In Between

No single narrative describes my or anyone’s life.

That said, I wrote my obituary, a two hundred word narrative intended to communicate generalities of who I was, and meet a specific public need without being too special. I’m not talking about this. I have a few other narratives in mind.

I’m fortunate to have copies of my resumes dating back to 1975. I’m not sure employers do resumes any longer, favoring online applications that protect their legal liabilities. However, almost 50 years of resumes show my changing story. I keep up my LinkedIn profile with accurate jobs and dates of employment. I’m not really talking about these public-facing narratives either.

What is most interesting to me are those times when my personal narrative shifted. There are seven in between times at this writing:

• The time between graduation from university until enlisting in the U.S. Army, especially the time spent living in an apartment on Mississippi Avenue in Davenport in 1975 (18 months).
• Living at Five Points in Davenport after military service beginning in 1979 (Eight months).
• The time between graduate school and getting married, especially the time living in an apartment on Market Street in Iowa City beginning in 1981 (18 months).
• Working for a large oil company in the Chicago Loop beginning in 1989 (18 months).
• Retiring from transportation and logistics beginning July 2009 (17 months).
• Coping with retirement income needs beginning November 2012 (14 months).
• Dealing with the coronavirus pandemic beginning March 2020 (Two months).

Each of these periods proved important to how my life changed. They contribute more than what fits in a 200-word obituary. They are at the core of my autobiographical writing.

At the moment, I’m researching the third in-between time in Iowa City for my autobiography. Some of that writing will spill over to these pages, so stay tuned.