True Love, Ambition and Tragedy
by
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I sat at the graduation ceremony thinking about all the hard work I had finished. I was proud of myself. Attending college full time with a full time job is a difficult accomplishment in itself. To do this with a two children family makes it an all the more admirable achievement. But I had done it. I felt like it almost killed me but I had done it. But I could have never done it without Terri. Besides being a good wife and mother, she was my lover, soul mate and best friend. I became glued to this young woman. We were joined at the hip so to speak. A couple of my friends were on the same schedule as I was. They were single and quit the drudgery short of their degree. They had no Terri to aid and comfort them. Whenever the going got tough and I was ready to quit, she was there to pick me up and inspire me. After her magic I always continued. Just her touch gave me a warm and calming feeling. She told me my touch did the same to her. Touch was an important thing to us. We could recognize each other’s touch. In fact, we won a contest at a party as the only couple who could recognize each other’s touch while being blindfolded.
To me it was a happy graduation ceremony. For both of us it was a happy moment. To me it meant my drudgery was complete. We both had accomplished this degree together. Few people knew just how hard it was on me or her. Only my wife, who saw me passed out on the floor one morning from studying German all night for a final exam, knew what I really went through. Another morning she had to drive with me to school to keep me awake after two consecutive nights of not sleeping to study for a physics final. I got an A in that final which I needed for a B in the course. I was so tired and in a near trance that the knowledge must have just flowed out of me.
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About the Book
This is a human interest story of the author’s life. It spans his life from his toddler years to well into his retirement. He came from poor uneducated beginnings. Extreme bashfulness was a hindrance most of his life. Haunted by an unsupportive and wife- abusing dad he is spurred on to better himself in every way. He marries young and has a lifelong story book romance. Determined to do well for his beloved wife, he works his way to a degree with no financial aid. Two children were born along the way. This was accomplished by attending full time day school while working full time at night. Undeterred and with the emotional aid of a very supportive wife he goes on to earn a doctorate degree in chemistry acquiring two more children along the way. The next step is a successful career at DuPont and the birth of twins.
Public speaking haunts him through most of his life, but he finally conquers it to become an accomplished speaker. He is promoted twice, finally to Senior Supervisor in research at DuPont. Just when his career seems to be blossoming a triple tragedy strikes. Among them is the onset of multiple sclerosis which causes retirement when he is only forty eight years old. There is a long period of trying to adjust to the disability. He was now faced with the inactivity created by the early retirement. But more importantly his hard earned career was now destroyed. Then two more tragedies strike. First he contracts colon cancer but is apparently cured by an operation. But the final blow is unbearable to him. It is the death off his life-long love, his wife. Interwoven in the story is the devotion and love between him and his wife.
About the Author
Louis J. Papa holds a BA degree from