Blog: Women—God Bless 'em (Part II)

Bless her heart, Helen Carroll (Mrs. John) Kottman, Class of 1943 and now an actively-retired resident of Iowa City, Iowa, e-mailed the other day to remind me that she “was still kicking” after reading Part I of this series!  Helen is more than “just kicking” as she cares for her ailing husband (former professor of journalism at Iowa City) their residence, her own health needs and participates in an occasional piano recital. One busy octogenarian and deserving, though a bit belated, to be a “T/CCA” winner! Done!  Congratulations!…your spirit does my heart good, my school chum.

I trust that easy-on-the-eyes Ben Affleck and the other Oscar “winners” realize what those Academy members/voters internalized as they soul searched  before casting their nods of approval for “Best Picture,”Best “this-and-that” which were bestowed upon 2012s “cream of the crop” during February’s Oscars ceremony.

As Ben admonished…”forget the past grudges” (work arena)…shared that his marriage is great!...and he’s learned a lot in the 15 years since he and co-author Matt Damon won a like Award for “Good Will Hunting.” Modesty is still the most becoming virtue to my way of thinking…and he wears it well.

Not at the same fast pace nor financial gain but I've also learned having “someone in your corner” does wonders for the psyche, the spirit and for much-needed motivational inspirational purposes. The myriad corners of my life are crowded as I emotionally look around at who have “forgiven and forgotten my past transgressions; who have with humor and kindness (just great!) encouraged my amateurish Blogging efforts; and who, as co-authors of my own uncharted sentimental journey, have taught me a lot about the whole package of living a life of purpose since I hopped down from that ancient Pony Express train car of iron proportions in January 1948, Union Station, the end of the line for me.

In keeping with tradition, let's ask that nice young Seth MacFarlane to don his dancing shoes and segue us into our "T/CCA" presentation…I’ll provide the lyrics, thank you!

ENVELOPES, Please!

Category 1– “Just Because”—goes to Velma (last name a blank) who was a co-worker at Standard Felt Company in Alhambra, February-July, 1948, and upon my questioning, introduced me to Coty's intoxicating Emeraude and important pulse points...ever evolving!

(S.F.C. was owned by Henry E. Huntington Land Company and Henry’s grandson and heir, 37-year old Edwards Metcalf, had office space near to where I counted “pounds of something” to do with making felt.  Other than his driving an apple red sports car, he could have been mistaken for just another factory-worker-promoted-to-office-worker, and I did just that…the name Huntington had not yet reached my hometown in 1947.)

Category 2—“Movin’ on Up!”—goes to a bevy of very young women who, with their husbands, were handed keys to newly-built neighboring homes in the South Arcadia's Marshburn Tract, moving date February and March 1950, rainy days notwithstanding. Families grew and moved away as opportunity presented itself …but not before our kids became longstanding friends, too.

Recipes, light bulbs, hot cinnamon rolls and that proverbial shoulder “to cry on” were handy any hour of the day…the day the key was handed over to Del and I was one of the most fortunate days of our lives and for that alone, the “T/CCA” goes to neighbors Pat Spencer, Virginia Dennis, Lurlene Klein, Kay Watt and Erladene Fleury. Diane Weimer, my across-the-alley neighbor, moved in later and simply by the fact she was brave enough to pierce Dana’s ears and I didn’t have to watch or hold Dana down, makes her more than worthy of any award!

Pat, Lurlene, Kay and I were expectant mothers at the same time, four bundles of girl-joy arriving within nine months of each other. It was a coincidence unheard of in our community since. 

Category 3—“PTA”—Some business-savvy little kid hit my front door one fine day after newly-constructed Rio Hondo Elementary School’s PTA Membership Drive began. Still awaiting the birth of our firstborn, Dennis in 1952, I handed over 50 cents and what a bargain that was! I was morphing into my PTA-loving Momma...

Some words go together like "peperoncini" and "pedicures" and "pride" and "prejudice"; for me it was be PTA and Publicity, my first volunteer venture once Denny. enrolled in Kindergarten. Now, two years of journalism in high school hardly qualifies one for real-life newspaper reporting but, again, Cranston and clueless go together, too, so why not?  The fascinating world of reporting the news was, once again, beckoning...Bloggers are "made," not born, and this was my beginning!

Worth a shot, because: 1) the PTA’s Executive Board served up great snacks following their monthly meetings; and 2) one always knows what’s happening at school if one is on the “inside”, right?  So began an association that literally gave answers to WHY? I was literally surrounded by these women who had answers to questions I had yet to entertain… I had found “home” again.

Today’s “T/CCA”  go to Norma Michel and Belle Miron (both deceased); Florine Alexander, Sally King, Sue Miller Owen (who taught me how to parallel park my car 48 years ago), Pat Salazar, and for good measure, Marge Ragusa of Arroyo High School…if this type of award catches on, next year’s list of nominees will be just as monumental!

Category 4—Church and Preschool—‘Tis a fact of history that when those peculiar Quakers landed on the coasts of Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhoda Island, and New Jersey back in the mid-1600’s, books were cherished items among possessions packed carefully in wooden boxes, just as carefully unpacked when the elders of the Monthly Meetings established the first schools on this new frontier. Daily schooling was ranked right up there with honesty, chopping wood, hunting for the supper’s meat, and milking cows before the sun set on the eastern shores. (Not to mention dousing clothes in the nearby creek…)

Too soon to know the words to ”My country ‘tis of Thee”  but my Borton grandparents surely must have felt that surge of heart that spurred those early pilgrims to settle down, plow the earth and take root, changing history forever…

‘Tis another fact of history that in September 1968, preschool doors were swung wide open at the Arcadia Friends Community Church on Lenore Avenue to 25 anxious pre-kindergarten age small-fry, eventually numbering more than 200 students at one time, and acknowledged by the Los Angeles County Licensing Department as one of the top three preschools in Southern California, no easy honor.

The act of bestowing the “T/CCA” upon Founder Joy Berry, Joanne Lebs, Mary Batelaan, Catherine Trzeciak, Peggy Smith and Barbara Springer, all having served as directors of the preschool, methinks, makes those early-on quaint people in those “funny hats” right proud.

As Secretary/Treasurer to all of the above, and compiler of several best-selling
preschool cookbooks, I affirm these statements to be true…

That popular song, ”You Can’t Have One Without the Other" says it all about the dedicated ladies of the (then and now) preschool’s mentoring church body. It was team play all the way for Jean Winslow, now deceased, who taught Bible Study to preschool moms and others over 30 years;  Bonnie Gladu (also deceased) taught for more than 25 years. The “T/CCA” belongs to them as to no other…

Category 5—Facebook Friends—now this one should scare me! Actually, it is one I take extreme delight in composing and somebody has to do it…if this Blog is ever going to come to some kind of “blessed” ending.

Let’s take that group of five who, playfully, call themselves “The Cougars” during their Facebook time together…Jessica Frank, Linda Sirois, Deb Clemson Sorum, Jen Baham and Moi. Only because I have many, many years more years of living on my Resume than do they, it is by default I am the Head Cougar though I pretty much let the "kitties" have their lead in conversations because I am “still learning.” One “Good Morning!” at daybreak can lift spirits, ease a burden or carry “the load” if need be. It’s a lot like “being home again!” 

Colleen Cato, Jennie Schwartz, Sharon Williams, Deb Howard-Rauls, Jane Buck, Beth Loukaitis Fay, Melinda Henneberger, who has even been on the Chris Matthews' Hardball Show on MSNBC, and Cynthia Sternquist daily keep this Cyberspace Community updated on kinfolk shenanigans, share recipes for slow-cooking pot roasts seasoned with those delectable and addictive Peperocinis in a jar as we survey transforming road conditions of Rosemead Boulevard, the gateway to beautiful downtown Temple City.

There you have it, dear Readers, a partial list of women who have parlayed their way into my heart of hearts, who have struggled diligently to smooth over left-over rough edges, add polish to the remnants of my lingering CountryGal demeanor but, mostly, have ordained themselves to personify the most faithful version of Agape Love and share it with me...friends just don't get any better than these!

Paraphrasing the closing song of my newly-acquired favorite Academy host and that would be Seth MacFarlane… “I See Your Smiles!" Hopefully…!

‘Til the next time,

CG/CW