Ace Wisdom

We are in Los Angeles on our 3 week trip in 1976. Our next visit was to be Grandma Alice’s younger brother, Big Jerry. He said come on over to his northern L.A. suburb of Oxnard.
First things first. We had heard that we should visit Knotts Berry Farm. All indications was they had the greatest preserves in the business and we shouldn’t miss going there. It was a surprise. Yes, it had great preserves formulated by the founding family but it was really a mini-Disney. It was a huge amusement park with lots of interesting rides and a central store where you could buy jams, jellies and lots of other things. One of the rides I remember was a parachute jump. The customer would be hooked into a harness and they would lift the parachute by the top and take it hundreds of feet into the air with you hanging below. Then they would release the parachute and you would float to the ground. We did not have any brave souls that would go on the ride. Knotts Berry Farm turned out to be a fun experience.
Then it was on to Big Jerry’s. It was one of the few nights that we would not sleep in a motel. Big Jerry was a rough and tumble camper and out-doorsman. We would use sleeping bags and occupy whatever beds were available. We obviously survived. Big Jerry lived in a ranch style home not far from the ocean. None of the kids had met Big Jerry. He was a retired naval petty officer and had a pension for life. He had supplemented the pension by working as a maintenance supervisor at the local school system. He married Jean, a lady 15-20 years his elder. They were very cordial. Big Jerry got his name because he was 6ft-5in. tall and in 1976 weighed about 250 pounds.
Highlights of visiting Big Jerry were a white and black jeep with open top for scooting around, a medal detector for finding hidden coins in the back yard, a black lab dog, and Paul getting knocked down continuously by the “playful” big dog. Paul didn’t think it was funny. Big Jerry figured it was a way to toughen up Paul. It really wasn’t funny to a scared 4 year old. Poor little guy!
All in all, “Big Jerrys” was memorable. Now it was on to visit Grandpa George’s niece, Mary Carpenter. Mary lived somewhere in the middle of Los Angeles. Mary was in the National Guard with her husband Jim and her 3 boys were either applying for military service or would some day. The house oozed of testosterone. What I remember most is that in the months preceding our visit, there had been a significant earthquake. The Carpenters had massive cracks in their living room walls and their swimming pool was emptied because it has shifted. Nothing was covered by insurance. We had a nice visit and were invited down to San Diego the next morning to the Naval Base. We would get a tour of an aircraft carrier. I think it was the Enterprise. Chris thinks it was the Nemitz. It was to be an unexpected treat.
We traveled to San Diego the next morning and had to wait outside the gate at the Naval Base because we didn’t have clearance to enter. We were told to wait and when Mary Carpenter and family arrived, we would all go in together and get our tour. They never came! I thought at one point I saw their car and they rolled right past us but I wasn’t sure. It was a “buzz-kill”. Lots of anticipation followed by disappointment. It is tough to be sad in San Diego. Weather is great with lots of sights.
We were at the point in the trip where we would have to start heading home. Still sights to see. The next hurdle was a hot desert in early summer. Are we having fun yet? I wondered if I still had my job.
Love,
Dad

I’ve been begging for feedback on our 1976 trip to the West Coast. The response on been as expected. Nothing! Hello! Did I take this trip alone?
Well in rummaging through some old pictures, your mom came across some old pictures of our trip and she stumbled upon some notes written by Kelly on the first few days of our trip. The following quote came from her on the second day of our trip as we approached Rapid City, South Dakota. “We went through the Badlands. We stopped at a tourist center. We’ve been staying at Ramadas. We went swimming in the pool including the slide. We ate at a Chinese restaurant. I had egg fu young, chicken chau mein and sweet and sour pork. Would you believe Chris had a hamburger! I got my sun glasses here. Paul had a blast at the playground with a rocket”.
We’ve looked for more notes by Kelly, but there don’t seem to be any.
Continuing my recount of events on our trip, we are in Los Angeles and have completed Disney. We moved to a motel in Torrence, California where Shelby’s Uncle Clarence lived. It also happened to be where Marineland was located along the Pacific Ocean. Marineland would build a bigger complex in Florida several years later called Sea World. We stayed in Torrence several days. We scheduled the first day at Marineland. They had huge aquariums and put on a 60-90 minute show with seals, dolphins and a killer whale. It was a warm and sunny day and in the background was the blue Pacific Ocean. It was fun. They had high “needle” type structure that served as the center of a “donut” type carriage. You would sit in the circular donut and it would rise very high into the air while you viewed the spectacular area. It was also a big thrill because it revolved around the needle as it rose and it seemed like you were on top of the world.
Later in the day, we contacted Clarence Steger (George’s borther) and his wife Rosetta. They lived in a trailer park in Torrence in a retirement community. They had a recreation center at the complex that provided events from bingo to swimming. The trailer they lived in was large and they were very cordial. Arrangements were made to return the next day for a home cooked meal.
We spent some time in Torrence just “bumming”. We stayed close to the ocean and discovered how “the other half lives”. Lots of sea-side castles.
At the end of the second day in Torrence, we called my Uncle Jerry located in northern Los Angeles in the Oxnard suburb. He said come on over. Tomorrow! Uncle Jerry!
Love,
Dad

It is 1976 and our family has just arrived in San Francisco. It is close to your mom’s birthday and I don’t remember exactly when she turned 36 on this trip but I’m sure we made it memorable for her. The idea was to stay at a motel in San Francisoco located central to everything downtown. You can rest assured that we requested a room on the first or second floor to so we could get out during an earthquake. Remember, the big quake had been forecast for California since before I was born.
We rode the Trolley car system up and down some famous hill, visited Chinese shops in Chinatown and ate supper on Fisherman’s Wharf. Mom says she remembers eating on the Wharf because we were all very hungry and we consumed two baskets of rolls before the main course came. We also drove to a park area right under the Golden State Bridge. We never actually crossed the Golden State. It is impressive.
After San Francisco, we headed for Los Angeles. Next stop, Disneyland!. I allowed a whole day for travel from San Fancisco to Los Angeles and we decided to take much of the Coast Highway, I think it is still Highway 1. It meandored along the California coast and had spectacular secenery. It was slow and it consumed most of the one day. I underestimated the distance between San Francisco and L.A.
We arrived at Disneyland on Sunday night. The plan was two days at Disney and then we would move on to other things. I had made reservations at a motel like Residence Inn and it was a treat. The room was like a small condo with cooking available, a loft with extra sleeping accomodations and lots of extra room. Imagine Disney and a great motel besides! Things were good. The motel was not on the Disney grounds so we had to drive to Disney the next day. As we drove in, the mono-rail system that transported people from the “on grounds motel” rumbled over our heads and looked really cool.
Look out Mickey Mouse, here we come. Lots of rides, lots of shows and lots of food. The weather was sunny and warm. I think “all day passes” were about $25 per person and that entitled you to everything except food.
While at Disney we began to arrange for other things to do while we were in Los Angeles. That included trying to make contact with Grandpa George’s brother Clarence (a retired carpenter) and his new bride Rosetta. Clarence had a daughter, Mary Steger Carpenter who lived in the area with her husband Jim and their 3 boys. We would try to visit Mary and family. To finish the frolic with relatives, my Uncle Jerry lived in a Northern Los Angeles suburb called Oxnard and we intended impose on him.
Disney was fun. It was an exhausting two days but after all the travel, it was welcome. The next target was Sea World with some visiting mixed in. We were half-way through our trip. Huh, already? I began to realize that I hadn’t thought about work in over a week. Managing and enjoying the sights occupied most of my time. I think that is what a vacation is supposed to be!
Love,
Dad

It is late spring 1976 and we are traveling west. We just arrived in Jackson Hole, Wyoming as we exited Yellowstone Park. I had never heard of Jackson Hole and it was a surprise. The whole community was fashioned after an “old west” motif. It had quaint western shops that specialized in boots, cowboy hats and general western memorabilia. It had wooden sidewalks. Your mom remembers Debs purchasing a horseshoe and probably some of the other kids too. I think we ate at a western restaurant with long tables and a buffet menu. It catered to “all you could eat” for the hearty appetites after a long day of travel.
Since becoming visiting Jackson Hole in 1976, I have become aware that it is a very desirable destination of the rich and famous. It is nestled at the base of many good ski hills and in the winter, it is the choice many accomplished skiers. The surrounding beauty is stunning and there are many, many muti-million dollar homes and ranches. A famous financier that started Brandywine Mutual Funds moved his personal office to Jackson Hole and does all his business from computers and phones. Then he goes skiing. As Paul Harvey would say, it is not one world.
Having absorbed the charm of Jackson Hole, it was time to move on. Next stop Salt Lake City, Utah. On the way to Salt Lake, we noticed that we were getting a leak of oil from the differencial in the back of the car. It turns out we had too much weight in the back with luggage, kids, and miscellaneous. So in Salt Lake we ended up spending a morning as they installed new heavy duty springs to keep the car from bottoming onto the differential and straining it.
We spent an afternoon tourning the Morman complex which houses the Morman Tabernacle. In order to tour the facility, you must agree to have all your kids turn Morman. No, just kidding. You did have to listen to a 30-45 minute presentation of Morman history followed by a question and answer period. Then you got the tour. It is an interesting tour and the Tabernacle is spectacular. I don’t remember if there was a store to purchase souvenirs or not. Salt Lake is pretty location at a high elevation with lots of hills and trees.
When we left Salt Lake City, I knew if would be a day of travel to get to San Fancisco. We had to endure the Bonneville Salt Flats which was hot, dry and white. It was on this long day of travel that a semi-truck driver was chatting to us on our CB radio and asking what our location was based upon mileage markers along the road. It turns out that the trucker was right behind our car and I remember Paul sitting in the back of the station wagon and waving to the trucker are we talked. It can get pretty exiting when you can realize that the radio connects you to real people and real events and they wave to you.
So we rolled through Reno, Nevada without stopping, Sacramento to eat and blew into San Francisco, California at around 3:30 PM on a Friday afternoon. The good thing was that heavy traffic was coming out of the city and we were going it. Our motel was in downtown San Francisco, just blocks from Fisherman’s Wharf and the Trolley Car system.
It took one week of “pushing” and having to limit time at some pretty nice locations, but we were in California. Yee-Haa. The next week would be spent in California.
Next time? The San Francisco treat!
Love,
Dad

It is 1976 and we are traveling west. Mount Rushmore was yesterday. Today it will be Yellowstone Park. The newspapers have been covering a story about a person that was malled to death by a bear in recentweeks in Yellowstone. That is like telling someone that a house is haunted. There is always this slightest possibility that you might see a ghost. But bears should be different, you can out run a bear! At least I think you can!
It was mid-June. Yellowstone was just opening for the season. I remember as we approached the entrace to the park, the sun was shining and there was snow everywhere. We were on the north end of Yellowstone with a plan to drive southward in Yellowstone to Old Faithful and then south through Yellowstone to enjoy the scenery.
I underestimated the vast size of Yellowstone. I equated it to a Large State Park in Wisconsin. Boy, was I wrong. It is equivalent to many State Parks. It runs from the top northwest corner of the State of Wyoming to the mid-part of the State. My second underestimation was how fast you can travel through Yellowstone. The roads were equivalent to winding through Wisconsin’s Kettle Moraine. A lot of traveling was at speeds of 25-50 miles per hour at best on two lane highways. If you got behind someone, you needed to relax because you weren’t going any faster.
My recollection is we got to Old Faithful geyser at around 11:00 AM. A combination of geophysical rock formations coupled with water being forced into natures pockets causes an eruption every 53 minutes. In theory you can set you watch by the predictability of the geyser. The reality of it all is you stand as a weary tourist having traveled 4 days to get here and the geyser erupts. It lasts a minute or so and then you wander off to wait 52 minutes for it to happen again. You can’t get within 100 yards of the geyser. There was a “reception building” designed to give information on Old Faithful. We came. We saw. We left. Ho-Hum!
More exciting was finding a place to eat. We had packed a lunch and the intent was to eat in a picnic area of Yellowstone. Because it was early in the season, wayside areas were mostly devoid of people and to wander deep into the woods with food after warnings about bears was not real appealing. We did find a place to pull of and eat but I have to admit it was less than the full Yellowstone Park experience. I have recently seen some pictures taken by your mom near where we ate. We can prove we were there.
Then it was a leisurely ride south through the park. Leisure turned into panic late in the day as I found we couldn’t travel as fast as I had estimated. My plan was not working. What should we do? What should we do? We might not make our night time destination which was Jackson Hole, Wyoming. The farther south we traveled, the road began to straighten out and we were able to pick up the speeds. The sights were incredible with mountains for a back-drop and the sun reflecting off the snow capped peaks. I think we rolled into Jackson Hole, Wyoming around 6 PM which is near the south end of Yellowstone.
There is a lot I didn’t know about Yellowstone but I did underestimte it’s size. One of my goals in life was to return and spend 3-4 days enjoying the park. They have a lodge that rents rooms and condos in the park. They sponsor sightseeing excursions. I think you might even ride horseback through some obscure trails. One day is not enough for Yellowstone.
With my next entry, I’ll talk about Jackson Hole. It was a very pleasant surprise. We pulled our cowboy boots out of the back of “the Rusty Zipper”, put on our “ten gallon hats” and headed for the wooden side-walks. Yo-Ha!
Love,
Dad

As we rolled into Rapid City, South Dakota I knew the good stuff was coming. Sightseeing! Variety! Anticipation.
Your mother doesn’t remember all the detail I have been conveying. She remembers washing clothes, packing suit cases and making sure each of the kids had what they needed to survive. I know that cassette tape recorders were popular but I don’t remember any portable computer games. I don’t remember if there were frayed special blankets, stuffed animals or a pair of shoes that had holes in them. All I do remember is all the suit cases we locked in the top car-carrier each day practically tipped the car over.
George Carlin does a comedy “shtick” on the “stuff” we must have with us when we travel. When we travel we just pack up all the stuff we must have (just like home) and carry it with us. Imagine 6 kids with all their “stuff”.
We left the Best Western in Rapid City in the early morning of the third day to head out to the state park that holds the Mount Rushmore Monument. Quick, name the 4 Presidents that are on carved on Mount Rusmore. I think Mt. Rushmore is in the Custer National Park. I remember having to drive up a winding hill, park in a large parking lot among the pines and walk up a long stairway to the reception center of Mt. Rushmore. It was a clear and sunny day. The center had an ongoing film presentation of the building of the monument. We didn’t partake of the film. We got to go out on a large open patio with a great view of Mt. Rushmore. I’ve got pictures of myself with several kids and Rushmore in the background. The only thing that could have been better is be able to get closer to the actual Presidential carvings.
We treked through some Mining towns that same day and considered going down inside a gold mine. We didn’t do it. The next target was Billings, Montana while slipping through the northeast corner of Wyoming. Billings was a launch point to go down into Yellowstone Park. When I mapped out the original trip, Yellowstone was one of 4-5 “must see” attractions. We stayed over night in Billings and I remember eating at a restaurant filled with “good ole boys” and we were their fodder. It is lonely in Billings if you are from out of town. No, there weren’t any fights. No arguements. Food was good.
Day four we headed to Yellowstone and Old Faithful and bears. The anticipation was high.
I suspect we kept mailing postcards back home saying “wish you were here”. Gad, I hate people who do that!
You Grasshoppers haven’t e-mailed me any memories. Come on!
Love,
Dad

It was around the 10th-12th of June, 1976. The family trek west was about to begin. The West would never be the same! Our family of 6 left early on a Saturday morning in the “Rusty Zipper”. It was partly cloudy. I knew that the first two days were going to be boring because our first major destination was Rapid City, South Dakota. Rapid City was the beginning of the Rocky Mountains and the site of Mount Rushmore.
The plan (my plan) was to take a northern route going west and a southern route coming back. The AAA auto association had a “trip kit” and they mapped out what they would recommend each day. They also showed places where there was major road construction. I then added the “Andrews Factor” to come up with our plan.
We headed west on Highway 23 headed for LaCrosse where we could pick up Interstate Highway 90 through Minnesota and South Dakota to Rapid City. I remember the weather kept changing. It rained. The sun shined. It was cloudy. It rained. And so it went. By the end of the first day we had made it through Minnesota and just entered South Dakota. There is nothing in western Minnestoa or South Dakota. Just as we entered South Dakota we hit the thriving metropolis of Sioux Falls. That is where we stopped for the first night. The motel had the mandatory swimming pool and we probably ate some greasy Kentucky Fried Chicken. It would take a few days to get sick of greasy fast food. Not real exciting.
The second day set the tone for the rest of the trip. We got on the road early between 6:00-7:00 AM and waited to eat breakfast around 10:00 AM. We weren’t trying to save money! Nobody was hungry early in the morning. Then we planned arrival around 4:00 PM at our next destination. We would have a large restaurant meal late in the afternoon with a swimming regimen mixed in. On day two, it again was a lot of driving before we reached Rapid City. We were starting to get used to the CB radio unit and found it more entertaining than the normal AM/FM radio.
Amist all the boredom we decided to pull into an Interstate tourist trap to vist the Corn Palace in South Dakota. The Corn Palace? It was something to do. It was awful. Corn displayed in ten thousand arrays and patterns. It was like looking at the largest ball of string in the world or collection of belly button fuzz. So much for diversion.
And then the trip started to get interesting. We began to enter the Black Hills. It was colorful and the landscape began to exhibit some hills. Hills are good after two days of flat, flat, flat. This is where all the cowboys had their hideouts and held famous gun fights. Based on the landscape, I think most cowboys died of boredom, heat, lack of water or killed by Indians.
At the end of day two we rolled into Rapid City. They held a parade on our behalf because we were some of the first famous tourists of the season. We anxiously anticipated touring Mount Rushmore the next day.
From Rapid City on, we mixed together sight-seeing, fun and modest travel to the next destination. Most of the daily driving marathons were over.
I remember thinking that the next time I go to Rapid City I was going to fly.
I haven’t received any trip memories from you Grasshoppers so you are going to keep reading my version of the trip.
Day three would begin with Mount Rushmore. Seems to me that the National Lampoon Vacation began the same way.
Love,
Dad

It was 1976. I had been working since 1963 and never took an extended vacation. I had not been entitled to more than 2 weeks vacation in a calendar year. Each year I would take a full week and then milk individual days until my vacation was used up. By 1976 I had more than 3 weeks vacation elgibility. So in June of ’76, your mom and I decided to venture west with 4 kids. Debs was 15, Kelly 14, Chris 12 and Paul turned 4 while on our trip.
The goal was to head west to California and see significant sights. Because the older kids were approaching graduation from high school, it seemed appropriate to go now. Wagon ho!
I had just purchased a 1976 Chevrolet Impala Station Wagon with a huge 400 cubic inch V-8 engine and a tailgate that disappeared under the floor of the back deck. We bought a car carrier for the top of the car. The idea was to load as much luggage and “stuff” on top the car as possible and then you kids could sleep and stretch out in the back of the car. There were times we thought about putting several kids on top of the car.
In ’76, Citizens Band (CB’s) radios were popular with truckers. If you tuned to channel 19, truckers would banter about almost anything and you could join in the conversation if you’d like. I figured that if I bought a CB, I would be constantly alerted to where all the “smokeys” (state police) were located and I could avoid traffic tickets. We needed to pick a handle (our own CB identification name). I don’t know if Chris picked the name or we did it together. We were the Rusty Zipper. Our car was a rust colored and yep, we “zipped along”. You guys thought it meant something else!
The plan was to leave in mid-June and get back to Wisconsin around the 4th of July. The planning involved eventually getting to Los Angeles and going to Disney. At that time, Disney World in Florida did not exist. We were going to “the” Disney. Along the way, if we could, Shelby had an Uncle and some cousins in California. I had my Uncle Jerry (Grandma Alice’s brother). We planned destinations about 2-3 days in advance and made all hotel reservations as we traveled west. All motels had to have a good rating by “AAA” and most important, a swimming pool. Each day, we would normally stop traveling around 4-5 PM in the afternoon so that every one could go swimming. My guess is that you kids remember certain pools as being better than others.
Now let me check! Credit cards? Yep. Traveler Checks? Yep. Cash? Yep. AAA maps? Yep. Mom in the car and ready? Yep. Four kids in car varified by count? Yep. A clear mind? Nope! If we had a clear mind we wouldn’t be doing this. We were off!
Westward Ho! Fun! Fun! Fun!
More next time. If you have special memories, let me know and I’ll include them in my epic blog. Margaret is excluded because she hadn’t arrived at the party yet. It would be another 16 months. She might remember stories however.
Love,
Dad

Growing up at the City Club required sharing the upstairs with people that would rent a room for the day, week, or month. I think the daily rate in the early 50’s was $7 per night but cheaper if you took the room for a longer period of time.
Almost all rentals were to men. It was usually older men that were somewhat mysterious. The City Club was not exactly “Donald Trump Towers West”. I don’t remember any women renting rooms.
There were the “Big Three” that form the basis of my memories of guys that roomed at the City Club.
First was Skinny Schultz. He worked at the Stokely Canning Company as a full time employee. The canning season began in March or April and ended in early December. Skinny went some place in the colder months but he was perceived as a regular roomer. I don’t know where the name “Skinny” came from because he was rather heavy, medium stature, and a chain smoker. I lived in mortal fear that he would fall asleep some night and burn the place down. Obviously that never happened. Skinny had a raspy voice and spoke in a growl. He was a gentle giant. I would help Myrna clean his room and change linen once a week. His room smelled like hairy, sweaty gorillas had been running around. He had a fan to move air in the non-air conditioned room. He also had a hot plate, I think for coffee. I don’t know what ever happened to Skinny but I can still see him coming home after a long, long day during the season of canning peas and carrots.
The second roomer was Amel Torke. Amel worked less than a block away from the City Club at Plymouth Foundry that Bucky ended up managing. Amel had a room near Skinny. Amel was very quiet and you hardly knew he was around. He worked in the foundry doing molding, finishing of castings and warehousing. I know he took a shower every day before coming home to the City Club. Amel’s room was very clean and he would leave late in the afternoon to go some place. I learned that he had a “lady friend” Mary, who was a school teacher. They never married. It sounded like a mutually beneficial relationship. Amel always bought new Chevrolets. Every two years, he bought a simple, stripped down brand new four door Chevrolet and parked in in the back of the City Club. I think Amel died while still a resident of the City Club. He did make it into his 70’s. He left $80,000 in cash to Mary. That $80,000 would be worth $250,000 to $300,000 in today’s dollars. Who would have thought that Amel had “squirreled” away that kind of money.
The third roomer was Victor Toniello. Victor had the room at the top of the stairs and stayed a few years. Victor was a short stocky man with a larger stomach and he talked in broken English. I think Victor immigrated from Italy. He was pleasant. He worked at the local Cheese factory and probably earned a good wage. He would use our kitchen occasionaly to cook up Italian dishes with secret recipes. They were delicious. Victor was not a smoker but he did have a hot plate in his room also. Victor eventually married a lady from Greece that I’ve mentioned before named Maria. It was an arranged marriage. Neither person had met each other prior to the wedding but it was a way for a Greek female to immigrate to the United States. They built a house in Plymouth and had a son named Tony. My brother Jerry and Tony played together.
As you sit in you homes tonight with your family around you, I want you to know that my family was always “extended” and included roomers in the City Club. You met them in the halls, on the stairways and in the tavern downstairs. I know sister Addie was always leary of the roomers but to me they were just people in transistion needing a place to stay.
Love,
Dad

For those of you who forgot, Oct. 21, is Margaret’s birthday. She was born in 1977 in the afternoon at Memorial Hospital in Sheboygan.
There is an erie similarity to the day. It was Friday, just like today. There was a warm autumn sun, just like today. The temperature outside was mid-50’s, just like today
I guess I remember Margaret being born because it was scheduled. The first four Grasshoppers arrived when the contractions got to be 10 minutes apart (I think it was 10 minutes but but my memory sometimes fails me). In Margaret’s case, there was concern on the part of the doctor that your Mom’s health was at risk because of water retention and other potential complications. So it was ordained. Margaret will be born today and labor will be induced. No waking up in the middle of the night to rush to the hospital. No concern about getting to the hospital in time. No concern about the availability of the doctor. This new “spirit” was coming today in early afternoon.
Nana arrived at our house before we left for the hospital to calm the home waters.
I remember two things at the hospital. First, I was allowed to stay with your mom prior to her going into the Delivery Room. We were in this narrow little room as they monitored her progress when her water broke. I never knew a body could hold so much fluid. There was water everywhere. I am surprised that Margaret didn’t arrive on a raft or a surf board. They ushered me out of the room to a lounge area while they cleaned up the mess. Then I was told that they had taken your mom into the delivery room.
The second thing I remember is meeting the “rolling bed” as they came from the delivery room. Mom was still lying flat with Margaret in her arm. I remember asking how much Margaret weighed and they told me 10 pounds, 2 ounces. Now I know I will get taken to task for getting the weight wrong but she was the only baby over 10 pounds.
I remember going back home (2040 N. 6th street), parking in the back of the house and walking from the warm sunshine into the house. Nana was waiting to find out how everything went. I know she was really excited and pleased with the outcome. I think Nana always had a bias for girls.
So you see, Margaret’s delivery was carefully planned and the plan implemented. I don’t know what was so difficult. It all seemed pretty easy to me.
So to Margaret who turns 28 today. May it be a very special birthday. May she receive many special balloons. I remember it well.
Love,
Dad