Dear Kathleen.

You asked me recently if I would tell you about some of the things I did when I was young so here it goes. It was1970 and I just turned nineteen years old. I was working as a dental assistant. The dentist’s office was in the dentist’s house. I started working there part-time while I was a senior in high school. And after I graduated I worked five and a half days a week. I was off on Wednesday afternoons since that was the traditional day the Dr. Woz and all other dentists golfed.

He trained me and I learned how to develop x-rays, be a chairside assistant, sterilize the instruments and set up the room for the patients. I also answered the phone and made appointments, typed out the bills, and called all the patients the day before their appointments to remind them. I was really busy the whole time I was there and the day just flew by.

I realized that I enjoyed being busy and that I was highly organized. So I decided to try and get a part-time job at a florist shop on my day off from the dentist. I didn’t have any experience working with flowers but I always considered myself to be highly creative. I happen to know the florist that owned a shop called Fabulous Flowers. The owner’s name was Liza. She told me that she would give me a chance and see if I could learn by observing her create flower arrangements. And then I could start off doing easy arrangements like centerpieces for tables. Meanwhile, I could answer the phone and take orders.

On my first day, I was alone at the shop for a short time as Liza was out making a delivery. She called me to tell me that she was going to be delayed and was expecting a flower delivery. She ask me to unpack the flowers when they arrived and put them in the refrigerator.

About a half-hour later a delivery truck pulls up in front of the shop. The delivery guy brings a large box to the door and waves at me from outside the door. I two-timed it over and open the door for him since his hands were full.

He said, “oh, you must be new. Is Liza around?“

“Not right now. But she told me to accept the package and put the flowers in the frig.”

“Alright then, can you sign your John or should I say, Jill Hancock here? And I’ll be on my way.” So, I signed it and he was out the door in a flash. I didn’t even get a chance to ask his name or say goodbye. Oh, well next time.

I open the box and there was a gorgeous bunch of long-stemmed red roses in it. I was about to start taking them out when I noticed something was moving inside the box. I couldn’t imagine what it was. I carefully moved one rose at a time out of the box when I heard the bell on the door chime. I looked over at the door. It was Liza.

I said, ” Hi, Liza.” And then all of a sudden I felt something moving across my hand. It was the biggest spider I had ever seen, and it had fangs. That’s right fangs. I just totally freaked out and I jerked my hand above my head and the spider flew across the room and hit Liza square in the face. And then we were both screaming. Lisa knocked the spider off her face onto the floor and then she slammed her foot down on the spider and squished it with her size nine and a half clod hoppers. And that my friends was the end of that spider. He traveled all the way from South America only to be smashed into oblivion by a terrified florist.

But I have to admit it was an exciting beginning to a part-time job. I was making a dollar sixty an hour and Liza told me she could use me all day so at a dollar sixty an hour for eight hours. I was making an additional twelve dollars and eighty cents. Plus the ten hours a day for five days a week at the dentist I was making an unbelievable eighty dollars a week. I felt like I was rich beyond my wildest dreams. I started to make plans on what I would do with my newfound riches. The only money I ever made before was for babysitting my nieces and nephews.

During the first week I worked for Dr. Woz I was in the office talking to someone on the phone and I heard a buzzing noise. I had no idea what it was so I just ignored it. The buzzing went on and on. And I thought huh I wonder what that is all about. I started taking patients’ files out for the next day. All of a sudden I heard Dr. Woz say, “Sara didn’t you hear me buzzing?”

“Well, I heard a buzzing noise but I didn’t know it meant anything let alone that you were trying to get my attention.”

“What did you think it meant?”

“I don’t have a clue. What does it mean?”

“It means I need you to come in the room and assist me.”

I look at him and said, “alright but next time you probably should tell me about it first because my father didn’t raise any mind readers.”

He stares at me and I stare back at him. Then he laughs, and says, “I guess you’re right. I’ll keep that in mind.” I was only a kid, but I wasn’t a dummy. And I wasn’t going to let anyone blame me for something that was their fault.

The first few months I worked there I took the bus to and from work. And then my father said he was going to let me use his old car since he was going to get a different one. I had  just recently gotten my driver’s license. And I wasn’t an experienced driver. But the next thing I knew I was driving back and forth to my job. I was a little scared at first but I soon got used to it. The car my father gave me to drive was old. It had seen better days. It was a hoopty, in fact, it used to be a taxi. So it had a whole lot of miles on it.

But that car was my ticket to an independent life. I realized that I could come and go as I wanted. It meant I didn’t have to take the bus everywhere or ride my bike. I could go to any old place I wanted to go and no one could stop me. Once I turned eighteen my friends and I started going down the shore on the weekends and going to nightclubs on Friday nights and dancing. We had a ball. There was no keeping us down on the farm anymore. Not that we lived on a farm. It meant we were free to go anywhere we wanted to go. Gas was only about thirty-six cents a gallon back then. And we would all chip in and oh boy, those were the days. We had some fun.

One Wednesday when Dr. Woz was out golfing or at least I thought he was out golfing. I went into their house to let Mrs. Woz know that I was leaving for the day. So, I called out, “Mrs. Woz, Mrs. Woz I’m leaving now.” But she didn’t answer. And then all of a sudden I saw Dr. Woz standing at the top of the steps. And he was wearing nothing but a tiny pair of jockey shorts. I stood there momentarily shocked. And then I ran out of the house and left.

When I got home I told my mother that I couldn’t go back there again. She kept asking me, “why what happened?” But I just couldn’t bring myself to tell her. I told my mother to call Dr. Woz and tell him I wasn’t coming back. My mother said, “you have to tell him yourself.”

The next day I called Dr. Woz’s office and I said, “I’m not coming back.” And he said, “Sara, it’s alright. I didn’t know you were downstairs in the living room or I wouldn’t have come out at the top of the steps without my pants on. Please come back. Everything will be alright. I can’t run the office without you. You are doing a great job.”

So I said, “OK, I’ll come back tomorrow.” For the first couple of days, I couldn’t look him in the face. But after a while, I got over it. But I never forgot to this day him standing at the top of his steps in his tiny jockeys and how hairy he was from his neck to his ankles. I wondered if all men were as hairy as monkeys for a long time.

I worked for Dr. Woz for quite a few years until I decided it was time for a change. My father was upset that I quit working at the dentist since he thought it was a great job. And it was a great job. I enjoyed it. But I hardly had any free time.

So I started looking for another job. And I finally found one in another town not far from Dr. Woz’s office. It was an insurance company owned by two brothers, Harry and Evie. It was called Ellis Insurance. They sold high-risk auto insurance. This means that their customers had a tendency to be involved in high-speed accidents or had a great many accidents or tickets and lived in low-end neighborhoods and had difficulty getting insurance somewhere else.

I liked working there because there were two other young women there about my age. And it was the first time that I didn’t work alone all the time. The two men that owned the agency did not have a great work ethic. Especially Harry and he often took us all out to breakfast or lunch almost every day. They used to joke around all the time so it was a fun environment. The pay was better too and I didn’t have to work in the evenings anymore or Saturdays. I also got an increase in pay. So, it was a win-win situation.

I worked there for several years until I started dating someone seriously. And then I decided to move to Florida. And that started a whole new chapter in my life I’ll have to tell you about that when you next time I write. So, what have you been up to?

Best wishes, TTYL, Love, Sara

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