Page 80 - Winterling's Chasing the Wind

The JJC counselor didn’t inform me of this during my interview. It was not until I
entered FSU in 1955 did I learn that I hadn’t received a record of all my semester hours.

I breezed through my College Algebra at JJC because I had already gone through
Calculus in the Air Force. My favorite subject was Social Science which I studied
under Professor Joseph A. Hauber who enthusiastically helped me connect with the
history of my German grandparents. He attended Union Theological Seminary in New
York and was fluent in five different languages. He not only taught us Social Science
but most importantly the Etymology of words. Since most words have a root from
Latin, I then could understand a lot of things I read without actually knowing a new
word’s definition. Fortunately, I took one year of Latin in high school and two years of
Spanish. Another of my favorite subjects was Philosophy which was taught by the
acclaimed philosopher and theologian, Dr. James A. Stewart. His teaching of reasoning
and logic helped me understand how people could reach different conclusions from the
same facts.

CHAPTER 22 - Meeting the Love of My Life
One Sunday, I visited the Riverside Park Baptist Church which was a few blocks from
our house. One of the first persons I met was Bob Carter. Bob introduced me to his
sister, Virginia. I liked her from the beginning and we began sitting together in church.
We soon became Sunday School teachers. Many people said that we looked like
brother and sister when together. Virginia impressed me with the confidence of her
convictions, and I got the impression that she was very compassionate about other
people. In fact, I felt like she would have liked to become a missionary, although I
never told her that.

I met the love of my life at the Riverside Park Baptist Church where I was introduced
by Robert Carter to his sister, Virginia. After dating her for six months, I asked her to
marry me. We picked out her rings from the Ferrell Jewelry Store at the corner of Main
and Monroe Streets in downtown Jacksonville. Virginia had worked at the soda
fountain of the Lane Drug Store. I always enjoyed watching a “soda jerk”, (not
Virginia), making Ice Cream Sodas. I remember the Scarlet Nectar, a four-dip vanilla
ice cream soda that was built on a base of red cherry syrup. Virginia also worked for a
short time at the snack bar in the Jacksonville Train Terminal at Lee and Bay Streets.
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