right after the holidays the year before last. That’s why I’ve moved back here to be with family.”
“Oh my God, Trish, I’m so sorry. No, I hadn’t heard. Callie’s name was called, letting her know that her table was ready. “Look, if you’re here alone, why don’t you join us for lunch?”
“I don’t want to intrude.”
“You won’t be intruding, at all,” Eva assured her. “Besides, I’m in the market for new friends. Please join us.”
“Well, ok, if you’re sure you don’t mind. That would be nice.”
“Absolutely sure,” Callie stated. “So, are you still teaching?”
“Yes, although I moved back here after the school year started, so I wasn’t able to find a position. I guess I’ll go back to it after the summer, although I can’t say I’m looking forward to it. With all this high stakes testing in our education system, teaching just isn’t much fun anymore. It’s all drill and kill and no creativity. I got my Master’s degree as a reading specialist thinking I could really make a difference, but it’s all about the test now. Ever since the ‘No Child Left Behind’ act passed, everything is test driven. That’s all they want you to teach, and I just don’t believe in it. It’s a disservice to the kids.”
“Wow, I can see you feel very strongly about this. So, if you don’t want to teach, what do you want to do? Seems like a shame to have two degrees in education and never get to use them.”
“Oh, I still like education. It’s just public education I’m tired of. If I was rich, I’d start my own business and open up ‘The Literacy Center of El Paso’. It’s my dream. I would help kids who have trouble reading and for the kids who don’t have trouble reading, I’d show them how much fun it can be. I’ve got it all figured out. The only thing is, although I know reading, I don’t really know anything about owning my own business, not to mention, I don’t have any money to finance it. I have a goal, I just lack a plan, but I’m working on it. And someday, I’m going to make it happen.”
“Well, at least you know what you want to do. Callie and I came to lunch today to try to figure out what we want to do. I don’t have a clue. And I don’t have any credentials, either, except modeling, and I doubt that’s going to take me very far. At least Callie has a college education.”
“Yeah, but I’ve never used it, and the only work experience I have is the same as yours. What about getting a business loan, Trish? Have you thought about that?”
“Sure, but my credit is shot, I’m embarrassed to say. Pete…suffice it to say, he made some bad investments, and I had to declare bankruptcy before I left Dallas.”
“Hmmm. How much money do you figure it would take to start a Literacy Center, Trish?”
“A lot more than I’ll have in the foreseeable future. I figure I’d need about two hundred thousand to get started and keep it running for a year, and that’s including salaries, equipment, materials, and rent, assuming it’s not high end property.”
“Hmmm. Sounds like you’ve given this a lot of thought, Trish. Did you ever work out a business plan?”
“Not really. I don’t really know much about that part of it, other than you need it to get a loan. Since I’m not anywhere close to that step yet, I haven’t gotten that far.”
“Hmmm.” Callie glanced over at Eva, then back at Trish. “Here’s what I’m thinking. I have a degree in Business but no business idea. You have a business idea without the knowledge or means to get it going. What if we collaborated?”
Trish looked hopeful for a few minutes, then shook her head. “Even if we put our two heads together here, we’d still need to find the money. I’m broke, and unless you have a spare couple hundred grand lying
“Oh my God, Trish, I’m so sorry. No, I hadn’t heard. Callie’s name was called, letting her know that her table was ready. “Look, if you’re here alone, why don’t you join us for lunch?”
“I don’t want to intrude.”
“You won’t be intruding, at all,” Eva assured her. “Besides, I’m in the market for new friends. Please join us.”
“Well, ok, if you’re sure you don’t mind. That would be nice.”
“Absolutely sure,” Callie stated. “So, are you still teaching?”
“Yes, although I moved back here after the school year started, so I wasn’t able to find a position. I guess I’ll go back to it after the summer, although I can’t say I’m looking forward to it. With all this high stakes testing in our education system, teaching just isn’t much fun anymore. It’s all drill and kill and no creativity. I got my Master’s degree as a reading specialist thinking I could really make a difference, but it’s all about the test now. Ever since the ‘No Child Left Behind’ act passed, everything is test driven. That’s all they want you to teach, and I just don’t believe in it. It’s a disservice to the kids.”
“Wow, I can see you feel very strongly about this. So, if you don’t want to teach, what do you want to do? Seems like a shame to have two degrees in education and never get to use them.”
“Oh, I still like education. It’s just public education I’m tired of. If I was rich, I’d start my own business and open up ‘The Literacy Center of El Paso’. It’s my dream. I would help kids who have trouble reading and for the kids who don’t have trouble reading, I’d show them how much fun it can be. I’ve got it all figured out. The only thing is, although I know reading, I don’t really know anything about owning my own business, not to mention, I don’t have any money to finance it. I have a goal, I just lack a plan, but I’m working on it. And someday, I’m going to make it happen.”
“Well, at least you know what you want to do. Callie and I came to lunch today to try to figure out what we want to do. I don’t have a clue. And I don’t have any credentials, either, except modeling, and I doubt that’s going to take me very far. At least Callie has a college education.”
“Yeah, but I’ve never used it, and the only work experience I have is the same as yours. What about getting a business loan, Trish? Have you thought about that?”
“Sure, but my credit is shot, I’m embarrassed to say. Pete…suffice it to say, he made some bad investments, and I had to declare bankruptcy before I left Dallas.”
“Hmmm. How much money do you figure it would take to start a Literacy Center, Trish?”
“A lot more than I’ll have in the foreseeable future. I figure I’d need about two hundred thousand to get started and keep it running for a year, and that’s including salaries, equipment, materials, and rent, assuming it’s not high end property.”
“Hmmm. Sounds like you’ve given this a lot of thought, Trish. Did you ever work out a business plan?”
“Not really. I don’t really know much about that part of it, other than you need it to get a loan. Since I’m not anywhere close to that step yet, I haven’t gotten that far.”
“Hmmm.” Callie glanced over at Eva, then back at Trish. “Here’s what I’m thinking. I have a degree in Business but no business idea. You have a business idea without the knowledge or means to get it going. What if we collaborated?”
Trish looked hopeful for a few minutes, then shook her head. “Even if we put our two heads together here, we’d still need to find the money. I’m broke, and unless you have a spare couple hundred grand lying
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