In
tiny notebooks, my grandmother wrote each day when she woke, where she
ate breakfast, any movie she went to see, any mail and calls she
received, then what she read and watched on TV before bed.
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. Nearly
every day she walked to the cliffs above the ocean, checking out the
waves and seeing if anyone was surfing. When she died at 97
in 2013, I took her ashes to those waves with one of her friends, and
we
each dropped some ashes at the sand. A moment after I dropped mine, a
surfer
emerged from the water where I stood. That was cool.
Monday, Dec. 1, 1997
Chores.
Longs, BP high. Got TV Guide, ant sticks.
To Gottschalk's, got socks.
Home: News, tea, toast.
Wrote letters to Justine, Prudy.
To J: Dina Ruiz quits job, heroin chic? Vitamins C & E.
Got fish at BK.
Tuesday, Dec. 2, 1997
Tea, cereal.
Ironed.
To office, talked to "Park Helper," not asst. manager.
Walked cliff.
To library, took Sept. 13, 14, 15.
To show, "Wings of the Dove."
Albertsons, home. Dinner.
TV: Mostly reruns.
Wednesday, Dec. 3, 1997
Slept poorly. Awake 7, then 9.
Tea, etc. Chores.
Walked cliff. Big tree gone.
Longs, BP better.
Home, wrote to Tin Tin market.
Also paid garbage. No new can.
TV: News, Frasier, X-Files.
Read papers, did crossword.
Thursday, Dec. 4, 1997
Awake 8 a.m. Tea, cereal.
Worked on clothes til 10:30. Walked on cliff, rough, erratic seas.
Drug Emporium, BP. Kmart, lunch. Penneys, looked around.
Gottschalk's, looked for gloves. Kmart has new type of ear muffs.
To show, "Anastasia." Color animation good, terrible historically.
Got wash ready for tomorrow.
TV: No Mystery, ABC Kennedy special, "The Dark Side of Camelot."
Friday, Dec. 5, 1997
Slept til 8:30. Tea, cereal.
To Longs for paper, laundromat. Two people there.
No rain, cloudy.
Gottschalk's, got London Fog, very light coat. Need to wear wool.
TV: Geraldo, Benet case. Watched Pulp Fiction. Still not sure of time sequence.
Ambulance called to #26.
Bed, news, read paper.
Up 1 a.m. for hot milk.
Saturday, Dec. 6, 1997
Awake 7. Tea, cereal.
Called Mina, 9:30 - 10. Long.
Walked cliff. Longs, BP.
Library, got Time magazine.
To show, "Ice Storm." Kevin Kline, Sigourney Weaver. Good, but unresolved.
Sunday, Dec. 7, 1997
Awake 7, crossword.
Shower, hair, football.
Tampa Bay 6, Green Bay 17. Dilfer sprains ankle.
Laundromat and Kinko's.
Some TV: Siskel & Ebert, Amistad, Titanic got good reviews, Good Will Hunting, great.
Monday, Dec. 8, 1997
Up 6:30, tea, cereal.
Got paper.
To bank, post office, 3 stamps for post cards.
Packed, forgot cup and flashlight.
Left 11:30, Soledad rest area, then Motel 6, 3:40 p.m.
To be cold here in Pismo. Nice sky, blue all the way.
Walked to Thrifty to get flashlight, cup.
Only two stars, moon.
No football.
Tuesday, Dec. 9, 1997
Ate in room. Corn flakes, milk, tea.
To Ojai, arrived 11 a.m. Forgot address book.
Plumber at Dorothy's house, new toilet.
Off to "Senior Citizen Little House."
Took trolley ride after.
"Cal" drove us home. Talked and talked.
Cold in night. Cat slept with me.
Wednesday, Dec. 10, 1997
Dog barks a lot, cats well-behaved.
11 a.m., started out to find Bea Woods' house.
Road closed, Dot lost, never found it.
To Ventura Amtrak station, ate Mexican food.
Dot is afraid of Alzheimer's. She was 78.
Home, then left. Forgot books.
Home 10:10 p.m., trip 712 miles. Six hours straight home.
Thursday, Dec. 11, 1997
Awake 8:45, tea, corn flakes.
Drug Emporium, got hair curlers for Dot, also gingko biloba.
To Longs, got soup.
Soup for lunch.
Sent package off to Dot.
News, read, stacked up papers.
TV: Frasier, X-Files, some Diagnosis Murder.
Mail: Letter from Justine, Carole.
Friday, Dec. 12, 1997
Awake 6:30. News, tea, cereal.
Wrote two letters: Dorothy, Justine.
To post office, McDonald’s for coffee.
By Carole’s, she not home.
Bought VHS tapes, Fuji.
Mail: Visa bill, letter from Prudy. She has heart disease, Hugh has blood clot in ankle.
Bed, read, 11 p.m. news.
Called Carole, not home.
Carole called, long talk.
Saturday, Dec. 13, 1997
Left 10ish. By Carole's, got persimmons.
Coffee at Santa Cruz Book Shop.
To show, "Beaumarchais the Scoundrel." Beautiful.
Library, got two ballet videos.
Burger King, chicken sandwich.
Watched ballet, X-Files.
Slept good.
Sunday, Dec. 14, 1997
Awake 7:30, tea, etc.
To Nob Hill for groceries.
Home all day: Football, read papers, watched ballet.
Bed early.
Cold, wrote cards to five.
Monday, Dec. 15, 1997
Tea, chores. Mailed cards.
Ate at Kmart.
Home via 17th, stopped to see Marge. She doing fine.
49ers, Broncos, 34-17.
Called Justine, machine out.
Package from Dorothy, missing book.
Tuesday, Dec. 16, 1997
Up 7:30. Tea, cereal.
Showered, hair.
To donut place, read paper, etc.
Drug Emporium, got 2 cards and candy.
To show, "Amistad." Very good.
Home 4:45 p.m.
TV: Some Larry King, Frasier, X-Files.
A new Frasier at 9. Good, clever writers.
Mail: Cards from Linda, Mimi. Mina sent back the cat one.
Wednesday, Dec. 17, 1997
Usual breakfast.
Checks to girls. Wrote letter, copied at Longs.
Mailed card to Mimi.
Drug Emporium, got gifts for Marge.
Justine called, called back. She feels bad, stress. Got cold. Was praised for front page.
Mail: Card from Justine, Mina sent info on Getty Museum.
To post office, book not there.
TV: X-Files, bio of Truman Capote.
Thursday, Dec. 18, 1997
Up 8:20. Tea, cereal. Some wash.
To Drug Emporium, got menthol-eucalyptus cough drops for Justine.
Post Office, put in request for cat book lost in mail.
Left some things at thrift store.
Friday, Dec. 19, 1997
Slept deep.
Longs, got envelopes, mailed cough drops to Justine.
Mall, read papers.
Home, Lois and Oscar stopped to talk.
Balanced checkbook, OK.
Got card and letter from Dot.
TV: Frasier. Ran ballet tape.
Fone: Call regarding late book. To library.
TV: X-Files, no Scully or Mulder.
Saturday, Dec. 20, 1997
Up 8:30. Tea, etc. Chores.
To Sears, paid bill. To mall.
To show, "Titanic." Absorbing. Good special effects.
KFC, chicken san.
To Longs, food, candy!!
Rented and played Scream. Too much!
Sunday, Dec. 21, 1997
Party at Marge's.
Up 10. Game with Vikings.
Walked on cliff.
To Burger King, got fish san.
Party at Twilight Manor. Stopped at Carole's, not there.
Home 7 p.m.
TV: Some 60 Minutes, football, X-Files. Taped Jeeves for Mina.
Wind. Power out.
Monday, Dec. 22, 1997
Not much sleep last night. Cold.
Radio, Art Bell: Ebola, AIDS virus. New alarmists!
Woke up? 8:50?
Tea, cereal. To Drug Emporium, BP.
Drove to Aptos, Beach Drive. Large amount of plants cleared.
To Kmart, lunch. Meat loaf.
To Twilight Manor, took Marge for ride.
Drug Emporium for BP, paper.
Ran tape of Jeeves.
TV: News, football: Miami vs. New England, Frasier, X-Files, Cybil.
Message left on tape, no name on it.
Tuesday, Dec. 23, 1997
Up 8. Tea, cereal.
Shower, hair.
To 41st Donut, mall. Looked in bookstore.
To show, "Tomorrow Never Dies." Fast, special effects.
TV: X-Files, Frasier, part of Witness (cut it).
Tomorrow San Jose for tea?
Wednesday, Dec. 24, 1997
Awake 7:45. Heat, tea, cereal.
Kmart, gasoline, to San Jose.
Stopped at donut, no donuts. Got butterfly.
To 2nd Street Market. Got 3 boxes (25 tea bags) of Black Tea.
Back to Santa Cruz.
Bank for $200.
Albertsons for food.
Mail: Card from Mina.
TV: Frasier, X-Files, etc.
Thursday, Dec. 25, 1997
Awake 6:50. Heat.
Out 7:30, got paper.
Finally to Lyon's for breakfast.
Home 9:45 a.m.
Worked on summary of earnings.
Dinner, news of the day.
Forgot lights, 2nd time
TV: Watched part of Vaudeville, Frasier, X-Files, Poirot.
Cold, sunny in days though.
Some yardwork.
Friday, Dec. 26, 1997
Awake 8. Tea, cereal.
Longs: BP, soup, battery for smoke alarm.
McDonald's, coffee.
To Ross, looked at lots of things, bought blue top. Plus poly cutting board for sink.
Looked for knit cap: Mervyn's, Sears. Nothing.
Home. News, read papers.
TV: Frasier, X-Files, Biography Dalai Lama.
Had lights on. Off 9:30 p.m.
Saturday, Dec. 27, 1997
Cold! Awake 7:30, heat first. Tea, etc.
To town 10:30, library.
To Rebecca's for muffin, coffee.
Cold, but pretty day!
To show," "Washington Square." Very well done.
Albert Finney, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Ben Chaplin, Maggie Smith. All excellent.
Football: Vikings won over Giants 23-22, Broncos won 43-17.
No sleep til 3 a.m.
Sunday, Dec. 28, 1997
Awake 5, then 9.
Football, paper, balanced checkbook.
Dressed, to Drug Emporium.
Ate Kmart, turkey sandwich.
BP high at both places, 155-80, 151-79. Had muffin yesterday and frozen food.
Home, Tampa Bay beat Lions, 20-18.
Rest of day here.
TV: 60 Minutes, Siskel & Ebert: liked Jackie Brown, not Mr. Magoo or The Postman.
Bed after X-Files, slept good.
Monday. Dec. 29, 1997
Awake 5, then slept til 8:30.
Longs, got echinacea for Justine, TV Guide.
To OSH. Got knife for cutting linoleum.
Mailed video to Mina.
To show, "As Good As It Gets." Dog wonderful. No name in credits.
TV: News, Law & Order.
Tuesday, Dec. 30, 1997
Walked on cliff.
To Trader Joe's.
Stopped by Carole's.
Called John Mark, no answer.
To post office, mailed echinacea to Justine, card to Dorothy.
Wednesday, Dec. 31, 1997
Laundromat, not many there.
9:10, men, Spanish couple. TV.
Walked on cliff, someone left cup on steps? Yogurt. Sample? To trash.
To library, got 2 books and video.
Home, shower/hair.
TV: News, bio of Nostradamus.
Steve Allen's' birthday, 75 years old.
Thursday, Jan. 1, 1998
Awake 8, tea. 9:15, Burger King and paper.
Longs, got envelopes to mail article to Mina.
Straightened rooms.
To show, "Jackie Brown." Very good. 2 1/2 hours. non-stop.
Made tuna salad, some TV.
Channel 54, ocean film. Diagnosis Murder.
Saturday, Jan. 3, 1998
Awake 7. Usual.
Called credit union for interest.
To Longs, BP high.
Kmart, ate lunch. Bought hat.
To Gottschalk's. got 3 pair pants!
Home 4 p.m. Put lights in packages.
Rented video: Paris, Texas. Sad.
TV: Frasier, X-Files, news.
Bed, read a bit.
Woke in night with gas.
Sunday, Jan. 4, 1998
Awake 5 a.m., then 8:30. Stomach not happy.
Football: Green Bay 21, Tampa 7. well-played.
Finally got the gas out. Was deep.
Dressed about 11 a.m. Ginger tea.
To Safeway, got favorite frozen dinner, milk.
Ate at Kmart.
Home. Football, news, soup and toast.
Siskel & Ebert, 10 best films:
Siskel:
Ice Storm, LA Confidential, Wag the Dog, In The Company of Men, Eve's
Bayou, Full Monty, Sweet Hereafter, Jackie Brown, As Good As It Gets.
Ebert:
Eve's Bayou, Sweet Hereafter, Boogie Nights, Jackie Brown, Fast, Cheap
and Out of Control, LA Confidential, In The Company of Men, Titanic, Wag
the Dog, Maborosi.
TV: Started X-Files, turned off. Read.
