When I got out of the military, I went to work for the telephone company. I worked for them for twenty-seven years. I had installed, repaired. Since I could speak Spanish they gave me anyone who called for telephone repairs who spoke Spanish. I liked that because it kept my Spanish going. Because of my child-support payments, I needed to make more money. I got a job opportunity to become an engineer I asked for it. I took a test and came out on top and they sent me to engineering school.

So I got a degree similar to being a civil engineer. So I was in management with the telephone company for the last fifteen years or so. I took an early retirement with them at forty-nine because they wanted to move me to another area. I decided to stay here. After that, they paid my salary for a whole year.

I took care of my parents and then I took a job in Salinas working for social services for 126 field worker families. I spoke Spanish eight hours a day, five days a week, dealing with field worker families and their welfare. I did that for one year. It was stressful. I would get up in the middle of the night and turn the television on in English. I would lie in bed and have nightmares in Spanish with people saying “I spent all of my money on groceries and didn’t turn my PG &E bill and all of my groceries spoiled. What am I going to do?” It bothered me too much.

I started working at San Lorenzo Lumber. They matched my wages that I was making in Salinas. So I didn’t have to commute or have that stressful job. So I have worked for San Lorenzo Lumber now for fourteen years off-and-on.

I left for a while to take care of my parents. My mother had Alzheimer’s and my father was starting to have it too. So I took a leave of absence for two years. I lived in Arizona for two years until my mother died. Then I took care of my father back and fourth and then took him to live here. I took care of them for ten years.

We never discussed my leaving the Mormon faith. They were disappointed that I didn’t go, but shortly after me my brother and sister also left.

I was divorced for seven years.