Aunt Eva

Aunt Eva was right when she said to me many years ago, likely when I was at latency age, that health was most important. I didn’t get it until I was in my late 50s, in the late 1990s, contemplating divorce. It was at that juncture, that I made changes physically by eating more prudently and by competing in Ride & Tie- a running and equine competition. A friend also presented me with the book called “Stopping the Clock.” This read dealt with antiaging and rejuvenation techniques. I then got it and these two elements {health and exercise} became my mantra. When I was younger as an elementary, junior high and senior high student, I bought into our capitalist economic motto. I was told by my father to work with my head and not my back. I was told by many that college was the path to economic success. Those that attended college earned more money. And back then, college was affordable, not at all like it is today. My passion back then was playing sports. Receiving a football scholarship facilitated my entry into higher education. Freud’s “drives” as in libido and the notion of the unconscious, along with Murray’s “needs” such as abasement, achievement, affiliation, aggression, play, infavoidance, etc. fueled my behavior. My father was a government employee, while most of my extended family seemed to be better off economically. I was able to compare, superficially, although unaware, family members who had a larger home, newer clothes, and attended summer resorts to my parents standard of living. Having more seemed better as I felt embarrassed having less. My father being a juvenile diabetic injected insulin daily, which colored, and played a significant role, along with his going in and out of the hospital for some medical condition. I was driven to accumulate money as the main goal. I married in my junior year at Wayne State University; switched from a business major to an education major; earned my bachelor’s degree; and took a position as a teacher with the Detroit Public Schools. In order to make more money, I attained a master’s degree from the University of Michigan with the idea that I would go into school administration. I had an opportunity to earn more money by taking a part-time teaching position at a community college. Once again, economics was the driving force. Shortly, I was hired as an assistant professor at Oakland Community College. I even decided to pursue a PhD to enhance my earning potential. After completing my PhD, at Wayne State University, I relocated in California, and was an Assistant Professor at California State San Bernardino. After a few years, I entered private practice as a licensed psychologist. To Be Continued