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| My grandmother, 15, with her mother and brother. |
The photo at right shows her at 15, attending her brother's high school graduation photo with their mother in 1930. The siblings had spent the past 10 years at a Masonic Home in Covina, Calif., and my grandmother never forgave her mother for putting her children in an orphanage after their father died of the Spanish Flu in 1918. And I think her body language in this photo makes that clear.
In 1997, my grandmother 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. Photo by my grandmother. |
In March of 1997 she was struggling with allergies, fixing her car, and constantly tracking her blood pressure. Also, she was closely following my move to Napa when I landed my first newspaper job after graduating college.
Saturday, March 1, 1997
Allergy in a.m. Sneezed 10 times.
Up 9:15. To corner, tea.
Drug Emporium, BP machine off, plug out. To Kmart for BP.
Home, golf. Tiger Woods 1, Nick Faldo 10.
Ate here.
Ice skating. Wrote girls checks.
Sunday, March 2,1997
Rained in night. To corner, Lee there.
Golf, Tiger 3rd at finish, Faldo 12.
Walked on cliffs.
Put in gutters in driveways.
To Kmart, got pot for new rose.
Worked on 1996 trip expenses.
TV: 60 Minutes, Placido Domingo.
Monday, March 3, 1997
To bank, deposit for Justine.
Laundromat.
To corner, talked to a woman who travels in Mexico by bus. Also went to Australia, New Zealand.
To Gottschalk’s, paid bill
Garden work, dug up rose, leaves.
Helped Larry, garbage not picked up.
Tuesday, March 4, 1997
To corner for tea.
Wrote Justine, sent $20 for celebration! [That I passed my drug test and was hired?!]
Walked on East Cliff, almost finished the road.
To Kmart, BP 137/64.
To Wendy's, got chicken sandwich. Also gas at American, 7.28 gal.
Home 4 p.m., no mail but adverts.
Wednesday, March 5, 1997
Dentist 1 p.m.
To Penney’s, checked for garter belt. Gottschalk's, got sweatshirt.
To dentist, cleaning.
Home, fixed tuna.
To show, “Empire Strikes Back.”
To library, got map of Mexico. Checked bytes: kilobits.
Home after Albertsons.
Thursday, March 6, 1997
Up 2 a.m. for milk, Melatonin. Up 4, then 8.
Breakfast Kmart, BP: 164/78. After, 124/61.
Called Mina 10 a.m. Mailed book to her.
Walked Capitola, got two logs driftwood.
Friday, March 7, 1997
To mall, no example for my fanny pack.
Library, read PC manual, Newsweek, looking up Ringing in Ears.
To live oak for dinner, bought two: fish, chicken.
Home, weed/feed lawn!!
TV: “Wedding Banquet.”
Slept good after 2 til 4.
Saturday, March 8, 1997
Up 8:15. Cold.
BP at Drug Emporium, got tissues and water.
To show, “Marvin's Room.” From a play. Streep, Keaton. Good.
Library, trying to figure Consumer Price Index.
Called Prudy. Hugh kidney out. Think all OK.
Also called Justine, left message. She returned call.
Sunday, March 9, 1997
Up 9:15. To Vibol’s. Lois and husband. They to Vegas.
Walked to cliff.
To Sears and Radio Shack.
Justine called, be up tomorrow.
TV: X-Files. Up til 2, slept 3 to 7.
Monday, March 10, 1997
Justine called 8:33 a.m. Be here in 3 hours.
To corner. Home, vacuumed, swept after lawn cut.
Justine here, met friend for lunch.
After we to Sears, got TV. Magnovox, $225.65.
To Starbucks.
TV: Morse Mystery.
Two quakes, near Daly City.
Tuesday, March 11, 1997
Up 8:30. No allergy pills.
To Post Office, mailed Gingko to Justine.
Ate Kmart, BP. Got TV Guide.
To Trader Joe’s and Albertsons.
TV: Morse, Frasier.
Bed early, up 3 times.
Sandy, Mary’s friend, called.
Wednesday, March 12, 1997
Up 9. To Louden, BP: 168/92.
To car wash, 2 tokens to clean, 4 to wash. $1 for 2 tokens, 4 mins.
To Kmart, BP 159/84
Cleaned car, read, wrote Mina.
To cliff, walked 1 mile.
Bed early, no sleep til 11:30.
Thursday, March 13, 1997
Breakfast here.
To dentist, three gumline fillings with plastic, bone-colored. $109 each! Less 10%, 294.
First to Vibol’s for apple juice, donut.
To longs, checked out Dean Edell glasses. Run from $8 to 15.
Walked at cliff, home 5 p.m.
Washed green t-shirt.
News, crossword, no TV.
Bed but no sleep til 11:30. Took hot milk and Melatonin.
Friday, March 14, 1997
Awake 6, up 7. Worked in yard. Seed, fertilizer, watered.
Put $300 in Justine's account. She has apartment with woman who has room to rent.
Mail: Card from Mina.
To Beverly’s for thread!
Woman in 4 called 911, she called as she fell, then ambulance took her.
To Live Oak for dinner. Man who walks had an aneurysm. Passed a few days ago.
TV: Exorcist, news.
Saturday, March 15, 1997
Up 7:30. Checked brake fluid. Put some oil in.
To corner for tea. Big John in for coffee with another hat. Grey beret type, rakish!
Home, watched tennis. Venus Williams - Lindsay Davenport won.
Justine called 3:30 p.m. Met her and Karen at Soledad McDonald’s!
Home 7:30. Bed early.
Sunday, March 16, 1997
Up 8:30. Showered, washed hair.
To corner, had coffee.
Called Charles/Dolly re fire trucks. One was to Japanese lady, other was false alarm.
To cliff, walked 12:10 - 12:30.
To Aptos, checked Gottschalk’s for blue pants.
To show, “Lost Highway.” Patricia Arquette, David Lynch (Blue Velvet).
TV: X-Files, tried to tape Misty, didn’t work.
Monday, March 17, 1997
Breakfast Vibol’s.
Hot, too warm. Collapsed til 2 p.m.
Mail: Got Wall Street Journal for Craig on Linden Street.
To show, “Return of the Jedi.” 2 1/2 hours.
Found Linden Street, delivered paper.
Justine called 2 times, 3:10, 5:15. Found a place, moving things.
Watched Mystery.
Tuesday, March 18, 1997
Up 8. To corner. Talked to Clayton re VCR, taping, etc.
Longs: bath tissue, TV Guide.
Albertsons: Milk, towels, bananas.
Wrote to Justine, Mina.
To Live Oak, BP good.
Wednesday, March 19, 1997
Up 7:30, etc. To corner 9ish.
To Goodyear, oil change. Need transmission cleaned. Hole in pipe.
To mall, blue shoes. Got “butterflies” for heels.
To Radio Shack, no help.
Home, lunch, worked on RF Bypass, 1 1/2 hour.
Installer came, took 15 mins.
News, tired. To library, renewed book.
Hot, very tired. To bed 7:30.
Thursday, March 20, 1997
Up 9. Walked on cliff.
Home, news. Various chores. Ironed silver negligee.
Paid Mervyn’s, Penney’s.
Mail: Adverts.
Skating: Pairs and men’s. Elvis Stojko, quad + triple, plus 7 more triples. Most pairs fell, as did Eldridge. Urmanov had pulled groin muscle, dropped out.
Friday, March 21, 1997
Warm. PG&E rates go up.
No view of comet, cloudy.
To corner, Vibol gave man $15 for trousers.
Wrote three letters, to Post Office.
To Kmart, got small can of hair spray, trail mix.
Home, Liver, some French.
Ate at Live Oak. Sat with 3 women, Big John in hospital.
Saturday, March 22, 1997
Some good sleep, noise in ear abetting.
Walked 1/2 hour. To corner.
Worked in yard, cut jasmine 1 hour.
1 p.m. golf.
Letter from Mina.
Watched “Cracked Mirror,” Rock Hudson, Kim Novak.
Figure skating. Tara 1st, Kwan 2nd, Lu Chen gracious.
Sunday, March 23, 1997
Up 8:30. Washed underwear.
To corner, Oscar came in.
Walked on cliff.
Home, vacuumed. Dusted windows, cobwebs.
To Mervyn’s, got shoes, like loafers. No diuretics.
To McDonald's, got chicken sandwich.
TV: Bio Judy Garland.
Called Mina, talked about ice skating.
Bed. Slept 1-3-7.
Monday, March 24, 1997
Up 9:15. Walked.
To Drug Emporium, BP.
To Kmart, got TV Guide, gingko, lecithin, trail mix.
Talked to lady. Big John in hospital, pneumonia.
Got sewing machine out.
Tuesday, March 25, 1997
Up 8:45. Ronn Owens, bashed the Oscars.
Foggy. Car ignition skips.
Walked after BP check at Kmart .
Put carb cleaner in, checked ignition. Tightened screw under steering wheel. Need transmission fluid changed?
Next-door neighbors will sell, asking $27,900.
To Longs, got envelopes.
TV: Home Improvement, Spin City.
Wednesday, March 26, 1997
Took car to Goodyear. about $97.
To McDonald’s. Checked at OSH, cactus is aloe.
Car ready 11:15, $77.25. Can’t get to ignition, figure amount of repair $4,000+
To Live Oak, heavy dinner. Easter. Good turnout. Gave dessert to Emilio, small weight lifter.
TV: News, La Boheme.
Thursday, March 27, 1997
To Toyota 7:20 a.m.
Walked to Burger King, got biscuit, coffee.
Back to Toyota, waited til 10:10. (Heard John say it was ready at 9.)
Home, rested, sewed 1st curtain.
To thrift shop, sold upright, $20. Gave them silver negligee.
News: Mass suicide, 21 women, 18 men. Applesauce, vodka, plastic bags, phenobarbital.
Friday, March 28, 1997
Not great sleep. Showered, washed hair.
Walked from 9:15 to 9:45.
Ronn discovering “Heaven's Gate.”
Call from Toyota, part in. Went up, wrong part! Re-ordered pipe. $74, about 60 to install.
Tennis, Sampras lost.
Worked on curtains, wrote Justine.
BP at Kmart, pix at Longs.
TV: Some Boheme, Benny Goodman.
Saturday, March 29, 1997
Slept fair. Up 8:15. Some chores.
To Vibol’s, Clayton there. Told him about yesterday.
Home. Golf, tennis.
Worked on curtains, ate salad.
To Longs, got bathroom tissue. To Drug Emporium, BP, three different.
Trader Joe’s, donated 1 cent to girls.
Finished curtains!! Before Midnight.
Bed, crossword.
Monday, March 31, 1997
Rent tomorrow.
Got sheets, etc, to laundromat, then to Vibol's.
Walked on cliff. Marine Mammal Center there to pick up 2 baby elephant seals. Woman said they migrate from Año Nuevo, get lost in tidepools.
To Drug Emporium for BP.
TV: News, Poirot, Marple, Law & Order, checked La Boheme.
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