Part 1. Take a well day.
Newly married and almost 21 years old, I was looking for a job doing....anything! I found one working for the State of CA in the Employment Development Dept in San Francisco back then, as a clerk typist II, part time. When an opportunity came to transfer closer to home, I took it and my title with me, to Oakland. I worked at a place called Tolliver Center on 28th Street and San Pablo Ave. It wasn't cool then and it hasn't gotten much better. The CA Youth Authority was my boss. The place was full of good intentions gone bad. The employees stole from the state, stole the vouchers from the kids (used them to get clothes for themselves and their own families), and I just shut my mouth and clerk-typed my way through the half day. There was a gal with a Spanish surname, but she was white as a white peach pie, and she would try to be cool with the kids. She got the job because of that last name. Oh, and she got the job, because she was on the methadone maintenance pr