I was a twenty one year old kid just out of the Navy. I came back home to Denver in December of 1967 with my new bride of less than a month. I had just spent three years at a Naval Air Station in South Texas. My new bride, now my officially my ex-wife for the past twenty five years, and I arrived in Denver to stay with my Dad, his new bride of five months, her two teenage kids, along with my eighteen year old brother. We arrived in Denver in a snow storm with everything we owned in a 51 Chevy. The old car had four bald tires and we had less than one hundred dollars between the two of us.
My goal was to have a job making at least $10,000 a year and to buy a $40,000 house. I was young, happy and energetic. Life at my Dad's house was not working out very well. My new bride and his new bride did not get along. This was his new brides fault not mine!
My Dad was working as a Maintenance Man at an office building in South East Denver. He said he would pay me $1.50 an hour to help him with some electrical work at the building. This was a great opportunity and I was up for the task. After a couple of weeks I asked one night at dinner if I might get paid for all of the hours I had put in. His new bride chimed in; she stated that they would keep the money owed to me for room and board! I understood where she was coming from but now felt like an indentured servant. Being stuck living with them, in what was rapidly becoming a toxic relationship, was not in line with my goals.
The very next day, being a resourceful young lad, I went to a private employment agency looking for a job. They said I would be well suited as an insurance salesman. On their referral and signing a note for $400 dollars for their fee, I went to work for Mutual of New York as a salesman. I was feeling like I had the world by the tail.
I told my wife that I had just landed a great job and we needed to get the hell out of our current living situation. She said she had her life's savings of $125 back home and would ask her Dad to send it to her; which he did. We found a furnished basement apartment for $65 a month. The owners who lived upstairs in this little bungalow agreed to let us pay $32.50 for the first month, if we would paint the apartment; my idea!
We announced to my Dad, his snippy wife and all the children, that we were moving. My Dad and his wife couldn't figure our how we were pulling this off; we did not offer an explanation.
To be an insurance salesman you have to dress professionally. I owned one blue blazer, one pair of grey pants, one oxford cloth white button down collar shirt and one regimental stripped tie. That was my wardrobe. Every Saturday I would take my sales outfit with my one blue coat to the one hour cleaners; to have everything ready for the next week's work.
Having only one outfit didn't seem too strange to me; although the other guys in the office were able to vary their wardrobe. I knew that we were pretty darn poor; I hoped that someday I would own more than just one blue coat.
The insurance sales job lasted about four months. I sold a few policies to some friends and family members.
Once that dried up it was the end of my Mutual of New York career.
I now have many coats; not really sure how many. I have two blue blazers, a light and heavy weight; a classic camel; some with patterns; winter and summer ones. I gave this some thought yesterday: I really don't feel much different than I did forty three years ago! I don't feel poor, but all the coats sure don't make me feel rich. I have to step back and think, what would it have felt like then, to have all the coats I have now?
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