CHAPTER SIX - LIVING THE DREAM

 During this time Debbie's cousin's husband Mike worked as a bread salesman at Bunny Bread in Nashville. He put in a good word for me because of my past bakery experience and his supervisor wanted me to come in that day to complete the necessary paperwork. I was ecstatic because a bread salesman job was good money and meant great benefits. It was very hard work and had long hours but that didn't matter to me. I wasn't scared of hard work. Officially I was still in the Army Reserve but I hadn't joined a local Reserve unit because I wanted to rejoin my old Air National Guard unit. I like to level with people from the start so I told him that I was still on the rolls of the Army Reserve which was a big mistake. The man's whole attitude toward me changed instantaneously. Within seconds I realized that I had lost all chance of getting the job because I was in the Reserves. His attitude went from your hired to don't call us we'll call you, just like that. I told him that if he would just hire me I would get out of the reserves. I would have easily traded my military part time job for a good full time job but nothing I said would change his mind.

 The law was on my side here and I could have forced him to hire me if I had filed a complaint with the Federal government. It would have been one of those times when you win the battle but lose the war, however. I feel certain that he would have found some reason to fire me later on. In retrospect I am glad that he didn't hire me because staying in the reserves was one of the best decisions I have ever made in my life. The monthly pension I receive is nice but the Tri-Care for Life health insurance that Debbie and I have is worth it's weight in gold. On most everything it pays 100%. Just before I left Lee Refrigeration Mike called again to say that another bread route had come open. I thought I would give it another shot. Hopefully, the guy had forgotten who I was. At first I thought I was home free, because he didn't act like he remembered me. Again, sounded excited to be getting me and told me to come down that day and fill out the papers. That is until he asked me my name. It was like a light bulb had popped on in his head and again his voice turned cold and I lost all chance of getting the job. I was very disappointed because I really wanted that job.

  On one cold and rainy day our neighbors were kind enough to loan us their car so I wouldn't have to walk to work in the rain. The only bad thing was that the car had no seat belts. After Debbie had dropped me off she was driving down Florence road toward Old Nashville highway. As she was approaching Florence Baptist church, a car in the oncoming lane hydroplaned and hit her head on. She said that when she woke up her feet were hanging out of the passenger side door and paramedics were talking to her. She was taken by ambulance to Rutherford County hospital in Murfreesboro. Her neck had been broken but it wasn't discovered until twenty years later. My boss at Lee told me that Debbie had been in a wreck and he took me to use a phone. 

 By the time I was able to get hold of her she was already at home. She made it sound like the wreck wasn't that bad and that she was okay. Because of this I decided not to come home. When I got home I was shocked to see how bad that she had really been hurt. Her head was swollen to twice it's size and the next morning she had two black eyes and looked like she had been in the ring with Rocky Balboa. By the grace of God Melanie was not in the car with her because she would have probably been killed or very seriously injured. Normally, Melanie would have been with her but the other kids were home that morning and watched her while Debbie took me to work. Not long after this my neighbor Shirley, from across the street, got me a job at Cumberland-Swan in Smyrna. Things were finally starting to look brighter. There were strong signs that the economy had turned a corner. Cumberland-Swan was a job, that at least on the surface, seemed more to my liking.