I know my blog is mostly just me rambling on about events in my life. I don't remember the years most things happened... I don't know what age I was when most events happened. I never wrote anything down back then. The thought of keeping a diary was just plain foriegn to me. Judy kept a diary most of her growing up years. I'm sure she could put years to some of my events... but I can't.
I am just writing this in hopes that someone enjoys it. This is my life as I remember it. Some of my thoughts on childhood events may explain "me". Some of my thoughts may have been way off...but they are how I felt then and now about the event.
I had a good childhood. Enjoyed life and loved my family. We were a busy bunch...never sat down much (except for JoAnn, who sat to read).
People ask us WHAT we did without a TV in the house...and yet I don't think we would have had time for a TV. We never ran out of things to do. I don't EVER remember saying to my mom "I'm bored"!! She let us out the door at sunrise and we returned when we heard Dad whisle for dinner. Even during the school year we kept busy after school. It was painful to find time to do homework...and I'm quite sure I didn't find time as often as I should have.
But...we did have one TV show we hated to miss... the MICKEY MOUSE Show!! I remember when it was time for Mickey Mouse to come on we would head to a friends house to watch it. We didn't all barge in on one house...we split up for Mickey Mouse. I went to Susie Willis's house until she moved away. We all loved that show. They had two boys that rode horsed and lived on a ranch (help me out here Judy) I don't remember who those two where, but they were my favorites on the show. Annette P. was great also... singing, dancing, etc. What a simple show... but we all loved it!!
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Big Sur
I remember one year we went camping in Big Sur, California. We met Uncle Herman and family there. Uncle Herman was a fun guy.... always laughing and happy. He loved his beer, he even built a small trailer to haul behind his vehicle just for his beer!! I guess he liked the beer from Louisiana better than what we have on the West Coast.
But...Uncle Herman was from the SOUTH... and he was prejudice!! He let us know he hated Negro People!! We had to get something from the little store near Big Sur before we set up camp... Dad and Herman were going to go into the store and leave all of us kids and the women in the cars. Both men got out and started into the store...and Herman quickly got back in the car... he saw a Negro in the store and there was NO way he was going into a store with a Negro!! Obviously Dad never noticed the color of any of the other shoppers skin...Dad never did. We lived among the Negros so much we never noticed them.
We camped at Big Sur for a full week. It was one of the best camping experiences of my life. There was a great creek going through the campground, there was a swimming pool and a STORE!! what more could a person want??? I remember most of the group going on some hike into the hills..but I stayed back with mom and Aunt Flossy and the little kids. I chose to explore the area on the other side of the highway, next to the ocean -- all by myself. It was awesome... very beautiful area. I remember I hiked so far I thought I was lost... I offered a prayer and felt a peace come over me. Soon I was back to the highway and down the road was the campground.
Aunt Flossy was a nice lady. A school teacher - who never forgot that her career was teaching. I remember how she would explain things to me...taking her time to make sure I understood. She was always fit, never got fat. She said her secret was to brush her teeth once she finished a meal and not eat again until the next meal. I thought that was a great idea...but, heck, back then I forgot to brush my teeth half the time!!
They had kids...but I honestly don't remember any of them. I'm sure we all played together and had a good time.... but I remember being alone a lot on that trip...and enjoying the solitude. I guess being anti-social started early in my life. Cause I sure like my alone time even now.
Uncle Herman worked for the Post Office. When Herman and Flossy got older they would come to visit by train. They loved Amtrak... the fact that they had a LOT of time off for their vacations sure helped. Most of us don't have enough time to enjoy a trip on Amtrak.
Emily was named Emily Florence and so she had a special bond to her. I remember Em always finding items with strawberries on them to send to her. I wonder if Aunt Flossy still likes strawberries.
Florence and Herman were flooded out of their home from Hurricane Katrina. They then moved to Arizona to live by their daughter. I hear she is doing good...spry as ever!! (2011)
But...Uncle Herman was from the SOUTH... and he was prejudice!! He let us know he hated Negro People!! We had to get something from the little store near Big Sur before we set up camp... Dad and Herman were going to go into the store and leave all of us kids and the women in the cars. Both men got out and started into the store...and Herman quickly got back in the car... he saw a Negro in the store and there was NO way he was going into a store with a Negro!! Obviously Dad never noticed the color of any of the other shoppers skin...Dad never did. We lived among the Negros so much we never noticed them.
We camped at Big Sur for a full week. It was one of the best camping experiences of my life. There was a great creek going through the campground, there was a swimming pool and a STORE!! what more could a person want??? I remember most of the group going on some hike into the hills..but I stayed back with mom and Aunt Flossy and the little kids. I chose to explore the area on the other side of the highway, next to the ocean -- all by myself. It was awesome... very beautiful area. I remember I hiked so far I thought I was lost... I offered a prayer and felt a peace come over me. Soon I was back to the highway and down the road was the campground.
Aunt Flossy was a nice lady. A school teacher - who never forgot that her career was teaching. I remember how she would explain things to me...taking her time to make sure I understood. She was always fit, never got fat. She said her secret was to brush her teeth once she finished a meal and not eat again until the next meal. I thought that was a great idea...but, heck, back then I forgot to brush my teeth half the time!!
They had kids...but I honestly don't remember any of them. I'm sure we all played together and had a good time.... but I remember being alone a lot on that trip...and enjoying the solitude. I guess being anti-social started early in my life. Cause I sure like my alone time even now.
Uncle Herman worked for the Post Office. When Herman and Flossy got older they would come to visit by train. They loved Amtrak... the fact that they had a LOT of time off for their vacations sure helped. Most of us don't have enough time to enjoy a trip on Amtrak.
Emily was named Emily Florence and so she had a special bond to her. I remember Em always finding items with strawberries on them to send to her. I wonder if Aunt Flossy still likes strawberries.
Florence and Herman were flooded out of their home from Hurricane Katrina. They then moved to Arizona to live by their daughter. I hear she is doing good...spry as ever!! (2011)
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Judy becomes a salesperson... Bible Story Books
One summer, before I got my "real" job. And while Judy was attending PUC she decided to sell Bible Story books during the summer to earn money for college. The idea was to knock on the door, ask the person to check over the book, leave the book and return the next day and talk them into buying a set. For some reason Judy had Petaluma for her district. So...each day Judy and I drove to Petaluma to drop off books and check back at homes with books and try and sell sets of books. This was Judy's job...but I loved going along. Besides...I decided to go on a black licorice diet that summer...and I really did lose weight on it. (I think the walking might have had something to do with the weight loss). We were POOR though...so we never had much for lunch... I stuck with just black licorice, I have no idea what Judy ate.
So...we'd drop off the books. Talk to the women. And Return. Biggest lesson in my life... MOST, honestly MOST of the women did NOT remember who we were. Mind you, Judy and looked like twins back then. And most women paid so little attention to us...when we returned we would have to explain to them that we were the girls that dropped off the books!! All my insecure years I thought people notiiced when I screwed up (like in school with a wrong answer, or at church mispronouncing a word)...and now I found out... most people can't even remember who the heck you are the following day. That really did wonders for me... I quit worrying about what people thought...cause now I knew, they didn't think about ME!!!
So...we'd drop off the books. Talk to the women. And Return. Biggest lesson in my life... MOST, honestly MOST of the women did NOT remember who we were. Mind you, Judy and looked like twins back then. And most women paid so little attention to us...when we returned we would have to explain to them that we were the girls that dropped off the books!! All my insecure years I thought people notiiced when I screwed up (like in school with a wrong answer, or at church mispronouncing a word)...and now I found out... most people can't even remember who the heck you are the following day. That really did wonders for me... I quit worrying about what people thought...cause now I knew, they didn't think about ME!!!
First Introduction to LDS Church
My first REAL job was working at a convalescent Hospital in the laundry room. Our friend Lynn Bench worked there and told me about the job. Lynn Bench was an unusual person in herself. She was an only child. Apparently had some kind of a health issue and her parents decided she should not attend public school. She was going to school by correspondence course. Back then there was no such thing as Home Schooling. So...Lynn didn't have any friends. She was a Seventh Day Adventist so we got to know her. The Bench's lived in a mobile home next to a railroad track and her best friends were the guys on the train that she waved to each evening. So... we started going to the Bench's house on Saturdays AFTER SUNSET to watch TV. Later on Lynn moved to Petaluma and had a baby --- all by herself. Nobody at her job knew that she was pregnant. No prenatal care, no doctor present. She was half Indian and proud of it, so she just figured she could squat and have the kid...she did!! Judy and I visited her in Petaluma once...she was doing OK.
Anyway, I got this job at the laundry. It was a good job for a first job. I washed, dried and folded laundry for 8 hours each afternoon/evening. Mind you... the laundry was from old people that peed and pooped their beds!! But...I didn't mind..it was a job and I got $1.25 an hour!! Way better than the $.50 an hour I got babysitting.
Talk about babysitting...I hated babysitting!! Judy started babysitting and I just fell into it. I started on New Years Eve one year... ALL the Palmer's needed a sitter...so they used me as well as Judy and JoAnn. I always wore a leather belt when I babysat. I would spank those bratty kids if they stepped out of line with no remorse at all. Heck...they had it coming to them!! When I told them to do something...they should do it. Some people are just naturally loving to children...not me. In my early teen years I said I'd never have children--why would anyone want any??? Thank goodness I matured as life moved on. And once I had my own kids...I found that maternal feeling and have loved them ever since!! (even though I kept a yardstick handy all the years my own kids were growing up).
So... back to the laundry job. I had this boss that thought he was pretty important. When he came to the hospital everyone was on their best behavior. So...shortly after I started the job he came into the laundry one evening and told me he needed help getting something from the storage room. Once in the room he started to put his arms around me and pull me close...NOT HAPPENING--- not with me it wasn't!!! I flat out told him NO WAY, get your darn hands off of me!!! He never tried that again.
So... I worked with Lynn Bench and David and Daniel Mortensen. David and Daniel were twins, and they were LDS. Both boys were working to earn money to go on missions. I had no idea what that was all about, but it sounded cool. Daniel and I hit it off right away and went out a few times. We even went to Pt Reyes to shoot a pistol he bought. Back then you could just walk into a sporting goods store and walk out with a gun. So.. both guys started telling me a bit about their church, but I wasn't much interested. Finally they went on their missions and I never heard from them again.
Sometime while I was working at the laundry I remember my parents telling me they were going to Oakland to tour the new LDS Temple there. My sisters wanted to go so I told them I'd babysit Tommy Joe. I just wasn't interested in seeing the Temple at that time. I had no idea what THAT Temple would mean to me years later. David and I were sealed in that Temple...and it will always be "my" Temple!!! Anyway, my parents and sisters had a nice visit, thought the Temple was beautiful but didn't understand why the LDS church needed it.
I didn't hear anymore about the LDS church until David told me about it years later...
Anyway, I got this job at the laundry. It was a good job for a first job. I washed, dried and folded laundry for 8 hours each afternoon/evening. Mind you... the laundry was from old people that peed and pooped their beds!! But...I didn't mind..it was a job and I got $1.25 an hour!! Way better than the $.50 an hour I got babysitting.
Talk about babysitting...I hated babysitting!! Judy started babysitting and I just fell into it. I started on New Years Eve one year... ALL the Palmer's needed a sitter...so they used me as well as Judy and JoAnn. I always wore a leather belt when I babysat. I would spank those bratty kids if they stepped out of line with no remorse at all. Heck...they had it coming to them!! When I told them to do something...they should do it. Some people are just naturally loving to children...not me. In my early teen years I said I'd never have children--why would anyone want any??? Thank goodness I matured as life moved on. And once I had my own kids...I found that maternal feeling and have loved them ever since!! (even though I kept a yardstick handy all the years my own kids were growing up).
So... back to the laundry job. I had this boss that thought he was pretty important. When he came to the hospital everyone was on their best behavior. So...shortly after I started the job he came into the laundry one evening and told me he needed help getting something from the storage room. Once in the room he started to put his arms around me and pull me close...NOT HAPPENING--- not with me it wasn't!!! I flat out told him NO WAY, get your darn hands off of me!!! He never tried that again.
So... I worked with Lynn Bench and David and Daniel Mortensen. David and Daniel were twins, and they were LDS. Both boys were working to earn money to go on missions. I had no idea what that was all about, but it sounded cool. Daniel and I hit it off right away and went out a few times. We even went to Pt Reyes to shoot a pistol he bought. Back then you could just walk into a sporting goods store and walk out with a gun. So.. both guys started telling me a bit about their church, but I wasn't much interested. Finally they went on their missions and I never heard from them again.
Sometime while I was working at the laundry I remember my parents telling me they were going to Oakland to tour the new LDS Temple there. My sisters wanted to go so I told them I'd babysit Tommy Joe. I just wasn't interested in seeing the Temple at that time. I had no idea what THAT Temple would mean to me years later. David and I were sealed in that Temple...and it will always be "my" Temple!!! Anyway, my parents and sisters had a nice visit, thought the Temple was beautiful but didn't understand why the LDS church needed it.
I didn't hear anymore about the LDS church until David told me about it years later...
Mom & Dad
Our home in Novato only had 3 bedrooms. And there were 5 of us kids when we moved in there. 4 girls and Don. None of the bedrooms were large enough for 4 girls...so mom and dad split us up--2 girls to each bedroom and Don had a room of his own. Mom and Dad slept in the LIVING ROOM!! On a HIDE A BED COUCH--- EVERY NIGHT!!! I cannot imagine that!! They had one of those accordion doors installed on half of the living room and that was their "bedroom" at night. Each night they would close the accordion doors, pull out the hide a bed and go to bed. I remember us kids would still be up a lot of the time. How much privacy did they get??? and a hide a bed? those are so uncomfortable!!! I never gave their sleeping arrangement any thought as a child...but now that I'm an adult...I can see that was an enormous sacrifice!! I probably would have put Don out there and took his bedroom!!! or at the very least the 2 older girls...
Mom LOVED Holidays. She decorated the house for every holiday that came along. We never missed corned beef and cabbage on St Patricks Day, Valentine cookies and card, flags for Memorial Day..etc. Mom just loved Holidays. I just assumed everyone got that excited over Holidays...until I met David. He could careless about any Holiday!! I was grateful for Mom's example of how to enjoy each Holiday.
Mom loved Birthday's also. That was the one day I felt special. Sometime during my life Mom started the tradition of taking me out to dinner on my birthday. Just Mom, Dad and me. It was the only time I ever spent with just the two of them. As I got older the other kids joined us..but when I was younger it was just the three of us. Mom's favorite place to take me was the Green Mill in Cotati/Petaluma. I can still remember having dinner and then Mom going over to the piano player and asking him to play "Alice Blue Gown" for my birthday. I hated that!!! I didn't know the song...and didn't want people looking at me. But I appreciated Mom making each birthday special.
One year I wanted to have a Birthday Party. I was never a popular kid...never had many friends at school after Susie moved away. So I don't know what I was thinking. But..I invited a few girls from school and Mom had the party for me. When Mom and I planned the party we decided to make taffy. Why we decided that I have NO idea. Mom was not the type of person that experimented with cooking. She had never made taffy before in her life. Needless to say...it was a flop. The girls made fun of me and I NEVER thought about a party again!!
After I got married Mom still kept up the tradition of taking me out to dinner for my birthday. At first it was David and I along with Mom and Dad. Then after the kids came along they joined us. One year we decided to try a place called Stormy's out by the coast. All four kids came along and the place was not a cheap place. We were lined up along the long table on both sides. I guess none of us adults were near Ken when he ordered dinner... cause we were all surprised when they brought him LOBSTER!!! at "market price". This has been a few years...but I remember it was around $50 for that lobster!! $50 would have been able to feed us hamburger casseroles for a month!!! Mom was shocked...but she kept taking me out to dinner for my birthdays. We just watched what the kids ordered after that.
One year my dad wanted to get my mom a nice Christmas present...so he took me to Petaluma to buy her a dozen pair of nylon stockings. He asked me what size she wore...and I really had no idea. I guessed... WRONG!! On Christmas morning mom was all upset at me for telling dad the wrong size. I guess it never dawned on either of them that could return them... I remember those dozen nylons just sitting around for a long time. One more occasion to confirm to dad that WAS stupid. I was just good at screwing up as a kid!!
Another year Dad bought Mom a pair of bedroom slippers for her birthday... She hated them and let everyone know it. She said they were OLD LADY slippers and she would never wear them. I guess Mom was just a tough person to buy for... Dad should have just stuck with White Shoulders powder!!! Mom loved that.
Mom LOVED Holidays. She decorated the house for every holiday that came along. We never missed corned beef and cabbage on St Patricks Day, Valentine cookies and card, flags for Memorial Day..etc. Mom just loved Holidays. I just assumed everyone got that excited over Holidays...until I met David. He could careless about any Holiday!! I was grateful for Mom's example of how to enjoy each Holiday.
Mom loved Birthday's also. That was the one day I felt special. Sometime during my life Mom started the tradition of taking me out to dinner on my birthday. Just Mom, Dad and me. It was the only time I ever spent with just the two of them. As I got older the other kids joined us..but when I was younger it was just the three of us. Mom's favorite place to take me was the Green Mill in Cotati/Petaluma. I can still remember having dinner and then Mom going over to the piano player and asking him to play "Alice Blue Gown" for my birthday. I hated that!!! I didn't know the song...and didn't want people looking at me. But I appreciated Mom making each birthday special.
One year I wanted to have a Birthday Party. I was never a popular kid...never had many friends at school after Susie moved away. So I don't know what I was thinking. But..I invited a few girls from school and Mom had the party for me. When Mom and I planned the party we decided to make taffy. Why we decided that I have NO idea. Mom was not the type of person that experimented with cooking. She had never made taffy before in her life. Needless to say...it was a flop. The girls made fun of me and I NEVER thought about a party again!!
After I got married Mom still kept up the tradition of taking me out to dinner for my birthday. At first it was David and I along with Mom and Dad. Then after the kids came along they joined us. One year we decided to try a place called Stormy's out by the coast. All four kids came along and the place was not a cheap place. We were lined up along the long table on both sides. I guess none of us adults were near Ken when he ordered dinner... cause we were all surprised when they brought him LOBSTER!!! at "market price". This has been a few years...but I remember it was around $50 for that lobster!! $50 would have been able to feed us hamburger casseroles for a month!!! Mom was shocked...but she kept taking me out to dinner for my birthdays. We just watched what the kids ordered after that.
One year my dad wanted to get my mom a nice Christmas present...so he took me to Petaluma to buy her a dozen pair of nylon stockings. He asked me what size she wore...and I really had no idea. I guessed... WRONG!! On Christmas morning mom was all upset at me for telling dad the wrong size. I guess it never dawned on either of them that could return them... I remember those dozen nylons just sitting around for a long time. One more occasion to confirm to dad that WAS stupid. I was just good at screwing up as a kid!!
Another year Dad bought Mom a pair of bedroom slippers for her birthday... She hated them and let everyone know it. She said they were OLD LADY slippers and she would never wear them. I guess Mom was just a tough person to buy for... Dad should have just stuck with White Shoulders powder!!! Mom loved that.
Fun and Games
Isn't it funny how you remember something like the date when something horrible happens? I still remember it was a Friday, the 13th and I rode my bike to Lynwood School. I rode my bike most days. I really loved my bike and enjoyed riding it any chance I got. Anyway, that particular day after school I went to get my bike...and both tires were FLAT. Punctured!! some horrible person had decided that I should be the brunt of their sick ways. I mean, Susie Willis and I did mean stuff...but NEVER to some one's bike!! I was so upset I cried!! and then walked my bike all the way home. Dad must have sprung for the new tires and tubes...and heaven knows I knew how to change them!!
When I got a little older Skate boards were invented. Back then they were made of plywood with metal wheels. Painted red. I was pretty good on my skates, so I knew the skateboard was just made for me. And it was. Since this was a totally new piece of equipment, no one knew how it should be used. So Judy and I would take turns hauling it up Sunset Parkway just past the Pratt's house and skate on down...always landing on our lawn. Each time we'd take it a little further up Sunset Parkway. We got where we could go all the way to the end of the block... and REALLY zoom on down the hill. Then...we decided we needed to add a little more challenge to it... so we started riding it BACKWARD down the hill. I could make it all the way from the top of the block to our house...backwards!!! on those metal wheels!!!
Since we never owned a TV, us kids found a lot to do outside. Judy really loved tumbling. She was pretty good at it. And Em was the best at it. Em could do flips and cartwheels like crazy. I was not good at any of it. But...I made the best base for the other kids. I would lay on my back and put my legs in the air and they'd come running and I'd "grab" them with my feet and flip them over. I remember the Parfitt kids came and joined us tumbling out front.
At night we played capture the flag quite often, or hide and seek. We were allowed to stay out quite late in the summer. I'm sure Dad was working in his garden, but I have no idea what mom was doing when we were outside playing.
I was the best tree climber in the family though. I loved the big trees that were out front. I could climb higher than anyone else. Dad took advantage of that skill and had me trim the trees when that was necessary. I loved doing that. Another REAL job that I was good at!! hmmm maybe I should have taken up yard work... I remember climbing into one of the tress and just sitting there for hours...just watching the world go by.
I could also climb up the door jambs in the house. Feet on one side, butt on the other and climb up to the top of the door jamb. I would sit there until one of my siblings pulled me down or Mom or Dad told me to get down. Why was that fun???
Once I got a hamster for a pet...it only lasted one day though. I wanted to PLAY with the little guy, so I kept letting it out of the cage to run around. It never went too far so I thought that was safe. It wasn't. As I said, we were an active family...constantly dancing, tumbling, etc. Anyway, Em came into the room and danced right onto my hamster. Dad did not replace him!! It wasn't Em's fault...there was no way she saw it.
My slightly retarded dog, Priss had puppies (twice). The first litter came at a good time--I think before Christmas and I took the puppies around the neighborhood in a wagon and sold each of them for $5.00. the second time she had pups NONE of them sold. We had to take them to the pound...and then Dad had Priss spayed.
I don't remember what year we finally got a telephone...but that was pretty exciting for us. All the years I lived in that house we only had ONE phone though. In the living room--right next to the room my parents slept in. Not a problem when you are young...but in our teens years we hated that!! The WHOLE family listened every time you talked on the phone.
Back when we got the phone we had a "party line" there were a group of people that shared the same line. So when you picked up the phone, sometimes there would be someone else talking. The proper thing to do was to hang up and check later to see if the line was clear. But...we were kids. Listening in on other peoples conversations was just way too much fun. Often the other person could tell we were listening in and they'd keep yelling "hang up" to us.
At one point Judy and I discovered that my voice sounded male on the phone. We called up unsuspecting girls that we knew and told them how beautiful they were, or asked them out or whatever other mischief we could. We thought that was super funny!!
While Judy and I were doing all this active stuff...JoAnn tended to stay in the house and read. She loved to read. I never could under stand why she'd want to be reading when there was so much to do outside...but that was her passion. Dad loved JoAnn for that. He thought she was the most intelligent kid ever. And he disliked me equally since I hated reading, going to school...anything academic! I remember Dad more than once telling me I should be more like JoAnn. Why couldn't I be smart like Judy and JoAnn and instead of dumb like Don. I'm sure Dad just wanted us to get a good education, but Don and I were just smart in other ways. School was just never our thing.
JoAnn took to bird watching like a natural also. Boy did that make Dad happy!! A quiet, smart kid that loved bird watching...could there be a more perfect child!!! I never resented JoAnn for this. I really liked JoAnn and we got along just fine. Even if she was the PERFECT child. Another of JoAnn's skills was...she could forge Mom's signature PERFECTLY!!! I used that skill of hers often in High School. JoAnn and I would cut school and go hiiking!! We never cut school to do anything bad... it was always just to get away. JoAnn got straight "A's" in school...so cutting once in awhile was no big deal for her. I'm sure my cutting didn't help me any. Since we could never own a vehicle while we lived under Dad's roof...he let us drive the VW Bus anytime we wanted. He even gave us each a Chevron Credit Card for gas. He just asked that we also made sure the bus had gas in it. So..when we cut school...we even had transportation to head out to Pt. Reyes or Mt Tam!!
When I got a little older Skate boards were invented. Back then they were made of plywood with metal wheels. Painted red. I was pretty good on my skates, so I knew the skateboard was just made for me. And it was. Since this was a totally new piece of equipment, no one knew how it should be used. So Judy and I would take turns hauling it up Sunset Parkway just past the Pratt's house and skate on down...always landing on our lawn. Each time we'd take it a little further up Sunset Parkway. We got where we could go all the way to the end of the block... and REALLY zoom on down the hill. Then...we decided we needed to add a little more challenge to it... so we started riding it BACKWARD down the hill. I could make it all the way from the top of the block to our house...backwards!!! on those metal wheels!!!
Since we never owned a TV, us kids found a lot to do outside. Judy really loved tumbling. She was pretty good at it. And Em was the best at it. Em could do flips and cartwheels like crazy. I was not good at any of it. But...I made the best base for the other kids. I would lay on my back and put my legs in the air and they'd come running and I'd "grab" them with my feet and flip them over. I remember the Parfitt kids came and joined us tumbling out front.
At night we played capture the flag quite often, or hide and seek. We were allowed to stay out quite late in the summer. I'm sure Dad was working in his garden, but I have no idea what mom was doing when we were outside playing.
I was the best tree climber in the family though. I loved the big trees that were out front. I could climb higher than anyone else. Dad took advantage of that skill and had me trim the trees when that was necessary. I loved doing that. Another REAL job that I was good at!! hmmm maybe I should have taken up yard work... I remember climbing into one of the tress and just sitting there for hours...just watching the world go by.
I could also climb up the door jambs in the house. Feet on one side, butt on the other and climb up to the top of the door jamb. I would sit there until one of my siblings pulled me down or Mom or Dad told me to get down. Why was that fun???
Once I got a hamster for a pet...it only lasted one day though. I wanted to PLAY with the little guy, so I kept letting it out of the cage to run around. It never went too far so I thought that was safe. It wasn't. As I said, we were an active family...constantly dancing, tumbling, etc. Anyway, Em came into the room and danced right onto my hamster. Dad did not replace him!! It wasn't Em's fault...there was no way she saw it.
My slightly retarded dog, Priss had puppies (twice). The first litter came at a good time--I think before Christmas and I took the puppies around the neighborhood in a wagon and sold each of them for $5.00. the second time she had pups NONE of them sold. We had to take them to the pound...and then Dad had Priss spayed.
I don't remember what year we finally got a telephone...but that was pretty exciting for us. All the years I lived in that house we only had ONE phone though. In the living room--right next to the room my parents slept in. Not a problem when you are young...but in our teens years we hated that!! The WHOLE family listened every time you talked on the phone.
Back when we got the phone we had a "party line" there were a group of people that shared the same line. So when you picked up the phone, sometimes there would be someone else talking. The proper thing to do was to hang up and check later to see if the line was clear. But...we were kids. Listening in on other peoples conversations was just way too much fun. Often the other person could tell we were listening in and they'd keep yelling "hang up" to us.
At one point Judy and I discovered that my voice sounded male on the phone. We called up unsuspecting girls that we knew and told them how beautiful they were, or asked them out or whatever other mischief we could. We thought that was super funny!!
While Judy and I were doing all this active stuff...JoAnn tended to stay in the house and read. She loved to read. I never could under stand why she'd want to be reading when there was so much to do outside...but that was her passion. Dad loved JoAnn for that. He thought she was the most intelligent kid ever. And he disliked me equally since I hated reading, going to school...anything academic! I remember Dad more than once telling me I should be more like JoAnn. Why couldn't I be smart like Judy and JoAnn and instead of dumb like Don. I'm sure Dad just wanted us to get a good education, but Don and I were just smart in other ways. School was just never our thing.
JoAnn took to bird watching like a natural also. Boy did that make Dad happy!! A quiet, smart kid that loved bird watching...could there be a more perfect child!!! I never resented JoAnn for this. I really liked JoAnn and we got along just fine. Even if she was the PERFECT child. Another of JoAnn's skills was...she could forge Mom's signature PERFECTLY!!! I used that skill of hers often in High School. JoAnn and I would cut school and go hiiking!! We never cut school to do anything bad... it was always just to get away. JoAnn got straight "A's" in school...so cutting once in awhile was no big deal for her. I'm sure my cutting didn't help me any. Since we could never own a vehicle while we lived under Dad's roof...he let us drive the VW Bus anytime we wanted. He even gave us each a Chevron Credit Card for gas. He just asked that we also made sure the bus had gas in it. So..when we cut school...we even had transportation to head out to Pt. Reyes or Mt Tam!!
My brother Don
I have mentioned my younger brother Tommy Joe...but I also have an older brother Don. Don was much older than I, but I sure looked up to him. He was the typical good looking 60's guy. Maybe it was because of Don, but I was always car crazy and when he got his first car I was really excited. I remember the car...not the make or model, but how he got it. Mom worked at a convalescent hospital in Terra Linda and some old dude needed to get rid of his car. He sold it to Mom and Dad for $50.00. It was an OK car...nothing like the cars that Don and I envied in the Hot Rod magazines that Don got each month... but it ran. And gave Don freedom. Dad felt that letting Don have a car was the worst thing he ever did... and because of that he forbade any of us girls to ever own a car while living under his roof. That dictate was the worst think I could have heard.. I wanted a car more than ANYTHING when I was 16, 17, 18.... But when Dad spoke...it was the END of the Conversation! Judy says I used to argue with Dad, but I really don't remember that. I just remember him being totally unreasonable at times... hmmm could that have something to do with my age???
Some of his decisions weren't all that bad... like when I wanted to join the Army. Judy got me into that one. She talked to a recruiter and decided the Army would be good for me. At 18 years old, and FEMALE, I would need my parents consent to join. Mind you, guys were being drafted and forced to go into the Service, but if a "minor" female wanted to join, she needed a "permission slip" to do it. I always thought being a female was so unfair. I'm glad that women are now equal to men in these respects. On this subject... females also got paid less than men for equal work until 1967. When the law passed to pay us females the same wage as a guy when we were doing the same work I was thrilled. It meant a raise for me... probably from my $1.25 and hour to $1.30 an hour!!
Anyway, back to Don. Since I was such a Tomboy Don and I got along really well. I remember Dad would not let me mow the lawn (that girl thing again). But...when Dad wasn't home Don would LET me mow the lawn!! I loved mowing the lawn... it was like real work, fun real work back then. (as you can see, Don wasn't stupid either--- he got out of mowing and made me happy all at once).
Don also let me help him work on his car. That was the greatest. I loved changing spark plugs, learning about changing oil, filter, etc. I especially liked the timing light when he had to tune his car up. I don't know why...but I thought that timing light was just way cool.
I remember one time Don and I were sitting up on the hill by our house and Don described a go cart he wanted to build for me. He had the whole go cart all designed and ready to run in his mind. I was really excited... the thought of zooming around in a go cart was super exciting to me. But... with his limited finances, he never was able to build that go cart.
But...he did one better for me!! In 1964 Don lived in SF and he bought a Honda 250 Motorcycle!! It was AWESOME!!! And, for some reason he couldn't keep it in SF. So...he stored it at our house. Being 15 1/2 I had my permit and could ride the motorcycle legally!! Riding that motorcycle was the most exciting thing I had done up to that time in my life. The feel of flying along with the wind in my hair was the greatest!!! I remember getting up at 5:00 am on school days just to take the motorcycle out to Novato Dam or some other country road. I would get home just in time to join JoAnn and head for school. Luckily it was almost summer when I got to ride the bike. Once Summer came and school was out...I rode that bike ALL the Time!! And...I took my sisters on it. They loved going for rides on the bike. None of them wanted to learn to "drive" it...but they loved riding on it with me. I don't remember when Don took the bike away... but I'm sure it was a sad day in my life!!
Don got married shortly after High School, but that marriage didn't last. He then got married to Sandy and they had Teri. I am very grateful to have Don in my life again. He's a great brother.
Some of his decisions weren't all that bad... like when I wanted to join the Army. Judy got me into that one. She talked to a recruiter and decided the Army would be good for me. At 18 years old, and FEMALE, I would need my parents consent to join. Mind you, guys were being drafted and forced to go into the Service, but if a "minor" female wanted to join, she needed a "permission slip" to do it. I always thought being a female was so unfair. I'm glad that women are now equal to men in these respects. On this subject... females also got paid less than men for equal work until 1967. When the law passed to pay us females the same wage as a guy when we were doing the same work I was thrilled. It meant a raise for me... probably from my $1.25 and hour to $1.30 an hour!!
Anyway, back to Don. Since I was such a Tomboy Don and I got along really well. I remember Dad would not let me mow the lawn (that girl thing again). But...when Dad wasn't home Don would LET me mow the lawn!! I loved mowing the lawn... it was like real work, fun real work back then. (as you can see, Don wasn't stupid either--- he got out of mowing and made me happy all at once).
Don also let me help him work on his car. That was the greatest. I loved changing spark plugs, learning about changing oil, filter, etc. I especially liked the timing light when he had to tune his car up. I don't know why...but I thought that timing light was just way cool.
I remember one time Don and I were sitting up on the hill by our house and Don described a go cart he wanted to build for me. He had the whole go cart all designed and ready to run in his mind. I was really excited... the thought of zooming around in a go cart was super exciting to me. But... with his limited finances, he never was able to build that go cart.
But...he did one better for me!! In 1964 Don lived in SF and he bought a Honda 250 Motorcycle!! It was AWESOME!!! And, for some reason he couldn't keep it in SF. So...he stored it at our house. Being 15 1/2 I had my permit and could ride the motorcycle legally!! Riding that motorcycle was the most exciting thing I had done up to that time in my life. The feel of flying along with the wind in my hair was the greatest!!! I remember getting up at 5:00 am on school days just to take the motorcycle out to Novato Dam or some other country road. I would get home just in time to join JoAnn and head for school. Luckily it was almost summer when I got to ride the bike. Once Summer came and school was out...I rode that bike ALL the Time!! And...I took my sisters on it. They loved going for rides on the bike. None of them wanted to learn to "drive" it...but they loved riding on it with me. I don't remember when Don took the bike away... but I'm sure it was a sad day in my life!!
Don got married shortly after High School, but that marriage didn't last. He then got married to Sandy and they had Teri. I am very grateful to have Don in my life again. He's a great brother.
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Tommy Joe
When I was around 10 years old we found out mom was going to have another baby. That was pretty exciting to us girls. We thought of the new baby like a doll... the baby would be so much fun. Around that time Judy was getting interested in "boys" and babysat for the Palmers. Grace Palmer was fairly normal. Her husband was in construction and got killed unloading a tractor from a lowbed trailer. But Grace really took Judy under her wing so to speak. Judy did a LOT of babysitting for Grace and even got to go on a couple of vacations with the Palmers. To add a little extra to this... Grace had a brother by the name of Tommy. Judy really had a crush on Tommy Palmer. She loved his 49 Ford. She really just "loved" everything about him. He was just so mature, so interesting!! I didn't get to go...but one time Judy went to Tahoe with the Palmers and Tommy went along. Judy told me that they dressed her all up and she and Tommy went to a casino together. It sounded so exciting to me. Anyway, back to mom and our new baby. We all got in on the discussion of what to name the new baby. Judy (of course) wanted to name him Tommy if he was a boy. Since my dad was called Tommy a good part of his life, Mom and Dad thought that was a good name. We kids all knew Tommy Joe was really named after Tommy Palmer!! Anyway, mom had to go to SF to have Tommy Joe... there wasn't a Kaiser Hospital in Marin County. I remember us going there to see her one time. I think she might have been in the hospital for a week or so. Mom and Dad both seemed really thrilled to have a second son---after us 4 girls. And...us 4 girls did treat Tommy Joe like he was a doll. I remember taking an stroller (the old metal type) and hooking it up to my bike and pulling Tommy Joe all over Novato. I have no idea how old her was, but I know he wasn't very old. I took him uptown, I took him on the dirt roads, I just took him everywhere. Since I only had the old stroller hooked to my bike...each time I stopped he'd bang into my bike. I finally decided if I put a couple of board along the rope, then the stroller wouldn't hit my bike. I loved my bike!!! I could take a bike apart and put it back together with no problem. I was such a tom-boy I always HAD to have a boys bike....no sissy girls bikes for me. All of us girls played with Tommy Joe, we totally loved that little brother. Mom REALLY favored him. We knew that right away. But then, mom always thought us girls were a bit wild. I can remember when we get in a fight out front with any of the neighbor kids...she come out and yell..."what have you girls done to that poor kid"...like it was always our fault!!! One time we went camping in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. We were all setting up camp and someone put Tommy Joe on the table to sit while we were busy. Well..he fell off. That was the first time I ever heard my mom cuss. She yelled "you damn girls, can't you watch your brother". We were so shocked!! He wasn't hurt... how far is it from the picnic table to the ground? When Tommy Joe went to school Dad decided that Tommy Joe would go to SDA schools all his school days. Poor Tom had to ride a bus from Novato to Santa Rosa each day!!! School took up his entire day back then. Tommy Joe did learn to read on a bus, play games on a bus and he got along with all the other kids on the bus...so he had a fun time commuting. I'm not so sure that he got a good education...but Dad felt like he was doing the right thing. Since Dad felt like Don was a total failure, I guess he wanted Tommy Joe to be a shining star SDA boy!! That sure didn't work out!!!
When Tommy Joe went to Pacific Union College he finally rebelled. One day he and a buddy got drunk and sat out in front of the dorms acting like typical drunks. Obviously he got kicked out of that upstanding college. He went on to start his own business-- a collection agency with a friend. It did quite well. Then he sold off his share and bought a printing business. It did OK also, but somewhere along that time he decided he needed to simplify his life and thought moving to Reno would be good for him and his family. NOT!!! He ended up divorcing Lisa, dropping out of sight and we have no idea where he is today. Tom was probably one of the smarted people I had known. He could do anything. He was super good on the computer back in the day when you had to program your own programs out of DOS. He was fun to be around, everyone loved him.
When Tommy Joe went to Pacific Union College he finally rebelled. One day he and a buddy got drunk and sat out in front of the dorms acting like typical drunks. Obviously he got kicked out of that upstanding college. He went on to start his own business-- a collection agency with a friend. It did quite well. Then he sold off his share and bought a printing business. It did OK also, but somewhere along that time he decided he needed to simplify his life and thought moving to Reno would be good for him and his family. NOT!!! He ended up divorcing Lisa, dropping out of sight and we have no idea where he is today. Tom was probably one of the smarted people I had known. He could do anything. He was super good on the computer back in the day when you had to program your own programs out of DOS. He was fun to be around, everyone loved him.
School in Novato and the SDA School
My life in Novato was pretty good. Novato only had 13,000 people. A nice size town. The bummer for us was we lived on the south end of town and all the south end of town people had to go to school either at Lynwood Elementry once it was built or an elementry school on Hamilton Air Force Base. Living at the south end of town became a bigger problem when I had to go to High School in Terra Linda. I remember being bused to Hamilton AFB... but then, I remember kindergarten at Lynwood. I may be confused. The school on the AFB was old and had ivy growning on it. I liked that school. It was at the south end of the AFB and there was countryside close by. Cows even. But most of my memories of grade school are at Lynwood. It was a nice school--brand new! It had a multi-purpose room and a cafeteria. Once I was old enough I volunteered to work in the cafeteria so I could get a free lunch. But then, I really liked volunteering at school. I did crossing guard duty also. I also tried my hardest to get into speech class--so maybe I wasn't so much into volunteering as I was into getting out of class. All of the above got me out of class early!! But I do think part of it was I did GOOD at lunch duty and crossing guard duty. Much better than I did at my school work.
I remember playing tether ball at school. Susie Willis and I were really good at that sport. Previous to tether ball I played on the bars and swings. I was always an active kid. I never was good at running, but moving around...I was good at that. I remember Susie Willis and I singing "Great Balls of Fire" as we hit the tether ball. For some reason we thought we were real original in that one.
After school Susie and played "dogs" when we weren't running all over the neighborhood. Behind our house was open space..and all of us kids knew every inch of it. We all knew what we were talking about when we referred to the Big Oak Tree, or the sliding hill, or the creek at the end of the road. In the Fall we would get cardboard and rip it up big enough for our butts to sit on and slide down the sliding hill. It was great fun. That is also the best area to fly a kite (over the sliding hill). I could get my kite out so far it was hard to even see. Winter time was great in the open space also... once year we all (that's ALL the neighbor kids, young and old) decided to build tunnels in the ground. We dug and dug... first it was big enough for one person to get down into. then it went along underground for a few feet...by the time we were done we had built a tunnel system that went for quite a ways. I'm sure it was 50 feet long and branched out in many directions. Being kids we had no idea that the ground could cave in and kill us!!! I guess that's one time the CA adobe dirt was a blessing. Anyway, we played in those tunnels for probably one full season. Since all the kids were involved that was an opportunity that I got to play with Judy. Judy was always my hero. I loved to be around Judy, she could do so much. She loved to sing, dance, act...she got along with everyone and everyone loved her.
One Summer Judy decided to put on a skit for all the neighborhood parents. She got a bunch of the neighborhood kids together (by this time Susie Willis was gone and I think Allard Parfitt was around). Anyway, she decided that everyone would do "He's got the whole world in his hands". I (being very uncoordinated) was the record player person. Anyway, Judy sure taught all the kids her little rendition of that song and it was quite cute when she had her presentation for the adults. If I'm not mistaken she even had costumes for the kids. Judy loved costumes.
AND...talking about dressing up. One year we went to the "dump" spot near the crest of the hill behind us and found an old wedding dress (I wonder what the story is behind it being there???). Judy had so much fun dressing up in that dress. Judy would have modeling shows down the hallway in the house. She just loved to dress up and walk all funny down the hallway.
I guess it was a natural with Judy's love of clothes...that one day she started sewing. I remember some lady down the street made clothes professionally and she hired Judy. I thought that was so cool...Judy making clothes for "real" women!!
Judy and I never attended school together--- well, almost never. There was that ONE YEAR we were forced to go to SDA school!! Dr Shelton thought that going there might help us wild Tucker kids. WRONG!!! I was in the fourth grade at that school. I was in a class with kindergarten through 4th grade. Judy and JoAnn were in a 5th through 8th class. My teacher was also the bus driver--of the LITTLE YELLOW RETARD BUS that we had to ride. We were so embarassed!! We were sure our friends thought we were all retarded that year!! My teacher was new to teaching and a bit fragile. She ended up having a nervious breakdown--- I'm sure mainly to having us Tucker girls on her bus and one in her class. She wasn't much of a teacher...I remember her having us 4th graders teach the 1st or 2nd graders how to tell time... heck, I had no idea how to teach. It was just a big waste of all of our time!! but it was better than listening to the teacher try to teach me something.
At one point a girl in class that I really hated got sick...lock-jaw. Everyone in the class was supposed to sign a get well card... I didn't see the point, I didn't want her to get well. So I didn't.
On the bus we (Tucker girls) ruled the bus. Judy was the best... she got on that bus and told everyone other than JoAnn and I that they had to sit 2 to a seat up at the front and we "owned" the back of the bus. Nobody ever got back there... they tried, but NO Way with Judy protecting our territory. No body ever thought about messing with me either with Judy around!!! That was a great year--even though we hated every minite of it!! PS Dr Shelton never tried to talk dad into sending us to the SDA school again!!!
Dr Shelton was "different". He was the typical SDA person. He once said all prayers should be at least 5 mintues long...and he stuck by that EVERY time he prayed. and we had to kneel at that church!! 5 minutes is a long time to be kneeling with your eyes closed. Dr Shelton tried to teach us about health also. He was a total vegetarian--I'm sure he was disappointed that we ate meat. Of course we NEVER ate pork or shell fish, but we ate plenty of beef!! Once Dr Shelton had a talk on health and he stated that we should never put pepper on our food. Pepper has a tendancy to excite humans and sexually stimulate them!! Guess which two Tucker girls went out and bought a can of pepper right away!!! yep, Judy and I!! At first we had to sneak the pepper, but then it became common place. Dr. Shelton also told us the reason the SDA church opposed dancing was it also excited humans sexually and then it was difficult for them to control themselves. Judy was always a dancer... not with a partner at first...just dancing to have fun.
I never danced...but I got sexually excited just like every other normal teenage child!! Dr Shelton had no idea what real life was like in my oppinion.
Anyway, it was great to get back to Lynwood School and a more normal education.
I remember playing tether ball at school. Susie Willis and I were really good at that sport. Previous to tether ball I played on the bars and swings. I was always an active kid. I never was good at running, but moving around...I was good at that. I remember Susie Willis and I singing "Great Balls of Fire" as we hit the tether ball. For some reason we thought we were real original in that one.
After school Susie and played "dogs" when we weren't running all over the neighborhood. Behind our house was open space..and all of us kids knew every inch of it. We all knew what we were talking about when we referred to the Big Oak Tree, or the sliding hill, or the creek at the end of the road. In the Fall we would get cardboard and rip it up big enough for our butts to sit on and slide down the sliding hill. It was great fun. That is also the best area to fly a kite (over the sliding hill). I could get my kite out so far it was hard to even see. Winter time was great in the open space also... once year we all (that's ALL the neighbor kids, young and old) decided to build tunnels in the ground. We dug and dug... first it was big enough for one person to get down into. then it went along underground for a few feet...by the time we were done we had built a tunnel system that went for quite a ways. I'm sure it was 50 feet long and branched out in many directions. Being kids we had no idea that the ground could cave in and kill us!!! I guess that's one time the CA adobe dirt was a blessing. Anyway, we played in those tunnels for probably one full season. Since all the kids were involved that was an opportunity that I got to play with Judy. Judy was always my hero. I loved to be around Judy, she could do so much. She loved to sing, dance, act...she got along with everyone and everyone loved her.
One Summer Judy decided to put on a skit for all the neighborhood parents. She got a bunch of the neighborhood kids together (by this time Susie Willis was gone and I think Allard Parfitt was around). Anyway, she decided that everyone would do "He's got the whole world in his hands". I (being very uncoordinated) was the record player person. Anyway, Judy sure taught all the kids her little rendition of that song and it was quite cute when she had her presentation for the adults. If I'm not mistaken she even had costumes for the kids. Judy loved costumes.
AND...talking about dressing up. One year we went to the "dump" spot near the crest of the hill behind us and found an old wedding dress (I wonder what the story is behind it being there???). Judy had so much fun dressing up in that dress. Judy would have modeling shows down the hallway in the house. She just loved to dress up and walk all funny down the hallway.
I guess it was a natural with Judy's love of clothes...that one day she started sewing. I remember some lady down the street made clothes professionally and she hired Judy. I thought that was so cool...Judy making clothes for "real" women!!
Judy and I never attended school together--- well, almost never. There was that ONE YEAR we were forced to go to SDA school!! Dr Shelton thought that going there might help us wild Tucker kids. WRONG!!! I was in the fourth grade at that school. I was in a class with kindergarten through 4th grade. Judy and JoAnn were in a 5th through 8th class. My teacher was also the bus driver--of the LITTLE YELLOW RETARD BUS that we had to ride. We were so embarassed!! We were sure our friends thought we were all retarded that year!! My teacher was new to teaching and a bit fragile. She ended up having a nervious breakdown--- I'm sure mainly to having us Tucker girls on her bus and one in her class. She wasn't much of a teacher...I remember her having us 4th graders teach the 1st or 2nd graders how to tell time... heck, I had no idea how to teach. It was just a big waste of all of our time!! but it was better than listening to the teacher try to teach me something.
At one point a girl in class that I really hated got sick...lock-jaw. Everyone in the class was supposed to sign a get well card... I didn't see the point, I didn't want her to get well. So I didn't.
On the bus we (Tucker girls) ruled the bus. Judy was the best... she got on that bus and told everyone other than JoAnn and I that they had to sit 2 to a seat up at the front and we "owned" the back of the bus. Nobody ever got back there... they tried, but NO Way with Judy protecting our territory. No body ever thought about messing with me either with Judy around!!! That was a great year--even though we hated every minite of it!! PS Dr Shelton never tried to talk dad into sending us to the SDA school again!!!
Dr Shelton was "different". He was the typical SDA person. He once said all prayers should be at least 5 mintues long...and he stuck by that EVERY time he prayed. and we had to kneel at that church!! 5 minutes is a long time to be kneeling with your eyes closed. Dr Shelton tried to teach us about health also. He was a total vegetarian--I'm sure he was disappointed that we ate meat. Of course we NEVER ate pork or shell fish, but we ate plenty of beef!! Once Dr Shelton had a talk on health and he stated that we should never put pepper on our food. Pepper has a tendancy to excite humans and sexually stimulate them!! Guess which two Tucker girls went out and bought a can of pepper right away!!! yep, Judy and I!! At first we had to sneak the pepper, but then it became common place. Dr. Shelton also told us the reason the SDA church opposed dancing was it also excited humans sexually and then it was difficult for them to control themselves. Judy was always a dancer... not with a partner at first...just dancing to have fun.
I never danced...but I got sexually excited just like every other normal teenage child!! Dr Shelton had no idea what real life was like in my oppinion.
Anyway, it was great to get back to Lynwood School and a more normal education.
Monday, August 22, 2011
Train
I mentioned earlier how cool I thought it was that Uncle Leo worked for the Rail Road. I always loved trains. This past weekend Lucas spend the night and a neighbor had a garage sale. At the sale they had a VERY VERY SMALL model train set for $1.50. What the heck... might as well buy that!! It's an N size, I'm not sure, but I'm thinking it's the smallest model train size...if not, it's got to be close to the smallest. Anyway... it came with the transformer, some track, an engine that looked OK and some cars that were missing parts. Lucas and I went inside and cleared the legos off the kitchen table and set it up... SURE ENOUGH...it works!!! Being so small it's really tough to get the wheels to fit onto the track just right so it will go round and round. But...it's possible. Lucas had a couple hours of fun out of that $1.50...and I think he'll get plenty more.
So..why am I telling you this? The little model train reminded me of the model train I got one year for Christmas. Mine was a Lionel. Size O. Much bigger than Lucas'. I remember the engine had a light that turned on even. It was the greatest train!! I was so thrilled to get it. I remember exactly where I set it up in the living room... in the corner by the window. I ran that train around and around and around. Dad DID tell me to always turn the transformer off when I left the train. But... I was a kid. I remember we all sat down to eat dinner and when I got up to go play with my train again... it was DEAD!!! I had burnt the transformer out!! Yep...it was totally my fault and I knew it. I hated myself for forgetting!! Dad never replaced the transformer...so I never got to play with that train again. I guess it just ended up in the garage with all the other "junk" and one day got dumped. I guess it left a hole in me somewhere...cause to this day I want another train.
So..why am I telling you this? The little model train reminded me of the model train I got one year for Christmas. Mine was a Lionel. Size O. Much bigger than Lucas'. I remember the engine had a light that turned on even. It was the greatest train!! I was so thrilled to get it. I remember exactly where I set it up in the living room... in the corner by the window. I ran that train around and around and around. Dad DID tell me to always turn the transformer off when I left the train. But... I was a kid. I remember we all sat down to eat dinner and when I got up to go play with my train again... it was DEAD!!! I had burnt the transformer out!! Yep...it was totally my fault and I knew it. I hated myself for forgetting!! Dad never replaced the transformer...so I never got to play with that train again. I guess it just ended up in the garage with all the other "junk" and one day got dumped. I guess it left a hole in me somewhere...cause to this day I want another train.
Friday, August 19, 2011
Kindergarten in Novato and some neighbors
I started school in SF, but back in the olden days they called it low and high grade...like low 1st grade, high 1st grade. None of it makes any sense to me now... but I know I only completed LOW Kindgergarten in SF, so in Novato they started me all over again in Kindergarten. Not that I minded. Back in 1955 kindergarden was FUN!! I do remember laying on our mats and taking naps. I also remember eating graham crackers and drinking milk out of little cartons. I remember we had blocks to play with...I loved blocks as a kid. I do not remember EVER being taught the ABC's or 123's in Kindergarten. It was just FUN!!
In the first grade I had to start learning stuff...like my ABC's and 123's. Like real education!! and...we had to go to school all day. As I said, this totally cut into my play time!!
When we moved into our house in Monte Maria there were also other families moving into their brand new homes. Neighbors got to know each other while building fences and landscaping. Mom had a friend named... Mrs Lawry (Evelyn - I think). The Lawry's were obviously richer than us..cause they had a TELEPHONE!!! So when mom needed to make a call she went across the road to the Lawry's house and made the call.
Now...right next door to us were the Pratt's. RONNIE PRATT--- the worst kid I ever, ever knew!! He was just a total brat. The biggest memory I have of him...was going to his house to watch TV one afternoon. Mind you...we did NOT have a TV. While at Ronnie's house we noticed his mom was canning tomatoes. I'd never seen home canned tomatoes before that to my knowldge. Anyway, there were a LOT of them on the counters. Mr Pratt came home, upset about something and the parents got into a real SPAT!! they started by just yelling at each other (now I need to let you know, my parents NEVER, EVER, not even ONCE yelled at each other) Anyway, the yelling escalated into both of them throwing jars of canned tomatoes at each other. WHAT a mess!! broken glass all over the place (cause those Monte Maria houses did not have carpet and they had cement floors). We decided we better get the heck out of there -- QUICK!!! I do remember we thought the whole fight was rather entertaining though.
Across the street were the King's. He was SHORT and she was tall. He had a typical short man complex and ruled the "roost". I remember when he came home from work everything stopped... the wife had to pour him a glass of wine and sit and talk with him about his day (he worked at Chevron in Richmond). Emily was friends with Sharon King, none of us were close to Collette. Sharon King grew up into a strange person and eventially committed suicide because her mom wouldn't buy her a Toyota 4 Runner. I heard that Sharon became a lesbian and a prostitute. I'm not really surprised..she was weird in my opinion.
But..the best person in Monte Maria was Susie Willis. My very best friend. We had so much in common...we both loved dogs, loved climbing, exploring, building things...anything but school!!! I remember Susie and I each had a stuffed dog...and we'd play "dogs" for hours. We both wanted a real dog so bad. She got her's first... Pepper. A decent mid size mixed breed dog. She walked tha dog everywhere. Then I got Priss--- a rather stupid white mixed breed dog. I had read every dog training book I could check out of the Linwood School Library... but I'll tell you, NONE of it worked on that dog. She would never come when called, never sat, never nothing!! But I loved her just the same. Dad made her sleep outside..and I didn't like that. But I could bring her inside during the day. Susie and I had so much fun with our real dogs!!
When the area south of us was being built Susie and I had so much fun climbing through all the homes and wood and stuff. We could walk all the way around the top 2x4 of the frame (before they put the roof rafters on). Susie and I could also walk on any fence... never fell off, no matter how thin the boards. When the constuction men put the stucco on the outside walls of one house we wrote our names all over the house!! YEP...our NAMES!!! guess who's parents got visited the next day? The construction guys were pretty upset with us cause they had to redo the whole stucco job. I remember Susie and I really didn't like one sissy little girl in our class...so one day she came over to the construction site.. (where she didn't belong--it was OUR territory) Susie and I decided to teach her a lesson about coming into our space and we made her walk the top of the house with us...she cried the whole time. We were really mean little girls when we were together!!!
Susie and I walked up the hill behind our houses when the bulldozers showed up to start excavating that area... we wanted to ride on a bulldozer so bad... we just sit and watch the workers for hours. Finally one day one guy offered us a ride... that was SO GREAT!! We were thrilled to just climb on the bulldozer after the guys left...but to be able to ride on it!!!! WAY COOL!!!
When other survey workers came and put sticks in the ground behind our homes...Susie and I went along after they went home and pulled all of the up...yep, ALL of them!! Another visit to our parents was in order!! How did they know it was us???? We just really liked the thin sticks with the little flag on it....
Susie Willis moved away when I was in the 6th grade. That was HORRIBLE!! She was my only friend and I knew they'd never be another friend like her. (she moved to Petaluma). I didn't know what to do with myself after she left...so I decided to start reading...I read the most books of any 6th grader that year.
I still miss Susie Willis!!
In the first grade I had to start learning stuff...like my ABC's and 123's. Like real education!! and...we had to go to school all day. As I said, this totally cut into my play time!!
When we moved into our house in Monte Maria there were also other families moving into their brand new homes. Neighbors got to know each other while building fences and landscaping. Mom had a friend named... Mrs Lawry (Evelyn - I think). The Lawry's were obviously richer than us..cause they had a TELEPHONE!!! So when mom needed to make a call she went across the road to the Lawry's house and made the call.
Now...right next door to us were the Pratt's. RONNIE PRATT--- the worst kid I ever, ever knew!! He was just a total brat. The biggest memory I have of him...was going to his house to watch TV one afternoon. Mind you...we did NOT have a TV. While at Ronnie's house we noticed his mom was canning tomatoes. I'd never seen home canned tomatoes before that to my knowldge. Anyway, there were a LOT of them on the counters. Mr Pratt came home, upset about something and the parents got into a real SPAT!! they started by just yelling at each other (now I need to let you know, my parents NEVER, EVER, not even ONCE yelled at each other) Anyway, the yelling escalated into both of them throwing jars of canned tomatoes at each other. WHAT a mess!! broken glass all over the place (cause those Monte Maria houses did not have carpet and they had cement floors). We decided we better get the heck out of there -- QUICK!!! I do remember we thought the whole fight was rather entertaining though.
Across the street were the King's. He was SHORT and she was tall. He had a typical short man complex and ruled the "roost". I remember when he came home from work everything stopped... the wife had to pour him a glass of wine and sit and talk with him about his day (he worked at Chevron in Richmond). Emily was friends with Sharon King, none of us were close to Collette. Sharon King grew up into a strange person and eventially committed suicide because her mom wouldn't buy her a Toyota 4 Runner. I heard that Sharon became a lesbian and a prostitute. I'm not really surprised..she was weird in my opinion.
But..the best person in Monte Maria was Susie Willis. My very best friend. We had so much in common...we both loved dogs, loved climbing, exploring, building things...anything but school!!! I remember Susie and I each had a stuffed dog...and we'd play "dogs" for hours. We both wanted a real dog so bad. She got her's first... Pepper. A decent mid size mixed breed dog. She walked tha dog everywhere. Then I got Priss--- a rather stupid white mixed breed dog. I had read every dog training book I could check out of the Linwood School Library... but I'll tell you, NONE of it worked on that dog. She would never come when called, never sat, never nothing!! But I loved her just the same. Dad made her sleep outside..and I didn't like that. But I could bring her inside during the day. Susie and I had so much fun with our real dogs!!
When the area south of us was being built Susie and I had so much fun climbing through all the homes and wood and stuff. We could walk all the way around the top 2x4 of the frame (before they put the roof rafters on). Susie and I could also walk on any fence... never fell off, no matter how thin the boards. When the constuction men put the stucco on the outside walls of one house we wrote our names all over the house!! YEP...our NAMES!!! guess who's parents got visited the next day? The construction guys were pretty upset with us cause they had to redo the whole stucco job. I remember Susie and I really didn't like one sissy little girl in our class...so one day she came over to the construction site.. (where she didn't belong--it was OUR territory) Susie and I decided to teach her a lesson about coming into our space and we made her walk the top of the house with us...she cried the whole time. We were really mean little girls when we were together!!!
Susie and I walked up the hill behind our houses when the bulldozers showed up to start excavating that area... we wanted to ride on a bulldozer so bad... we just sit and watch the workers for hours. Finally one day one guy offered us a ride... that was SO GREAT!! We were thrilled to just climb on the bulldozer after the guys left...but to be able to ride on it!!!! WAY COOL!!!
When other survey workers came and put sticks in the ground behind our homes...Susie and I went along after they went home and pulled all of the up...yep, ALL of them!! Another visit to our parents was in order!! How did they know it was us???? We just really liked the thin sticks with the little flag on it....
Susie Willis moved away when I was in the 6th grade. That was HORRIBLE!! She was my only friend and I knew they'd never be another friend like her. (she moved to Petaluma). I didn't know what to do with myself after she left...so I decided to start reading...I read the most books of any 6th grader that year.
I still miss Susie Willis!!
done with SF memories
I really don't remember anything else about our lives in SF--- I remember I rode the city bus to school once in a while...but I don't remember ANYTHING about school. But then, I don't remember much about school in Novato either. School was just a necessary evil in my mind. It took away tiime from playing. Even as I got older school seemed so unnecessary. They only taught stuff that I didn't care about. My dad once said..."the past is behind us, who cares about it". and I took that to heart. I could care less about history or even world events. If I couldn't do anything about it...why study it. And English...it made no sense at all... why does the same word, spelled the same way mean two totally differnt things...stupid!!! And congregating sentences...WHY??? None of that stuff made any sense to me. If you read my blog long enough you'll notice I NEVER did learn to spell... I sure love computers and spell check... if I'm writing anything important... CHA CHING--- SPELL CHECK!!!
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Back to SF and our move to Novato
I kinda got off track on my life story. I want to write the memories I do have of our lives in SF. I don't remember all that much..but there is still a few memories. One memory is when we went to the hospital to pick up mom and our new baby sister, Emily. We were in an older 1940's car. We hadn't bought our 52 Plymouth yet. I remember Judy and I were so excited to see our new sister that we were pushing on each other to get a better view. All of a sudden--boom-- the door opened and I fell out of the car. I only remember falling out of the car... I don't remember going to the hospital (if I did) or anything else.
Another memory of our life in SF we Halloween in (probably) 1953 or possibly 1954. [do the math--I was only 4 or 5]. I remember Don, Judy, JoAnn and I going out with our pillow cases to Trick or Treat. We had gone all over Hunters Point and had quite a stash of candy. We were walking uphill towards our home when a larger than us, black boy (I'm sure now that he was OJ Simpson--he did live there during that time] came out and told us to give him our candy or he'd beat us all up. Mind you... we may have lived in Hunters Point--but we were really pretty soft kids. None of us were tough kids back then. We gave OJ our candy and went home very unhappy kids.
I remember Dad telling us we were going to move. Now, mind you, my dad never did anything very quickly...and finding a new home was one of those occassions that he took his time. I remember driving South of SF, near the coast and looking at home. I loved that area, but it just wasn't what dad wanted. I remember looking at the new homes in Novato... Monte Maria. Dad loved the house at the very end of the tract... with a beautiful meadow behind the house. We were all thrilled when dad chose that house. It was so exciting when we moved to Novato into a real house.
Another memory of our life in SF we Halloween in (probably) 1953 or possibly 1954. [do the math--I was only 4 or 5]. I remember Don, Judy, JoAnn and I going out with our pillow cases to Trick or Treat. We had gone all over Hunters Point and had quite a stash of candy. We were walking uphill towards our home when a larger than us, black boy (I'm sure now that he was OJ Simpson--he did live there during that time] came out and told us to give him our candy or he'd beat us all up. Mind you... we may have lived in Hunters Point--but we were really pretty soft kids. None of us were tough kids back then. We gave OJ our candy and went home very unhappy kids.
I remember Dad telling us we were going to move. Now, mind you, my dad never did anything very quickly...and finding a new home was one of those occassions that he took his time. I remember driving South of SF, near the coast and looking at home. I loved that area, but it just wasn't what dad wanted. I remember looking at the new homes in Novato... Monte Maria. Dad loved the house at the very end of the tract... with a beautiful meadow behind the house. We were all thrilled when dad chose that house. It was so exciting when we moved to Novato into a real house.
Uncle Leo and Aunt Alice
I'm sure I could go on and on about this family. I loved my Aunt Alice and Uncle Leo. They were totally not your typical people. They really lived OUTSIDE the Box... especially for the 50's and 60's when people had certain standards they were expected to live by. Uncle Leo was just a free-spirit. He didn't want anyone telling him what to do or how to do it. My first memeries of him was working for the railroad. How cool is that!! I have no idea what he did for the railroad...but I knew he worked for the railroad. Once I went to visit them and was sent home on a train... since he could put me on the train for free. It was a bit exciting and a lot scarey riding on the train all by myself. I still remember him telling me not to get off the train until they said San Francisco... not South SF...but SF!!
Mom and Dad loved sending me down to stay with the Dunn's. Judy got to go to Aunt Mildred's house (at TOTALLY normal family)...but me, no, I got to stay with the most dysfunctional family either the Tucker's or the Beaton's had ever known. I feel to this day it's a miracle that I'm still alive after some of those visit. I remember Dominic (now Bill) aiming an arrow at me with his bow and arrow. It was one of those REAL arrows...nice and sharp. Luckily his mom saw him and stopped him from shooting me. Another time Uncle Leo had a bunch of us kids in a car...took us "somewhere", he went inside to talk to "someone". Dominic and I found a box of 22 shells in the car and a hammer. Dominic told me the shells would make a loud noise if we hit them hard enough with the hammer. We proceeded to beat the heck out of those shells... I'm sure it was only the Grace of God that those shells didn't go off. Uncle Leo was pretty upset when he found us doing it. All the little kids in the car were just hanging out the windows watching us.
But...with the Dunn's there was always something going on. I remember Uncle Leo coming to our home in Novato... piling all of us kids (about a dozen kids) into his old panel wagon and going up the hills behind our house. We loved it!! Dad would NEVER drive up on the hills!! Now that I'm an adult I realize that dad wouldn't because he repected the flora and fauna--as well as Private Property!! But private property never stopped Leo. Once Aunt Alice wanted some lettuce for dinner... so Leo piled us kids into his car, drove us to a lettuce field and told us to each pick a head of lettuce. I remember one of us asking if it was OK..and he said "heck yeah...that's why it's growing out there". AND..even worse, once when Leo became a truck driver (for Safeway, no less) he stopped by our house with the truck and proceeded to open the trailer and haul in a couple of boxes of mayonaise and fruit. Dad was having a fit, but Uncle Leo never paid him any mind. He said it was OK...he'd just say a couple boxes got lost. Poor Dad...I can still see his face, he was horrified at taking stolen goods from Leo!!
Mom and Dad loved sending me down to stay with the Dunn's. Judy got to go to Aunt Mildred's house (at TOTALLY normal family)...but me, no, I got to stay with the most dysfunctional family either the Tucker's or the Beaton's had ever known. I feel to this day it's a miracle that I'm still alive after some of those visit. I remember Dominic (now Bill) aiming an arrow at me with his bow and arrow. It was one of those REAL arrows...nice and sharp. Luckily his mom saw him and stopped him from shooting me. Another time Uncle Leo had a bunch of us kids in a car...took us "somewhere", he went inside to talk to "someone". Dominic and I found a box of 22 shells in the car and a hammer. Dominic told me the shells would make a loud noise if we hit them hard enough with the hammer. We proceeded to beat the heck out of those shells... I'm sure it was only the Grace of God that those shells didn't go off. Uncle Leo was pretty upset when he found us doing it. All the little kids in the car were just hanging out the windows watching us.
But...with the Dunn's there was always something going on. I remember Uncle Leo coming to our home in Novato... piling all of us kids (about a dozen kids) into his old panel wagon and going up the hills behind our house. We loved it!! Dad would NEVER drive up on the hills!! Now that I'm an adult I realize that dad wouldn't because he repected the flora and fauna--as well as Private Property!! But private property never stopped Leo. Once Aunt Alice wanted some lettuce for dinner... so Leo piled us kids into his car, drove us to a lettuce field and told us to each pick a head of lettuce. I remember one of us asking if it was OK..and he said "heck yeah...that's why it's growing out there". AND..even worse, once when Leo became a truck driver (for Safeway, no less) he stopped by our house with the truck and proceeded to open the trailer and haul in a couple of boxes of mayonaise and fruit. Dad was having a fit, but Uncle Leo never paid him any mind. He said it was OK...he'd just say a couple boxes got lost. Poor Dad...I can still see his face, he was horrified at taking stolen goods from Leo!!
Playing in SF and Uncle Clyde & Aunt Lavonne
I remember one day my brother, sisters and I found a crutch. Just one. We walked all over the empty warehouse (either across the road or down the road from us). We thought that was so much fun...I remember spending a full day walking with this one crutch. I have no idea how thrilled we'd have been if we found a PAIR!!
Our project home was just up the road from Hunters Point Shipyard where my dad worked. Dad walked to work each day. One day the Military Police arrived at our door with JoAnn in tow. They told us that she walked onto the base. My memory is a bit fuzzy...but I do remember they were rather upset.
I wonder how JoAnn got out without me? In SF JoAnn and I were pretty close. We played Paper Dolls ALL day long. We didn't buy "real" paper dolls... instead we cut out people and items from the Sears Robuck Cataloge. We never got one of those catalogs at our house-- I have no idea why, since back then they were free. Instead we got our Sears Robuck Cataloge at Aunt Lavonne's. Uncle Clyde and Aunt Lavonne lived in Rutherford (Napa County). When we went to visit Aunt Lavonne always had a cataloge for JoAnn and I. We were thrilled!!! New people to play with!! New clothes to put on our people--YIPPEE!!
So...while I'm on the subject of Uncle Clyde and Aunt Lavonne--- they had 3 kids. 2 boys and a girl. The girl, Karen was a prissy little thing. We never had anything in common with her. The boys were a lot more fun. I remember Uncle Clyde bought a Honda 50 once... we had so much fun taking turns ridng that bike in the vineyards next to their house. They lived in a great place. It was a converted Rail Road Station. The house was remodeled very nice. Aunt Lavonne had some really nice furniture with with doilys on everything. Outside was the train station platform and lots of places to explore. Next to their home was the highway on one side and vineyards on the other. I rememeber looking at the beautiful purple graps thinking...I'll bet those are good. I took a handful and bit into one...YUCK!!! wine graps are gross!!! not sweet at all. Aunt Lavonne was the best cook I knew. I just loved going to their home for dinner. She could cook anything...even her vege food tasted good. Uncle Clyde was funny, just a crazy kind of sense of humor. My dad didn't have much of a sense of humor..so I found Uncle Clyde really entertaining. He always drove an Oldmobile 88. He just loved those big cars with all the bells and whistles. Uncle Clyde was a plummer and apparently did quite good at his profession. I remember dad saying that Aunt Lavonnes bookkeeping was a big reason they did so well. Back then I couldn't understand that---Uncle Clyde took to bottle collecting. It was a natural hobby for him...since he was under a lot of older house...he found old bottles quite often. He turned the Station Office into a musuem of sorts...with all his bottles. Aunt Lavonne died in 1973. I was sad because I really liked her. Uncle Clyde then married a woman that drove me crazy. She was WAY too into herself (nothing like Aunt Lavonne). One time I drove Mom and Audra to the SF Airport... the whole time we were in the car she kept asking us if she shouild wear her raincoat or put it in her luggage. By the time we got to SFO...I wanted to tear that darn raincoast up and solve her problem for her!!! Clyde and Audra moved into St Helena into a more normal house. It was way stuffy... almost uncomfortable to be in. Like walking past the rope in a musuem and sitting down!!!
Our project home was just up the road from Hunters Point Shipyard where my dad worked. Dad walked to work each day. One day the Military Police arrived at our door with JoAnn in tow. They told us that she walked onto the base. My memory is a bit fuzzy...but I do remember they were rather upset.
I wonder how JoAnn got out without me? In SF JoAnn and I were pretty close. We played Paper Dolls ALL day long. We didn't buy "real" paper dolls... instead we cut out people and items from the Sears Robuck Cataloge. We never got one of those catalogs at our house-- I have no idea why, since back then they were free. Instead we got our Sears Robuck Cataloge at Aunt Lavonne's. Uncle Clyde and Aunt Lavonne lived in Rutherford (Napa County). When we went to visit Aunt Lavonne always had a cataloge for JoAnn and I. We were thrilled!!! New people to play with!! New clothes to put on our people--YIPPEE!!
So...while I'm on the subject of Uncle Clyde and Aunt Lavonne--- they had 3 kids. 2 boys and a girl. The girl, Karen was a prissy little thing. We never had anything in common with her. The boys were a lot more fun. I remember Uncle Clyde bought a Honda 50 once... we had so much fun taking turns ridng that bike in the vineyards next to their house. They lived in a great place. It was a converted Rail Road Station. The house was remodeled very nice. Aunt Lavonne had some really nice furniture with with doilys on everything. Outside was the train station platform and lots of places to explore. Next to their home was the highway on one side and vineyards on the other. I rememeber looking at the beautiful purple graps thinking...I'll bet those are good. I took a handful and bit into one...YUCK!!! wine graps are gross!!! not sweet at all. Aunt Lavonne was the best cook I knew. I just loved going to their home for dinner. She could cook anything...even her vege food tasted good. Uncle Clyde was funny, just a crazy kind of sense of humor. My dad didn't have much of a sense of humor..so I found Uncle Clyde really entertaining. He always drove an Oldmobile 88. He just loved those big cars with all the bells and whistles. Uncle Clyde was a plummer and apparently did quite good at his profession. I remember dad saying that Aunt Lavonnes bookkeeping was a big reason they did so well. Back then I couldn't understand that---Uncle Clyde took to bottle collecting. It was a natural hobby for him...since he was under a lot of older house...he found old bottles quite often. He turned the Station Office into a musuem of sorts...with all his bottles. Aunt Lavonne died in 1973. I was sad because I really liked her. Uncle Clyde then married a woman that drove me crazy. She was WAY too into herself (nothing like Aunt Lavonne). One time I drove Mom and Audra to the SF Airport... the whole time we were in the car she kept asking us if she shouild wear her raincoat or put it in her luggage. By the time we got to SFO...I wanted to tear that darn raincoast up and solve her problem for her!!! Clyde and Audra moved into St Helena into a more normal house. It was way stuffy... almost uncomfortable to be in. Like walking past the rope in a musuem and sitting down!!!
Couple of weird memmories
When we lived in SF I remember the garbage man coming around with a large canvas tarp... he would spread it on the ground, gather the garbage cans and dump their content on the tarp. When he had it full he would gather up the 4 corners, throw it over his shoulder and take it to his garbage truck and dump it. Now...to really age myself, I also remember a man coming around selling vegetables out of a cart pulled by a horse!!! (where is that guy now? I'd love to buy fresh veges right at my door)
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
720 Kirkwood, San Francisco
Our "project home" as they were called in the early 1950's was more like a condo or townhome today. I remember it had an upstairs. I think our bedrooms were upstairs. I remember we had a big lawn out front and the City Bus stopped on the corner. Mind you...that city bus was one of those old time rounded buses. I remember riding the bus to school once in awhile. I don't remember how far my kindergarten school was...but once in a while I did ride the bus. My mom did not have a drivers license when we lived in SF. In fact...she didn't get one for some time after moving to Novato. Dad just did all the driving. Including driving mom to work at the hospital. I don't know what hospital she worked at...but I especially remember all of us in our car taking mom to work and then going to a playground in SF. Dad searched out and FOUND every little playground in the city. Each weekend it was a different playground. And to think...he did that without the Internet or a GPS!!! Mom always looked really nice when she went to work. Back then nurses wore their nursing caps and all white dresses. White hose and white shoes. She even had a special black cape that she only wore to work. I remember mom starching her cap. She would put it in a sink of starchy water and then place it on the front of the refrigerator. That was the only flat space big enough for her cap to dry. When she pealed it off...it was stiff as a board. She would carefully fold it and then pin it on her head very proudly. I had dreams of one day wearing a nurses cap....
Monday, August 15, 2011
Just getting started
My daughter Patty has been blogging for some time. I really enjoying reading her thoughts and happenings in her life--so I decided to join in. I am really going to use this forum to write my life history though. When I think of little bits and pieces of my life...I am going to blog them. I hope someone out there reads this so it's not just a waste of my time!! LOL
So...first things first-- I was born in Long Beach, California. I do not remember anything about Long Beach-- I don't know how soon after my birth my parents moved to San Francisco--but SF is my first memories.
Since my mom is dead...I can admit we lived in Hunter Point in a PROJECT HOME. ie: low income housing. Most of the other tennants were black or some form of dark skin. My siblings and I stood out like a "sore thumb" in our neighborhood. If you looked at my first school picture--you'd have no problem picking me out!!
Enough for now... I'll try to remember events of that period of my life and blog those next.
So...first things first-- I was born in Long Beach, California. I do not remember anything about Long Beach-- I don't know how soon after my birth my parents moved to San Francisco--but SF is my first memories.
Since my mom is dead...I can admit we lived in Hunter Point in a PROJECT HOME. ie: low income housing. Most of the other tennants were black or some form of dark skin. My siblings and I stood out like a "sore thumb" in our neighborhood. If you looked at my first school picture--you'd have no problem picking me out!!
Enough for now... I'll try to remember events of that period of my life and blog those next.
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