Pyramid schemes ... (part six, FINally!) ...

Sorry. I had NO idea, originally, that it would take this many posts to tell this story ... but, it has, and I thank you for bearing with me.


I had no control over Houston's economic situation. To make matters even more obscure, though, was the fact that in 1986 Houston was celebrating its sesquicentennial ... 150 years in existence, exactly the same number of years as Texas.

Kathy Whitmire was the mayor of Houston then, and there was this slogan, I remember distinctly, "Houston Proud". (Or maybe it was, "Houston Pride" -- ?? Guess I DON'T remember it all that distinctly!)


Whatever. There were a lot of fun activities celebrating the sesquicentennial that year. I was in the resale business, and collaborated with Ron and Susan Horowitz. We did at least a couple of shows together, and sold just a 'ton' of SQC stuff, some of which was very fine.


By the end of 1986, however, the city of Houston had lost over 160,000 jobs. We needed this sesquicentennial anniversary to try and keep our heads above water, and there it was ... we celebrated!


Also in 1986, my dad came to Houston for an operation. He had an aneurysm. It had been detected years previously, but nothing had ever been done about it. No one thought it was serious enuf to warrant an operation. They were just 'keeping an eye on it', they said.


The last half of 1986 is almost a blur for me. My third husband's announcement that he wanted a divorce, my dad's coming down for major surgery ... it's kind of fuzzy, even to this day!

My step-mother was staying in my townhouse. I was trying to conduct my art & accessories business during the day, and she was at the hospital (it seemed) day and night. (They had driven down here from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, as was per my dad's wont, and so she had their car available.)

Well, he never did recover fully from the operation. In fact, he died just before Christmas in 1986.


I guess you could say that I never fully recovered, either!


I spent the next almost three years trying to recapture (what had once been) a thriving art business. It simply wasn't there to be 'recaptured' -- or, perhaps, I was just not the one who could do it. My mind was simply not able to adequately focus.



This is now many years later.



Currently, being 'semi-retired' since September of last year, I am looking for something "part-time" that I could do to supplement my Social Security income (laughable at best, cry your heart out at worst).

I have been given suggestions 'out the wazoo', as you might imagine.

Actually, there are a couple or three things that I should probably pursue. 1) Tutoring ... why not? I certainly have the credentials! 2) Channel 39 (TV) keeps running these ads for help. Their studio is maybe 15 minutes away from where I live. I am a really good typist, why not at least inquire? 3) Proofreading ... My daughter has told me (for years!) that I am anal-retentive. Why not take advantage of that fact?



Meanwhile, being just a horrendously inexperienced neophyte in re the internet, I was drawn into an ad and answered it.

What could possibly have been the buzz words or phrases that attracted me? Well, they were ... "make money now" ... "proven advertising" ... "immediate cash flow" ... "your timing is perfect" ... "business opportunity" ... "work your own hours" ... etc., etc., ad infinitum.


It FINALLY dawned on me, Dave Matthews, that you were looking to recruit someone to become part of a pyramid network that would sell your (actually, they looked pretty good to me, and I should probably have one in my house!) air filtering systems.

Dave, I thank you for your low key approach, and I wish you much luck ... ... meanwhile, I'm still looking!