While working at the Gas Company in Detroit MI, after earning my GED and a secretarial certificate as a high school dropout, I decided to attend my local community college.
Like me, Paul
was a rebel. Paul had the charisma to dress up and mingle with high society one night, and then out run a cop on his motorcycle the next.
Paul was a very clean and organized person. His friends called him Felix.
Paul
and I were similar in that we were both raised by single parents. Paul and his
brother were raised by their dad, and my 2 siblings and I were raised by my
mother. He was the oldest and I the youngest.
Paul
had a younger brother named Steve and they
lived with their father. Paul’s father was a big man who surveyed and hauled
yachts with his semi-truck between Florida and Michigan. Paul occasionally assisted his dad by driving
his semi truck. Therefore, Paul knew how to use a gun.
Once Paul asked me out, we spent every day
together for weeks, and eventually lived together for four years at Western
Michigan University.
After 4 years, I graduated with two engineering degrees in
computer and electrical engineering, and Paul graduated from a pre-med
curriculum. He then went on to graduate from Dental School.
One day after we had been dating
for six months, and while I was still working downtown Detroit, Paul’s family
called me at work to tell me that Paul had an accident and was in intensive
care.
The story was that Paul and his
brother Steve had gotten into a fight. Then, when Steve told Paul he
wished he was dead, Paul brought his gun out and told Steve to
shoot him.
...and Steve shot Paul at close
range.
Luckily, the bullet missed all of
Paul’s vital organs and lodged itself near his spine. Miraculously, Paul walked away with no other
injuries but a large scar that ran the full length of his chest. Paul
surviving this accident was a miracle for him, his brother and everyone who cared
about him, which included me.
Paul did not have Steve charged
with anything, which I am glad. They were both kids.
Share Your
Miracles!
I graduated four years later with two
engineering degrees in electrical and computer engineering. Upon graduation, I was voted one
of two outstanding students from the entire engineering college. Less than 10
graduates were women, out of approximately 200 engineering students.
I contribute my success
partially to Paul and our stable relationship during college. Paul was very
generous. He paid for 2/3 of the
utilities, paid for our car and treated me to special dates to keep our spark
alive. Paul also cooked most of the time. My job was to do the dishes and clean.
In the late 70s, the myth was
that a woman was always at a disadvantage when she lived with a man without
marriage. But, I feel that I benefited equally or more than Paul as a result
of our relationship. Thank you Paul.
Upon graduation, while flying back from an interview in
Colorado with Hewlett Packard, I met my first boss Fred on the airplane. My
first employer was Delco Electronics. Delco moved me to Santa Barbara,
California from Michigan
I
remember before the Delco bosses sat next to me on the airplane, one of them
threw their old brief case onto my new brief case my mother had bought me for
graduation. But, luckily, I decided not to say anything, which some might see
as a miracle. I am so glad that I kept my mouth shut. Meeting my first boss Fred on the airplane was a
miracle in my life.
Share Your
Miracles!
