A Stitch In Time, Part Two

In the last 'Stitch in Time' I began with pretty much the same story as this time. There is a follow up story to go with it. On New Year's Day in 1957 when my first daughter Kathy was a toddler we were spending the day at my parents' house in Coronado. Kathy was exploring, as toddlers do, when she fell down the back steps and bumped her forehead. It looked as if it might need stitches so I called our doctor in Coronado. He said to bring her to his house so he could look at it. When he saw Kathy he knew she needed stitches and said he would meet us at his office. We quickly went the short distance to the office, on tenth street, where he and his wife tended to our dear little girl. She ended up with several stitches right above her eyebrow.

I remember this story as a reminder of how things were in that day and age compared to what they are now. You would not expect to even call a doctor at home now, or to be able to go to their office on New Year's Day. Well, I was telling this story to my foot doctor who is in that very same office as we went to those many years ago. He was aware of the doctor that had been in his office, and I had told him previously that I had been to the doctor in that office back in the fifties. As I was telling him the New Year's story recently, he was waiting for me to finish my story as he had a story to tell me.

His story is that on New Year's Day in 2011 his friend's little girl got a very bad splinter in her foot that needed medical care. My good podiatrist opened up his office on New Year's Day to tend to this little girl's foot. This was the very same office where I had taken my little Kathy those many years ago on the first day of the year so she could have her brow stitched up. So amazing! So personal care is not outdated. At least it is not outdated if you know the right doctor.

My sister Donna was telling me that it was a Sunday that she injured her foot and the doctor opened up his office to tend to her. She needed stitches in her foot. I remember the injury and her needing stitches, but I had forgotten that it was a Sunday. This is when she was a preteen or early teenager.

I needed stitches on my hand one time when I was a young teenager. I had been chasing one of our friends who had taken my ball. We were in the street near our house and I fell on my hand and hurt it bad. I went to our doctor and got a number of stitches in the palm of my hand. I can still see the scar. I baby sat in those days to be able to buy clothes and other things I needed. I paid for my stitches, all $19.00 of the bill with my baby sitting money. That is when we got thirty five cents an hour for baby sitting. Three hours was a whole dollar and five cents. I even baby sat the same evening that I got my stitches even though it hurt a lot.

One time when our son Griff was a young adult he cut his hand very bad on a machete that he had brought back from the Philippines. He had to call a taxi to take him to the emergency room as he was too injured to drive. He actually was not being careless when he injured his hand. It seems that the case for the machete had a worn out spot and he mistakenly put his hand on that part of the case. Those kind of injuries sure can hurt. His hand is fine now.

In the last 'Stitch in Time' I shared about the stitches my children got when they were little. As far as I can remember they each had one set of stitches as children. The same for my sisters and me. There have been stitches due to surgery but that is not the same as those unplanned events that need stitches. I guess no one would choose either though. The thing to do is to handle each case in a timely manner. Each thing we go through is part of our growth and hoping we don't make the same mistakes again that led to the need for a stitch in time.

Riding The Train

Some of our most pleasant memories are from when we rode the train. When my sisters and I were young we rode the train between San Diego and Los Angeles a number of times. It is a favorite memory for me. I can still picture details of what the passenger cars of the train looked like.

After our daughter Kathy and her husband and first baby moved to Washington state we enjoyed several train trips on The Coast Starlight train to see them. I had already gone to Washington on the bus at least once when Laura and I decided on going north by train. We had a great experience on that trip. The scenery included the coast and the mountains as well as cities and farmland. We only spent one night on the train and slept in our seats. We did not spend the extra money for a sleeping car or fancy dining car experience. There was a cafe car to purchase sandwiches or other snacks.

In those days, in the eighties, smoking was allowed on some parts of the train. The problem was that smoke travels to other areas so it was difficult to get away from it. Now days there is no smoking allowed and that is more pleasant. That is how things have been on buses too, as well as other public places such as restaurants. When I was young smoking did not bother me as I grew up around cigarette smoke. But smoke is unpleasant for me now as it has always been for my children. Thankfully "no smoking" laws are in effect on trains and buses now.

After Laura's and my happy train experience Paul and I decided to travel to Washington by train a few times. Two of the trips were to see Kathy and family on Whidbey Island as Laura and I had done. The train goes to Seattle and then we get a ride with family to the island. Later, after Kathy's family had moved from Washington, Paul and I took the train to Seattle to spend time with his cousin. Since then we have taken trips by train to visit Paul's brother Charlie and his wife in central California.

The last time we went to Whidbey Island to see Kathy, John, Becky, Melissa and Michael they were getting ready to move back to California. We enjoyed Thanksgiving with them if I remember correctly. We helped them as they were preparing for their move south. They would have a car full with their family and three kitties. Paul and I brought five year old Becky back to San Diego with us on the train. She had never been away from her family, but she was close to me so she did fine. It was a fun experience traveling with our little granddaughter. That is a way to see the sights with new eyes.

Each time we traveled on the train we managed to add other visits to the itinerary. On some trips we got off in Sacramento to spend time with Charlie and Edye. On some trips we stopped for an overnight stay in Los Angeles to see my sister Donna and her husband Fred. We did our Los Angeles stop when we had Becky with us. This way we enjoyed the last segment of the trip in the morning or early afternoon. I have a cute picture of Becky wearing the conductor's hat on that part of the train ride.

The last time I took the train to Los Angeles was in the fall of 2007. I spent a good part of a week with Donna and Fred on that trip. I was there for Donna's "three times twenty three" birthday. That is how she referred to that birthday. Donna and Fred were coming to San Diego so they brought me home. The fires of 2007 started in our mountains that weekend. Not too many weeks later Donna and I lost our sister Betty, near Thanksgiving.

On one of our train trips in the early '90s Paul, Laura and I traveled together to Sacramento to a wedding. That was an enjoyable family time with Charlie, Edye and their family. We traveled on a different train in the valley that time On that schedule you take the train from San Diego to L.A. Then take a bus to Bakersfield in the valley. Then the train and then another bus. Paul got off earlier when he met Charlie to go to Yosemite as Charlie was on a work related trip in that area. They were in Sacramento on time for Eric's wedding that weekend.

On one of our train trips to see Charlie and Edye in Pacific Grove our destination was another wedding in their family. We traveled by car with Charlie and Edye from Pacific Grove to San Francisco to Deron and Laurie's wedding. We stayed in a hotel in S.F. that night. That was a never to be forgotten experience. We have missed going to other family weddings, but have been happy to be able to go to the ones we did go to.

I would like to go by train to Colorado at least once. I have been by car and bus and plane. On one of my Colorado trips Kathy, John and Melissa and I went on the Pike's Peak Cog Train. This train takes you to the very top of the mountain. At the high altitude of 14,110 feet I could hardly walk or breathe when we got off the cog train. It is a short visit, just enough time for pictures and buying souvenirs. I would recommend this cog train ride to any that did not have heart problems. The scenery is beautiful. The view from the summit of Pikes Peak is said to have inspired Katharine Lee Bates to write "America the Beautiful" in 1893.

We do indeed have a beautiful country and we should appreciate it from whatever vantage point we have available to us. For us in San Diego we have access to the beaches and mountains as well as the desert. We also have beautiful parks and the zoo within easy reach. We have trolleys and buses to get to many destinations. Of course most people have access to a car. By train or plane we can get to more distant destinations with other beautiful scenery to enjoy.

"O beautiful for Spacious skies,                       America! America!
For amber waves of grain,                               God shed His grace on thee
For purple mountain majesties                         And crown thy good with brotherhood 
Above the fruited plain !                                  From sea to shining sea !"

America The Beautiful by Katharine Lee Bates in 1893


image credit: jpmueller99; TreyDanger

Riding The Bus, Part Two

Earlier I wrote about some of the people who we see or have met when riding the bus. Our family has used the buses in San Diego for decades. My children grew up knowing how to use the transit system. When they were little we did not always have a car, and I do not drive. We used to go to downtown San Diego by way of the ferry and bus. We didn't have to take the bus as we could get on the ferry going from Coronado to San Diego for small change. Then we could walk the rest of the way to our destination, even the San Diego Zoo. That was for the adventurous soul, but we sometimes liked to be challenged.

More often we would take the bus to our destination. If we still had energy, or were short of funds, we could walk back home. It was downhill that direction from the zoo. Of course we still had to take the ferry. By ferry I mean the car ferries that had a place for passengers to embark. We had to change our way of doing things after the bridge opened and the ferries were stopped. It was a sad day when we had our last ferry rides. It was several years before we got the current pedestrian ferries. They are fun to ride but cost more than we were used to paying.

Our children learned how to go by themselves to the zoo while they were still in grade school. Some people may have thought I was crazy to let them do this but I knew that the children knew what they were doing. I would probably not let them do this if I were raising them today. Maybe if I had been an older mother I would have given it a more critical look. In other words I may have worried more. One time Kathy and our friend Wendy, who was a little bit older than Kathy, got on the wrong bus and had an unplanned adventure. It was ok as they just stayed on to the end of the route where the bus turned around, headed back to where they were in familiar territory. Wendy lived in San Diego near Adams Avenue and they were probably headed back to Coronado.

One time when the children were quite young and we were coming home from downtown San Diego I left a small package on the bus in Coronado. Now this is another one of my small world stories. The bus made a trip back to San Diego and had made the rounds in San Diego. It was back in Coronado after trips both ways on the ferry. I was walking down Orange Avenue in Coronado with the children when the bus driver spotted us and stopped. He said he had something that belonged to us. It was the small package that I had left on the bus. I think it was color books and crayons or some similar purchase. This was a treasure to the children and to me. Can you believe that the bus driver was so aware of our little family?

I have enjoyed Greyhound bus trips in the past too. I traveled more than once by bus to Washington state when Kathy's family lived there. I have traveled home from Billings, Montana by bus too, after going there by car. I did the same thing one time when I went to Washington with a friend and came home by bus. I have also traveled both directions by bus to Denver, Colorado several times. Last time I did this with Laura and we decided that it was the last time going that far by bus.

When my mother went to her fiftieth high school reunion, near Bellingham, Washington, Laura went with her by bus. Laura got to go to some of the events of the reunion with her grandmother. She also went to some of the events of her dad's and my fiftieth reunions in Coronado in 2003 and 2005.

Electric Streetcar to Coronado Ferry

We have been using public transportation for decades and appreciate having it be available for us. It was a real treat when the trolleys began service in the early eighties. We have enjoyed using them for three decades now. Paul and I remember that when we were quite young there were street cars. Too bad they were discontinued. I especially remember the street car that went down the middle of Orange Avenue in Coronado when I was little. My dad had stories to tell my sisters and me about his adventures with the street cars when he was young. He was a great story teller and I would love to follow in his footsteps.

Our family will continue to take advantage of the buses and trolleys as we do not have a car now. They are a necessary source of transportation for us.

Image credits: prayitno; aldenjewell; San Diego History Center

Riding The Bus

It has been mostly a blessing riding the bus as our main form of transportation. We have made special friends and met a lot of interesting people along the way. One of my best friends is one that I met on the bus. When I was going to Coronado every Sunday morning to Sunday school and church I met Ellen as she was heading to Westview Bible Church in Imperial Beach. We were on the bus a short time together each week and got to know each other over a period of time. She invited us to her church and since we had another friend there we eventually visited Westview.

We continued to go to Coronado, but occasionally visited Westview. Laura started going to Westview much more often than Paul and I did. Then for a period of time Paul was going to Midway Baptist Church which is now known as Oceanview Church. He liked the idea that it is close to home so it is a short bus ride. Laura was going to Westview then and I was still going to Coronado. The bus driver was interested in our unusual arrangement at the time. She would have been in Church if she had not been driving the bus.

When the bus schedule changed and was not running often enough on the Strand to Coronado we started going Westview most weeks. This has been a blessing for our family. I am thankful that we met Ellen on the bus. Ellen and her husband Dave are dear people. We have enjoyed getting to know them and the other dear brothers and sisters in Christ at Westview Bible Church. We still have a sweet connection to Coronado and our many friends there, but we are being blessed each week at Westview.

There are a lot of interesting people on the bus and I have enjoyed talking to some of them. Bella is an older lady that I used to see quite often on the bus. She was beginning to forget things a lot and I was really concerned about her. She had a lot of history in our area and I heard some of her stories more than once. She lived with her sons near the trolley station and they must have begun to be concerned about her too. We had not seen her in quite a while when Laura and I came upon her as we were walking near her home in the valley. She said her sons did not want her to leave the yard anymore. At least I know she is safe.

We see many handicapped people on the bus. They don't let their disabilities keep them from being out and about many times during the week. There are a lot of senior citizens on their errands as well as young people going to school or their jobs each day. The bus and trolley are very much needed by many people. I appreciate being in an area where public transportation is available. I appreciate the nice bus drivers too. I have met some very nice drivers. There are a few that are not as nice, but they are the minority. Drivers have an important job and also need to care about people. You can tell which ones are not people oriented, it is just a job for them.

Then there are the people that get on the bus and are having a bad day. They want to make sure that everyone else has a bad day too. The other day one guy was loudly cussing at his lady friend. I could tell that he was a bully and did not have anything nice to say to her. I would have loved to say something but would have probably made the situation worse. I don't like to see someone being treated so badly. I would hope that she has someone to intervene for her or that she is able to distance herself from this bully.

Riding the bus is not boring. But you have to give yourself enough time to get to your destination. We like to leave home early and arrive at appointments early. Proper planning is important.

Photo credits: Seattle Municipal Archives;  DearEdward; paulkimo90

We May Change But God Never Changes

Over the years our circumstances and attitudes have changed. What was once considered offensive seems to be acceptable in this day and age. When I was young the families on TV were modeling moral values, even if they were not in church on Sundays. We had favorites such as "Leave It To Beaver" and "Father Knows Best." It seemed ok when things got a little bit more realistic, but families were not valued as time went by. I understand having shows that value a hard working single mother. That is the reality in many families. But it has gone way beyond that.

I do not appreciate the total lack of moral values in shows now days. I will not watch programs that promote unmarried sex as a norm. I know it happens in real life, but it doesn't have to be promoted on TV. We need to let our young ones know that they need to build relationships and then get married before hopping into bed. Happiness is not built on hopping into bed on a first or second date. I'm not being judgmental of those that have not waited till marriage and found themselves in a situation they had not intended. I'm not happy with TV networks for promoting this as acceptable and normal.

God has a reason for guiding us in the right direction. It is for our own good. He wants the best for us. The networks don't care about our welfare. They even promote homosexuality. We can't get away from this on TV any more. I was innocently watching a weight loss show when the person "came out of the closet" about his homosexuality. I didn't even want to think negative about him, but they fawned over him as if it was a good thing and that bothered me. This subject is thrown in our face at every twist and turn.


22 Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles.


 24 Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. 25 They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen.


 26 Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones. 27 In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed shameful acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their error.


 28 Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done. Romans 1:22-28


The Word of God says this better than I can. They do not desire to retain the knowledge of God. They say God created them that way and God does not make mistakes. Yet the Bible condemns that lifestyle. God loves us and desires for us to confess our sin and turn to him. All of us have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. He gave us His only begotten Son and if we confess our sins and turn to Him we will be saved. He did not come to condemn us, but that through Him we would be saved. See Romans 3;23 and John 3:16-17.

"Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever." Hebrews 13:8 

Timely Expenses

When Paul and I were newlyweds in Coronado we may not have had much money, but we were able to make a little go a long ways. The cost of living in those days was nothing compared to what it is now. Our first little garage apartment didn't cost more than thirty or thirty-five dollars a month. It was one room plus a small kitchen and a bath, just right for the two of us. I don't remember anything about how the utilities were handled. We may not have had an extra bill for them. If we did they would have been very small. Our struggle was in having enough cash for food or any extras.

We were in that first little house on the alley for less than half a year. We moved to our next home on Margarita Avenue in the early part of 1955. This house was originally owned by Paul's Grandma Jones. When we lived there Paul's Uncle Ivor Jones owned it. We paid him fifty dollars a month rent. This house was an older cottage with three bedrooms, a large living room, a kitchen and a bathroom, besides a basement. There was also a large yard. We stayed in that house for four years. Kathy and Laura were born while we lived on Margarita Avenue. This was a block from where Paul lived as a child. He would have spent a lot of time at his grandma's as a child so the house we lived in was very familiar to him.

Paul's parents were on Pomona Avenue just two blocks from us. They lived in one of the homes that they had built. They bought their large lot for $500.00 sometime in the early forties. The first house they built was on the alley, in the back part of their lot, on Adella Lane. I understand that Paul's mother did some of the construction while Paul's father was at war. Paul's Grandpa Marvin was in charge of the construction as this was his trade. They lived in this house until they built their home on Pomona Avenue, the front part of the large lot. Paul's dad was the main carpenter as this was his skill. This is the only home they lived in from before the time I knew them until sometime after Paul's mother died in the seventies. This is the home that was Grandma and Granddad's house to our children. This is where many memories were made. Christmases, birthdays and many special events were celebrated there.

Paul's mother died in December of 1971 after a long battle with cancer. She was missed by all, especially Dad. Paul's dad remarried early in 1973. After a couple of years Dad and Myrtle sold the family home in Coronado and bought a home in LaMesa. There must have been several owners of our favorite house on Pomona Avenue as we noted changes over the years. Color changes, a second story added and whatever a new owner deemed necessary to make it their home. That was all fine and good, but when we drove by and saw that it had been torn down our hearts were broken. Paul always says that he had helped build that house as he helped with the roofing. The back house in the alley is still there and has a second story added. There are two houses in front now and they are not my favorite houses on the block.

Before Laura was a year old we moved to a house on the 200 block of F Avenue. This house was owned by some people we knew. I remember the older lady who lived there when I was a child. She was the mother of the couple we rented it from. This was a block from where I lived as a child. My parents and one of my sisters still lived on the 300 block of F, in the old house I lived in as a teenager. My Grandma and Aunt Clara, as well as Uncle George still lived at 300 F Avenue so we all saw each other quite often. The children got to know several generations of my family.

Paul and I paid $70.00 rent for the house at 238 F Avenue. This is where we lived when Bill and Griff were born. We were in this house until Griff was two years old. By this time we didn't have any family living on the next block. My grandma had died when Bill was a new baby. The old family house was sold for around $19,000. The last time I saw it on the market it was $700,000, billed as one of the least expensive houses in Coronado. Grandma was in the house for about forty years. It is my favorite house and I enjoy seeing it when I'm going down Third Street in Coronado. It was a quiet street when we were there, but it is a busy highway heading to North Island now.

Just before Griff was born Mom and Dad were able to make their first major purchase of a home of their own. They paid less than $15,000 for their new house, one of the first houses built in the area where we now live. It is part of San Diego now. In those days their mail was addressed to Imperial Beach. Another name for this area is Otay Mesa. Dad did not live very many more years so didn't get to see how this area developed over the years. He died in 1964 when my children were still quite young. He didn't even get to see the bridge being built. He would have liked the San Diego-Coronado Bay Bridge.

When my sisters and I were quite young there was a nice sized lot next to Grandma and Granddad's on F Avenue. It was part of their property. When we lived at our grandparent's, after the war, my parents raised chickens on part of that lot to earn some extra cash for our family. Mom and Dad were given the lot as their inheritance. They needed cash and sold the lot for $1,000. If you know Coronado now you know it would be worth a fortune.

Paul's Uncle Ivor sold the house on Margarita Avenue in the $10,000 range. If only we could have purchased it then. But we were kids with no money. Nobody would have dreamed that property would skyrocket. In our early years $10,000 was a fortune to us.

In 1965 Paul, the children and I moved to Olive Lane. Paul's brother and sister-in-law lived there with their first baby. They were expecting a second child and were moving for more space. We decided to move there even though it was very small. It was nicer than we had and it was also cute. It was two stories and had three bedrooms and two baths. I enjoyed this little house the first year we were in it. We paid $100.00 a month for several years and then the rent was raised ten dollars. A lot for us. Just add some zeros now and that would be reasonable for this day and age. After living on Olive Lane for eight years I was more than ready to move. We had a lot of history in that little house, not all good. It was not the house's fault though.

We bought this house in South San Diego in 1973 for less than $30,000. It is worth a lot more now. Our family has enjoyed many Thanksgivings and Christmases here. Our family has grown with more in-laws and grandchildren. We now have a great grandson. Life can be good. We can't depend on the things of this world to make us happy though. The only constant is the love we have in Christ.

Not all the houses we have lived in are still standing. But they are in the memories of our hearts. The family home on Margarita Avenue is still there and we enjoy driving past to see it. Paul's brother and sister-in-law knocked on the door and visited the lady that lives there on one of their trips to Coronado. I need to do the same thing sometime. I also want to do this for my grandparent's house too. Paul's other grandparent's home on H Avenue in Coronado is not there anymore. Grandpa Marvin built that house too. He also built the addition to my grandparent's house in the early years. Our homes become so much a part of us.

When I was little and lived in Coronado I got homesick for my grandparent's farm in Washington. And when I lived on the farm I would get homesick for Coronado. For years I wanted to go back to Washington state to see all the family homes there and see those loved ones we missed so much. I finally got to vacation there several times and it satisfied me. San Diego is home now and I don't have those old longings to move anymore. We are close enough to Coronado to satisfy me. I would love to live there , but do not need to do so. My only real need is to visit loved ones around the country. I especially need to see my babies.

My longing is to live with Jesus someday. This world is not my home, I'm just passing through. There is a home prepared for me in heaven. It is better than anything that I can imagine.

pictures from family album- first pic. Margarita Avenue
2nd pic.- Caroline with first two children on Margarita
3rd pic.- All four children with their cousin at Grandma and Granddad's
next pic.- At Grandma and Granddad's with a little friend
next scene- 200 block of F Avenue with two of our children and neighbors
another Margarita scene with Paul and the girls
Kathy, Laura, Bill and Griff on Olive Lane

First Memories

There is an article in the paper today about first memories and how young were you at the time of your first memory. I know that I remember several things from when I was in kindergarten. I'm sure I remember a little bit from when I was a little bit younger. I clearly remember the house we lived in when I was around four or five years old. In fact my youngest sister was a baby then so I would have been about four when I first remember that house.

The house was on B Avenue, south of Tenth Street. It was a very old house and has been gone for years now. There was a vacant lot on the corner of Tenth and B. Next to the lot, on Tenth, there was a building that must have been a club house for Filipinos. I was a friendly child and probably made friends with some of the people there. Across the street on Tenth and C was, and still is, the Presbyterian Church. I made friends with Pastor Carson's youngest daughter Eloise. I went to their Sunday School for a while, but don't remember how long. We had been so young that Eloise did not remember knowing me when we met in later years.

On Orange Avenue, in back of our house, was the little hospital where my sisters were born. Twenty years later, in the sixties, there was a cute shop there named The Bayberry Tree. That store could have been there into the seventies. We enjoyed going into that store over the years when my children were young.

One story that Mom used to tell about my sister Betty was that she used to hold her breath and couldn't breathe. Mom would grab Betty and head out the back towards the hospital, then Betty would catch her breath when they got outside. I guess they didn't end up reaching the hospital before she was ok. We were in a good place if assistance had been needed.

Another time when Betty was about two years old, when we were visiting our grandparents and other relatives on F Avenue, Betty fell while drinking out of a small juice glass. She cut herself very bad on the bridge of her nose. I remember it bleeding a lot and all the adults being very concerned. Little Betty needed stitches for that injury. Those were probably the first stitches for any of us. I know we lived in the house on B then as I remember my aunt and uncle being with us there right after that happened.

I remember going to kindergarten in Coronado. My grandfather used to take me home after school. I rode on the back of his bike. One day when he went to pick me up I wasn't there. I had gone to a friend's at a house nearby. I can even remember the house on Seventh Street, near where the current police station is. I don't know how he found me but he did. I guess I was in big trouble since it stayed in my memory bank all these years. I'm remembering this seventy years later.

Paul remembers the first day of kindergarten. He says there were two teachers and he rejected both teachers. He does not remember why he did this. There is usually one child in a class who would much prefer to be home with Mommy. I guess he was the one. He also started school in Coronado. One of the teachers was the teacher I remember having, as did three of our children.

Donna didn't get to go to kindergarten as we were in Washington state with our mother's parents and there was no kindergarten there. I remember Donna's first day of first grade at the Meridian School, near the Canadian border, not far from our grandparent's farm in Laurel. I had done first grade twice at that school. I was in second grade when Donna started first grade. We had moved to Portland by the time Betty was in kindergarten. She started school there and finished her kindergarten year in Coronado.

One thing I remember about going to school in Portland, when I was in third grade, was that we were in a mixed race neighborhood. This was a change from our days on the farm with our grandparents. I also remember someone asking me what was on Betty's face. I never paid much attention to her birthmark otherwise. I knew enough to just say it was something she always had. Kids can be color blind, or blind to birthmarks. I always had a mole near my eye and remember a teacher being concerned about it when I was in first or second grade. Otherwise I wouldn't have thought about it. I eventually had it removed many years later. Betty never had the desire to have her birthmark removed. It was part of who she was.

Another memory from the house on B Avenue in Coronado also needs to be told. My parents were always hard workers and they did what they needed to do to support our family. Mom took in laundry and ironing and may have done some maid work. When we were very young Dad was a chauffeur, while his eyes were still good.

One day when Mom was at work and Dad was caring for the three of us girls he may have fallen asleep on the job. He may have had a few under his belt too. That happened sometimes. The three of us may have been on the noisy side and bothered the neighbors this one time. Our nearby neighbor was none too  pleased with the enthusiasm coming from the kids in the house next door, and Daddy could not be raised from his sleep. Our good neighbor called the police. When Mom came home from work the police were there and helping out nicely. But my Mom had plenty to say about that! She told them to mind their own business, that they did not need to be there. Life was not boring in our household.

In this day and age I'm sure things may not have ended as they did in those days so many years ago. I have a feeling that they did not choose to cross paths with that mother hen again. She could be very likeable and never knew a stranger, but not on that day.

Small world if you live in Coronado. Our neighbor was one of Paul's uncles. Now I remember that uncle always saying nice things about my mother. My dad was a good friend of another one of Paul's uncles. Even though I did not know Paul till we were teenagers our ties go back a long way. Dad and Paul's aunts, uncles and parents all grew up in Coronado from the time they were in school. Some of my uncles and one aunt would have gone to school in Coronado too.

I remember the first day going to school after arriving back in Coronado after the war. I was in third grade, Donna was in second grade and Betty was in kindergarten. This would have been after Christmas vacation, and after a long bus ride for our whole family from Portland to San Diego. After that first day of school I was to make sure my sisters got back home on Third and F ok. I remembered where my sisters classes were and how to get home. I found Donna and Betty as I was supposed to do. But then they decided they knew more about getting home than I did.

I couldn't persuade them to go with me straight down F from the school to home, heading north, towards the bay. It was so easy for me, but they had their own idea of where to head. They went straight, but they headed west down Fifth Street, towards North Island. I got home and told either our parents or grandparents that Donna and Betty were headed the wrong way. It did not take long for family to find my wayward sisters. They knew the way after that.

Another time that same year I was walking with two friends home from school. We were across the street from Dorothy's house, on the same block that I lived, when a man asked us if we wanted a ride. I was not wise to the ways of the world, just fresh from several years of "A Little House On The Prairie" existence. Thankfully I was with two wise friends and noted that they were alarmed. They ran to Dorothy's house and thankfully I decided that was what I should do too. Or maybe I just finished the walk home since I was close by. I would have thought it was someone that maybe I knew and was just being nice. The next day the police came to school and asked us questions. I doubt that I was a good witness for the information that they needed.

The second friend that day was Paul's cousin Sally. I have known her since third grade. When we met we were so amazed that our fathers were good friends. Our fathers had their own adventures together over the years.

After this experience I was sure it was my God given duty to warn my sisters of things such as that. But I got carried away and put fear into them that did not need to be part of their young lives. I had just discovered that there were bad people and I was the one to protect my sisters. Who knows, maybe the person who offered us a ride was not really a bad guy. I did a pretty good job of warning my little Kathy too. "Do not take rides from strangers," so she even turned down a ride with my aunt that she knew all her life. I must not have worried too much though as my children pretty much had the run of the island. And that is another story.

The Village Theater and Other Old Favorites

I remember when the Village Theater was new in town and we would line up for matinees on a Saturday morning. I also remember my first movie date at the Village when I was in sixth grade. I can even remember what movie we saw. "The Three Musketeers" was the movie of the day. My friend asked me to go to the movies with him again, but I must have chickened out on that date. After all, I was only twelve years old. There would be other dates in the years to follow with other friends. Not that I really went on many dates as a teenager.

Before the Village Theater was in Coronado we had another movie theater on Orange Avenue, where "The Lambs Players" are now. That movie theater had been there when my father was a kid too. He used to usher there as a young man. He used to entertain my sisters and me with stories about this time in his life, such as letting his friends in free by way of the back door. I remember going to many movies there and we only paid twelve cents to see a matinee on Saturdays.

There was a policeman named Pop Millar who took a lot of the children in town to the movies at various times during the year. I don't know how many years, and times during the year this took place, but I remember lining up with all the other children to go to the Coronado Theater* after school on more than one occasion. This was even featured in Life Magazine sometime during the forties. I think it was a cover story. The first movie I remember going to was on one of these occasions. I remember the movie being "The Song of the South."

Both movie theaters were still in Coronado when I was a teenager, and when I was dating Paul. I remember seeing "The Glenn Miller Story" at the Coronado Theater with Paul when we were dating. It is hard to believe that Coronado has gone without a movie theater for so long now. Thankfully the Village Theater is being restored and will open again soon.

My children remember going to the Village when they were little too. Laura remembers going to free movies on special occasions such as Christmas Eve. After we moved from Coronado we rarely went to movies as it wasn't so convenient as it had been in our favorite home town.

Also, when I was a child I remember an outdoor movie theater where I went at least one time with my family. There was an outdoor screen and I think we sat on a lawn. I remember it being near where Albertsons is now, either on C or B Avenue. That may be where the skating rink was when I was a teenager. I only remember going to the rink once, but Paul used to go there a lot as a teen.

I remember going to the Coronado Theater to see "Heidi" when I was a child too. That is one time I remember going to the movies with my mother. I knew we were going to see Shirley Temple and it took me a while to realize that Heidi was Shirley Temple. No one explained to me that she would not be called Shirley in the movie. I had not been to many movies and had things to learn. We did not go to movies when we lived with our grandparents on the farm during the war. Children have a lot of things to figure out in life, anyway I had a lot to figure out.

I remember going to one movie at North Island with a friend when I was a young adult. I went to the theater at North Island on at least one other occasion too. I was given tickets to hear an orchestra at the base theater. That was a treat. I also went to the movie theater at the Amphibious Base with a friend one time. I don't have any idea if that theater is still there since we don't go on the base and I'm not up to date on things there.

Downtown San Diego used to have some fine old movie theaters that we went to in years past. Some have been refurbished beautifully for continued enjoyment. Some are neglected and waiting for a reprieve from the condition they are now in. We don't want to lose these historical buildings. Some are long gone and are a faint memory. Other communities have gone through changes such as this too. New things are always nice, but they can't compete with places with a past.

My sister Donna and I were just remembering that we took our parents out to eat and to the movies in downtown San Diego on at least one of their anniversaries when we were teenagers. We went to the Chicken Pie Shop which was a favorite of mine. We could each get a whole meal, including dessert, for less than a dollar. This restaurant is a San Diego favorite and has been around for many years. It has been in more than one location over the years. We used to go there mostly when it was downtown. It was also in Hillcrest too, in two different locales. The Chicken Pie Shop is now in North Park and is still a favorite. One of my friends introduced me to the one downtown when we were teenagers. Paul remembers going there as a child.

I also remember going to one drive in movie with our family when we were teenagers. This was also a time we treated our parents, probably for their anniversary. This could not have been too much fun for our dad as he had very bad eyes. Mom had to do the driving since he couldn't see to drive. When I was a baby he had been a chauffeur, but that was before his eyes got bad. There are unending memories that touch our lives at so many levels.

*The original old theater was probably The Strand Theater as I have heard it called by others. But I always refer to it as the Coronado Theater since that is how I remember it.

Image credits:  Kathleen Cavalaro, oskay, UggBoy♥UggGirl 

Remembering Special Neighbors

It has been fun to recall so many things from over the years. I can recall my childhood. I can recall things from when our children were little. And I can remember a lot of details of things you would think I would forget. But I cannot remember something from yesterday or last week. I guess that is typical.

The last two or more weeks Laura and I have been bringing in the mail and newspaper for our neighbors that were on a vacation. We have always liked doing things like this for our neighbors. We are blessed with good neighbors and they have been our friends for many years. I baby sat for their children many years ago. Now we are all grandparents.The babies I cared for have children of their own.

The reason I write about this is because I just called to welcome them home. Jake asked me why I did not take any food from the refrigerator. Oops, I forgot to get the food that would spoil while they were gone. That is a real example of forgetting. We would have enjoyed the strawberries and we always need milk. I suppose they would not be usable now. Wish I had not forgotten them. And we had a planned power outage one day so it is a sure thing food would spoil. I hope their refrigerator had not been unplugged as things would get real bad. I doubt they unplugged it though. They would have things that they had planned to keep.

We remember these good neighbors from the very first weeks of living on this court. They had two little children then. Colin was born the week we moved into our house, the last week of August in 1973. Little Alison was two and a half years old if I remember correctly. After a few months I became their baby sitter when Jan went back to work as a nurse and Jake was on deployment. He was in the Navy at the time. Over the years we had a good arrangement of me caring for the children and I was like a grandmother to them. They finally got too big for baby sitters.

There were other neighbor children that I cared for in the early years too. I still have contact with some of them as they still live on this block. I knew Kelly as a tiny baby and she now has her own children. I have watched her children grow just as I have seen Alison and Colin's children go from being babies to school age and even be teen agers. There are others in Kelly's family that I have watched grow up too, such as her brothers and older sister and her nephews.

We had other neighbors we were close to over the years. It is a blessing to be in the same neighborhood for so many years. There are new families on our court now and I try to be the good neighbor when I have opportunity. I don't do child care at this time so I miss that chance to know them. But I try to welcome each new neighbor. I also share avocados when Griff brings them to us. There are usually too many for one family. We have other chances along the way too. And they do special things for us.

Our next door neighbor Sergio has been the owner of his house since the seventies too. We knew several families that lived there before he did. He rented the house out for one short period of time. But he has been back for years. His mother lived with him for a number of years. Mary was a dear lady and she lived to be ninety years old. We miss her being there. Sergio misses her a whole lot more. We have known families with new babies in the house next door, and we have known Mary who lived her last days there.

One family I baby sat for in the 70s and early 80s lived on the next block, facing our court. There was Eric, a spitting image of "Beaver" from "Leave it to Beaver." The next son was Brian, a busy little boy and a friend of Colin. They were little when I first knew them. Then they got a baby sister, Christina. She was one of my babies for some time when I baby sat for the children. They eventually moved and I have only seen them briefly in the years since then. I will always remember them fondly. They have families of their own now.

We have known families that went through divorce, some while they were in our neighborhood and some we heard about later. We have seen many babies arrive on the scene in our neighborhood, and we have seen even more children grow up and have families of their own. Sadly we have seen a number of families face cancer. I remember at least three families suffering loss. I heard that there was a death in the neighborhood before we ever lived here. These were almost new houses when we moved here. We were the second owners. Triplets lived in this house before we did. This was "the triplets house" till the children got used to it being the Marvin's house.

We were warmly welcomed to this neighborhood while we were moving in on Labor Day weekend in 1973. Several neighbors came over and made us feel welcome. Those ladies became my friends that fall and through the following year. One moved away the next year but I stayed in touch with her for years. She and I used to take walks together. She also taught me to make egg rolls. The other friendly lady also became a good friend and we try to stay in touch. She also eventually moved, but still owns the house.

We have to get used to new neighbors and change. Some changes are actually good. I really like my court and appreciate my neighbors. I have not mentioned all of them. there are a lot of memories over these many years. I was just thirty six when we moved here and I'm seventy four now, and use a senior pass on the bus.

We have several special neighbors that know the Lord and feel a special bond with them. God is so good to bring us to this point in our lives. This house has seen many large family gatherings. There have been times of gladness and times of sadness for us and our neighbors. I thank God for providing this place for us.  :)

Collections

We spend too many years of our lives collecting things. We have some interesting collections, and then we have a lot of things that are just stuff. It is too easy to accumulate stuff when you are in the same house for almost thirty eight years. We come into this world without anything and we can't take it with us when we leave. I know that people who have to move a lot try to keep things thinned out, keeping things to a minimum.

Paul is going through all his boxes as he does from time to time. He is trying to cut his accumulation in half. I don't know if this is possible but he is trying. He is more organized than me. I go through things but never get to the bottom of it all. We have things from our fiftysix years together and all the things we still have of our parents households. Some are nice things and some are just sentimental pieces of trivia.

I occasionally fill bags or boxes for AMVETS or some other group and hope that will eventually make a dent in what I need to do. I filled two large bags and gave them to AMVETS last week. But most of what I need to do would not qualify for giving to someone. I'm in the middle of cutting up a lot of cards to make new cards. This is a fun way to go through my things. I can't just throw them away. Other people have the same problem and I get some of their cards to cut up too. It is fun to be creative. But I don't need any more cards to cut up.

Paul and I each have collections that are fun to look at. He is going through some of his collections and is surprised at how much he has. He is in his second childhood with his toy collections. He has cars, tractors, trucks and motorcycles in miniature. He has not bought any new toys in quite some time as he has more than enough already. He has one room that looks like a museum.

I used to have a room to store my extra toys, knick knacks and papers too. But I gave that room to Laura, although I still have some things in there. At this time I have overflow in our bedroom. Someday I'll finish organizing it. I hope so as I don't want my children to get stuck with as much as I did when my mother went to be with the Lord. She was not able to take it with her when she died, and the same will be true for all of us. We get so caught up in all of our stuff and we will not be taking it with us to heaven. God has better plans for us.

In the meantime it is fun to have a few toys and pretty things to enjoy here on earth. But moth and rust can corrupt, and thieves can break in and steal. We need to set our sights on the Lord. We need to share our love of the Lord with those people we care about, and pray for them to turn their hearts to the Lord. The only thing we can take with us when we go is our loved ones that know the Lord.

I pray for each one I love, all my family and friends, to know the peace of God and to be saved. I want to spend eternity with these loved ones.

Photo credit: blakewest

School Days

I have a long list of ideas to write about, all good ideas, but it starts to look like a school assignment. Eventually I will write about each idea on my list, but that is for future reference. Why do school assignments seem so daunting? I was not the best student and often procrastinated writing those special reports that were so important. I actually ended up with neat folders with decent grades. I put a good last ditch effort into certain assignments. Some classes were fun, but others were a struggle for me.

Laura enjoyed some of the special assignments that she had to do. She was very neat and put a lot of effort into what she did. She has enjoyed writing as far back as I can remember. Like me, she did first grade twice. I think it was a good idea for me to repeat first grade and I hope Laura feels that it helped her to do the same. Some of us needed that extra help in learning to read and do first grade arithmetic.

Bill benefited from doing second grade twice, but I think that he started to shine in school when he was older and had new glasses. He went to an eye doctor once when he was three or four years old and nothing was found to cause concern. I should have taken him to our favorite optometrist to have his vision checked. When I finally took him to have his vision checked he needed special glasses. This helped him a lot. I think that is when he started doing real good in school. Bill and Laura, as well as their brother Griff, all do very good in math.

Griff did not seem to struggle with any subjects in school. In fact he was identified as gifted. His problem was that he may have felt that he knew more than the teachers at times. He may have been a challenge for the teachers in many ways. In high school he got to where he would not go to school after a while. When he was seventeen he got his GED and then he joined the Marines. He did the best possible on the test to join the Marines so of course they wanted him to enlist.

Our oldest daughter Kathy did her best and got good grades. In high school her favorite subject was probably homemaking. She had the opportunity to take four years of this class with one of our very favorite teachers, Mrs. Hanks. My sisters and I loved Mrs. Hanks and each of us learned to sew under her watchful eyes. I even visited this favorite teacher at school after I graduated. I took my baby Kathy to show off to Mrs. Hanks. It was a blessing for Kathy to also have this same homemaking teacher as I had.

Kathy was the third generation in our family to graduate from Coronado High School. Paul's parents, aunts and uncles all graduated from CHS. My Dad attended Coronado schools, but did not graduate. Some of Dad's siblings graduated from CHS. Paul and I, as well as his brother and my sisters, graduated from Coronado High School.

Laura graduated from Coronado Junior High (8th grade) and then we moved to South SanDiego (Otay Mesa). She went to Montgomery Junior High and then Montgomery High School, as did Bill and Griff. Laura had another Junior High graduation when she graduated from 9th grade at Montgomery. Bill and Griff were in 5th and 6th grades when we moved here. They attended Juarez Lincoln School near here. We can often hear the children playing in the schoolyard on the nearby hill reminding us of the good old school days.

"Reading and 'Riting and 'Rithmetic" are words to an old song we used to sing. There is a hickory stick in this old song, but none ever had to be used on me at school. That would have been a rare thing when I was growing up and was probably never done when my children were in school. I do remember my sister getting in trouble one time at the school we went to when we were on the farm. She was in first grade. All she had done was to refuse to eat something on her plate in the cafeteria. And when I made the mistake of mentioning it to my grandmother Donna got in trouble again at home. That's the way it was. I did not like some of the cafeteria food, but I choked it down.

Time on the playground with friends was one of my favorite things at school. I enjoyed jump rope, hop scotch and jacks. I did not do good at team sports. Playing on the monkey bars, or the bars you swing across hand over hand getting blisters along the way, is another memory. Those blisters were badges of skill.

We were lucky to have square dance classes at times over the years. There were other lessons in dancing too, all good old fashioned dances. I'm sure not everyone appreciated these lessons though. But I remember them being fun as I liked boys. We were still young enough that some of the kids probably did not care for the opposite sex. Not all of my children had these opportunities. Laura did not get to do this as she had a different class. I guess some of the children got to square dance. My husband Paul remembers these lessons from back when he was in school.

Paul and I never danced with each other except for trying to when we were first dating. I did a little bit of dancing when the opportunity was there with friends or classmates. Once in a while there would be a party at a friend's house. At one such party at my friend's house I was having fun, but must have eaten too many nuts or other goodies. The music was on and some of us decided to dance. I danced with one of the boys that was trying to enjoy his first dance. I so much wanted to enjoy this dance. Our dancing in those days was slow and together, with the music of the early fifties. It would have been fine if I felt good.

The dance was barely over when I started for the bathroom, but I did not make it. I threw up all over the floor right in front of my dance partner and the other kids there. Not a fun experience for the fine young man I had been dancing with a few seconds before. I felt so bad for him, not to ignore the fact I was embarrassed to have spoiled what should have been a fun evening.



Caroline's eighth grade graduation picture--Coronado, 1951