Beverly McCoy-Chapman
Beverly is pictured with husband, Clif.}
I’ve heard it said you can never go back, which I guess is to your roots? “But I’m back”, back to my old HOME TOWN Enid. It’s here I grew up and have always wanted to be. I left one daughter here, her own choice, so I’ve always felt I have permanent ties and roots here.
I married Clif Chapman soon after graduation. Marriage, home and lots of babies were always a dream. Now remember, in the 50’s you couldn’t vote until you were 21 so I had three babies before I could vote. I chose to be a stay-at-home Mom and my MOTTO has always been: “I thrive on chaos.” We had our last baby in 1962, a boy after three girls.
Clif was with Safeway Stores Inc., and we stayed in Enid until the kids were grown. Safeway transferred him to Dodge City, KS and then back to Oklahoma. We resided in Oklahoma City until 2005. At the time we started moving and leaving the kids behind, I experienced total empty nest syndrome so I decided to go to work. I had several interesting jobs and gained a lot of experience. This experience allowed me to work as a floater for Safeway in their corporation offices. For almost five years I had a new job every Monday morning. I couldn’t name the number of offices Safeway had, but each office was different, each having its own place in the grocery business. This afforded me a lot of freedom and a whole lot of diversity, which made it a lot more interesting. After Safeway closed, I went to work for Eskridge Lexus of Oklahoma. I was the secretary in the collision center. I was the only woman there and became Mom over the next few years to a lot of guys.
In 2005, because of my husband’s bad health, I retired after having worked for Lexus 17 years, and we came back to Enid. I can no longer care for Clif in our home so he is in the Commons Living Facility. We just celebrated our 50th Wedding Anniversary and he still knows my name, of this I am thankful.
I enjoy writing and was finally published in 1993 in the Quarterly issue of the Heartland Magazine, under random sighting. My story is called, “Greasy Spoon.” At the heart of almost every small town is a great café or diner. It describes my growing up in Enid and working at my Daddy’s café. I like short stories and currently have TWO pending publications. We have five grandchildren and one most wonderful great-grand daughter, Hana Kay. She is almost two and she keeps us young.
I never expected to be spending my GOLDEN YEARS doing volunteer work at a rest home (Excuse me, an adult living facility to be politically correct) but we are needed and getting here from 1957 has been a trip. Psalm 143:8 says, “Cause me to hear thy loving kindness in the morning, for in thee do I trust.” I am constantly reminded that the words God speaks to me are spirit and they are life. How could I not trust him with my every waking hour?