Where was I?

Hudson, New York…I am not sure but I believe we lived there from when I was a 1-2 year old through until I was over 5 years old.

It was confirmed later in life that my dad married Fran not so much out of love but due to going from a dad out-at-sea, to a single dad alone with five children. It was apparent in the tension and fighting in the house. I don’t think that we were there very long. I know there was animosity between him and his older sister who took us in originally. I don’t know the details but it seemed to be over money. He claimed to be giving her everything he had…”living off of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches” and she wasn’t happy with what she was receiving from him. Who knows? I do know that her marriage suffered and ended in divorce and that while we were living with her she had to have a double mastectomy due to breast cancer, so it was certainly no picnic for her to go from her own five children to ten in all, me still being an infant. I don’t remember her so much from that time as I do my older siblings and cousins complaining about having to watch me.

Moving on…after the failed marriage to Fran, we were passed on to live with my dad’s youngest sister who had two children of her own closer to my age. At this time we went to live in Maine while my dad went out to California to get a job and find a home. We were all to join him later there. I believe I started second grade in California so I must have been around six or seven.

Maine memories: Cat tails, made-up adventures lead by my oldest sister Karen of our being tracked down by “dangerous” people—we crouched among the cat tails, slithered on our bellies…we were not to be caught!, trailer parks, smashed fingers, stern aunt, nap-time with my cousins, “And she lets her hair hang down…” (song: Behind Closed Doors! Ha!), playing school–again, led by Karen, and her teaching me how to spell California…the “Porky Pig” story….and that one is for my next blog post…