Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Returning Broke to Dayton

The two years of graduate school came to an end in June 1971 and I returned to Dayton. Accompanying me were the three wearisome characters who yammered in my continual hallucinations. Once back in Ohio, I decided not to teach again as I felt too exhausted to listen well.
            Grad school had left me broke. I had no money to rent an apartment. Even the bus fare downtown and back was burdensome. So for three weeks I lived with friends while searching for a clerical or sales job. The jobless rate in the United States in 1971 was 4.9%. Surely I could find work—easily.
            Not so.
            From nine to five of the first week, I pounded the pavements, going from one downtown business to another. Most employers immediately said I was overqualified and would never stay with the job. Despite my assurances, none of them had me fill out an application. The interviews I did have led to secretaries calling me to say I hadn’t gotten the job.


            In the second week of my search, I went back to a place where an agreeable employer had interviewed me. He was gracious enough to see me despite the fact that he hadn’t hired me.
            “Mr. Loftus, did I do something in the interview that disqualified me for the job? I’m asking so that in future interviews I’ll do better.”
            “To be honest, Miss Ready, it had nothing to do with your interview. You’re a personable young woman.”
            “Then why didn’t you hire me?”
            “It seems you have a file with the FBI. They’re warning us against hiring you.”
            “How could I have a file? I’ve done nothing illegal.”
            “They said you protested the war and were a troublemaker.”
            “I did protest. But it was peaceful.”
            “I have to tell you that the government doesn’t take kindly to protesting.”
            “But you could still hire me, couldn’t you?”
            “The truth is I don’t want the government to start scrutinizing me. I don’t need an FBI file.”
            During that second week, I asked several other employers who’d turned me down if they, too, had heard from the FBI. They had. They wouldn’t risk hiring me.
            Despite this, I did find work, but only with the help of a good friend.
            In my posting “Deep Commitment” of February 18, I introduced you to Jeanne and Jim, a Dayton couple whose example helped me become part of the protest against the Vietnam War.
            Jeanne now helped me find a job.
            Her friend Char worked at a department-store warehouse beyond town that was looking for employees. We met on Wednesday evening of the third week of my search and she explained the job to me.


            “Would you work for the minimum wage?” Char asked.
            “I just need work. Anything will do right now.”
            Another friend of Jeanne’s had a small attic apartment to rent. On minimum wages, I’d have no discretionary money, but I could manage if I lived frugally. However, I wouldn’t have the money for bus fare to the warehouse and back each day.
            “You can drive with me,” Char said. “Just meet me at Jeanne’s house each morning and I’ll pick you up.”
            “What would you like me to pay you each week?”
            “Nothing. I’d just enjoy having someone to talk to.”
            I wept at such generosity.
            On Thursday of that third week, Jeanne drove me out to the warehouse, and I used Char’s name in applying for a job. The manager said he’d ask her about me. The next day, he called. I had the job. The following Monday I started tagging clothes.
            On Saturday, I’ll tell you about that job and why I got fired.
                                                                        (Continued on Saturday . . . )


PS: If you are entering the give-away for the book "The Sword of Senack," please click here.


Photographs from Wikipedia.

47 comments:

  1. From the convent to the FBI files, therein lies a story of a brave, conscientious, and caring woman. I am looking forward to reading more about her.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dear Inger, . . . thank you for your kind words. There's much more to tell, if only I can organize around themes. That's what I'm going to try to do in April. Peace.

      Delete
  2. If I remember correctly, 1971 was part of J. Edgar Hoover's heyday, when the FBI had a file on everybody, including Bobby Kennedy & Martin Luther King, Jr. It's still hard to believe it spread that far, though.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dear Fran, . . . Yes, I found the whole thing incredible and still do. Peace.

      Delete
  3. what a road you have traveled! I am looking forward to the next installment.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dear Susan, . . . as I read other blogs, like yours, I come to realize that all of us have traveled a different road, with different, but just as difficult, bumps along the way. Peace.

      Delete
  4. Wow...really scary to think about you having an FBI file for something so benign and socially conscious. Also, that old "overqualified"thing is so discouraging. I heard it over and over for more than a year when my writing income stalled in the early 90's and I was looking for work. Even applying for writing jobs was a dead-end -- "But you write books! We all dream of doing that. You'd be bored here!" to "Yeah? So you write books. Big deal. Could you write a decent press release?" It was devastating. Thank goodness you had such wonderful and supportive friends!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dear Kathy, . . . I bet you did hear "overqualified" many times and it must have been so discouraging. As you say, I was so blessed with wonderful and supportive friends. And that continues to be so in my life as I've met many wonderfully supportive people like yourself through blogging. Peace.

      Delete
  5. I have no words that something like peaceful protesting could get the FBI involved. Wow. I guess I shouldn't be surprised- probably still goes on extensively today. I am glad you had good people in your life to help you along.

    You've gotten me hooked- can't wait on the next installment.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dear Shelly, . . . I suspect that many, many people today who have nothing to do with terrorism have FBI files. Probably it's all digitalized now though. Peace.

      Delete
  6. Mercy, really sad to think of what you had to go through as the result of just a peaceful demonstration. I had no idea those policies exhisted. Seems our government wasted a lot of time and money on chasing benign shadows. Like the rest, I'll be back for the rest of the story.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dear Patti, . . . a true waste, but I'm sure that those in government mostly feel it's better to waste time and money than to let a person we now call a "terrorist" get through the safety net. I wonder if that word is now applied to those people who protested Wall Street last fall. The occupiers. Peace.

      Delete
  7. Wow! An FBI file, and they actually discouraged employers from hiring you. I've always been a troublemaker. Maybe I can say I have an FBI file and that's why I can't get a job. Or I can just blame it on 1,000 applicants for every job. It's so wonderful that your friends stood by you.

    Love,
    Janie

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dear Janie, . . . perhaps you do have a file! But not getting a job today, I suspect, has more to do with the economy than with a file! Peace.

      Delete
  8. It is a terrible thing to realize that there really was/is a Big Brother -- it's not something that 'might' happen -- it's something that already 'has' happened. Those days were dark, very dark. I was living in Washington in 1971. In late April or early May -- I can't remember exactly, I had been shopping about two blocks from the White House -- The White House was encircled by buses to 'protect' it from demonstrators. Tear gas had been let off and I could smell it (terrible). A week or ten days later I gave birth to my first child. As ever, I am looking forward to hearing more of your story!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dear Broad, . . . I can't remember if I read about the 1971 incident you share in this comment. Those truly were dark days. And for many today, the days are just as dark. That's the scary thing. Peace.

      Delete
  9. Blimey, what's that about the 'Land Of The Free' again?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dear Friko, . . . "Blimey!!!" sometimes you wonder don't you? Peace.

      Delete
  10. I hear so many reasons why people cannot take minimum wage jobs that I read this surprised that you did. Fired? You ;o?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dear Mary, . . . yes, fired. And I'll tell you why on Saturday. Thank heavens my firing didn't get Char in trouble for recommending me. They just seemed to think she'd had bad judgment in choosing me as a friend. Peace.

      Delete
  11. Good old Nixon and Hoover and their enemies lists. It's like to think things have changed, but now we have the Patriot Act.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dear Arleen, . . . yes, history seems to truly revolve in circles. We forget. And those who forget the past, as the philosopher Santayana once said, are doomed to relive it. Peace.

      Delete
  12. Wow! On the FBi list. Well, you were in good company, at least. But I didn't realize that they kept tabs on such a small time peaceful demonstrator as you...a former nun! Good grief! And to thwart their ability to even get a job! That's absolutely amazing! But then, between the paranoid nut jobs Nixon and Hoover--nothing should surprise me. What a life you've had!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dear Rita, . . . and I bet you might have had a file also given some of the comments you've left about your younger years. Peace.

      Delete
  13. I am glad that something came along to get you out of that cycle. And nothing surprises me about the government any more. This came awfully close, though. You certainly have been on an interesting journey, Dee. I'm glad you are sharing it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dear DJan, . . . I, too, am glad I got out of that cycle of seeing violence. The next few years were spent roaming from one place to another and one job to another. But finally I settled. I wonder just when the FBI got rid of my file. Peace.

      Delete
  14. what wisdom you have gleaned. you have experienced the big brother government. you spoke up for justice and were rewarded with what the fbi does to good people: harass them. keep speaking. i will keep listening, so very proudly.
    :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dear Ed, . . . the truth is that mostly I don't feel as if I've "gleaned" much wisdom. Mostly, I just feel that I lived a life in which I tried to be honest and compassionate. Along the way, I've met some wonderfully creative and supportive people who've shared their wisdom with me. Peace in your own journey.

      Delete
  15. I can't even begin to imagine what that must have felt like.

    I agree with Susan Kane :) You've lived an amazing life.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dear Elisa, . . . as I said to Susan in my response to her comment, we all live amazing lives--just different ones. Peace.

      Delete
  16. My goodness, Dee! I don't think I was really sure that all the "talk" of FBI files really did extend to the ordinary citizen. You've made it clear to me that it indeed was true. How upsetting that had to be for you. I want to know more! Do you know if those files still exist? Shame! So we'll see what comes next in Ms. Ready's colorful tale!! You do unfold quite a story! Debra

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dear Debra, . . . No, I don't know if the file still exists, but I bet they through it away once they realized just how innocuous I am! Peace.

      Delete
  17. What an incredible past you have had, Dee. It is hard to imagine the things you have experienced all because you cared to make a difference.
    Hugs,
    Pam

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dear Pam, . . . don't you think really that we all want to make a difference? We just go about it different ways, but we long to do something that gives meaning to our lives. Or so I think. Peace.

      Delete
  18. note, No gators just a simple log :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dear Pam, . . . just a simple log and yet your photography draws me to wonder always about the beauty and the wonder you share with us on your blog. Peace.

      Delete
  19. That was such a hard time for everyone. I can't believe they created a "file" on you.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dear Melynda, . . . Hard for me to believe too! Peace.

      Delete
  20. Life can be so unfair. How hopeless you must have felt. Yet the blessed part were beautiful caring friends.. Looking forward to the rest of the story.xx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dear Crystal, . . . yes, I was and am truly blessed with friends. Peace.

      Delete
  21. Wow, I am surprised about the FBI file! I remember some people talking about a person here in Vancouver in about 1970 or 71, who worked for the FBI. I always thought it was a rumor or exaggeration. We were cautioned to be very careful around him about what we said and did. Now I wonder if it was true!

    Amazing life you've lived, Dee!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dear Sandi, . . . the FBI file surprised me also. I bet, Sandi, that you've done some pretty amazing things in your life--like giving birth to two wonderful daughters and raising them to be so responsible and giving. Peace.

      Delete
  22. Somehow I missed this post, Dee, but here I am to weigh in.

    I'm impressed that you had to courage to ask why you hadn't been hired, and that the employer was so honest in his answer. We tend to forget the turmoil of the late sixties and seventies, but they were real and J. Edgar Hoover was such a presence in our lives, little did we know it. It reminds me of the previous era of McCarthyism. Sadly, it reminds me of some things today.

    I'll be back later today to see you next episode, Dee.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dear Penny, . . . I'm working on the Saturday posting right now. It's going slow because I want to do justice to the women with whom I worked in that warehouse.

      And yes, the story does "sadly" remind me also of some things today.

      Peace.

      Delete
  23. That's outrageous, Dee, but also only too believable. I'd think of it as a badge of honour in the circumstances, but it's dreadful that peaceful protest later made it so difficult for you to find an ordinary job.

    ReplyDelete
  24. I'm late, but I am catching up on missed posts at a run. And I am so angry that a peaceful protest could jeopardise future employment. I am woman, hear me growl. Quietly.

    ReplyDelete
  25. Ah yes that FBI is something else. Just us typing about it in googleland will get us attention since keywords do get watched. Freedom of expression in a democracy has a take of its own now that all is now carefully monitored.

    ReplyDelete