Apr 1 2010

Family Memories

Photo Panning Test from Mike C on Vimeo.

My family posting miscellaneous memories (hopefully there will be more of these to come)…

From Mom (Gma Vita)
(after reading some letters from my dad when he was stationed overseas in the 1960s)

Still reading family letters, these are my own to your Dad….

June, 1967: Mike loves to go barefoot outdoors. He says, “I want to go with my toes…instead of barefoot.”

May, 1967: Trish (Patty) is starting to scratch us when mad. Poor Mike gets it most. One day he had his shirt off and she really let him have it. He cried but was so mad that he started kicking and shaking her up. Cindy and I had to pull them apart. And that’s not the first time either.

One night there was a tornado warning. We all went to the basement. We brought blankets and paper and pens to write Dad. Sam brought water (he thinks just like your Dad.)

Sam was also in in charge of the film projector. Pat just loves to see herself!

Sam, do you remember getting a check from your paper route in Ft. Huachuka? You couldn’t wait to cash it so you could buy records and paperbacks. I’m glad you all love to read.

Last thing, I remember the TV was going bad—only 1 channel and even that wasn’t clear. Especially when it got “hot”. We’d have to turn it on and off to get that one channel to work.

From Cindy:
Hi Mom and all, I am looking forward to new chapters of the letters between us and Dad. What a great journal you have Mom, your email brought back many memories…

I remember the scaaaary tornadoes, it was just like in the Wizard of Oz, we could hear it outside. I remember the basement, it was damp and scary if one had to go down there alone, but our laundry was down there.

As for the letters; Dad always told me that I had to write him about everything thing that each person in our family was doing, because he wanted to feel like he was there.

Of course I always added my 2 cents, like how I felt about what they were doing. I remember when Dad came home on leave for one month, in the middle of his year away. Mike was a little older and remembered Dad more than Patty, she was so scared of this “stranger” who wanted to hold her.

She just cried and cried every time he picked her up. I also remember when dad sent home yards and yards of Orange silk fabric and you made us all matching dresses, we have pictures of it. Mike and Sam missed out on this event of course. Nina and Debbie had dresses too… I’m pretty sure. By the way, Nina visited us while we were in Kansas, remember mom?

From Mike:

Thanks for the info, Cindy. It’s great getting a better glimpse of how things were back then. I have vague memories about basements, tornado warnings, fireflies, tortoises on the street, horned toads, etc., but they’re more like quick, scattered snapshots of the different areas/states we lived in during the 60′s. The recollections that you, Mom, and everyone else provide really help me get a better sense of that time.

From Sam:

I always laugh about the places we traveled to. The Army seemed to enjoy sending us off to assignments with extreme contrasts in climate. For example, we moved from…

Panama (on the equator and sea level) to Arizona (Mountains and high desert, about 5,000 feet above sea level). We went to the beaches almost every day. Dad had access to private military beaches outside of Panama City. We could catch lots of red snappers (fish), see huge turtles, blow-up fish (a fish that puffed up after being caught) and sting rays. Also, once in a while the sea would experience a red algae bloom, turn bright red and kill all the fish in the area. the fish would wash up on the beach, and Mom and Dad wouldn’t let us touch them.

Arizona to Kansas (high mountains to the Plains States) Arizona was hot and dry. It had beautiful scenery. We used to call one section of the mountains the Kennedy mountain. If you looked at it, from the south, it had JFK’s profile. Today, that area is named JFK for that same likeness. Funny how we noticed it, years before others. We also went to Nogales Mexico, while living here. I will never forget the poverty of Nogales, although young, I still remember the look of starvation on the people.

Kansas to Texas (not too much of a change) Kansas was the home of military wives during the war. Mom really kept the family together. She made us do things together, so we wouldn’t mope around with Dad being gone. Our family did well, we stuck together and Mom kept us on the right track.

Texas to Berkeley (major change here, Berkeley in the 60′s was a crazy place. so much different than Texas)

I also remember, working with Dad, while I was still in high school at his second job. Mom would always have supper ready so we could rush off to Capitol TV and Appliance. Dad was by far the best repairman at the store. He used the opportunities of the broken televisions, to teach me about electronics. I remember, when one of the other techs went on vacation, they brought all of his work over to us to repair. Dad, told them to take a look at the TVs first. I fixed about half of the sets my self. I left the tough ones for Dad. The whole shop was surprised that I was already doing the work of seasoned technicians. I have very fond memories of working with Dad in that dusty old shop, although the place didn’t even have a bathroom or water fountain and was run down, Dad and I made the best of it. Dad never complained, although now I realize Dad was probably working 65-70 hours a week to make ends meet.

In recap, I remember, how we all would work together to figure things out in the new area. We would share things we learned, so we could quickly blend in to the new culture. I still use those skills today. I quickly note different things, perspectives and ideas.

Music used:

By mike • by Mike, Relatives, Time Capsule • 5 • Tags: , , ,