Marathon Woman by Kathrine Switzer

Author:Kathrine Switzer
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Da Capo Press
Published: 2017-04-03T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 16

AND THIS WAS JUST THE BEGINNING.

Well, it was mostly the end of an old era, anyway. My boss at AMF confessed a year or so later that he had been able to hire me at a much lower salary than a man with the same skills, a left-handed compliment that nowadays someone could be sued for. Since AMF was located in suburban White Plains, and everything cool was happening in Manhattan, I was glad I’d insisted on a salary of $13,000, $2,000 above his offer. It meant I could continue to live in Manhattan, and for the first time in a while I wouldn’t feel that I was just scraping by.

I could hardly believe it—a full-time sports-based job with a Fortune 500 company, my own sleek office, secretarial help, and a health plan. It was bliss, even though after taxes my sublet was more than half of my salary. Luckily, I also had the freelance work, and at the office I had my own IBM self-correcting typewriter and access to a copy machine. This was very hot stuff in those days, and it allowed me to do freelance work during lunch or after my boss had left for the day.

I didn’t want to admit it, but the job was much better for my running, too, since I ran in White Plains right after work and went home in my running clothes. I felt a lot safer. There were miles of long, beautiful, traffic-free streets in White Plains, with street lamps, gorgeous homes, and golf courses.

The running was so good I was actually beginning to think about leaving the city altogether when a fire at my apartment house prompted a different move. I came home to find everything, including my new clothes, covered in black greasy smoke and the apartment unlivable for a few days. Philip, who had already started to say he loved me, jumped at the opportunity for me to stay with him. I knew it was a risk, but I needed a place to stay, and I convinced myself that it would be for only a few days.

Of course, what happened is that we had a lot of fun living together, became a romantic item, and soon it didn’t seem to make sense to live apart even though I really didn’t want the obligations of living with someone. It’s a nice trade-off to have someone expecting you, and sharing a Manhattan rent has lured many couples into living together. The danger is that you can’t afford to be single again! That was just one of the problems ahead, but I was happy enough and Philip was ecstatic; frankly, it felt awfully good to be adored and fussed over for just about the first time in my adult life.

I also loved the routine of going to work again; especially that morning moment when, coffee in hand, you sit at your own desk, in your own office, settle into work and are launched and cranking. One of the best things about my job was my counterpart, Ted Smits, the retired sports editor of the AP.

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