Once Doug returned to his hometown he decided he wanted to do something with his life that was constructive. He wanted to save lives instead of taking them. He thought he had done and seen enough killing and destruction in Vietnam to last him his lifetime.
Doug talked to Shirley about his plan to become a doctor and asked her if she would be willing to get a job and help out while he went to college and medical school. It would take several years of medical school and residency. He would use the GI bill; get student loans and work part-time to get through it all. They both knew they would have to make a lot of sacrifices in order for him to become a doctor. Shirley would have to work full time and pay a day care center to take care of Jenifer during the day. It wasn’t going to be easy for any of them but after what he went through in Vietnam he knew he could get through anything if he wanted it bad enough. It was going to be a grueling process but they both agreed it would be worth it once it was completed. They also talked about it and agreed not have any more children because it would just make things more difficult for all of them.
Once Doug was in school Shirley was able to get a job as a receptionist and in a few years she became a Dental Assistant. Her income, along with Doug working various jobs was enough to keep food on the table and pay the bills. She seemed to be happy with their arrangement and never complained. He told Shirley how much he appreciated her as often as he could. They both knew that someday life would be a little easier for them once he was a doctor.
He spent almost all his time studying and working part time during those years but he also tried to spend as much time with Shirley and Jenifer as he could. Finally, after all those long nights studying, writing essays, doing labs, class after class, and the years of medical school he made it! Once he had graduated, he and Shirley celebrated with a nice glass of red wine and dinner at the five-star Vintage Press Restaurant in Visalia.
Soon Doug completed his residency at the local Hospital in Visalia. He felt great that he was able to finally take some of the burden off of Shirley. Jenifer was around ten years old at the time and she was growing up way too fast by the time he set up his own practice. He was so busy building his practice that he never had much family time, unless he just set aside certain dates during the year. He was not only spending nine or ten hours a day seeing patients but was being called in the middle of the night for emergency patients.
In a few short years Doug paid back all of his student loans and purchased a house on a large lot in Green Acres Estates. It was an older but exclusive area of Visalia and the lots were all about a half-acre in size. There are lots of full grown trees and plants so they didn’t feel like they were so close to the next door neighbor. They had a twenty foot driveway put in on the east side of the house along with a twenty foot by forty foot metal building in the back. Doug kept his small fishing boat inside and also set up a home gym in the building to work out three to four days a week. They purchased a thirty foot Four Winds motor home and kept it parked in front of the building. They had visions of someday being able to travel and enjoy site seeing throughout the United States when Doug retired and Jenifer was out of school and on her own.
When Jennifer was a sophomore in high school Shirley quit her job at the dentist office. Doug was making enough money so Shirley’s income was no longer needed to support the family. They felt that since Jenifer was becoming very interested in boys Shirley should stay home and spend more time with her. Jenifer was no longer the skinny little girl she used to be. She was starting to fill out and look more like a woman. Doug tried to spend as much time with her as he could during those years but it was limited because of his practice. To make up for loss of family time with Shirley and Jenifer they always tried to take a couple of yearly vacations.
Doug’s brother Randy and his wife Karen lived in Visalia with their two children, a son and a daughter. Their kids were several years younger than Jenifer, their daughter Jodi idolized Jenifer. Every time she came over she would follow Jenifer around like a little puppy. Jodi and Brian were really good kids and they enjoyed having them over.
Jenifer was a cheer leader her junior and senior years and dated several different guys until she met David Hunter during her senior year in high school. David had just graduated from the local junior college and was working at his family’s lumberyard in the sales department. He was a tall slender young man with brown hair and green eyes. He always seemed be in a good mood and happy. It was easy to see what Jenifer saw in him. His father had passed away from a sudden heart attack during his first year of college so he had to help out with the family business. He was making a good income at the store and it was only a year after her graduation that he and Jenifer decided to get married.
Doug and Shirley were both a little disappointed that Jenifer wasn’t going to go on to college. After many discussions with Jenifer and David it seemed that they were very determined to get married. They were happy with each other and deeply in love. It seemed like they were perfect for each other. They had a nice wedding and it was only a few months after they were married when they announced to David’s mother Joyce and to Doug and Shirley they were going to have a baby. Doug felt like his time with Jenifer had gone by way too quick and now he was going to be a grandfather.
The day came and their new grandson, Michael Douglas Hunter was born. Doug took time off work and made sure he was able to be there when Michael was born. His entire world changed when his grandson came into the world. He decided he was going to start taking more time off from work and spend more time with his family. After Michael was born he would call Jenifer and talk to her a few times during the week and he and Shirley would baby-sit Michael as often as they could, just to be with him. Doug loved watching Michael learn how to crawl, walk and how to say mommy, daddy, papa, and gamma.
It was when Michael was only two and half years old that the family was torn apart. David and Jenifer had left Michael with Doug and Shirley to go to a function they had to attend in the evening. It was around 1:00 a.m. when they received a call from the local police that there had been a terrible car accident. The person on the phone said that Jenifer and David had been hit by a drunk driver who had run a stop sign. She said that they had been taken to the local hospital. Panicked, they woke up Michael, dressed him, quickly wrapped him in a blanket and went to the hospital. When they arrived they were met by a doctor and told that both Jenifer and David didn’t make it. He told them they were killed instantly in the accident. They immediately broke down and Shirley was completely hysterical, crying and screaming. Not knowing what was going on, Michael was just looking at both of them crying. Doug quickly took him from Shirley’s arms, held him tight and tried to comfort him. Joyce arrived at the hospital and was given the news. She had to be sedated as she went into shock.
That night was like a blur to them and all Doug remembered feeling was that it was the worst night of his life. He had been through a lot of death and destruction in Vietnam and several of his patients’ passed away while under his care, but none of that prepared him for the death of his own daughter and son-in-law. When he was alone he had time to reflect on his life with Jenifer and he was feeling very sad and guilty that he hadn’t spent more time with her.
The next day Shirley spent most of the day just lying in bed and crying. Doug had to give her medication to help sedate her and that went on for several days after the funeral. He did his best to console her but knew the only thing that was going to help was time. He took time off work to help take care of Michael. Every night, for the next several weeks, they let Michael sleep in the bed with them. He cried himself to sleep almost every night, saying over and over again, “I want Mommy.” It tore Doug up inside, but he had to be strong for Michael and Shirley and all he could do was hold them and try to comfort them. He sat down with Shirley one evening and told her that they both needed to be strong for Michael because they were the ones that would be raising him from that point on. In a fe
w days Shirley took over the care of Michael while Doug went back to work. Jodi and Brian come over as much as Shirley would let them to spend time with Michael. It seemed to help Shirley get through those trying times. They met with Joyce about a month after the children’s death to discuss who was going to take care of Michael. Everyone agreed it would be better if Doug and Shirley were to have custody of Michael since Joyce had health issues and didn’t think she could care for a young child.
After Jenifer’s death Doug and Shirley spent all their time with Michael teaching him how to share, how to play with other kids, how to mind the teachers and have respect for his elders. Michael wasn’t deprived of anything, and yet he very seldom misbehaved. He was always happy and respectful to others. Doug took Michael with him everywhere he went, even if it was just to the store and back. He liked to brag about his grandson to all the people in the stores. He would tell everyone what a good kid he was.
Doug taught Michael how to ride a bike, how to snow ski, water ski and to fish. They enrolled him into the youth football program when he was old enough and they did everything with and for him. They also enrolled Michael into a private Christian school so he could get the best education available.
Michael was around 12 years old When the World Trade Center, (Twin Towers) in New York was destroyed and the Pentagon was attacked by the terrorists on September 11, 2001. The attack was on every television channel. The next day, after the attack, Michael came into the kitchen and told them that he was going to join the military as soon as he was old enough. He had tears in his eyes as he told Doug and Shirley, “I want to kill the ones that did this to our American people.” Doug looked at Shirley in bewilderment and he thought where did that come from? They dismissed it at the time because they knew it would be several years before he was actually old enough to join the military.
The next several years with Michael were spent watching him grow from a boy to a young man. He was almost six feet tall by the time he was sixteen years old. Doug and Shirley continued to devote their entire life to raising him and spent every spare moment they could with him. They continued to go to countless football games, played video games with him or just hung out together, sometimes just watching television. They laughed with each other as Michael went through the “awkward years” with the girls. They made it a point every day to tell each other how much they loved each other. As Michael grew older, Doug’s bond with him was so strong that he felt like he wasn’t only his grandson, he was his best friend. They could talk about anything, regardless of the subject. They never lost their temper or had a harsh word to say to each other.
* * *
Chapter 5 – Doug’s Alone
The American Terrorist Page 4