A belated "thank you" for your kind words, Vee. Yes, your age being the same as what my Mother's would be definitely makes me feel like I'm reading about what her early life might have been like, through your words. I get a real kick out of reading about the music you enjoyed, the flirtations, the fashions, school life, even relating to your parents. It's funny how my Mom also referred to her parents as "Mother and Daddy" as I believe you have as well. Thank you also for sharing your third grade experience with us, even though it was harrowing. I never would've imagined that that sort of thing happened back in the simpler days prior to graphic TV shows and newscasts. Maybe that's a naive view. Your Mother must've been totally horrified to learn of your experience! I think I'm fortunate to have lived a pretty sheltered life in that respect. But I must tell you that last August my co-workers and I had a real disturbing thing happen. One of our co-workers, a lovely 30 year old woman, was abducted from her apartment in Burbank, after arriving home from work. We were all nervous wrecks waiting and praying for some word. It came after two weeks... Sharon's body was found in the trunk of her car, in Chinatown. Two weeks ago, they finally made an arrest of a possible suspect - the maintenance man at her apartment complex! He is a registered sex offender. What do you want to bet that his employer didn't inform tenants of that fact?! Very disturbing, but we're just so thankful the creep is off the streets. Hope everyone is enjoying the end of winter and keeping warm. It was a beautiful, sunny day in Los Angeles today. Best, Lorraine Lorraine said, > Today would have been my Mother's 73rd birthday. She passed on far too > early, in 1985, after a long struggle with respiratory illness. Oh Lorraine, how sad. Bless your mother. I turned 73 just this past September so I can feel that we might have been close in sharing memories of the times. I guess that the reason I tell all of you some of the memories I have about growing up in Niagara Falls is because I want to record them in some sort of fashion. Regarding my vernacular, it appears that I'm reverting back to the old-time expressions like "dadratit" or "Oh for pity's sake" or even "laws a mercy!" Those expressions come to my lips more quickly than any of the swear words I became accustomed to in my 30 years service in the Navy. Hopefully your message will encourage me to tell you about my being in the third grade at Pacific Ave. School in LaSalle in the 1930s. Some of the stories still embarrass me but one of them has to do with my being sexually molested outside the school yard. Thank goodness I wasn't harmed. Please encourage me to tell the little stories of the times even though one of them was a bit ugly. vee

Lorraine said, >A belated "thank you" for your kind words, Vee. Yes, your age being the >same > as what my Mother's would be definitely makes me feel like I'm reading > about > what her early life might have been like, through your words. I get a > real > kick out of reading about the music you enjoyed, the flirtations, the > fashions, > school life, even relating to your parents. It's funny how my Mom also > referred to her parents as "Mother and Daddy" as I believe you have as > well. Dear Lorraine, Thanks for your own kind words, especially when what I've written about my childhood, school days, WWII, etc., paralleled what your own mother probably went through. And what it makes me feel especially good to know is that there was someone else who called her parents "Mother and Daddy." > > Thank you also for sharing your third grade experience with us, even > though > it was harrowing. I never would've imagined that that sort of thing > happened > back in the simpler days prior to graphic TV shows and newscasts. Maybe > that's > a naive view. Your Mother must've been totally horrified to learn of your > experience! Yes, actually I'm relieved that I could eventually tell that story outloud. It was an ugly experience for a third-grader to have gone through. Although Mother and I didn't talk much about it later, there was no doubt that she was really horrified that something like that could have happend to her little girl. Since then and the advent of TV, it makes me shudder when I hear of more horrific stories about sexual offenders and of kidnapping and wanton murders. The only conclusion that I've been able to come to is that this world is going to hell in a handbasket and I'm no longer in a position to prevent it. vee