 |
| My grandmother with her mother and brother in 1916. |
In 1997, she turned 82 while living alone in a mobile home park in Santa
Cruz, Calif. But I wouldn't describe her as lonely; she was an
extremely independent and persnickety woman whom I never knew to live
with another person or even a pet. (I wrote more about her life in an
earlier post.)
Close
to her home was the famous surfing spot called Pleasure Point, and she
loved walking to the ocean and watching the surfers. When she died at 97
in 2013, I took her ashes to those waves with a friend of hers and we
each dropped some at the sand. A moment after I dropped mine, a surfer
emerged from the water where I stood.
That was cool.
 |
| Pleasure Point in 1997. |
In January of 1997, she watched a lot of tennis and football, was preparing fabrics to give to a woman at the donut shop she went to every day, and saw a lot of me as I was coming up north from San Luis Obispo on trips and to interview for jobs at newspapers after graduating from college.
Wednesday, Jan. 1, 1997
Read late, til 1:30 a.m. Slept til 9:30.
Weird dream. Very real.
Car slow starting. Windy.
Drove to heat motor, then to corner. Had muffin.
Wrote Mimi, took to Post Office.
Put rent in box.
Tired, slept a bit. Ate BK.
TV: News, etc. Nothing much.
Thursday, Jan. 2, 1997
Awake 7:50 a.m. 15 mins noise on radio.
Raining hard.
To corner. Left umbrella, went back.
Then took down lights.
Ran tape "Odyssey of Life." Some very weird.
Taped Khan, Star Trek.
Watched "Kennel Murders." Cliche filled. Funny.
Friday, Jan. 3, 1997
To laundromat. Breakfast McDonald's.
Got gas. Put in carb cleaner. Better.
To show, "Michael."
To bookstore, got two. Philosophy.
To corner. Talked to Lee.
Sunny day. Blue sky. Water down.
Ran tape of "Wrath of Khan." VCR wrong.
Saturday, Jan. 4, 1997
Bed late.
Mailed package to Carla. We talked long yesterday.
49ers lost to Green Bay, Denver lost to Jacksonville.
Working on IRS tax, owe 1714.
News: Floods, etc.
Power outage 11:45 to 1:15 a.m. Up 3 times.
Foned Mina, long talk.
Sunday, Jan. 5, 1997
Up 9 a.m. To corner. Sue + husband!
Football: Dallas vs. Panthers, 23-17. Irving's shoulder hurt, he changed to civies. Shades with gold! Deion Sanders carried the ball, tackled. Hit his head. Neck broken? Taken off with cart.
To Albertsons. Home, Bogart bio.
Monday, Jan. 6, 1997
Breakfast BK.
Called Mimi, she returned from Poland, goes to Martinique.
Chronicle called, Justine called.
Called TCI re: programming. Tried re-program.
Tuesday, Jan. 7, 1997
Terrible night.
4 a.m., listened to Ray T.
Corner at 10:30.
Library, got a book, ad for cafe in Pasadena.
Got some fabric for Lee, took out threads.
TV: Morse, Law & Order, Frasier.
Wednesday, Jan. 8, 1997
Up 8:30. Ironed fabrics for Lee.
Donut & coffee at 41st.
To Louden, no BP.
Read papers, stayed in. Cold.
TV: News, Geraldo.
Thursday, Jan. 9, 1997
Up 8:45, ready 9:30.
Breakfast Kmart. Got emery boards, tuna, dinners.
Cut grass and I swept patio, Larry’s carport.
Mail: Letter from Prudy.
Dinner at Live Oak, good food.
To Lee, gave her fabrics.
TV: News, Geraldo. Taped “Original Sin.”
Friday, Jan. 10, 1997
Funny dream? Up 8:30.
Walked East Cliff.
Breakfast corner.
To Thrift shop, took plastic bags there.
TV: News, golf?
Worked on grass, weeds.
Dinner: Soup, deli, lettuce, cheese, ham, orange, fig newton. Same table. Old music.
To mall, got carton for back of car. Changed water in earthquake pack.
Saturday, Jan. 11, 1997
Breakfast corner. Gave Lee the rotary attachments.
Wrote to Justine. Talked to Melissa on fone yesterday. Re: Korea.
To show, "Ridicule." 1783. Lovely scenes, clothes, etc. "Wit." Enjoyed.
TV: part of bio of Larry Flynt, re-ran "Original Sin."
Mail: Letter from Joan McCoy, Report of Verona. Card from Mina.
Only 2 gry's: Hungry, angry. No others.
TV til late. Salute to Eastwood-Sinatra. Young at Heart.
Sunday, Jan. 12, 1997
Home all day. Football.
News. Star Trek Voyager.
60 Minutes. X-Files.
Treasure Homes of England.
Bed, finished book.
Monday, Jan. 13, 1997
Awake 7, up 9:30.
To corner. Talked to Vibol. Marney still ill.
Some yard work. Asked M. for French cassette.
To Longs, some pix.
To Wendy's, had chicken sandwich.
To show,"Mother." Albert Brooks, Debbie Reynolds. Enjoyed.
Very cold. Bed, crossword.
Tuesday, Jan. 14, 1997
Breakfast corner.
To Longs, got TV Guide, Gas-X.
Home, ate bit. COLD.
Mail, card from Prudy, Joan.
Ran some French, returned by Marney.
Ate soup, pea.
Slight sore throat. Using eucalyptus, menthol.
Rain started. Bed, rain still.
Wednesday, Jan. 15, 1997
Bed til 9:30!
BP Okay. She talked about seeing herbal doctor.
Got gas, price up.
Home, read. Started romance Lee gave me.
TV: L.A. Law and news.
Read til 2:30.
Saturday, Jan. 18, 1997
To laundromat, washed woolens.
Walked West Cliff. Burned house.
To mall, Victoria's Secret.
Erik’s for lunch.
To show, “Shine.” Very good.
Got trail mix, home.
Crossword, TV: “Fist full of $.” Eastwood.
Bed late.
Monday, Jan. 20, 1997
8 a.m. Justine called. Rain, etc.
To corner.
Justine arrived about 2 p.m.
To Erik’s, bookstores. Got English Patient and atlas.
To Capitola, Mr. Toots. Coffee.
To Mervyn's, got bra at Victoria’s Secret. (Me or grandma?!)
Raining, but Karen had to go to Fullerton tomorrow.
TV: Cybill (new writers?) after Law & Order.
No call from Justine?
Tuesday, Jan. 21, 1997
To corner, Vibol talking, remembering trips. Got emotional.
Talked to Clifton: heart, diabetes, etc.
To mall, paid bills. Sears, Mervyn's, also checked Vic. Sec. Bra was $28, 30% off: $19.61.
Called Justine, home in three hours.
Washed clothes. To Live Oak, BP high.
To Trader Joe's, Drug Emporium.
Letter from Mina, called her. Long. Usual.
TV: Frasier, bed.
Wednesday, Jan. 22, 1997
Up 9:30. Ronn upset with Paul Harvey re "Abortion after the fact."
Next hour Harry Edwards, professor of Sociology at Cal, Psychology of Sports: 49ers, Snoop Doggy Dog, etc.
No BP.
Rain, wind. Read three days papers.
Bed 1:30, can't sleep. Took Melatonin.
Thursday, Jan. 23, 1997
Slept good. Coffee & donut at corner.
Longs, Albertsons, home.
Tennis: Chang lost to Spanish Moya, Mary Pierce won over Amanda Coetzer (who beat Steffi).
Wrote letter to Justine.
Longs, took pix of Seifert's stats.
News: Van over cliff at Devil's Slide, Highway 4 flooded.
Taped "Original Sin" part 3. Electric interference.
Friday, Jan. 24, 1997
Up 9, got papers.
Tennis: Sampras over Meuster. He in top form.
Ran tape. Need to retape. Ch. 54.
Walked East Cliff.
Live Oak, sat with Al, Betty, RVers.
Tennis: Hingis over Mary Pierce, Australian Open.
Saturday, Jan. 25, 1997
Rain in night.
Awake 2:30, 6:30, up 9:30.
To corner, Lee gone.
To mall, looked for tops. Nothing. Home, decided to take things I have.
TV: Golf. Tiger Woods made hole-in-one, 152 yards, on 16th. He not going to win, Steve Jones is.
Tennis: Sampras vs. Moya. Moya's game off, nervous. He beat Becker and Chang. Grand Slam for Pete.
Checked Lee's tax. Federal and state OK.
Sunday, Jan. 26, 1997
Late last night: Remembrance of Geo Gershwin (1937). Dead of a brain tumor. Blacked out while conducting.
To corner. Lee arrived later.
TV: Golf. Jones won. Tiger went down.
Vacuumed in am. Cleaned filters on heater. Couldn’t figure handle adjustments.
TV: Super Bowl, X-Files. P&P.
Monday, Jan. 27, 1997
Breakfast Kmart.
Called Visa. No charges!
Showered/hair.
To Live Oak. Sat with women. Teachers at Cabrillo College.
Longs, got envelopes.
TV: News, Geraldo.
Called Justine after news. She has interview.
Couldn’t sleep. Ran P&P til 2:30!
Tuesday, Jan. 28, 1997
To corner. Marney ill. Passed a clot. Maybe caused by picking up a heavy case. "Walking pneumonia."
Bank. Talked to lady about travel money to Paris.
Longs. Pix of cost to repair home.
Ate chicken at McDonald's.
TV: News, Geraldo.
Wednesday, Jan. 29, 1997
Tired. Awake 7, then slept til 9:30.
To Corner, talked to Dave. Marney better.
To library, BP stall still out.
To bookstore, got two.
Rested after looking at Original Sin.
Thursday, Jan. 30, 1997
Finally up 9:15. Breakfast McDonald’s. Rude man.
Some weeds, neighbor talked.
Justine called. Had three interviews in Fairfield, Napa, Vallejo.
To laundromat.
Home, taped Original Sin.
News, bed.
Friday, Jan. 31, 1997
Justine late. Up 8, ready by 9. She left then.
Finally arrived 11:30, to Zachary’s.
She liked Fairfield, Vallejo in chaos, Napa OK, but pays less.
Home. Feel bad. Slept a bit.
To Gottschalk's. Got the Black & Decker cordless. Has 60-day. Can return if not satisfactory.
Called Justine to advise.
TV: News, Geraldo.
Rent. To office.
No sleep. Up for soup.
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