Mickey and Me

These pictures were taken in Florida, May 1946 - that would have been just before my sister went to Minnesota with our aunt and uncle and I went to Los Angeles with our pregnant mother.Hmmm - that is some big bow in my hair. The Flying Nun?

These pictures came from an album that Aunt Mae kept. Unfortunately, as is the case with most albums, the first pages are full of pictures that are labeled but then the pictures stop and there are only empty pages. Mae passed away before her husband and it was completely unexpected because he was the one with health problems. Does that happen more often than not or does it just seem that way? Our mother was sick, nearly died, recovered and then dad got sick and quickly passed away. When my youngest uncle Arnie passed away at 44, his wife told me - no one is promised tomorrow. I was just a kid at the time but I've always remembered that.

1946 - A Very Good Year

My sister drying off after her bath, July 1946.I love how serene she looks in this picture.

Hey, this is Minnesota - land of 10,000 lakes - we can take a bath anywhere! Is that a bow in her hair?

Aunt Mae and my sister.Uncle Quentin and my sister. My sister lived with our aunt and uncle for about six months and during that time they came to love her like a daughter. They never had any children of their own and always had a special spot in their hearts for my sister. My mother told me that because she was a single mom with three children to support, she knew her sister and brother-in-law hoped they would be able to adopt my sister but mother never would have agreed to that.

DD had a difficult day today - while driving the bus, she missed stopping for a handicapped passenger. The trainer had her go around the block and make the stop a second time. I asked if the trainer had pointed out the handicapped passenger the first time around and she said no, she was supposed to be aware of everyone at the stop and somehow overlooked her. Tomorrow is her first payday and that should help her morale!

Reminiscing and Reading

My sister and Uncle Quentin, 1946. My Aunt and Uncle brought my sister from Florida to Minneapolis by way of Chicago. She stayed with them while our pregnant Mother and I went to Los Angeles. We were reunited after our brother was born, about six months later. My sister at Aunt and Uncle's home - bathing alfresco.
This is my sister's (on the right) second birthday party. I’ve just finished reading Predictably Irrational, subtitled The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions. It was a little disappointing in that I really didn’t learn too much from it; perhaps my expectations were too high.

One part I did enjoy was reading the author’s take on why CEO pay is so high. In 1993 federal securities regulators forced companies to make known the pay and perks their top executives received. The thinking was that once this became public, boards would be reluctant to give outrageous salaries and bonuses. In 1976 the average CEO was paid 36 times what the average worker received and by 1993 the pay was 131 times as much. But here’s what happened: Once this was public, the media started ranking CEO’s by pay, CEO’s compared their pay to others and the end result is that now the average CEO makes about 369 times as much as the average worker – about three times the salary before the compensation went public. So much for good intentions!

Today DD learned how to parallel park the bus! This isn’t anything a driver will ever have to do but the powers-that-be want to make sure they know how. I’m not the least bit mechanical and am in awe of all she’s learned so far.

Four-Leaf Clover

Yesterday Yesterday I found this picture of my mother (center) and her sisters taken in 1941. The back of the photo says that they were looking for 4-leaf clovers when another sister surprised them by taking their picture.

My sister and I looked for 4-leaf clovers too when we were kids and sang this song:

I'm looking over a 4-leaf clover that I overlooked before
First is for sunshine and second for rain
Third is for roses that bloom in the lane
oh there's no need explaining the one remaining to somebody I adore
I'm looking over a four-leaf clover that I overlooked before

Happy St. Patrick's day to those who are Irish and those who aren't but celebrate St. Patrick's day!

History

From left to right: my cousin Lee, Me, Uncle Ernie, brother Steven in front of him, cousin Dennis, brother Pete and sister Camille. This picture was taken in Los Angeles at the home of my Aunt and Uncle, 1951. Lee is almost 6 months older than I am, I am almost 6 months older than Dennis, Dennis is almost 6 months older than Camille. Steven is a couple of years younger than Camille and Pete (about 6 years younger than Camille) was the youngest until our last brother was born. Eric was about 8 years younger than Pete. We all thought he was an "oops" baby but Mother said no, they just wanted another one.My mother divorced my birth dad when she had three children. In those days it was very hard for a single mother to support a family so for a time we lived with her sister and husband and their two boys in Los Angeles. It was there that she met the man we all came to know as dad. They married and she had two more boys.

When Mother knew she was about to die, she called us all together for one last time. She told her sister what a good sister she had been and how good it had been of her to take us all in. My Aunt was very quiet and her eyes filled with tears. It was a very touching moment. Quietly my Mother said, "Okay. It's your turn now to tell me what a good sister I was." Which made us all laugh in spite of the sad circumstances. She left us with so many wonderful gifts and beautiful memories.