Texas Gal
by C. Sprite
© 2001

 

Chapter Twenty-One I'm a College Freshman!

Our little caravan of two cars left just after 10 o'clock. Susan and I rode with Auntie, while Mary and Judy rode with Mother. We made the trip non-stop until we reached Austin where we paused a couple of blocks away from the house to pick up sandwiches with plans to eat them at the new house. The directions from Grandma were perfect and we located the house without any difficulty. Both cars easily fit side by side in the wide driveway.

The house was a large two-story wood frame. I could easily imagine it being a two-family house. We carried a few things in with us as we entered for the first time, and we were greeted by the smell of new paint. Since the house had been unused since being redecorated, the paint smell had been sealed in. It would take a few days of airing out to dissipate the odors. Putting our things down, we walked through the house, opening all of the windows as we went.

After touring the entire house, we selected our bedrooms. All of them put together would probably fit into Auntie's bedroom at home, but they were large enough and each contained a king-sized bed. Of course, the selection process was limited to Mother, Judy, and myself, since the house was for us, at least at this time. During their visit, Susan would stay with me, Mary would stay with Judy, and Auntie would use the spare, or guest, bedroom. We unloaded our things from the car before sitting down to eat the sandwiches that we had purchased on the way here.

We hadn't expected to find the cupboards fully stocked with dishes, glasses, cooking utensils, and even food. Even the refrigerator was fully stocked. Grandma hadn't missed a bet. It turned out that we hadn't had to stop for food at all. The house wasn't in 'move-in' condition; it was in moved-in condition. All we needed now were the clothes that we had packed, and they would be arriving in a day or two.

We spent the rest of the day getting settled into the new house. Being in the capital, we had much better television reception than on the ranch, but there still wasn't much that I wanted to watch, so I spent some more time going over the packet of materials that the college had sent to me. I memorized the name of every building, its purpose, and its location on the campus. Tomorrow, Judy and I would get our class schedules when we went to the campus. I wondered what kind of reception I would get. I wouldn't have Judy, Mary, and Susan nearby to help me if I ran into somebody like Julia from Hillock Academy.

  

We rose early the next morning. We didn't have any large tubs here so we all had to bathe separately. It had been decided that we would all go to the campus together. Mary and Susan were as anxious to see the college as Judy and I were. I was relieved that I'd have my family around me for moral support.

Since this wasn't for Grandma's business, we girls all wore our shortest mini-skirts. It was going to be so much nicer to be able to wear normal clothes rather than the uniforms that we had had to wear for Hillock, but I didn't say anything because Mary and Susan would still have to wear them for another year. I combed out my hair and tied a ribbon around it to keep it from blowing around. During the past two years it had grown long and was now down to the bottom of my shoulder blades.

We all piled into Mom's big Chevy Impala and drove to the campus, even though it was only a few blocks away. A sign at one of the parking lots said that normal parking restrictions were suspended until Wednesday, after which cars would be ticketed if they didn't have the proper parking stickers.

The campus was crowded with families. There were people everywhere. Kids were still moving into dorms, and friends from last semester were excitedly greeting each other. We found the gymnasium where we would pick up our class schedules and Judy and I got into the A-D line, while Mother, Auntie, Susan, and Mary waited where they would be out of the way. It was early so the line was fairly short and we moved along quickly.

When we finally reached the head of the line, the person seated at the table did a double take when she looked up and saw me, but when I gave my name she went through the stack of schedules and found mine. There was a piece of pink paper attached to it unlike the others that I had seen students receiving. The clerk learned back in her chair and called to a gentleman who had been wandering back and forth behind the tables. She handed him my schedule when he came over. He looked it quickly and smiled at me.

"Miss Drake, I'm Mr. Cotter, the college bursar. Would you join me over here, please?" he asked as he pointed to an area off to the side of the tables.

"Of course, Mr. Cotter."

As we both walked towards the end of the row of tables I heard Judy give the clerk her name. Mr. Cotter must have heard also because he stopped walking and turned to me. "Is that your sister?"

I nodded and said, "Yes."

"Please continue on, I'll have her join us also," he said as he returned to the clerk and took Judy's schedule. I noticed that it also had a piece of pink paper attached. He asked Judy to join us at the end of the row of tables and she followed me.

When we were all together at the end of the row of tables, Mr. Cotter said, "Girls, welcome to the University of Texas at Austin. Because you are both younger than our average enrolling student, I wanted to greet you personally and try to help you over any hurdles that you might have. Have you moved into your dorm yet?"

"We have a house off campus, Mr. Cotter," Judy said.

"You're renting an apartment instead of living in the dorms?"

"No, we own the house. Grandmother bought it so that we would have a place to live while we are here. Mother will be staying with us because Darla Anne is so young."

"I see. Normally we don't allow our beginning students to live off campus but since you're with your family, I'm sure that the Dean of Students didn't hesitate to waive that rule."

"I'm sure that Mother cleared it with the school," I said. "I've been away for the past couple of weeks so I wasn't involved in any of it. Mother is here if you wish to ask her yourself."

"That's not necessary. I'm sure that everything is in order. Have you both received your information packet from the school?"

We nodded.

"Good. Now the first thing to do is to get your college ID card. Get in line over there," he said pointing to an area screened off from the rest of the gym, "and they'll take your picture. Your permanent ID will take several days but they'll give you a temporary card today so that you can use the college facilities. This afternoon, there's a tea at the college President's house. This pink card attached to your schedule is your invitation. The second page of your schedule lists the books that will be required for the classes that you have enrolled in. All of the books should be available in the campus store. Although you don't have to have them until next Monday, I suggest that you get them as soon as possible. They sometimes run out of a title and it can cause you a lot of grief if you have to wait for them to restock. The name of your faculty advisor, and his or her office number, is listed on your schedule. You should check in with them during the next couple of days to introduce yourselves. That's all that I wanted to say. Do you have any questions?"

We both shook our heads.

"Fine. Then I hope that your college experience will be a good one and that you'll do well here. Good-bye."

We both thanked Mr. Cotter and headed over to the ID area. We showed our schedules to a woman seated at a table and she wrote out temporary ID cards for us and added our names to a list that she was keeping of the cards that had been assigned. A few minutes later we were motioned to come behind the screen by a man who turned out to be the photographer. He looked at our ID cards and posed us for our picture. The whole process took less than five minutes.

When we were done we rejoined Mother, Auntie, Mary and Susan.

"The college bursar suggested that we get our textbooks as soon as possible," I said,

"Then let's go right now," Mother said, and we all walked to the college bookstore.

The store was mobbed with people. Mostly they were kids trying to find the textbooks that they needed, but there were also a lot of family members buying souvenirs. Susan and Mary walked around looking at the merchandise containing the school logo while Mother helped us find our books. With our arms loaded we made our way to the front of the store and got on line for the cashier. Susan and Mary joined us, their arms full of souvenirs. Mother paid for everything and we carried it all to the car and put it in the trunk.

For the next few hours we wandered around the campus, stopping to go inside most of the buildings just to look around. We found the offices of our faculty advisors but neither was in. At lunchtime we all ate in the cafeteria. The food, like most food found in cafeterias, was passable. There's not too much that you can do wrong to a salad, but the spaghetti was very overcooked.

A little before 2 o'clock, Judy and I walked to the home of the President of the college. The directions were printed on the back of the invitation. Mother, Auntie, Susan, and Mary returned to the house since the invitation didn't make any mention of us bringing a guest.

A maid answered the door and we showed her our invitation. She directed us through the house and out into the back yard where the 'tea' was being held. A great many people were roaming the grounds and talking in small groups but we didn't see any other students. As soon as we stepped out of the rear door, a woman began walking towards us.

"How do you do. I'm Mrs. Stipple. Are you the Drake sisters?"

"Yes, Ma'am," Judy said,

"Wonderful. I'm so glad that you could come. Come with me and I'll introduce you around."

Mrs. Stipple took us around the yard, introducing us to her guests. In the third large group we were introduced to her husband, Warren Stipple, the President of the college.

"So these are the Drake girls. I've heard very nice things about both of you. Welcome to our school."

We both said "Thank you" at the same time.

Looking at me he said, "At thirteen, you're the youngest student that we've ever admitted here. Do you feel up to the challenge?"

"I believe so. I'm not worried about the course work, just whether or not I'll fit in with the older students."

"A sensible concern. I believe that you will fit in just fine, but if you ever have a problem, my door is always open."

"Thank you President Stipple."

"Your welcome, President Drake."

I giggled. "You know about that?"

"We have a wonderful rumor network among the staff here at the school. News travels faster than students leaving at vacation time, and your activities have hardly been secret. When you're not in the national news, you seem to have your name mentioned in the trade magazines that many of the instructional staff receive. Congratulations on your success at Piermont Paper. I understand that you turned the company around in only a few weeks."

"I didn't really do anything. I just spotted a bargain and negotiated its purchase."

"But you did take over as President and reverse the fortunes of a company that was sinking fast?"

"I was fortunate to get some good people placed in key positions. They deserve the credit for rescuing the company."

"The mark of a real leader is the ability to place the right people in the right jobs at the right times. I think that you are as modest as the newspapers say. Come with me, please. I would like to introduce you to some of our professors who are anxious to meet you."

We spent the next two hours answering questions from professors or their spouses. I guess that everyone wanted to meet the 'kid' that was causing ripples in national business circles. I wished that I could tell everyone that it was Grandma that was responsible for most of what was being attributed to me, but I knew that she didn't want me to say that, so I just played along and answered the questions that were put to me.

When some of the guests started to leave we thanked Dr. and Mrs. Stipple and left also. Our house was only about ten blocks away so we walked rather than calling Mother. We arrived home just as dinner was being prepared. Everyone wanted to know about the party so we told them as we helped prepare dinner.

After dinner Judy and I started reading from our new textbooks. Classes wouldn't start until Wednesday but we wanted to complete the first few chapters of each book before then. About half of our courses were different since we were enrolled in different departments but we shared several of the same courses in Math, English, and the Social Sciences that were required undergraduate studies for most students.

  

On Tuesday we, as freshmen, attended orientation classes. A part of the orientation class was sensitivity training. We all sat around in small groups on the floor of the gym while an instructor told us to do things like close our eyes and extend our arms to touch the hands of the other students. When the session was over, I wondered what it was that we were supposed to take away with us because I didn't feel any different towards the other people in our group. I supposed that the main purpose was a form of introduction to other students in a non-competitive situation. The orientation session was over by 2 pm and Judy and I spent a couple of hours wandering around the campus before returning home.

The boxes that we had packed before leaving home had arrived so we spent some time unpacking and organizing our closets and dressers. With that chore done the new house began to feel more home-like.

 

Classes started on Wednesday. So far I hadn't encountered any problems, although I had received quite a few stares. I guess that up until now, some of the other students might have thought that I was a professor's daughter who was just hanging around the campus, or a family member of a new student since there were still a number of families still wandering the campus as late arrivals checked-in. But when I walked into a classroom and took a seat that would all change.

My first class of the day was Principles of Chemistry 301. I had already taken Chemistry at Hillock Academy so I expected it to be a not-to-difficult, 3 credit hour course. Judy's first class was English and was in another building so we split up and went to our respective classes after arriving on the campus using the bicycles that Grandma had purchased for us. Although we were each required to take a couple of the same basic, freshmen courses, we didn't have any classes together, but we had arranged to meet for lunch and during one common open periods in the afternoon.

I reached my first class about ten minutes early and paused just outside. Taking a deep breath, I walked in and selected a seat near the front of the room. There were about a dozen other students in there already. Some were talking, but most were just sitting there looking around or reading. Unlike my first class at Hillock, most of these students were all new to one another so I didn't meet with an established group who would be more likely to question a newcomer. More students continued to arrive and take their seats as the clock ticked off the minutes. A girl came in about five minutes before class and took the seat next to mine.

"Hi, my name is Peggy Sue Wellman," she said as she extended her hand.

"Hi, I'm Darla Anne Drake."

"I thought that that was you. I remember seeing your picture in the papers this past spring. But I thought that you were only twelve?"

"I turned thirteen in May."

"And you're attending college? Is this some kind of a special program where you take a college course while you're in High School?"

"No. I graduated from High School a few months ago."

"Wow. You really are some kind of genius, like the papers said."

I giggled. "Don't believe everything that you read. I got here through intensive study and hard work. My sisters and I spent as much as fourteen or fifteen hours a day on schoolwork last year. On Saturdays we had tutors work with us, and on Sundays we reviewed what we had covered on Saturday."

"Wow. When did you find time for fun?"

"We always made some time for riding on weekends."

"Riding? Horseback riding? That's all?"

"During school sessions. We've spent two weeks on the Riviera each summer during the past two years."

"The Riviera? On the Mediterranean?"

"Yes. Grandma has a house there."

"Oh, wow, your own villa on the Riviera, that's the way to live."

Just then an older man walked in whom I assumed to be our instructor so Peggy and I stopped talking and waited to see what happens next. The man dropped a couple of books on the desk and announced, "Good morning, I'm Professor Clark. This is Principles of Chemistry 301, so you folks looking for American History are in the wrong room, not to mention in the wrong building."

There were a number of giggles, and a few loud laughs.

Professor Clark smiled and said, "You think that's funny. Well, so do I. But that very thing happened last year. We were 15 minutes into the start of our first class before one of the students asked why chemistry was so important in History studies. Since then I always make sure that everyone is on the same page from the beginning." Pausing for a second while he looked at the class, he said, "I know, let's do something that I rarely do. Let's take attendance."

Professor Clark opened a folder and sorted through some papers that I recognized as computer printouts. Finding the one that he was searching for, he began to call out names. When he reached mine, he paused for a second to look at me, and then continued on through the rest.

"Okay, not too bad, only two no-shows. Well, perhaps they're sitting in the History classrooms. Since this is Principles of Chemistry 301, everyone taking this course is probably a freshman student, and the campus can be quite intimidating to new students. And while I'm on the subject of new students, I'll tell you that the young lady seated near the front of the class does in fact belong here, despite looking so young, so you can save your questions or remarks."

After that, Professor Clark began talking about the way that he marked and the weight of class work versus homework versus testing as it applied to final grades. I was glad that his one remark was the only attention that was directed at me. Near the end of class, Professor Clark assigned reading that I had already completed.

As we filed out of the room, I talked with Peggy Sue a bit more. It turned out that she was enrolled in Petroleum Engineering, a field of study so similar to mine that our suggested arrangement of courses were almost identical for the first year. After comparing schedules, we discovered that we were assigned to the same class for three of the courses that we were each required to take. That meant that we would be together for ten hours each week, which was a significant portion of my twenty-two hours of classes. Peggy Sue was only taking fourteen hours, which was the normal schedule for a first semester freshman following her curriculum. My original schedule was for sixteen hours. I had signed up for extra courses because I knew that the first courses would be the easiest, and because I didn't expect to have much of a social life due to my age difference, so I might as well devote myself to my studies. The extra courses might enable me to either finish early, or to complete the requirements for multiple degrees within the four years.

My next class was another of the ones that I shared with Peggy Sue, Differential and Integral Calculus 408. Again, I had had Calculus at Hillock, and I had read the first two chapters of the textbook so I wasn't expecting any problems here either. We walked together to the classroom, chose seats next to one another, and talked until the instructor came in. In a short time I had learned enough about Peggy Sue to feel that I knew her, and had shared a lot of things about myself as well.

We stopped talking and paid attention when the instructor started to talk. He treated my attendance with no more attention than that of the other students and I was happy to feel a part of the class. We didn't receive any homework because we weren't required to have our books until Monday so class work was light on the first day. We just received a lecture about what would be covered and how our work would be graded, and then he talked about the basics of calculus.

After class Peggy Sue and I said goodbye for now. Our next class together was at 3 o'clock. I told her where Judy and I were meeting for lunch in case she wanted to join us later, and she hurried off to her next class. I had an hour off before my next class so I wandered over to the library and spent my time reading from my textbook for my next class, Sociology.

As I entered my Sociology classroom I saw that my instructor was a woman. Where the men had been indifferent about my attendance in their classrooms, Mrs. Palmer immediately waved me to come over to her desk.  

"Are you Darla Anne?" she asked.

 "Yes, ma'am. Darla Anne Drake."

"Welcome to the university, Darla. I'm Mrs. Palmer. How have you been getting on so far?"

"Okay. I memorized the location of the buildings before I came so I haven't had any trouble finding my way around."

"Oh, I didn't mean that. I meant with the other students. Any problem with their reacting to your age?"

"No, ma'am. I've made a friend with whom I share several classes, and my sister is also a freshman this year although she's enrolled in a different discipline."

"That's nice. It's so important to have friends around you when you are away from home for the first time."

"Yes, ma'am. But I've been away from home before. I actually do quite a bit of traveling when I'm not in school."

"Oh, that's right. I was forgetting momentarily about your career with Ameri-Moore. Are you really a vice-president of the company?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"And you travel around inspecting companies and looking for problems?"

"Yes, ma'am. It sounds more impressive than it is. I just look at the production records and ask a few questions if things don't look right. Then I report what I found."

"I think that you're oversimplifying it. I remember reading the newspaper articles about you. Will you be doing inspections during your vacations from school?"

"Probably not. I'll probably work at my new job with the paper division."

"You're not going to be a vice-president anymore?"

"I still am, but I also have my duties as the president of the new paper division."

"You're the president of the new division?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"However are you going to do that job and attend school also?"

"We have some very able people to handle the day to day business. My executive vice-president understands the company goals and has wide discretionary power to act in my absence. I'll get weekly updates while I'm here."

"Well, I hope that it doesn't interfere with your school work."

"It won't, ma'am."

"Good. It's been enlightening talking to you, Darla Anne. Why don't you take you seat now? It's time for class to begin."

"Yes, ma'am."

I sat down at a desk in the front row as Mrs. Palmer went to the black board and wrote her name and the course name and number.

"Welcome class, I'm Mrs. Palmer and this is Introduction to Sociology. Please answer when I call your name."

Mrs. Palmer read off the attendance list and check marked the names. When she was done, she said, "Okay. How many haven't picked up their text books yet?"

Only 4 raised their hands.

"Good. By Monday I want everyone to have read Chapter one. This promises to be a very interesting semester. We have a very special student that may be able to give us a unique perspective on corporate sociological problems. This young lady in the front row is a vice-president of a major corporation and the president of one of its divisions."

A male voice from the back of the room said, "Yeah, right!" which was followed by a bunch of laughing and giggling from other students."

"I suppose that that sounds rather incredible," Mrs. Palmer said, "but it's true. Some of you may remember the news headlines earlier this year about the conspiracy trial involving senior managers at a new acquisition of a company called Ameri-Moore. Miss Darla Anne Drake, your classmate, was the one who uncovered the conspirators and brought them to trial. She was recently appointed the president of their new paper products division."

The classroom had grown very quite as Mrs. Palmer spoke. I glanced behind me and realized that all eyes were on me. I turned back around wondering why teachers did this to me. I would have been perfectly content to be just another anonymous student. In time, even my age might have been accepted and overlooked. But now I had been singled out as kind of an anachronism, and making friends, true friends, would be doubly difficult.

Mrs. Palmer lectured for the remainder of the class period without making further reference to me. As we filed out I heard someone say, "Must be some kind of freak," but I couldn't identify the speaker since I was behind him. Another voice, a female's, said, "She'll probably blow the curve all to hell." I supposed that they were talking about me. The 'curve' is the grading curve that teachers use when establishing student scores. If the top student only gets 70 percent of the answers correct on a test, then everyone's score is adjusted upward on the theory that there was a problem communicating the work to the students. But, if the top student gets 100% of the answers correct, the teacher sometimes assumes that a low score was the result of insufficient work on the part of the student and there is no adjustment. Some teachers discount the top one or two scores when determining the curve. Since it was noon, I walked to the cafeteria where I was supposed to meet Judy.

I found Judy waiting outside the building. She took one look at me and knew that I was disturbed.

"What happened?"

"Nothing."

"Come on, give. I know that look. Something serious happened."

"The teacher in my last class made a big deal over me. I'll never have any friends in that class now. On my way out I heard somebody refer to me as 'some kind of freak.'"

Judy put her arm around me and pulled me along into the building. "Come on, honey. We knew that there were going to be a few problems like this. I'm lucky because I'm sixteen and not that much younger than the other girls in the freshman class, but you're only thirteen. You've probably just caught them by surprise because you're four to five years younger. Give them a chance. They'll come around when they get to know you."

"I don't know. You should have seen the looks on their faces."

"They were probably just in awe of you, especially if the instructor laid it on too thick."

We stopped walking and turned around when we heard someone shouting, "Darla Anne. Darla Anne." Peggy Sue, the girl from my first two classes was hurrying to catch us with us.

When she reached us she said, "Whew, I'm glad that I caught you before you went inside. This place is enormous and I would have had a job finding you."

"I'm glad that you spotted us then. Peggy Sue, this is my sister Judy. Judy, this is Peggy Sue Wellman. She's in both of my first two classes on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. I invited her to join us for lunch if she could make it."

"Hi Peggy Sue. It's nice to meet you. Have you been in this cafeteria before?"

"Yeah. I ate here yesterday, but I had to eat alone because my roommate didn't feel good and I didn't know anyone else. Follow me and I'll show you the ropes."

It took us ten minutes to get our food and find an empty table. We talked the whole time and were like old friends by the time that we sat down.

"I'm glad that Darla Anne met you this morning" Judy said to Peggy Sue. "She's a little depressed about how she was treated in her last class."

"What happened?"

I explained to Peggy Sue about the fuss that Mrs. Palmer had made.

"Don't let it bother you, Darla Anne. They're probably just jealous. It's a little intimidating to have somebody so young who has already reached the goals that they all have now, and that they will probably be working for the next twenty years to achieve, if ever. I didn't realize that Judy would be young also, although I should have."

"Darla Anne's the brain in the family. We just try to keep from falling too far behind," Judy said smiling.

"That's not true, Peggy Sue. My sisters have been achieving straight A's in all of their high school subjects" I said.

"It's been like a competition," Judy said.

"Wow, four sisters with straight A-averages. I'm going to stick close to you guys. Maybe it'll rub off."

We all giggled. We spent the rest of our lunchtime talking about the college, the course work, social organizations, and the college's sport's teams. We left the cafeteria early enough so that we could each get to our next class without running. My next class was English, Rhetoric and Composition. I was happy that the instructor didn't point any additional attention my way. Afterwards I met Judy at a snack bar on the campus. We had an ice cream and talked about our classes until it was time to go. We both had one more class on this day and then we would meet where we had left our bicycles to ride home.

Peggy Sue was already in the room when I got there. I took the seat next to her and we talked until our instructor came in. Again, the instructor didn't pay any special attention to me and I relaxed and got 'into' the course which was 'Geology of Engineering.' When the class was over I said goodbye to Peggy Sue and went to meet Judy. I only had to wait for several minutes after I got to the bicycle rack for Judy to show and then we were on our way home. With the bikes, we reached the house in less than five minutes.

As we walked into the house, I breathed a sigh of relief that the first school day was over. Although both Judy and I had already progressed far beyond the reading assignments that were due for Monday, we spent the time before dinner, reading. As had been our custom is recent years, our goal was to completely read our textbooks as early as possible in order to stay way ahead of our assignments and use the class time to better explain and reinforce the new information.

Over dinner we learned that Mother, Auntie, Susan, and Mary had gone sightseeing during the day. They told us what they had seen and where they intended to go tomorrow. I felt myself wishing that I could go, but there would be plenty of time for me to see the sights over the next few years. Susan, Mary, and Auntie's time here was limited.

After dinner Judy and I returned to our reading while the others watched television. After about an hour Susan came up to my bedroom, laid down next to me on the carpet, picked up my textbook for the Geology of Engineering course, and began to read. All she had said was "Nothing good on," as I returned to my Calculus book. We read until just before 10 o'clock, then got ready for bed.

Susan fell asleep quickly but I tossed and turned for a while. I was still disturbed about what had happened in Sociology today. I had no idea how to bridge the gulf that now existed between the other students in the class and myself. I would just have to be pleasant and hope that time would help clear the waters. I eventually drifted off to sleep.

   

On Thursday, I had classes again in Calculus, Geology, and English, plus a class each in Economics and American Government.  I got a lot of stares in each of the new classes but the professors didn't call any special attention to me and I was happy to just sit back and take notes. Judy and I had different lunch periods open today so I went to lunch with Peggy Sue. Her roommate, Shelly Albright, joined us in the cafeteria, and we had a fun talk. Peggy Sue had already prepared Shelly for my age difference so it was only discussed briefly as I gave a quick rundown of how I got here five years early. Shelly still called New Jersey home so I dropped my acquired Texas accent and slipped back into my New Jersey accent. This caused both girls to giggle and led us into a discussion of the differences in the way that people from the two states form their words.

I was finished with classes at 3 o'clock and I headed home alone. Judy had finished an hour earlier today. Our schedules would only allow us to have lunch together and leave the campus together on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. There was no sense in Judy waiting around for me when the house was only a five-minute ride away.

When I got home, only Judy was in the house. She was in her room studying. The others were out sightseeing according to the note on the fridge. I got a glass of milk and a couple of cookies and went up to my room to start studying also. I was already at least two weeks ahead of my required reading, and expected to add at least another two weeks by sometime next week.

I took a short break when I heard the rest of the family come in around 4:30 and then went back to work after going downstairs to greet everyone. At 5:30 Mary came up to call Judy and myself for dinner, so we marked our places and went downstairs. Over dinner we heard about the excursion around Austin, including a stop for shopping. They hadn't bought very much, only a few things that they needed for school. After dinner Judy and I were excused from the household chores to return to our studies.

  

Friday's class schedule was the same as Wednesday's. I met with Judy for lunch, for a break in the snack bar, and then for our trip home. As soon as we got home we dove into our schoolwork. We were far enough ahead now in our reading that we intended to take Saturday off. That would be the last full day that Auntie, Susan, and Mary would be here before their return home on Sunday so that Mary and Susan would be ready to start school on Monday morning.

  

On Saturday we got up early and, after a leisurely breakfast, went out to do some sight seeing of our own with the family. By now Mom and Auntie knew their way around pretty well. Austin is a great city and we found plenty to do, stopping briefly at a Mexican restaurant for lunch. We ordered tacos and enchiladas. They were a bit greasy, but good. Mom complained that the food was too hot but the rest of us enjoyed the spiciness. I suspected that Auntie, Mary and Susan would be seeing quite a bit of Mexican food now that Rosa was the new cook back home.

Since Judy and I had declared that today was a no schoolwork day we were not excused from household chores. We helped prepare dinner, and then volunteered to do the cleanup since we had been excused during the past week. After dinner we all sat in the living room and watched the slim offerings on television until bedtime. My sisters hadn't even left yet and I was starting to miss them already. Susan and I fell asleep holding hands that night.

 

Early Sunday afternoon, Auntie, Susan, and Mary left for home, but it seemed like they were the ones going away. In one short week I had come to think of the Austin house as home, but we would see them next weekend when we returned to the ranch for the first time since school started.

 

On Tuesday, someone from the Austin office brought over my mail, including a transcript of this past week's meeting at Piermont. I read that first and pictured everyone's face in my mind as I read the word for word account that Nancy had recorded. I made a couple of notes regarding subjects that I wanted to speak to Bob Warren about and then continued on with the rest of the mail. After I had glanced through most of it I opened up the copy of 'Log Views' that was included with the bundle. I discovered that Rick Landis had been writing about me again so I settled down to see what he had said.

I read:

'By now you've probably heard the latest rumors about DD and I'm here to verify, or correct, what you've heard. While on an inspection of the Highland Lumber Company that would result in either approval or veto of the purchase from AGI Foods, DD heard of a paper company in distress. She made a side trip to visit the company and received a tour of the plant, at the conclusion of which she tendered an offer for the company. The company had fallen on hard times and was on the brink of falling into receivership. The former company president, Matthew Piermont, verified that DD had signed a Letter of Intent to purchase, on the spot, without seeking approval from anyone at Ameri-Moore. This confirms what I said in a previous column that it wouldn't be long before DD would be surveying possible new acquisitions for Ameri-Moore, and even takes it a step further in that she, apparently, now has the power to make major purchases without seeking approval from anyone else. Even I was surprised to learn that she was now empowered to make multi-million dollar deals on her own. The details of the negotiations were private, but I have learned that Piermont Paper was valued in excess of 20 million dollars a few years ago after a major modernization and expansion effort.

During the past couple of weeks I have spent a considerable amount of time looking into the Piermont situation. It appears that the company had lost many of its customers during the past few years and had fallen seriously delinquent in its account payables, forcing suppliers to curtail its credit. The word in the industry was that South-Core Paper was just waiting for the banks to foreclose so that they could move in and buy up the plant's machinery. DD's action halted any plans that South-Core might have had. I have learned that with the acquisition of the plant, Ameri-Moore has created a new division for Paper Products, and DD has been named as the president of that division. As we go to press, I have discovered that in just a month's time, DD has totally reversed the fortunes of Piermont. Without a single penny of capital from Ameri-Moore, DD has put the company back into the black, paid off most of the creditors, brought the outstanding notes current, rehired a good percentage of furloughed employees, and reinvigorated the economy of the entire county. Many of Piermont's former customers have resumed purchasing from the reconstructed company.

I know that some will not believe this story, but it's true, and anyone who knows DD will not doubt it for an instant. Certainly the management of South-Core Paper will never take her reputation lightly. New rumors have surfaced about possible new acquisitions for Piermont but I haven't found any credible evidence of that yet. I do know that DD begins college this week at the University of Texas at Austin. As a full time student, the thirteen-year-old will have little time for traveling, and will have her hands full just attending school and managing the company that she just purchased. As always I wish her success, and I continue to look forward to following her career.'

I giggled and looked through the rest of the paper, then folded it and put it away. I knew that Mother and Judy would want to see the article later. There was also a new trade magazine with my mail. The Paper Press served the paper industry and had apparently added my name to their mailing list following the purchase of Piermont. I finished reading the rest of my mail and then returned to my homework. After I was finished, I wrote a note to Bob Warren and put it into my purse so that I would remember to mail it tomorrow.

 

The rest of the week flew by uneventfully. After class on Friday, Judy and I hurried home, we each finished packing a small suitcase, and then the three of us left for the ranch. We arrived home around 6:30 and found that dinner was being held for us. They figured that we would leave around 4:30 and knowing that the trip was a two-hour drive, they had planned for dinner to be ready now.

After hugging and kissing all around we went into the downstairs dining room and Rosa began bringing the food from the kitchen. It always felt strange eating in the downstairs dining area. It was kind of like eating in a closed restaurant, because of all the empty tables. But, it was our restaurant.

The meal that Rosa prepared was delicious. The main entrée was some kind of spicy chicken dish with rice. There was also a fish soup like Manhattan Clam Chowder, but with tiny shrimp and cut up fish pieces, a garden salad, a bowl of refried beans, and cornbread muffins.

While Rosa was in the kitchen I asked Susan if they got Mexican food every night. She answered by saying that this was only the second time since they had gotten back a week ago. I was relieved to hear that every meal would not be hot and spicy.

For desert we had chocolate pudding with whipped cream and Rosa cleared the dishes as we ate, making it feel even more like a restaurant. Afterwards there wasn't any cleanup for us to do. Rosa had a system of loading the dishes into the dishwasher after scraping the excess food and dunking them into a sink filled with soapy water, as soon as she returned to the kitchen with them. When we were finished eating, she only had to collect the dirty desert cups, load them into the dishwasher, and turn it on. With nothing to do, we just sat at the table and talked as we drank tea.

We learned all the latest news and gossip at Hillock, and then we related our news from Austin. Auntie told us how things were going with her business and I told them about the article in Log Views. Auntie, Mary, and Susan wanted to see it so I went and retrieved the publication that I had brought home with the intent of adding the article to my scrapbook.

After everyone had read it I said, "Isn't that the most hilarious column yet?"

"What's hilarious about it?" Susan asked. "It's basically true. You did buy the company without checking with anybody."

"Well, yeah. But that's all. The rest of it was accomplished by a whole platoon of people sent in by Grandma. They found the delinquent accounts receivable money that was used to bring the note current and pay Matt Piermont his first installment. And they got the company running again so that it was back in the black."

Auntie said, "There used to be a President of the United States that put a sign on his desk that read 'The Buck Stops Here.' Do you understand what that means?"

"I think so. That was Truman, wasn't it? The sign meant that he was ultimately responsible for everything that happened in the government. While other people could 'pass the buck,' he had no one to pass it to, so it stopped with him as the chief executive."

"Right. He was at the top of the pyramid. As such he had to take the blame for any problem. But he also had the authority to take action to correct some of the problems, so while the chief executive of a company bears the responsibility for any problems, they also get the credit when things go right. Right now, things are going very right with Piermont, so the chief executive is getting all of the glory. It's up to you to reward the people actually doing the work so that they continue to feel like they are appreciated and continue working for the company to the best of their ability."

"How do I do that?"

"It doesn't have to be anything grandiose. Give them some recognition like you receive. Name an employee of the week and/or of the month. Put up a little plaque somewhere with their name on it so that their fellow workers see it. Make it something that everyone strives to achieve. Also, reward good performance with promotions."

"We're already doing that. We promoted a secretary from the pool into a sales-trainee position because of the initiative that she showed."

"Excellent. Keep that up. Promoting from within whenever possible will help promote employee loyalty."

We sat at the table for about two more hours discussing Piermont. I wound up retrieving the two copies of the business plan that Susan and I had created so that everyone could look at it. As a result of our brainstorming, we developed a couple of other ideas to consider adding to the plan. 

When we had finished our discussion, we headed upstairs. It was almost 10 o'clock and our normal bedtime. Susan and I continued to talk about what we were doing at school as we prepared for bed. She filled me in about the girls at Hillock and I told her about my two friends at Austin. I had met a few others girls, but I mostly hung around with Peggy Sue and Shelly at lunch or between classes.

 

After breakfast the next morning we all headed out to the stable. Ricardo was already hard at work mucking out the stalls. The horses looked healthy and the stable was clean. Ricardo was doing a good job. We pitched in and completed the job in short order. When the work was done, we saddled up and went for a long ride. I think that Ricardo would really have liked to come along but we only had enough horses for the six of us.

As usual we stopped at our favorite watering hole to have a snack after a couple of hours of riding. Afterwards we took the long way back to the ranch house so we didn't arrive until almost noon. We helped Ricardo rub down the horses before heading up to the house to wash up. When we walked into the house we found that Rosa had lunch all ready so we hurried to wash up and change.

After lunch Judy and I had to hit the books. Susan and Mary also had a lot of work to do, so we all went to our bedrooms and spent the rest of the afternoon studying. Since we didn't have to prepare dinner, we worked right up until 6 o'clock. I had completed all of my assignments and I was doing read ahead work, as was Judy. Mary and Susan had also made a lot of progress with their read ahead activity, and were at least at the fourth week point after only one week of school.

After dinner, we all returned to our studying. By working tonight we could take tomorrow off.

 

On Sunday morning we went to church. As usual, the two Fuller boys spent most of the time during the service staring in our direction. I wondered if they would ever work up the courage to speak with us. After returning to the ranch we went for a ride. I was making the most of my time at the ranch because I had so little of it. At three o'clock we left for our return to Austin.

This pretty much became our routine schedule over the following weeks. Every Friday we returned to the ranch, and every Sunday afternoon it was back to Austin. I spoke to Bob Warren by phone every couple of weeks to maintain my connection with the company even though I continued to receive the transcripts of the weekly meetings. And when I wasn't in class, or answering mail, I was studying.

In November, both Mary and Susan submitted their applications to college. Susan applied to the University of Texas at Austin for the same program that I was in, but Mary applied to Texas A&M to enter their program in Animal Sciences. With their grades as good as they were, there was no doubt that they would be accepted. Susan would join us in Austin, but Mother would now have to figure out what to do about Mary being about a hundred miles away in College Station next September. I was also a little sad that Mary would be attending a different school.

 

By the time that Thanksgiving rolled around I was ready for a four-day break, as was Judy. Because of age differences, I hadn't made very many friends in my classes and I was grateful for Peggy Sue, Shelly, and a few others. I had started  helping Peggy Sue with her studies in between classes. At night, Judy and I tested each other on the courses that we shared, and to a lesser degree the ones that we didn't. She began to develop an understanding of my coursework, and I hers. We estimated that we were both averaging a perfect 4.0 so far, or close to it. Judy had made several friends in her classes who kept inviting her to social events but she had so far declined. The freshmen who partied every night would be lucky to still be around for their second year. There seemed to be a direct inverse ratio between the amount of partying and the grades that the students around us were attaining.

We drove home to the ranch on Wednesday night right after classes and arrived in time for dinner. During the meal we talked about our Thanksgiving dinner. We had made out a shopping list last weekend, and Auntie had made sure that we had everything that we needed. But while Rosa had learned to make a traditional meal during her years with the other family, we wondered if she would be able to prepare the foods the way that we preferred them.

After dinner we asked Rosa to sit down while we talked about the Thanksgiving meal. As we talked we became convinced that if we wanted our dinner to turn out like we wanted it, we would have to work with her. I'm sure that Rosa would have made a delicious meal, but Thanksgiving dinner was always special.

As diplomatically as possible, we invaded the kitchen. Mother began writing out the recipes for the stuffing and other foods that we liked, as Auntie, Judy, and Mary began the preparation of the meat stuffing with Rosa watching. Susan and I worked on making Apple and Pumpkin pies. Ricardo helped by peeling and coring apples while we made enough crusts for a dozen pies.

By 10 o'clock the pies were cooked and the stuffing was ready to be put into the enormous turkey. Early in the morning, Rosa would stuff the bird and put it into the oven to cook. We would return to help her prepare the rest of the meal late in the morning. Since the Thanksgiving meal was prepared almost the same as the meal that we enjoyed at Christmas and Easter, our working with Rosa now would enable her to be better prepared for those special holidays.

As we climbed the stairs to our bedroom I felt happy. This was the first time that we had worked together in the kitchen since last summer. Studying had been consuming so much of our time that even though we were all in the house every weekend, the only thing that we did together was our morning rides.

 

After breakfast the following morning we went to the stable to help Ricardo muck out the stalls before going for a short ride. We were back within two hours so that we could bathe and be ready to work in the kitchen. Rosa had stuffed the turkey and put it in to cook at seven, so it would be ready to eat by one o'clock. We started working at eleven to prepare the sweet potatoes and vegetables.

Grandma showed up just before one o'clock. We joined her in the sitting room as Rosa finished preparing the meal and setting the table. When the turkey was ready we moved into the dining room to eat. After a small prayer of thanks for our blessings we filled our plates from the many foods. My personal favorites were the sliced mushrooms and the sweet potato casserole. Everything was so good that I had to remind myself to leave room for a small piece of the pies that we had baked

I suppose that it was only natural that after we had exhausted the topics of school and current fashions that we would talk about business. Mary and Judy wanted to know the status of the Textile and Cattle Operations as much as Susan and I wanted to know about Logging. I already knew all about Paper because I received the weekly transcripts.

Over dessert Grandma started off by talking about Cattle Operations. We got a run down on herd size, expected shipments, beef prices, and the health of the herds. Next we heard about Textile Production and Cotton Farming. We got the run down on tilled acreage, pest control, crop sizes, futures, cloth production, and market predictions. Grandma was amazing in her ability to remember facts that most people would only be able to quote if they had a reference book nearby.

When Grandma started talking about Logging I thought back to the time that she had me memorize facts from company reports so that she could set an example for her managers in the Portland office. After she was done quoting statistics Susan and I were able to ask more general questions about people and inspections.

"I haven't had any problems reported, but I'm hoping that Susan can make a quick round of factory inspections on the East Coast during school vacation in January."

"We'll both go," I said. "That way we can cover twice as much ground in the same time."

"Don't you think that you had better go to Vermont instead?"

"Vermont? You mean Piermont?"

"You are the Division President. They need to see that you are still involved. They can understand that school prevents you from being there on a regular basis right now, but you don't want them to start thinking that you've lost interest in them by going on inspections during your school vacations rather than working there."

"Grandma, I just don't know what I can do there. Bob Warren does a wonderful job of handling the day-to-day business. I sort of feel like a fifth wheel."

Grandma chuckled. "Now Darla Anne, you have to remember that you are the chief executive of the division. Let Bob do his job and you do yours, and one of your jobs is to make sure that Bob is doing his. You created a business plan on your last trip. January will be a third of a year since the plan was implemented. Don't you think that you should check to see if it's being implemented the way that you envisioned it? Think of the trip as an inspection tour of Piermont."  

When I thought of it that way, I felt more comfortable about going. "Okay, Grandma. That makes sense."

"Good girl. I know that you feel a little lost right now. I sort of threw you into the deep end of the pool to see how well you can swim, but it was only because I felt certain that you could do it. And I've been standing by to help if you need it, but so far I haven't been needed. Susan can handle the inspections of the wood product factories by herself. She had a good teacher."

While we were all together, and talking business, Auntie gave us a run down on the progress of drilling operations on Grandma's ranch. A number of wells had been brought in and were now producing enough revenue for a much more expanded operation. Auntie had already begun exploratory work on several of the ranches and farms owned by Westtex Foods. Edna Prescott, wife of the company president, was one of the earliest members of the group that Auntie had signed. The group's primary interest was in seeing that oil exploration and production didn't damage the land in any way. My early course work at school was already giving me better insight into Auntie's exploration operations.

Even though we were on a holiday vacation, we didn't treat it as a complete vacation from schoolwork. After Grandma had left, taking two of the pies with her for Charles, and one for herself, we hit the books. We had all either completely finished reading our textbooks, or we were close to it. Once that was done, we would begin our review work. Mary and Susan had the benefit of the tutors, as Judy and I had had in recent years, but Judy and I had gone it alone this past semester. We didn't feel 'deprived' and had managed to ace all of our tests without the help.

On Friday, we all spent some time with the various catalogs from Sears Roebuck, Montgomery Wards, and Spiegel, plus a dozen smaller catalog companies. This was the day that we made up our 'wish' lists for Christmas. It gave everyone a helping hand when shopping. From the wish list we would each pick something, or somethings, to get for the 'wisher.' We checked it off when we selected so that it would not be duplicated. Mother got the list when everyone else had had a look at it.    

 

We headed back to Austin on Sunday, for the final weeks of class before Christmas Vacation. We had enjoyed our time at home and had ridden every morning. There were even several pies left so we took one with us.

It was great to be in Austin when it was time to do our Christmas shopping. The variety of stores made it easy to find everything that we had on our lists and we were able to complete our shopping after one whirlwind trip on a Saturday. Mother had had plenty of time to do her shopping while we were in school.

 

We began our review in our classes during the week before Christmas break. We would have exams shortly after we came back* but I wasn't worried and felt ready to take them right now. In our last class together before leaving for vacation I gave Peggy Sue the pair of earrings that I had bought for her, and she gave me a pair of gloves. We hugged as we said goodbye and wished each other a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. An hour later Mother, Judy, and I were driving north on our way home.

We were surprised when we got to the ranch house to find the downstairs completely decorated for Christmas. In recent years we had barely taken the time to put up a tree. We quickly learned that Rosa and Ricardo had done most of the work and I had to admit that it put me in a festive mood.

 

Over the next few days I had the most fun that I had had in years. We relaxed, baked cookies, pies, and cakes, played board games, and in general, just had a good time. We had agreed to put away the schoolbooks until after Christmas so we had to find other things to occupy us. Susan and I spent a lot of time going through our closet trying on clothes to see what still fit us and what we had outgrown. Susan was still a size smaller than I was so she took most of the things that I couldn't wear. My growth had slowed and I now took the same size as both Judy and Mary.

  

On Christmas morning we went down for breakfast and then went to the sitting room where the tree was set up so that we could open our presents. We had each picked up presents for Rosa and Ricardo and we insisted that they join us while we opened our gifts. They had become like part of the family during the past few months since they had come to the ranch. Ricardo's eyes had lit up when he had seen the pile of presents that we had gotten for him and he tore the paper off the gifts in record time. Rosa tried to slow him down, unsuccessfully. It was as much fun watching his excitement as it was opening our own gifts. Rosa opened hers slowly, at the same pace as the rest of us and thanked us profusely for each gift.

When we were done opening gifts, Rosa made Ricardo carry his things to his room to play with them. We planned to eat around one, and Rosa had gotten up early to stuff the turkey, but in the meantime we tried on the clothes that we had gotten for Christmas. All except the lingerie, that is. We had to be a little more careful with Ricardo around. There would be no more walking through the house naked as we had done that time when we had fallen into the watering hole.

After a couple of hours, we got dressed and went to the stable to clean the stalls. We took enough apples so that each horse would have several and told Rosa not to bother Ricardo who was still in his room playing with his new toys. When we had finished and cleaned up, we went to the kitchen to help out but Mother, Auntie, and Rosa already had everything under control and there was nothing to do. We wound up in the sitting room listening to Christmas songs.

Grandma arrived around 12:30 and we sat down to eat a little after one o'clock. Our turkey dinner was delicious. Rosa, with a little help from Mother and Auntie, had prepared all of our favorite foods just the way that we liked them. I ate so much at dinner that I wasn't hungry for the rest of the day, and I wasn't alone. No one had an appetite at dinnertime, but we did each have a slice of pie around nine o'clock after Grandma had left.

 

For the next week we resumed our normal pattern of spending most of our time studying. On New Year's Eve, Mother opened a bottle of Champagne and we each got a glass with which to toast the New Year as the clock struck twelve.

(continued in part 22)

 

Author's notes :

* Up until the 1970's the prevalent college schedule for two semester colleges in the U.S. saw them begin classes in September, break for two weeks for Christmas and New Year's holidays, then resume classes, hold mid-term exams, then break for another two weeks before the second semester started. By the mid-70's, most colleges had schedules that saw exams completed before breaking for the Christmas holiday. Since I was unable to determine what schedule Austin followed in the late sixties, I used the one that seemed the most popular at that time. If this is wrong, please simply accept it as artistic license.

I want to express my grateful appreciation to Debbie Cybill and Lynn Jennings for their proofreading help and story suggestions.

 

 

 

*********************************************
© 1999 by C. Sprite. All Rights Reserved. These documents (including, without limitation, all articles, text, images, logos, compilation design) may printed for personal use only. No portion of these documents may be stored electronically, distributed electronically, or otherwise made available without express written consent of the copyright holder.