My short career in Washington DC

When I was in college, I was recruited by the CIA to work for them providing I passed all the information gathering they were doing . . . is that like vetting? Whatever it was, I passed and awaited my orders to travel across the country to Washington DC. It took them all summer and into winter before they were done. I had no back taxes which I hadn’t paid as I had no taxes at all, and I’d never hired an illegal nanny to care for me, so I was very easy to investigate. So why did it take them so long? My dad did hire Mexicans to help with the crops, and I assume they were illegal, otherwise why were helicopters flying over our orchard at different times and why were the Mexicans scurrying all over the place? I guess the CIA didn’t care what my dad was doing . . . or maybe they didn’t know. Too bad the government doesn’t spend that much time picking cabinet and staff members. I had never been on a plane, so when the time came to go, it was quite an experience. All I knew was that I had to report to a certain hall on a certain morning, so I flew in the day before. Being the simple country girl that I was, I figured the “hall” was going to be a dormitory for women employees. I spent the first night at the YWCA, and then traveled to the hall with my huge trunk which held all my belongings. Upon arrival, I was told that this was a place of business and not a dormitory, so I had to find my own place of residence. I was quite embarrassed, to say the least.

I spent a few nights at the YWCA, and then two other girls and I went apartment hunting. Our big mistake was doing it at night when we couldn’t see the surroundings, so we ended up in a basement apartment with bars on the windows. We were glad we had the bars when we discovered where we were. It was not a good part of town . . . actually, it was a very bad part of town. When we walked down the streets in our neighborhood, little kids would run along beside us asking for money. We never gave them any as we had none ourselves. At night, strange people would bang on our door looking for someone other than one of us. It was scary times quite often.

My work there was very dull and nothing complicated. The three of us went to parties and always told people we worked for the Bureau of Indian Affairs so they wouldn’t know where we worked. But I imagine everyone at those parties also worked where we did. It was sort of our little secret. My boyfriend back home wanted to get married, but I wanted to see things I hadn’t seen before so was in no hurry to return. But he eventually sent me a ring in the mail. He was no dummy and knew there was no way I’d send it back. I kept it, and I’m glad I did as I did marry him and had two beautiful daughters. But in the meantime, I met many people there, but would never date anyone as I was engaged with a ring and everything. I pulled the same stunt when I worked at Crater Lake one summer and was going with a guy in college. I wouldn’t date anyone at the lake as I was being true to my sweetie back home whom I found out later was not being true to me! Why did I ever let myself get sucked into those situations? One guy in DC was the silverware salesman who liked me and would come by frequently. I wouldn’t go out with him, but I would let him brush my hair – I had long hair and loved to have it brushed. I think I did the same thing at Crater Lake. I seem to have had my hair brushed all over the country by nice guys . . . sort of like foreplay with no resolution. Too bad I wouldn’t let things go any further than just hair brushing. But then, I said I was simple. I’m not simple anymore.

The picture is of me sitting between the lion’s paws in front of Union Station in DC. I notice my hair is down – maybe I was expecting a gentleman caller. I was crazy in those days and still am, but with short hair which isn’t the same as brushing long hair.

I finally came home after spending only about 7 months there. The government wasted a lot of money on me, but they seem to be able to do that quite easily. I was married a couple months later and we all lived happily ever after. Well . . . not quite, but I do have two wonderful daughters.