booboobabies

My Mother lived on Haskell Ave in Van Nuys for many years and passed away on Oct. 27, 2009. Mom & I did not always have a good relationship because Mama would not allow me or my immediate family to visit. (Although Mama was always very happy to talk to me on the phone.) Every time I had a trip planned to California, Mama would give me a lame excuse as to why I should not see her.

After Mama died, my husband & I went out there to clean out her apartment. Not only was the apartment total squalor, but I was horrified by the neighborhood. Graffiti was everywhere – notably on trucks parked on the street, and all over the bathroom of a Mexican restaurant right down the street from Mama’s place. I saw concertina wire on the roof of a house within a block of Mom’s apartment.

After the first day of cleaning Mama’s place, we stayed in a Comfort Inn on Sepulveda Blvd. not far away. This was not the best night I’ve ever had in a motel. A sign in the parking lot said “No drugs. No drug dealing.” In the lobby, a sign was posted saying “No prostitution or pandering. No visitors allowed in rooms.” The next day, I told a friend of my Mother’s about it, and she said “Sepulveda has always had a lot of prostitutes.” I cashed some travellers checks at a Bank of America on Sepulveda, & it felt like a detention center – armed guards inside & outside the bank and the tellers were surrounded by bulletproof glass.

Had I known how run down Mother’s neighborhood was, I would have begged her to move! Whether or not Mama would have listened to me is anyone’s guess – the woman was very stubborn. I miss Mama a lot, but I’m sure she’s in a better place now. Any place is better than her old area in Van Nuys!

My Grandparents had a farm in Gilman, Wisconsin, which is very close to the Chequamegon Forest. When I was growing up in Illinois, I visited them once or twice a year. Even as a child, I could see that it was a whole different world than the city I lived in (Rockford, Illinois).

I have not been there since 1992. My Grandparents have both passed on, and most of my other relatives have moved away. The farm was sold in 1988. I had kind of forgotten about Northern Wisconsin until recently when I read the book “The Story of Edgar Sawtelle”. This story brought back so many memories of things that I had forgotten – I felt as if I had gone back in time! I highly recommend the book to anyone interested in Northern Wisconsin. Besides the accurate descriptions of the Chequamegon area, the story itself is excellent. (I won’t spoil it for you by giving away details – you will have to read it for yourself!)

My father is a hard-core Republican and a huge Reagan admirer. I love Dad, but do not share his politics. So I wasn’t impressed by this place when he dragged me there in 1982.

Not only was I not into Reagan’s politics, but the house itself is no big deal. If you’ve been anywhere in the Midwest, you’ve seen this house. It’s an older structure, like so many buildings in that part of the country are. This is not exactly the Playboy Mansion I’m talking about here.

The place is so undistinguished that I had totally forgotten about it until a few days ago. Last Saturday (Feb. 16, 2008) I waited in line for four hours to get into Lubbock High School to see former President Clinton. While I was in line, I visited with some people about other politicians we wanted to see. One of them was a 10-year-old girl who wanted to see Ronald Reagan. I informed her that Reagan died a few years ago, but maybe she would see him in heaven. When I told her that I had seen Reagan’s boyhood home, she gushed and wished that she could see it too. She may enjoy visiting the place, but I don’t think most of you would.