SUNDAY IS FAMILY DAY - January 16, 2011

SUNDAY IS FAMILY DAY
I wrote an article in 2007 entitled “Don’t Let Your Parents Tell You No”. It was about spending some quality time with my parents. Since that time, my parents’ health has been declining; my Mom has Parkinson ’s disease, my Dad had to have a rather sudden quadruple bypass, and as of last week they have given up driving. This past summer we lost Jim’s Dad. His Mom is still with us and we are blessed that at 90 years young, she is in relatively good health and doing well. We visit her in Huntington Beach as much as possible and are grateful for our time together.
One thing that has become increasingly important to me is to make sure I ask those questions that I’ve always said “someday I have to ask my parents about that”. Well, now is my “someday”. We have decided that “Sunday is Family Day”. Having said that - we decided that we will make plans to do something with either Jim’s Mom or my parents every weekend.
Our weekend began on Saturday when we drove up to Huntington Beach for a Celebration of Life for one of Jim’s longest friends. We picked up his Mom and the three of us were on our way to a wonderful afternoon of memories. In addition to hearing some touching stories about our friend Jan who left us all too soon, we also enjoyed our time with Jim’s Mom and talking with her about some of their early days in the Navy. We talked about their homes in Newport, Rhode Island – Taiwan and Charleston, South Carolina as well as Long Beach. She also shared with us some family history about the silver tea set she proudly displays on the sideboard in her dining room and a couple of chairs that were in her family home in Washington, D.C. She told us the story of a small covered chair that sits in her entry-way. It is now upholstered in a soft pink stripe fabric. It is quite a short chair and has no arms. In this small chair, she began to knit a baby blanket when she was pregnant with Jim. She said she didn’t finish the blanket but that her mother did and presented it to her so she could keep her baby warm when he came home from the hospital. She also told us the history about a couple of tables in her living room. We have many more questions about things in her home and other memories that we will pursue on another visit. We spent time with her for a little while after we returned from the Celebration of Life; and then we had to be on our way home. Driving back home to San Diego, both of us kept remembering things she had mentioned during our day with her. Off to the west, just after 5:00 p.m. the sun was setting. As the brilliant, flaming sun set on the horizon, the reflections on the glassy Pacific Ocean waters was breathtaking. The water was so calm, there was hardly a ripple. The colors of the sunset were amazing bright pinks, oranges and purples. What a fabulous way to end such a nice day!
On Sunday, we began our “Sunday is Family Day” with my parents. We got Mom and Dad into the car and off we went down the road in search of some of their early homes in San Diego and some of our relatives’ homes. Before we got too far down the road, Mom began telling us that their first apartment was on 30th Street here in San Diego. They were newlyweds; and Mom put an ad in the San Diego Tribune that read something like “Veteran just married looking for place to rent”. The apartment on 30th Street in North Park still stands today. Their apartment was in the back of the main house. It was hard to see their apartment in its entirety – but we could see the corner of the back building where they began their life together. Their toilet had a pull chain. They had an “ice box” where the ice man delivered a 25 pound block of ice once a week to keep their food cold.
Our next stop was to go by their apartment on Iowa Street which is also still standing today. It is much the same set up as the first apartment on 30th Street with the apartment behind the main house. The main difference with this apartment is that Dad’s Mom, my Grandma Ro, thought this was a much nicer place and she “approved”. I was born when they lived on Iowa Street. Mom and Dad have a picture of both of these apartments in a frame of pictures along with pictures of all the homes they have lived in.
After Iowa Street, Mom and Dad really took a giant leap and bought their first home on Hannah Street here in San Diego. My Dad worked for a large insurance company; and his territory covered all of San Diego County as well as El Centro and down to the border in Tijuana. I remember the dress he brought me from Mexico that had the white top with ruffles on top and the multi-colored ruffled skirt. My brother was born when they lived here.
Our afternoon continued by driving by the Columbia Street home that my Aunt Cassie and Uncle Ralph used to live in. It was a small house on a hillside that had an absolutely breathtaking view of the planes, trains and ships in San Diego harbor. On a clear day they could see out to the end of Point Loma and out to Coronado Island. Their house had one very distinctive feature – they had one of the first elevators in San Diego. I remember as a young girl going to visit them. The entrance to their home has a small courtyard. The back of the house is a plate glass window with this stunning view. But my brother Rob and I were fascinated with that elevator; and we couldn’t wait to visit Aunt Cassie and Uncle Ralph just so we could go in the elevator!
¬My Mom is a San Diego native. Her Dad was a master printer. His first shop was in the Hotel del Coronado where he perfected his craft. He then moved to a shop on the first floor in the building at 5th and Laurel. This is the same building that is the home of the famed restaurant Mr. A’s that is on the rooftop. Back in the early 1930’s Mom’s family lived on 10 acres of land on Rosecrans Blvd. Her Dad had the opportunity to buy this land for $865 in back taxes. But, it was during The Depression. It was all her Dad could do to pay the rent – there was no way he could scrape together enough money to buy the property.
That property today would be worth millions upon millions of dollars. They actually had two houses back then – a day house and a night house. They had their meals in the day house and slept in the night house. Mom tells stories of her and her two sisters, knowing every inch of that property. They would run and jump down the hill right down to the waters’ edge. Today, this area is known as Playa Point Loma. Where their two small houses once stood on an empty ten acres of waterfront land, today there are hundreds of private residences with San Diego Bay as their backyard. They have views of Point Loma, Shelter Island and Harbor Island as well as out to North Island and Coronado.
We actually found the location and address of the original two houses, but standing there today is a very modern two story stucco home that must be well over 5,000 square feet. We drove down to the street below Rosecrans (which was not there when Mom’s family lived there); and at the end of the street we found a waterfront access and walking path along the waters’ edge. Mom wanted to get out and go down so Jim got the wheelchair out of the trunk and while Dad chose to stay in the car, the three of us walked down to the path and meandered down a ways. Mom was telling us stories about how she and her sisters knew every inch of that property and would jump down to gather clams. They would stomp down the tall weeds that filled the property and would pretend they were in a huge house. As we were going down the path, we came across a lady whose Golden Retriever was romping in the water as she walked on the path. When our paths crossed, she said hello and Mom asked if she lived in the area. She said yes, and Mom told her she used to live there back in the 1930’s. The woman knew some of the names of the people that used to be nearby neighbors; and amazing as it was, she said some of those families still own homes there. Before we parted, she took Mom’s name and was going to show it to some of those people. Mom was thrilled and you could see the pleasure of the afternoon in her face.
Our day continued as we proceeded to Anthony’s Fish Grotto on Harbor Drive for an early dinner. They seated us at a wonderful window table where we had a view of the Bay. Because it was an incredibly clear day today, we could see all the way out to Point Loma where The Old Point Loma Lighthouse proudly stands. Mom’s mother’s sister, Aunt Nel, married Rollie Israel – the son of the last lighthouse keeper of The Old Point Loma Lighthouse.
While Mom and Jim and I enjoyed our soup and salad, Dad enjoyed his Huevos Rancheros and the conversation continued. Dad talked about only paying 5 cents to take the passenger ferry from San Diego over to Coronado back when he was a young boy. He also recalled riding his bicycle down to the Bay when Old Ironsides – yes the U.S.S. Constitution – was in port. He was about 11 years old. He and his friends who were in the Boy Scouts together would go to the Postmaster and have envelopes stamped “Old Ironsides” on special holidays such as Washington’s Birthday and Lincoln’s Birthday. He also used to come down to the Bay to go duck hunting.
After Pearl Harbor was bombed, Dad told us he joined the Navy at the 11th Naval District offices at the base of Broadway in San Diego. The building is still there. He said that his Dad had taught him the Morse Code; and because of that, he did not have to go to Boot Camp. Once his enlistment papers were signed, he reported directly out to Point Loma.
Sunset was just after 5:00 p.m. While we were getting ready to leave, a rowboat with about 8 scouts and their parents passed in front of the windows of Anthony’s. We imagined these young boys were out earning their “Rowing Badge”. The waters of the bay began to calm as the sun set in the West. The wispy clouds in the sky above began to turn yellow and orange, then pink and purple. The waters shimmered with the beautiful, colorful reflections from above; and the small scouts rowed away and became just a silhouette on the water.
It was the perfect ending to a perfect weekend. We talked about where we were going to go next Sunday as we drove home. We have lots of possibilities; but nothing was determined. But you can rest assured that I’ll be writing about our adventure – because “Sunday is Family Day”.