Britany Carin Golden!

April 21, 1968 was a gorgeous Sunday in Houston. Kathy was ‘great with child’ and we attended our first ‘baby’ class sponsored by Methodist Hospital. I don’t recall her due date, but it was sometime in May so we had time to do the four week series of baby classes. After class we drove to Westbury Square and had ice cream at Rumpleheimers.

We returned home to our modest apartment in Poverty Pocket. I had acquired a wrecked Triumph TR-3 which I had every intention of restoring to running order. On Saturday I had finally gotten it running and I suggested to Kathy that we take a spin around the block in our ‘sports car’.

We got in and cranked it up. The seats were not bolted in - no matter. We banged and bumped around the neighborhood on the stiff suspension - probably not the best thing for my beautiful pregnant wife.

The next morning about 5AM she awakened me with, ‘I think it’s time!’ I still hold myself responsible for the early labor because of the ride in the Triumph.

We scrambled to get dressed. I briskly loaded a 20 exposure roll of Ektachrome in my Mamiya Sekor SLR to be ready to record the blessed event.

We quickly navigated the short drive to Methodist Hospital in the medical center. Obstetrics was a less exact science in 1968 so we did not know exactly how early Kathy was, but we knew she was early.

We bypassed a wait in the ER and they took her to labor and delivery. I went to the ‘stork club’ where expectant fathers sat while the L&D crew took care of the mother and child. (This was pretty stupid. I got to see Kathy for about 10 minutes every 12 hours. A tremendous difference from how this is handled today.)

The long and the short of it was that all day Monday and all day Tuesday(!!!) they tried to stop the labor because the baby would be premature. Then, finally, on Wednesday, Kathy’s physician decided to let them proceed.

By this time Kathy and the baby were so worn out that it took all day on Wednesday to finish.

During this time I was mostly in the Stork Club. I gathered enough cigars that I could have skipped buying any.

Late Wednesday Britany Carin Golden was born! I first saw her through the nursery window as they cleaned her up and weighed her and wrapped her in swaddling clothes. I was shooting photos like crazy. I was so pumped! When I got toward the end of the roll - 19, 20, 21, 22….oh, no. I had misloaded the camera and the film was not feeding. All of those pictures never recorded.

I got to hug Kathy when they took her to her room and I finally got to hold my precious, darling daughter a few minutes later. I still have back problems from being wrapped around her little finger.

Side note: Our student health insurance did not cover pregnancy. This was a challenge. In early 1968 I went to a credit union for medical center employees, became a member and secured a loan of $500. That was enough to cover both the ObGyn and the hospital if we paid in advance. Thank God for that credit union. You might also say that we bought Britany on the installment plan.