Patricia's Correspondence

I received this, my sixteenth message from Patricia, a second on 8th February 2011. This email letter is signed by Patty A and Margaret B with only Margaret's email in the signature but Patty's in the sender field. Starting from letter 10, the letters have became more verbose and wordy, presenting more information of Patty's life. We're starting to see a fuller picture now. If this continues, we may be able to write a full length biography of Patty. Does this consistency verify Patricia's story. Or are her pets showing some ambiguity?

Subject: Re: Hello

To Whom It May Concern:

I never had a car while at Mesa College even though I was from a bigger city and more urbanized. Other students in the dorms who were from Denver had cars and part time jobs off campus as I recall. I never had a problem with needing or wanting a car in order to go off to college. I never had a car while in high school for the most part unless I borrowed it from my parents so I was used to not having one or I wasn't raised that way and it didn't bother me that much. During the great blizzard in December of 1982 I was afraid I was going to be snowed in at the campus and in the dorms for Christmas and New Years break and so were a lot of other students probably. Most of them left the dorms early or had made arrangements to stay in town for the holidays or in the campus apartments or off campus with friends. I was never taken into consideration or even asked as usual and I don't know if that was unusual policy then or not. I had always taken a taxi to the bus or train station to go back to Denver in the previous few semesters so I was used to doing that and had no problems with that. Other students may have had problems with that or were jealous or had a car or got a ride to return to Denver occasionally whereas I was always on my own and left to fend for myself. I had always asked around for a ride back to Denver if anyone was going that way or lived there and no one ever responded even though they lived in Denver or near us. The blizzard of 1982 was no different and I never really expected anyone to give me a ride back to Denver as usual even though a blizzard was on it's way and Denver as well as Grand Junction and the mountains were going to be socked in for the holidays. I was late getting back to college after the holidays just like everyone else because there was indeed a lot of snow in Denver that made travel impossible or dangerous. I was one of the last students to clear out of the dorms that semester and had made plans to call the taxi to take me to the bus station as usual. I had tried to ask one friend as usual if she was going to Denver and if I could get a ride with her. That time she said yes as I recall which was unusual because on previous attempts she had always said no. It may have become a game and traditional or a joke or funny to her by that time for me to ask for a ride and for her to say no. I can't be too sure since I was heavily medicated and a little out of it. Since she said yes that time I was half way counting on her or expecting her or her friends to follow through on it. She backed out and said no and she said she was going to a motel for the holidays or was going to live with friends in an on or off campus apartment. That was a little disappointing and frightening because I could have called a cab earlier in the day and been on the bus and half way back to Denver by the time she got back to me to give me a different answer. Intentional delays like that on her part could have meant I would have had to remain in an off campus living arrangement for the holidays that I wouldn't have liked or needed and worse.

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One of the R.A.'s in the dorm knocked on my door and was pretty concerned I was still there and wondered what I was going to do and how and when I was leaving and where I was going to stay because they were closing the dorms for the holidays. I thought she knew or had been informed I was getting a ride from this person and I was also used to taking the train or bus on previous occasions and I thought she was aware of that also. I told her I was getting a ride from that person but she also had cancelled. Another woman in the dorms whom I had gotten previous rides back to Denver from was still packing and had her own car and said she and I could go back to Denver if that woman didn't show up or cancelled which is exactly what happened. I ended up getting a ride with her instead of taking the bus or train as I had done in previous semesters. I thought the R.A. could have been familiar with the other person and was aware she wasn't very nice or kind or fair and was probably pulling a prank. I wouldn't know since I was relying on her just this one time but she had apparently let me down. I couldn't see why the R.A. was suddenly so upset and worried over my predicament when it was new behavior or policy on her part towards me and I thought she had been told I was getting a ride from that person or the other woman with her own car. I was the likely victim of the R.A's and their new policies as well as the woman who promised me a ride for once but failed to show up. I thought it may have been an intentional conspiracy on their part or someone put them up to it because things were definitely changing for the worse as far as mental health and housing policies for students was concerned. I was probably a good and easy target for both of them as well as the changing polices on and off campus that I had no control over. They were the ones with too much power, trust and authority on their side or acted like it and it was getting worse. I thought they may have been staying in one of the on campus apartments that were the trendy places to live at the time. She and I shared one of those apartments that previous summer but I left early even though we had a deal and an agreement. I thought that was a little strange even then that she only wanted me around to sign the lease and pretend to be paying rent and living there as agreed but maybe never really intended for it to work out or for me to be replaced with a new roommate. She may have used me as a tool or bait or an excuse for the landlord or something like that during the summer so she could have rights to the apartment that fall and winter. I thought she started living off campus that fall and winter and continued to do so the next January and until she graduated when she should have been in the dorms like everyone else.

I never really panicked during the Great Blizzard of '82 because I knew I could take a taxi to catch the bus as usual. The R.A. or someone else may have been panicking but not me. Thank goodness the other woman in the dormitory who was more reliable and had her own car was still there and had agreed earlier to take us both back to Denver. She never gave me a ride back to Grand Junction even though she lived not very far from me. I was on my own after that and had to take the bus once it stopped snowing. I think that was the Christmas our big early 1970's model red car became stuck in a snow bank right outside our house and Hussein's Arab Bedouin friends came by to dig it out. We all helped push the car out of the snow bank as I recall.

Patty A. and Margaret B.