We got in and cranked it up

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.)