good idea to go to Adams on the weekend . At all . You can spend hours just trying to find a place to park . . . I truly did nothing today . It 's very hard to breathe , as it 's so fracking humid . I did go down and turn on the pool filter , but that was the only time I left the house . It was very traumatic , though . As I was walking towards the pump house , to bleed the air out of the filter , I saw something moving in the grass . I stopped when I realized it was about a foot long section of a snake 's tail . He was going behind the diving board , which is on it 's long edge , on the ground , leaning against the pump house . I carefully peeked into the pump house , and saw part of his body , then spotted his head , watching me bleed the filter . I finished , and very carefully backed the hell outta there . I had quietly moved the diving board so I could get a better look at him . He was about four feet long . No wonder we haven 't had any frogs in the pool lately . He looked very well fed . I just hope he isn 't eating my little chipmunks . I finally did end up going to the grocery store , as we really needed milk and half & half . I picked up a few other things we needed too . I didn 't have to go to Adams for those things , but that 's where I have to go to get my coffee . I also like to get meat and produce there . At one point I did try and knit a few rows on my stole , but I fracked it up . I started by doing the wrong row , but kept going anyway . After the wrong side purl row , I did the row I should have started with , and ended up being one stitch short . I cursed for a minute , then put it away . I told you I can 't try to knit lace and watch TV at the same time ! So now dinner is in the oven , and we are going to be eating late tonight . It was too hot to cook earlier . Now , the temp has gone down , but it 's still really humid outside . Tomorrow is the karate school family potluck picnic ! I am really looking forward to that . The kids love to hang out and play with their instructors . They have it at Hackett Hill Park every year , and the kids can swim , and they play touch football , and all kinds of games . It looks like Hubs won 't be attending with me this year , he has to go to the Fishkill house and do some work on the back deck . He has the use of some tool - thingie for the weekend only , so he has to do it tomorrow . I am making slow progress on the lace stole . I am trying to be very careful , so I don 't frack it up , as I have done in the past . I took a few photos this morning , here it is from a distance : I seriously considered getting my blocking pins out and pinning it down so you can see the pattern better . But then I thought it would be better to wait until it 's all done , and blocking , and then I can take a great photo ! So these are just teasers . And of course , I worked on it a bit while Miss Malia was napping today , so it 's even bigger now . After searching Ravelry , which has waaaay too many patterns available btw , I finally found a pattern I thought I could do ! All this happened last night . So I downloaded the pattern , found a circular needle , and set to work ! The pattern is called Easy Lace Stole , and it 's from Arlene 's World of Lace . I cast on the 61 stitches , and did the first four rows to get me started . I am looking forward to this one , as I have yet to master lace knitting . I put the pattern on my little stick drive thingie , and have to take it somewhere and have it printed out at some point . I also put the pattern in my documents on my laptop , so I can take my laptop with me babysitting later , and still work during nap time . I will take a photo when it 's further along , so you can see how it 's coming . As for my new tattoo , it 's healing up nicely . Today I start applying the lotion to it , according to the directions I was given . Yesterday , I washed it gently three times , and patted it dry with a paper towel . I know , I know , I said I had decided on a pattern . But after I got about 6 rows into it , I remembered that I 've tried to make this shawl about 3 times before , and never finished any of them . I didn 't like how they looked for some reason . I haven 't frogged it yet , but I will . This yarn is too gorgeous , I will find just the right shawl pattern for it , I promise . Maybe it 's time for another Pi Shawl . . . . In the meantime , friend Kim has been doing some awesome crochet work . She has inspired me to get my stash of Sugar and Cream out , and go through it . I know I have a bunch of the different shades of denim . . . . That 's right , I finally decided on a pattern , after days of searching in my binders , I have two giant ones . I also searched Crochet Patterns Central , as well as Ravelry . The winner is a nice crocheted shawl , called the Butterfly Wing Shawl . It was designed by Holly Miller . I 've had it printed out since 2008 . But I am excited to do it ! I am using some white Alpaca that I bought at Rhinebeck last year . It is so soft , I can 't wait to see it ! I started the shawl last night , did a few rows to get started before I went babysitting today . I couldn 't decide whether to use a J - 6mm hook , or a K - 6 . 5m hook . I decided to start with the smaller hook , and if it 's not light and airy enough , I will frog it and use the bigger one . I really want the shawl to be light and lacey . I will take photos when it 's big enough for you to really see it . Another thing I am worried about , is having enough yarn . I bought one big hank , it is 8 ounces . It wound into a huge center pull ball , but everyone knows that crochet is a big yarn sucker . I have other white / natural really soft animal yarns hanging around , so if needed I can use them . Or , I have a second Alpaca hank , but in black . I won 't have to decide for a while yet . I will keep you updated . I got that one for my 40th birthday , so it 's been there a while . The second one ? I wanted one I could actually see without using mirrors , so I got this : It was supposed to be filled in to look metallic , but I never got it finished . I made the mistake of watching , and almost passed out . That one is on my left wrist . A long time ago , I wore a bracelet that looked like that . I missed it , so I had it recreated . The third one , I can 't find a photo of . It 's on my right forearm , and it 's the Chinese characters for Never Again . Hubs has the same one , in the same place . It 's about 2 1 / 2 inches long and 1 1 / 2 inches wide . And yes , there 's a story , but it 's a private one . We got them on Hubs ' birthday , but we can 't remember which one ! But it was the last one I got . Until today . OK . I am now home from getting my new tattoo . I am also ready to kill hit him . He keeps slapping my new , sore tattoo and telling me that Cookie told him to slap it , that it would help set the colors . This is the only photo my beloved Hubs took . I keep reminding myself , he 's just a stupid boy . This photo was taken before any of the colors were added , it 's just the black outline and shading . But it 's cool , right ? I like it very much . Of course , I haven 't seen it yet , really . Only in a small hand mirror , too far from the big mirror to see it very well . I will check it out later , in the bathroom mirror . Posted by Since yesterday , I have been searching for a pattern to knit . I have looked through most of my pattern books , magazines , and patterns I 've gotten from free pattern sites , mostly Knitting Pattern Central . I 've even looked at crochet patterns . Nothing is speaking to me . In the meantime , I will continue working on the shawl . But it 's getting b o r i n g . Which could be why I put it down in the first place . This morning , when I went to sit for the Cherub , I took my camera and completed Arachno Shawl . She had agreed to model it for me , so I could show you a good photo of what it looks like . This is what I got : Apparently , she decided she wasn 't into it this morning . I will try to find another model , or maybe just lay it out on the hood of my Jeep . It 's really not big enough to suit me , I think if I want to make it " Kim " big , I would have to double the amount of cast on stitches . I 'm thinking that doing the cobweb pattern for the border on that many stitches would drive me over the edge . So Hubs is finally asleep , I think , after having to work a 5th 12 hour shift in a row . To say he wasn 't happy is an understatement . But it 's over now , and I get to be with him for two nights before he goes back for his three night week . I did end up knitting yesterday . I notice that because I said in the title that I wasn 't knitting , about half as many people read my post . HA HA we fooled them , didn 't we ? Those who did read it know that I ended up saying I would knit ! It took me a long time to find the shawl , but when I finally did , I worked on it for what seemed like hours . It 's so long at the top now , I only did four rows . I counted the stitches as I knit the last row , and according to my counting , there are 352 stitches . I greatly enjoy watching the color progression in this yarn , and how the stripes are getting thinner as it grows . I sort of designed this one myself , I knew it would be big , so I didn 't want a point at the bottom . I started with 9 stitches , I think , and did garter stitch for several rows , doing a YO after the first stitch , and before the last stitch , on every other row . Then I started doing a seven stitch garter border , with stockinette in the body , still doing the YO 's every right side row . It 's funny , but when I pick it up after a long time , I forget to do the first YO on the right side . So it 'll end up being uneven , but I don 't think it 'll be too obvious . I like the rounded bottom . I still have quite a bit of yarn left , I can keep going as long as I want to . One of the labels in yesterdays post was babysitting . I had intended to talk about babysitting , but didn 't get that far . I have off from my regular babysitting job on Monday and Tuesday . That means I don 't have to worry about daddy being late on Tuesday , which might make me late for my Tattoo appointment ! Only two more days until my new tattoo ! ! I 've been thinking , I might be getting a little old for tattoos , so this might be my last one . But I 've wanted this one for so long , and I got gift certificates for Festivus . I just hope Hubs takes good photos . Nope , I am not knitting today . I think . So far . First of all , I got to sleep in this morning , until after 9 ! That 's huge for me . I am still , at 11 : 22 a . m . drinking my coffee . Second ? There is nothing currently on the needles that I wish to work on . Not the Baby Surprise Jacket , not even the Wingspan Shawl . I am not in love with either of these projects at the moment . I was thinking maybe I 'd look for an old project still on the needles , a shawl I started when we were in Fishkill , I was using Paton 's Lace yarn in the Patina colorway . Very pretty stripes . Later on , I shall look for it . Here is a photo I took of my progress at the time : I think it 's safe to say that I haven 't made any more progress on it that the photo shows . Looking at the photo really makes me want to go find it . . . . I want it to be huge , and I know I have more yarn in my stash . Wish me luck in finding it ! Looks like I may knit today , after all . . . . Since I finished the Arachno Shawl , I haven 't knit a single stitch . I packed up the WIP Wingspan shawl to take to babysitting today , but the little darling wouldn 't nap until just before her daddy came . So I sit here , watching TV , having just sent Hubs off to work . I need to get dressed and make a grocery store run , since we are very nearly out of half and half . That is a very bad thing . It 's just too fracking hot outside today to even consider it . And in my little area of the country , we are under a Bad Air Advisory , or whatever it is that it 's called . People like me , who have lung and breathing issues are advised not to go out , or at least not to do strenuous activity . Of course , I shall go out and get what I need anyway , like I always do . I am such a good little wifey . I happen to be out of my fruit popsicles anyway , so I can get more while I 'm there . I love the Pomegranate , and Pineapple ones . They are my two favorites . I 'm hoping they are on sale , so I can buy more of them . Believe me , they won 't go to waste ! After I get home from the store , I shall , very probably , partake of a fruit popsicle , and then break out my knitting . But there are dishes waiting to be washed , so it may take all my concentration to ignore them . . . As I hoped , knitting this afternoon refreshed my memory . Now it 's all clear again what I was going to rant about . I like very few " reality " shows , and most of the ones I do like are cooking shows . I catch House Hunters and House Hunters International whenever I can . It 's these shows about which I am ranting today . Not the shows themselves , but the people on the shows . Sometimes they are idiots , or completely insane . My favorite idiots ? There was a couple whose only child was going away to college in another state . They decided to sell their big house , and move to the same town where he was going to school . Fine . The both stated that they wanted to downsize their house . Fine . They did want a bedroom for the son , so he could visit on the weekends . Fine . Every stinking house they looked at , the wife had one thing to say : " It 's too small ! " or " The rooms are too small " ! ! I almost screamed myself hoarse that night , yelling at the TV . " THAT ' S WHAT DOWNSIZING MEANS , YOU STUPID BITCH ! ! " The house they bought had more square feet than the house they left . So much for downsizing . Since our son moved out , I ask my Hubs once in a while , " Can we downsize to a bigger house now ? " What really drives me crazy are these people who expect to get all high end appliances and things on a small budget . People who want granite counter tops , and stainless appliances already installed when they buy a house . They need to get fracking real . To me , those things are done later , when you can afford to do them ! And some of the buyers are checking for the most inane things before they will even consider buying the house ! One couple needed the house number to add up to anything other than a certain number . I don 't remember what the number was . In another couple , the husband insisted the house face a certain direction , so his back yard barbecues would have a good view of the sunset . One husband went around tasting the water at every house they saw ! How insane is that ? Sometimes these people just need to be bitch slapped . On reflections , my Hubs and I might have seemed a bit odd when we were house hunting . . . Where we were living at the time , we had really lousy water pressure . So every house we looked at , we would check the water pressure . It seems you look for what is important to you at the time , no matter how insane it appears to outsiders . The people of the International show are in a class by themselves . . . . I just shake my head at most of them . Some are spoiled Americans , coming from their waaaay to big houses , and they are looking for the same thing in a new country , However , most of the other countries in the world have houses that are far older than the U . S . sometimes ! And these really old houses are not going to have big rooms , or modern layouts ! These people I really , really want to slap . Here they have a chance to live in Italy , or Brazil , or Spain , and live in a really old and historic house , and all they want is an " open concept " house ! AARRGGHH ! OK , I am feeling a bit better now that the rant is out of the way . Thanks for listening . If you agree with me , or even if you don 't , please feel free to comment ! I 've had a rant building for a while now . I haven 't had a good one in a long time . However , things that irk me happen at a time when I can 't write them down , and I soon forget what set me off in the first place . So today , I 'm going to think really hard while knitting , and hopefully a few things will occur to me . I will have pen and notebook within reach , and write them down . I keep the notebook and pen in my bag , at all times , for emergencies like blog post ideas , and things I need at the grocery store . You will hear from me later ! This morning started out with me in the middle of a really interesting dream , when BEEP BEEP my alarm went off . It was 5 : 45 a . m . Not my favorite time to get up , not even my 10th favorite . But I do what I have to do for a friend , and I am getting paid , so I get up . That job is only 2 hours long , two mornings a week . It won 't kill me . And Cherub is a sweet tempered child , whose birthday is quickly approaching . Three days , as she reminded me more than once this morning . Then she will be in the double digits , age - wise , a huge deal . After I got home , I made myself some coffee , chocolate , of course . That 's all we drink . I even made it full caff . Hubs has to drink half caff , so that 's what I usually make . I felt I needed the full caff to get through the rest of the day . Somewhere along the line , during the three and a half hours until I had to go sit for Miss Malia , I forgot to set the coffee maker up for Hubs . That is one thing I always do for him . So when he gets up for work , all he has to do is turn on the coffee maker . As a stupid boy , I figure he can handle that . Today Miss Malia was not having nap time . I have a sneaking suspicion that someone spiked her morning bottle with some sugar . The past two weeks , that child had fallen asleep before noon , and mostly slept for up to two hours . Today , however was different . At 2 : 45 p . m . she finally climbed up onto my lap , grabbing her blanket on the way . I swear to you , she passed out as she leaned her head on my chest . She was still sleeping at 3 : 20 when her dad came . So I didn 't get my planned knitting time today . I was disappointed . I kind of figured that Hubs would be a little perturbed at me for coffee maker thing . He wasn 't ! Since it 's his first night back to work for the week , he was up a little early , and was able to make it himself . He made a full pot , and I got to drink the last cup . So I have enough energy to stay awake for a while this evening . After Hubs left for work , I sat here and knitted a little bit , maybe three or four rows . I broiled the sirloin tips . NowPosted by

act like ( inseparable ) behave in a way that 's like _____ Note : This phrasal verb is very informal . What 's wrong with Bob ? He 's acting like an idiot . act up ( no object ) misbehave ( for people ) ; not work properly ( for machines ) The baby sitter had a difficult time . The children acted up all evening . " I guess I 'd better take my car to the garage . It 's been acting up lately . " You missed the lines in the parking space . You 'll have to back up and try again . " The people waiting in line are too close to the door . We won 't be able to open it unless they back up . " back up ( 2 . separable ) drive a vehicle backwards ( in reverse ) You 're too close ! Back your car up so I can open the garage door . back up ( 3 . separable ) confirm a story , facts , or information If you don 't believe me , talk to Dave . He 'll back me up . back up ( 4 . separable ) make a " protection " copy to use if there are problems with the original When my computer crashed , I lost many of my files . It 's a good thing I backed them up . to have gone bad Nick decided to have a fried egg for breakfast , but there was a terrible smell when he cracked the egg . ' This egg is off , ' he thought . I can 't eat it . ' The egg is off . to be surprised and confused Jeff was taken aback when he opened the door and discovered an elephant . Jeff was taken aback by the discovery of an elephant . Jeff was taken aback . beat up to hurt someone badly by hitting and punching Two men beat Fred up and left him lying unconscious on the pavement . They beat up Fred . They beat Fred up . They beat him up . blow up ( 1 ) to destroy ( something or someone ) by explosion ; to explode Mr Trent hated his house , so he blew it up with dynamite and built a new one instead . Mr Trent blew up his house . Mr Trent blew his house up . Mr Trent blew it up . The house blew up . Uncle Joe blew up the balloons for the Christmas party . Uncle Joe blew up the balloons . Uncle Joe blew the balloons up . Uncle Joe blew them up . blow up ( 2 . separable ) explode ; destroy by exploding A : " That old building really came down quickly ! " B : " That 's because the construction company used dynamite to blow it up . " break down ( 1 ) ( of machinery ) to stop working . Tom 's car broke down on the way to the airport , and he had to get a taxi . I His car broke down . break down ( 1 . separable ) separate something into component parts We spent a lot of money at the supermarket . When we broke the total cost down , we spent more on cleaning supplies than food . to lose control emotionally or mentally . Alec broke down and cried when his mother died . I Alec broke down . David broke down and wept when he heard the news . break in ( 1 . often no object ; with an object , break into - - inseparable ) enter by using force ( and breaking a lock , window , etc . ) Jane 's apartment was burglarized last night . Someone broke in while Jane was at the movies . / " Somebody broke into Jane 's apartment while she was at the movies . break in ( 2 . separable ) wear something new until it 's / they 're comfortable These are nice shoes , but they 're too stiff . I hope it doesn 't take too long to break them in . break in ( 3 . separable ) train ; get someone / something accustomed to a new routine I hope I can learn my new job quickly . The manager hasn 't scheduled much time for breaking me in . break into a building / a bank / a house etc . to enter somewhere ( e . g . a house ) illegally , especially by force . Peace talks between the U . S . S . R . and the U . S . A . have broken off after three days of serious disagreement . Peace talks between the U . S . S . R . and the U . S . A . have broken off . The U . S . A . has broken off peace talks with the U . S . S . R . They have broken off peace t break out ( of unpleasant things e . g . wars , epidemics , fires , violence etc . ) to start , usually suddenly The Second World War broke out on 3 September , 1939 . In 1939 World War Two broke out . World War Two broke out in 1939 . World War Two broke out on 3 September , 1939 . Break out in spots / a rash / a cold sweat ( ' to show signs of great fear ) to become covered by ( something ) . Cyril broke out in spots this morning . He broke out in spots . He broke out in them . What time did the party break up last night ? The party finally broke up at 3 . 00 am . Break up ( 2 ) ( of a marriage / a family / a relationship etc . ) to end ; to separate . The Greens ' marriage broke up in 1985 after only two years . Their marriage broke up . They broke up . Money trouble broke up their marriage . Money trouble broke it up . Break up ( 2 ) an activity to stop . The headmaster broke up the fight between Roger and Clive . The headmaster broke up the fight . The headmaster broke the fight up . The headmaster broke it up . The fight broke up . break up ( 2 . usually no object ; with an object , break up with [ inseparable ) ] ) end a personal relationship Tim and Julie aren 't going steady any more . They got really angry with each other and broke up . " Have you heard the news ? Julie broke up with Tim ! " " I 'm sorry to hear that their marriage broke up . I 'm sure the divorce will be difficult for the children . " bring / take back ( separable ) return something Yes , you can borrow my pen , don 't forget to bring it back to me when you 're finished . " This book is due tomorrow . I guess I should take it back to the library . " bring up ( 1 . separable ) mention ( as a topic of discussion ) We planned to discuss overtime pay in the meeting . Why didn 't someone bring that topic up ? I feel I ought to bring up another small matter . bring up ( 2 . separable ) raise ; rear ; to take care of a child until it is fully grown and able to care for itself ; to train and prepare a child for adult life . Note : Children are educated at school . Lucy 's parents died when she was a baby . Her grandparents brought her up . Joe 's mother brought him up well . She loved him , cared for him and taught him how to behave himself . Now he is a polite young man and his mother is proud of him . She brought up Joe . Frank 's visit to the international business conference in Paris was a disaster because his French was so bad . His boss said , ' When you get back to England you must brush up your French by enrolling in an evening class . ' Frank must brush up his French . Fra burn down ( usually of buildings ) to destroy by burning . My house burned down last night . In the morning it was just a pile of ashes . My house burned down . Someone burned down my house . Someone burned my house down . Someone burned It down . butt in ( no object ) impolitely interrupt ( a conversation , an action ) Hey , you ! Don 't butt in ! Wait for your turn ! butter up ( separable ) praise someone excessively with the hope of getting some benefit I guess Martin really wants to be promoted . He 's been buttering his boss up all week . The Football Association called off the match between England and Greece because of bad weather . The Football Association called off the match . The Football Association called the match off . The Football Association called it off . The match was called off Call up ( mobilise for military service ) Mark was called up when the war broke out . calm down a person / a difficult situation etc . ( with or without an object ; with an object , separable ) become calm / less agitated or upset ; help someone become calm / less agitated or upset Why are you so upset ? Suzie didn 't intend to spill orange juice on you . Calm down ! " I know Ralph is upset , but can you calm him down ? He 's making so much noise that he 's irritating everyone in the office . " My father was very angry and it took him ten minu care for ( 1 . inseparable ) Note . used with ( not ) like ; want Note : This phrasal verb is usually negative , though it may be used affirmatively in questions A : " Would you care for something to drink ? We have coffee , tea , or orange juice . " B : " Could I have water , please ? I don 't care for coffee , tea , or juice . " care for ( 2 . inseparable ) take care of ; supply care to ; attend / watch . Amy 's father got out of the hospital last week . The family is caring for him at home . carry out instructions / a duty / an order / a threat / a test etc . to fulfill or perform ( something ) . Sergeant Jones ordered Private Wilson to push the waggon across the field . The waggon was very heavy but Private Wilson carried out his orders without complaining . He carried out his orders . He carried his orders out . He carried them out . David 's strange new hair - style is really catching on ; all the young boys in the neighbourhood are copying it . I David 's new hai r - style is catching on . This new hair style is beginning to catch on . check in ( to ) at a hotel , an airport etc . ( inseparable ) to report one 's arrival ; register for / at a hotel , conference , etc . ; let someone know officially that you have arrived Jack took a taxi to the hotel and checked in . Jack checked in . Jack checked in at the hotel . Jack checked in to the hotel . Note : When Jack left the hotel he checked out . My plane will arrive around 5 : 00 PM . I should be able to check into the hotel by 6 : 00 check out ( 2 . separable ) follow procedures for borrowing something ( usually for a limited period of time ) I 'm sorry , but you can 't take that encyclopedia home . The library won 't allow you to check reference books out . check out ( of ) ( 1 . inseparable ) follow procedures for leaving ( a hotel , etc . ) Don 't forget to take your room key to the front desk when you check out ( when you check out of the hotel ) . cheer up ( separable ) to become happier ; help someone feel less worried / depressed / sad Jack was feeling unhappy , but he cheered up when he heard that he had passed his exam . Jack cheered up . The good news cheered Jack up . The good news cheered up Jack . The good news cheered him up . Suzie 's brother was depressed about not getting a promotion Let me explain how the situation came about . come across something or someone ( inseparable ) to find ( unexpectedly ) or meet by chance A lucky tramp came across a wallet full of money as he was walking down the street . He came across a wallet . He came across it . I 've lost my extra car keys . If you come across them while your 're cleaning the room , please put them in a safe place . It all comes down to whether you are prepared to accept less money . come down with _____ ( inseparable ) become ill with _____ George won 't be at the office today . He came down with the flu over the weekend . The government has come in for a lot of criticism over the decision . come into money / property / a fortune etc to receive something ( usually money or property ) after someone 's death . Peter came into a fortune when his father died . Peter came into a fortune . Peter came into it . All the flowers have come out . When the news came out , everyone was shocked . My photos didn 't come out very well . come round or come to to regain consciousness James fainted when the air - conditioning stopped working . Two of his colleagues took care of him until he came round ( came to ) . James came round . James came to . come to ( 1 . inseparable ) total Your charges come to $ 124 . 38 . Will you pay by check , in cash , or with a credit card ? come to ( 2 . no object ) regain consciousness When I told Gina that she 'd won a million dollars , she fainted . When she came to , I told her it was a joke and she almost hit me ! Arnold and his girifriend were separated by a deep ravine . Eventually , Arnold came up with the idea of cutting down a tree and using it as a bridge . He came up with the idea . He came up with it . We still haven 't come up with a solution to the problem . count on ( inseparable ) depend on ; rely on ; trust that something will happen or that someone will do as expected I 'm counting on you to wake me up tomorrow . I know I won 't hear the alarm . Don 't worry , you can count on me . Crop up ( happen unexpectedly - colloquial ) I can 't come to your party , something has cropped up . cross out ( separable ) show that something written is wrong or unnecessary by making an X across it We can 't afford to buy everything on your shopping list , so I 've crossed all the unnecessary things out . cut back ( on ) ( often without an object ; with an object , cut back on [ inseparable ] ) use less of something You drink too much coffee . You should cut back . " You should cut back on the amount of coffee that you drink . " cut down on smoking / cigarettes / drinking / spending / production etc . to reduce in size or amount . Last year Peter was very ill and his doctor told him to cut down on the number of cigarettes he smoked . This year Peter smokes much less and feels a lot better . Peter cut down on cigarettes . Peter cut down on them . Peter cut down on smoking . Paul was talking to Anna on the telephone . Suddenly they couldn 't hear each other . Paul phoned Anna again immediately . ' What happened ? ' Anna asked him . ' We were cut off , ' replied Paul . The operator cut them off . The operator cut off their call . They were die out to disappear completely ; to become extinct The great dinosaurs died out millions of years ago . The dinosaurs died out . What if they do away with the old man ? do in ( 1 . separable ) cause to become very tired The Ajax and Tip - Top Banks have decided to merge . Their lawyers will draw all the official documents up sometime this month . do over ( separable ) do something again Oh , no ! I forgot to save my report before I turned the computer off ! Now I 'll have to do it over ! We are having our living room done up . When Bob and Sally bought their house it was in a bad state , so they spent six months doing it up . The house looked beautiful by the time they finished . They did the house up . They did up the house . They did it up . do up ( 2 ) a shoelace / a zip / a dress / a coat etc . to fasten ; to button ; to zip ; to tie . It was a very cold day , so Brian did up all the buttons on his overcoat . He did up the buttons . He did the buttons up . He did them up . A white sports car drew up outside the door . draw up ( 2 . separable ) organise - especially a document ; create a formal document The contract is being drawn up at the moment . The Ajax and Tip - Top Banks have decided to merge . Their lawyers will draw all the official documents up sometime this month . drop in to pay a short visit , often without warning . Laura was shopping near her friend , Lynn , and decided to drop in and see her . Laura dropped in to see Lynn . Laura dropped in to see her . Laura dropped in on Lynn . Laura dropped in on her . Laura dropped in . If you 're in town next month , we 'd love to see you . Please try to drop in . ( Please try to drop in on us . Drop in any time you 're passing . drop off ( 1 ) something or someone to stop a vehicle and let someone get out ; to take something ( or someone ) to a place and leave it there . David drove his wife , Sue , into town and dropped her off in the cinema . David dropped oft his wife . David dropped his wife off . David dropped her off . drop off ( 2 ) to fall asleep ( often unintentionally ) . The baby has just dropped off . John sat in his favourite armchair and dropped off . Five minutes later , his young son came into the room and woke him . He dropped off . drop off ( separable ) deliver something ; deliver someone ( by giving him / her a ride ) Yes , I can take those letters to the post office . I 'll drop them off as I go home from work . " You don 't have to take a taxi . You live fairly close to me , so I 'll be happy to drop you off . " to withdraw from , or stop taking part in ( a competition , a social group , a school , a university , a job etc . ) Sam dropped out of the race because he felt tired and ill . He dropped out of the race . He dropped out . drop out ( of ) ( inseparable ) stop attending / leave school or an organization No , Paul isn 't at the university . He dropped out . / He dropped out of school . end up ( 1 . no object ) finish in a certain way , or place ; finally arrive at ; arrive at an unexpected place We got lost last night and ended up in the next town . We ended up staying there for lunch . The car ended up in a ditch . end up ( 2 . no object ) arrive somewhere as a result or consequence You 're working too hard . If you don 't take it easy , you 'll end up in the hospital ! face up to ( inseparable ) have courage to deal with - especially responsibilities ; admit to ; take responsibility for You have to face up to your responsibilities . You can 't pretend that you 're doing OK in this course , Joe . Sooner or later , you 'll have to face up to the fact that you 're failing it . George and Sam went out for dinner together . The evening ended badly because they fell out over who should pay the bill . George tell out with ' Sam over ' ' the bill . George and Sam fell out . . Note . " fall out with a person " fall out over something The plan fell through at the last minute . fall through ( no object ) not happen . ( Note : describes something that was planned but didn 't happen . ) We had originally intended to go to Mexico for our vacation , but our trip fell through when I got sick . feel up to ( inseparable ) feel strong enough or comfortable enough to do something Old Mr Smith didn ' tfeel up to walking all that way . I know the accident was a terrible shock . Do you feel up to talking about it ? figure out ( 2 . separable ) understand why someone behaves the way she / he does I can 't figure Margie out . Sometimes she 's very warm and friendly and sometimes she acts as if she doesn 't know me . The office needs to know your home address and phone number . Could you fill them in on this form ? It took me an hour to fill in the application form . It took me an hour to fill in the form . It took me an hour to fill the form in , It took me an hour to fil fill in ( on ) ( 2 . separable ) supply information that someone doesn 't know I wasn 't able to attend the meeting yesterday , but I understand that it was important . Could you fill me in ? / Could you fill me in on what was discussed ? fill out ( 1 . separable ) complete a form by adding required information Of course I completed my application ! I filled it out and mailed it over three weeks ago ! find out the truth / a secret / an address / the time i when / what / why / where / who / which etc . to make an effort to discover or get to know ( something ) Mr Jones wanted to catch the train to London . He was late and he didn 't know which platform the London train left from . He found out which platform by asking a ticket collector . He found out which platform the train left from . He didn 't know which platfor Alan is really intelligent but sometimes he has problems getting his ideas across . I had the feeling I wasn 't getting across . get along ( with ) ( inseparable ) have a friendly relationship ( with ) ; be friendly ( toward ) Why can 't you and your sister get along ? Everyone else gets along with her just fine ! get around ( 2 . no object ) move from place to place She doesn 't have a car . She gets around by bicycle , bus , or taxi . What are you getting at exactly ? get away to escape The prisoner got away from his guards and ran into the forest . The prisoner got away from his guards . The prisoner got away from them . The prisoner got away . get away with to do something wrong or illegal without being punished ( usually without even being discovered or caught ) Last year Jack robbed a bank and got away with it ; the police didn 't even find his fingerprints . Nowadays Jack lives a life of luxury on a beautiful tropical island . Jack got away with the bank robbery . Jack got away with robbing the bank . Jack got away w It 's time we got down to some real work . get in ( 1 . inseparable ) enter a small , closed vehicle I don 't know where Carole was going . She just got in her car and drove away . get in ( 2 . no object ) arrive Do you know what time Fred 's plane gets in ? get off ( 1 . inseparable ) leave a large , closed vehicle When you get off the bus , cross the street , turn right on Oak Street , and keep going until you 're at the corner of Oak and Lincoln Boulevard . get off ( 2 . separable ) be excused ( for a period of time ) from work , class , or other regularly scheduled activities Some schools got President 's Day off but ours didn 't . We had classes as usual . Sue is getting on very well in her new job . get on ( inseparable ) enter a large , closed vehicle I 'm sorry , but you 're too late to say goodbye to Angela . She got on the plane about 20 minutes ago . He must begetting on for seventy . get out of ( 1 . inseparable ) leave a small , closed vehicle There 's something wrong with the garage door opener . You 'll have to get out of the car and open it by hand . I couldn 't get over how well she looked . get over ( 1 . no object ) finish . ( Note : for individual activities , not ones that happen again and again . ) What time do your classes get over ? get over ( 2 . inseparable ) an illness / a failure / a difficulty / a shock etc . recover from an illness or painful experience Katy was really upset when she failed the test . She thought she would never get over feeling so stupid . Sam has got over his operation and expects to leave hospital tomorrow . He has got over his operation . He has got over it . I 'll be glad to get this awful business over with . get rid of ( 1 . inseparable ) dispose of ; give away or throw away That shirt is really ugly . Why don 't you get rid of it ? get round ( 1 ) a problem / a difficulty etc . to solve or avoid a problem Brian and Dan couldn 't move the wardrobe because it was too heavy . They got round the problem by putting the wardrobe on a trolley and pushing it . They got round the problem . They got round it . get round ( 2 ) someone to persuade someone to do what you want ; to persuade someone to let you do what you want Tim wanted some sweets , but his father told him they were bad for his teeth . After five minutes of persuasion , Tim managed to get round his father and they both went into the sweet shop . Tim got round his father . Tim got round him . Sorry , but I haven 't got round to fixing the tap yet . get through ( 1 ) to contact someone ( usually by telephone ) Jim ( phoning his friend Roger ) : Hello , Roger . I 've been trying to get through to you for hours ! Roger : Sorry , Jim . I had to make a lot of calls this morning . Jim tried to get through to Roger . Jim tried to get through to him . Jim tried to get through , get through ( 2 ) some work / at ask / a book etc . to finish ; to complete Roger had a lot of work to do yesterday , but he got through it all by five o ' clock . Roger got through his work . Roger got through it . get up ( usually no object ; with an object , separable ) leave bed after sleeping and begin your daily activities You 'll have to get up much earlier than usual tomorrow . We have to leave by no later than 6 : 00 AM . " I know I won 't hear the alarm tomorrow morning . Can you get me up at 6 : 00 AM ? " His false identity papers gave him away . give in to stop resisting ; to surrender The fight between Tom and Dick stopped when Tom hurt his hand and had to give in . Tom gave In . When our money gave out we had to borrow . give out books / examination papers / pills etc to give ( some thing or things ) to each person in a group of people ; to distribute The teacher gave out the books , so that the pupils could read the story . The teacher gave out the books . The teacher gave the books out . The teacher gave them out . give up ( 1 . separable ) / give ( oneself ) up to surrender oneself ( usually to someone ) The police surrounded the criminal 's house and ordered him to give himself up . After a few minutes , he came out and they took him to the police station . The criminal gave himself up to the police . The criminal gave himself up . The escaped prisoner gave he give up ( 2 ) to stop trying to do something ( often because it is too difficult ) One day a hungry dog saw a bunch of juicy grapes hanging from a vine . The dog tried very hard to get the grapes , but it couldn 't jump high enough to reach them . After ten frustrating minutes , the dog gave up the attempt and walked home angrily . The dog ga After ten days the ship was given up for lost . A : " What 's black and white and red all over ? " B : " I give up . What ? " A : " An embarrassed zebra ! " give up ( 3 ) ( of an habitual activity , smoking / drinking / a job etc . ) to stop doing or having ( something ) Howard decided to give up cigarettes after seeing a poster on the dangers of smoking . Howard gave up cigarettes . Howard gave cigarettes up . Howard gave them up . Howard gave up smoking . The management has gone back on its promise . go down to become less swollen Phil 's cheek became swollen because he had a bad tooth ache . The dentist treated his bad tooth and his swollen cheek soon went down . His swollen cheek went down . The dog went for Joe and hurt his arm . The dog went for Joe . The dog went for him . Note : this verb is not used in the passive . This milk has gone off . go off ( of explosive devices e . g . bombs , guns etc . ) to explode or fire ; ( of alarms or alarm clocks ) to ring suddenly Many people were killed when the bomb went off . The bomb went off . There weren 't enough life - jackets to go round . go through to examine ( something ) When Ben entered this country , a custom 's officer went through his suitcase . The officer took all of Ben 's clothes out of his suitcase and looked at them very carefully . A custom 's officer went through Ben 's suitcase . A custom 's officerwent through it . When it came to actually stealing the money , Nora couldn 't go through with it . go with ( 1 . no object ) to match or suit ( something ) ; look pleasing together . ( Note : for clothes , furniture , etc . ) You should buy that shirt . It will go well with your dark brown suit . Tom wanted to see if checked trousers go with a striped jacket ; he looked in a mirror and thought they looked horrible together . After trying a few other pairs of trousers he decided th goof off ( no object ) be lazy ; do nothing in particular A : " Do you have any special plans for your vacation ? " B : " No . I 'm just going to stay home and goof off . " This new record is growing on me . grow up ( 1 . no object ) to develop from a child into an adult ; spend the years between being a child and being an adult Joe has grown up into a fine young man . Joe has grown up . Did you know that Frank grew up in Malaysia ? grow up ( 2 . no object ) behave responsibly ; behave as an adult , not a child A : " Lee really irritates me sometimes . He 's really silly and childish . " B : " I agree . I wish he would grow up . " hand in ( separable ) submit homework , an assignment , etc . You 'd better get started on your report . You know that you have to hand it in at 8 : 30 tomorrow morning ! hand out ( separable ) distribute Why don 't you have a course description and list of assignments ? The teacher handed them out on the first day of class . I think we should hang onto the car until next year . hang up ( no object ) end a phone conversation by replacing the receiver I 'd like to talk longer , but I 'd better hang up . My sister needs to make a call . I don 't believe you . You 're having me on . have to do with ( inseparable ) be about This class has to do with the behavior of people in groups . They hit upon the solution quite by chance . hold on to wait ( especially on the telephone ) George phoned his office because he wanted some information . ' Hold on a minute and I 'll get it for you , ' said his assistant . His assistant asked him to hold on . We don 't hold out much hope that the price will fall . hold up ( 1 . separable ) raise ; lift to a higher - than - normal position The winner of the race proudly held his trophy up for all to see . ( use as an example - i . e . a model of good behaviour ) Jack was always held up as an example to me . hold up ( 2 ) a person / a bank / a vehicle etc . to rob , especially using a weapon ( e . g . a gun ) Earlier today a masked robber with a gun held up the bank and escaped with a hundred thousand pounds . A robber held up the bank . A robber held the bank up . A robber held it up . hold up ( 2 . Separable , usually used in the passive ) to stop ; to delay I 'm sorry I 'm late . There was an accident on the freeway and traffic held me up . Sorry I 'm late , I was held up in the traffic . The traffic was held up for a few hours because of an accident that blocked the road . The accident held up the traffic . The acci hold up ( 3 . separable ) rob ; threaten someone with harm unless he / she gives her / his money or other valuable things Sarah is very upset . When she was walking home last night , two men held her up and took her purse and jewelry . jump all over ( inseparable ) severely scold someone ; berate someone Arthur is really upset . His boss jumped all over him because he 's been late for work three times this week . keep on ( 1 . inseparable - - followed by an - ing verb ) continue I 'm not ready to stop yet . I think I 'll keep on working for a while . keep on ( someone ) ( 2 . inseparable ) continue to remind someone to do something until he / she does it ( even if this irritates her / him ) Bill 's very forgetful . You 'll have to keep on him or he 'll never do all the things you want him to do . knock out ( separable ) make unconscious The boxing match ended when one boxer knocked the other one out . " That medicine really knocked me out . I slept for 14 hours straight ! " The company has laid down strict procedures for this kind of situation . lay off ( separable ; often passive ) to stop employing ( a worker ) , often for a short time because there is not enough work ( not because of poor performance ) Last year the manager of Bloggs Ltd laid off a hundred workers because business was very bad . He laid off a hundred workers . He laid a hundred workers off . He laid them off . They were laid off . I feel really sorry Sally 's family . Her father was laid off y to disappoint someone ( often by breaking a promise or an agreement ) Sorry to let you down , but I can 't give you a lift today . Julia promised to meet Rick outside the cinema at eight o ' clock , but she let him down . He waited for two hours and then he went home angrily . Julia let Rick down . Julia let him down . I know I let Let in on ( allow to be part of a secret ) We haven 't let Tina in on the plans yet . let off to excuse ( someone ) from ( a punishment , a duty , or doing something ) As Dave was young , the judge let him off with a fine . Bill should have been sent to prison for six months , but the judge decided to let him off so that he could stay out of prison and take care of his family . The judge let Bill off going to prison . The ju to allow ( a person or an animal ) to leave ( a place ) ; to release They let Fred out of prison after five years . They let Fred out of prison . They let Fred out . They let him out . The play quite lived up to my expectations . look after someone or something to take care of someone or something Looking after a baby is a full - time job . You have to bath it , dress it and feed it . She looks after the baby . She looks after It . look back on ( inseparable ) to remember and think about the past ; reflect on / consider something in the past When they looked back on their many years together , they realized that their marriage had been a very happy one . The Blacks have been married for many years . They like talking about the past and looking back on old times . At the moment they are looking at look down on someone or something to think that someone ( or something ) is inferior , low or worthless ; to disapprove of ( someone or something ) Sir Douglas is a very rich aristocrat . Fred is a very poor tramp . Sir Douglas thinks that he is a much better person than Fred - he looks down on Fred . Sir Douglas looks down on Fred . Sir Douglas looks down on him . look for something or someone to try to find ( something or someone ) , often athing or person that is lost Fred wanted to open his front door but he couldn 't find his key . He looked for it everywhere . It 's in one of my pockets , ' he thought . He looked for his key . He looked for it . look forward to a future event ( inseparable ) anticipate pleasantly ; to think with pleasure about a future event that you expect to enjoy I 'm really looking forward to vacation . I can 't wait for it to begin ! Bill Bloggs has been in prison for the last ten years . Next year he 'll be released from prison and he 'll be a free man . Bill is looking forward to next year . Bill is looking forward to look in on ( inseparable ) visit in order to check something 's / someone 's condition My father just came home from the hospital . I plan to look in on him today after I finish work . look into a situation / a crime / a problem / a complaint etc . ( inseparable ) investigate / get more details about something ; to carefully examine a situation or event and try to discover the reasons for it The police have promised to look into the problem . Someone said there was a meeting at 9 : 30 but I haven 't heard anything about it . Shall I look into it ? The police are looking into the death of Mr James . They want to know how he was murdered . They are loo check ; review ; to examine ( someone or something ) carefully and fully I think I may have some typos in this report . Could you look it over ? Joe wanted to buy a second - hand car . ' That one looks good , ' he said to the salesman . ' Give me some time to look it over . If it 's in good condition , I 'll buy it . ' He looked the car over . look round a house / a shop / a town / a factory / an exhibition etc . to visit and tour round a place . Mr and Mrs Smith wanted to buy a house . The estate agent took them to see a house in the centre of town and said , ' Look round the house and see if it 's what you want . ' They looked round the house . They looked round it . They went into the house and looked look up ( 1 . separable ) a word / a telephone number / an address / a train time / a date etc . to find ( or try to find ) something ( e . g . a telephone number ) in a book ( e . g . a telephone directory ) " I 'm sorry , but I don 't know what that word means . I 'll have to look it up . " While Peter was reading he found a word that he didn 't understand . ' This is a difficult word , ' he thought . I 'll look it up in the dictionary and see what it means . He looked up look up ( 2 . separable ) visit when in the area ; find where someone lives or works and visit him / her If you 're passing through Athens , look me up . Thanks for giving me your brother 's address . When I 'm in Chicago next month , I 'll be sure to look him up . look up to someone ( inseparable ) to respect ( someone ) ; to admire ( someone ) Everyone looks up to Joyce because she always makes time to help others . Young Jimmy 's favourite footballer is Ted Ross of Arsenal . Jimmy looks up to Ted and he tries to be like him . Jimmy looks up to Ted Ross . Jimmy looks up to him . make for ( 1 . inseparable ) go to or toward Her teen - aged children are always hungry . As soon as they arrive home from school , they make for the refrigerator . make for ( 2 . inseparable ) result in ; cause Many hands make for light work . ( If many people work together , there 's less work for everyone . ) The power steering makes for easier parking . make fun of ( inseparable ) make jokes about ( usually unkindly ) I agree that Bob looks ridiculous since he shaved his head , but don 't make fun of him . You 'll hurt his feelings . Make off with ( run away with ) I couldn 't quite make out what the notice said . Bob saw something on the horizon as he was looking through his binoculars . At first he couldn 't make out what it was , but after a few minutes he could just make out the shape of a yacht . He couldn 't make ou make out ( 2 ) a cheque to write ( a cheque ) I made out a cheque for ten pounds . I made out a cheque . I made a cheq ue out . I made it out . Janet is really odd . I can 't make her out . make up ( 1 ) to become friends again after a quarrel Yesterday Joan and Jack had a big argument about politics . Earlier today they decided to forget their differences and make up . Joan and Jack made up . Joan and Jack made up their quarrel . Joan and Jack made it up . Jack made up with Joan . Jack made it up wi make up ( 1 . separable ) invent / create ( imaginary ) information Judy 's story is hard to believe . I 'm sure she made it up . I think you made up the whole story . make up ( 2 ) a story / a poem / an excuse / an explanation etc . to invent , sometimes with the purpose of deception Colin overslept and was late for work . It was the third time he had overslept that month , so he decided to make up an excuse . He told his boss that the engine of his car had exploded . He made up an excuse . He made an excuse up . He made It up . make up ( 2 . separable ) compensate for something missed or not done by doing extra or equivalent work I 'm sorry I missed the test . May I make it up ? make up ( with ) ( 3 . inseparable ) re - establish a friendly relationship by admitting guilt Jack and his girlfriend were very angry with each other , but last night they finally made up . " Jack and his girlfriend were very angry with each other , but last night they finally made up with each other . " make up for a mistake / doing or not doing something etc . to compensate for Our success makes up for all the hard times . June and Ron arranged to meet outside the cinema at 7 . 30 p . m . June was very upset when Ron arrived an hour late . Ron made up for being late by apologizing to June and giving her a big bunch of flowers . He made Five people got promoted , but I missed out again . mistake for to think wrongly that ( one thing or person ) is ( another thing or person ) I frightened rpyself last night when I mistook a piece of old rope for a dangerous snake . I mistook a piece of old rope for a dangerous snake . I saw a piece of old rope and I mistook it for a dangerous snake . own up confess - colloquial ; to tell ( someone ) that you have done something wrong , or that you are at fault James owned up to drawing a silly picture of his teacher on the board . None of the children would own up to breaking the window . Pack in ( stop an activity - colloquial ) John has packed in his job . pan out ( no object ) succeed ; happen as expected ( for plans ) . ( Note : almost always negative when in statements . ) I 'll be here next week after all . My trip to Chicago didn 't pan out . pass away pass on pass over ( usually of a person ) ( no object ) to die Fred Bloggs passed away ( passed on / passed over ) in 1985afteralong illness . Fred passed away . Fred passed on . Fred passed over . I was very sorry to hear that your grandfather passed away . pass out ( 1 . no object ) faint ; lose consciousness When Ella heard that she 'd won a million dollars , she was so shocked that she passed out . When the air - conditioning stopped working , James found it difficult to breathe and passed out . He passed out . She paid him back for all his insults . pick on ( inseparable ) bully ; intentionally try to make someone upset You should be ashamed of teasing your little brother , Bob ! Pick on someone your own size ! pick up ( 2 . separable ) something or someone arrange to meet someone and give her / him a ride ; to collect someone or something ( sometimes in a vehicle ) Of course we can go there together . What time should I pick you up ? Jeff was driving home when he saw a hitchhiker . He stopped the car and picked the hitchhiker up . Jeff picked up the hitchhiker . Jeff picked the hitchhiker up . Jeff picked him up . pick up ( 3 . separable ) get ; buy The children just drank the last of the milk . Could you pick some more up on your way home this evening ? pick up ( 4 . separable ) refresh ; revitalize ; improve ( colloquial ) The weather seems to be picking up . He was feeling a little tired , so he drank a glass of orange juice . It picked him up enough to finish his work . I pointed out that I would be on holiday anyway . My uncle showed me the building he used to work in and he pointed out his old office on the sixth floor . He pointed out his office . He pointed his office out . He pointed it out . Harry is clever but he can 't put his ideas across . put away ( separable ) return something to the proper place I just took these clothes out of the dryer . Will you help me put them away ? Diane 's poor performance was put down to nerves . put forward a proposal / a plan / a suggestion / an idea etc . to offer ( a proposal / a plan etc . ) for consideration Mr Smith put forward the idea of introducing traffic lights at the crossroads as a way of preventing traffic jams . The planning committee thought his idea was very good . He put forward the idea . He put the idea forward . He put it forward . Sue has put in for a teaching job . Put off ( 1 ) an event / doing something etc . to delay doing something until a late date ; to delay an event or arrangement until a later date Martin v / as very unhappy when he saw the huge pile of dirty dishes in the kitchen . He felt a little happier after deciding to put off the washing - up until the next day . Martin put off the washing - up until the next day . Martin put the washing - up off till t put off ( 1 . separable ) postpone ; delay ; avoid I can 't put this work off any longer . If I don 't do it soon , it 'll be impossible to finish it in time . " When will Mr . Smith agree to a meeting ? I keep asking for an appointment , but he keeps putting me off . " put off ( 2 ) / put ( someone ) off ( 2 ) to discourage , or distract , ( someone ) from doing doing , upset The crowd put the gymnast off , and be fell . Ron was trying to read , but the noise from the television put him off and he had to stop . The noise from the TV put Ron off his book . The noise from the TV put him off his bOOK . The noise from the TV put Ron oft begin to wear ; don ; to dress oneself It 's a little bit chilly outside . You 'd better put a sweater on . Perry put on his nevi ' sweater because he wanted to wear it for work . Perry put on his sweater . Perry put his sweater on . Perry put it on . put on ( 2 . separable ) try to make someone believe something that is ridiculous or untrue Don 't believe a word of what Jim was saying . He was just putting us on . Please don 't put yourself out making a meal . A sandwich will do . put out a cigarette / a light / a fire etc . to extinguish Steve put out the light in the lounge before going upstairs to bed . Steve put out the light . Steve put the light out . Steve put it out . put through to connect a telephone caller to the number he or she wants Mr Pratt phoned the offices of Gunn and Company . ' Who would you like to speak to ? ' asked the switchboard operator . ' Put me through to Mr Guhn please , ' Mr Pratt replied . She put Mr Pratt through to Mr Gunn . She put him through to Mr Gunn . She put through M put up ( 2 . separable ) offer accommodation ; provide someone with a place to sleep There 's no need for you to check into a hotel . I 'll be happy to put you up . We can put you up for a few days . put up with to suffer ( a difficult situation or person ) without complaining When Uncle Mike comes to visit us , the children behave very badly . They hit him , they play tricks on him and they make a lot of noise . Uncle Mike must love them very much because he puts up with everything they do , and he never gets annoyed with them . Unc put up with ( inseparable ) tolerate ; bear I can 't put up with all this noise ! It 's really important to come to work on time . The boss won 't put up with tardiness . rip off ( separable ) cheat ; take advantage of ; charge too much ; charge too much ( colloquial ) Don 't even think about buying a car there . They 'll rip you off . You paid £ 50 ? They really ripped you off ! run in a motor cycle / a new car / a machine etc . to use a new ( or reconditioned ) engine carefully until it is ready for normal use George is running in his new car . so he can 't drive fast . George is running in his hew car . George is running it in . Running in , please pass . ( a notice sometimes seen on new cars ) meet by chance Guess who I ran into at the supermarket ! Yesterday at the supermarket , Jan ran into her former roommate . Before yesterday , they hadn 't seen each other for nearly five years . I was on my way to work when I ran into Jeremy Thomas . It was a lovely surprise b run out of ( inseparable ) coffee / sugar / money / ' patience / time etc . to use all of ( something ) and have no more left On the way home from work , Art ran out of gas . Howard has run out . of bread , so he can 't make himself a sandwich . If he wants a sandwich , he 'll have to go to the baker 's shop and buy some more bread . Howard has run out of bread . Howard has run out of it . We 've run up against a slight problem . see someone off to say goodbye to someone who is going on a journey at the place ( e . g . airport , station etc . ) where the journey begins ; go to station , airport , etc to say goodbye to someone Bill arranged to go to Scotland to stay with his grandmother for a few days . His father , Frank , drove him to the railway station and saw him off . Frank saw Bill off . Frank saw him off . I went to the station to see them off . We must set about re - organising the office . set back ( 1 . separable ) cause a delay in scheduling We 've had some problems with the project that have set us back at least two days . We 'll give you a progress report tomorrow . set off to start a journey Barry set off on his camping holiday at six o ' clock in the morning and reached the campsite , in France , at midday . Barry set off . Barry set off at six o ' clock . Barry set off on a camping holiday . Barry set off for France . set up ( separable ) make arrangements for something ; establish An inquiry into the accident has been set up . You 'll see Mr . Thomas tomorrow . I 've set a meeting up for 9 : 30 AM . show up ( 2 . separable ) do a noticeably better job ( often unexpectedly ) than someone else Everyone thought Marsha would win , but Jean did . Actually , Jean really showed Marsha up . slip up ( no object ) make a mistake ( colloquial ) Someone slipped up and my application was lost . You slipped up here . The amount should be $ 135 . 28 , not $ 132 . 58 . speak up often used in the imperative to speak louder Terry was talking to his grandfather . ' Speak up , Terry , ' his grandfather said . I 'm a bit deaf and I can 't hear you . ' Grandfather told Terry to speak up . Grandfather said , ' Speak up ' . to represent or mean ; to be a sign or short form of something else ; initials The letters B . B . C . stand for the British Broadcasting Corporation . B . B . C . stands for British Broadcasting Corporation . What do the letters B . B . C . stand tor ? e . g . stands for exempli gratia , it 's Latin . stand for ( 2 . inseparable ) tolerate ; permit ( usually negative ) I 'm not surprised that Mrs . Johnson rejected your report . She won 't stand for shoddy work . stand out ( no object ) be noticeably better than other similar people or things Good job , Ann ! Your work really stands out ! stand up ( 1 . no object ) rise to a standing position When the Chairperson entered the room , everyone stood up . take / bring back ( separable ) return This book is due tomorrow . I guess I should take it back to the library . " Yes , you can borrow my pen , but don 't forget to bring it back to me when you 're finished . " take after someone to look or be like an older relative Little Christopher takes after his father . He has black hair , big feet and a bad temper just like his dad . Christopher takes alter his father . Christopher takes after him . take care of ( 1 . inseparable ) provide care for ; watch one 's health Lois has been taking care of her father since he returned home from the hospital . " You 've been working too hard lately . You 'd better take care of yourself ! " take down a statement / a telephone number / some information etc . to record in writing When the policeman arrived at the scene of the accident he took down the witness 's statement . He took down the statement . He took the statement down . He took it down . take in ( often used in the passive ) to deceive ( someone ) ; to cheat ( someone ) Don 't be taken in by her apparent shyness . The hungry wolf had a problem : all the sheep in the neighbourhood knew him and ran away when they saw him . After some thought he decided to disguise himself as a sheep . The neighbourhood sheep were taken In by th take off ( 1 ) ( of an aeroplane ) to rise from the ground At the beginning of a journey an aeroplane takes off . At the end of a journey an aeroplane lands . The aeroplane took off . take off ( 1 . separable ) remove ( something you 're wearing ) Please take your hat off when you go inside a building . take off ( 2 ) to remove anything that is worn on the body ( especially clothes ) Nick took off his jacket because he was feeling very hot . Nick took off his jacket . Nick took his jacket off . Nick took it off . take off ( 2 . no object ) leave ; depart ( often suddenly or quickly ) Was something wrong with Jill ? She took off without saying goodbye . " When does your plane take off ? " Ann has taken out life insurance . take over gain control of ; to assume responsibility for , or control of , ( something or a situation ) from someone else The army tried to take over the country . Simon took over the manager 's job from Mr Jones when he retired . Simon took over the manager 's job from Mr Jones . Simon took over the manager 's job . Simon took the manager 's job over . Simon took it over . Simon too take up a hobby / a sport / a job / a habit etc . to begin to Study , practice , or do ( something ) Tim wanted to take up painting , so he joined an evening class at the local College of Art . He took up painting . He took painting up . He took it up . He took up a new hobby . tear up a piece of paper / a letter / a newspaper etc . to destroy completely by tearing . Brian tore up the letter angrily . Brian tore up the letter . Brian tore the letter up . Brian tore it up . tell ( someone ) off ( separable ) speak to someone bluntly and negatively , saying exactly what she / he did wrong ; to speak angrily to someone who has done something wrong ; to find fault with someone Our teacher told us off for being late . Julie was really angry at Bob ; she told him off in front of all of us . Howard told his son oH for breaking a window with his football . Howard told oil his son . Howard told his son off . Howard told him off . Howard to think over a problem / a proposal / a situation etc . to consider ( something ) carefully Owen is playing chess with a friend . At the moment he is thinking over his next move . He is thinking over his next move . He is thinking his next move over . He is thinking it over . throw out ( 2 . separable ) forcibly make someone leave ( usually because of bad behavior ) Those people are drunk and making everyone uncomfortable . The manager should throw them out . tick off ( 2 . separable ) show that something has been completed by putting a tick ( check ) beside it Here are the things you need to do . Tick each one off when you finish it . try on ( separable ) wear something briefly to check its fit , how it looks , etc . I 'm not sure that jacket is large enough . May I try it on ? try on a hat / a new pair of shoes / a dress etc . to put on an article of clothing to see if it fits and how it looks Last week I went into a shop and tried on three hats . The first hat was too big ; the second one was too small ; but the third one fitted me perfectly and looked good , so I bought it . I tried on three hats . I tried three hats on . I tried them on . try out ( for ) ( inseparable ) try to win a place on a team or other organization I know you want to be on the football team . Are you going to try out ? " If you like to sing , you should try out for the choir . try out ( separable ) test - a machine ; use a machine briefly to determine how well it works I really like the way this car looks . May I try it out ? Let 's try out the new washing machine . try out something or someone to test something ( or someone ) by using it Angela saw an advertisement for a new soap powder called ' Zap ' . She decided to try it out because she wanted to see if it was better than her usual soap powder . Angela tried out new ' Zap ' . Angela tried new ' Zap ' out . Angela tried it out . turn around ( 2 . separable ) move so that someone / something is facing the opposite direction I don 't want this chair facing the window . Will you help me turn it around ? turn around ( 3 . separable ) make changes so that something that was unprofitable is profitable The company was doing poorly until it hired a new president . He turned it around in about six months and now it 's doing quite well . turn down ( 2 . separable ) a request / an offer / an applicant / an application etc . to refuse or reject ( something or someone ) Another company offered me a job but I turned them down . I thought I could borrow some money from Joe , but when I asked , he turned me down . Jeff was interviewed for the job at Bloggs Ltd but they turned him down because he was too young . They turned down turn in ( 1 . separable ) give / deliver / submit to someone I 've written my report , but I haven 't turned it in . turn into something or someone to change ; to become The beautiful princess kissed the frog and it turned into a handsome prince . The frog turned into a prince . The kiss turned the frog into a prince , turn up ( 2 . no object ) appear , arrive unexpectedly We were all surprised when Pam turned up at the party . We didn 't even know she was in town . Not many people turned up for the lesson . wait for ( inseparable ) wait until someone / something arrives or is finished with something else When will Kenny be finished with work ? I 've been waiting for him for almost an hour ! " I 'm tired of waiting for the bus . I guess I 'll take a taxi instead . " wait on ( 1 . inseparable ) serve ( usually customers in a restaurant , shop , etc . ) I want to make a complaint . The person who just waited on me was very impolite . wake up ( 1 . no object ) stop sleeping I usually wake up around 5 : 00 AM each day . wake up ( 2 . separable ) rouse someone ; cause someone to stop sleeping I have an important meeting tomorrow and I 'm afraid I won 't hear my alarm . Will you wake me up at 6 : 00 AM ? watch out for ( inseparable ) be careful of ; beware of There 's a school at the end of this block . Watch out for children crossing the street . " If you take that road , watch out for ice during the winter . " wear out ( 1 ) to use ( something ) until it becomes unfit for further use ; to become unusable after excessive use Paul wore out his favourite jumper after wearing it every day for ten years . Paul wore out his jumper . Paul wore his jumper out . Paul wore it out . The jumper wore out . wear out ( 1 . separable ) wear something / use something until it can no longer be worn / be used I need a new pencil sharpener . I wore this one out . " I suppose I should get some new shoes . I 've almost worn this pair out . " wear out ( 2 ) often used in the passive to tire greatly ; to exhaust Carrying the heavy box across the street wore Fred out . When he got home he went straight to bed . Carrying the heavy box wore out Fred . Carrying the heavy box wore Fred out . Carrying the heavy box wore him out . Fred was worn out by carrying the heavy box . wear out ( 2 . separable ) cause to become exhausted ; cause to become very tired I had four different meetings today . They wore me out . " I suppose I should get some new shoes . I 've almost worn this pair out . " work out ( 1 . no object ) exercise ( usually in a gym , etc . ) to build muscles , body tone , etc Instead of eating lunch on Monday , Wednesday , and Friday , Sheila goes to the recreation center to work out . work out ( 2 . separable ) a problem / a plan / a method etc . solve a problem / resolve a difficult situation ( usually by working together ) ; to produce a way of dealing with a problem or situation by thinking I know we disagree on many points , but I believe we can work things out . Jimmy is busy doing his homework . At the moment he is working out the answer to a sum . He is working out the answer . He is working the answer out . He is working it out . wrap up ( 1 . no object ) wear enough clothes to keep warm It 's really cold today . Be sure you wrap up when you leave the house . wrap up ( 2 . separable ) finish something ; bring something to a conclusion We 've been talking about the problem for nearly three hours . I hope we 'll be able to wrap the discussion up soon . write down ( separable ) record something in writing Could you tell me your e - mail address again ? I want to write it down .

It 's pretty bad when you go to your local emergency room and the staff says , " Hi Brian ! " Hi everybody . Kind of a bummer , but I had a seizure last week . It 's one reason why I didn 't blog with you last week . That , and it was Christmas . Anyway , everything 's OK . A seizure is kind of like a reboot . I talked a little bit about it before , but things like stress can bring on a seizure . I 'm under a lot of family stress . Anyway , it 's kind of like dropping a computer . It 'll reboot and reorganize . It 's weird going through a seizure , cause I don 't remember anything . One minute I 'm on my yoga mat with my therapist , the next moment , I 'm in the emergency room at the hospital . I didn 't remember anything . Probably a good thing . One thing that might be really helpful to someone is my mother carries a prescription for Valium . It 's in a syringe form and it 's administered as a suppository . Kind of gross , but it 'll be very helpful . Anyway , ask your doctor about this . It can be very helpful . It shortened my seizure and helps me . We also had a great Christmas . Some friends came by . I saw a lot of my family . It was a great day . You know , I 'm kind of tired of talking about my condition . Let 's tell a few stories . My friend here included some cartoons of Capetown . They are from a commercial photographic shoot I did . I remember one day we got done shooting early , so I went for a run . Not a good idea unless you know where you 're going . Anyway , I ended up in an area that wasn 't so good . Especially for a skinny white kid with long blond hair . I guess you 'd refer to me as " Cream puff . " Anyway , I got lost and next thing you know , some guy starts chasing me . It was a good work out . I managed to find the hotel . I didn 't run after that . But running was a great way to find locations . I used to do it all the time . I found great spots for my shoots . I remember one time I got done running , I went down to the bar at the hotel to grab a beer and it was in the Bahamas . The light was fantastic . How convenient . We ended up everyday , at the end of the day , at the bar on the beach . Oh , yeah , there was great music too . Anyway , it was a good spot to shoot . I wouldn 't have found it unless I went for a run . I 'll tell some random stories . I said it before , but I 'll say it again , when you 're in a state like this , it 's good to think about stories to keep your mind preoccupied . When you 're like this , it 's easy to freak out . People often ask me , what 's it like , how you are . I often tell them , it 's kind of like being really wasted . Kind of like how you would feel just before you pass out . Luckily , I had a lot of training in this area . Hey , some people pay a lot of money to feel like this . As long as you go with the flow , it 's OK . Sorry , I went off on a bit of a tangent there , but I 'll tell a few stories . I used to stay with a friend of mine in Australia . He was a really good windsurfer . He said , " The wind 's blowing really strong from the south . Let 's go to Bondi Beach and windsurf in the waves . " We went down there , made it past the shore break , went out into the open ocean . He was well far in front of me . I followed him like a young idiot out to sea . All of a sudden , I see him turn and come back towards me hauling ass . He said , " Go back , go back ! Sharks . Big sharks ! " as he went past me . I thought Oh my god . So I turned around as carefully as I could , but everywhere I looked I imagined fins . I was kind of freaking out . Anyway , I started heading back to shore . It 's really difficult to hit a certain spot when you 're on a windsurfer . Especially when you 're afraid of being eaten . Anyway , I managed to get back to the beach . It was tough . I got beaten up by the waves pretty bad . Anyway , I got back to shore . I got washed up on the shoreline . I was throwing up saltwater . I was a mess . My friend came over to me , he said , " Did you see the big shark ? " I looked up at him , I said , " No . " He said , " Yeah , that 's because there weren 't any . That 's to get back at you for the fake spider you put in my bed . " The bastard got me . We were always playing tricks on each other . That reminds me of another shark story . I was photographing a model jumping off a boat into the ocean . I was shooting swimwear . I was on the bottom of the ocean wearing a scuba outfit photographing the model as she jumped in the water . The shots were pretty cool and working out great . All of a sudden , I didn 't see the model anymore . There was a big noise on the boat . I thought , " What 's going on ? " and then that big noise got louder and louder . I looked around and just behind me was a huge shark just checking me out . Well , I was a little scared to say the least . I slowly made my way to a big coral head and tucked myself into the coral . The shark came over , checked me out and swam away . I stayed in my spot for a while , and finally came up to the boat . Didn 't say anything . Grabbed a beer from the cooler and just said , " OK , let 's go home . " I had to check my wetsuit after that . That 's for sure . What a way to end the day . My friend here asked me if I had any other shark stories . I 've got so many . One time I was in Australia . I was just learning how to windsurf . I pulled up in my 4 wheel drive Jeep while my friends were standing around at the beach . One guy had a pair of binoculars out . They were looking out to sea where we windsurf . I walked over and sat on my board and sail and then walked over to them . I said , " What are you guys looking at ? " they were all looking out to sea . The guy with the binocular kept looking out to sea . He said , " Mate , there 's a shark feeding on something out where we 're about to go . " I said " Oh . " I turned around , got my board , put it on top of my car , rolled up my sail , put everything away and went home to have a beer . My friend here will include some cartoons from the past . I don 't know if I explained , but these are cartoons I did when I could draw . I hope you enjoy them . She will include the link to my next project . Talk to you next week . Love , B . Nice Olaf the Wonder Cat . My friend here asked me , " Who is Olaf ? " ( See previous Blog . ) Olaf was my friend 's cat . He used to torture me on a regular basis when I would visit my friend in Paris . He 's a good friend . He made the mistake of saying , " When you come to Paris , look me up . " Little did he know , I went to Paris the following week . I looked him up . I looked him up . I think I called the guy every day . I didn 't know anyone else to call . Anyway , it was fun hanging out with him . One time he got a big job for a big magazine . Oh yeah , he 's a photographer . Anyway , he got a big job , and he said to me , " Will you be the assistant ? " I said , " Sure , no problem . " But the guy was so damn excited , he showed up for the job without his cmaera . I brought the cameras to him and we all had a great shoot . No good deed goes unpunished . Sorry to be a bummer , but it 's kind of true . I stopped recommending models because of the following stories . I got booked to do a fashion shoot in the Bahamas . They didn 't have a model . I said , " I know the perfecct girl for the job . " Well , they booked her . She was perfect for the job . But the first day was terrible . I said to her , " What 's going on ? You seem so distant . " She said to me , " I just found out I 'm pregnant . " I thought . . . great . Well , is that good or bad ? She was totally freaked out . She didn 't know what to think of it all . She just stood there like a rock for all the pictures . Needless to say , I never worked for that magazine again . Another time I recommended a girl for a big commercial shoot . We were in Puerto Rico . The girl was not there . She had a vacant look on her face the whole time . I said to her , " Are you all right ? What 's wrong ? " She said , " I just found out my brother died . " It was eerie . All the film , it looked like she was looking right through you . One of the scariest things I 've ever seen . Sometimes booking a girl for a job can work to your advantage . I was in Los Angeles working for a Japanese client . They wanted to go out to dinner to a specific place . Well , this specific place needed about a 6 month in advance reservation . I thought great , what am I going to do , but we showed up . I thought what the hell , let 's just give it a shot . I showed up and asked for a table for 6 . The maitre 'd said , " Do you have a reservation ? " I said , " No . " They looked at me like I was from another planet . All of a sudden , the hostess , she recognized the girl I was with , the model . They knew each other from school . Next thing you know , we 're at the VIP seats at the sushi bar . We had a great meal . It was a great night . I 'm a little frustrated right now . Waking up is really difficult . It 's hard to go from deep sleep to being awake . It 's tough . I guess I 'll reflect on what I did this week . It 's important to get vertical as often as you can . You know , stand up . I have a thing called a Sure Lift . It helps me stand . It also helps me get onto the floor . On the floor I can do stuff like yoga . Do cobra , etc . I talked a little about that in the previous blog . They 're all small and simple things , but they all add up . You gotta stay active . You know , everyone 's different . A friend of mine just had brain surgery . She went in on Tuesday , went home on Friday . Amazing . Everyone 's different . Everyone 's outcome will be different . It was strange . I went to the hospital to see her . It was the same hospital I 've been admitted to 3 times . It was strange going there as a visitor . It was kind of funny . We were in the lounge just having a chat . The nurse came in and said time for your medicine . I automatically opened my mouth like a bird . The nurse was talking to my friend . I 'm gonna tell some random stories . When you 're in a state like I am right now , it 's always good to think of the past . Think of stories or preoccupy your mind with things that are pleasant . Hey , it 's better than staring at the wall . One time I was in Paris . I had just gotten there . I was lucky . I started working right away . Anyway , I was on a photographic shoot with a famous magazine . The whole crew was new to me . The morning went really well . We broke for lunch . A two hour lunch . We sat down at a great restaurant . I said to my assistant , I 'm a little nervous . This is all new to me . I don 't know anything about wine . The guy handed me a wine list that looked like a weapon . It was huge . Anyway , I said to my assistant , " I don 't know what wine to get . " He said , " Breean , it 's very simple . You 're looking in the wrong column . Don 't look to the left . Look to the right . Look for a big number . That 's the wine to get . " He was right . It worked . I used to love to scare the shit out of my assistants . It 's kind of twisted , but funny . One time I was on vacation on a photographic shoot . We hired a big generator to power my lights . Anyway , the generator cut out . My assistant went down to check it out . Oh , yeah , I forgot to mention , we were shooting at my parents house . Anyway , when my assistant went to fool around with the generator , I thought ah ha ! this is the perfect time to get the M - 80 fireworks I found in one of my drawers . ( An M - 80 is a firecracker with a quarter of a stick of dynamite . ) Anyway , I lit the M - 80 and tossed it under the generator . The reaction was priceless . The guy dove for cover when it exploded . Another time I actually got in a lot of trouble . I had a fake snake in my bag of tricks . We put it out in the grass . The model I was trying to scare had a phobia of snakes . She ran into the location van and wouldn 't come out . I got in a lot of trouble . I guess I 'll end this where I started . I was talking about my friend in Paris . I met him in Australia . A makeup artist friend of mine said , " Will you guys meet up ? " She thought it would be helpful for the Parisian guy to meet me . I said , " Sure . No problem , just meet me at the cafe at the end of the beach . " Well , I forgot to ask what he looked like . I arrived the next morning where I was supposed to meet him . The whole place was packed with people . Then I noticed at the far end of the cafe , a guy pasty white , dressed in black , long dark hair , wearing dark ray bans , not talking to anyone . I thought ah ha ! French photographer ! Wow ! Chapter 80 ! My friend here and I have been doing this for a while . Pretty cool . I hope it really does help someone out there with traumatic brain injury . That 's why I 'm doing it . Anyway , this past week , my sister had a party at her therapy stable . It was a party for all her volunteers . Nice party . Anyway , I was talking to one of the volunteers and she said she follows the blog from time to time . She said to me , " I didn 't know you have a sense of humor like you do . " I wasn 't sure how to take that , but I guess it 's good . You know when you go through something like this , TBI , you have to have a sense of humor . You have to laugh about it . Have a laugh . You know , I was thinking some really depressing stuff . I 've seen death . I 've heard death . I 've saved people from death , and I 've fought off death many times . The point is , you gotta make fun of it all . Make light of it all . I guess that 's how I deal with everything . I was going through my previous blogs and toward the end I kept using the word " was " about a good friend . Like , he ' was ' a good friend . I should change that to is , because it could sound like the guy 's not around anymore . He 's around , and he is a good friend . I have another friend that I could use was about . He 's not with us anymore . He was a good friend . One day I came into his room and he had a really nice Samsonite suitcase on his bed . I looked a little closer and the whole damn thing was filled with weed . Not a good look , especially when he 's in my apartment in Sydney , Australia . I said , " Get that thing out of here , are you crazy ? " I said , " What are you doing with that thing in my apartment ? You have to get out of here and take that suitcase with you . " The guy was an interesting guy . Talk about a stoner though . One day , he came back to my apartment in Sydney , Australia . I used to live in a big apartment building right on the beach . All the apartments looked at the sea . Anyway , he went to my door , opened up the apartment door , sat down , turned on the television , went to the fridge , got a beer , sat down , started going through magazines , went to the bathroom , and as he was peeing he saw a big jar of Vaseline , then he saw a big dildo , and some other sex toys . He thought to himself , man , Brian is into some rally kinky stuff . Then he went into the bedroom and started looking around more . Then he thought to himself , wait a minute , this isn 't Brian 's apartment , looked around some more , and thought this is definitely not Brian 's place . Then he went to the front desk and found the right apartment . A year later , I was in the new apartment , he went to meet me at my apartment , walked in because the door was open , grabbed a beer out of the fridge , sat down , started to watch some telly , and then all of a sudden a woman walked in with some groceries . It wasn 't Brian 's wife he thought . Well the woman dropped all of her groceries and just started screaming . He was all confused . Started looking for windows doors , anything to geToday I went to to the Mall to do some Christmas shopping with my mom . We also stopped by the phone store because my phone was trashed . I got very frustrated , in fact , I 'm still frustrated . It was kind of like a marker for me ' cause I was there a year ago . I thought by now I 'd be much better , you know , walking and stuff , but my advances are so subtle , it 's all so frustrating . I have to practice what I preach and stay positive . My friend here typing this reminded me that I couldn 't even sit up straight a year ago , so I guess , yeah , I 'm getting better , but it 's so damn slow . One good thing that happened to me this week was that I crawled a little bit . I was able to do this for a couple of reasons . One of them is I 'm getting my strength back , strength through training is so important . When you 're like this , go to the gym as often as you can . You 've got to get your strength back . Next thing I have to work on is my balance cause my balance is a bit off right now . You know , eventually , your insurance and your therapy will stop , but you still need to train . Just because your insurance stops doesn 't mean you should stop training . You 're going to have to do a lot of it on your own . I 'm kind of there at the moment . I do a lot of stuff on my own . It takes a lot of self determination . You really have to keep at it . It works . You know you put the effort in , you get positive results . You know , I spend most of my day just sitting in my wheelchair . I guess you 'd call it meditation . I guess I 'm doing what most people try to achieve . Peace . What a high price to pay to get to this level . Anyway , my friend here will include some cartoons I did in the past and the link to my next adventure . Talk to you next week . Love , B . Nice P . S . One last thing : what do you think of this ? I 'm thinking of starting a new business . It 's called , " I 'm With Him . . . " I notice when you 're in a wheelchair , it opens up a whole new world . I get greater parking , great seats at restaurants , great service when I travel , it 's really easy to talk to girls . I 've got some really good pick up lines . The point is , I could open up a whole world to someone that 's with me ! In other words , I could hire myself out . Just another crazy thought . Of course I 'm just kidding . . . right ? Hi Everybody . Can you believe it 's December already . Time goes by when you 're having so much fun ! I 'm kind of being sarcastic , anyway , hey , I was looking on my previous blog , and the last cartoon is a true story . I was in the Keys in Florida . I was shooting a photographic job in my favorite place in Islamorada . Anyway , I got done with my photographic shoot early . I had time to go for a quick windsurf . I was going to meet my friend Hubert in front of his house . Well when I got there to meet him , the manager of the resort told me Hubert was in the hospital . I rushed down there and they told me a damn fish went right through his leg . Talk about surf and turf ! Anyway , I obviously didn 't go windsurfing that day . So now , here I sit , with my little dog . We have a french door in the kitchen . The little dog is always sitting by the door looking out . He 's looking at the squirrels get fat on the birdseed . The damn dog shakes so much , he 'd be a great drink mixer . All I got to do is make a harness for him , put a drink holder on it , put some ice in the drink holder and voila ! I have a good Margarita mixer . Kind of sick right ? That 's the kind of stuff I think about when I 'm stuck in the wheelchair studying a dog for a couple of hours . Last week was Thanksgiving . It was pretty cool . We had my whole family here , except for my little one . Boy did I miss her . Anyway , we had a good thanksgiving . And I was thinking it 's a good time to really give a thanks . Like for example , I 'm thankful I 'm still alive . I 'm thankful to have such a great family and friends . I very thankful to my friend right in front of me who 's typing this all for me , and I 'm especially thankful for all the constant small advances I 'm making . For example , just the other day , I sat on the floor , and I sat up in Lotus position . I did Yoga and sat up with my legs crossed . I had a little help getting there , but I sat there on my own for , I don 't know , 5 minutes ? Felt great . It was the first time I sat up on my own . First time in 2 years . Then I fell over . Anyway , it 's a good time to be thankful . This past week , I had a lot of small advances . Like I said before , I feel my body starting to wake up . It 's kind of good and bad . You feel your hands more , but you also feel the pain more . You feel like you 're getting worse , but you 're actually getting better . My eyesight is getting better . It 's slow , so damn slow , but I 'm getting there . I don 't know where I 'm going , but I 'm getting there . Like I said before , when you 're in a bad way , try to think of other things . I would often think about things that happened on photographic shoots . The following stories I feel a little awkward about , but I 'll tell you anyway . I was assigned to shoot a beauty story for a well known magazine . I was supposed to shoot in the Bahamas . Well , like a young idiot , I booked my girlfriend . She was definitely not right for the job , but you know , hey , it sounded like a good idea at the time . Anyway , the art director said to me , " Hey , we have to shoot an extra shot and tack it on to the beauty shoot in the Bahamas . " Well , the shot , what I was to do , had to be cast so they brought in the model , you know , my girlfriend . They said to her , here put this on and the photographer , Brian Nice , will do a picture of you . Oh yeah , they didn 't know the model and I were going out . Anyway , they said , " Brian will do the photo of you for the art director . " Well , the photo was very specific . I had to do a butt shot . And they handed her a G - string . The looks from her to me ranged from instant death to why are you doing this to me ? And even worse . I took the photo and I said , " Oh she 's terrible . We 've got to book another girl for the butt shot . " This did nothing but make my assistant laugh , and her , the model , my girlfriend , want to kill me even more . We often book models for the body parts . For example , we would photograph a girl and have another girl come in with her hands . I was to do a shoot like this . We already had the girl for the head shot , but I needed to book a girl for the hands . The girl that was to do the head shot had terrible hands . Anyway , I was doing my casting , you know , looking for girls with nice hands , and it got to be rather late . The casting was over and I hadn 't found anyone . All of a sudden , a doorbell rang , late at night . A girl showed up wearing white gloves . She said , Hi , I 'm here for the casting , sorry I 'm late . Well we sat down , I said , " OK , let me see your book . " She did have nice hands . She did have nice legs . She did have a nice butt . She did have nice everything , but her face . Sorry to be rude , but that 's the way it is . Anyway , on the last page was a photo of her topless , and then a close up of her chest , bare . She said to me , " Do you want to see them ? I get many compliments on them all the time . " I can feel my ears burning . I must have been bright red . I looked up to her . I was about to say something when she whipped off her gloves and started modeling her hands . She was talking about her hands ! Thank God ! The following story took place in Paris , France . I was photographing for an assignment with a famous lingerie label . We were shooting in Monte Carlo . It was a good shoot and going even better . Anyway , we got done and the client that handled the company showed up . He wanted to see the Polaroids , examples of shots we did from the day . Anyway , I opened my diary to show him the Polaroids and all I found was underwear in my book . My assistant put the models underwear in my diary . Even worse , the model came over and said , " Oh , there 's my underwear , " and ripped it out of my book . It was all a little awkward . I don 't think you could have planned it better if you tried . The head client looked at me and he had a very serious look on his face . He looked at me and he said , " Bravo Breean , Bravo . " I got my assistant back . I mentioned this before , but it really does help to think of other things when you 're in a bad way . Think about things that make you happy . For example , I have one friend who was an awesome windsurfer . I used to follow him like a young idiot . He would say , " See those waves over there mate ? Follow me , we 're going to big surf . " Or he 'd say , " See that big tanker over there , we 're going to duck in behind it and windsurf past it . " I 'd be like - OK . And being a young idiot , I 'd just follow him . Actually , have you ever see an empty tanker before , up close , it 's amazing . The blade in the back is like the size of a 4 story house , with water falling off of it . It 's unbelievable . Thank God I didn 't fall . Anyway , I would think about little adventures like this . I would think about it all the time . He was a good windsurfer , a good friend and a good photographer . Below is a drawing I did of something I 'm not so proud of . Imagine this - imagine having a really good dinner in the Caribbean . We were all on a photographic shoot . We got done with dinner . We 're walking back to our rooms . Well , the pier into the ocean looked beautiful at night , so we walked to the end of the pier . The pier went down about 20 feet into the dark ocean . It was a beautiful night . We were all standing there . I was there with an editor I had never worked with . It was a dark night , but the water looked really sharky . I looked over at the editor and pushed her in . She screamed , " OH my God you 're crazy ! " and I jumped in after her . I helped her to the ladder , and we climbed back up onto the pier . Everyone started running away from me for some reason . That 's it . Not much else to report . I 'm still working hard sunrise to sunset . I continue to get better , and I really , really appreciate all the nice emails I get . Everywhere from Australia , Paris , everywhere . Thank you so much . You guys are great . Anyway , it 's back to work for me . I 'll talk to you next week . Love , B . Nice Hi Everybody . Another week goes by . They all seem to be the same and blend together . It all gets a bit monotonous . People often say , " Hey , how ya doing ? " I always say , " I 've felt better . But I 've felt worse as well . " Ha . Remember , when you 're in a bad way , think of something real good . I always do . The first thing I think of is when my little one was born . I was there in the delivery room . She came out from behind a sheet . They suctioned out her nose and her mouth , and then she opened her eyes and I said , " Welcome ! " and she smiled . Then , I think about things like a crimson sunrise on the top of Ayers Rock in Australia . You see the sun warms up the rock at sunrise and the hot air rises and all the air from around the desert comes rushing in to fill the void . It creates its own windstorm at sunrise . It 's pretty cool , especially on Christmas morning . I 've witnessed things in New Guinea . Two tribes have been fighting for 200 years . They decided to make peace with each other . It was a great party . I 've seen countless sunrises while surfing . I could go on and on . The point is , think of something really good to get you through rough stuff . Or you could think of other things to keep your mind preoccupied . I often would think about things that scared the shit out of me . For example , once I was coming back to my apartment . Oh yeah , I was walking with a girl I was kind of having an innocent flirtation with . Anyway , we were walking back to my apartment in Paris , and she stopped on the corner . I said , " What 's wrong . " She said , " Oh my god , see that big car over there ? " I said " Yeah . That big Mercedes with all the cigarettes outside the passenger window ? " She said " Yeah , that 's my husband 's car . " I said , " Your HUSBAND ? You didn 't tell me you had a husband . " She said , " You never asked . " I said , " Well , thanks a lot . What does your husband do ? " She said , " Oh , he 's in french construction . " I saw a pair of concrete boots in my future . Anyway , that relationship obviously didn 't go on past that . Other things that scared the shit out oYou know , we travel a lot in our business . We 're always going somewhere new . Anyway , I used to shoot in Charleston a lot . I would stay in an old hotel . We got in kind of late one time . I went to my room and when I walked in I didn 't like it immediately . Something was not right . Anyway , I put down my bag and went out to grab a bite with the crew . After dinner I came back and went to bed . I woke up in the middle of the night . I was on my back and there was pressure on my chest . Remember this all happened really quick . Anyway , I felt pressure on my chest and felt like there were knees on ether side of my knees . There were two hands by my ears and there was something or someone face to face with me growling . It wasn 't happy , whatever it was . And I said , Well , I 'm just having a nightmare so I 'll wake up and move . I tried and tried to get up but I couldn 't . I finally yelled , " Get the fuck off of me , " and whatever it was holding me down vanished . Well , I sat up and I thought , well that was a pretty heavy nightmare so I lay down to go to sleep and as I was drifting off to sleep , I felt the edge of my bed sink down like someone was sitting on my bed . I got up and said , " OK , that 's it ! " And I grabbed my stuff , went down to the front desk in my pajamas at 3 in the morning , and explained to the guy at the front desk what just happened . He looked at me , looked at my key and he said , " OK , " put the key down , got me a key for another room in the new section of the hotel . He said , you 'll be much more comfortable over in the new section . And I was . The following story took place in upstate NY . We were shooting at a really nice house but we had to stay in a not so nice hotel . Anyway , I was going to sleep in my room and it felt like a dog was going back and forth rubbing its body against the bed . I thought to myself , dammit , my assistants put a dog in my room . I was convinced there was a dog in my room . I turned on the light and there was no dog . I was thinking , well , that was really real . That felt real . I thought , well , I 'm just having a nightmare . So I turned off the light and drifted off to sleep . Well , as I 'm drifting off to sleep , I got the same feeling of a dog rubbing up against the bed , then whatever it was jumped on the bed , jumped over me and jumped through the wall . I sat up , turned on the light and thought , man , I 've got to stop drinking . Well the next morning I overheard one of the models talking to the hairdresser . She said she had a strange dream of a dog coming out of the wall jumping on to her bed and jumping through another wall . I said oh my god , what room are you in ? It was the room right next to mine . I 've got plenty of ghost stories . I could go on . I 'll tell one more . I was staying at an old inn . It was in Maine . The room I had was really nice . Really big . Anyway , I was going to sleep when all of a sudden I felt a draft come over my head , forehead and swirl around my chest . I got up turned on the light looked outside . It was dead still . There were no windows open . There was no AC unit around me . It was a strong wind . Well , I called downstairs and they said to me , " Oh , that 's Mrs . So and So . She hasn 't been reported in a while . She must like you . " And they started laughing . I started laughing very nervously . But I packed my pack went down to the front desk and said to them , " Where are my assistants staying ? " They described the house . Well I went there and said , " Let me in you guys . " I slept on the couch . I 've got plenty of ghost stories . But one of the most important things that happened to me was I met a very special lady in Paris . It was my girlfriend 's friend . You see , she was very talented . She had the ability to help people . She was gifted . I don 't know how to describe it . You could say she was a clairvoyant , or an intuitive , or whatever . I don 't know how to describe her , but she was cool . Anyway , I went over there to say hi , have some wine . She described to me what she does and she said to me , " What do you want to know ? " And I thought , my god what do I want to know ? That 's like being a little kid in a toy store . I said , well , I don 't know . What am I going to be doing in a few years . She said , " Oh , that 's easy . Well you 're going to have a new dog . You 're going to build a house by the ocean . You 're going to be a successful photographer . " My girlfriend at the time , she said , " What ? we 're going to live by the sea ? " And the woman said to her , " Honey , it 's not you . " Ha , well , that was the end of that relationship . The bottom line is , there 's something out there . I don 't know what it is . Energy . Good imagination . I don 't know . All I know is there is something out there . Oh yeah , she also said to me , " Brian , in ten years you re going to be admitted to the hospital . You 'll almost die , but you 'll make it . " Pretty wild huh ? Was it a self fulling prophecy ? I don 't know , but she saw it coming . So the moral of the story is , never ever think of someone naked . On a more important note , I 'd like to say , always follow your intuition . That 's the most important thing I got out of my meeting with that woman . And you should always follow your intuition . My friend here will include some drawings I did in the past . She 'll also include the link to my next project . It 'll be next year . Talk to you next week . Love , B . Nice This is an unprecedented event . My friend and I are going to post another blog this week . Amazing huh ? Anyway , we 're going to post another blog because I 'm taking care of some legal stuff right now and she is helping me . You see , when you have traumatic brain injury , it doesn 't mean you 're normal life is put on hold . You still gotta deal with everyday shit . It makes things real tough . It 's not easy , but I get through it . I want to reinforce that stress is not good for you right now , if you have traumatic brain injury . Anyway , I wanted to tell some stories because it 'll get my mind off the day . Oh , I forgot to say , Hi Everybody ! I want to dedicate this blog to all my friends that have helped me . It helps a lot to have so much support . I can 't list them all . Many of you have emailed me . because of the way I am I can 't email you back , but I read each and every email and I appreciate your support and your love . A good friend of mine used to have awesome fishing boat . It was a time when I lived in Montauk , New York . He would often go off shore to fish for tuna . Sometimes he 'd call me up and invite me on a fishing trip . Anyway , we would catch a lot of really good fish . I wasn 't into fishing so I drove the boat and drank the beer . One day we were about a hundred miles off shore . I said to my friend , " I 'm going to go for a swim . " He said , " Not a good idea . " I said , " Why what 's the big deal ? " He said , " Trust me . You don 't want to swim out here . " So I went back to driving the boat . Well , everyone started catching tuna . They were a good 70 pounds . They all caught one except for me . And they said , " Brian , come on , you gotta catch one . Come on give it a try . " I reluctantly said OK , I got in the chair and they gave me a pole and I got one on the line . It was another 70 pound tuna . I started to reel it in . It was really fighting . I got it close to the boat when all of a sudden a white mini van came out of the water . No , it wasn 't a mini van , it was a huge mako shark and had its mouth wide open . It ate my fish in one gulp . I reeled in an eye and some lips . My friend said , " See , that 's why you don 't swim from the boat out here . " I went back to driving the boat . Oh , yeah , and had a beer . It was crazy . I 'll tell one more random story . When I was a kid , I had a good friend that I played with . The house I lived in with my family was a big old federal house . Anyway , it was around during the revolutionary war . My friend and I were in the back yard playing when all of a sudden the guy who was cutting the lawn got his tractor stuck . We helped him pull it out of the lawn . We cleared the grass away , we found a door . We cleared more grass away , opened the door and there was a big pit that went down around 10 feet . I went and got my dad . We determined from the mortar that it was built a long long time ago . There were many munitions storage in the area during the revolutionary war so my friend and I thought we found one . When we both got down to the bottom with a ladder , we started digging and found another door . There wasn 't enough room for both of us so my friend said , " Please , please let me open the door . It would be so cool . " So I said OK . I went up the ladder and lowered a crowbar down to him . he tried with all his strength to open the door . He finally got it open and I hear a big whoosh some gas escaping , then I heard him scream , " Oh , my God , " and a geyser of shit came up . It covered the ladder , he crawled up the ladder screaming . He was covered in shit and toilet paper . We had discovered the septic system . My father wasn 't very happy . Anyway , that 's it for now . I gotta get back to life . My friend here will include some more cartoons and a link to my project . Talk to you next week . Love , B . Nice Monotonous . Tedious . Claustrophobic . Never ending . Schedulized . Repetitive . No , I 'm not talking about marriage . I 'm talking about traumatic brain injury recovery . See , it takes time to get better . This routine reminds me of a period in my life called pre - season cross - country . You see , we would give up August to run pre - season . We did this at our own will . We would give up 3 to 4 weeks to train . We always stayed at our coach 's house . Our schedule was pretty much this : Get up at 7 . Have a light breakfast . Train from 8 to 11 . Have a lunch . Take a nap . Train from 3 to 6 . Have dinner . Watch TV and go to bed . We did this for about 3 weeks . My schedule right now is pretty much the same . But I 've been doing this for 3 years ! Anyway , I said it before , but I 'll say it again , there 's some periods of my life that got me ready for this . I believe pre - season got me ready for what I 'm going through right now . Hey , talking about college , let me tell a few stories . I met this girl , kissed her and thought , hey , let 's get a place together . So we moved in together , being the young idiot I was . Anyway , on the weekends , I would always go to track meets to compete . I was pretty good . I would run the qualifiers on Saturday and then run the finals on Sunday . I would always make the finals . But one weekend , I didn 't feel so good . I didn 't make the finals in any race so I decided to surprise my girlfriend and go home early . ( Never surprise your girlfriend . ) Surprising her was to turn out to be my second mistake . My first mistake was moving in with her . Anyway , I got home early , grabbed a beer out of the fridge , sat down at the kitchen table and started to go through the mail . I looked over to my right and there was a leather jacket on the chair . I thought to myself , " That 's not my jacket . It 's an ugly jacket , but that 's not mine . " Then I heard some noise coming from the back bedroom . Our bedroom ! I went back there and pushed the door open . Very slowly . Creaking sound . . . . I opened the door slowly and there he was , my neighbor , in bed with my girlfriend . He pulled the sheets up to his chin and he said , " Don 't do anything stupid man . " And I said , " I think you beat me to that . " I turned around , walked to the table , grabbed my beer and left . I didn 't know where to go , so I thought , well , I 'll go to the movies . I saw Outland with Sean Connery , three times . No one would sit next to me . What 's wrong with a guy with a beer and popcorn crying at a science fiction movie ? Anyway , the whole thing I think kind of freaked me out . I got my own apartment , built a full on bar in the living room , complete with beer on tap 24 / 7 . I bought a rabbit and named him Andrew . I bought a water bed . ( Never buy a rabbit and a water bed at the same time . ) Anyway , I had lots of girlfriends , lots of parties , I got to know campus security quite well . PS . I have a lot of stories about the rabbit , Andrew , the water bed was just one story . I guess he was pretty thirsOther than that , I don 't have much else to report . I keep on working hard . I 'll talk to you guys next week . Love , B . Nice I 'd like to dedicate this week 's blog to my mother . See when you have a traumatic brain injury , you really need a point person . I mentioned before , my mother is my point person . You will be assigned a social worker , that 's for sure . But you also need a point person , someone to basically look after you . I said it before , but I just want to remind you how important it is . Hi everybody . Welcome to another week in paradise . I 'm sorry I missed last week . We had a huge storm . They even gave it a name , Superstorm Sandy . We were lucky . We only lost power for a week . It worked out OK . We only lost a few trees . But it 's why I missed blogging you last week . I went to a party this week , and I met a gentleman that bought one of my photos . He turned out to be very ill . You would never know it from looking at him , but he had a serious illness . We got to talking and we both agree , it 's so important to stay positive . It 'll really get you through the tough times . You see , there 's a positive for every negative . The reason I say that is I had a good friend visit me . He was supposed to stay for 2 days , but because of Superstorm Sandy , he was stuck here for a week . When I look at him , I think of 2 words : Party Animal . He and I did enough drinking back then to make up for an entire life . Let me just tell you a few stories . Once we were at a bar . We got in his truck and we realized we shouldn 't drive . So he elected to sleep in the cab and I slept in the back . Well , I woke up to someone shaking me . I looked up to see a police officer . He said to me , " I 'm glad you decided not to drive , but you 've got to pick up all your trash . " I looked at the parking lot and I guess to make room for my sleeping bag , I had thrown out all the empty beer cans . The whole lot was filled . Another time was in college . We decided to go to a fraternity party . When I say we , I mean my track team . Anyway , it was close to closing time and we got in a small altercation with the fraternity boys . They pushed us outside and then surrounded us . They wanted to pick a fight . Well , I was ready to leave , and then all of a sudden , someone came out of nowhere and punched my good friend in the head . He punched him so hard , he knocked him down and my friend hit his head on the ground . An ambulance had to be called . Next thing you know , I 'm in the hospital with my friend . Well , this really pissed off my other friend who was a quarter miler . He sSo here we are today . My friend who I knew in college is here with me as we sit in front of the fire . I 'm like an old man in my wheelchair , and he 's stoking the fire . Funny , you know , we both don 't drink now . He has one of the most responsible jobs in the world . I don 't . We both have kids . Things change . Now I look at him and I think of 2 words : Responsible Adult . I still think he 's a party animal . He won 't admit it . Anyway , he reminds me of an image I have . The man in the suit . I 'll tell this one more story . The man in the suit . I was windsurfing one fine day . I was on long Island Sound . Out in the middle of nowhere . It was your typical fall day . Strong currents leaving the bay . Big rolling waves coming in . It was a really good day . Anyway , I was playing in the waves windsurfing and I need a little break , so I went to the beach , turned my board over . Laid under my Mylar sail . It 's kind of like being in a greenhouse . You 're shielded from the wind and the sun keeps you warm as you lay there . Anyway , I was resting , taking a little break when out of the blue I hear , Hey how 's it going ? . I couldn 't believe it . I look up and there 's a man in a full on beautiful fitted suit . The guy was on a dirt bike . I was in the middle of nowhere and so was he . It was all surreal . He said , " You look like you 're having fun out there . " I said , " Yeah . " The guy was disheveled . He had a nice suit on , but he had burrs , grass in his hair , a slight beard . But he had a big smile on his face . Actually , he was a little scary . And then all of a sudden , I heard police cars . The guy said to me with a smile , " Oops , I 've got to go . Have a good day , " and he took off on his dirt bike to the horizon . It was all a bit strange , but I continued to windsurf in the waves . I got back to my car when I police car pulled up . He was looking for the guy in the suit . I told the police officer what happened and the cop took off . Anyway , that guy reminds me of my friend , the Party Animal . I really don 't have much more to report this week other than the fact that I go through peaks and valleys . I know it 's normal when you 're like this with a traumatic brain injury . You recover , but it takes time . It 's frustrating , but as long as you stay positive , and make small goals , you 'll get there . You 'll get better . Anyway , I 'll talk to you guys next week . Love , B . Nice

Midway through the Fall term , Carrie started going on about a public health forum at CDC that she wanted to go to . She wanted me to go with her . I told her that I didn 't have to go everywhere she went , but she insisted . It turned out that there was a man on the panel she was absolutely wild about . She had glimpsed him from afar at another meeting and he was not only good - looking , but marvelously smart . She didn 't know his name , but she wanted to meet him . The problem with that was - Carrie had never had a straight relationship in her life . I considered other possibilities . She didn 't know his name , but she wanted to meet him . The problem with that was - Carrie had never had a straight relationship in her life . I considered other possibilities . So I asked her again why I needed to go with her , and she said to protect her against making a fool of herself with this gorgeous man . That 's what I loved about Carrie - she was forty - four years old - ten years my junior - but she thought like a teenager , on top of being a little wacky . I had adjusted to living in her house as a kept woman . It was no problem for me to go to the meeting as her chaperone . In those days , you could just walk right into CDC and ask the guard for directions . Auditorium B , where the forum was being held , was down the right corridor to the cafeteria and then around past Auditorium A . When we got there , the meeting hadn 't started yet - people were wandering in and and out . We stood at the back and looked around the room . Almost immediately , Carrie nudged me and said : I didn 't respond . I was still looking at the man . Even from the back of the auditorium , I recognized him . I checked the program notes and there was his name : Allen Kravass . Carrie wanted me to tell her , right then , everything I knew about this man and what he was to me and what I was to him , but it was time to find our seats . Carrie wanted to sit on the front row and I wanted to go home . We ended up sitting in the middle of a row about halfway back from the stage . I figured Allen wouldn 't recognize me from that distance . After we were seated , Carrie whispered to me : " Don 't you want to talk to him ? " I said , " No , " as firmly as I could . During the presentation , Carrie listened intently to everything that was said . I didn 't hear a single word . In my head , old memories , darting back and forth , were soon crowded out by a growing delusion that a conspiracy was afoot - somehow , Carrie and Allen were plotting between themselves to fix me up with a man - him . The insanity of that was the idea that Carrie , whom I 've known for a year , could be plotting anything with Allen , whom I hadn 't seen in twenty years . Ruling that out , I was still left with the equally unlikely possibility that , just by coincidence , Carrie had become monstrously attracted to this man I used to know . I decided , at that point , it didn 't really matter . I started wondering if Allen would recognize me , up close . After all these years , I looked older , and he just looked better . My hair was much shorter and grayer . I 'd given up wearing makeup - looking good for men was no longer on my agenda . At that point , I wasn 't exactly thinking clearly - if I thought he wouldn 't recognize me , why would I refuse to sit down front ? I didn 't know . Then I started wondering why I didn 't want to see him again . There wasn 't anything totally embarrassing between us . Why wouldn 't it be fun to reminisce about the old days - when I was somebody else and he was a young man , fresh out of boyhood ? Why wouldn 't I want to catch up on everything he 's done since then , and catch him up on me ? I decided maybe I was afraid that his story would be better than mine - or , at least , easier to explain . By the end of the program , I was a mess . I just sat there when Carrie jumped up , saying , " I 'm going down to meet him ! " When I saw her heading for the stage , I panicked and walked quickly to the back of the auditorium . Of course , I couldn 't just leave her there . I waited at the door while she and Allen talked , down front . My mind must have wandered a bit because , the next thing I knew , the two of them were heading up the aisle straight toward me . There was no time to do anything but put on a blank face . I could say I left my contacts at home . Carrie moved smoothly to introduce me to Allen as her best friend , calling me by her pet name for me - Sammie . Good , I thought . She 's being cool , not giving anything away . I could remain incognito , if I wanted to - provided Allen didn 't recognize me . While Carrie was talking , Allen kept looking at me . He seemed puzzled , or at least thoughtful . He looked like he knew I was somebody from his past , but couldn 't make the connection . His puzzled expression softened his granite jaw and impeccable appearance . Little , contrary things about him came back to my memory . I felt a little foolish , pretending that I didn 't know him . Neither of us said anything about anything we 'd done together in the past . I noticed that he was not wearing a ring . He said something about the seventies being a good time for being single , and he alluded to having had several relationships with women . He said that he had never married , and left it at that . He didn 't say that he 'd never found a woman who meant as much to him as I did . Of course , I didn 't want him to say that . I told him that all I 'd gotten out of the seventies was two more ex - husbands . And then , without thinking , I told him that I had pretty much sworn off men . He didn 't say anything in response , just nodded . I went on to explain that Carrie and I were living together , that we were a couple . He didn 't act surprised , the way most men would have . He didn 't seem disappointed , either . He just said he found it hard to believe . For a second , it occurred to me that Allen might have turned gay too , but it was a fleeting thought - I knew otherwise . Of course , he might have thought the same thing about me - the whole thing was getting complicated . At least , I was spared the unpleasantness of having to deal with any latent feelings he might have harbored for me after all these years . When Carrie came back , we said our goodbyes and he went his way and we went ours . It was too late to go back to work , so we headed home . In the car , Carrie and I were both quiet . I drove , pretty much on auto - pilot . Carrie looked out her window . After a few minutes , she asked me if I was going to tell her what Allen and I had talked about while she was in the bathroom . I didn 't see any issue there , so I just said , " Not much to tell . " That night , in bed , I took Carrie the way men have taken me - not roughly , but aggressively , without much regard for her feelings . That was unusual for me . Our lovemaking - at least since our very early days together - had moved on a bed of tenderness , more affectionate than physical , marked by an absence of what might be called the male principle . This time I was direct and she responded to it ; but I was vaguely unsatisfied . The next morning , I found Carrie curled up on the living room sofa . At breakfast , she didn 't say anything about why she 'd gone there in the night . In fact , she clammed up and was still in a pout when I dropped her off at the Whitehead Building where she worked . Her Allen mania of the day before had vanished . Maybe she was pouting because I 'd popped her bubble . It didn 't occur to me that Carrie was jealous . Carrie wasn 't the jealous type . I was the jealous type . I was jealous of my husbands ' girlfriends and then I was jealous of Carrie 's girlfriends . But Carrie wanted to share me with everybody . She said I needed to experience the life . But now she was acting jealous of me about a man . It was a new facet of her personality . After I said that , it occurred to me that Allen could easily find me if he wanted to . But I knew he wouldn 't try , even if he wanted to , because he thought I didn 't want him to . And I didn 't . Carrie came out of her mood , but on the following Friday night she partied with her girl friends and came home drunk in the wee hours of Sunday morning . It had been a long time since she 'd pulled that stunt . I refused to provide aid and comfort . She pouted a bit and then slept it off . The next day , it all blew over and things went back to normal . Carrie forgot all about Allen and , to tell the truth , so did I . He smiled again and immediately I regretted everything that was coming out of my mouth . I felt awkward with him . At least , we weren 't talking about the weather . His logic was charming - I couldn 't resist . I didn 't want him to think that I had no lunch plans , so I suggested a day in the following week . He then jumped up , apologized for keeping me from work , and was abruptly gone . I sat for a while , thinking - I was tickled , but the thing that tickled me also left me with a sense of foreboding . I 'd been through this kind of thing before . He was a man - eventually , I was going to have to deal with the male principle . I didn 't tell Carrie about my gentleman caller - it shouldn 't have mattered , but I just didn 't want to deal with it . When the day came , I didn 't change my routine . I wore my regular work clothes and , of course , no makeup . Midmorning , Allen called and offered to pick me up at my office , but I told him that it would be better if I met him at the restaurant . He suggested The Sandpiper on Piedmont Road . It was one my favorite places - I wondered if he somehow knew that . My tenterhooks were out . At least , he hadn 't suggested that we meet for drinks - lunch was neutral ground . When I arrived at The Sandpiper , Allen was waiting for me , just inside the door . As we followed the waiter to a table , I noticed that he walked a step behind me , but didn 't place his hand on my back the way many men would have done . He didn 't touch me at all . I decided that this man , whom I really didn 't know anymore , if I ever did , was either a true gentleman or he was really slick . I tried to relax and enjoy the occasion . I knew what I wanted to order , but I looked over the menu anyway . Allen glanced over his quickly , and then asked me if I would mind if he ordered a Manhattan . I shrugged , saying it was fine with me . He said it would be fine with him if I just wanted iced tea . Thinking fast , I said that I might have a white wine . The rest was easy - the waiter wrote everything down and left us to ourselves again . He said , " I realized it was you immediately . I recognized you when you first came into the auditorium . I was wondering why you didn 't recognize me . " When the drinks came , I mentioned that I had a one - round limit at lunchtime . He smiled and nodded . We started talking about different things and we kept on talking when the food came . Then , about the time we should have been calling for the check , I heard myself saying , " Ready for another round ? " Sometime during that second round , Allen said he was curious about my relationship with Carrie . I told him that all my marriages had ended in disgust , and I decided that I wanted to stop doing that , but I wasn 't thinking about women at all . Then one night I met Carrie in a lounge , and she got me drunk , took me to her Decatur townhouse and seduced me . I had a little epiphany and moved in with her two months later . Allen wanted to know what it felt like , not physically , but in my head . I said that I liked the gentleness , the absence of a man . I also said that it changed the way I looked at myself , but I didn 't know how to explain it . He nodded , as though he knew exactly what I meant . I was immediately unsure of what I was getting into . His face took on a more purposeful , serious expression , but he was forthcoming . He told me that , after me , he 'd been attracted mainly to older women and eventually met a few who seduced him . Later on , it seemed like most of the women he got to know were younger than he was . But they still did the seducing . What attracted him were the women themselves - not what they looked like or how they were built . If he liked a woman , then he liked the way she looked . Basically , he said , he liked womanly women who liked sex . During the third round , he started giving me little descriptions of each of the major women in his life , by name , with the highlights of each relationship , from beginning to end . These relationships often overlapped and several of the women knew each other , and they all knew about the rest . I suspected that I was not the first woman to hear this story . He seemed to expect that I would enjoy hearing about his women , and would accept him and them , without jealousy or envy , and somehow I did . That 's the screwy part - I was fascinated . After the fourth round , we both became more reflective . Allen said that , as he 'd gotten older , his ideas about sex and relationships had matured . His life , he admitted , had been rich in relationships with different women , but they all began with a bang and then ended with jealousy and hurt feelings , a year or two later . The only relationships that seemed to endure over time were platonic ones , and most of them were gone , too . He said that , lately , he 'd been fantasizing about having a life - long relationship with a woman without any sex at all . He said that he had never married , and left it at that . He didn 't say that he 'd never found a woman who meant as much to him as I did . Of course , I didn 't want him to say that . " Think about it , " he continued . " The most intimate thing that two people can do together is to hold hands in public . But only if they 've never had sex . " He kept explaining his theories until we were the only ones in the restaurant and the afternoon sun was coming in the windows . We stayed so long , I was almost late , picking up Carrie after work . She was waiting for me on the sidewalk . When she got in the car , I looked over at her , nondescriptly . This time , Carrie didn 't get pouty . Instead , she invited all her girlfriends over to perform an intervention on me . I had to tell them everything Allen said , and then they told me horror stories about men they 'd known who started out talking exactly the same way . When I told them what Allen said about holding hands , they all fell out , laughing . I insisted that Allen was a very nice guy , but I had to admit they had a point . In my defense , I reaffirmed that I was through with all men - even nice ones like Allen who , incidentally , hadn 't laid a hand on me . When it was over , Carrie said she was satisfied with the intervention , but I noted a change in her attitude after that . I could see it in the way she didn 't look straight at me anymore , in the way she talked or didn 't talk , and in the way she went back to her bed after sex instead of staying around for the good part . During that time , I started thinking over my situation with Carrie . The truth is , there was never any love between us - it was all sex , and , after the first time , that thrill was pretty much gone . At least , with my husbands , I 'd started out in love and that made everything worthwhile until disgust settled in . If Carrie was going to pout all the time , then I couldn 't see much reason to stick around . The only thing that held me back from leaving was the idea of having to go somewhere else . I 'd have to go back to living by myself in an apartment . I hated the thought , but over time Carrie 's attitude stiffened till I felt that I had no choice . She started inviting girls she 'd just met to spend the night , and she always asked me if they could use my room . What could I say ? I needed advice from a neutral party . I thought of Allen , because he was partly to blame for the problem , but it wasn 't time yet for him to show up in my door again . After stewing about it for several days , I decided to visit him . I 'd never been to his office before , but it wasn 't hard to find . The guard in the entrance to CDC told me where to go , saying his name was on a plaque outside his door . I found him , sitting alone at a small desk in a small room , writing on a long yellow pad . He seemed deep in thought . I almost decided to walk on by , but he suddenly looked up and saw me and smiled . I told him I wouldn 't have come , but I needed to talk to somebody about something . He nodded , as though that were an everyday occurrence for him , and he suggested that we go somewhere that wasn 't on government property . I thought about that for half a second , and decided it was a good idea . I followed him in my car to Bennigan 's at Northlake . It was the middle of the afternoon and the place was empty . The afternoon sun , coming in the high windows , was blinding to anyone sitting on that side , so we found a booth in the back . When the waiter came over , before I could say anything , Allen ordered two iced teas . I started right in talking about Carrie . After twenty minutes , I 'd gone through , not just my Carrie problem , but also the sorry details of all three of my ex - husbands , including the one I divorced while I was still in nursing school . I also told him about all the apartments I 'd lived in and hated . He listened to everything I said , with interest and concern . We talked about other possibilities . I said I might like a little house way out in the country like the one I grew up in , but something like that would be too far away from work . We kept coming back to the idea of a house , inside the perimeter , but I was adamant that a big house in suburbia was not for me . I tried to look at it the right way , but I couldn 't . I appreciated Allen 's advice , but I couldn 't see how buying a house would improve my situation . At least , I thought , he wasn 't suggesting that I move in with him . We stayed in Bennigan 's for another hour . Allen told me that I didn 't have to stay with him . I could stay with Carrie until I found another place . Or , if I couldn 't stand being with Carrie another night , then I could live in a motel until I found another place . He talked on at length , with no pressure in his voice , just the words coming out of his mouth . In the end , I couldn 't find any way around his logic - on the one hand , I couldn 't stand another night of Carrie 's moping , and , on the other hand , I didn 't want to go to a motel . I decided to stay with Allen until I found another place . We made a plan . I would pick up Carrie at work , as usual , then go home and pack a small bag for the next couple of days . We 'd get the rest of my stuff later . Around seven , I would meet Allen , back at Bennigan 's . We 'd get something to eat and then I 'd follow him home . I was nervous about having to confront Carrie , but luckily , when we got home , she went straight to her room , so I was able to get in and out without a fuss . I left her a note . Then I met Allen , as planned , and we got a bite to eat . I was giddy with conspiracy . When we arrived at his house , he took my bag and ushered me inside . Standing inside the door , I could see the living room , dining room and part of the kitchen . Stairs led up to the second floor . The furnishings were a little sparse , but the carpeting made everything seem homey . Allen showed me to one of the upstairs bedrooms where I could stay , explaining that his bedroom was on the first floor . It would almost be like we were in separate apartments . He left me to put my things away . When I went back downstairs , Allen was sitting at one end of a long leather sofa in the living room . Soft music was coming from somewhere , but the lights were all on . I noticed these little things , because I kept seeing everything through Carrie 's suspicious eyes . I took the other end of the sofa and Allen immediately jumped up and asked me if I wanted anything to drink . I said I would have whatever he was having . In a flash , he was back with two glasses of white wine . I had to give him high marks for that . So we sipped and talked , and gradually got back into the conversations that we 'd started at the Sandpiper . First off , I said that I had a technical question - if two people decided to be a couple without having sex , why wouldn 't it be okay for them to forgo sex with everybody ? Allen said it would be perfectly okay - in fact , that was the purest form of the idea . I said it would make everything less complicated . He said it would make everything more intimate . I confessed that I was still trying to understand his concept of intimacy . When it got late , we retired to our neutral corners with neither of us having laid a glove on the other . The next morning , we had bagels and coffee in his breakfast nook , and then went our separate ways to work , without hug or handshake . I had to admit , when I compared living under Allen 's roof to other roofs I 've lived under , there was something very nice about Allen 's way of doing things . But it didn 't feel intimate at all . That evening , we took up our positions on the sofa again . Allen said that he was in the mood for sipping bourbon . I said that I would sip a little with him . So we sat back with a bottle of Jim Beam on the coffee table and resumed our conversation . I learned that Allen , unlike any of my husbands , improved with liquor - he became more good - natured and open , and he talked a lot . I liked listening to him talk . Every now and then , I would ask a question . " My father became senile and mama couldn 't handle him by herself . By the time daddy died , she couldn 't take care of herself either . She lived for another year . It was pretty depressing . " " I remember your taking charge of situations more - you took me in hand once and helped me buy a car . And you definitely ran the VD clinic . Now , you seem more passive , living in other people 's houses , and not knowing what to do . " At Carrie 's townhouse , I had a big footlocker , containing most of my worldly belongings , and three suitcases with just the things I needed . We could have crammed all that into our two cars , but at work Allen knew a guy with a truck who was willing to perform an act of kindness . He met us at Carrie 's on Saturday , and helped with the heavy lifting . Carrie sat inside , staring at us as we went in and out . Allen rode in the truck with the guy over to Allen 's house , and I followed in my car . As they were carrying everything from the truck up to my room , I heard Allen invite the guy to stay and have a beer . The guy said no , thanks . Allen invited him two more times , just to be sure , and each time the guy said he had to be somewhere later in the day . I 'd been thinking the same thing . It was as if we couldn 't wait to be alone together . We talked until it was time to go to bed . It wasn 't until breakfast the next morning that Allen told me about the guy 's house . In the ride over from Carrie 's , Allen had mentioned to him that I was looking for a simple place not too far out in the country . The guy said he 'd just moved out of a house that would perfect - a little place , sitting by a pond in some woods that was only ten minutes away from CDC . Allen didn 't waste any time getting an appointment to see the property . I , of little faith , didn 't understand why he was in such a hurry , but Sunday afternoon we drove out Briarcliff Road toward North Lake . Right after the mall , we turned off La Vista onto a side road past a stand of trees and then onto a dirt road that curved through the trees for almost a mile . The road ended at the door of a small wooden house that I could see had been well - built . Behind the house was a large pond . Around it , the woods . The transition was startling - one minute , we were in Atlanta , with the freeway in sight , and , the next minute , we were out in the country with no city visible in any direction . The house was locked up , so we walked around to the pond 's edge , checking out the scenery . Soon , we heard a car coming down the dirt road - it was the man from the realty company . He showed us inside the house , describing the finer points of its construction and the history of the man who had built it , and everything in it , with his own hands , eighty years ago - a man , still remembered in the area as old Bingham . I fell in love with the place - it smelled just like the house I 'd grown up in . The man made me an offer to rent the place with an option to buy , and I took it . A couple of days later , I signed the papers to rent the house with a no - commitment option to buy within a year . Allen got the guy from work to help us move all my stuff again . I couldn 't see how my footlocker and suitcases were going to fit into such a small house , but the guy assured me that there was plenty of storage space , and he was right . After everything was stashed , the guy stuck around for a while telling us about all the clever little features of the house that he had discovered while living there . I was fascinated . It was only when everybody had left that it occurred to me that I was living alone again , possibly for the rest of my life . I took heart from the realization that nothing had changed in my budding friendship with Allen . I could visit him in his house and he could visit me in mine . The fact that there was no phone service to my house should not pose any difficulty - he could call me during the day at my office . So I waited . But , after a week with no call from Allen , I began to question my presumptions . Finally , I got mad and called him . Even after that , it was still a couple of weeks before he was actually able to pay me a visit . I fretted about making everything presentable , but beyond getting dishes out of the sink and making up my bed , there wasn 't much to do . I tried dusting , but decided , after a while , that dust was part of old Bingham 's design . I took him out the back door onto a small porch that looked out on the pond . There were two lounge chairs that I had positioned beside each other , with a small table in between . On the table , there was a bottle of bourbon and two jigger - sized glasses . I made him lie back on one of the loungers , while I filled our jiggers . Soon we were sipping and looking out directly at the pond and the woods around it . The sun was still high enough in the sky to be obscured by the roof of the porch . For some reason , Allen was not in a talkative mood . He seemed becalmed by the view . We sat quietly together as the sun slowly moved lower in the sky . By the time that it came into our view , it appeared as a white disk that we could look at directly , through the trees . The light around the pond and the house began to fade . He smiled , but didn 't say anything . We sat quietly watching the spectacle . For some reason - maybe it was just the evening settling in - I began to feel a little pitiful - a word my mother sometimes used to describe herself . Leopold McGinnis 22 months ago · in response to Leopold McGinnis The more I think about this piece the more interesting it gets . The funny thing is that she hasn 't broke free - here she is again living in another lovers ' house . It was Allen 's advice , and he was the one who found the place , and it wasn 't ' complete ' until he was in it . I see double meaning . . . read more in the title - Allen 's way . She 's fallen for the same trap again . But I guess that 's life . People don 't change and they don 't change their ways . They just find increasingly creative ways to fool themselves that they aren 't repeating history . The drone of rubber carving asphalt was always a kind of vagabond lullaby to Rick Dalrymple . From Louisville to Chattanooga , Harrisburg to Altoona , or Potomac to Raleigh , it didn 't matter much what the destination was , he just let the melody of nomadic friction do it 's job . But today was different , he couldn 't drift off , his veteran gaze lost in the blur of highway signs and sprawling foliage that zipped past his window like fast - moving slides of a traveler 's regret . He was headed to his home park in Syracuse . Next to him on the bus sat Josh Boone , a five - tool centerfielder with a body engineered by genetics , supplements , and an overbearing , weekend father . He was 22 and on doorstep of The Show , his stay in Triple A will be short - lived . Rick liked the kid , thought he was humble , respectful of the game , and dedicated . A future all - star if everything played out right . He also liked that the kid called him Rickdiculous whenever he got a huge strikeout late in a close game . They recently began to sit together on road trips , the young assassin and the rusty revolver , two ballplayers at the dawn and dusk of their careers . The drone of rubber carving asphalt was always a kind of vagabond lullaby to Rick Dalrymple . From Louisville to Chattanooga , Harrisburg to Altoona , or Potomac to Raleigh , it didn 't matter much what the destination was , he just let the melody of nomadic friction do it 's job . But today was different , he couldn 't drift off , his veteran gaze lost in the blur of highway signs and sprawling foliage that zipped past his window like fast - moving slides of a traveler 's regret . He was headed to his home park in Syracuse . Next to him on the bus sat Josh Boone , a five - tool centerfielder with a body engineered by genetics , supplements , and an overbearing , weekend father . He was 22 and on doorstep of The Show , his stay in Triple A will be short - lived . Rick liked the kid , thought he was humble , respectful of the game , and dedicated . A future all - star if everything played out right . He also liked that the kid called him Rickdiculous whenever he got a huge strikeout late in a close game . They recently began to sit together on road trips , the young assassin and the rusty revolver , two ballplayers at the dawn and dusk of their careers . / / fix for iphone portrait to landscape scaling issue - not perfect . Once someone zooms in landscape , it 's screwed . But should be better . var metas = document . getElementsByTagName ( ' meta ' ) ;

one . birthdays . Over the next few days we will be celebrating a few birthdays , though most of the celebrating will be done from a distance . Both of my sisters have birthdays coming up in the next few days and one of Emerson 's little friends has a birthday party we 're going to on Saturday . I feel like my sister 's birthdays kind of snuck up on me this year , so they will be getting belated gifts and cards . It 's the thought that counts , right ? Next week there are only three days before summer is here ! I am so looking forward to the days of summer and not having to babysit . I know life will be changing a lot for us very soon , and I 'm sure that transition will be a little bit crazy , but it still makes me so happy to know that I will get to be at home and not have to worry about waking up early to be ready for when Bee comes to play . Summer , I will be so so happy to welcome you next week ! Emerson started sleeping in his big boy bed in January and did so well with it . There would be a few days or nap times here and there when he would climb out of bed and not want to stay in , but in general , he did so well . He waited for us to get him in the mornings and after his nap , and stayed in his bed reading or playing with his stuffed critter buddies . Recently however , he has decided that he would rather fight sleep and now he will chase me as I leave his room at nap and bed time . I 've been having to hold his door closed while he tries to pull it open from the other side , all while crying and screaming , " Mommy ! Daddy ! Mommy ! Daddy ! " It 's horrible . Sometimes in the night he 'll run out of his room and into ours . He has also decided to wake up before the sun and his little feet come padding into our room far too early . When he wakes up early , he 's especially happy . . . . We are both praying that this is a little phase and that it ends very soon ! four . iced coffee . The other day I went to get one of my sisters a birthday present , which happened to be right where a little coffee shop was . I figured since I was there I may as well get a little something . The sun was out that day and the weather was warm so I treated myself to an iced coffee and it was oh so good . I 've made iced coffee at home before , but it just doesn 't taste as good when it 's not in a plastic cup with a lid and straw . ha . And now , since Emerson woke up at the crack of dawn this morning , all I want to do is go out and get another one . maybe I need to try this one : ) five . doctor visit . This afternoon I get to go see the doctor . Hopefully everything is good with baby and we are able to talk about some things I have questions about . It 's always so nice to hear that tiny little heartbeat , so I am looking forward to that . Hopefully it won 't be too much longer until I can hold the little peanut . thoughts on VBAC vs . repeat cesarean During one of my first doctor 's appointments I talked to my doctor about my options for having this baby : VBAC [ vaginal birth after cesarean ] or repeat c - section . With Emerson I was planning on having a regular birth , but that all changed very quickly when the doctor decided they needed to do a c - section right away . I was fine with that decision , whatever was best for the baby was what we were going to do . But now that I have had a c - section , I now have to choose between having another one with this baby or having a VBAC . A choice I really wish I didn 't have to make . My doctor talked about both options with me , told me pros and cons for both , and what risk factors would be involved for both , the biggest risk for having a VBAC being uterine rupture . Although , according to The American Pregnancy Association , " the risk of uterine rupture in a vaginal delivery is . 2 to 1 . 5 % , which is approximately 1 change in 500 . " Not very high , but there is still a risk , and that 's what gets me . And if you choose to have a VBAC you are monitored closely and whisked quickly into the operating room for an emergency c - section should anything go wrong . But there is no way to tell in advance if a uterine rupture will happen . For the past few months I have been thinking that I would for sure have a repeat c - section , I only talked to my doctor about it once and did little additional research on my own . However , as we get closer to meeting baby , I have been considering having a VBAC instead . My biggest hang up being the possibility for a uterine rupture , which can cause compilations for both baby and mama . I know what a c - section entails and what the recovery would look like , I know what it would be like to go in to the hospital and have a c - section . I have no idea what it would be like to go in and have a natural delivery , that along with the possible risk factors has me uncertain , now more than ever . It would be so nice to be able to leave the hospital and be able to walk up and down the stairs at will , pick up Emerson whenever I want or need to , and be able to crawl in and out of bed by myself for that matter . It would be nice not to have to rely on other people for so much help . It was different when I had Emerson , because he was all I had to care for , but now , I 'll have Emerson and a new baby and I know I will need help , as much as I hate to admit it or ask for it . I 'm a pretty stubborn and independent person and hate having to rely on others to help me . It would also be nice to let the baby decide when he wants to come and not have to choose his birth date , though that has already been done . However , it would also be nice to leave the hospital knowing that my baby and my body are healthy and that I made the right choice for us . I know that ultimately the decision is up to me and that I will have to do whatever I feel most comfortable with , but it 's just something I 'm trying to sort out and decide right now . So , have you been in this situation before ? Have a close friend or sister who opted for one verses the other ? What did you / they choose and why ? Even if you didn 't have to make this choice I 'd still be curious to hear your thoughts . Saturday morning Emerson and I went grocery shopping [ and he stayed dry the whole time and went potty before we left the store . . . so so exciting , I tell ya ] and came home and did a few little chores here and there and played and read for a bit . Later that afternoon Landon 's parents came in to visit for the weekend , bringing gifts for Emerson and diapers for the baby . We went for a little walk to the pond by our house and then out for dinner . The rest of the night was pretty quiet , Emerson went to bed and we stayed up talking and watching a movie for a little while . After church on Sunday we went on another walk and then out to eat . We enjoyed a quiet afternoon , complete with naps , and then went to the petting park near our house . Emerson loved looking at all of the animals and did not want to leave , sadly for him we couldn 't stay all day and we went home to fix dinner . Landon grilled some food and I cut up some fruit and we called it good . Once Emerson was down for the night Landon and I went out for a little ice - cream date . I had been looking forward to the ice - cream date all day long , so when we got to the ice - cream shop and realized it was closed I was pretty bummed . What ice - cream shop closes at 8 in the summer ? ! I mean really . We ended up with another sweet treat , but it just wasn 't the same as the ice - cream I had been dreaming of . It was still nice to be out of the house and have some time with just Landon . I had been hoping that baby might decide to make his appearance over the weekend , it would have been nice , since Landon 's parents were already at our house , but no such thing happened . I 've been feeling similar symptoms [ if you want to call it that ] to those I had right before Emerson was born , which makes me think that the baby will come any time . But , now I know he 's just teasing me and my body will be in discomfort until the doctor makes him come . Though , it doesn 't mean I 've stopped praying for him to come before that day . Dear Baby Boy , We are at 37 weeks ! It is crazy to think that you have been growing and developing for that long already . You are are getting bigger each and every day , right now you are the size of a winter melon or a swiss chard [ so , about 6 pounds ] . I can tell you are growing more and more , because I keep growing too ! I know it 's a good thing , your growing and all , but I just don 't know how much bigger my belly can get . Hopefully you don 't grow too much more between now and when you decide to join us in this world , little babies are nice [ not that I have anything against big babies , it 's just the thought of having a big baby . . . so yeah , stay little , jelly belly : ] . For a while I thought you would for sure come early , now I 'm thinking you will wait until the doctor says it 's time and makes you come out . Though , I must say , I 'm still hoping and praying that you come before then . This weekend your Gigi and Poppy came to visit , we went to a little petting farm park nearby and walked around a few different parks . We mostly hung out as a family and enjoyed a nice weekend together . On Saturday and Sunday I started having some stronger contractions , I 'm guessing they were just strong Braxton Hick 's contractions , and I 've had a few since then , but nothing steady or long lasting . I am so anxious to meet you and hold you in my arms , but I am trying to cherish these days with you in my belly , knowing that even though they might seem like they will never come to an end , they will be over and gone all too soon and then I 'll have to share you with the rest of the world . And I do know that you will have lots of visitors after you finally make your appearance into this world so the days of just us are coming to a fast end . You are already one loved little person . You are loved and prayed over , always . I continue to pray that you come soon and that you are healthy and strong . I pray that you will grow up knowing , loving , and trusting in Jesus and that you obey Him every day of your life . It is our prayer that you are kind , faithPosted by animals , cake , and naps Happy day to you ! So far , today is going a lot more smoothly than yesterday , I 'm just praying that continues . Anyhow , I enjoy randomness , so that 's what I 'm doing today . . . one . a pit stop . Yesterday after we left urgent care and were on our way home , Landon asked if the park with animals was open yet , I wasn 't sure so we stopped by to see . It was closed , but be got to walk around the outside of the park and say hello to some friendly farm animals all just the same . We loved going to this park last summer and I 'm sure we will be going just as much , if not more , this summer . Stopping was not something I would have done if I was alone with the two kids , but Emerson 's daddy is fun and likes to go on little adventures , so we went . I am so glad we did , it was a nice way to wrap up a not so nice morning . two . naps . After lunch we take naps around here , usually I don 't nap , but every once in a while I sneak one in . Emerson was so tired when I laid him down yesterday that he fell asleep before I left his room , then he slept for two hours , a typical nap for him . When he woke up crying I went to get him and he just laid his little head on my shoulder , I love me some cuddles , so we went and sat in the rocker . He fell asleep while I rocked him , and before I knew it Landon was coming upstairs an hour later to check on him . I guess I was pretty sleepy too and didn 't realize I had dozed off . three . gooey butter cake . It 's pretty much the best cake ever . I love finding an excuse to make it , and over the years this has slowly become Landon 's favorite dessert and trumped all of his other favorites . Anyhow , I got to make one the other day for a little picnic we went on . Special treat . four . so sleepy . I realized I just mentioned napping a second ago , but I can 't help mentioning it again . I am so exhausted and tired these days . It 's a little ridiculous . I wake up , have breakfast , clean up , play for about an hour with the munchkins , and then by nine or so I 'm ready to go back to bed . It is awful . And I don 't even have a baby keeping me up at night . Though I 'm sure here all too soon I will be even more exhausted and I will be laughing at how I thought I was tired . . . five . visitors . This weekend Landon 's parents are coming in for a little visit , I 'm not sure that we 're going to do much , but we are looking forward to their visit just the same . It 's always nice to see family and mix up the typical weekend . another bang Most of our mornings are spent in the same way : eat breakfast , clean up , read books , build towers , read more books , play with some toys , go outside if the weather is nice . . . It 's pretty simple [ and can sometimes be a tad bit boring - at least , for me , which probably makes me a terrible mama for saying that , I know , but it 's true ] . Today started off like all of the others . Emerson , Bee , and I were upstairs playing , reading , and doing the usual when all of the sudden , something completely unusual happened [ and thank the Lord it is not a usual occurrence ] . The three of us were sitting in the little landing / hall area upstairs , Bee on a little couch type chair and Emerson on a little frog folding chair . We were all reading books and chatting about this and that , you know important toddler discussions . As we were sitting there , Emerson shifted slightly in his little chair and before I could stop it , his chair fell over . You know how you see something about to happen , but you just can 't get to it fast enough ? That 's what this was . I could see the fall and the aftermath happen , I just couldn 't reach him fast enough . When he fell , his head banged against the banister wall . I grabbed him immediately and wrapped him in a hug , holding his head close to me , trying to calm him down . After a second I looked down at my hand and where it was covering his head and saw blood . A lot of blood . I yelled for Landon [ thank the Lord he decided to stay home today ! ] and he came running upstairs . I briefly told him what happened and within minutes we were buckling both babies [ toddlers ] into the car and were on our way to convenient care . I was praying the whole time , whispering prayers over Emerson , talking to him , trying to engage him in a little bit of conversation , I didn 't want him falling asleep , and willing the cars in front of us to drive more quickly . Emerson kept saying , " Froggy chair . Fall out . " Yes , sweet boy , the froggy chair fell over , I 'm so sorry . Landon dropped Emerson and I off at the door so I could get him adThis visit to the doctor makes for our second emergency visit with Emerson , the first being on New Year 's Day . He 's not even two and a half . . . Oh , Lord , protect us and keep us safe . My heart cannot handle these kinds of doctor visits . rained out of the park The end of the semester is here . Landon is finishing up his classes and will soon have all summer to lay back and do nothing work on his research . As a way to celebrate the end of the year his department had a little picnic at the park on Friday evening for all of the students and professors . Landon asked if we would go with him , and since it was going to be at a really nice park we agreed and Emerson was very excited at the thought of going on a picnic . After his nap he got ready and we went to get Landon so we could play at the park and have a little picnic . Unfortunately for us it started raining as we got to the park and then a storm came in , so there was no playing on the park and we stayed under the cover of a covered picnic area [ I 'm not really sure what the official name for that is ] . Poor little Emerson didn 't understand that we couldn 't play on the park because of the storm , and it was so hard to be there and not let him play . Instead we ate some food , talked to a few people , and went home . Last year they had a picnic as well , but Emerson and I stayed home for reasons I couldn 't remember until we got to the picnic : I don 't know anyone in Landon 's program . I may have seen a face or two before , but it 's alway just a " hi " and that 's it . So , it makes for some great conversations and times . Plus , they 're all engineers and for some reason , that 's kind of all they talk about at these gatherings : engineering stuff . Anyhow , it was fun to do something a little different on a Friday evening . Saturday was spent getting little chores done here and there . Our neighborhood was having a neighborhood yard sale , so we looked around in hopes of finding a few good things . Our neighborhood didn 't have any great sales at all , but the neighborhood across the street was on the money . So many yard sales ! I wanted to walk around the neighborhood all morning , but instead we drove around looking for a few things here and there , stopping if we saw something that stuck out to us . At one house we stopped to looIt was a sweet little weekend and I 'm so thankful we were able to enjoy some time together as a family and spend some time with friends . It was also nice that the sun came out to play for a little while on Sunday so we could enjoy being outside . I hope you all had a fun little weekend and were able to enjoy some sunshine or time with family or friends [ or all of the above : ] ! baby bump # 2 / / 36 weeks Dear little Jelly Belly , This week you are the size of a honeydew melon ! It feels like you just keep growing [ because you are doing that . . . ] especially as your movements are bigger and sometimes even a little bit painful , but I am not complaining in the slightest . I love feeling you wiggle around in your little home and if you don 't move for a while , you have me in a fright . So , just keep swimming , just keep swimming : ) Over the past week I have been feeling a lot of similarities to the feelings / symptoms I felt right before your brother was born . I don 't know if this means you are going to make an early entrance into this world as well , only time will tell . But this is the week your brother was born , knowing that and experiencing similar symptoms sure has me wondering [ and even hoping ] we will get to meet you soon . I also feel like you will be here early , but my intuition isn 't always right , so who knows . Right before your bother was born Boady cuddled with me like he never had before , we had friends over and he would not budge from my lap to for longer than a few minutes and didn 't even say good bye when they left or go to his cozy spot under the couch . He stayed in my lap for as long as I let him . Your daddy wants to leave Boady out at night these days , just to see what he would do . . . would he come cuddle in my lap like before ? Or would he go to his cozy spot ? They say dogs can sense these things , and we 're both sure he sensed your brother was going to come soon when he cuddled with me that night . Your brother has also been developing some less than desirable sleeping habits these nights . Is it just a phase ? Or does he sense that things are going to change soon and have some kind of intuition ? I don 't know ! But all these feelings and symptoms have me on my toes for sure and I really feel like it could be any time . Though , each baby is different and you will probably wait until the very last minute . Oi . We shall see . . . You have your daddy on his toes too , the other day I had some strong Posted by 1 / have patience Oh , I feel like my patience is running so so thin these days . I 'm usually pretty laid back and easy going when it comes to little things that Emerson and Bee do , but recently . . . not as much . They have recently started blowing bubbles [ aka producing copious amounts of spit and slobber all over everything ] and it drives me crazy ! I try not to let it show , so it doesn 't encourage them to continue , but it doesn 't always work that way . They have also recently decided that screaming is fun . Especially at lunch time . They will eat their food and then sit and scream and scream . Then laugh like it 's the best thing in the world . It . is . not . And oh , my patience . . . I 've also noticed , come nap time and bed time , I . am . done . I don 't deal well with Emerson 's antics at the hours of 1 : 30ish and 7 : 3ish . It is not good . 2 / prayer My lack or thinning of patience recently had me praying constantly these past few days while Landon was out of town . I don 't know how I didn 't loose it while he was away , it must have had something to do with the fact that I prayed constantly while he was gone . And Jesus must have known that I couldn 't take any extra craziness . I 'm just thankful he is home again . 3 / ticking time bomb ? I know we are still five or so weeks away from our due date , but for some reason I feel like I could explode / pop / have this baby at any given time . It 's a strange feeling , but one that won 't go away . Hopefully the feeling will just go away very soon , because I don 't think I can last like this for five more weeks . 4 / picnic On Wednesday I asked Emerson if he wanted to go to a picnic with Daddy on Friday . I should have waited until Friday a few minutes before the picnic to ask him . He has been talking about nothing else . One of the first things he says in the morning and when he gets up from his nap is picnic . This morning he ran into our room and woke Landon up by talking about the picnic . The boy forgets nothing . Nothing . And will always talk about whatever it is we 've done or talked to him about . It 's pretty sweet , at least I think so . He is very much looking forward to our picnic . 5 / forgetful If only Emerson could pass some of his remembering skills onto me . I can 't seem to remember anything these days . Goodness sakes , it 's awful . I forget times of things , things we have planned , how to spell simple words , sending / giving out thank you cards I wrote less than an hour ago . It 's really pathetic . 6 / pictures For the past who knows how many weeks , pictures that I upload to my computer are not showing up as options for me to post to blogger . I 've never had this problem before and it is so frustrating . I want to say it started around the same time I did the upgrade to my computer a few weeks back . I 've had issues , and have thankfully been able to sort most of them out . But this one I cannot figure out . I don 't think it 's a Blogger problem , but maybe . I don 't know . All I know is I used to be able to take a picture , upload it , and then load it onto my blog . Not anymore . Now the new pictures don 't even show up as options for me to load onto Blogger . Thus the lack of pictures today [ because I am not an advanced pre - writing type of blogger person ] . bah . Problems . If any of you have / had a similar problem I 'd love your sharing : ) my hospital bag It may sound strange , but one thing I secretly love to do is pack . Granted there are times I don 't love packing so much , like when I 'm in hour 73 of packing our entire house up , then I 'm just over it and ready to be done packing and move onto the fun unpacking stage . But in general , I love packing . Packing represents that you are going somewhere , doing something , that something out of the ordinary is going to happen . Packing also represents [ or can ] a challenge of sorts . You have to look at what you are packing for , your mode of transportation , and the season you are in . . . . all kinds of fun things to consider . I always get so excited when Landon asks me to pack his bag for his trips . He picks what he wants to take and I make it fit . And oh , I make it fit . Anyhow , I was excited when the time came close enough for me to start packing a bag to take to the hospital . I had decided early on that I wanted to be ready for baby by the end of 34 weeks , this included having the bags packed [ for me and the little ones ! ] . I like to be prepared and since Emerson came a bit earlier than expected last time , I just wanted to be sure I wasn 't rushing around at the last minute to pack three bags . I thought about what I would like to have while at the hospital , things I took last time but didn 't use or didn 't take but wanted to have . I also thought about what would be available to me at the hospital . I tend to over pack most of the time , you just never know what you will feel like wearing . . . but I tried to keep it pretty simple for this bag . So , here is what I 'm bringing with me to the hospital when the time comes : - slippers I 'm also taking my own toiletries . I know some people don 't do that , but I am not one of those people . I want to be able to take a shower as soon as I can so I can feel fresh . It 's amazing the wonders a shower can do for you . I 'm also taking my make up bag , because a little bit of make - up goes a long way in making me feel decent . And my straightener will probably come along too . . . I don 't want to look back on pictures from those first days with our new babe in horror of what I looked like . Just being honest : ) Anyhow , those are the things that will be coming along with me to the hospital . I always like getting a little peek into other mama 's hospital bags , so I thought I 'd share mine . What are some things you took / are taking with you to the hospital ? Things you took but didn 't use ? Didn 't take but wanted to have ? Posted by a mother 's day weekend This past weekend was quiet one with a few little extra bits of fun thrown in . Saturday morning after getting back from the grocery store we got ready to go to the pool . Landon took Emerson swimming a month or so ago and ever since then Emerson has been talking about swimming at the pool with daddy . . . and mommy too . Landon was able to take a break from work , so we got Emerson ready and went to the pool for a little bit . Unfortunately for me [ though , fortunately for others I 'm sure ] I don 't have a bathing suit that fits my body as it is right now and since I won 't have this belly for much longer I didn 't want to buy a maternity swimsuit as I 'm not sure I would get to wear it more than two or three times , for all of an hour each time . But since Emerson wanted me to go to the pool with him I tagged along on their fun . There are a few pools on campus Landon can swim at for free any time , and they have certain hours you can take you kid for free , Saturday morning being one of those times . We called to see if I could come in for free , as they usually make you pay $ 10 whether you swim or not , and they said I could come in without paying . So we spent the rest of our morning at the pool and oh how I wished and wished I had a swimsuit that fit me right now . the water looked so inviting and all I wanted to do was get in it ! I hope they go swimming again , because Emerson loves it , but at the same time , if they do , I will be not so secretly sad I don 't get to swim with them . So I seriously think about justifying buying a $ 30 swimsuit that I will probably only wear twice . hum . . . Anyhow , it was a fun little way to spend the morning and we left with a sad little boy who wanted to " wim " all the day long . I can 't say that I blame him . After lunch the ladies in our small group were getting together for some snacks . It was planned the day before , as far as I know at least , but I was able to go and spend some time with them outside of small group time , which was a nice little change . We chit - chatted and visited for a little while and then before it was time to go they surprised me with some very sweet baby gifts ! It was so unexpected , generous , and thoughtful of them to shower their love on us like that . We are so thankful to be apart of a small group again , and this one has been such a blessing in so many ways . I only hope and pray we are as much of a blessing to them as they are to us ! On Sunday morning Emerson woke bright and early , even earlier than he usually does , climbed out of his bed , and ran into our bedroom . The boy never does that . He knows not to and is pretty good about waiting for one of us to come and get him . But not on Sunday . After making him lay in his bed for all of one minute so we could be the ones to get him up , he climbed into bed with us and we talked and played read books . After a while Emerson brought his toy bins into our room and put all of his toys on our bed so he could have more to play with . I guess one pillow wasn 't enough . We enjoyed a muffin breakfast together and then went off to church . When we got home Landon and Emerson went to the pond to throw rocks at the geese , a new favorite of Emerson 's , and then did a little bike riding . If it was up to Emerson , he would be outside all the day long . He loves running around , throwing things , his little tricycle , catching birds , and just exploring . The weather was nice enough that we were able to be outside for a while that morning . While they were outside I took a nap : ) It was a nice little treat and did my sleepy body worlds of good . I woke up and snuck outside to take a few pictures of the boys having fun . Landon and Emerson fixed lunch while I did a few things around the house and we were able to enjoy the afternoon hours doing a little of this and that and not a whole lot . It was a lovely way to spend the day . I hope you all had nice little weekends too : ) Posted by baby bump # 2 / / 35 weeks please excuse the poor lighting in this picture . . . it is what it is . Dear Little Jelly Belly , This week you are as big as a coconut and / or a honeydew melon . You are growing ! Thankfully after the big scare you gave us last week , you have been pretty active and have been very good about letting me know you are around and just hanging out , doing your thing . I can tell you are growing because your movements are stronger now than before and they are bigger . Sometimes I 'll look down at my belly and be amazed when I see you stretch yourself out and as my belly goes every which way . You are such a blessing and a miracle and I am so thankful for your little life . I feel huge ! And I feel you all the time . Not necessarily your movements , but the fact that you are making my belly grow so much . Leaning over to put a dirty dish in the dish washer - there 's the belly . Bending down to pick something up off of the floor - there 's the belly . Sitting down - there 's the belly . It 's so big ! I 'm also feeling so exhausted . And not just sleep exhausted , but my body is tired . Walking up the stairs is a chore . Going from sitting on the floor to standing up takes work . Standing for long [ 20 minutes ? ] bouts of time wears me out . My body aches . It 's a little crazy . I don 't remember feeling this big or this exhausted with Emerson , but maybe I 'm just putting those things out of my memory . . . Or maybe it 's because with Emerson I was busy all the time , with my kids at school keeping me on my toes . All I know is I feel worn out . All the time . We are ready for you to come anytime now , and it is now safe for you to come - if you decide to come early . I feel like you will be making an early appearance , but who knows , you 'll probably make me wait until two weeks past you due date [ though in reality , that won 't be happening as we have a scheduled c - section . It makes me really anxious , having that set date , but for now it it what it is . Please come before then ] . But we are ready . We have everything we need to welcome you home , bHannah outings and treats , this and that one / / a little outing Wednesday I didn 't have to baby - sit so I took advantage of only having one toddler to tote around and we ran a few errands after breakfast . It was nice to be able to get out of the house and get some things done and checked off of my list . A really exciting bit to this outing was that Emerson stayed dry the whole time and went potty at the store before we left to go home . I was so proud of him ! I 'm sure he was tired of me asking him every tow minutes as we walked through the store if he had to go potty , each time saying no . But before we left we went in the bathroom to try and he did . So exciting . . . . and I really never knew potty and dry underwear could be elicit such happiness . And now that I 've shared this our next 286 outings will not go as well . . . eh . I had to document the day . two / / a little treat In honor of our first real outing and of staying dry we made a stop at Starbucks for a special treat [ for me : ] . I decided to try their S ' mores frappucchino , and it did not disappoint . We sat in the sunny backyard and sipped the drink together . Emerson agreed that it was particularly yummy and wanted more . . . . He ate the cool whip on top of the drink , but to him it was coffee and he couldn 't have been any more excited to be sipping my coffee with me . As much as I loved the drink , I loved him sitting next to me with his little legs stretched out in front of him , sipping on a cool treat . three / / a little tired This pregnancy has been a wonderful one , and I know that I am blessed beyond measure to be carrying this baby and that I 've had a smooth pregnancy . But goodness sakes , I am so tired . It was really bad the first and second trimester , and then let up a little in the third trimester , but now all I want to do is sleep and I have no energy for anything . Poor little Emerson wants to go to the park to play with Bee , but I just can 't muster the energy , strength , or patience I need to take them . Then come the afternoon , I just want to sit in our shaded backyard and let him run around and not have to chase him . I feel awful about it , but a walk to the park and play time there just hasn 't happened . And also because he 's potty training and I 'm terrified that he will have an accident at the park or scream when I tell him we have to go home so he can potty . . . Maybe this weekend if / when Daddy has some free time we can go to the park ? four / / a little gift A few weeks ago Landon 's mom gave me some Kohl 's cash and told me to spend it on myself . She has done this a few times in the past , and it 's always so sweet and thoughtful of her . But it also causes me great anxiety because I never know what to get with it ! I feel like because it 's a gift and there is only so much of it , I have to spend it on the perfect thing . And I don 't know what that is . A shirt ? A skirt ? Something maternity ? Shoes ? House decorations ? So many choices ! And then , there 's the whole , it 's only for this much money , so if what I find and like exceeds that amount , do I buy it anyway and just spend some of my own money on it ? I don 't know ! But I guess I 'm going to have to figure that out this weekend , because it expires on Sunday and there 's no way I 'm letting it not get spent . five / / a little schedule Because I know the baby could arrive at any time I decided to get as ready and as prepared as possible . One of the things I wanted to do in these preparations was write up a little schedule / routine for Emerson . I know that he will be fine , well taken care of , loved , and probably forget all about me while I 'm at the hospital . But , I still want for him to have as much " normalcy " in his days while we 're at the hospital as possible , so I wrote a " little " schedule / his daily routine for whoever is staying with him . I think it must be the writer , teacher , mama , and OCD in me that made his " little " schedule a few pages longer than I planned . I just can 't help it ! I like details and when it comes to taking care of my kid , I want who ever is with him to know what 's what . I 'm just praying the sweet people who take care of him , friends or family , appease me and read it and follow it . His routine is simple , but I added a few extras : allergies , sleeping habits , medicine , food . . . . you know , important things . I know after this I might be considered even more crazy , but I don 't even care . This will be the first time I will be away from him for longer than a day . Sad ? Unhealthy ? Not normal ? Yes to all of those . But it 's the truth . In writing up a little list for / about him , it makes me feel better about leaving him in someone else 's care . I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and get to enjoy some sunshine ! If you are a mama or soon to be mama , Happy Mother 's Day ! I hope you are treated right and that you are able to spend the day with loved ones . a finished project This past weekend I was able to start working on the last of my projects . Over the past few months I 've had a few projects I 've wanted to work on and finish before baby 's arrival . Since the time is getting closer for baby to come I decided I needed to get it done , that and because one of these projects was something that would help me prepare for baby 's arrival - a " big brother bag " [ aka : an overnight bag that is not a reusable shopping bag ] . A few months ago I had went out and got all the materials I would need for the project . I had even pre - washed and ironed the fabric . So , everything was ready and waiting , it was just a matter of me getting to it . Saturday I decided there was no more time for dilly - dallying and I got busy . The project was an overnight bag for Emerson . I wanted him to have his own special little bag I could pack for him in case he needs to spend the night at a friend 's house when the baby comes . Usually when we go on trips he uses my carry - on , reusable shopping bags , and / or the diaper bag [ not that he seems to notice or care ] . Since I 'm going to be using the same diaper bag for baby bean I knew that wasn 't an option for Emerson and he would need a bag that was just the right size for a night away from home . And also , I thought it would be sweet for him to have his own little bag for future trips , even if it does only cart around his beloved animals and blankets . During nap time on Saturday I cut the pieces , ironed , and started sewing . I was able to get quite a bit of the bag done before he woke up , and knew that I probably needed just one more nap time or a few hours after he went to bed one night . The pattern I used wasn 't the greatest . I 've done my fair share of sewing since I was little , and while I 'm not an expert , I do know how to follow a pattern , pin and cut pieces , and sew in a straight line . When I bought this pattern I was expecting to get a pattern - pieces to pin down and cut out , and step by step easy to follow directions like every other pattern I 've ever used includes . While there were step by step instructions , I didn 't think they were written out all that well and at times were difficult to understand . If they had been laid out differently I think I could have made this bag during one nap time ! And as far as the pattern pieces go - there was one and then a guide for another piece . Not what I want when I get a pattern . I 'm a pin and cut on the line so it 's all perfect kind of sewer . That was not the case with this pattern . I cut and pinned , but it was not as perfect as I would have liked . Oh well . I figured it out , didn 't make any mistakes , and ended up with a bag for Emerson that I am pleased with . And I 'm pretty sure he likes it too . Though the bag has several imperfections , it 's still a bag , it still resembles the " pattern " like it should , and I am happy that it turned out without any major flaws . There are things I would do differently if I were to make this bag again , one being the handle length . I like to be able to put the handles on my shoulder and carry it around ; the straps for this bag are really too short to do that . You can , it 's just really awkward . There are a few other little things here and there , but like I said , in the end I have a little bag that is just for Emerson and perfect for little trips . I like it and am pleased with how it turned out over all . Plus , how could I not like it ? I mean , just look at that fabric . I knew the moment I saw it in the store that that would be the fabric for his bag . I have never been able to choose a fabric as quickly as I did for this little bag . He was really excited when I first showed it to him and was excited to see the finished product as well . I love this fabric so much that I 'm contemplating making a little duvet cover for him . I feel like I 'm always washing his comforter and it would be nice if I could just take a cover off and wash it . But , I don 't know , we 'll see I guess . Anyhow , that 's my second of three projects finished and done . The other project is an afghan , it 's coming along , but it still has a ways to go . I 'm hoping to get it finished in the next week or so . We shall see . Posted by catching birds One of my favorite things to do is spend my days with my little man . He keeps me busy and on my toes , and he is full of surprises . Each day is different and new , and each day has something sweet that I want always want to remember . Every day may not be " easy " and there will be challenges in each day , but there are so many sweet moments that can so easily be over looked . Right now , one of these things is catching birds . All day we look out his window at the birds and watch them gather their food or as Emerson always says , " sood . gass . woms , " [ food , grass , worms ] . Then we look for more birds and watch them fly or sit in a tree or on the roof of a house . It 's pretty entertaining . One night he was outside with Landon and Emerson decided to catch the birds . He ran around in the field behind our house , arms stretched up to the skies , trying to catch a bird . He didn 't catch one the first night , but he talked about it a lot and was ready to go bird catching again the next night . So now , every evening after we finish dinner Emerson wants to go outside to catch birds and watch them eat their grass and worms . Some nights I 'll ask him if he caught a bird and he 'll say , " Yeah , " while nodding his head fiercely . His bird catching skills are putting mine to shame . I love that the evenings are just cool enough so we can spend some time outside before bedtime . I love that Emerson can catch birds and talk about it all the next day . I love that he can watch birds all day long and not be bored by them . I love that he tells me 248 times a day that there are " brdys " outside his window and that they eat , " sood . gass . woms . " It amazes me the things he remembers and that he will [ and can ] talk about something so simple as a bird or a tractor for hours and weeks . I am blessed to be his mama and be able to see the world through his eyes . Posted by I am a twenty something girl living in the Midwest with my hubby , my sweet baby boy , and my Corgi pup . I am a Christ follower , an aspiring writer , a lover of baking , reading , crafting , organizing , sunshine and adventures . This little blog is where I share the little daily adventures that make up my life . I hope you 'll stay awhile , I 'd love to be friends ! View my complete profile

Yes , I know he spelled it wrong , but I don 't care . Ritzy took the time out of his very busy day to write this on his dry erase board in his office , take the picture and send it to me . To me , that means a lot ! ! ! ! ! He also informed me of a more accurate date of his leaving . Was later than he expected . I don 't like it , but what are ya gonna do . Is this deployment ever gonna be over ? ? ? ? ? ? I have already decided that I am not going to church tonite . I asked the kids if they would like to go out and eat . Mamma 's buyin . . . . . . . . I do not want to spend the evening alone ! ! ! ! I better find something to do around here today or it 's gonna be a bad day ; - ) My " maid " is washing the dishes right now , when it finishes I will put the dishes away . . . . already finished the laundry . . . . . . . . Put a card in the mail for Ritzy . . . . . . I sat outside for a little while this afternoon . Wasn 't too bad with the breeze blowing and the umbrella up on the patio table . Cut some low limbs off the pecan tree , oiled the windmill so it would not squeak . I 'm sure the neighbor appreciates that ; - ) especially at night . . . . . . . Our dinner at Cracker Barrel was good , I had their rib eye steak , baked potato and salad . Also , I enjoyed the company of the kids . ( i guess they really aren 't kids anymore at ages 24 & 22 are they ? ) Don 't care . . . . . they will always be my " kids " . . . Sure missed Ritzy though ; - ( I sure am glad this is the last anniversary we will be spending apart . I think 3 is enough for anyone . . . . . . I still have to write Ritzy that email so I 'm outta here for now . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . I feel like that is what I am doing . I go about my daily life , but all the while waiting on Ritzy 's deployment to come to an end . Talked to him today , he is just as ready as I am for this to be over also . Ran my errands , went to a neighbors and bought all the tomatoes they had for sale . I really miss that garden this year . While at walmart I was looking at the " fresh " okra and green beans . They did not look very good so I did not buy any . I need to drive around here and see if anyone else is selling anything out of their garden . My dad usually puts in a huge garden , but even he did not plant anything this year . I think I have said this before , but ever since I was a child , this is the first year that my dad has not planted a garden . Part of the reason being : all the wet weather we had this spring made it pretty difficult to plant and also dad has just been really busy . ( even tho he is supposed to be retired ) Went to the sister 's to play with the kids and on the way down there I noticed they were with their dad in the hayfield watching my dad and brother - in - law rake / bale hay . I stopped the truck and " sissy " got in with me while " bubba " rode his 4 - wheeler back to nana 's . They looked hot so we got something to drink and ran some water in their little pool . They had fun , cooled them off too . When I left I noticed some clouds in the west . I had been home about 10 minutes when I was trying to send Ritzy his daily email when I noticed the tv satellite went off . The internet satellite also went off . I told the son that I was going to take my bath and try to get online later . He hollered at me and said the reason the satellite was off was because it was blowing and pouring rain outside . I didn 't even hear it earlier . And where it came from , who knows ? ? ? As I was leaving the sister 's I noticed the guys were still in the hayfield and found out later that they got " caught " in the rain ; - ) I called my mom and she said dad was soaked when he got home . That shower just formed right over us and it rained for about 20 minutes . . . . . . . The0 That 's all I see about days like today . Not much to report or think about this Monday . Ritzy called and we talked for a little while . Had to cut the call short because the place he was calling from was about to be closed for cleaning . Told Ritzy that I used the flower bouquet picture on my blog yesterday and he could not believe it . I told him it was really pretty and he said " I guess it is ok . . . " ; - ) Gonna have to be cause I ain 't takin it off , hahaha ! ! ! ! ! ! He was also telling me about a conversation he had with someone there at the DFAC and they were telling him that he might be " extended " for a longer period of time , because they could not find anyone to take his place . I told him that was NOT his problem , haha ! ! . They were snickering as they said this , he said . I got quiet and told him to let whoever said that know that - Ritzywife failed to see the humor in that little statement . . . I have never been more serious ! I am ready to have Ritzy back home where he belongs ! ! ! ! ! ! ! I am going to try to get to sleep a little earlier tonite . My not being able to sleep is about to get the better of me and I have to try and change , if possible . . . . . The sad thing is that I 've been this way since last October when Ritzy 's deployment started . Don 't know if it will happen but I am gonna try . Just have to wait and see . . . . . . . if I can 't sleep , then I reckon I will be right back in here till I do get sleepy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Have some errands tomorrow and that 's about it for my Tuesday . . . . . . . I have already sent Ritzy his nightly email , so I guess that 's all for now . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Aren 't these Beatuiful ? ? ? ? Ritzy " colored " these and sent them along with other pages this past week . You see , my sister sent him a " just for giggles " box . It had coloring books , crayolas , a toy chain saw etc . . . . in it . Stress relievers . . . . . So , Ritzy has been sending his " artwork " back home . If you look real close you can see that he signed this one . About the chain saw . . . . . . a few years ago I was stumped on what to get him for Christmas , so I thought since we have a woodstove a chainsaw might be a good gift . This is when Ritzy found out how much he loves cutting wood . He wore that poor chain saw out ; - ) I was telling my sister that he can hardly wait to get home so he can cut some wood . Well the nephew happened to have a battery powered chainsaw that he did not play with anymore so she sent it to Ritzy so he could " practice " till he returns home . He has it sitting on a file cabinet in his office . I think he has gotten some strange looks and questions , but that 's ok . We had a Family Reunion to attend today . The food was pretty good . Ritzy called just as I was finishing my lunch . I went outside to talk to him . Told him about all the " fun " he was missing . Yeah right . . . . . . . . . he hates reunions , hahahaha ! ! ! ! ! Came home and took a short nap and then it was time for church tonite . After church was over I went down to the sisters to visit with her grandkids for a while then returned home . Gonna take it easy tomorrow , have some errands Tuesday , Friday . . . . . . . . . 0 Most of the people in this house got into a cleaning mode this morning . . . Thank goodness ! ! ! ! ! The daughter went thru some " stuff " and finally threw away most of it . I took out the trash and vacuumed . When I came back in I noticed a piece of " lint " in the floor so I picked it up and it felt cold . . . . . I looked down and yuk . . . . . . . . . . . . there embedded in the lint was a little dead frog . . . . I about had a fit . The son was sitting on the couch snickering , the daughter didn 't even want to see it . I warned the daughters friend to not pick up any lint he sees laying around . He just laughed . It was gross . I still think someone " planted " it . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . It 's going to be too hot to do anything outside so we may as well do something inside . . . . . . . . . The rest of the day went along but not very good . . . . . . . . . I never received that daily call ( which I look forward to and which also gets me thru each day ) from Ritzy , which is very unusual , I know I 'm not supposed to be concerned but when he has called every day since being gone and then misses , and doesn 't send an email to let me know what is going on , I can 't help but worry a little . Made the rest of the day kind of bad . . . . . . I went to that nephew 's birthday party tonite , although I sure wasn 't in a " partying " mood . The food was good plus we had cake and ice cream . I 'm pretty sure he liked all of his presents . He was playing the ones I got him when I left . He told me that he wanted " army " games for his Playstation 2 . I found him a 3 cd set of " Medal of Honor " . He said he really liked it . Gee , it 's hard trying to figure out what a 7 year old would like these days . Little sister 's birthday is in 2 weeks and she will be 3 and I have to try to figure out what to get all over again ; - ) I still have to study my Sunday School lesson for tomorrow and email Ritzy , plus take my bath so I reckon this is all the " thinking " for now . That 's right . . . . . I can 't wait for this deployment to be over . I recieved my anniversary card from Ritzy today . Of course it made me cry . A couple of reasons : one - I cannot believe how fast the past 25 years has flown by ( with the exception of these last 12 months ) , and Two - Ritzy and I cannot be together to celebrate our 25 years together . I placed it on the table next to the laptop and Ritzy 's picture , so that when I am at the computer I am looking at it . Had a good conversation with him to day on the phone . We are just counting down the days until he returns home and we can go visit his family in Wisconsin for a few weeks . We heard today that his mother was in the hospital and now in a nursing home for a little while for rehabilitation , while his dad is at home alone . Makes us even more anxious to want to get up there . Me and the son took his car over to my brother 's to fix the air conditioner in the son 's car . If my brother can 't fix it then more than likely it can 't be fixed . He is a lot like my dad . They can do and fix anything . He and the son must have done a good job because it was pretty cool on the way home . . . . . . . . I came in the kitchen after the son got home from work and there was nearly new KitchenAid mixer on the table . he said my dad saw it in some apartments while on the job a few weeks ago and it was still there today so he asked the manager what he would take for it and they settled on $ 20 . Can you beleive it ? ? ? A $ 200 mixer for $ 20 . . . . . . . . . I cleaned it up and it looks brand new ( didn 't take that much cleaning ) . I have always wanted one like that but I was not about to shell out that kind of money for a mixer . hahaha ! ! ! ! ! ! ! Dad has always been good at spotting or coming across bargains . Already have a place on the countertop picked out for it ; - ) Guess I will have to do some cooking and baking to try it out . . . . . . . . . Hmmmmm , , , maybe that was Dad 's reason for getting it , ya think ? ? ? ? Anyways , thanks Dad ! ! ! ! ! ! ! Today is my youngest sister 's birthday , her husband 's birthday and their 24th anniversary . We met at her house and brought all the fixins ' for Taco Salad . Brought cake and ice cream too . The kids played and had a good time . They had corn dogs or pizza or both if they wanted them . They weren 't too wild ; - ) no major injuries or mishaps . . . . . . . . . Ritzy called while we were on our way there and I gave the phone to the nephew so he could tell his uncle hello . Well , he finished talking but before he handed me my phone he closed it . I said noooooooooo ! ! ! ! . I then explained to him that he just hung up the phone . I had only been on the phone a couple of minutes . After a few minutes Ritzy called back , thank goodness . I would have had a really rotten day if he had not called . . . . . . . . . We had a good time visiting with one another . And yes , that brother - in - law was there the whole time . I guess it takes a lot to scare him off . hahaha ! ! ! ! ! When it was time to go I gave my sister a hug and told her happy birthday and said " I guess it is his birthday too so I better give him a hug , don 't want him feeling " left out " . He was in the kids bedroom trying to get something out of the closet , the kids were all talking at once so I walked in and said ' time out ' ( meaning I wanted the kids to shhh for a second ) but the brother - in - law said " am I in trouble , do I have to stand in the corner ? " I said , " nope you have to do something worse , you have to hug us goodbye ! ! ! ! " He said he would rather stand in the corner ; - ) Told you we like to irritate ( in fun ) one another . . . . . Too bad , he ended up with the hugs . . . . . . . . . . . Nothin ' to do for the rest of the day . . . . . . I think I will make my own kids eat leftovers or throw a pizza in the oven . I am not even hungry . It is just a little over a week from my and Ritzy 's 25th anniversary . Gonna be interesting to see how that day goes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ahhhhhhh ! ! ! ! ! After yesterday , I sure needed a day like today . Nice and calm . . . . . . no surprises , no griping , no nothin . . . . . . . I didn 't do much of anything except the normal household chores . Tonite I grilled chicken and pineapple outside . Boy , I think those mosquitos had me for dinner . . . . . . I fixed a couple of side dishes to go along . The daughter even said it was good . . . . WOW ! ! ! ! I went down to see those kiddos for a while . The soon - to - be 7 year old started 2 weeks of summer school today . I asked him what he learned and if any of his friends were there and he told me he would not tell me anything unless I told him what I was buying him for his birthday ( which is this coming sunday ) . . . . I would not give in and neither would he ; - ) Either we both won or we both lost , depends on how you look at it I guess . . . . . . . . . After this 2 weeks of school , he gets 2 weeks off then school starts . He will be in the Second Grade . . . . . Where has the summer gone ? ? ? ? ? ? In some ways it has gone by fast , but when I think about Ritzy it seems to have gone by at a snail 's pace . . . . . . . . Me , my sister , sister - in - law and Mom are all going over to our youngest sisters tomorrow for lunch . It is her and her husbands birthdays . It is also their anniversary . Can you believe it . . . . I called her to see if she was going to be home and she told her husband what we were planning and I said that I guessed that he could come too since it is his birthday too . He said , " You mean you are inviting me to my own house ? ? " I said he was invited as long as he didn 't spoil the fun or cause any problems . You see he is a Baptist Preacher . . . . . . Personally , I think he is nuts for wanting to be the same house with his Mother - in - law , wife , and 3 sisters - in - law , don 't you ? ? ? ? ? ? He doesn 't stand a chance ; - ) He and I are always kidding each other . But , he is a pretty good brother - in - law . I guess we will keep him . . . . . . . . . I had better enjoy the quiet tonite because there will also be 6 kids in ages from 1 to 8 there . I have a feeling the calm will fade fast once everyone gets there . . 0 This being Sunday and all , I usually take the day off from housework , blogging , or anything for that matter . But this day is something else so I decided to come on here and " vent " . I guess what started it is Ritzy 's call . He told me yesterday that he would call between 1 - 1 : 30 pm Oklahoma time . I said that was good because it gives me a chance to eat dinner with my family and not have to be talking while everyone else is eating . One of the only things even close to normal that has gone on since this deployment . Well I got my salad and took the first bite and my phone rings . I thought it can 't be Ritzy , because it was only 12 : 30 , but here he was calling . . . . . . . I am so glad to talk to him , but I was really looking forward to eating with everyone else . Then he tells me that he called early just cause he wanted to . . . . . . . . . . . . . . I then come home and try to take a nap , and after a little while I needed to go into the bathroom . I was barefoot and stepped on a WET rug . ( Evidently someone had caused the toilet to run over ) and just left the soaked rug in the floor . Wasn 't very happy about that either ! ! ! ! I then put that rug in the tub until I could get home from church and wash it . I then went back to lay down but just as I was beginning to doze off that darn cell phone rings again and it is the daughter asking if we have certain food items at the house . I told her I knew of one of them but I was NOT going to go look for the other one cause I was trying to rest . I don 't rest in the recliner , I was on my bed with the door shut to drown out any noise in the house . . . . . . . . I guess she got mad and hung up . I then put my phone on " silent " ; - ) Then the son comes and asks me where something is and I tell him . Gee , when I need something , I look for it ! ! ! ! Anyways I went to church and went down to the sisters for a little while . The little kids were with their daddy in the hayfield so I left . When I walked into my kitchen I about had a fit . Didn 't say a word but proceeded to rinse the dirty dishes in my sink and load them into the dishwa0 My thoughts today are about a lot of different things . Where do I start ? ? Well I just finished eating one of those fine peaches . I swear it was as big as a grapefruit . I picked it out today while freezing the bushel of peaches I bought Thursday . I put them in the food saver bags so they can freeze , then in a day or so I will cut the bag open and vacuum seal it . They will keep for a long time . The son asked if I was going to save any to eat and I said , of course . Anyways , that peach has been sitting in a plate on the table by my computer today and I was trying to pick just the right time to eat it , which was about 5 minutes ago ; - ) Darn , it feels like I swallowed a basketball after eating that huge peach . haha ! ! ! I put up enough peaches for 6 cobblers this winter . I will probably be making at least 1 more trip to Porter for some more of those wonderful peaches in the very near future . This was one of those days that I really missed having Ritzy around . I was alone ( again ) tonite , cause the kids had their own running around to do . Don 't get me wrong , I like and treasure my alone time , but since Ritzy has been gone there has been way too much of it . I went down to visit the niece and nephew , we played for about an hour and I came back home . The son called as I was writing this and told me to look out the window . It seems that there were a lot of motorcycles in front of him . I sat at the dining room window and counted 48 of them going by . These were some fancy bikes . All lit up and quiet . I would have liked to have seen them in the daylight . If he had not told me they were coming , I would have never know it because I could not hear them . NICE ! ! ! ! I got the weed eating done and then blew the grass off the sidewalk , flag base and windmill base . Don 't know why it " bugs " me to have grass on those places , but it does . Ritzy was going to have to take care of some " business " after his shift tonite and I don 't think he was looking forward to it . I really hate it when Ritzy tells me that people have a problem with the way he does h0 That 's what I thought after seeing my tree after the trimmers left this afternoon . Funny looking tree huh ? ? Well , it was pretty heavily damaged during last December 's ice storm , which took out a lot of the tree . The electric company said back then that this tree was on the list to be trimmed this spring / summer . I have been seeing those little orange trucks with the black writing on them since all the tree damage last year . Today they finally made it to our house . This is our main " shade " tree . Looks like a stiff north wind may take it out . This tree has been in this yard ever since I can remember . We live in the house that I grew up in . The tree has got to be at least 60 years old . Would hate to see it go . . . I took pictures and emailed them to Ritzy . He called today while they were working on the tree . Didn 't do too awful much today . Resting from all the running around yesterday and I will be putting up those peaches tomorrow . There is a huge pile of limbs out by the road & in my ditch , and I am not too thrilled about that . But they should be gone soon . One good thing to come of all this is that the grass will finally be able to grow under the tree now . The tree has provided so much shade over the years that grass has hardly ever grown under it . Don 't have to worry about that now ; - ) 0 I know , , , , it 's corny but who cares . As you can see , we made that trip to Porter today . Me , my sister and that nephew . Gee , that kids mouth was going all the way down there and back . Me and Nana just tried to ignore him ; - ) The only bad / sad thing was that Ritzy called just as I was getting into Tulsa . Our normal 30 minute call was cut to only 5 minutes today . He said it was making him nervous to know I was driving in that town while talking so he said he would say bye . I could tell he was sad that we could not talk . I was too , but anyone who has ever driven in that crazy town knows that you need all your " wits " about you when you are behind the wheel . I returned home and proceeded to make a peach cobbler . It is in the oven as I am writing . probably needs to cook about 10 more minutes . I have some vanilla ice cream that can 't wait to sit on top of it . hahaha ! ! ! ! ! I bought me some yellow squash , onions and new potatoes , while there at the orchard . For supper - I 'm getting ready to add some tomatoes , salt and pepper to those , mix it all up with some corn meal and fry it in a pan that I have fried bacon in . Talk about good home cookin ' ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! I was hoping they would have okra , but the squash will do . After eating that then we 'll go for the peach cobbler ! ! ! Well , as you can see , that cobbler made it out of the oven . Looks good ! ! ! ! ! I figured , what the heck , as long as I am taking pictures , I might as well take on of the " stuff " cooking . What else do you call it - ( squash , tomatoes , potatoes , onion , bacon , & corn meal ) ? ? haha ! ! We just call it squash or okra ( if we have okra ) , it is just a known fact around here that all the other stuff is added . I am not planning anything for the rest of the evening . Just eat dinner , dessert and go outside for a little while . Will be thinking about Ritzy , and how much I miss him and hoping everything is going well for him tonite . I will be home tomorrow to take that call ( from Ritzy ) . Won 't have to worry about traffic . . . . . . . . . . . The pictures say it all . . . . . My sister had some extra tomatoes . The brother - in - law got a little happy when he was buying tomato plants for the season ; - ) I bought the rest of the ingredients yesterday and spent today making salsa . It won 't go to waste around here , I can guarantee you that much . . . We love it ! ! ! ! Took most of the morning . Only thing is - I should have worn some protection for my hands while handling those jalapeno peppers . haha ! ! I knew better , but oh well . . . . . . I had just enough left after filling the jars to eat for lunch with some chips . yumm ! ! ! ! ! I ended up with 2 gallons total . I also had some " overripe " bananas , so I decided to make some banana bread . I 'm surprised I hadn 't forgotten how to cook , with Ritzy being gone ; - ) The kids are going to wonder what the heck got into mom . . . . . . . . . . Ritzy called while the jars were in the water bath and of course the time was up while I was on the phone , so I told him I was putting him on " speakerphone " and he clammed up . I said where are you , and he said " I don 't like speakerphone and I ain 't gonna talk . " Is that stubborn or what . He is so funny . . . . . . So I finished taking the jars out and picked the phone back up . I told him he was nuts ! ! ! I think I just heard the last one seal , yippee ! ! ! My " maid " ( dishwasher ) just finished the dishes . Now all I have to do is wait and get ready for church tonite . Think I will throw a pizza in the oven for dinner tonite . The son knows I don 't cook on Wednesday 's anyways . Too little time to clean up kitchen before church . I have a " thing " about leaving a mess in kitchen . I just don 't do it ! ! ! ! Wish the kids would pick up on that ! ! ! ! Also , during the summer I never know what time the boy will be home . The daughter has been having to work long hours and has not been getting home till 10 or 10 : 30 . I know she is young but , no matter your age you still need your rest . . . . . . . . . . . Speaking of rest , I had better get mine tonite because tomorrow my sister and I are going to Porter after some of those wonderful peaches . Sooooo , that means Icomments Well , I guess it was bound to happen sooner or later . Tonite , I was at my sister 's and the little 3 year old wanted to go outside . So Aunt Cheryl said sure . We were out there and she was riding her " cycle " when she took off after ' DooDah ' ( her grandpa ) who was on the tractor . I told her to stop and she kept going . Then I hollered " Freeze ! " , She stopped and I ran down to where she was which was about 30 yards away . I was thinking all the way , I don 't want to do it but it is for her own good . I reached her and told her that when I tell her to stop that she had better obey . I then gave her 2 swats to show that I meant business . It broke her heart ( not more than mine tho ) , a lot more than it hurt . She then put her hand in mine and we walked up to Nana 's house . We stayed outside a little longer then went in . I sat at the dining room table to talk and guess what ? ? ? She crawled right up in my lap and gave me a hug . I gave her one back ; - ) I told her that I loved her and if she doesn 't mind me that I will have to do that again . She said " k " . . . . . . I talked to Ritzy today and he said it was really hot . I told him to go take his shower and put on some cooler clothes and try and get cooled off . I don 't know how they make it in that hot weather over there . The nephew called early today and asked if he could come to the house , but I was busy getting my house back to " normal " after the weekend . He asked about the rest of the week and I had to say sorry , because tomorrow I have to do some errands , buy groceries . etc . . . . Wednesday I will be making salsa , Thursday my sister and I will be going to Porter for some of their fine peaches . Yumm ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! Friday I will probably be putting up some of those peaches for some peach cobblers this winter . . . . . Saturday I will be recovering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . I think we are actually going to have a " dry " week , this week . Gee , haven 't seen that in a while . I still have to send Ritzy his daily email , so if I don 't want to be up all night I will say so long for now and hope that I have made my point 0 I guess today started out ok enough . I did keep getting interrupted while trying to drink that coffee . The son decided he wanted waffles . I haven 't made them in a long time . So we dug out the waffle iron and I proceeded to making him his waffles . They turned out pretty good . he wanted peanut butter and honey in them so that 's what he got . Got that cleaned up and Ritzy called . After my talk to him , I then finished up the laundry . The daughter was home so I told her that instead of paying me back that $ 20 she owed , I would call it even if she would wash and clean Ritzy 's pickup . I think I got a bargain , huh ? ? ? Of course it is gonna rain , but it stays in the garage , so who cares ; - ) I was sitting at the computer in the dining room listening to the hum of the lawnmower as the son was mowing when " something " moving on the window caught my eye . It was this little frog trying to climb up the window glass . I reached for the camera for some fun , shooting pictures of him . I stuck the camera almost next to the glass and snapped these shots . He didn 't even jump away . Heck , he even turned and gave me a profile shot . I thought about going out and catching him for that nephew , but grabbed the camera instead . I think the frog will appreciate that , if you get my drift ; - ) I see that we have some rain clouds moving in , so I guess I had better get out there so I can weed eat and blow the grass off everything . Then I will watch that rain and storms move in and soak everything again . . . . . . . . . Well , we took those kiddos to the movie today . It was a pretty good movie . The 3 year old slept thru most of it . How a 3 year old can sleep thru that much noise is beyond me ; - ) Ritzy called about 30 minutes into the movie . I got up and went to the back of the room where I could still see the movie and talk . It was kind of hard trying to talk to him and watch movie at the same time . At one time I had to go out of the theatre because the sound was so loud . The nephew liked it tho and that is what was important . After the movie we ate at Chili 's , which is always fun . I wasn 't too hungry so a salad with some of thier lime grilled shrimp " hit the spot " . . . . . . . After lunch we came home , and here I am . Posting a lot earlier than normal today , I guess because I don 't have anything else planned . I also hope to get to bed at a decent hour tonite . . . . I sit here in my dining room watching all the cars go by . Thinking about everyone finishing their workweek and getting ready for the weekend and it makes me sad . My weekend isn 't any different from the last week . Nothing will change since Ritzy is gone on this deployment . Sometimes I sit out on the patio and watch all the people carrying on with their " normal " lives and all the while thinking that it is so hard waiting until that is happening in my own life again - when Ritzy makes it back from this deployment . Makes me sad and proud at the same time . Not proud I am going thru this , but so proud of Ritzy and his willingness to serve his country all these years . It is good to get out of the house like i did today so I can forget , at least for a little while , how much I miss hubby . 0 I woke up this morning to an all familiar sound . . . . . . . . ( ( rain ) ) . . . . . . . again . . . . . Is it ever gonna stop ? ? ? ? Must have received between 2 and 3 inches overnite and this morning . The ditches were running full as well as all the streams . Didn 't get much sleep last nite , was up til 2am , woke up again at 4am , couldn 't get back to sleep and stayed up till a little after 5am . went back to bed and woke up again around 9 . I sure hope I get better sleep tonite . . . . . My niece , " Bubba & Sissy 's " mom called today around noon and asked if I wanted to go to town and grab a burger at the Sonic , so I said sure . . . . . Came back home and did pretty much nothing all day . After last nite I needed a day to recover . . . . . . Ritzy called earlier than normal today , I had emailed him about what happened last nite and he was worried about me . I told him I almost didn 't tell him because I know he has enough problems over there . He told me I better not ever keep anything like that from him . I promised I wouldn 't if he would not keep his troubles from me . It was so nice to talk to him . . . . . . . . . he had sent me 4 really sweet emails during the night ; - ) Told him things were going ok , for the moment . . . . . . . Me , my mom , sister and the 2 kids are going to see the movie " Journey to the Center of the Earth " tomorrow . " Bubba " asked me about a month ago if I would take him and I said - it 's a date ! ! His nana , granny and sister decided they wanted to tag along , it will be fun to go out as a group . . . . . I can almost guarantee you that it will take all three of us adults to corral the 3 year old during the movie ; - ) I hope I get to watch it . . . . haha ! ! ! ! I have already emailed Ritzy so I think it is time for me to get some rest to prepare myself for tomorrow . I have a feeling I 'm gonna need it ; - ) 0 Today started out with a phone call . I was asked to come play the piano at the local Senior Citizens dinner today . I said sure . So I got up , took care of some church business while in town before going to the center to play piano . Heck , I got a free meal out of it . Good home cookin ' Yumm ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! Ritzy called while I was in the middle of playing , so I quit to take his call . Explained why his call came first and they all understood . After talking I went back to playing . I then had to go to Vinita to the Wal - mart to get a few things including what I was bringing to church fellowship dinner tonite . While on my way back , i get a call from a sister to see if i can take her to another town . So I said sure , just let me get home to put up these food items . Took her to town and got back home around 4pm . Had about 2 hours before it was time for church . Spent that on computer reading the day 's news . Went to church , we had our dinner and then the business meeting started . It seems there were some people not satisfied with the way I was doing the business of the church , why they did not come to me first , I don 't know . It was made to make it look like I wasn 't doing my job . Nothing could be further from the truth . I am not bragging , just stating a fact . I keep the books and the business of our church up to date . It seems they were having problems with their checking account and were trying to blame it on the way I make deposits . One does not have anything to do with the other . Once you write a check , the money is gone , whether the check clears the next day or the next week . I guarantee you that they were checking their bank balance and writing checks on the balance without deducting the outstanding checks . Anyways it was all I could do to keep my composure . I stopped everyone and said that honestly , it has been very hard to keep up this job with my husband gone to war in a foreign country . Even so I have done the best I could and everything is up to date and stays that way and if I have done anything wrong , I apologize . Also1 comments I was wondering where my thoughts would take me tonight when I looked out the window and saw a storm approaching , so I grabbed the camera and started " shooting " . . . Hope you enjoy . . . . . The next set of pictures are of some of my flowers that are blooming right now . Some four 0 ' clocks and gladiolus . That last picture is of the daughter 's teacup chihuahua , " Roo " . Our " guard dog " . The only thing is : her bark is a whole lot worse than her bite , a lot like that " storm " I took pictures of . Got very little lightning & thunder and a few raindrops and that was it ! ! ! It did cool the air down tho . . . . . . Today was busy enough , I had to get our church report ready for the business meeting / fellowship dinner tomorrow night . I then had to get some other business taken care of for the church . Let 's see . . . . . that only took 4 - 5 hours . By mid - afternoon I had it finished tho . Still have to figure out what I will fix for the dinner at church . . . . . . Sometimes I don 't know til I just walk in the kitchen and start opening doors ; - ) Talked to Ritzy . . . . which is my favorite time of day . Being able to talk and listen to him makes my day . I also received 3 letters from him today . They usually make me cry , but that 's ok . . . . He is so sweet . . . . . It makes me sad to know that we won 't be together on our 25th anniversary this year . What are ya gonna do tho ? ? ? ? ? I think I will just be glad when it is over . I guess that 's enough to think about for one day , I still have to email Ritzy . . . . . don 't want to overwork the poor little brain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 Boy , I sure needed a quiet weekend after the holiday on Friday . The only thing is , with Ritzy gone it is just about too quiet . The kids have their own things to do and places to go , and I am usually left alone at home . I sit and think about going down to the sister 's house to spend time with her grandkids or do I just stay home and watch the hours pass by on the clock . . . . . . . . . . It is no fun ! ! ! ! ! I had just finished lunch at Mom & Dad 's today when Ritzy called . It is so nice to be able to talk to him every day and to just hear his voice . That 30 minutes sure goes by fast ! ! I came home , nothing to do so I laid down and took a nap til the daughter called me and woke me . Of course , she hung up by the time I answered the phone . It was only an hour til time for church again so i stayed up . I still feel tired because of being woke up instead of waking up myself . Don 't have anywhere to go tomorrow , I will just do a little cleaning on the house . The son mowed today , so that is taken care of . . . . . . The sister said she may have to call me tomorrow to help watch Sissy ( 3 year old ) for a little while . You can believe she will keep me hoppin ' & wishing for those quiet times , haha ! ! ! ! I have sent Ritzy his nightly / daily email . I still don 't like the fact that as my day is ending , his is just beginning . That is so hard to get used to . . . . . . I hope he has a good day as always . . . . . . . I guess I had better go so I can get rested up in case I get that phone call ; - ) I hope everyone had a happy and safe holiday . We had our regular holiday barbecue at Mom & Dad 's . The " platter " is my brother - in - laws . I didn 't realize when I took the picture that there was a fly on his hamburger bun . yuk ! ! ! ! ! ( I can hear Ritzy saying : well the fly has to eat too ) , I teased him about putting this picture on my blog today and he really doesn 't think I would do it . All I know is after he finished eating he went into the house and we never saw him again til about 3 hours later . He was sleeping it off . ; - ) I took a picture of that too , but I told him I would not post it ; - ) The first picture is my first try at " shooting " fireworks . hahaha ! ! ! no pun intended . I learned after I got home and started playing with my camera that it has a " fireworks " setting . . oh well there 's always next year . . . . . . I am kind of new at this digital stuff , can ya tell ? ? ? ? ? ? I am determined to learn , though ! After lunch we watched the little kids play , they are so cute and funny . We ate our supper and the son and the little kid 's dad started lighting firecrackers . When it got dark they finally were able to shoot off the pretty ones . After that the daughter 's friend was showing the 6 year old how to dance with lights . He put on a pretty good show . Couldn 't get the nephew to get out there with him and dance tho . All of a sudden he got bashful on us . . . . . I finally came home around 10 : 30 pm . Ritzy called today just as I was finishing my lunch , so I went into the house to talk to him , we were about finished with our call when our phones lost their connection . I hate when that happens , because it just seems we have unfinished business and it has to wait until we get to talk again . Gee , it 's hard enough when we get to say our good - byes ; - ( Let me just say , the rest of the day would have been better if I had gotten to end our phone call like we normally do . Well , we have one more summer holiday to make it thru before Ritzy starts home , and I sure am counting down the weeks & days . I have said it many times before and I will keep saying i0 Another summer holiday almost here . These holidays are usually my favorite times of the year ( besides Christmas of course ) , but this year they just seem like another day . I have one more to go before Ritzy returns from this deployment . We will go to my parent 's house tomorrow and eat barbecue , which is one of my favorite foods . I don 't care what it is , if it 's barbecued it has to be good ; - ) Favorite barbecue is brisket & baby back ribs . My Dad has a soft - serve ice cream machine that someone gave him , and you can bet we will be having ice cream too . A root beer float sure sounds good after lunch . yummmmm . . . . . . . I have an uncle who always brings me some root beer just for that reason . That 's really sweet of him . I used to clean his house up until this last fall , when the back decided to start bothering me . Saw the Dr . and she said running a vacuum cleaner was one of the worst things for my back so I quit cleaning houses . Only clean my own and sometimes that 's enough . I still can 't believe how much I have to do with 2 - 20 somethings living in the house . . . . . . . . . Speaking of those two , the son and a cousin went to see the new Will Smith movie tonite , I am anxious to hear how it was . The daughter and a friend went to my sister 's house to swim . Soooooo , , , that means I am here alone , again . . . . . . . . . . I sure miss Ritzy ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! I just ordered a 3 ' x 6 ' vinyl banner for his homecoming online a while ago . A lady who keeps us informed about what is going on with our soldiers e - mailed me about a company that was giving them to soldiers ' friends and families . You get to order 1 per soldier . I got to design it the way I wanted , putting pictures , clip art , & text on it . Only had to pay a very small price for the shipping . That was really nice of them and I wrote and told them so . Should be getting it in a couple of weeks . Can hardly wait to see it . Sometimes I think the people of this country forget that we have soldiers somewhere fighting in 2 different wars , and the families back home waiting on them . That 's why it was so ni0 Anyways it seems like it has during Ritzy 's deployment . I found this wind chime in Branson this Spring on my trip with my sister - in - law . I decided when I bought it that it was going to stay in the house . I told Ritzy about it but he hasn 't seen a picture of it . Had a pretty easy day today . After mid - week church tonite I went back down to my sisters house . The little 3 year old and I sat on the deck watching the other older kids in the swimming pool . She kept wanting down , but mean ole me would not let her go . She can get away before you know it and she would have headed straight for the pool . It seems that I go there an awful lot , but I just can 't go home and wait for bedtime , it 's too lonely without Ritzy . These last couple of months of this deployment are the " pits " for lack of a better word . . . . . . I may go back down there tomorrow to help babysit cause the sister is busy doing fingernails all day and she needs someone to just watch the kids . I can already hear the little neice . . . . " outside ? ? ? " is the first thing she will ask , or she will ask " you wanna see Wucy ( Lucy - the bassett hound pup ) ? " Sissy " is so cute . She makes those sad faces and just melts my heart . . . . . . July 4th is almost here and I can still remember last July 4th so well . Last year I was thinking about how I would be taking this next year with my husband gone so far away . I am taking it just about the way I thought I would , no surprises here . . . . . . . . . I am so ready for this to be over . Probably sounds like whining , but who cares , , I don 't like it and I am not going to pretend I do . And then when I think about the last 25 years , it seems like the time has flown by . Where did it go ? Why is it like that ? ? ? ? I think about how fast our kids have grown up and it is so unbelievable . It makes a person sad in a way , knowing you will never get that time back to do things over that you wish you had done different . You just have to rely on the fact that you did the best you could at the time . And always let everyone know that they are loved . . . . . . One thing that it doeNice Day . . . . . . . . . . . . Today was a pretty good day even tho I was pretty busy . Had errands to run , go to bank , buy groceries , buy fireworks for the 4th . . . . . . . . . . . returned home and put all the groceries away . A couple of hours later it was time to start supper . I was in the mood for Taco Salad tonite so that 's what we had . Took it to my sister 's house to eat . After we finished eating , that little niece wanted to go outside so we went out for a little while , then she decided she wanted to get in the swimming pool with the " big " kids . My neice ( her aunt ) held on to her and she was having fun til she took in some water . After that she said she was ready to get out . ; - ) I don 't know how they stood the water , it was too cold for me . Today while shopping , I had bought " Bubba " and " Sissy " each one of those guns that you attach bubble liquid to and pull the trigger to blow bubbles so me and " sissy " played with that for quite a while . I was telling her mama that " Gee , when I was a kid all you could get was a little bottle of bubbles with a little wand in it . haha " . Came back home and started the dishwasher , and now it 's time to end another day and mark another day off the calander waiting for Ritzy 's return . I am just hoping we have a " nice " day Friday for the holiday . We have a pretty good chance for rain , but I will keep hoping for good weather . Sure would be a waste not to be able to shoot off all those fireworks . ; - ) I know . . . . I can always shoot them off later , but it 's just not the same . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . i am the proud wife of a now retired ( as of March 2009 ) Oklahoma National Guardsman ( Ritzy ) who returned home from his deployment . We have been married 33 years on July 30 , 2016 . have a son who turned 32 in June and a daughter who was 30 in September . We added a new son - in - law to the family on April 22 , 2011 . We are now Grandparents to twin boys born February 28 , 2012 ( 7 weeks early - but doing great ) and another grandson born May 25 , 2016 I play piano at our church . i love to fish for crappie in the spring at my favorite " fishing hole " , plant flowers , garden and spend time outside in my swing , and let 's not forget I am the one who keeps things running smoothly in this home ; - )

The annual Shaver Lake vacation with my extended family occurred last week and into the weekend . We have been vacationing there since since Camille was an infant - - so , 23 years . She was three weeks old the first time we went . I remember racing down the steps from the deck to the waters edge while she napped under the watchful eye of my mother . On that same trip , Kyle fell down the stairs and split his chin . He was an early walker and an active child , but never a cautious one . Originally , the group included my parents , my sister and her family ( three kids ) and me and my family . Over the years , the composition has stayed pretty constant , and we stayed at a small cabin within walking distance ( if you don 't mind a long steep road ) to the lake . We were only at that first , lakeside cabin , for one year . Eventually , my younger brother and his daughter started joining us . Taylor ( my brother 's daughter ) , Nick ( my sister 's oldest ) , Camille , Justin ( my sister 's middle child ) , and Kyle . I lost my mom to a progressive lung disease ( with a name a mile long and no cure ) , and , as it became more difficult for her to breathe , we switched to lower elevation locations . But , we never stopped going . The kids never stopped sleeping outside on the deck ; all their sleeping bags lined up in a row ; talking late into the night about the stars and satellites . The kids are now adults , with the exception of my youngest niece who is 14 . The rest of the " kids " range from Camille ( 23 ) to Nick ( 29 ) . My sister had kids first , closely followed by me , and much later by my brother . Kyle 's girlfriend , Ana , has joined us the last two years . Kyle and Ana It was warmer than usual this year but the lake was full and we liked the cabin ( the one we used to use wasn 't available this year ) . We ate too much food and drank wine in the evening on the deck . We played games . We went for long walks , swatting the mosquitoes that buzzed around our heads and feasted on our arms and legs . It was a good trip . And it is very good to be back home . Brett took care of the ranch and even installed some more sprinklers in my garden while I was gone . I love my family but I can only take so much happy , crowded chaos . I am an introvert , after all . So it was good to walk through my garden and admire the sprinklers , to stand quietly with Tex , and to drink in the quiet of the night . Its been doggone hot here since the middle of last week . On the one hand , there isn 't much activity going on other than trying to stay in the shade or the house - - or an air conditioned office . Last weekend we escaped the heat : we spend Saturday in San Francisco visiting my son and his girlfriend . Sunday we hoisted the kayaks onto the top of the Subaru and drove to Bear River Lake . Snow melt is still rushing into the lake , making the water cold and the lake level very high . We paddled over submerged picnic tables and fire rings . The horses are spending the day time hours in the barn where they can escape the sun and the flies . In the evening we turn them out into their pastures to stretch their legs and their brains . It gives me the opportunity to work with Tex twice a day and he 's been rock steady . It helps , of course , that he wants to go to the barn for breakfast and to the pasture for dinner . It has also given me the opportunity to work with Lucy and Jackson on their manners . Neither of them were doing well with " wait " but instead were diving their noses down to the grass whenever I paused on our walks back and forth . Lucy was a quick study . Robin said to me , a while back , " Don 't yank on the lead rope ; that 's abusive . Instead , make one very strong correction with the whip . Lucy will jump with all four feet off the ground , but she won 't do it again . One clear correction is kinder than continuous , nagging , yanking on her face . " I had to agree . And she was right . Lucy dove for the grass and I snapped the whip , hard , on the ground next to me . Lucy hates whips so I knew I didn 't have to touch her with it . Sure enough , she levitated , landed , and began to piaffe ( trot in place ) . I looked at her mildly , waited for her to regain her composure , and we walked on . I carry the whip when we walk , but I haven 't had to use it since . When we halt , she looks at me for permission to graze . If she is calm and polite about it , I say " Have some . " Jackson was a bit more work . He 's getting with the program , though . After Robin pointed out to me during one of my lessons , that her horse , Red , was subtly moving me instead of vice verse , I became more aware . Jackson is a lot like Red . He 's sensitive , enjoys interacting with people , and enjoys seeing what he can get away with . He never pushes me . No , no , he would never be that . . . obvious . He just drifts into me as we walk and I used to step away , to alter my course . Now I pick a path and he has to alter his path to accommodate me . Its funny to watch him , really . He 's so confused . When he dove for the grass , I snapped the whip - - right in front of his nose . He jumped back , and with his head high in the air , he gave me his most offended look . He likes to push boundaries so he tried again a bit later . This time his nose would have been stung if he hadn 't lifted it so quickly . He didn 't try again . . . for a few days . The last time he tried to very sneakily drop his head , I wasn 't carrying the whip ( and he knew it ) . I reached behind me and smacked him with the end of the lead line . Its amazing how polite he 's become . I can walk both he and Lucy on a completely slack lead , and they walk quietly beside me , across the green grass , and only eat when I stop and invite them to do so . Brett has been working with Flash . . . he brings him into the barn in the morning at liberty . Flash knows his bucket is in his stall so he 's happy to follow Brett there . In the evening though , forget it . Brett tried to take him back to the pasture at liberty and Flash decided to turn and go the other way . It was pretty funny watching Flash amble down the barn aisle while Brett went chasing after him . Posted by I tell my daughter , Camille , that its genetic ; that it isn 't our fault . But there it is . Its my largest character flaw - - and one that has cost me friends over the years . It is also the source of the conflict that defined my relationship with my father for many years . Both of us , control freaks . Not pretty . Of course , I didn 't always recognize this trait as a flaw . I was pretty blind about it , to tell you the truth . And , I 've only come to the realization that it is the reason I lost some friends , years after the fact . I 'm this strange mix of control , intuition , sensitivity and introversion . I am consistently an outlier on personality profile tests . I 'm a weirdo . Its a fact . About fifteen years ago , I identified the control demon in the course of doing some hard spiritual work , acknowledged it , and began the hard work of controlling that beast . ( It 's not easy and I 'm not always successful ) . What does this have to do with horses you ask ? Everything . I think control freaks are drawn to dressage . I could be wrong . But I know I liked having clear goals , and a training pyramid to follow . Dressage involves a dance between precision and feel . It has been a good fit for my personality . Tex . . . well , he 's a whole different ballgame . He draws on the intuitive side of my personality and my sensitivity - - that 's a good fit . But , he has good days and bad days and our progress is far from linear . I struggle with that part . Its not a training pyramid , its a training trail ; a true journey . There are sunny days and cloudy days ; beautiful stretches of trail under the trees with a view of snow - capped mountains , and there are stretches where we trudge through switch backs , on a bare mountain side , under the beating sun . . . . okay , maybe not quite that bad . But , challenging . Thank goodness for Robin . A few days ago , she reminded me that I can 't just set parameters with Tex and hold the line . Tex is a very damaged horse . He 's going to have good days and he 's going to have days where its hard to trust . Really , really hard . On his bad days , I need to encourage him to trust . Robin calls this " seeking mode . " I want him to be seeking me - - whether its watching me from the pasture or walking towards me . If I catch him watching me , I throw him a carrot . I don 't require him to walk all the way over to me and stand in a designated place . If he starts walking towards me , I toss him a carrot . After two days of tossing cookies , Tex is stalking me . And , I love it . This morning , when we brought the horses into the barn to escape the heat and the flies , Flash was first to the gate . Flash nickered to me , while Tex stood at his flank , a few steps back . I knew Flash was nickering more for breakfast than for me , but I praised him anyway and gave him a treat and rubbed his face . Tex had this look like , " What the heck ? He 's not your horse . I 'm your horse . " And then he stood perfectly still when I approached and was even a tad greedy about getting his halter and a treat . I 'm not so sure that I 'm training Tex . I think he is teaching me . I don 't normally participate in blog hops or question lists making the rounds , but I like this one . It would be fun - and interesting for me - to hear from all of you . If you don 't blog , or don 't want to post on this , pick a question or two to answer in the comments . I 'd love to get to know everyone better . 1 . What is your earliest , clearest horse memory ? My earliest horse memories revolve around when I discovered horse stables at the end of a street , a couple blocks from my home . I found the stable , and started spending all my free time there , when I was about ten years old . I remember the tall , leggy , black and white horse in a corner stall ; the dark palomino stallion with a flaxen mane in a deeply bedded double box stall ; a huge black horse ( named Blue ) that would lunge at you as you walked by his box stall ( single , not deeply bedded ) ; and the Shetland pony that I , eventually , was allowed to ride . I remember the pile of clean wood shavings behind the barn ; the stacks of sweet smelling alfalfa stacked to the ceiling in the hay barn where I went to escape the heat ; and the coke machine with old - fashioned curvey bottles of ice cold coke . It was a large boarding stable , probably 50 horses , and I can remember the layout of the property as well as I remember the house I grew up in . I like to be outdoors , and active , but I don 't tolerate the heat well . So , in general , I am not a fan of summer . I do , however , love the days that we escape to lakes high in the Sierras , with our kayaks and a picnic lunch . I 'm not reading anything at the moment . We are up at 5 : 30 to do chores before the sun comes over the mountain ridge . After I get home from work we are back outside until dark doing the evening chores . We typically finish dinner at 8 : 30 or 9 - - then its a shower and bed . Although I love to read , I really only have time to lose myself in a book on an airplane or on vacation . Nope . I used to be fascinated by Princess Diana and her sense of style . 5 . What is your single largest horse dream or goal ? Goals change over time . I think my largest , current , horse dream is to ride Tex bareback . I 'd also like to be able to walk with my horses at liberty , all over the ranch . I used to have a lot of dressage related goals - - I wanted to ride single tempi changes ; I wanted to do a musical freestyle . Now , I dream about complete connection . I 'd love to have the same connection with Tex that I do with Jackson and Lucy . People who think of horses as tractors . - - no regard for their physical well being ; just riding them into the ground . 8 . With everything going on politically and in the media , do you follow it religiously ? Tune it out ? Something in between ? I have an hour commute each morning and evening and I listen to NPR while I drive . Other than that , I don 't follow the media . I am interested , but also often repelled , by what I hear . Not a Trump fan . I didn 't like him as a real estate mogul , reality TV dude , or attention grabbing celebrity . I like him even less now . If that 's possible . The horse would be Lucy . She 's an elegant horse . . . And I love Bach . I think Jesu , Joy of Man 's Desiring ( Ode to Joy ) captures how I feel when I am riding her ; in those moments when we are in perfect harmony and sync . Kayaking . A visit from the kids in August . It 's hard for me to put " look forward to " and " summer " in the same sentence . Tex has been moving back and forth between being brave and not - so - much . Honestly , I was getting a bit frustrated , annoyed , perplexed , tired . I couldn 't decide if Tex was stepping back and choosing not to engage because of fear or chutzpah . So , I called Robin . One of the cool things about my clinic with Robin is that I can still access her wisdom post - clinic . She is continues to be my trainer , although my lessons are now conducted via telephone . I asked her why Tex is blowing me off more - - because he doesn 't seem scared and he isn 't rude ; he just chooses to step out of reach when I approach . I thought he was playing alpha games with me . But , its more complicated than that . Robin reminded me that Tex 's behavior of avoidance has served him well for many years . It has protected him from contact with people - - who have not historically been a good thing for him . He is learning that we are different ; that I bring him good things and that I 'm fair . But , the neurons in his brain need to be re - wired . Its happening , but its a slow process and there will be times when the old wiring will speak louder to him than the new . My job is to be consistent and to keep the parameters constant - - good things only come with engagement . Last week , most of our interactions went like this : I walk past the pasture . I have cookies in my pocket ( in case ) . He sees me and turns to face me . I go to the fence and call him . He walks over , but stops a couple feet away ; out of reach . I invite him closer . He declines . I leave . No cookie . Yesterday , we had some bizarre weather . In the middle of June , we had a day full of hail storms and drenching rain . The wood stove burned all day . We decided to bring the horses into the barn since the stormy weather was expected to last well into the night . The girls were standing in their run - in shed ; basically dry . Tex and Flash were initially running around their pasture as the hail pelted them , but then they took refuge under an oak where they were shielded from the brunt of the fury . Jackson was in his round - pen . Brett and I stood under the barn eaves , waiting for the hail to turn to rain . When that happened , we went to the boys pasture . I wasn 't at all sure that I 'd be able to catch Tex - - between the weather putting him on edge and the past week 's un - interest , I figured he would be spending the night under the tree and not in his dry stall with a sheltered run - out . Brett and Flash left the pasture , closing the gate behind them . Tex stood near me , watching them go . I approached him . He stepped back . I turned and walked toward the gate . I heard hoof beats splashing through the mud behind me . I stopped and turned . He touched his nose to my hand and I stepped toward him ; he backed up . I walked away - - faster this time . I felt his nose at my shoulder , walking with me . Again I stopped and turned . He stood like a rock while I slipped on the halter and led him to the barn . Brett had filled the grain bin in his stall with alfalfa cubes so got a nice reward when I slipped off his halter in the stall . And , I ran inside and called Robin to tell her the good news . Its a long journey with Tex , but we are making good , solid , lasting progress . Last weekend I had a lovely ride on Lucy . I love how easy it is to ride her when we are both fit . We spent quite a bit of time at trot and canter . We cantered to the left first and she felt great . She was round and didn 't rush at all . I was able to concentrate on following with my hands ( I tend to be rigid and constrictive ) and we were both very happy . We took a walk break and then I changed direction . Lucy knew what was coming ( CANTER ! ! ! ) and she was ready . We had to delay the transition a few times because as soon as I thought , " maybe after the corner , " she was all Miss Anticipation . So I changed my mind and waited . And waited . So , I took a firmer contact . And Lucy got pissed . She does not like to be held ; she gets claustrophobic . So she got stronger . And so did I . My bad . We came back to trot and I thought about how I was going to manage this . Then we went back to canter and I was careful to walk the line between contact and holding / bracing with my hands . She was still trying to haul buns , but I used my core - - a tightening in my abs while sitting deep and tall - - to ask her to slow the heck down . She complied and we had some very nice canter . Finally . He 's been subtly trying to get the upper hand . I 've watched him do this with Flash in the pasture . A little push here , a little nudge there , and pretty soon Tex is herding Flash around . Tex doesn 't make a big bold move ; he nibbles at the edges . And I 'm onto him . It started with him backing away from me , wanting me to come to him . It didn 't work ; I just left the pasture and he missed out on treats . He also started getting cautious about me standing close to him , flinching , and jumping back . Again , I left . In the mornings , when I bring him his vitamin bucket , I 'm not dumping it in his feed bin . I 'm holding it , or sitting on the edge of the bin with it in front of my feet . He doesn 't like it , but he eventually eats . ( I 'm also increasing his dose of Quiessence ) . The pulling back and startling is being done with the intent of getting me to move where he wants me to go . It doesn 't work that way . I move him ; he doesn 't move me . I 'm sitting in the back of the trailer . He 's not too sure about that . Sunday we spent a lot of time together . We practiced approaching the back of the open trailer . We practiced lining up at the mounting block ( on a lead rope , no tack ) , we practiced standing on the mats at the tie rail - - and he got treats at each place , with some hand grazing under the oaks in between " work " sessions . By the end of the day , he had given up on flinching or moving me around . For the moment . With Jackson and Lucy , I don 't have any problem with " draw . " They both are learning " pause . " This is particularly hard for Lucy - - a pushy , dominant , princess mare . I use pause when I am walking Lucy and Jackson between pastures , or the barn , or just hand grazing . Basically , they are not allowed to drag me around and graze at will . I choose where we walk , and I choose when they graze . Of course , I make sure that the spots I choose are superior to those that they see . Jackson has always been a bit rude . Before he was retired , I didn 't tolerate it and he stopped ( with me ; he still tested everyone else ) . After he was retired , I got lax . He has been retired for six years - - so he 's back to being pretty rude . Fortunately , it only took one reminder for me to establish the ground rules . We walk ; I stop ; he waits for me to say " have some , " and then he grazes . Lucy is a bit more work . We walk . We stop . She dives for the grass . She dives for the hay . I repeat , while correcting with either the whip touching her nose , or a yank on the lead rope ( if I forgot to carry the whip ) . She raises her head and looks away from me in disgust . When she turns to me , I say " have some . " The chicks had a grand time on Saturday and Sunday , running in and out of the hen house and exploring the chicken run . After the last massacre , Brett put chicken wire along the sides ( sunk into the ground ) and across the top . Some teeny tiny birds squeeze through the wire , and squirrels tunnel in , but other than that nothing gets into the chicken area . Or so we thought . Last night I was sitting on the couch , with my feet up , working a puzzle on my iPad and thinking about heading upstairs to bed . It was quiet outside , with just the sound of crickets and frogs drifting in through the open window . And then , the sound of chicks chirping joined the crickets - - and then the chirping got very loud . Odd . . . the chicks should have been inside the hen house fast asleep . The beam of the flashlight revealed a skunk , leaping ( they don 't run , they leap like deer ) from one end of the run to the other , chasing chicks . Chicks were flying through the air , bundles of white , yellow and orange fluff . I opened the chicken run gate and rushed in ( I know , I 'm lucky I didn 't get sprayed ) , shouting at the top of my lungs for Brett and screaming " GET OUT ! " It didn 't ; and Brett wasn 't coming - - so I ran back towards the house . I saw Brett coming around the corner of the garage . The skunk was gone . And there were chick carcasses littering the ground . We opened the hen house door and saw more dead chicks . We found a few live chicks here and there , and then a group of eight or so huddled in the far corner of the run . I carried them into the hen house , and locked the door - - with the pop - hole shut . Between counting the dead chicks as we put them in a bag , and counting the live chicks as I picked them up and moved them , we completely lost count . I think we lost six chicks . I counted eleven in a dog pile in the corner of the hen house this morning . They were clamboring over each other - - so it was very hard to count . We were up at 5am , first light , to get a better look at the chicken pen . We discovered how the skunk got in . It moved the mango and grapefruit sized rocks that blocked the gate , and dug a hole under the gate . Brett sunk a board and some rocks this morning , and secured them with stakes so they can 't be moved . We like to keep the pop - hole open in the summer when the nights are warm , but we won 't be doing that anymore . At least , not until the chicks are full grown . The chicks , that is . They are getting big , to the stage where they look more like dinosaurs than chicks . Last weekend , with the help of some friends who were up for an oak tree demolition work day , we moved the brooder box into the hen house . We knew that the weather was going to be warm and that , combined with the chicks having grown out some feathers , meant that they would be okay without a heat lamp . It took four of us to carry the box , one on each side , and even so we had to stop and rest a few times . The chicks , inside , were chirping like mad . Another person walked with us carrying the chick 's waterer and the bricks on which it sits . The brooder box has been sitting in the hen house since then , getting used to the sights and sounds of life with the two hens and whatever other critters visit ( squirrels tunnel into the area regularly ) . We wanted the hens to be bored with the whole idea of chicks before we let them loose . We lifted the chicks out of the box , where they promptly huddled together in the corner . A few hours later , the chicks were starting to spill out the door of the hen house into the run . They didn 't venture far . The two hens were on patrol . With all his medication mixed together , it equals about a quarter cup of powder . It was too much to mask in food so I gave up on that pretty quick . Jackson is our pickiest eater , by far . Fortunately , he is also the easiest to medicate with a syringe . I bought a big jar of applesauce and use a couple spoonfuls of that as the base . I add the powdered meds and a bit of water , then mix it up thoroughly . It resembles pancake batter in consistency , except that it is a lovely shade of brown . Next , I load it into a great big syringe and squirt it down his throat . Then I give him a carrot or a cookie . I repeat this three times - - I told you its a lot of meds . He doesn 't mind it ( way better than wormer ) , and looks for the treat . Now that everything is dry , he is also spending time outside in the back arena . I put him out in the evening and bring him back into the barn in the morning . He always rolls first . Lately , he 's also been adding some bucking and rearing moves to the repertoire . He gets his medication slurry in the morning . In the evening , he gets some senior feed with two tablespoons of one of the meds , and then he wears special bell boots during the night that create heat and increase circulation to his hoofs . Tex has been doing great . Honestly , he 's a different horse . We were outside his pasture the other day , way down by the road , talking about replacing that section of fence . We were engrossed in our discussion of how to get through the blackberry bushes , and what line to take , when we noticed that Tex had arrived . He was standing on his side of the fence , close by , watching us . Fortunately , Brett had a cookie in his pocket ( he usually does ) so I quickly rewarded him for joining us . In the pasture , I can walk out to Tex when he is in " his corner " grazing with Flash . He will leave Flash and follow me , all the way back to the gate . I don 't have treats on me . He only gets a treat after we get to the gate - - I have them in a bucket outside the pasture . I can even draw him in while we walk , so he is walking close to me . How cool is that ? ? ? The first time it happened , it was all I could do to keep from jumping up and down , throwing my arms around his big red neck , and covering his mane in kisses . And then there are the occasional small steps backwards . One morning , when I took Tex his morning vitamins , the goats were out . We usually keep them in until after the horses finish their vitamins because the goats looooooove horse vitamins . Tex doesn 't like the goats and will retreat from his bin , leaving the vitamins for the goats . So , the goats mobbed me and Brett when we went in the gate . They backed off of Brett and Flash pretty quick , because Flash will bite the goats on their backs if they get too close to his food . But Tex retreated . We tried to push away the goats and banged our buckets on their backs . It didn 't phase the goats , but Tex was alarmed and moved further away . Then , Lucy in the next pasture started pitching a fit because it was taking too long for us to deliver her vitamins . She began galloping along the pasture fence . Normally , she canters and bucks and farts - - I don 't know that I 've ever seen her gallop before . . . . she 's pretty fit at the moment and it shows . Her energy added to Tex 's alarm . Brett headed over to feed the girls so the drama queen behavior would stop . Meanwhile , I dragged the feed bin out of the pasture and left it on the grass outside the gate . Then , I went back in with Tex 's halter . I approached him with no problem , but as I was slipping on the halter , a goat approached and he jumped backwards . He came back to me , but he didn 't want anything to do with the halter . Not with goats around . No way , uh uh . I left . I went to the round pen and picked up Jackson 's manure . I checked on the chicks . When I went back to the pasture , Tex immediately came to the gate . I slipped on the halter and led him out , so he could eat his vitamins from his bin in peace . Even though he initially pulled back from the halter , I 'm calling it a win . He thought about it and when I came back , he was happy to be haltered . In fact , when he finished his vitamins , he wanted to go on a treasure hunt and was not happy about going back to the pasture . Normally , I would have loved wandering around with him looking for great grazing spots but I was already late for work . Posted by When we got home from the clinic a week ago , I put Tex in the small arena instead of back out in the boys ' pasture with Flash . The small arena is next to the barn . There is a walkway , about a tractor 's width wide , between the arena and the goat area fence line and the boys pasture . He wasn 't isolated , but he was alone . The sand is very thin in that arena because we don 't use it for riding much , preferring the large , open dressage court . Grass struggles to grow through the sand but isn 't very successful . The arena is a decent size - - larger than a small dressage court - - so he had plenty of room to roam . It 's also perfect for rolling . So , it isn 't like he was in jail or anything . Being isolated meant it was easy for me to control how much hay he was eating . It also meant he was a bit bored . As a result , Tex was always happy to see me . When I took him out , to hand graze and treasure hunt , he was reluctant to go back to the safety of his paddock / arena . As we got closer to the gate , he would slow and then stop and I had to encourage him to go back in . Being with me was preferable . Yes ! Wednesday after work we went on another treasure hunt . I love treasure hunts . I put treats in areas that are a bit hidden , or unpopular . There were carrots on the stall mat in front of the tie rail - - and there was a bucket with all sorts of goodies inside the trailer door . We grazed in a few spots , rich with dandelion leaves and grass , before going to the tie rail . Initially he stopped and almost balked ( which is the usual response ) - - then I walked onto the mat and said , " Oh , look , Tex ! Carrots ! " He inched his nose out and took a closer look - - then walked onto the mat and ate them . We continued on . Another one of the things I learned is to approach the scary place / thing , reward , and then leave . In the past , I 've always tried to keep the worried horse in the scary environment until they realize its safe ( which doesn 't work very well ) . Robin taught me that it is better to go in , have a very positive experience and leave . That way , the horse develops a desire to go to that place . After the stall mat and another grass interlude , we approached the back of the horse trailer . It isn 't hooked up to the truck so I didn 't want to load him , in case it shifted . The back doors were shut . With Tex on a loose line , I opened the back of the trailer . I wasn 't careful or quiet about the whole deal . Tex blinked when I swung the door around and latched it open . And he braced . I looked in the trailer and said - - " Wow ! Look what 's in here ! " - - Tex knows that particular bucket and what it holds . He came right over . I decided to put him back in the boys pasture after that . Sure , he still flinches once in awhile . He 's been known to step back after snatching a bite from a bucket . When he does , I step back and before I can turn , he has stepped back forward . " Please don 't go . I didn 't leave . See , I 'm right here . " I think that qualifies as tying his shoelaces . I think he 's ready for elementary school . When I removed his halter in the boys pasture , I expected him to turn and go to Flash . If not that , then to wander out to his favorite back corner and graze . But , no , he stayed with me and even followed me back to the gate . Thursday morning , I was in the house getting ready to leave for work after doing the morning chores . Brett opened the back door and said , " Come here . I need to tell you something . " He told me he was in the boys pasture mucking . Flash and Tex were grazing or eating hay or otherwise occupied . He left the manure cart and went to the goat area to open their gate and let them into the pasture . He removed the barrier so the horses could get in and help eat the grass , that has once again grown high . Goats do not eat grass . sigh . He went back to picking up manure and then realized that Tex had come over and was standing behind him . He asked Tex to follow him . Tex took a couple steps and paused . Brett thought , " oh , well . It was worth a shot . " But , then Tex continued on and followed Brett all the way over to the goat area , where he was rewarded with access to the thick grass in their area . He has Cushings , although it must be in the early stages because he shed out his winter coat well . It did seem extra thick to me this year , but I figured that was just him adjusting to our Sierra climate ( which is significantly colder than where we came from in Southern California ) . Other symptoms of Cushings include frequent abscesses , drinking copious amounts of water and laminitis . Although he isn 't currently laminitic , he has a history of that in the past . And he has more pee piles in his round pen than are normal so he is drinking a lot . He will be wearing special shoes and hard pads to protect his thin soles . My fingers are crossed that the shoes stay on . His hoof walls are thin and weak . Maybe our farrier can use glue on shoes , if traditional ones don 't work . I 'm still hopeful we can get him comfortable , but it may be more challenging than I anticipated . The very cool thing about being at Robin 's ranch was that I got to work with her horses . We worked with Tex throughout the day , in short sessions ( sometimes very short if he didn 't want to come over to me ) . In between , Robin demonstrated more advanced liberty work and gave me the opportunity to play as well . Of course , the thing I most wanted to do was to walk with a horse . But I had to learn a few skills first . How do you keep a horse from wandering away while you are walking ? How do you create the desire in them to stay with you ? You use draw . Its an energy pull , coming from your core . Think about push like this . Have you ever been in a group of people , large or small , and there was someone that never said anything to you but you knew that they didn 't like you . Maybe they resented you , maybe they were jealous , maybe they thought your taste in clothes was appalling . You didn 't know why , but you could feel them pushing you away . Maybe when you left , you turned to a friend and said " what 's up with her / him ? " Contrast that with : If you catch a close friend 's eye across a crowded room and they light up ; you can see that they are excited to see you , that they want you to cross that room and join them - - you would go , right ? That 's draw . The next day , we practiced in the large pasture . The pasture is vast , covering the top of the hill and sliding down to vineyards . There were other horses in the pasture and they were all standing with us . I called Red to my side and off we went . It was beyond amazing . Red stuck with me . A few times , he started to drift off and I used draw to bring him back , close to me . If my energy level dropped , he lost interest so I had to stay engaged , confident and positive . Later , we did it again in a different pasture , a distance from the barn . We would walk a bit and then I would invite him to graze . Then we walked some more . I made a point of walking to places where the grass looked especially tasty . He stayed with me and I found him good things . After walking around for awhile , Robin opened the gate and said , " walk with him back to the barn . " We went out the gate . I turned left for the barn , and Red turned right for more grass . In fact , he took off trotting for another pasture . Robin walked after him and he came to her , then they walked together , at liberty , to the barn . So , it takes practice and they don 't always say yes - - but what a cool experience it is to connect in that way . Posted by Take , on the other hand , my brave and independent heart horse : Jackson . He 's been retired for a number of years now . And we all know what happens when you retire a horse . They gradually become rude and pushy . Jackson is no exception . And because my heart aches when I think about the pain he lives with everyday , I haven 't been as , um , firm as I should be . One of the things I learned at the clinic - - well , I knew it , but it never stuck before - - was making sure that my horses fully understand that I am the one in charge . I am the alpha mare and you don 't move me around ; I move you . The next morning after we got home from the clinic , when I brought Jackson his morning vitamins , I noticed that he was crowding into my space and trying to herd me to his feed bin . I told him to back up . He bumped me with his head ; kind of a side - ways friendly punch to my arm . Except that it wasn 't acceptable . I asked him to back up ; to cede me ground ; to acknowledge my rank - - and he pushed back . I stung him across his lower front legs and said " I told you to move . " He hobbled backwards and then circled around me , snaking his head in a belligerent way . I ordered him to whoa in my best I - mean - it mom voice . He stopped ; looking a bit shocked . I continued walking to his feed bin . He started out walking next to me , and gradually was drifting sideways towards me . I stepped into him , and he moved away . He tried again . I held my ground and gave him the stink - eye . His head went up and he stopped . When he dropped his head , I walked over to him with the bucket . Let me try to explain . I 'm an American rider , living in the Western United States so that frames my experience . And there are exceptions to every rule as well as differences in experience , so you may see things a bit differently . This is my view of what has framed my journey . In the beginning . . . there were cowboys who needed broke horses real fast . So they rode green horses into the ground , or tied them to posts , or beat them into submission ( yes , yes , not all cowboys ; I know that ; stay with me ) . These horses did their job , but they were broken , and didn 't think humans were all that great . More recently , there has been the Natural Horsemanship movement . When Brett and I first brought our horses home to live with us fifteen years ago , we were intrigued . We bought the stuff : the books , videos and special tack ( halters , etc ) . The exercises were called games , but they were dominance games , and they just didn 't appeal to us . If you read the books or watch the videos , there is a lot of talk about pressure and the horses are worked in a round pen until they give . So , we gave away all our stuff and followed our own path . ( Again , there are exceptions - - Mark Rashid , for one ) . For me , it was the path of dressage and achieving harmony through thought . For Brett , it was building a bond through the sharing of new experiences in mounted patrol training and trail trials . But , still I longed for that connection and bond that , I thought , maybe only exists in movies - - you know , the Black Stallion running on the beach , or the wild mustang who chooses to leave his herd because his bond is so strong with his human . I wanted that . And then I came across Robin . She never uses a round pen . She doesn 't use pressure - - she uses push , yes - - but not pressure . The horse can always choose to leave ; can choose not to play . When Robin works with a horse at liberty , she encourages them to express themselves . She invites them to express their exuberance . Here 's a video of her working with some of her horses . You can see the give and take , the conversation , the joy , and the bond . Robin explained it as a scale , the old fashioned kind with two buckets and a pendulum . On one side , the horse has his herd , his comfortable place , and his coping behaviors . In Tex 's case , those behaviors involve flight if people are close by , and indifference if they are far away . That is the heavier side of the scale . In Tex 's case , that side is very heavy . On the other side is me . I haven 't hurt him ; I 'm kind ; but I 'm a human so I can 't be trusted completely ( based on Tex 's history of abuse ) . My side of the scale is way up in the air . The first two days of the clinic , Tex was reluctant to leave his friends or his corner to come see me - - even when I had a bucket of carrots ( or senior feed or alfalfa ) in my hand . So , we only gave him half a flake of hay instead of a full one to ensure that the goodies in my bucket were exceptionally enticing . By the third day , he was a lot more interested and when we got home - - he came every single time I approached the arena ( okay , except for the one time he was hanging out with Flash who was across the fence ) . The food didn 't come free , of course . He had to walk over to me and stay . If he flinched , or pulled back , I left . " Oh , Tex , you 're scared . It must be scary here . I 'd better leave . " - - and I 'd take my bucket out of the gate . The first day of the clinic , he was like " whatever . " This morning , he was eating his vitamins from a small bin I was holding ( standing on his right side , I only pay from his right because that is his nervous side ) . He was being a bit tentative and then something in the universe ( I saw and heard nothing ) caused him to take a quick " oh , no ! " step backwards . I looked at him and immediately left , marching at a quick clip back to the pasture gate . . . . and he came running after me . I said , " Tex , are you following me ? " He put himself in position and dove into his bucket . Because he is so tentative , I want him to be a bit pushy about it right now . So , I was happy - - both with him following , and with the gusto he had for eating from a bucket wrapped in my arms . Here , I 'm paying commission from the left side . By the end of the first day , I was only paying from his right . Plink , plink . My side of the scale is slowly getting heavier . One day it will weigh more than the other side . It may take a while with Tex . That 's fine . I 'm not in a hurry . As of Monday morning , my side was already heavy enough that Tex will come to me when I am carrying his fly mask and let me put it on , at liberty , without moving a muscle . I pay pretty well for that and he knows it . This evening , he was back to flinching and nervous . He stood by the gate but he was looking for Brett and the hay cart ; not for me . So , I told Brett not to feed him until later and I did the rest of my chores . Then I put some senior feed in a bucket , added some water , and brought the slushy cold mixture into the pasture . Robin introduced him to " LMF tea " at the clinic - - its his favorite treat . He immediately came to me . I gave him a sip and walked further into the arena . He followed ; another sip . I took off his fly mask and he jumped backwards - - so I left . We 'll get there but it won 't be a straight line . However , when we do get there it will be because he has freely chosen to be bonded to me . Its worth the wait . I learned so much over the past four days , its hard to know where to start . We worked with Tex , of course . He made huge progress and we were able to create some fissures in the layers of emotional scar tissue he has layered over his true self . He uses indifference and reactivity to protect himself . He stands in a corner of his pasture or paddock and ignores people , and he startles at the slightest touch . The only way to get the alfalfa in that blue bucket , was to stick his head in the feed bin where I was sitting . I did lots of silly things . The work I 've done with him over the past year has been good . My intuition about how to approach him was spot on . But now , its time to up the game . He 's been working with me long enough to know that I am safe ; that I will not harm him ; and that I want a bond with him . So , indifference and reactivity are no longer acceptable . They won 't be punished , but they won 't be rewarded . As Robin said , its time for him to tie his own shoe laces . We are teaching him that its okay to have me standing on the right side of his face , that its okay for me to touch him and hang on him and be silly ; that I 'm a bit unpredictable , in an interesting sort of way . We worked a lot with treats - - senior feed , cookies , carrots , and alfalfa . Robin refers to the treats as real estate . Anything I have that he wants , is real estate . And he has to pay for it by coming to me , by sticking his head in a bucket , or by not leaving when I 'm touching him . He 's done well ; he 's eating lots of good stuff . Secondly , we are working on getting him to enthusiastically come to his name . All of Robin 's horses come flying out of the back of their pastures when they hear their names . Tex knows his name and will amble over to me , but we want him to be thinking , " Hot dog ! She 's calling me ! Here I come ! " This was a tough one for Tex . There were many times that I went into the paddock , he ignored me , and I left without giving him anything . He started coming over more yesterday afternoon . Today , when we got home , I put him in the arena ( rather than the boys pasture with Flash ) - - so I am his only entertainment , at the moment . He was very enthusiastic about me this afternoon ; he even went so far as to trot all the way across the arena when he saw me opening the gate . ( talk about melting my heart ) . In between sessions with Tex , Robin taught me the games that build the bond , and I was able to practice liberty skills using her horses . There are three components to establishing , and strengthening , the bond : draw , pause and push . I was able to experience all of them . I even worked on walking at liberty with Red , her Dutch warmblood . Each horse was different , and each taught me something that I can use with a member of our herd . There will be a shift in the posts on the this blog , I 'm pretty sure . There is so much I want to do and I want to share it all with you . Lucy and Pistol have already had a lesson in " push , " and Jackson and I worked on " pause . " The clinic was a game changer for me . - - if you are interested in learning how to work with horses as willing partners and participants , I highly recommend spending a few days at her ranch . She has horses that are star teachers and the setting - - on a hill above the vineyards in Sonoma , couldn 't be better . Here 's a link to her website : Liberty Horse Training . I blog about our ranch life and training my horse . The people and animals that share my life inhabit my ramblings as well . It isn 't a true ranch in the Wyoming sense of the word , but it is my piece of paradise . Feel free to leave a comment or contact me through email at AspenMeadowsA ( at ) gmail . com

" There 's an old poem by Neruda that I 've always been captivated by , and one of the lines in it has stuck with me ever since the first time I read it . It says , " love is so short , forgetting is so long . " It 's a line I 've related to in my saddest moments , when I needed to know someone else had felt that exact same way . When we 're trying to move on , the moments we always go back to aren 't the mundane ones . They are the moments you saw sparks that weren 't really there , felt stars aligning without having any proof , saw your future before it happened , and then saw it slip away without any warning . These are the moments of new - found hope , extreme joy , intense passion , wishful thinking , and in some cases , the unthinkable letdown . " Do any of you have that period of your life that you look back on and think , Really ? I 've been cleaning off my blog a little this week ; reading posts I wrote as a hopeless 13 - year - old is a little rough . If you 've been reading my blog since then . . . I 'm truly sorry you had to live through that . I 'm embarrassed to think that I ever posted some of that stuff on my blog , but now that at least 25 people have already read it anyway , I might as well make fun of myself a bit . Therefore I 've created this lovely list of the top 15 phases of my life that I 'm not proud of . ( Most of which took place in Jr . High . . . . . . . It 's a rough time . . . ) 15 Phases of My Life That I 'm Not Proud Of I wasn 't necessarily sad or depressed , just a bit . . . overwhelmed . There were so many emotions all at once . So much going on in that moment . Sad crying always involved uneven breaths , hot tears , red face , etc . This was different . I lay there on my back , staring at the ceiling , merely thinking . I was breathing slowly and evenly when suddenly , I felt them . Those two ice cold tears that ran from the outer corners of my eyes down to my ears . I 've never cried like that before . I 'd never felt that way before ; I felt ice cold . So far I 've done absolutely nothing today . I slept through school , took a test , pranked my friend , and walked home in the cold . Now I 'm just sitting here complaining about the fact that now that I 'm 16 I have to do my own laundry , but I have NO idea how to do laundry , so every item of clothing I own is dirty . At least on 11 - 11 - 11 I was with a friend . When I look back on 12 - 12 - 12 all I 'm going to remember is that I was just sitting being forever alone . My friend 's and I have a " Confession " notebook where we basically write random facts about ourselves to get to know each other better . I was in math , writing in the notebook with my purple pen . At the top of the page I wrote " Confession # 140 : Now that I 'm sixteen I really want to go on a date , " and continued to write random confessions . When I was about 3 / 4 down the page , one of my guyfriends came up behind me and looked at the notebook . I quickly covered it with my arms and smiled innocently up at him . I had already had a different boy in that class try to read it , but that time I covered it up before he saw anything . This time I was a bit slow . " I saw that first line , " he said , " I 'll do it . I 'm grounded right now , but when I can , I will . " He smiled . At first I didn 't register what he had said . What is he talking about ? I looked down at my notebook , back at him , and turned a shade of red that there isn 't even a word for . He gave me a fist bump and sat back down in his seat . I was happy on Saturday . My closest friends gathered at my house for my birthday party . I was excited to have them all there , but a lot of my friends are really loud and my quieter friends seemed kind of awkwarded out . After the loudest , most out - of - key , and most hideous birthday song I 've ever heard , I looked around at all of those girls whom I deeply care about . It makes me wish I had more TIME , you know ? I wish I could better keep up with all of my friends , but there 's just not enough days in the weekend . And after weekends pass and I see some of those beloved friends drift away , it just breaks my heart . I wish I could see their point of view . Is clinging to them totally in vain ? Am I still something that they want in their lives ? I can 't be sure . Today in church I had to leave all of my besties in Mia Maids and go to Laurels . The girls in Laurels are cool , but they kind of do their own thing . It 's not their fault that there 's a year age difference between me and them . But I 'm not really included in there and it 's awkward . I wish I could stay with my younger friends . I was in a really good mood at church today for no particular reason . My cheeks ached from smiling as I gave high fives to almost all of the youth in my ward . Later I noticed there was a girl visiting with an older relative so she didn 't know anyone in Young Women . I could tell she was a little uncomfortable and I really wanted to see her smile . I always feel shy around people I 've never met and it took me a good ten minutes to decide the precise moment I should approach her . I finally went up to her and asked her name . She told me her name , I said it was nice to meet her , she smiled , and I gave her a high five . It was a great feeling . If you are or ever will be friends with me , you have to know that my most favorite thing in the entire world is my birthday . I LOVE my birthday . I seriously start counting down the days a month in advance . And then when the day rolls around , I celebrate it all week . I get super happy and excited and it is seriously just the best thing . I think it 's so awesome that there 's a holiday to celebrate one 's existence . I never understood my friends that you tell them " Happy Birthday " and they say , " Oh , that was today ? " I 'm the complete opposite . I give all of my friends the countdown . . . every single day . ( 3 days ! ) And on December 5th they all have no doubt what day it is . Because my birthday is seriously the best freakin ' day of the entire year . Sweet 16 , here I come . I had kind of a bad week . And by the end of it today , I was just sick of it and started going a little crazy . I fought with my little brother Braden for like an hour after school . Finally I stormed off to my bedroom . I layed on the very edge of my bed because my dog was hogging the whole thing and did nothing for a while . I just breathed . It 's going to be okay , I told myself . After a few minutes of relaxing and letting my steam out in a much less non - violent way than I had been doing before , I called Braden and apologized . He was so nice about it and said he was sorry too and acted like it was no big deal . Even though he can drive me nuts , he 's such a sweetheart deep down . I love that kid . I 'm grateful for families that love you no matter how much of a jerk you 're being . I wish the world was that forgiving . So basically I got a lot of new tunes this month for my early birthday present . Taylor Swift 's album Red came out , and then One Direction 's Take Me Home . To put it simply , I LOVE these albums and practically every song on them , but I 've chosen not to blow up my blog with the longest post on earth and I 'm only choosing one or two songs from each album . And then of course any other song I 've been obsessing over . Enjoy . : ) I got a Twitter a few months ago so I could be updated on what 's going on with my five husbands ( One Direction , obviously ) . The first thing I did was follow my boys , but soon afterward I followed a couple of my friends . Namely ( well , not namely namely . . . more like specifically ) , one of my best friends and my ex - crush ( Is that even a real term ? ) . I have un - followed and re - followed my ex - crush like 400 times so far . Whenever there 's a football game going on , I unfollow him because all he tweets about is football crap / yelling at teams / players / refs . Another reason I unfollow him a lot is this stupid girl that he tweets TWENTY - FOUR / SEVEN . They have never met a day in their lives and go to different schools and are in different grades , but they are constantly flirting via Twitter . You 'd think they were boyfriend - girlfriend or something when in reality , they have no idea who the other is . He tweets her more in a day than he texted me the entire summer and we actually met in real life and hung out every freaking day for like all of Jr . High . It 's so annoying and drives me absolutely insane . My other Twitter - woe - of - the - day is one of my best friends . She and I like to play Truth or Truth whenever we hang out ( it 's Truth or Dare minus the Dare ) . One time she asked me to name my top 5 best friends in order . I did so completely honestly ( she was number two ) . I asked her the same question and she said I was her number one . But I really only asked that question to see if she 'd lie to me because I know for a FACT that her other best friend is her number one ( her REAL number one BFF is the one she goes to school with , tells all of her secrets to first , goes to her house when she has a bad day , etc . ) . I brought this up but she just blew off all of my evidence said that I really am her number one . I stopped bugging her about it . Once I got on Twitter I was reminded of the truth . Sure enough , she posted one thing about me in which I was referred to as her " friend . " On the other hand , her REAL best friend had many posts written about her , ranging from " Hanging out with my best friend ! # WhippedCreamMustaches " to pictures of them together titled " Me and my best friend at a ballroom competition ! " Her real BFF is in her profile picture on Twitter AND her cover photo on Facebook ( the photos are titled " My best friend ! " ) . Seriously though , I really don 't care if I 'm not her best friend because I have another best friend too . But the question that has been like a knife digging deep under my skin and twisting around is : Why lie to me about it ? ? ? I just don 't get it . I have nostalgia problems . Sometimes I feel like all I do is think about what was and what could have been . But all of that is a waste of time . There 's no such thing as time travel , and you can 't ever go back . If you live your entire life looking back on the past , eventually you 'll reach the point that when you look back , there 's nothing to see . We need to accept the phases of our lives as they come . You can 't change what happened yesterday , but you CAN change what happens today . Embrace the fact that you 're growing up . Make the best of every phase of your life because they all have something good to offer . One of my best friends , Ale , was on vacation in California surfing her butt off while the rest of us just sat in school today . A common activity for our group of friends ( the five of us , when Ale 's there ) is to conveniently show up wherever Ale 's crush happens to be at lunch . We 're oddly supportive of her stalking . But I guess that 's what high school is . . . the time to stalk without getting a restraining order . Well today we were sitting at our normal lunch tables at the end of the school where nobody goes and where we can gossip in peace when we saw him at his locker nearby . We quickly planned our strategy and went through with our plan . We walked cooly down the hall past where he stood . Brenda said hi to him and called him by name , and he waved back at us with a slightly confused expression on his face . Tye held up a phone and pretended to text but actually videotaped the whole thing . Once the deed was done , we walked swiftly down the hall and all ducked around the corner into a deep doorway . We were all freaking out about what we had just done and watched the video that Tye took . " Oh my gosh , " I said near the end of the video , " that was so awkward when he said hi to Brenda and then he just looked at us all weird and - - " And at that exact moment , he walked right past the doorway we were hiding in , looked at us with an unreadable expression on his face , and continued down the hall . I was SO embarrassed . I felt my entire body get hot and all I could think was WHAT JUST HAPPENED ! ? I had one of those nightmares last night . The really long ones that feel so real . You can smell , touch , and hear so clearly that it feels like reality . A new , terrifying reality where your dream self wonders how their life ended up in that place , and by the end of the dream you 're in tears because of how much you hate that reality and wish you were gone , finally to wake up and realize it isn 't real . And then you lay there in your bed in the middle of the night , engulfed in darkness and surrounded by shadows as the dream still echoes through your mind , tormenting your tired spirit . You lay still , afraid to move , afraid to breathe , and much too afraid to fall back asleep . One of my high school friends asked about my Jr . High " love life . " I told her it was a long story ( basically this entire blog and more besides ) . She said she really wanted to hear it . So I typed it up . It was a summarized version , but it was five pages long . Telling the whole story at once really had me thinking . . . A LOT . Even though a lot of hard things happened , I 'm happy I was able to learn so many lessons . I kind of touched on this subject a few posts ago , but even if at the time I wished I had never met certain people in my life , I 'm really glad I did . This past Halloween I didn 't go trick - or - treating for the first time ever . I only got two pieces of candy the entire day . But I think I 'm finally coming to terms with the fact that my childhood is over . In Jr high you can kind of live in both worlds , but I 'm in high school now . I guess it 's time to take a step forward . Also this week I had some interesting experiences that really strengthened my testimony . My friend has been having a really hard time in her life , and as we were talking about it , I somehow ended up sharing my testimony with her . And sharing it made it grow so much more . I 'm so grateful for the people and experiences we have in our lives that help us to learn and grow as a person . Sometimes when I walk home from school , when I get to the sidewalk in front of my house , where I know the steps to my front door by heart , I close my eyes . With my eyes closed my senses are sharpened . I see shadows dance on my eyelids . I hear leaves crunch under my feet and hummed tune that 's been in my head all day . It 's as if I can feel the air on my skin and pinpoint every ray of sun that touches me . And for a few short moments , I forget everything and just feel . I was excited to see him at the football game - - my school against his . I had been waiting to see him ever since we started becoming friends again . I wasn 't exactly sure what my feelings for him were , but I was sure that seeing him again would help me figure them out . I had spent a countless amount of time fantasizing what the first time seeing him after the summer would be like . It was always dramatic and involved a hug and some sort of inspirational one - liner . Then we had planned to sit together in the bleachers . Everything had been leading up to that moment . That moment I had imagined that our eyes would sparkle and my heart would jump and that dramatic one - liner would make history . But I saw him , and we stood there for probably two minutes , and I had a really cruel reality check : it wasn 't real . I mean , I was there , and he was there . But all of my fantasizing and conversation script - writing had turned him into someone he wasn 't in that lovely mind of mine . What I had re - imagined him to be , and what he actually is , were completely different people . So I ran away . I told him to sit in his bleachers and I would sit in mine . I had to face it ; we live in different worlds now . When really . . . his nose IS huge . And he 's NOT perfect . And to him ( and to me ) , it all seems like a big lie . But today I realized something . You may have a big nose , or cankles , or acne , or frizzy hair , or invisible eyelashes , or bushy eyebrows , or hairy arms , or crooked teeth . And you may be too fat or too skinny , or too short or too tall . But that doesn 't mean you 're not beautiful . It doesn 't mean you 're not great and awesome and wonderful . Just because you 're not perfect doesn 't mean you 're not beautiful . I used to not have any secrets . But it seems in the past couple years secrets and knowledge of secrets keep piling on . Last week at a sleepover at Ally 's house , I was feeling a little out of sorts , and I ended up in this rant about something super personal . It 's something I NEVER talk about . EVER . It 's practically my dirty little secret . After I stopped crying , calmed down , and realized what I had just told her . . . I was afraid she would never think of me the same . " Please never mention this again . . . " I said awkwardly . And that was it . But ever since then I 've been thinking a lot about secrets . And today when I was secretly texting someone , they admitted they had one , but they wouldn 't tell me what it was . It was unsettling . It was one of those secrets that knowing it was life and death for me . I asked to know , and I didn 't even pressure them about it , but they still wouldn 't tell me . In fact , this person just stopped replying to my texts altogether . I have a feeling they 'll never tell me . I also have a feeling I won 't sleep well tonight . I was thirteen . He sat next to me in Health class in seventh grade . Back then I avoided eye contact with most people , but he never wasted a moment that he could be staring at me . He used to tell me my hair smelled good , and he got jealous and stormed off whenever he saw me looking at my crush . I thought he was insane . I imagined myself 19 years old , living in my own apartment that I decorated with pictures . I have a fat cat that I cuddle on my red couches . I have a boyfriend that I met at work . We make popcorn and watch The Avengers together and pet my cat . When I go to family dinners I get to sit at the adult table and people actually listen to what I have to say . I have money to go to the movies with my friends and a car to drive wherever I want . The driving range was never very thrilling , but always interesting . The first day Maryorie was constantly speeding and getting in trouble . The second day I met my best friend 's elementary school crush . The third day I had a conversation that changed my life . When I showed up to range that third day , I had no idea how it would play out . I was given the keys to a car and a magnetic number 7 to put on the top and waited in anticipation for who my new acquaintance would be . And honestly , when she started walking up to the car and sat down in the passenger seat , I didn 't think our conversation would go anywhere past " What 's your favorite color ? " She had her long blonde hair pulled back behind a flat billed cap , with a shaved section of hair by her ear . She had on little jean shorts and big dark sunglasses to top it all off . People like that don 't talk to me , I said to myself as I adjusted the seat for my short legs and started the car . And I 'm not sure where it went from there . After a while of talking to her , I stopped feeling so intimidated . We got to the point we were basically telling the story of our lives and what our dreams and aspirations are and the things we struggle with in life . It was probably the deepest conversation I 've ever had with someone I 'd just met . I felt like even though we were different in a lot of ways , she understood me . And not a lot of people can do that . As I ranted about this and that and the things that make me feel insecure , I actually started hearing what I was saying in a way I 've never heard myself before . And I realize that for so long I 've been letting the criticism of others and even myself really keep me down . I 've piled up this giant collection of insults , chastisements , and judgement and let them rule my entire life . And you know what ? I am not what people say about me , and you are not what people say about you . We are all much more complex than that . I walked home from Ally 's house . My hair was greasy and I was wearing yoga pants and a sweaty T - shirt . I was texting my ex - " friend " . We had a huge fight , during which some really harsh things were said . I hid in my room until my dad was finished killing Spiderzilla . In those few minutes I thought my heart was going to fail me . In an attempt to calm down , I bit the side of my finger until it had a sore . Saturday I rearranged my bedroom . I was locked in there vacuuming and organizing and throwing stuff away for over 4 hours . As I cleaned I found old sketchbooks , terrible attempts at writing books , old toys , tickets to movies I never threw away , and practically my entire life story all crammed into messy drawers and old shoe boxes . I missed the life I used to have when everything was so simple . I felt so grown up . But after waking up from spider nightmares at 2 : 00 in the morning and decided maybe I 'm not so grown up after all . Just that terrible place in between . Being a teenager stinks . My first acquaintance of this year was Kevin . I sat next to him in Pre - Calculus before we had a seating chart . I asked him questions and made an attempt at a stimulating conversation . I was really proud of myself for talking to Kevin so much in one day , especially because he 's a boy . Besides just answering my questions about him , most of what he said was questions about the math homework . After a few class periods I thought I was off to a good start with Kevin . I saw him in the hall one morning , so I waved and said " Hi , Kevin . " He looked at me and walked away without saying a word . You can imagine I was feeling a little discouraged after my failed attempt at having at least one new friend . I came into choir class on Friday with low expectations . Our teacher was at the assembly so the 16 people that are in that class all sat down in random seats and started talking . I sat down near the end of the row and someone came and sat down next to me . She was tall and so skinny that she looked like a stick figure . Her hair was long and thin and her glasses magnified her eyes to 5 times the size they actually were . " Hey , what 's your name ? " I asked . Well , I came home today and my hair was messy , my blisters hurt , my shoulders hurt from my backpack , I had a headache , and I was starving in a house with nothing edible . I tried to call my mom to talk to her and ask her for help but she was in a meeting and isn 't available until next Wednesday . So I came here and sat down to write something inspirational about having a positive attitude no matter how crappy your day was . . . but I just can 't . Well . . . I haven 't made any friends yet . I have talked to a few people that were my friends growing up that I hadn 't seen for years , and I have made ONE new acquaintance , but that 's it . There are no sparks flying between me and the people sitting next to me in ANY of my classes so far . Maybe I should just talk more . Also with the start of this new life of mine , I 've already given up on a lot of my dreams and ambitions . When I was forced out of Drawing because of Driver 's Ed , I didn 't try to get art back into my schedule . I simply concluded that I 'm not going to be an artist when I grow up and I was never super amazing at art anyway . It was kind of a sad feeling , but I honestly didn 't have room for it in my schedule . And I 've given up on learning Spanish , too . I took Spanish all through elementary school , and even when I was accepted into the A . L . L . program at Foothill , I chose not to go so I could stay at Windsor and learn Spanish . But in eighth and ninth grade . . . I 'm pretty sure I just got worse at it . And after only two periods of AP Spanish this year , I quickly realized if I stayed in that class I would end up with an ugly F on my transcript , so I 'm transferring out . I hate this feeling . . . the feeling of a " giver - upper " . . . but I really just wanted this year to be better than it has been . Maybe if I focus my efforts on less things I 'll be more successful at each of them . I don 't know . I 've seen this before , but today when I saw it I was truly inspired . At the beginning you watch everyone 's faces as they judge her and doubt her . Then , despite everyone around her , she sings , and shows who she really is . Their reactions change , and you can tell that they realize they shouldn 't have judged her so harshly before they knew what was inside of her . There are two things this makes me think about . One , I hope we can all try to refrain from false judgments . And two , remember to show our true colors and not hide who we are inside . I know those are things I need to work on this year . A few days ago I went shopping for school clothes . As I tried on pair after pair of pants that didn 't fit , I started tearing up . I then asked my mom a question that 's been on my mind ever since : " What if no one at Timp wants to be friends with me because I 'm fat ? " I 've thought about that question for days . And I realize . . . who cares ? There may be plenty of shallow people in high school , but there will be others that won 't care what anyone looks like . If I just look the best I can and I 'm not self - conscious about it , my future friends won 't care about how much I weigh . I do hope to continue to lose weight , but even before I make it to my goal I 'm going to learn to accept myself . It 's taken me so long to realize that I really do have potential and divine worth . I never wanted to be one of those annoyingly cocky people , but I always hated that I put myself down so much . But then I noticed that the people everyone loves to be around are the ones that accept themselves for who they are , and , better yet , don 't even worry about themselves ! They lose themselves in service to others . And in the end , that 's what can make you truly happy . I 'm used to a school with one big wide hallway and you know all of the people in your grade and are friends with half of them . Walking through my classes at Timpanogos was overwhelming . It seemed like there were millions of hallways and all of my classes were on opposite sides of the school . I saw a group of older kids and realized teenagers are SO much scarier / more intimidating than the pre - pubescent tweens I 'm so used to hanging around . This new song by T - Swift just came out . Oh man . It 's so . . . story of my life ! I just love it . Enjoy . I felt like everyone has been misinterpreting everything I say lately . I say one thing , and the next minute someone is freaking out about something entirely different . I 've gotten so frustrated . I just want to scream and yell . . . but I know that I won 't help me or anyone else . Have you ever had a no - one - understands - me day ? I always just assumed that he and I would last longer than we did . That we would go our separate ways and maybe not talk as much , but in end we would still be friends and catch up with each other once in a while . Maybe even go on a date or two once we were both sixteen . That was the way I planned it , and the way I intended to keep it . But I guess I took it for granted . I recently got back from girls camp . I am now sunburned , bug bitten , scratched , splintered , and peeling , but I can honestly say it was worth it . My testimony grew every day that I was there and I had a lot of fun in between the hikes . I had a rough time when my eye infection came back , but there was so much support around me and I stayed at camp . I have so much love for all of those amazing girls and leaders . We really bonded and I feel like they are all my sisters . To any of them are reading this : Thank you so much ! Seeing you guys smile just makes my life and I thrive off of your testimonies . I got to know a lot of you so much better and I wish all of us could go boating more often ! Thanks leaders for everything that you do and for being our friends . A few days ago one of my best friends took me swimming at the Scera pool . We were having normal girl talk and ended up counting all of the crushes we 've ever had in our lives . ( I 've had 20 , in case you were curious . ) Once I finished my long list , I realized that I forgot to count one of them . And of course the one I forgot was the biggest crush I 'd ever had and my first big heartbreak . I was shocked that I hadn 't even thought of it . I thought I would never forget all that happened during that time , but now it seems like a million years ago on a different planet . Then I thought about my most recent drama and how I lost most of my closest jr . high friends . And for the first time I realized that I 'm not scarred for life , and I WILL be happy again . Not long in the future , the heartache I feel now will be nothing but a distant memory , so faded by time it won 't even seem real . I 'm happy for that . Sometimes I pretend to be the tough girl and listen to songs that say " I don 't miss you " and " I 'm better off without you " . I 've been pretending for almost two weeks now to be strong . Maybe it 's my armor . It hides what 's inside me . I lost my armor at Young Women yesterday . I went into the mountains armed with invisible iron and masked by black sunglasses . But less than halfway up the trail I already felt like giving up . I didn 't say anything to anyone and hoped they wouldn 't notice the sweat dripping down my face and neck . Only two people trudged along behind me , my friends 50 feet ahead of me . I watched them talk as they strolled so easily uphill . With the physical exhaustion came feelings of pure despair . We never stopped for a break . The mountain was steep and my feet and legs ached and shook from the strain of walking . The sun was hot and my armor melted off onto the dirt path . We finally stopped after five miles . I sat down on a log and almost started sobbing . My hair was wet and my pink streak dripped tiny drops of pink dye onto my back . My glasses were soaked with sweat , fogged up , and making my face even hotter than it was . I slowly removed them and looked around before attempting to massage my calves back to life . I felt like everyone was looking at me , my mind so uncomfortably exposed . I tried so hard to be strong for so long , but now they saw the real me . The weakness I 've felt for these long weeks . I was too ashamed to speak . Remembrance by Emily Bronte , one of my favorite poems , was stuck on my mind . I layed in the dark . I was sleeping in the recliner because I toss and turn too much sleeping in my bed and it had been irritating my eye infection . I looked around at the little colored lights on the Blu - Ray player and the speakers . The house was quiet except for the occasional crackles of the ice maker and tik - toks of the clock . It felt strange not to be in my bed . The silence echoed in the big empty space . The colored lights became eerie . I covered my head with the blanket . I checked my phone . It was late , but I was still disappointed to have no messages . He and I used to talk almost every night . I figured there was no point in dwelling on my thoughts of him . After all , I 'm the one who officially ended our friendship . I closed my eyes and drifted off to sleep . I had a dream I 've had before . The dream about change . I woke up every few hours , the poem by Emily Bronte still swirling through my head . I think I set my expectations for this summer WAYYY too high . I thought it was going to be this amazing life - changing experience and I would go into tenth grade the happiest person alive . Well to put it nicely . . . the past few months have been rough . The very first day of summer Mom got a surgery that had her on oxygen for at least a week and crazy medications for several weeks . The third week of June I got an infected hair follicle that swelled up to incredible size and was very painful . Then the start of July I lost 3 of my best friends and went through the closest thing to a breakup you can have without actually having a boyfriend . Soon after that I realized that ever since school ended I only have like 4 friends . Then I pretty much went into a depressive state and haven 't done anything for a week and a half . Meanwhile , due to all of the mental stress , I now have an infected gland on my eyelid called a ' stye ' which is extremely painful and I 'm not allowed to wear any make - up until it heals . Ever since last Sunday when I broke of my friendships with Mr . So - and - so and pretty much the rest of my nerd herd , I 've pretty much sat home alone all week . I 've lost interest in some things that I used to do . I don 't get dressed until about 3 : 00 in the afternoon , and when it gets to that point I don 't even do my hair . I 'll go 2 meals without eating and not even notice I 'm hungry . I 'm not super depressed or anything , just not really myself . I think of all the fights we had . I think of how even after all of those fights we always stayed friends until two other girls convinced him I wasn 't worthy of being his friend . . . Two girls I introduced him to . I think of how I always used to tell him my favorite songs . I wonder how long he had been planning to get rid of me . I wonder how many of the things he said were true . I think of how much we used to talk . I think of how I 'll never talk to him again . It all eats at my heart . We were just talking about random stuff . Then he started bragging that he was so much cooler than me because he did " parkour " once , which I didn 't even know what that was . But when I tried to ask him what it was , the conversation turned . He said he wouldn 't tell me anything anymore because whenever he tells me things I just " blow up in his face " . A few months ago when I said on my blog , " I hate that he treats me like a bomb about to explode any minute " , he denied it and said he doesn 't . Now he told me that he said that " just to be nice " . ( Uhm , yeah , that 's SO NICE that he lied to my face and led me on for months . ) Later in the conversation I found out who had been cramming those ideas into his head . It was two girls from school who I thought were some of my best friends . Now I find out they just want to get rid of me , and sent him to do it . I feel so betrayed . For months I thought him and those two girls cared about me and loved me only to find out that they were waiting for the perfect moment to get rid of me . It was all a big scheme . And all that time of treating me like I was important to them was " just to be nice " . Well it would have been a lot nicer if they had ditched me several months ago so I could find some REAL friends . It was about a month and a half ago . We arrived at the school from a weekend field trip at about 10 : 00 p . m . and were waiting for out parents to come pick us up . I was cold . He could probably tell by my excessive shivering and teeth chattering . I stood there holding my arms together and rubbing them as if it would get rid of the goosebumps . He studied me . I 'm sure I was a pathetic sight , but I tried not to think about it . I hummed a song to myself as teenagers scuffled around me . I looked over at him and my face twisted into a forced half - smile before my teeth started chattering again . The next thing I knew , his arms were wrapped around my shoulders . I kept my arms crossed and stood stiffly . But for a moment I relaxed and leaned my head against his chest . There were no thoughts running through my head , I just felt warm . Once my brain started to work again , I quickly pulled away . His parents came and picked him up . I felt colder than before . My nerd herd was supposed to go see the Summerfest parade . Half the nerd herd didn 't show up , but Ally and Sam and some of Ally 's Maeser friends had been hanging out together all day and they came . Those four do a lot together . They 're a parade all their own . But I 'm never invited because they know I don 't like pranking people , which is pretty much all of what they do . Even though most of the time I wouldn 't go with them , I guess it would just be nice to be invited now and then . We watched the parade on the sidewalk in the freezing cold wind . We scrambled for candy on the road and huddled in a Snuggie while we waited for more . It lasted about an hour . I was proud that Timpanogos High had the longest procession . Afterward we decided to just go home instead of going to the park . We ate a late - night snack at Ally 's and everyone said they wanted to go doorbell ditching . I said I wanted to go home . I walked away by myself . We shared a lot of deep thoughts and feelings . I said a few things I hoped he would really put some thought into . Others I was mostly talking to myself . I felt exposed , like he could see inside me but at the same time he didn 't understand . I had a hard time expressing what I had to say . I told him he needed to go back with the others . He asked for a hug , but I wouldn 't give him one . I started my walk home , not even knowing if I would ever see him again . It felt colder now that I was alone , but I also felt more relaxed , no longer feeling like someone was trying to read the fine print written on my eyes . Only once did I look back to see if I could see him walking away . All I saw was empty sidewalk and the lit - up street lamps . He was gone . I 've been busy so far this summer . I 've been practice driving in the Timp parking lot and hanging out with family and catching up with old friends . In my spare time I 've been taking naps with my dog and reading and watching chick flicks . Last summer I wasted a lot of time . I don 't want to waste time this summer . Even when I don 't have anything exciting going on , I want to be out taking a walk in the sun or devouring a cheesy teen novel . That 's what summers are for . At least , for me , it 's taking a break from the stress and giving yourself time to see the beautiful things in life and just slowly taking it in during these three months . And even though I don 't have any money to go to Summerfest or to the pool or to Jamba Juice this summer , I have a feeling it 's going to be better than a lot of the summers before . Kayla and I took Andrea to the park . I showed Andrea how to go down the slide and play with the playground toys . We visited the giant pine tree I used to climb . We sat on the hill in our sunglasses and marveled at how fast the grass turned that wonderful shade of green . Once it started sprinkling we went back to Kayla 's house . After a while we put Andrea down to bed and Kayla and I watched a chick flick she had recorded on TV . When it was time to go , I reached in my pocket to get my iPod and cue up a good song to play in the car . All I felt was the cold bumpy surfaces of coins and the fabric of my pants . I looked down at the couch . No iPod . I looked in the cracks of the cushions . No iPod . Kayla helped me . We looked under the cushions , behind the pillows , under the couch , under the rug , on the counter , in the bedroom , on the floor , on the bookshelf , on the sewing desk , under the oven , everywhere . No iPod . We went back to the park . We kicked around woodchips while we scanned the entire playground . We looked under the tree and on the hill and in the grass . No iPod . We surrendered and got in the car so Kayla could take me home . I swear the entire car ride I couldn 't breathe . When I got home I went straight to bed . Without my iPod playing in my iHome , all I could hear was the constant loud hum of Mom 's oxygen machine upstairs . I cried . Sometimes when I stalk read the blogs on my blog list , I can 't help but be slightly disturbed . Not with the blogs , but with myself . Because I too often find myself thinking , If everyone else 's life is perfect , why isn 't mine ? I see pictures and read words of people going on adventures and working on projects and being so happy . But I realize that their lives aren 't perfect , they just write about the good stuff . They 're all humans just like me . I guess my blog can be kind of negative sometimes because it 's basically how I vent , but negative or not , I hope that it paints a picture of me . A real one without any fluff . One that says that my life definitely isn 't perfect and I have a lot of trials , but there are still many happy moments and many lessons learned . The happy side says that there 's only one day of school this week , and that 's yearbook day ! It 's summer , the sun is shining , and I can go to bed at 8 : 30 if I want to because I don 't have to stay up doing homework . I get to go swimming and hang out with friends every day of the week and not just Saturday ( well , besides Sunday ) . Also , one of my best friends is writing a song for me to sing and I 'm super excited . AND because it 's summer I get to start taking more walks again . I love walks . Then the sad side reminds me that my mom is getting a surgery on Thursday that will take two months to recover from . And after yearbook day , I won 't see a large majority of my school friends ever again . And two of my best friends pretty much hate me and never want to speak to me again . When it comes to One Direction , I have pride issues . And just for the record , I discovered One Direction first . I discovered them way back before any of their music was released in the U . S . I listened to them obsessively on YouTube and prayed that one day I could have those amazing voices on my iPod . When their album came in the mail I was more than thrilled . I told my friend from school all at about them on the bus for a field trip . She called them gay and said she didn 't like them . I would not live with that falsehood and made her listen to several songs off the album . The next week she was all over them . All she talked about was One Direction . For a while it really picked at my pride . After all , I discovered them first and I was the one who introduced them to her ! And she was acting like it was her own great discovery and that they belonged to her . I was perfectly willing to share the 5 British wonders of the world , but the fact she was so possessive drove me crazy . ( Oh , the irony . . . ) During class she and I started to talk more . . . about One Direction . I started warming up with the idea that at least now I had someone to fangirl with . It wasn 't long before she and I became inseparable at school . Now she 's pretty much one of my best friends . One Direction brings people together . . . * sniffle * There I was again , leaning against the wall outside . . . alone . When had I become this ? When had I gone from a decently sized group of friends to being a loner ? I couldn 't put my finger on the exact day , but it had pretty much been like that for over a month . First I had a fight with my friend , and all of my groupies chose him over me and basically started ignoring me . It 's not like they knew anything about what happened , but when he and I parted ways , they followed him . Whatever . After that I sat with one friend . She was someone I was super close to , but I guess neither of us have been very open lately because mostly we would just talk about random things . I still enjoyed her company . Earlier in the year she would tell me about her boy drama and such , but she stopped talking about it after a while and I didn 't know why . Maybe I wasn 't understanding enough . Last week I guess she got sick of talking to me about random things and started hanging out with this girl who had boy drama with the same boy she did and she would randomly disappear during lunch . Not long after she just stopped coming to the lunch table . In one of Utah 's chilly months ( I think it was November ) I made Kayla take me to Deseret Book . I had heard David Archuleta was doing a signing there and , of course , thrilled myself with the idea of meeting him . And being the amazing sister that she is , Kayla was willing to stand with me in a line that wrapped all around the building . We stood outside in the freezing cold for a long time . Neither of us brought coats for some reason . I took probably 2 pictures before my camera died and I blessed Kayla with an explanation of my deep sorrow on that matter . When David Archuleta came , I had a hard time watching excited squealing girls come out of the building while I was still standing in a line that seemed to go on forever . I was still excited , but I was bummed about my camera and trying really hard to warm up my numb fingers . Kayla and I started talking to the girl in front of us in line . She said she was getting a CD signed for her friend and I admired her dedication . If I was that friend , I would 've loved her forever . She was really nice and we talked to her for the rest of the two hours we stood in line . and 2 ) I can never forget the little acts of service we received from that girl in line . We were cold and tired from standing , and she didn 't even know us , but just talking to her brightened our day . At stake conference we heard a lot about little acts of service , and this is the day I thought of . I 'm absorbed into a sponge of memories . Pointless ones that only make me mournful . Missing people from the past when there 's no way to get them back . Regretting decisions that led to sadness . Wishing I could take back things I said in a fight . I was at Kohl 's with Kayla . We were looking at the jewelry and trying on rings when my dad called . He said he was taking Mom to the emergency room . Kayla and I rushed home . Mom and Dad were already gone and I went up to the upstairs bathroom to find enough blood to pass for a murder scene . I 've never seen so much blood . We cleaned her clothes along with half the bathroom while we waited for Dad 's updates . The whole day didn 't really seem real . Everything was blurry and I didn 't even know what was going on . We visited her in the evening . She was pale and had trouble having enough oxygen . I hated being at the hospital and seeing her like that . I didn 't want that image scarred in my brain . None of it really sank in , though , until two days later . That was when I found out that if my dad had arrived at our house five minutes later than he did , my mom would have bled to death . All day I felt heavy and paralyzed . I didn 't tell anyone about it except my closest friends . That night I called on of my best friends and just sobbed over the phone . I didn 't even know how to say how I felt . I had almost lost my mom . And if she had died , I wouldn 't have even been there to say goodbye or tell her I loved her . I love my mom so much . And even though it 's impossible for teenagers and moms not to clash every once in a while , we have grown so close . I tell her all of my dreams and my stories . She is a crazy super woman , no joke . She has been Relief Society President and had FOUR jobs all AT THE SAME TIME . Her IQ is like 47 billion . She knows how to do everything and is always willing to teach me . She is amazing and even when I 'm having a bad day , deep down I will never forget that . I 'm so glad she is here with me and even gladder that my family is sealed together for eternity . It is universally known that food is not only needed to keep us alive , but also a huge part of culture around the world . Food is how we experience different parts of the world through a sensory experience . Food is an art practiced everywhere . Food is how we socialize . My parents tried for years to get me to eat normal foods . Their attempts usually ended with vomit all over me / the table and loss in appetite for everyone else . It didn 't take them long to discover I had an extremely delicate palate . When I got to a certain age and still wouldn 't eat normal food , my dinner every night was a piece of bread , or , if I was feeling adventurous , toast . All of my sisters ' friends knew me as the crazy little girl who ate bread for dinner . I know it 's way stupid , but I still find myself thinking it over and over . My mom says I need an " A . N . T . eater " ( Automatic Negative Thinking ) . Like something you can think of to replace negative thoughts . I 've been trying to come up with one all week . But I 'm still working on it . That is , accepting myself for who I am . Besides , there 's no point in wishing for things that are impossible . I was always way bigger than all of my friends . The other girl in this picture , Laura , was my best friend since I was 2 years old . She 's a year older than me . But I bet by this picture you couldn 't tell . Luckily the " F " word wasn 't really introduced to me during my childhood . ( The " F " word being " fat " , of course . ) Everyone just said I was an early bloomer , which I was . I started to hit puberty in third grade . My hips got a little wider , my thighs filled out even more than they already were , and my mom made me start wearing a bra ( which I hated ) . I grew to my current height around fifth grade . But that being said , there were other early bloomers who didn 't look like me . And without the ' early bloomer ' excuse hanging around anymore , I know what I really am . My friends can tell me I 'm beautiful just the way I am , but deep down I know . I 've had thinner times and ( excuse my language ) fatter times . The thinner times never last and the bigger times get bigger every time I felt ridiculous practically laying on top of my Earth Systems test . My free hand covered as much of the answers as it possibly could . Anything to just have one paper - - just one - - that the answers were ONLY mine , and not copied word for word by the girl next to me . Her and her annoying laugh and attention - starved headset and the fact that she thought we were best friends . It was only about two weeks into the new semester , but I already had her figured out . She was a cheater . When I got to the end of the test I no longer had enough arm to cover up my paper . There went her curious eyes that could never seem to leave my side of the desk . I watched , extremely irritated , as she quickly wrote down the answer that wasn 't covered up by my arm . It was super obvious considering she wrote it down before she answered the five questions before it . I finished the test and turned over the paper before she could see my last answer . In the first class I had with her we got to choose our seats . I left her side with lightening speed and moved a few rows up . I was happy for about two seconds before I realized the seat next to me was , moments later , taken by little Miss Cheater Pants . I had a little more hope in my last class of the day when we were being assigned new seats . But once the seating chart was given , you can imagine my horror when I looked up to see her right in front of me . I tried to comfort myself . It 's okay , she can 't even see you , she 's sitting IN FRONT of you . But it didn 't last long . We took a test , and while I was confidently circling A , B , C , or D , someone in front of me wasn 't feeling as confident . Big shock . There she went . Her head slowly twitched and then turned . She craned her neck and her eyes locked with my paper . Once she found what she wanted she whipped her head back around as if it never happened . " _______ 's a cheater , " I said matter - of - factly . " She 's been cheating off me all semester . Will you please move us apart ? " I promised my brother I would go to his band concert . I didn 't come to the first concert of the year and didn 't really want to come to the second one . They 're super long and half of the time they 're setting up chairs . But I did promise him , so , like a devoted sister , I came . After the concert was over I drifted out into the hall to talk to some of my friends that were in it too . Sam hugged me before I left , like she always does . But this time as I was about to leave I heard another voice . It was one of my guyfriends , the first friend I made in Jr . High . " Do I get a hug , too ? " he asked . I gave him a hug and hurried to the car with my family . A few weeks later he and I had an argument . Nothing super serious , but he hurt my feelings . In my distress I told him I wasn 't going to the concert with him anymore . We didn 't talk about it again . Last week at school I heard this girl talking about how she was so excited to go to the Vocal Point concert . . . With him . In my next class I rigidly told him what I had heard . " You 're not mad , are you ? " he asked . I could tell he was nervous . I 've always hated that he always treats me like a bomb about to explode any minute . I tried to stay completely emotionless and I told him I wasn 't . I knew saying anything else about it would be pointless . He would just say I was an overreacting fool because he hadn 't actually done anything particularly wrong . All I did was ask him when he invited her to go with him . He said the week after our argument . It was one of those moments I 'd never thought I 'd have . Just sitting there on his living room couch . Just small talk with someone I had just met . But for some reason , it seemed a lot more important than that . The story starts in eighth grade . Eighth grade was party time for Ally and I . We told each other detailed stories of our adventures with our other friends , the people we didn 't like , and especially our crushes . Ally was crushing on a ninth grader . He was kind of short with golden brown hair and a wannabe - gansta ' attitude . She and him weren 't super close , but she sat by him in one of her classes and , after a while , was no match for his boyish charm . We saw him in the halls one day with his friends , and we couldn 't help but notice that one of his friends stood out from the rest . It took us but a second to figure out what it was . His monumentally large head . " You should marry him , " Ally said . I laughed in surprise . Sometimes I had no idea where her ideas came from . I treated it like a joke only told once , but Ally was determined to keep it going . Every time we saw him she referred to him as my " husband " . We later found out his name , but his former title had already stuck . Soon it became one of our inside jokes that we mentioned every once and a while and laughed at . Near the beginning of ninth grade I made a new friend . She and I talked at school and she was super sweet and fun . When I told Ally about her and mentioned her name she made a connection that hadn 't before occurred to me . " Whoa ! That 's your sister - in - law ! " Much later in the year my " sister - in - law " and I planned a movie night at her house . I arrived and walked up the porch steps listening to piano music filtering from inside the house . When I knocked on the door the music stopped . Footsteps . The blinds from the thin window next to the door lifted a bit , and I stared into the small crack to see brown eyes . Brown eyes connected to a large head topped with short dark curls . I had to remind myself that he had no idea who he was as he opened the door . I asked him if his sister was home . " Do you want me to call her ? " he asked . " No , I can call her , " I said . I scrolled through my contacts , expecting the door to close and to be left on the lonely porch . I only had a moment to ponder on that thought when he invited me in . I stepped in the house . It smelled and looked clean with a shiny grand piano and brown leather couches . I called my friend and she apologized profusely for forgetting about our movie night and said she was headed right over . " My husband " asked for the phone and I handed it to him . He talked to her for a minute and probably made her feel super guilty before handing the phone back to me . I hung up . He invited me to come and sit on the couch while I waited for her to arrive . I sat down and so did he . " What 's your name ? " he asked . " Tessa Hatchett , " I said , " what 's yours ? " It was one of those moments I 'd never thought I 'd have . Just sitting there on his living room couch . Just small talk with someone I had just met . But for some reason , it seemed a lot more important than that . When my friend got home she apologized some more and we continued on to our activities . As she and I talked I found out her brother sings and plays drums , guitar , and piano . It was like all of the sudden he was becoming less of just an inside joke and more of a person . A person who lives in a house and goes to high school and has hobbies and talents and friends . I 'll never forget that feeling . " I don 't care how poor a man is ; if he has family , he 's rich . " - - Dan Wilcox " Truely great friends are hard to find , difficult to leave , and impossible to forget . " " We are supposed to be happy , ' for men are that they might have joy . ' " " When life itself seems lunatic , who knows where madness lies ? To surrender dreams - - this may be madness ; to see treasure where there is only trash . Too much sanity may be madness ! But maddest of all - - to see life as it is and not what it should be . "

I am just sitting here , quietly , contemplating how much my daughter has grown this year . I don 't mean her height or weight , though she has grown that way as well . She has matured this year , her thirteenth year . A couple of days ago we received a package from my Mom . Haley loves packages . We had to open it . Actually Haley 's Big Sis grabbed it and started opening it , so I can 't really put it on Haley . My Mom had wrapped the presents inside and labeled them , of course . Haley can recognize her own written name now , so she new exactly which ones were hers . She wanted to open them , but I told her that we were going to wait until Saturday . " Saturday is Christmas Day , that is when we open presents . " That was a bit hard for her , but I asked her to put all of the presents under the tree . She felt important doing that , so it was OK . We have never put presents under the tree . I was fully prepared to hide them if there was a problem , but they are still there . She sits in that room next to the tree . She sits in the chairs that flank the tree , or she sits on the floor in front of the tree . She has quite a collection of toys that she has been playing with while she sits there . If someone walks by she will point to the presents . She says " presents " or " Christmas " or her version of " Saturday , " which really doesn 't sound much like Saturday . She hasn 't opened them . I think if any of us were to tell her that she could they would be open in a heartbeat , but she is being very patient . I think that she is showing a new level of maturity that I have never seen in her before . We changed up the Holiday Season on her this year , first by having Thanksgiving here and having Grandma and Grandpa come to our house . Now we are planning to go to their house after Christmas . She knows we are going . For a while she seemed more excited about going to their house than she was for Christmas . I have both occasions written on the calendar that hangs on the refrigerator . She points to the days that are marked Grandma and Grandpa 's House , but she hasn 't been pointing to Christmas . I have explained the timing to her several times . I say that we are going after Christmas , after we open our presents . I think she has finally accepted it . In desperation about a week ago I actually put on the calendar the day that we would pack so that she would stop asking to pack her " case . " I think she has come to terms with the timing . Our Christmas Eve 's go something like this , we have dinner and then we open one present each . That present is almost always a pair of pajamas . This is also a tradition that came from my childhood family traditions . We put our new pajamas on and then before bed we read The Night Before Christmas by Clement C . Moore . I wrote about that tradition on this post . A couple of years ago we added something to our Christmas Eve . I rented a movie that had come out in 2006 called The Nativity Story . If you haven 't seen it I highly recommend it . After we get our pajamas on we watch The Nativity Story and then we read The Night Before Christmas and then we go to bed . I play hand bells in our church choir and I always go to the Christmas Eve service at 10 : 00PM . It is a time for me to truly reflect on why we celebrate this holiday . It is a candlelight service and it is beautiful . I enjoy it . I hug everyone before I leave and then I come home and get the presents out from their hiding places in the garage and I put them under the tree . I fill the stockings and then I go to bed . I looked up and there was Haley looking at me over the low wall at the top of the stairs . I smiled at her and then went upstairs and gently nudged her back in to her room . I covered her up and gave her a kiss and closed her door . We have a Countdown Snowman . Every day Haley puts an ornament on his Christmas tree and Snowman announces how many days there are left until Christmas . Snowman starts counting at 25 days until Christmas . Snowman was not out 25 days before Christmas . I didn 't have enough C batteries so I opened the box and put Snowman in the garage and put C batteries on the grocery list . I eventually got the C batteries and then Snowman continued to languish in the garage until recently Haley saw him and the jig was up . Rhonda the Reindeer used to come out every year at Christmastime too . She doesn 't anymore . She was also a cute idea . An idea no doubt conceived by a well meaning person who didn 't have a daughter like Haley . Rhonda was a stuffed reindeer with wings and arms that moved as she played Christmas songs . Rhonda was not a motion detecting sound maker . Rhonda was a sound detecting sound maker . She would play more than one song , which I thought would redeem her , but unfortunately it didn 't . The kinds of sounds that would prompt Rhonda to break into song were loud noises like claps , dropping things on the floor , sneezes , coughs , yells and the like . Haley couldn 't clap loud enough . No matter how she tried Haley couldn 't smack her own hands together loud enough to get Rhonda to perform . She tried , but I really didn 't want her to hurt herself . I clapped for her for a while , but then my hands hurt . If Rhonda didn 't start playing Haley would get upset and start crying . If she cried long enough she eventually got into fit mode and then when she screamed at the top of her lungs guess what would happen . Rhonda would play . The next step , which I am sure you could surmise was simply to scream at the top of her lungs . Rhonda would play a song and then stop . Haley would scream and Rhonda would play another song . After enough of that to make me want to curl up in the shape of a ball and whimper , I got out two wooden spoons . I taught her to hit the two spoons together . Sometimes she could do it so that Rhonda would respond , sometimes she didn 't , but at least her odds improved . One year I got one of those plastic clappers in the shape of tiny hands that Haley could just shake . It worked pretty well . I put Snowman on the top of the refrigerator after she has listened to him tell her the number of days left until Christmas about ten times or so . That used to be pretty safe , but she is getting tall . I am afraid she can reach him . She likes to put the ornaments on the tree and then take them off of the tree and listen to Snowman count up and down alike . I didn 't realize how important that tradition was until I was in college . My freshman year of college was the first time that I had ever been away from my family . The college I went to was not that far away from my hometown , but once I went to college I stayed there until Thanksgiving . I went home for that holiday and then I went back to school . As Christmas approached I had a serious case of homesickness . My roommate and I were feeling sorry for ourselves and one night after we had gotten into bed and turned out the lights we started talking about our Christmas traditions . I told my roommate that my Mom had always read that story to us . I can 't remember why now , but I started reciting the story . I had it memorized . Word for word I recited the story like I had the book in my lap , but it was dark in our room and the book was back home . The story has always been a part of Christmas . I have read the book to my girls every Christmas Eve from their very first Christmases . I can still recite it from memory so I can hold the book open to them so that they can see the pictures . Today we received a box from my Mom in the mail filled with wrapped boxes . There was a copy of the book inside , it wasn 't wrapped . We opened the book and I realized that it was the kind of book that you can record your own voice into . I immediately thought that it would be so cool to have a recording of my Mom reading the story . I turned a page , but there was no sound . I thought maybe that she had expected me to record the story , which also would have been cool , I was disappointed though . Haley took the book . She has a couple of books that can be recorded and she started pushing the buttons . Haley wanted to read the book so she started turning pages and that is when I heard my Mom 's voice . I was afraid that she had recorded over the first few pages . I asked her if I could look at the book . I read the instructions . It said that it works best in a room with good lighting . I turned on the light and then closed the book and opened it again . My Mom 's voice told me that the book was a gift from her read in her own voice . We turned the page and the story began . We hadn 't ruined it after all . Haley has listened to the story , read by her Grandma many times this afternoon . It is sitting on the coffee table in the front room and the lights are on . She goes in to that room and listens to the story and then comes and finds me and says " Grandma read . " or " Read book . " She loves it . Haley has always loved little figurines that she can hold in her hand . The first time I saw her carrying Mary and Joseph around I decided that it wasn 't safe . Luckily at that same time Avon had come out with a plastic Nativity scene that looked just like it . I gave it to Haley and it has been hers ever since . Every year I get it out and set it up somewhere that she can find it . This year it is in her bedroom . Over the years I have found each figure in a different place around the house . Sometimes she sleeps with them . When it 's time to put away the decorations we go around the house and gather up her figures and box them up for the next year . Our church has a wonderful tradition of making gingerbread houses together . We have a member that has taken on the job of coordinating the efforts to make the small simple houses on round cardboard bases . She has teams that make the dough and cut it into the proper shapes and then they use frosting to hold the pieces together . After the children 's Christmas program every year people gather and pool together the candy that everyone shares to decorate their houses . It is a wonderful event . We have gone a couple of years and the first years were fine . We have great pictures and great memories . This was back when Haley 's Big Sis did the decorating and Haley was small enough that we could just hold her , or walk around with her . When Haley got older something happened . This beautiful event was all just too much for Haley , she has never done very well with crowds anyway . I think the combination two events one right after the other without a meal in between didn 't help . Haley was hungry and the only thing to eat was the candy . That is what she ate . We tried to get her to stop , but then she started spiraling into melt - down mode and since Big Sis wasn 't done decorating the house we stayed and let her eat more . Can you say Sugar Rush ? Today we made chocolate balls . My husband 's Mom has made chocolate balls at Christmastime for as long as he can remember . We enjoyed hers for several years and then we respectfully requested the recipe . There is quite a process involved in making chocolate balls , it is kind of like a production line . My husband and I made them together for years and then Haley 's Big Sis joined in the fun when she was old enough . This year Haley wanted to help too . My husband measured out the ingredients that consist of graham cracker crumbs , powdered sugar , peanut butter , margarine , coconut and chopped nuts and Big Sis mixed them together . We gathered around our tall round bar table and began to roll the mixture into balls . Haley stood there expectantly dramatically sniffing the mixture and proclaiming that it " Smells good . " Her Dad asked her if she wanted to help roll them into balls and she actually jumped up and down excitedly and said " Yeah ! " I took a bit of the mixture and worked it together so that it wouldn 't fall apart in her hands and then I handed it to her . As she started smashing it between her palms I got a little into my hands and showed her how to rub her hands together to form a ball . She was using a little too much force so I made her another one and then I held her two hands and helped her to gently roll the dough . When a ball formed I told her that she had done it and she place it on the waxed paper . She was thrilled . I asked her if she wanted to do it again and she said " yeah . " I picked up some more dough and out of habit I created a ball and handed it to her . She immediately set it on the waxed paper , having judged it complete . That became our process . I would roll a ball for her and she would place it down next to the others . She had a great time and when all of the balls were formed she wanted me to help her wash her hands . Later after the balls had chilled my husband began the process of melting the chocolate coating . Haley 's Big Sis added the chocolate and supervised from then on . Haley would come by now and then and check on the process . At one point we needed a spoon and Haley went to the drawer to get one for us . She really was a big help . We had a lot of fun this year putting together our favorite Christmastime treat . All four of us did it together . Yet another tradition has changed , for the better . Every family has traditions around the Christmas holiday , our family is no exception . The exception is that our traditions have changed over the years . I have already mentioned our Christmas tree tradition that has changed in this post and the fact that I decorate by myself . There are some other traditions that have changed as well , I will be sharing a few of those over the next several posts . Some families put presents under the tree before Christmas day . We don 't . We wrap all of the presents ahead of time and hide them , then on Christmas Eve after Haley has gone to bed I put them under the tree . Haley must open presents . It doesn 't matter if the present is for her or not . If I wrap a present for any gift giving occasion I need to hide it immediately . I know this from experience . Haley has opened many presents that I have wrapped that were never intended for her . If I go to a party and bring a gift home that I have received I have to immediately take it out of the wrappings and hide them away before I bring it into the house . If she sees the wrappings she launches into " Present , present , present . " Actually , truth be told , Haley must open boxes . They don 't need to be wrapped . She always wants to know what UPS brings even if I tell her it is only soap . She has to see it . I have several boxes that I intended to keep to store things in that have been unceremoniously opened . So no unopened package is safe . My favorite thing about Christmas morning when I was a kid was to come down the stairs and be blown away by the amount of presents under the tree . I remember a few presents under our tree before Christmas day . They were usually the ones that my brother and sister and I gave to each other , but all of the other presents were saved for that big surprise on Christmas morning . We are keeping that surprise alive in our house , I think there is some value in that tradition . On Sunday we went for a ride on the Holiday Express . This years train was pulled by the 4449 Daylight , one of Haley 's favorite steam engines . The day was very rainy , but not cold . Haley loved the ride as evidenced by her brightly colored cheeks . The Oregon Rail Heritage Foundation set up a tent so that people can wait in line for the train out of the elements and also so that they can peruse the items that they are selling to support the building of the new roundhouse that will some day house the SP 4449 Daylight , the SP & S 700 and the OR & N 197 . Haley gleefully took every written piece of information about her favorite engines which included the Newsletter that updated us on the state of the new roundhouse . The newsletter is well done and it makes us really excited to see construction begin . Haley loves shopping . She kept talking about shopping for clothes , which she did , but shopping for anything with the Daylight , it 's logo or the 700 and it 's logo on it is her favorite kind of shopping . Haley bought two t - shirts and a new jacket . The first picture on this blog is one of the t - shirts she got . We would love to support the building of the new roundhouse even more if we could . The only times that we can experience these engines is when they are out on excursions , the rest of the time they are locked up tight inside a building that is too dangerous to visit . We look forward to the day that we can go to OMSI and buy a ticket and visit these big beautiful engines whenever we want to , but until that day comes we will continue to do our part to support the work of the ORHF by letting Haley shop . Last night I went out with four of my girlfriends . We talked candidly about ourselves and our families . We laughed a lot . I had a wonderful time . It was a well timed diversion . I was out rather late and when I got home I watched television ( Hulu ) for a while before I went to bed . Haley woke me up twice in the night to be changed and tucked back in bed . So I was tired this morning and I slept in . Apparently nothing happens around here without me . Haley needed to be changed again when I woke up and she hadn 't eaten breakfast . She came downstairs with me like she usually does in the morning and we had breakfast . Her Dad came in from the garage and started getting his lunch ready , because he had been up since morning and was on his normal routine . Haley got up from the table and opened the freezer . She decided that she needed lunch too , never mind that there was still cereal in her bowl . I tried to explain to her that she was eating breakfast and that she didn 't need to eat lunch , just because her Dad was eating lunch , but it didn 't matter to her . I offered her some of the grape salad that I had left over from a potluck that I attended last week . That sounded good to her , so she ate it . I took a shower and got dressed and then sat down at the computer and she brought me a package of pasta . I went through the whole spiel again about how she didn 't need to eat lunch , but she wouldn 't quit . I reheated some pasta and sauce that I found in the refrigerator and set her up at the table again . I don 't know what I would do without a microwave ! Haley is shy . We took her to a Psychiatrist a couple of years ago and that was his diagnosis . He never mentioned the elephant in the room , her developmental delay , he just said that she was Super Shy . I know where she gets it . I am shy . His theory was that because I am shy and when he was younger her Dad was probably shy that the combination of the two of us shy people made one really shy kid . The theory doesn 't work for her Big Sis , but whatever . When I meet someone for the first time I am quiet and I might not even look them in the eye . In the past people have thought that I was aloof . I don 't share my feelings easily , ask anyone that knows me , if I start to talk about myself I turn a bright shade of red and my neck and chest turn three shades of purple . I am open in this blog , I am honest . I may not write about every little thing that happens to us , ( obviously since I haven 't written a thing in four days ) but what I do write about is honest . I am trying to be more honest in my everyday life as well . The person I was five years ago would never have been able to write a blog . I was a different person to everyone who knew me . It was exhausting . It makes life somewhat simpler to be yourself . I don 't try to filter myself for each person I am with . I let people know what is going on inside of me . I have friends that read this blog , but I also have friends that don 't . They don 't get as much information about Haley and our life together as my readers do , I have to remember that . I try to share our experiences with them like I do with you . It also means that I am honest with my feelings sometimes when people ask me how I am . Life is not always easy with a child that has special needs , sometimes it can be really hard . When people ask me how Haley is doing I usually say that she is doing really well , because she is . Everyday seems to bring new and exciting changes . Lately she has really been showing incredible patience . I think she is learning that when we tell her something is going to happen in the future she can believe us . That is a great improvement . In our area we are blessed to have a steam locomotive that is operational and is run on special occasions . One such occasion is the Christmas season . Every year we like to take Haley for a ride on the Holiday Express that is pulled by either the 4449 Daylight or the SP & S 700 . We wanted to go this weekend , but Haley 's Big Sis is not feeling well so we are planning to go next weekend . We bought our tickets this morning . My husband always takes Haley train watching on Sundays and he really wanted to take her down to see the Daylight pulling the train today . He was concerned that she would be upset if she got to see the train without getting to ride it . I didn 't know what to tell him , but I said that maybe she would understand if he just told her the truth . He decided to take her . When they got home Haley came in the kitchen and started telling me all about it . She told me that she saw the Daylight and that she walked and that she heard the engine 's whistle . She told me that she could smell the steam and smoke and that it smelled good . Her Dad came in a few minutes later and prompted her to tell me more . He told me that she wasn 't scared . At all . He said that she walked right along side the engine and never asked to go back to the Yukon . He said that he really enjoyed the whole trip because she really enjoyed it . I asked him if she was upset that she didn 't get to ride it . He said that she wasn 't . She talked about riding the cars and he told her that we had tickets for next Sunday . She said " tickets " and that was it . She was fine with it . A few hours later . after she had spent the afternoon looking at pictures of the Daylight and the Holiday Express online she came downstairs and found me again . She started telling me how she had waved at the engineer of the Daylight , his name is Doyle . She told me that she walked and that she had fun . When Haley was small we had a real tree and we had lots of beautiful Hallmark ornaments that we had given each other as gifts since we were married . We had those ball ornaments that will break if they touch each other . The tree was decorated with cute little figures . Haley loves little figures . She likes to hold them . She reached for one and pulled and the entire tree came down on top of her , breaking most of those beautiful delicate ornaments . So now our tree is small , simple and unbreakable . We have an artificial tree that is about five and half feet tall and we decorate it the same every year . I bought three sets of unbreakable ball ornaments that are blue , red , green and purple with gold designs . I bought six golden crosses which are also unbreakable and a set of 12 plastic icicles . That is all we put on the tree besides lights and a garland of sparkly gold . I think it is pretty and the girls can help me decorate it ; I don 't worry about them breaking anything or putting an ornament in a wrong spot . It is easy and simple . It speaks to many compromises I have made over the years . We decorated the tree today . Haley got to help put the ornaments on . I have to guide her hand because she can barely hold on to the ornament let alone find a branch and then leave it on the branch . She put two on with my help and then she was happy to just hand them to me . I like it when she feels like she is helping and she doesn 't get stressed out because she can 't do it herself . Our tree is also quick , I think we decorated it less than thirty minutes . Again , no stress . Then we went in to the bathroom to comb her hair and brush her teeth and she kept talking about Christmas presents . I asked her what she wanted for presents . She said " Green . Red . " " Oh , you are talking about the wrapping paper . What do you want to be in the presents ? " We went downstairs and she headed for the laundry room to see Shadow like she usually does . I got her shoes and her coat out of the closet and went around the corner to wait for her . She followed me around the corner and I looked up to see that she was carrying a box . I was startled . I looked at it . She had gotten out the box of wrapping paper . I told her we didn 't have time to do any wrapping because the bus would be here soon and I put the box away . Then she got mad at me . " Presents ! " she yelled . Oh , joy ! " Haley , we will be able to open presents on Christmas Day , today is the 3rd so we have 22 days to wait . " " 22 days . " Haley had an eye appointment yesterday . She did really well . She doesn 't need a new prescription and her glasses are holding up well so I guess we will go another year with them . There has been an appeal at our church for used glasses so I got out all of Haley 's old glasses . It has been very nostalgic for me . Looking at them reminds me of all of the years that she has worn them . I thought it would be fun to look back at pictures of her in them , the only problem is that I don 't have very many pictures of her wearing her first couple of pairs . This is the first pair of glasses she had . She got them when she was four months old . Notice the straps . We had to strap them to her head . At four months old all she did was roll around and then when she crawled they would have fallen off it they weren 't strapped on . It wasn 't a perfect system however . Also notice that there are two pairs and that they are both broken . I am not sure if there was a design defect or if they were never tested for someone so small . She used to take them off and chew on them . I don 't have any pictures of her in these . This is the next pair of glasses that she had . Notice how the white part of the glasses wrap around the ear . Great idea , in theory . They are also quite chewed up . These were so cute . She did better with them and I really liked the fact that they were metal . They seemed almost indestructible . The rubbery part on the earpiece is chewed up though . I do have a couple pictures of her in these . The next pair lasted a long time . I loved the color on these , and that they are wire frames . I won 't ever get plastic glasses for her again . Then there is the pair that she wears now . She has had them since 2006 . She is pretty good to them . She will put them on all by herself if we forget . I think she is used to them by now . I love the fact that they are blue , they go with her eyes . Haley is walking funny . I mentioned in my post about Thanksgiving weekend that she was walking around with one shoulder held higher than the other , a ' la Quasimodo . It didn 't stop when Grandma and Grandpa left , and it 's freaking me out . I watched her like a hawk yesterday before school and all evening . I 've been coming up behind her and pushing her shoulder down and then I kind of rock both her shoulders up and down . I have been giving her mini - massages . I asked her if her shoulder or her back hurt . Of course she didn 't answer , I don 't know what I was expecting . I spent all day yesterday , as I decorated the house , worrying about her . I was planning to call her doctor . I was planning to call a chiropractor . That 's what I do . I worry . I started watching her again this morning the moment she got out of bed . She was fine . Her shoulders seemed level . I couldn 't quite believe my eyes . I watched her all through breakfast . Then I had a thought . What if it was her bra ? What if she was trying to keep the strap from falling off her shoulder ? She wasn 't doing it when she wasn 't wearing a bra , she was only wearing her pajamas . I watched her walk up the stairs and made a mental note to put the bra on her that has a racer back , I don 't think the straps would bother her in that one . She seemed fine after I got her dressed . She kind of started looking like she was cocking one shoulder up when I was brushing her teeth , but I could have imagined it . I sent her off to school . I have been watching her since she got home and I don 't see it . I asked her Dad if he thought her shoulders looked level to him , he said they did . So I will keep my eyes on her . She is going to wear the racer back bra for a couple of days though . First of all Haley gets stressed out when we get out the Christmas decorations . She likes them . She actually likes them a little too much . She wants them all opened at once and then she wants them put where they are going to go right away . She acts like she is having fun , but after a couple of hours at it she burns out and goes in to melt down mode . I like to avoid that . Secondly I get stressed out when Haley " helps " me ( see above . ) I tend to put things in different places every year . I usually have rearranged the furniture during the year or bought some new things . If you were to look at pictures of past Christmases you would see vast differences from year to year . So Haley wanting me to put things where they go quickly doesn 't work for me . I put things in place and then I move them around , it 's a process . One that I enjoy doing by myself , without stress . I always choose a day that I can devote completely to the task , because I like to take my time . I usually have about seven hours to take down and put away the Fall decorations and then get out , put up and rearrange the Christmas decorations and then put away the empty boxes . I work right up to the last minute and then quickly vacuum and sweep and watch for Haley 's bus . Tonight I went out to get her and as we walked toward the house she said " Ooooh . Christmas . " She had seen the swag on the front door . Then she said " Cute . " when she saw the doormat . As she came in the house there were a series of comments for everything she saw . " Snowman . Santa . Ooooh . Cute . Christmas . Candle . " This year I got a new Nativity scene and I had it set up right on top of the mantle . She went up to it and talked about the donkey and the sheep and the wise men and the angel and so on . She decided it was cute . She went around the entire house looking at everything and commenting on it all . I think she appreciates what I do and it works so much nicer this way . No stress . Grandma and Grandpa were not able to come on Wednesday like they had planned . The power was out at their house and they didn 't want to leave it like that . We knew that ; they had called on their cell phone and let us know . We didn 't tell Haley . Haley had gone to the calendar and pointed at Thanksgiving . She had been counting the days . When Haley counted she would point randomly at the calendar and say " one , two , three , four , five , six , seven . " She said that every time . I would correct her and make her point at each square on the calendar as she counted , at first . When I found out that they were delayed I didn 't correct her . I don 't know if the number really means anything to her . As far as she knew they were coming and that is all she needed to know . They arrived on Thursday a little after noon . We had planned to have lunch with them so we held off lunch a little later than we usually do . We were all hungry , including Grandma and Grandpa . Haley was much too shy to say anything to them and they both got side hugs . She was shy all through lunch and wouldn 't even make eye contact with them . She never really got used to them . At least it didn 't seem like it . In fact , she was so shy that she walked the long way around the house to come in to the kitchen and if they were in the kitchen she walked in kind of a hunchbacked way . Her left shoulder was about two inches higher than her right . She was really starting to concern me . On Friday we asked Grandma and Grandpa if they would watch Haley so that the three of us could go to a movie . While we were gone Grandpa had taken Haley in their car to the tractor store . Unfortunately the tractor store was closed so they ended up getting gas and coming back to the house . That was enough for Haley . When we got home she was so excited to tell us that she went in Grandpa 's car to the tractor store . She was still talking about it on Monday . On Sunday she and her Dad took them train watching and on Sunday night Haley sat between Grandpa and Grandma on the couch while we watched a movie . She was still acting really shy , but she was definitely having fun . This morning when it was time to go to school she gave them both hugs . I told her that they were going home . I don 't think she was listening . When she got off the bus she noticed that the driveway was empty . She walked in to the house very slowly . She looked around the living room . She was very quiet while I helped her off with her coat and her shoes . I asked her about school and I got the standard " Fun . " A few minutes later she started crying . Then she got mad . I gathered that she was mad at me , but I think she just didn 't know how to react . She cried and yelled for a little over an hour . I toyed with the idea of recording her fit for them because while they were here they could hardly hear her . They would have heard her tonight . I wasn 't surprised . I knew it would happen . I kind of hoped it wouldn 't , but I would have been surprised if it didn 't . Today is the day that Americans set aside to remember their many blessings . We honor this day and share it with family . I am thankful everyday , but today I will list a few reasons why . I am thankful that Haley is healthy . Over the years Haley has only been sick a handful of times . She doesn 't have any major medical issues . I was scared when she was born . She didn 't gain weight in her first week of life and we had to feed her with a syringe every two hours . At that time I thought we were in for a lifetime of medical issues . She has issues , but she is healthy and I am thankful . I am thankful that Haley can talk . There was a time when we didn 't think she would ever be able to . She could say words but they were few and far between . The words she used were mainly nouns . I would pray that some day I would be able to have a conversation with her , I just wanted to know what she was thinking . It has happened gradually and she is by no means speaking like other thirteen year olds , but she can talk to us and we do generally know what she means . Take the conversation that I posted yesterday . She can be repetitive and annoying at times , but I know what she is thinking and I know what she wants and I am thankful . I am thankful that Haley and her sister have a great relationship . Can you imagine what it must be like to be the Big Sis to a child like Haley . I know it 's not easy . Haley 's sister has grown up to be a very compassionate and thoughtful young lady . I remember the comments that my friends would make watching them together . She always tries to help Haley when she needs help , she teaches her things , she teases her like a big sister does , they have inside jokes between them , they wrestle , they share music , they crack each other up and they love each other . They occasionally fight like sisters do , not very often , but when it happens it makes me smile because it means she thinks of Haley as her sister and not a breakable object . Haley has a wonderful sister and I am thankful . I am thankful Haley has good taste . OK , I had a hard time with a single sentence on that one , but this is what I mean . Haley likes movies and music that I like . She doesn 't have any patience with shows that I also find to be annoying . For example : We never had to watch Barney . Haley didn 't like those stupid animated dinosaur movies that they made incessantly . Haley chooses to watch movies that I like . She watches certain movies over and over and surprisingly I don 't get tired of them . She listens to music on her iPod and on YouTube that doesn 't drive me crazy . When I listen to my music she sings along , she doesn 't whine for me to change it and I am thankful . I am thankful for everyone who reads this blog . A number of you that are reading this know Haley and love her and want to know more about her and I am very thankful for you . Some of you know me and are very supportive of me being Haley 's mom and I am very thankful for you . There are some of you that read this blog because you have a child like Haley and I hope it helps to read about Haley 's trials and triumphs . I didn 't know anyone else that was going through the same things I was when Haley was little , I would have loved to find people that would write about their experiences . I hope that I can be of help to you , but barring that I hope I can at least give you something to smile about and if I do I am thankful . Haley does not want to listen to reason . She starts talking about going to Grandma and Grandpa 's as soon as she wakes up , before her feet hit the floor . She is constantly trying to get me to get her suitcase out . She wants to pack her DVDs that she has meticulously stacked . She wants me to get the " case " out for her toothbrush and the shampoo and conditioner that are sitting on the bathroom counter . Yesterday I tried to convince her that we were looking forward to a visit from Grandma and Grandpa . That they were coming to our house ( not the other way around ) . I got this idea in my head that if I showed her the route they were going to take it might help . I have no idea why I thought that was a good idea . I think I am losing it . I typed their address and our address into Google maps . I showed her the the blue line that indicated the most likely route that they would take . I pointed to our house on the map and to their house on the map . I clicked on our house and showed her a picture of our house . She thought that was cool , but she wanted to see Grandma and Grandpa 's house . I tried to click on their house to see if there was a photo . There wasn 't . I got her ready for school and sent her out the door . I enjoy the reprieve . I get about seven hours a day of not having to listen to her talk about going to Grandma and Grandpa 's and explaining to her that we are not . She stood at the top of the stairs and ranted . After about five minutes I thought it would have been smart if I had been recording it , you know , for posterity . She went on and on about going to Grandpa 's and crying and then talking about crying . Her teachers would have been amazed . I am sure they have no idea how loud she can actually be when she wants to be heard . Not everything she said was recognizable . It was just a lot of grunting and moaning with the occasional understandable word . " Uh , uh , uh , Grandpa 's house , uh , uh , Heather , uh , uh , uh , cry . . . " Pretty soon her Dad came home . He came in the room where I was and talked to me a few minutes and then went upstairs . By then she had quieted down some . All of a sudden I hear " How would she have gotten a picture of my parents house on the computer ? " I said , " I typed their address in to Google maps this morning ? " My husband 's parents usually call on Thursday nights just before Haley 's bedtime . She likes to listen to them talking on speakerphone . She rarely talks to them , but she really enjoys hearing their voices . I went up to get her ready for bed and saw that there was an aerial view of their house on the computer screen . I said " How did you get that picture ? " My husband said " That is the picture that was on the screen this afternoon . " I told him that I hadn 't seen it before . We just looked at each other . He showed me a small brown mark on the screen . " We think that is Heather . " I love it when Haley makes an effort to get my attention . I wish she would just say " Mom , " but she doesn 't . Well , hardly ever . There was that one time . Last night after I had put her in bed she came down for a snack . She went through the front room and around to the kitchen in what I would consider the " back way " or the " long way . " I guess this is her being sneaky , thinking that she won 't get caught and sent back upstairs . It cracks me up . She has always gone that way - after I have put her in bed . She had gotten her snack and had eaten it and was ready to go back to bed . She won 't just go back to bed by herself . She always wants me to put her back in bed . I was watching a show on the television ; I was laying on the couch with a blanket covering me and I was engrossed in the show . Pretty soon Haley is standing in front of me , in my direct line of sight of the television and leaning over toward me . She whispered " help " and then stood up . I told her she probably would have gotten a response from me if she had just said Mom , but I know that is a lot to ask . This morning we were eating breakfast and I was reading the paper . Haley had let the cat in earlier and he was sitting on the couch . I was engrossed in the paper and I didn 't hear her get up from the table . All of a sudden I hear " Shadow upstairs . " I looked up and Haley was standing at the bottom of the stairs looking at me . I jumped up and said " Thank you " and ran up the stairs to see what kind of mischief my cat was getting into . I keep explaining to her that it is cold outside and that we don 't want the windows open . I have told her that it makes our heater come on too much and that Shadow will get cold . It is not sinking in . My other daughter walked in to the laundry room the other day and said that she had left the window open in there . I have no idea when she opened it . It was really cold in there . When she is taking a bath and the water is filling the tub if I look away she turns the water all the way to cold . I didn 't realize she was doing this for awhile . I always ask her to turn the water off when the tub is full enough so I haven 't actually turned it off for awhile . I thought the water seemed cool and I also thought that maybe our water heater wasn 't keeping up . I usually give her a bath in the evening about the same time that we are running the dishwasher . I saw her turn it down the other day . Well actually she was sitting there shivering and I looked over at the tap and it was turned all the way to the right . I cannot figure out why she would do that . I turned the water on warm to rinse her hair while I was washing it and she said " Better . " I told her not to turn the water down anymore . I don 't know if that is sinking in either . It seems like these are things that she has learned to do so she does them . I don 't know . As I type this I realize they are similar in that it would seem she is too warm , but I really don 't think that is it . The other thing that is not sinking in is that we are not going to Grandma and Grandpa 's . She mentions it everyday . Some days are worse than others . Yesterday the girls didn 't have school because of Veterans Day . That completely messed her up . When she got home on Wednesday she said " School Friday . " I said " Yes , you will have school on Friday , but not tomorrow . " Something about being home made her think we were going to start packing . She has had her toys packed up for awhile now , but she started stacking her videos and wanted me to get the " case " out - the bag that we pack videos in . She just keeps pointing at the stack and saying " Case . " She got to talk to Grandma and Grandpa on the phone last night . I don 't know what was said , but she did come downstairs and say " Gobble . Gobble . Gobble . Grandma . Pie . " So I assume they talked about Thanksgiving . This morning after I got her ready for school she went running in to our bedroom . I followed her to see what was going on and she pointed at her new suitcases and said " Case . " I tried once again to explain that we are not going anywhere . That conversation went on all morning . A little while later she was sitting on the couch watching a show with the cat on her lap and talking about going to Grandma and Grandpa 's . She tries to get me to agree with her . It is a trap . She will say something with an inflection in her voice and if you say something like " Uh , huh . " Bam , she 's got you . I didn 't do that . I told her that she was going to school today and she said " Friday . " I said " Yes , today is Friday and you are going to school today . Tomorrow is Saturday and you will stay home . " She started crying . Huge tears rolled out of her eyes and down her cheeks . I got her a tissue and dried her eyes and blew her nose and left her sitting there . By the time the bus arrived she had composed herself . I don 't know how we are going to make it to Thanksgiving . I asked Haley 's Big Sis to go through her closet and find some clothes that she doesn 't wear anymore because ARC is coming to pick up the clothes I have been collecting . I thought we might as well make it a paying trip for them . I am going to pause now to let you know that we always take our used clothes to the ARC . They support programs for kids like Haley . The items are sold at the Value Village and the money goes to a worthy cause . Anyway . Haley came in to her sister 's room and saw the pile of clothes on the floor . She heard her sister and I talking about the clothes and she just stood there looking at us . I know my daughter . She didn 't have to say anything . She wanted those clothes . I picked up the pile of clothes and she reached out for them . I handed them to her and that was that . She was able to put one of the shirts on by herself and she wore it the rest of the night . This morning after breakfast I told her it was time to get dressed . I didn 't have to tell her twice , she stood right up and headed up the stairs . I started to follow her and I said " That was quick , do you have an outfit in mind ? " and she said " Guitars . Gray . " I knew exactly what she was talking about . There was a gray shirt with guitars on it in that pile from her sister 's room . We got her dressed and she was really excited . I hope she can pay attention in school today . Her Dad and I met with her teacher on Monday night and one of the things we talked about was how much she likes to show off her clothes and discuss what she is wearing . Apparently it is difficult to get her to concentrate on her schoolwork because she wants to talk about her clothes . I have been going through my closet lately . Actually the truth is this : we got a new TV . The new TV needed a new TV stand . I didn 't want to get rid of the piece of beautiful oak furniture that the old TV was on so after many days of thinking about it we moved it upstairs . We moved the dresser that was upstairs downstairs and I had to find new homes for all of the clothes that were in the dresser . I made a big pile of clothes that I don 't wear anymore , for various reasons . As I was putting those clothes in to sacks to donate I was folding a pair of pants and thought that they just might fit Haley . After all , she wore one of my dresses for Halloween and it didn 't need to be hemmed , maybe my pants wouldn 't need to be hemmed either . Haley is getting tall . She passed up both of her Grandmas at the beginning of the year and we have noticed several times recently that she is taller than her Big Sis . Her Big Sis thinks it is her curly hair that makes the difference , but I don 't think so . I wouldn 't be surprised if she passes me up soon . So yesterday morning when I was getting her dressed I tried my pants on her . They fit . They were just a little baggy , but the elastic is really good . That is actually why I was willing to give them up . The elastic was a problem for me , but not for her . They weren 't at all too long . In fact I am sure she will grow out of them lengthwise long before they will " fit " her . Over the years Haley has worn some of her sister 's hand - me - downs but there came a time not to long ago that they were basically the same size . Then there came a time when her Big Sis 's pants were too short and too big around for her at the same time . She still hands down the occasional shirt , but they have very different styles . So now she will get hand - me - downs from me . Weird . Haley 's Big Sis sometimes borrows my tops and jackets and Haley likes to go through my closet and look at my clothes . Soon she will start wanting to wear them . I guess this is what comes with having teenagers . I mentioned the other day that Haley doesn 't really get in to the whole costume thing . She loves the candy , don 't get me wrong , but she could care less about dressing up . She will do it , but it 's not her favorite activity . I wanted to go back and look at the costumes she has worn in the past , but I have a problem . Apparently I have not done a very good job of taking pictures on Halloween . There are several reasons for this . One : She doesn 't like the costume thing so she is usually not the best subject . Two : She really doesn 't like to pose for pictures anyway . Three : She just wants to get out there and get her candy . Four : I 'm a flake . This was Haley 's favorite costume . Ever . She wore this costume for about three or four Halloweens . She finally grew out of it and I had to retire it . She loved this costume because the cute cow on the front would " Moo " if you pushed in his nose . She couldn 't do it , we had to do it for her . It was not easy to do because you had to press really hard to make it work and we didn 't want to press her tummy that hard , so we had to kind of hold the nose away from her tummy and press it . She thought it was hilarious . For years the only thing she equated with Halloween was the cow costume . Back then I don 't think she even cared about the candy . This costume was a no brainer , I 'll admit , but it was appropriate . It was also easy to put in her backpack , this was when she could dress up for Halloween at school . I know , amazing , right ? I was quite proud of this costume . It was a combination of two costumes that my husband and I had worn on a cruise to the Caribbean . I thought she looked great , but she was in a really bad mood . She did not want me to take her picture and she would not stand up . She threw herself on the floor and screamed and cried . Normally I would have given up , but I wanted a picture of her in this costume . So I have about a dozen pictures of her throwing a fit . For posterity . This again was a bit of a cop out on my part , but cute , right ? Maybe it is just because she is so cute , I don 't know . She was in a great mood for this shot too , which helps . When she actually went out Trick - or - Treating she wore a coat and had a cape over it with spider webs on it . The wings , hat and cape were from three different costumes her Big Sis had worn over the years . This was the first year that her Big Sis took her out and I stayed home . It was very hard for me . Big Sis said that Haley would not keep the hat on her head , but she said she had fun . Earlier this year when Haley 's Big Sis and her girlfriends got ready for prom Haley seemed jealous . It seemed like she wanted to join in . We decided that for Halloween she needed to get glammed up . We also decided that it need to involve glitter somehow . We didn 't really have a plan though . Haley loves to go Trick - or - Treating . She loves to get the candy . I think in general she puts up with the costume . Some years more than others . Last year she wasn 't at all thrilled with the costume part . I really haven 't thought about it much since prom , I just knew that it would involve glitter . Saturday night when I went to bed I started to stress because I had no idea what we were going to dress her up as . I decided that I would try to go to sleep and think about it tomorrow . . . So on Sunday at about 3 : 00 PM I went up to my closet to go through old costumes . I moved a few dresses to get back to the costumes and I saw it . The dress that Haley would wear . It was a dress that I had worn to a few events in the past , it wasn 't an expensive dress , it had seen better days . I showed it to Haley and told her that she could be a princess . I showed her the tiara that she could wear . She seemed to like it . I went downstairs to do something and then I came back upstairs and she was wearing it . I thought " Why fight it ? " I decided to go ahead and put on her makeup . Once she was dressed and made up we decided that she was not a princess , she was a Queen . She decided later that she was the Queen from Snow White . I am not sure why . All I know is that she was beautiful . She went out with her Big Sis and her friends . They were gone almost an hour . Then they came back and left her with me and headed out again . Then she got down to business and dumped her haul . We categorized the candy and counted it and did her best to get rid of some of it . Haley has not been sleeping well lately . She has been getting up several times a night . Usually when she does that she comes in to our room and gets me and I put her back in bed . In this last week she has needed her pull - ups changed in the middle of the night several times . Sometimes instead of getting me up she goes into our office and gets on the laptop . Sometimes that wakes me up because she likes to turn the volume up , and I don 't think that she has learned that if she keeps the volume down she would get to play longer . She has also been getting up very early in the morning , before the rest of the family is up . I don 't always know what time she gets up . On Friday she got up early and she found my camera . She documented her morning for me . The first 45 pictures she took were of our cat Shadow at the front door . She likes to let him out in the morning . Shadow is not normally patient enough to sit for such a photo shoot , but he really wanted to go outside so he put up with it . I assumed she let him out after that . Then there is a series of pictures Chelsea , her Schleich horse . Very close pictures . A couple of pictures of her room , even the carpet . Then there is a series of pictures of the computer screen , then some more close up shots of her horses . Haley is developmentally delayed . She is a teenager with an extensive knowledge of trains . She loves animals . She is almost always happy . This blog is about her .