TBT: Oh The Papers I Wrote

Ah yes....things wives do. Foolish things wives do. We've all heard about the wives who slaved away as typists, back when the world used typewriters, to put their dear hubby through school or residency or blah blah blah.

Well back in my day, I urged my then husband to finish HIS degree while he was working full time. In the UK in those days, I was not allowed to work because of the 'status of forces' agreement. So I wrote papers for him so he could sleep instead of staying up to do his own schoolwork. He graduated and when a M.A. program was  offered, once again I encouraged him to go for it. He did and I read more books on international affairs than I had ever planned to. It was hard to discuss these with him since he, of course, was not reading them! In fact, one time when 'his' paper' did not receive the usual A, I was furious and kept telling him to go discuss that with his professor. Naturally, he refused and I stewed a long time about that undeserved B.  Undeserved at least in my mind.

But eventually this duplicity was over and he received the Master of Arts degree. The ceremony was held in London and it was in the early 70s I believe. Another wife and I decided there was time before the actual event to wander around the streets of London which we knew fairly well. A stop in a pub led us to almost missing the actual event. I recall wearing a fashionable maxi dress and having to pick my dress up to dash back to the ceremony. I still think maxi dresses are a pain in the ..... Maxis and clog like wooden soled shoes do not lend themselves to quick movement I found.

He's the one in the back row, 2nd from right with the grin and the stache. I now wonder 1. How many of these men are still alive and 2. How many did their own classwork for that degree???

Life leaves us with many unanswered questions.