Heritage...

Back fans,well from the place where I went to school was where my Dad brought his family from Puerto Rico. My grandma & her youngest son, Miguel moved in with us. Then, Dad's brother arrived with his pregnant wife, not by him. They moved into an upstairs apartment and when the one next to them emptied, grandma moved upstairs. Next to us we had my Dad's married sister,Rosa Lydia. While we lived in that building my aunt had her three children. We moved to another street in Hoboken, Willow. My Mom had begun to work at a factory to help my Dad out, also because he had begun to drink and waste his pay check. Mom became good friends with a neighbor and her husband, who also drank. One summer day we decided to go to Coney Island. During the day the men got real drunk. We got into the car,Mom & her friend sitting with us in the back (I remember they made us lay our heads on their laps). Dad was driving with no shirt or shoes, in those days you could get a ticket for that. He was so drunk he got on the curb and knocked down a mailbox. Another driver yelled out,"I've got your plate number". But Dad drove all the way home without being stopped! Left the car in the middle of the street & went up & passed out. Mom had to find someone to park the car for her.From there we got a house on Wayne Street in Jersey City. It was a four family & the yard was great. We even had grapes that grew in the summer. Dad always had a dog & I remember we had brought the one he'd gotten us, Blackie with us. Blackie hated cats & he killed alot of them, when they got into our yard. My Mom also began to bring some of her family. I remember two of my aunts, her sisters, stayed awhile till they began to work & found their own places. Then, we had my uncle, who was going to High School. He would drive us crazy because in music class he chose the violin & he was terrible at it! My sister & I had alot of "good times" in that house. There was a small "house" in the yard we played in, Dad put up a swing and his pool table, in the small shack. We made friends with the girl who lived above us, Debbie. We even had a flood occur once. Everyone feared the building could "blow up" if the water reached the meters! The fire department came to pump out our basement. It was something!!! I believe Mom still has pictures of that time. Well, we had to move from there because the building was going to be torn down to build a High School. Little did I know it was the new Ferris, from where my class would be the first class to graduate from the new high school! I remember we dedicated a tree, in front of the school.Wonder if it's still there? Well, fans,I'll come back again to continue.

Heritage...

I'm back, fans to continue about the lovely, strong woman, that is my mother. Learned she's gaining her strenght slowly, from her quadruple bypass. My sister tells me she fell, the other day because she wants to cook herself. Says she felt dizzy. My sister trys to tell her she needs to take it a step at a time, but how do you keep a "spirited" person, who has always done for herself tied down? When they first came to the US, my father put her in an apartment they had to share with other people. Then, he found her a place, in a bad neighborhood (which they knew nothing about, not knowing the area). Mom had very little space to move around in. One night (Dad worked nights) she saw the shadow of someone outside her door. A friend of the family came over and told my Dad the area wasn't a good place for my mom and two small girls. We moved to Hoboken,across the Hudson, to our own apartment. In those days you had to share a bathroom, which was in the hallway. Our bathtub was in the kitchen, right next to the sink. I liked that you received your morning milk at your door. We lived on the third floor and, in the summer, if you wanted fruits or vegetables, from the vendors, you'd lower a basket & he'd place your order there. Then, you'd raise it & lower the money to him. The whole sidewalks wound be spread clean. Sometimes, the kids, playing wound stay there to get soaked. The ladies, in the neighborhood would watch out for all the young children. The first school I went to, frst grade was cross the side street of where we lived, #9. My very first teacher was Miss Brown. I couldn't be put in kinder because I was too old, seven. The truant officer came to ask my mother why I wasn't yet in school. She just felt I was still small. I went up to third grade there. Well, I'll leave off here. More to come.

My Wonderful Mom

Fans, what can I say about this lovely lady? Well, she's not only my mother, but she's my friend, adviser, my shoulder to cry on and the one who always makes me feel better about everything! Well, I nearly lost this amazing human being. She didn't feel well after Palm Sunday, though she had bought what she'd wear at church Easter Sunday. Once she got to the hospital, with what she thought was the problem she has in her esophagous. It turned out she had suffered a massive heart attack. Four of the arteries were blocked. I flew, with the help of my daughters & their support, the day Mom would have the operation. We arrived at 3 a.m. but went right to the hospital, before she'd be taken to the OR. She,as the stronge woman she is, was making "us" feel calm. We wished her for God to be in that room, guiding the surgeon's hands. The operation took six hours. She was put in the ICU and we were told she'd be "out of it" for the remainer of the day so we'd be better seeing her the next day. So, we went to rest from our long trip. She stayed in the ICU for five days. My girls had to go back to their jobs and I stayed to help with whatever I could. Well, fans, to make a long story short, on the day I was coming back home, she was told she'd be leaving the next day. So, I called her today and she's home enjoying her new great-grand son, Marc Anthony. Faith can move mountains, and it trully can!!!