When It Raines It Pours

Anxiety and apprehension engrossed Glenny’s thoughts those final days of school.  It was late May of 1950; graduation day was much closer than she had realized.  Her mind wandered thinking about the future.  She was ready to leave her home in the small town of Paynesville Minnesota which she had spent her childhood years.  Paynesville was a farming town with a population of about one hundred and fifty people, mostly of German descent.  Most of the houses were built in the early nineteen hundreds.  They all had very large yards with gardens in most.  There were no sidewalks with the exception of downtown.  Downtown consisted of three blocks of stores and one stoplight.  The local gathering place was the diner, which was across the street from the police station.  The big business in town was the ice cream factory where Glenny’s father worked.  Everybody knew each other’s names and business; there were no secrets in the small town of Paynesville.  The local residents speculated on how many kids would remain in town after graduation.  Glenny had packed her suitcase and placed it neatly under her bed in anticipation of the next day.  Before long she would embark on a journey to the big city of Minneapolis Minnesota and a whole new life ahead of her.

She was daydreaming in her room as she put on her hat and gown.  Her parents went ahead to the school as she prepared for one of the biggest days of her life.  She finished getting ready and headed towards the school, which was around a mile away.  As she walked she reflected on her childhood and the life she was leaving.  Would she miss her home?  Would she miss her mother?  Will she be okay in that great big city?  What kind of people live in that city and how would they treat strangers?  Would they help or antagonize a newcomer to the city?  In a few hours she would know and be on her own.  Excitement filled the lunchroom where all her classmates and she were assembled waiting for their graduation ceremony to begin.  They heard the band strike up “Pomp and Circumstances”, her eyes became misty, and she started to tremble.  It really was time; she would be leaving behind all the comforts of home and the father and mother who had always taken care of her every need.  She was no longer a child, she pondered what kind of an adult she would be.  What would become of her life?  What kind of an adult would she be?  She had seen life at it’s worse during the years of the great depression.  The economy had bounced back and she knew what one needed to do to survive but she wanted to live.

She said her good-byes to her special friends from school and glanced behind her as she left with her diploma in hand.  Walking home she imaged all the realities of being an adult and passed through the many scenarios’ that may come to be.  The next morning she took a final look around her room, gathered her suitcase from under her bed, and went downstairs for breakfast for the last time as a child.  She could see a melancholy look in her parent’s eyes.  She could not understand why they thought she was not old enough to take care of herself.  After all she was seventeen and she was well versed in life, so she thought.

She left Paynesville with her sister and brother-in-law who had come for her graduation.  As they started up the small hill by the old oak tree she glanced back at her mother, she saw a look of bewilderment on her face.  The ninety-mile drive to Minneapolis passed fast as thoughts of her new life in the big city raced through her mind.  When they arrived in Minneapolis the tall buildings seemed to look down at her like a mouse in a maze.  There were so many things to do and so little time to do them in.  She needed to find a job and a place to live.  The thirty dollars she received for graduation seemed to her like a fortune.  She would be able to live like a queen.  She never even realized that room rent and food would make it look like nothing in less than a week.

Glenny was very lucky, the first job that she applied for she got.  It was at Dinky Town Diner working the cosmetic counter.  It was called Dinky Town because it was just off campus from the University of Minnesota and there were stores of all kinds just like it was a small town all to itself.  She was surrounded by many young people just starting life as she was.  She remembered seeing a sign “Rooms for Rent” a few blocks from the Diner.  After she received her work instructions and working for a few hours, she set out for the large rooming house in the neighborhood she passed through on the way to Dinky Town.  A little old lady greeted her at the door and without much talk about the room she jutted out her commands.  “It’s three fifty a week, no cooking, no boyfriends beyond the social room and your mail will be left on the table in the hall in front of your door”.  She paid her and went about her business.  She opened the door to her room and noticed she would be sharing it with two other girls.  She hoped they would be friendly like in the small town she came from.