My first home was in Teaneck, New Jersey, where my father was pastor at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church. We lived in Teaneck until I was a few months past 2 years of age, when we moved to Elkins Park, PA. Suzanne lived next door, and she was my first friend. I remember the joy we had playing in the back yard, and I remember playing in the box with her. As you can see in the picture, I was very fond of Suzanne. One day, she came over to say good-bye. I didn’t understand that she was moving away forever. A few days later, I asked my mother, “where is Suzanne?” She replied that Suzanne had moved away. I was never to see her again. I was heartbroken. To this day, I wish I’d said a better good-bye. She knew she was leaving for good and I didn’t.
Perhaps in an effort to console me, my mother, who was a fine artist, created the painting below. I never realized the connection, as my mother created many portraits. It was not until later in my life I came to realize she had painted this picture of Suzanne, perhaps taken from the photograph above.
I remember reaching up to play the piano keys when I was around 2 years old. My mother said, “she’s going to become a musician.” Under her tutelage, I learned to read music before I learned to read, when I was 4. Piano lessons followed, and I recall arduously playing sonatas and sonatinas while my friend up the street was playing jazzy arpeggios and more interesting tunes. When I was 12 I begged to quit, and soon took up playing guitar; a Sears Silvertone that warped so badly my calluses were thick and resilient. I could play for hours.
Maybe that contributed to the ease with which I learned to “touch type.” My dad, who was an author and magazine editor, used to type at nights after work on his manual typewriter, and I managed to pick up the rudiments of that skill by practicing during his off hours. In high school, a short course in typing proved me to be the fastest typist in the class, and I clocked in at 72 wpm. The skill became useful when I managed to work my way through college at East Stroudsburg, Wagner, and, finally, Temple University by picking up temp jobs doing office work and typing. I took a year off between colleges and worked for Publicker Industries in Philadelphia in the accouting department, reconciling bank accounts. I graduated from Temple with a BA in Liberal Arts/Sociology in January, 1972.
After graduation, I took a summer job as a tennis teacher for the Philadelphia Department of Recreation. Then I got a job as a caseworker for the Department of Public Assistance in Philadelphia. Starting a family became my unexpected lifestyle, and in the following decade I raised 4 children. My first job back in the workforce was as a Sales Rep for Charles Levy Publishing Co. from Chicago. Hauling cartons of books for merchandising was put on hold when my 5th, “the baby,” came along. Then, with my skill in typing and knowledge absorbed from the medical textbooks we had around the house, I managed to get a job in the Medical Staff Office at a local hospital. There, I was able to get a little experience transcribing autopsy reports when a kind associate allowed me to sit in for her while she was at lunch.
Back when I was a kid, I never would have thought that medical transcription would become my occupational mainstay.
