Chapter 36

I jumped into January before I told you that on December 21st  I collected my $50.00 for staying sober for 6 months!!  It was quite an accomplishment, as they tell you in AA not to make any drastic changes in the first year.  HUH???  As I collected the $50.00 another Paramedic said she’d bet me $50.00 I couldn’t go another 6 months!!  HAHAHAHA the fool wants to part with her money, that’s for sure!!
 
My life was full.  I was working three jobs and I dedicated my spare time to the volunteer Fire Department.  I was getting pretty much full time work with the transit and a guarantee 24 hour shift a week on the ambulance so I happily decided to quit the bar business.  That was a tough decision as I have worked restaurants for 20 years!!  I kept my bar setup for private parties, but no longer working the bars!!  It was difficult to pour drinks and put people on the road then go answer my medical pages for drunk driving accidents.  It just didn’t make sense to me!!
The medical calls were very dramatic.  I responded to many different calls, heart attacks, aortic aneurisms, suicides, SIDS, difficulty breathing, choking, auto accidents, assaults, gunshots, overdoses, anxiety attacks.  I had never seen a dead person before this.  In fact I was afraid every time I saw the lights of an ambulance go by.  Now I am up to my elbows in body parts and blood.  I still have a weak stomach when it comes to smells though.  I mean there is nothing like going to a call of a “possible”.  You go to the door and open it and get hit in the face of dead body smell!!   Of course the cops beat you to the scene and step back and let you go in because they don’t want to get their hands dirty. 
Once about an hour before going to work on the Transit I responded to a CPR in progress call.  I was the first one on the scene and took over the CPR and helped the Paramedics after they arrived on the scene.  I got to work just in time to take the bus out.  It was weird jumping from one job to another in a flash.  I kinda felt like Superman.  Jump into a phone booth and change clothes and go save a life (or not) then change back into civilian clothes and go drive a bus.  I couldn’t talk about the calls I went on to the bus drivers because they would think I was being a braggart or something.  I’d just be all pumped up with my adrenaline and wanting to talk about the call.  After driving a bus for eight hours I would be all tense and not able to drink, so I’d go to the track by the school and start walking that.  It is ¼ mile around, so I would aim for a mile, then 2 miles then 3.  I realized I felt great after walking.  It is called a runner’s high.  I would look forward to getting off work and getting my “high”. 
In February I decided I wanted a divorce so I bought the yellow “Do it yourself Divorce” book.  It was $12.95.  I filled in the appropriate blanks and called Larry.  He said if I wanted to see him that he would be down at the bar.  So I got the book and went to the bar.  I asked if we could talk in private and he said anything I said I could say in front of everyone.  So I told him I got the papers and wanted a divorce.  He said he would get a lawyer.  I said “Why?  I filled out the papers, and all you have to do is pay for the filing fee”.  He was flabbergasted.  I mean he has gone through three other divorces, he should know what to do.  I think he thought I was going to fight him for something.  There was nothing to fight for. I wanted out!  So he paid the $79.00 filing fee and May we were divorced. 
I wanted to buy a place but everything was too expensive, so I went to a place that sells mobile homes and bought a brand new double wide for $22,000.00.  I had no money, so they said they would buy back the wheels, then all I needed was $1,000.00 cash down payment.  I applied for and got two visa cards and used those for the down payment.  I also traded my car in on a new 1987 small dodge pickup.  The divorce wasn’t final yet, so I had to put everything in my married name.   When the divorce was final I changed my name back to my maiden name.  The divorce was completely stress free, but changing my name was another thing!!  I had to re-finance my home and car, and close out (with permission from my ex-husband) my checking account. Everybody acted like I was a criminal or something because I didn’t want to keep my ex-husband’s name!! ARRGGGHHH!!!
 
Tomorrow,  the new found freedom!!