Grandfather Says: The Continuing Chronicles of Elaine, Part 29

The following was written by my late wife Elaine. She wrote a long book, a diary really, from which this is one passage:

My College Years, Age 33 to 40

I researched what possibilities there were, living far from any big city, and came up with a University of Virginia plan whereby people could take “extension classes” offered in many outlying places, and all the credits earned, if you followed a plan carefully, would apply toward a degree from the U of Virginia. I started this in 1967, and the first course Nancy and I took was in Fairfax County at George Mason College; it was English I, a basic course in composition and essay writing. I had no college prep work and hadn’t studied essay writing, but I worked hard in English I and did well. Extension classes usually met once a week for three hours per class, and I continued with several other courses at Vint Hill military base not far from Warrenton, or church basements or wherever courses were offered, and I did this for five years, one course at a time, while still keeping up with family things. (My college story will continue a few paragraphs ahead; it ended with a B.A. degree and graduation, in 1974.)

Sometime in 1967, I think, American astronauts completed a voyage to the Moon. This was one of the landmark events of our lifetime. I was enrolled in a college course on European History at Vint Hill Army Base at this time, and on the night of the Moon Walk, I went to the scheduled class. Everyone wanted to talk about the Moon Walk, but the stuffed-shirt young teacher said, “No, we have to discuss Bismarck tonight.” I think he had a perspective problem. The Moon Walk was a big deal in the course of human history; the lecture about a long-gone German leader could have waited I’d say!

Dave’s Grandma Miller thought the whole event of the moon walk was trick photography, because “God would never let a man walk on the moon.” Anyway, we shoulda stayed home from school that night.

To be continued…

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About the Author: RD Blakeslee is a nonagenarian in West Virginia who built his net worth by only investing in that which can be enjoyed during acquisition and throughout life, as opposed to papers in a drawer, like stocks and bonds. You can read more about him here.

Photos: Courtesy of the Blakeslee Family