Joe and I honeymooned at a resort in the mountains in upstate New York. There was some nervousness and tension as neither Joe, nor I had any experience with intimate relationships. We apparently managed just fine.
For outdoor activities on our honeymoon, Joe was thrilled about riding an old single speed bicycle at full speed down a hill. I sat terrified at the top of the hill, but Joe convinced me to “just let go!”. Down I went, holding on for dear life and trying to avoid going over the fence on the side of the road. The old bike had brakes, but you had to pedal backwards to apply them. Not something I wanted to do while going so fast. It was a crazy, crazy experience.
The Honeymoon is Over
Honeymoon over, Joe went back to his army station, and I returned to finish out the semester at my teaching job in Norwichtown, a neighborhood in Norwich. Every now and then, I could get to New London to spend a weekend with Joe on base.
After finishing out the year teaching, I moved to live with Joe who had been transferred to the base in Indiantown Gap, PA. The war had wound down and his skills as a radar repairman in New London were no longer needed.
We first lived in a Mennonite family’s home in Lebanon, about 15 miles from the base. We installed ourselves in their spare room and were allowed kitchen privileges. We didn’t interact with the family much. We were busy working during the week and wanted time to ourselves on the weekends. We lived there for about 6 months and then moved to a little apartment not far from the house. We didn’t have suitcases, so we carried bundles of clothes in our arms walking down the street from the house to our apartment. We were quite a sight and everyone up and down the street was staring at us as we marched by, arms full of clothes.
Joe drove us to the base everyday where we both worked. He would drop me off at one end of the base and then continue to the other end of the post where he worked. I worked in the reception department as a clerk typist, typing out enlistment papers. I was very much in demand by the brass as they discovered how good a typist I was. Joe worked in the separation department where he processed paperwork for men who were leaving the service.
One time, Joe and I won a waltz contest. Yes, you read that correctly. 30 or so couples competed. Judges would walk around and tap a couple on the shoulders to let them know they were eliminated and had to sit down. Joe and I were the last couple standing. (It wasn’t anything like that old movie “They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?”)
The apartment in Lebanon was the first place we had together where the entire space was ours. I tried to adapt to married life quickly. Learning to be with someone on a constant basis and learning how to live with someone in close quarters was challenging. I had to be on tap, able to discuss things all the time. A learning experience par excellence!
