We were pretty pathetic.

We nicked our Uncle Hans' old record player and some Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, and Nat King Cole LPs. The needle on the record player was so worn out that we had to pile spare change on the arm to make it work at all. It started with a 10 cent piece, then a 20 cent piece, then a 50 cent piece, then all three. By the time we got to $4.25 it was time to break down and get a new needle. But at least we'd saved enough money.

I also seemed to collect food. By the time I got my own place, I had refrigerator items that had lived with me in four different locations. I just couldn't throw them out. We'd been through too much together. I've still got a jar of gherkins that's been with me since the beginning. I just don't think it's fair to move to the nice apartment with the subzero refrigerator and throw away stuff that's stuck with me as long as it took me to make something of myself. I figured the gherkins should live the good life, too.

Kelly and I belonged to the Utility of the Month Club. You don't really want to be a member. That's when something different is shut off each month. This always seemed to happen when our dad came over to visit to check on how we were doing. I remember the phone being cut off and having to drive to the 7-Eleven to make calls. The next month it was the electricity. I made my sister go down to the electricity company and tell them our aunt lived with us, and that she was on a dialysis machine, so would they please turn it back on.