Because of the slump in the economy, Dow was having a very bad year. We had gone from nearly 2,000 employees working at the Dow Center to 250. Dow decided to transfer me to the large chemical complex in Freeport, Texas. Tina was able to transfer to the Dow Employees Credit Union's main office in Lake Jackson. We moved into a Dow apartment while looking for suitable housing. We eventually bought the rental property I had lived in before from my brother, and I set about adding square footage and remodeling the rest. It took me, my wife, and Ben four years to complete the project.
I enrolled Ben in summer band practice at the high school before school started. One day after work, I drove over to the high school to watch the band practice. It was hot, so the band took a water break and went into the band hall. When they came back out, Ben wasn’t there. I saw Tina’s car flying by the school on her way to her parents’ house, even though she was supposed to still be at work. I pulled out and followed her to see what was going on.
She told me that a deputy sheriff had picked Ben up, handcuffed him in front of his classmates, and taken him to jail in Angleton, Texas. I drove to Angleton and went into the Sheriff’s office to ask where Ben was. I looked around the room, and there was Cece and her husband Tony, who promptly left. I asked the receptionist not to let them take Ben until I had a chance to talk to the Sheriff, whom I knew well. The Sheriff never showed up, and they took Ben to Houston and had him on a plane back to Illinois that evening.
That is not the end of that story.