California Sunshine
We moved to California when I was two years old. I don’t have memories of moving there.
At Easter, Mom filled two jars with jelly beans and made rabbit head lids for them.
Mom and Dad had some friends over one evening and boiled crab legs. I remember the adults being in the kitchen talking and eating and Kristi and I were in the living room sitting on the floor in front of the big console television. We were watching Godzilla. It felt scary and exciting to see Godzilla, taller than the buildings, breathing fire, and walking among the Japanese city and destroying all in his path. It also seemed like if the adults knew we were watching that, they might have turned the channel. It felt kind of forbidden, because it was scary. Afterward, I sometimes had dreams that I was with my family in the city, running and hiding from Godzilla.
I had the record story of the Wizard of Oz and became frightened that we might have a tornado at our house. My friend, JoAnne, lived next door, and I would run as fast as I could from my house to her house because I was afraid that a tornado would come and swirl me up into the sky.
Mom invited kids for our birthday parties and made Peter Pan hats for the boys and princess crowns for the girls.
My sister and I and the neighborhood kids had some cheerleading pom poms and we used to stand out on the sidewalk and cheerlead.
California Oranges, Texas Cactus
We think your team needs a lot of practice.
Kick ‘em in the knee, Sock ‘em in the chest.
Drag ‘em to the secretary, Yay! We’re the best!
Grammy (Mabel Warner) and Uncle Rich Warner came to visit us from Nebraska. We went to Disneyland and I remember being in the It’s a Small World ride. We also spent a day at the beach. I had a patriotic stars and stripes swimming suit.
Grammy would call us on our birthdays.
I started kindergarten when I was four years old. I went to North Star Elementary School and my teacher was Mrs. Mike. I remember learning the alphabet and all of the alphabet people were posted around the room.
