My Memoirs - Citizen of the World

many tragedies in her life. Manuela was not only a great mother,
but also very well-educated. In fact, she was a polyglot, fluent in 4
languages. Who was going to take care of her three children? Her
husband was a terrible character and completely irresponsible. But
thanks to Margaret Kilpatrick, my sister’s mother-in-law, the
children were well cared for until they were old enough to be
independent. As a matter of fact, she was named, Grandmother of
the Year, by the mayor of Middletown, Connecticut for the
outstanding manner in which she raised those three children.
My Second Experience as a Salesman
After my sister's death, I found that she had a life insurance policy
with Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. When I went to their
insurance company’s office to make the claim, one of the
managers came to talk to me and asked if I would be interested in
becoming an insurance agent. He explained that it was a good
opportunity; someone had just left, so I could start working
immediately. He also explained that technically, there was no limit
as to what I could earn. My earnings would be dependent upon
how much time I wanted to invest.
I started work at Metropolitan Life the next morning and tendered
my resignation at the Hartford Insurance Co. My old supervisor
was a wonderful man. He said that he was going to miss me, but
he was also happy that I was starting a job with a lot of potential.
The new company offered me $200.00 per week, plus
commissions. They sent me to an Insurance Training Center in
New York City, and I graduated with good grades. After that, I had
to pass the State of Connecticut exam required to become a
licensed Insurance Sales Representative.
I was then ready to start my new job. At first, I was accompanied
by my manager during sales calls, but I was on my own after three
weeks. Initially, the manager gave me a few leads since I did not
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