Doris Gets Miracle Job
From James Donahue’s Journal
The move to Kalamazoo and the disappointment over the city’s harsh rules blocking our plans to place apartments in the house we purchased left us financially pinched and trying to turn a monster of a building into a home.
Doris had a way of working miracles and it was not long before she had the place looking and feeling comfortable. But my income at the newspaper, and the fact that we had to wait through another six-month probationary period before benefits like the company health insurance plan kicked in, left us eating hot dogs and beans once again.
Doris decided that she needed to search for work. Kalamazoo had two large hospitals, Borgess, a Catholic oriented facility, and Bronson Methodist. She found a job opening in the lab at Borgess, applied for it, and was granted an interview.
We were excited about the possibility of her getting such a position since we desperately needed a second income. But we also knew that her training at Mount Pleasant, and her experience at small hospitals like Bad Axe, Watervliet and South Haven, may not have been adequate to qualify her for a job in a major facility like this one. She went bravely into the interview that day while I waited, with my fingers crossed.
What happened was a miracle. Doris, who has always been honest and up-front about everything, confessed that she had lost her job in South Haven over a disagreement with a doctor. But her knowledge about laboratory work, and her presentation during that interview apparently impressed the administrative staff. They also seemed to be impressed with her honesty about the South Haven incident. She got the job.
That the position opened for her rather than applicants with college degrees was almost impossible to believe. Not only was she hired to work in that lab, but she later was placed on an afternoon shift where she was given more responsibility. She always said it was the best job she ever had.
We worked out a special arrangement so that someone was always home with the children. When Doris began working the four to midnight shift, I started going to work at 6 a.m. so I could always be home before she left the house. If I had night work, it usually meant covering a musical event and if Doris was working those nights, I usually managed to take the children with me. They seemed to enjoy the concerts and I liked the idea of giving them the cultural experience.
After Doris began bringing home regular paychecks, we quickly crawled out of our financial troubles and it looked as if life was going to be good for us in Kalamazoo. At least that was how it looked at first.
From James Donahue’s Journal
The move to Kalamazoo and the disappointment over the city’s harsh rules blocking our plans to place apartments in the house we purchased left us financially pinched and trying to turn a monster of a building into a home.
Doris had a way of working miracles and it was not long before she had the place looking and feeling comfortable. But my income at the newspaper, and the fact that we had to wait through another six-month probationary period before benefits like the company health insurance plan kicked in, left us eating hot dogs and beans once again.
Doris decided that she needed to search for work. Kalamazoo had two large hospitals, Borgess, a Catholic oriented facility, and Bronson Methodist. She found a job opening in the lab at Borgess, applied for it, and was granted an interview.
We were excited about the possibility of her getting such a position since we desperately needed a second income. But we also knew that her training at Mount Pleasant, and her experience at small hospitals like Bad Axe, Watervliet and South Haven, may not have been adequate to qualify her for a job in a major facility like this one. She went bravely into the interview that day while I waited, with my fingers crossed.
What happened was a miracle. Doris, who has always been honest and up-front about everything, confessed that she had lost her job in South Haven over a disagreement with a doctor. But her knowledge about laboratory work, and her presentation during that interview apparently impressed the administrative staff. They also seemed to be impressed with her honesty about the South Haven incident. She got the job.
That the position opened for her rather than applicants with college degrees was almost impossible to believe. Not only was she hired to work in that lab, but she later was placed on an afternoon shift where she was given more responsibility. She always said it was the best job she ever had.
We worked out a special arrangement so that someone was always home with the children. When Doris began working the four to midnight shift, I started going to work at 6 a.m. so I could always be home before she left the house. If I had night work, it usually meant covering a musical event and if Doris was working those nights, I usually managed to take the children with me. They seemed to enjoy the concerts and I liked the idea of giving them the cultural experience.
After Doris began bringing home regular paychecks, we quickly crawled out of our financial troubles and it looked as if life was going to be good for us in Kalamazoo. At least that was how it looked at first.