How I Met the Love of My Life-Part 5

A Slice of Life

Bill Lites

On the following Tuesday morning, I headed back to the ship and DiVoran began looking thru the “Want Ads” for a job.  Her first interview was for a receptionist position with a local funeral home.  They liked her, but told her they couldn’t hire her because she was too young, too cute, and too cheerful.  That didn’t bother DiVoran at all!  After several phone calls and interviews, she finally found a job as a waitress in the San Diego area, where she could start right-a-way.  DiVoran says she realized that the waitress job was just the kind of job her parents were trying to protect her from, by encouraging her to finish her education.  However, she knew she would much rather be doing that, and being with her Bill, than she would be languishing away in Albuquerque without him.

I got permission to spend the nights “on the beach” as long as I was back on the ship in time for roll-call each morning.  DiVoran rode the bus to and from work at the restaurant, and when I didn’t have “the duty” on the ship, we would have the weekends free. But, going places was not a lot of fun for DiVoran at first because the car I owned, at the time, was a 1932 Ford five-window coupe.  I had bought the “Hot Rod” (A Bucket List Item) from a guy who had stripped it down to use for drag-racing. The interior had been completely gutted, with only a plywood seat bolted to the frame for the driver, and plywood sheeting for all the rest of the car’s interior flooring (no seat for a passenger). I had started restoring the car with the engine (of course) and had not bothered to do anything about the interior until now, because nobody ever rode with me.  DiVoran had to sit on the hard plywood and hang on to the window frame, to keep from sliding under the dash during turns.  To say she was not happy with that arrangement would be an understatement.

I finally found a guy on my ship that wanted that Hot Rod real bad.  I traded it to him for a really nice 1950 Mercury four-door sedan, plus, he gave me $300 dollars in cash (what I had originally had paid for the Hot Rod).  DiVoran was thrilled, and it was a great deal for us.  The engine ran good, it was quiet, and it rode so much smoother than the Hot Rod.  That was really great, because now we could both ride in comfort where ever we went.  That was the day I said goodbye to my “Dream Car.”  But, I have to say, that Mercury was one of the best cars I ever owned, and it did well by us for a long time.

——To Be Continued—–

Bill is a retired Mechanical engineer living with his wonderful artist/writer wife, DiVoran, of 63 years in Titusville, Florida. He was born and raised in the Southwest, did a tour of duty with the U.S. Navy, attended Northrop University in Southern California and ended up working on America’s Manned Space Program for 35 years. He currently is retired and spends most of his time building and flying R/C model airplanes, traveling, writing blogs about his travels for Word Press and supporting his wife’s hobbies with framing, editing and marketing.  He also volunteers with a local church Car Care Ministry and as a tour guide at the Valiant Air Command Warbird Museum there in Titusville.  Bill has two wonderful children, two outstanding grandchildren, and a loving sister and her husband, all of whom also live in Central Florida, so he and DiVoran are rewarded by having family close to spend lots of quality time with.

One of Bill’s favorite Scriptures is:  John 10:10

Tags: A love story, Marriage memories