Chapter 34: Our Children
Tara’s first husband and the father of her two children had an affair, so they divorced. She was a single mother for several years, raising Ethan and Peyton Jo, working full time as an LP nurse and going to college to become a registered nurse. She met her current husband, Josh, who is a certified welder. Ethan, recently graduated from high school and wisely joined the Navy. If I had it to do over again, that’s exactly what I’d do. He’s receiving excellent training and education to operate high-tech equipment and if he elects to receive an even higher education when he gets out it’s all free. Both Tracy and Tara are exceptional mothers, and I give all due credit to their mother because that’s how they were raised.
Tracy married Chuck after his graduation from Kent State. He was immediately hired by Pfizer, the pharmaceutical giant, and was given a car, home office and very lucrative salary. After two years he quit, Trace was not pleased. He opened up a hunting and fishing business and the first year they had one million dollars in gross sales. He watched how the contractors built their first home and had one built just like it on the west side of town. Before it was finished, he sold it and netted one hundred thousand.dollars. He took those dollars and purchased a farm, partitioning off fourteen lots. He became his own contractor, building all the homes. These dwellings sold between one hundred fifty and five hundred thousand dollars. This is the lowest per capital income county in the state. Who purchased the properties were retirees from the mills and mines. He’s currently in the fracking industry, which involves extracting oil, natural gas, geothermal energy, or water from deep underground.
Their wedding was at Myrtle Beach in South Carolina. They’d rented a beautiful condominium right on the ocean. The wedding was on the beach, but had contingency plans in case the weather turned sour. I arrived on Friday, the wedding planned for Sunday. This is when I met Chucks friends. Fred owned a construction company and I could immediately tell he was a weight lifter. I mentioned this to Chuck, and he said, “Bob, you haven’t seen anything yet.” Jack strode up the beach and when he arrived, he looked like a mountain. Including Big Jim, I’d never seen such a massive human being. His bench press was 570 lbs. Saturday night we had a bachelor’s party at the condo. After an hour of drinking we decided to go bar hopping, Chuck wisely didn’t go. The three of us ended up at a club that was empty. They were downing shots of whiskey, I’m drinking vodka. The bartender told us of a popular dance club a few blocks over. The place was packed. After an hour, Fred was dancing and this irritated her friend. He shoved Fred, and the friend was literally thrown across the dance floor. He and three others came up to Fred, and Jack walked over. The four men looked at him, their shoulders slumped, and they quickly walked away. We ended up at a pancake house at 2:00. Jack ordered a dozen pancakes and said, “Mr. Hall, if it wasn’t for my brain meds. I’d kill someone.” I believed him. The wedding was scheduled for 1:00 at 11:00 there’s dark storm clouds on the horizon. Tracy was freaking. It down poured and the storm passed by 12:30. I had a decent hangover, Tracy’s on my arm, we’re walking over a dune and I almost fell over in the wet sand. I’m sitting in the first row, and next to me is an empty chair with a rose on it in honor of Mary Jo. Right when Chuck and Tracy kissed, a sunbeam burst through the clouds and lit up the rose. She was with us.
Travis was accepted at Ohio State University as an honor student. After several months, they decided to have a pool party in their dorm on the seventeenth floor. One of his friends was studying to be a structural engineer and determined the structure would support the weight of the pool, which was close to a ton. The first party was a success, so they decided to have a second. This time they also had a slip and slide. The R.A., resident assistant, found out and walked in on seventeen drunk young adults, drinking two kegs of beer. Being they were all honor students, they didn’t get in any trouble. There was an article in the campus newspaper titled, “The pool party in the sky.”
He started a band called Way Yes. Travis was lead singer and guitar player. They produced several albums in vinyl and received an award for being one of the best new bands that year for their unique sound. They had center stage at Comfest on a Saturday night, a huge downtown annual festival in Columbus. They’re now dis-banded because he and Glen, who had been friends since high school, had a falling out. After his first year of straight A’s he said, “Dad, I really don’t know what I want to do for a living and won’t waste your money.” He’s now writing computer code and works out of his home. He and Katie were married several years after they’d graduated from high school. We had the same rose in memory of his mother. They do not have any children. Katie works for her father, who owns a drug rehabilitation clinic. They purchased an old Victorian home, remodeled it and doubled the value.
I’m very proud of our children. The love in which they were raised has turned them into loving, caring, and giving adults. I know they wouldn’t have turned out as well if we didn’t have such a strong faith.
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