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(Continued from previous page)

the demands of law school were too great to work even part-time.  So we scrounged for money wherever we could.  If it snowed he would try to find jobs shoveling walks.  If it didn't, there was always the shotgun, the only item we owned that could be pawned.

This gun was special because it had come at such a price.  Being a great believer in teaching a son the lessons of life, his father had required him to be the winner of 100 games of Ping-Pong and 100 games of chess in father-son competition.  The reward was to be a fine shotgun but Bud was compelled rather than requested to participate in these games.  He played with an angry fervor and soon had no trouble winning at Ping-Pong but chess took longer.  In the end he did get the gun.  It was a bitter victory though because he felt that it had been won at the cost of what little respect he had for his domineering father.  Whatever the cost in earning it, we were saved more than

once from hunger by the money it brought from the pawn shop so in the end it served a worthwhile purpose.  Besides that, Bud was as great Ping-Pong player and won a little money on that.

That winter was dark, cold and lonely as Bud spent both days and evenings at school for warmth as well as study.  The radio was my company.  I loved to dance and when Bill Hailey's  "Rock Around the Clock" came on I couldn't sit still. That tiny living room became a dance floor and I was the hottest thing on it.  There were good programs on like Fibber McGee and Molly, Jack Benny and some great dramatic theaters.  I could stay comfortably warm for a short time close to the heater but my front side would be roasting and the back side freezing so I would crawl in bed.  I listened and sneered at the smiling Marilyn.

Winter finally turned to spring easing the grip the cold had on us but not the food shortage.  We seemed to be poorest on weekends so Bud had found a pawn shop that was open on Sundays. It was just a temporary solution.  We redeemed the gun next payday.  And the snow turned to balmy breezes - there was no money in that.

Finally we had to swallow our pride and borrow money from his dad.

This was painful at first but eased somewhat when I got a better job during the summer and he found part-time work.  I scraped back the chat in front of the house until I found dirt and planted nasturtiums along the driveway and beside the front door. Bud laughed at me for trying to brighten such a pitiful house. Cold as it had been and humble as it appeared, it had sheltered us through the winter and I was grateful.