Deane H. Shapiro, Jr., Ph. D.
This is a role play I created in a 1972 Values in Huma Behavior class about a couple making a decision regarding work and relationship. Little did I realize that seven years later Johanna and I would face this issue in own lives –with a sex role reversal to the script . Johanna received an excellent job offer in southern California (at U.C. Irvine School of Medicine) and Deane had good positions in Northern California. We decided on a third alternative: Johanna took the position, Deane continued with his work and commuted weekly for two and a half years. We also had learned to evolve a “roller skate” model taught to us by Robert Kantor. In the roller skate model, two people are holding onto a rope. At one point it appears the one in front is leading the other one behind is following. Yet, the one in front then pulls the one behind in centrifugal force fashion and that one now appears to be leading. Yet, they are working as a team, jointly working together. In this case honoring professional paths within a context of relational intimacy.