Grad Tidings

June 10th was the 41st anniversary of the day I graduated from Normandy High School.

I remember riding a yellow school bus with my fellow graduates to Blossom Music Center, which is in the back of beyond. It was a long ride, but I was pretty sure it was still in Ohio. I vaguely recall thinking about my future. My career path at that point was aimed toward being a secretary. My lifelong objective had been to slog my way through school and graduate so I could get on with life. Well, there I was, on the bus, ready to do just that. With little clue as to the "what's next?"

Once we got to Blossom, we went through the rehearsal. It was hot and boring. My parents arrived later, and at some point, I changed into my dress. And yes, I wore platform shoes for the occasion. They were white and had criss-cross straps, and wasn't I the little fashion maven?

Clumping my way across the stage, I shook hands with someone, probably the school principal, who told me to smile. I wanted to tell him to bite my ass. But I needed to graduate without fanfare, so I kept it to myself, ignored the camera and accepted my diploma as the shutter clicked.

The rest is a blur. My parents gave me a watch, which I had picked out at Kogler Jewelry & Appliance store, an all-purpose emporium that offered shoppers a little bit of everything. The bracelet watch I chose was a slim model with a box clasp, and the case was tagged with a tiny diamond. My celebration also involved a cake that my mom baked. But parties weren't a thing, at least in our house. So the event came and went without much of a blip on the radar.

My mother ensured that sunbathing my summer away was not going to be an option, so I started reading through the want ads for secretarial positions. I don't remember going to a lot of different interviews before I was hired at USF&G (United States Fidelity & Guarantee), an insurance company in downtown Cleveland. I took the bus every day and got off at 30th and Euclid. The offices hadn't been redecorated since the 1950's, and sported linoleum floors and old metal desks that were built like tanks. The building had a musty air about it. But there was a decent lunchroom for breaks and the midday meal, which I brought with me a brown paper bag, as there weren't any fast food places nearby.

My job was to operate a dictaphone machine and transcribe recorded conversations between the persons who had been in an accident and the claims adjuster. Both parties involved in the accident were interviewed. Then the adjuster had to determine who was telling the truth. It was really pretty interesting. As I typed, I'd take in not just the words but the tone of the speaker and tried to decide, if I was the adjuster, whom I would believe.

It was a good first out-of-school job, but by the end of the summer, I was getting restless and a little bored. And in the fall, my friend, Judy, offered me a job at the place where she worked.

Looking back, it's hard to believe I had no plan at all. I just sort of drifted into things. These days, we expect our children to know what they want to do with their lives. Who they want to be. And how they're going to get there. I suppose if I had been that way, I wouldn't have ended up where I am. There are days when I wonder where I would have been, if I hadn't been open to jumping onto whatever train was passing by.

But, on the whole, I think I'm okay with how it all worked out.

Choo-choo!