The Birth of a Son

(an email to Jon - October 3, 2005 7PM)

Sitting here having a cup of coffee and thinking of you.

Thirty-Seven years ago, at this very minute, I was waiting for your Dad and Granny to arrive (I had called them & told them the contractions had started).

We had dinner, I put Lisa down for the night, and at about 10PM, I called Dr. McAnnich and let him know the contractions were every 5 minutes and that we were going to have a baby tonight. He told me to go to the hospital (Glendale Memorial). I didn’t tell your Dad or Granny that, not wanting to sit around the hospital for HOURS, I just made another pot of coffee, and sent them off to bed for a few hours sleep.

So you and I were alone at the kitchen table. I was wondering if you were a boy or girl, what you looked like, and I was thinking how wonderful it would be, at last, to hold you. It was really kind of a pleasant time…

Suddenly, about 2AM, the contractions dropped to every 3 minutes and got much harder. I woke your Dad, quick!

It was a half-hour drive to the hospital; there was actually some doubt that we’d make it there before your arrival. Your Dad was mad at me for waiting so long!

We got there, with enough time left to check in! You were born at 4 AM. Soon your Dad was handing out cigars, and your Granny was calling everyone in the family.

I almost can’t believe that so many years have passed. That you are now a middle-aged man and have kidlets of your own!

I miss celebrating your Birthday’s with you…

Have a HAPPY BIRTHDAY, and may your Birthday Wish come true!

Mom

Shakespeare and Ashbery

Though we were very poor, and didn’t even have a car, I found much to do as a teen in Hollywood.

For one thing, at that time, Hollywood boasted any number of excellent, small bookstores, used, rare, etc. Once I found them, I spent much time in them, and the owners did not seem to mind me standing in the close packed, usually dusty and dim, aisles, reading. I didn’t have the money to BUY a book, but I did much ‘spot reading’ in those wonderful shops.

It was in those stores that I discovered Shakespeare’s Sonnets and John Ashbery’s poems. I was enchanted! I would note what pages I was on so I could pick up where I left off when I went back.

I had not yet thought of writing poetry, didn’t think of myself as a ‘poet’, but the seed was planted.

PBX Operator

My Mother (Aldine) was a PBX Operator. She learned the occupation at the American Red Cross in Kansas City Missouri at a very young age. It may even have been her first job.

She went on to work at the Kansas City Hall, (Where my Grandfather was the Garage Superintendant) the Coca Cola Company (boy do I wish I had just a few of the promotional items she brought home!), and then the Veterans Hospital in Kansas City.

Once we moved to California, she went to work for the Retail Clerks Union Dental Office on Hollywood Blvd. She worked there for over 10 years.

I never heard her express an interest in doing any other type of work. Her job, and the places where she
worked, played a very big part in our lives.