Some Random Thoughts-Part 4

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

 Each Monday evening, Fred and I have dinner with a couple of friends, Pam and Richard.  We had worked with Pam when we were both working at the church.

Then we retired from that, and she went on to another position.  I insisted that we should have dinner together one night each week, just to keep up our “social” times.  We have been doing that for many years now.  It’s one of the highlights of our week.

Recently as we were eating and talking, we all began to reminisce about our “early marriage” days.  They were usually filled with some hardship, but looking back on them, they weren’t all that bad.  And filled with lots of fun and love.

I remember telling them about our first apartment in Fort Worth, Texas.  It was part of a six-plex unit, built like a squared-off “U” shape.

The four units on each side were what we called “efficiency” units – essentially three rooms: a kitchen, a bathroom, and one room that was bedroom/living room combination.  Some had a fold-out/sleeper sofa.  Ours had a bed.  It was furnished, sort of.  It had the bed, a small chest-of-drawers, a love seat and one chair.  There was a small space heater in that room.  The kitchen had the stove, refrigerator, table and four chairs.  We had one window in the livingroom/bedroom and the “front” door.  There was a window in the bathroom, and a window and door in the kitchen.

Boy! was I skinny! Shows the front door and window

It was a good thing we had two windows, as the place was NOT air conditioned! You must understand – we had come from dry humidity New Mexico to VERY humid Texas!  And so, one of the first purchases we made was a 20″ window fan. We could screw it into the window frame in the kitchen, so that we could close the window behind it.  But it was so hot and humid, even at night, in Fort Worth, that we would turn the fan on “exhaust”, open the front window, and let the exhaust fan draw the breeze through the bedroom to the back window. It wasn’t perfect, but it worked.

Credit Google Search and Sears

I worked in air conditioned buildings, and Fred went to school in air conditioned buildings.  So it was pretty difficult to come home to no air conditioning and have any kind of comfort. Consequently, when Fred needed to study, we would usually go over to the Seminary library and he would study there. I would take a book and read.

Scarborough Hall, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary

We managed to exist in that environment for the four years we were there.  It certainly made us appreciate any housing we were able to live in that was air conditioned!

I’ve read that the invention of air conditioned houses has been the downfall of people not knowing their neighbors.  I can see how that would happen.  In days-gone-by, in the heat of the evening, people would sit on their front porch and watch the world go by – and their neighbors.  They would wave, and start a conversation.  That just isn’t done much anymore.

But I surely do enjoy my air conditioned house!!

Judy is living in Central Florida with her retired U.S. Air Force husband of 50+ years. Born in Dallas, Texas, she grew up in the Southwestern United States.She met her husband at their church, where he was attending the university in her town. After college and seminary, he entered the Air Force, and their adventures began.They lived in eight of our United States, and spent six years in Europe, where their oldest daughter was born. She was a stay-at-home mom for many years

Tags: Memories of marriage