Bill: After College, 1980-1983

Photos from several untitled albums, the next in the series. Bill did one that covered 1978-1983; Barb did two over the same period.

After graduation, in the summer of 1980, Bill Englehart and I moved to a newer apartment a few blocks closer to Wilson Boulevard. The building is no longer there, and there was not much to distinguish it other than another infestation of cockroaches. Sadly, it was in this apartment, that I went on a trip (to Florida?) and left Ziggy with Bill. Very suddenly, Ziggy fell ill and couldn’t move. Bill called Louise, I think, and the two of them got Zig to a vet where they put him to sleep. I don’t think we’d had any indication Zig was in trouble; it all happened very quickly and Bill felt terrible. We all missed Zig. My track record with cats was not off to a great start.

Bill and I stayed together in that apartment for a year and got along well, sharing an interest in Bruce Springsteen concerts, among other things. We also used to golf together quite a lot, often at Falls Road in Maryland or Reston National in Virginia.

I worked at the grandiosely named twin consulting firms of Washington International and Bei Jing-Washington, Inc., where I had interned in my last semester. It really boiled down to me and a small handful of other folks working out of the Chevy Chase home of the wheeler-dealer owner, Neal. Here is a letter home to Mom and Dad, describing my world at the time.

By the summer of 1981, I felt like I had enough income to get a place of my own. I rented a studio apartment on the 7th floor of Skyline Plaza in Falls Church. It was a small space but with a big balcony and a glorious view toward Washington, DC. It wasn’t quite as high as the photo below, but I could see the Washington Monument and Capitol and spent many happy evenings watching planes coast down over the Potomac toward National Airport.

Barb started her first real job after graduation in 1980, working as an auditor at First Virginia Bank in Falls Church. She had worked as a teller at various branches of the bank during the previous two summers. Like me, she had taken the Foreign Service test but did not advance. She applied for the CIA and got an interview at an unmarked building in Arlington, but did not get an offer. The bank may not have been her first choice of full-time career, but it became a good landing spot and she did well there over the next several years.

Barb got her first car, an old Datsun she nicknamed Leona. I think she lived at home during the first year out of college, then moved into a townhouse in Falls Church with some friends from the bank.

In August, 1981, Barb and I took a weekend jaunt out to wild and wonderful West Virginia, visiting Berkeley Springs and staying for a night at the Canaan Valley Resort (website), a hotel, golf course and ski area in a state park. We meandered our way back through Shanghai, WV, and a railroad bridge across the Potomac, I think.

In these photos of Christmas 1981 we have our first real shot of Joe, in a tell-tale dignified pose (though there is a glimpse of him in a Christmas shot from 1979…but maybe I’ve got the dates wrong). We all liked Joe from the outset and he was a happy addition to Fisher dinner table conversations. Good job, Betsy!

Fred and Louise had an artificial Christmas tree that I think they’d gotten in Germany. They took pride in unpacking it each year and saving on the expense and mess of a real tree. I always thought it was a tacky little thing, but it was hard to argue with the convenience and cost saving.

It had already become a Christmas Eve ritual to head over to Jessie and John O’Neill’s for dinner and carol singing. Joe and I got to know the O’Neills, Deans, Babcocks, Irelands, Getsingers and others from Fred and Louise’s group of old China hands from the Taichung language school. It was a treat to see them interact and tell stories, but intimidating to relate to them where we were in our various meager careers…and always confusing for me to remember the names of all their family members. I still have trouble, but am slowly getting it straight.

I spent much of the first half of 1982 in China, missing Betsy and Joe’s wedding (we must have photos of their wedding somewhere, but I haven’t found any yet). By the time I got back from China I was ready to propose to Barb. I actually made up my mind while I was in China, and during my short exit in Hong Kong I got Barb’s engagement ring made at Philip Chu’s. I’m sad to say I don’t know exactly when I proposed, but I think it was shortly after my return in June or July. I do know it was at our favorite little French restaurant, L’Alouette, in Arlington. We shared a bottle of champagne, which means I drank almost all of it, and I still have the cork as a memento even if I have few actual memories (more details here).

In July, Barb and I went to St. Croix for what was supposed to have been a Bei Jing-Washington board meeting. The meeting, which was set up as sort of a boondoggle, didn’t happen, but my boss Neal let the two of us go anyway in lieu of a bonus or a raise. We didn’t say no. It was our first visit to the Caribbean, and while St. Croix was nice, it was no Hawaii.

Later that summer, I quit working at Bei Jing-Washington (more about that thought process in my Bei Jing-Washington post) and found a spot as a technical writer at Atlantic Research Corporation in Springfield, VA. By this time, Barb had decided to go to law school and started studying for the LSATs.

She spent many an evening at a Kaplan prep course in DC, and I spent more than a few shuttling her to or from the Connecticut Avenue location. She ended up doing well with the tests and applied to various schools. She was accepted at UVA, but decided to take George Washington University up on its offer of a full scholarship, which was very hard to refuse, starting in the fall of 1983.

With Barb and I officially engaged and planning a May 1983 wedding, there were no objections to our moving in together. In August or so of 1982, we found a townhouse in Fairfax, not far from the Fishers, which we rented with a third guy who I’ve completely blanked on. It was on Assembly Drive in Fairfax, backing onto Chain Bridge Road between I-66 and Route 29. It was extremely well located for commuting. I think the other guy was a law school student and hardly ever there, so it worked out very nicely for us.

With a new home of our own, we also got a new kitten, Bert. I’m not sure where or how we got him. There’s more of his story to come, though.

October brought Halloween and another fine pumpkin carving, this time a portrait of Bert who did not seem to fully appreciate the event.

A scanning error, but kind of artsy, don’t you think?

Anne Banwell visited us once again for Thanksgiving, 1982. We had a day down at the Mall in DC, including a somber first visit to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial which had just opened weeks earlier.

For Christmas of 1982, we had our very first real Christmas tree, decorated with a mile of popcorn string. This was my first encounter with Barb’s fascination with popcorn string. I agree it’s very pretty, but even then did not think it was worth the hours of effort we put into stringing the corn. Still, it was nice to start creating some Christmas traditions of our own, including our first family portraits.

In February of 1983, we survived a blizzard, as evidenced by the photos below. Nearly two feet of snow fell at Dulles over one weekend, shutting down much of the region for several days. We dug ourselves out enough to go visit Bourbie and have some fun.

In Spring of 1983 we made a visit to Fen and Haya Babcock’s mountain cabin, Shadow Ridge (a play on Fen’s spook career at CIA). It was located beyond Front Royal, VA, on a ridge overlooking one of the branches of the Shenandoah. Fen especially loved the place and was forever puttering around, improving the cabin and surroundings in one way or another. Later in the summer, Barb and I would spend a day laboring to add a single step on an outdoor stone stairway. It was dubbed the “Barb and Bill Memorial Step.” The cabin was Fen’s pride and joy. It had a very nice deck with hummingbird feeders that made for pleasant afternoons. I wished it had a more expansive view of the Shenandoah Valley; instead, it was mostly woods but that seemed to suit Fen and Haya just fine. For this Spring trip, Mom and Dad joined us, no doubt on a planning visit a few weeks before our wedding.

Big News: In May of 1983, Barb and I got married. See separate posts for our rehearsal dinner, wedding ceremony, official wedding photos, reception, and honeymoon.

Later in May, we gathered at the Fishers’ for birthday celebrations for Fred and Joe.

Nice shirt. With Seely Brinscoe (?), not sure who’s on right

Over the summer, Barb and I moved into an apartment in Fairlington Village, a much closer commute for her to DC and for me to Springfield. I don’t remember the exact address (all the Fairlington townhouses look the same), but I think it was on South Columbus St., Arlington.

In August, we held a housewarming party, mostly including Barb’s friends from the bank…and Joe.

Betty Pence on the left, Jonetta in middle…not sure of the rest

Halloween 1983 saw us getting ready for a party with bank friend Betty Pence, making use of our Hawaii honeymoon acquisitions.

A few weeks later, Betty joined us for a day in DC, with requisite tourist pictures on the Mall. This was perhaps Barb’s last gasp of fun before really sinking her teeth into law school (and vice versa).

Next Post: Law School First Half, 1983-1984

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