you called, mother?

Here is the imposing matriarch, Isabella Adena Hunter Williams.
This photo actually has a date. May, 1959. Dressed for church, of
course. You remember that Daddy's photo was also from back
here by the garage. I guess it was deemed "good light" or some such
thing. Mother (and Daddy) hailed from McKeesport, PA and they
loved Pasadena, California the way I love SF.

She was always Mother. Never mama or mommy. She came from
money and married a man who worked in the steel mills. Starting
to get the picture? Women didn't work outside the home in those
days, but she could have run several big companies. Instead she
had three people to over-worry about: my father with his bad
heart and the two adopted children. There were many screaming
scenes with the mother vs. bad boy brother and I would run and
hide in my bedroom with a pillow over my head. Of course today
I crave quiet and solitude the way others seek the social life.

Isabella and I did "make peace" (and thanks for the soothing
comment about the bro, Cute and Creepy) before she died. Not a
smooth and perfect peace, but a few "I love yous". Here was a
woman with more energy than almost anyone I've ever met,
she could not sit still (nor stop talking) until she slept, fitfully,
of course. The irony of this ultra active woman dying paralyzed
from ALS was a bit too cruel, don't you agree?

But wait. The good news. After my father died Isabella married
a sweet man (family friend) and she was HAPPY. A new woman
emerged. She laughed, we talked on the phone every Sunday
morning, she stopped worrying about us for a few unbelievable
years. Oh, and I should mention that she too loved my Husbando,
even though she had only met one other Jew before. She died
in 1976, and they had the audacity to show me a red/white/blue
Bicentennial casket. And yes, she was a conservative Republican.

let's stock up on books!

I stopped by my new bookstore (Books, Inc. on Market) to say
howdy to my friend Ken, and to buy some new QPs. Quality
Paperbacks, but you knew that. The blogmaid, Boise and I
will love this one because it's all about plural marriages, the
Mormon faith and Big L-U-V. I think it's highly Muni-worthy.
The 19th Wife is a novel by David Ebershoff, "as chilling as
it is entertaining", says the NY Daily News.

the car, the movie, the lazy one

The sun is out, The Fevered Brain has her new Smart Car (red)
and here I sit in slug mode, fooling around on the computer.
Time to move, woman!

We feature this DVD out at the Legion often and I have trouble
paying attention to customers when it is playing. The Rape of
Europa is a documentary about the Nazis stealing thousands
of pieces of art from Poland, France and Italy. It is another
shocking visual description of that horrible war. Then towards
the end (of the war and the movie) my beloved Florence is
seen after the Nazis left ~ they bombed the beautiful bridges
and monuments, leaving rubble and destruction. I borrowed
the DVD from a fellow worker so Husbando and I could watch
it from beginning to end. It should be shown in every high
school art and history class, less we ever forget...

huuuuumus anyone?

Michael often mentions that there is no falafel to be found in
either Santa Barbara or Whittier, where he usually hangs out, so
last night I introduced him to TGP's discovery, The Old Jerusalem.
It was the first time I'd been there for dinner and they were
busy (!) and since Michael has lived in many foreign lands, I
asked him to order for me. Yum. Lentil soup, salad, gooey dips
with pita bread, chicken and more.

welcome, boys!

No photos yet, but Neti and Frank's grandtwins were born in
Sacramento yesterday. Ben and Sam are a little underweight,
so they'll be in hospital for a few days longer than usual.
The mothers (Nicole and Gwen) are doing fine ~ happy and
relieved, as are the grandparents. Double congrats to
everyone, all very exciting!

I know, you need pictures. Soon.

a true summer day

Bad photo of cute dog playing in the sprinklers in Precita Park.

Heat wave! The museums were both closed yesterday, so everyone had
a day off while they cleaned and painted, freshened and straightened.
Husbando and I walked to lunch in the nabe and spent 10 minutes
watching this adorable black dog play in the sprinklers. Of course I
couldn't get a good photo, but he had a great time and was soaking
wet when his owner finally convinced him that it was time to go home.

We both had burgers (stuffed with blue cheese and scallions) at the
BBQ place. And yes, we recommend the restaurant and will try the
ribs next time. So nice to see so much sun.

My friend Michael is here from Santa Barbara, so we had (iced)
coffee and talked for a couple of hours, catching-up on this/that.

back to memory lane

Here we have my brother, Evan Hunter Williams. I guess this was
maybe the late Fifties, and we can see the James Dean influence. I
guess Evan was hiding the cigarette somewhere, hoping to escape
mother's lecture. We were never close, perhaps because we were
both adopted, but in my heart I know there was more to it than that.

Evan died in 1998, from bladder cancer. He refused to have a simple
operation when it was diagnosed, and like most of us he died as he
lived. Stubborn.

He was a year older than I am and about the only thing we had in
common was that we both loved to read. His wife said that when he
was dying he re-read the books I had sent him over the years. Evan
was a great and devoted father to his three children ~ one of my
big regrets is that we never "made peace" before he died.

This family history stuff exhausts me. I wonder why...