The Jersey Shore

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I was discharged from the US Army on October 4, 1971. It was a day that I had long waited for. I journeyed back to Staten Island with my new wife and stayed with my parents. I got my old job back at Home Insurance in lower Manhattan. Before I knew it I was riding the bus and the ferry to work again. It was comfortable but temporary. I hoped for something better.

Then I got a letter from the USO asking me to enter their job search forum. Before I knew it I was offered an invitation to interview with AT&T. I got a job with them working in Newark, NJ as a technician on their network. The photo of me on the left first appeared in an AT&T publication. Before I knew it I had bought my first house, at age 22, on the Jersey Shore.

That first year on the Jersey Shore was a mixture of heartbreak, long commutes and the joy of new beginnings. In the Spring my wife Ellen went blind. I joined a carpool and was commuting over an hour to Newark. Yet there was something magical about living so close to the Atlantic. When I was not working on our new house we were spending time with my sister who lived just a few miles from us. We met new friends and spent time at the beach with them.

We lived on the Jersey Shore for three years. I have so many great memories of our time there. Also have painful memories dealing with my wife's blindness. Trips to an eye hospital in Philadelphia to try experimental laser surgeries on Ellen's eyes. Things got really rough in November 1974 when Ellen's eyes hemorrhaged once again. Things got dark for us in many ways. In December I learned about a job opportunity in Houston, Texas. I started there in February 1975.

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... a place that I have been to ... part of the A to Z series.